September 2008 by Texas Fish & Game

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0809 Staff box

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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

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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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0809 Contents

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SEPTEMBER 2008 • Volume XXIV • NO.5

AROUND THE STATE IN 80 DAYS In the 80 (plus or minus) days beginning Sept 1, multiple hunting seasons open and some of the greatest fresh- and saltwater fishing of the year heats up. In Texas—or anyplace else—it just doesn’t get any better.

by Paul Bradshaw

ON THE COVER:

THE RUT Science and common sense: some startling new information has come to light about the rut and whitetail breeding success.

by Herman W. Brune

TANGLING WITH AMBERJACK A big amberjack is a creature of brute strength and bad habits. He’s a bully who will take your bait, bend your rod to the breaking point and then cut your line if you can’t muscle him to the surface first. Fishing for amberjack is cruising for a bruising.

by Mike Holmes

SIDE IMAGING SONAR A look at the most sophisticated consumer sonar system available, and how this modestly priced equipment sealed Texas angler Alton Jones’ half-million-dollar victory at this year’s Bassmaster Classic.

by Lenny Rudow

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Photo Courtesy Michael Waddell

ALSO IN SEPTEMBER:

WATERFOWL MYTHS

AFTER-HOURS LUNKERS Fishing for big bass at night might seem like a shot in the dark, but one long-time Texas pro learned over a quarter-century ago that if you follow two fundamental rules, you can catch the lunker of a lifetime, after hours.

by Matt Williams 4

Outdoor television star Michael Waddell has been selected honorary chairman for this year’s National Hunting and Fishing Day, set for Sept. 27. In the volunteer role, Waddell becomes the official spokesman for the annual commemoration’s key message: Conservation succeeds only because of America’s 34 million hunters and anglers. “I’m so humbled to be named honorary chair. National Hunting and Fishing Day has such a great tradition,” said Waddell. He shares his love of the outdoors with wife Ashley and their four children, Mason, Meyer, Woods Macoy and Audrey Mackay. Previous honorary chairs included Jeff Foxworthy, Tracy Byrd, Wade Boggs, Hank Williams Jr., Terry Bradshaw and others.

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Quack echoes and other myths. by Chester Moore

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0809 Contents

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SEPTEMBER 2008 • Volume XXIV • NO.5

COLUMNS 12 Editor’s Notes Hot News Overflow

57 Texas Deer Hunting Getting the Lead Out

by DON ZAIDLE TF&G Editor-in-Chief

by PAUL BRADSHAW TF&G Contributing Editor

18 Chester’s Notes Dissing Texas

58 Texas Offshore Autumn Offshore Bonanza

by CHESTER MOORE TF&G Executive Editor

20 Commentary

One Step Forward, 1776 Steps Back

DEPARTMENTS 8

YOUR LETTERS

BIG BAGS &

by CAPT. MIKE HOLMES TF&G Associate Offshore Editor

59 Texas Saltwater Old Dogs & New Tails

by KENDAL HEMPHILL TF&G Commentator

CATCHES

TF&G REPORT

TROPHY QUEST

WINGS OVER

by CALIXTO GONZALES TF&G Saltwater Editor

22 Doggett at Large Small Water, Big Lessons

by JOE DOGGETT TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

54 Texas Bowhunter

TEXAS

SCOTUS and the Second Amendment

by TED NUGENT TF&G Bowhunting Editor

56 Texas Freshwater New Regs On September 1

62 Open Season The Truth About Taz & Redhead

by MATT WILLIAMS TF&G Freshwater Editor 6

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by REAVIS WORTHAM TF&G Humor Editor F i s h

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TFG ON CAMPUS

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Letters

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NECHES NWR VS. FASTRILL RESERVOIR Editor’s Note: We received a deluge of letters regarding our coverage of the Neches Wildlife Refuge/Fastrill Reservoir controversy—far more letters than we had room to print. (See this month’s TF&G Report for further info.)We selected the following as representative of all letters received. —Don Zaidle A recommended read is Chester’s Notes, “Put ‘Conservation’ Back in ‘Conservative’,” in the July issue of Texas Fish & Game. It expresses an idea I have been trying to articulate about the so-called “conservative” politicians running around promoting large, wasteful reservoirs in the eastern third of the state that would destroy highly endangered hardwood bottomlands. In the recent debate over the Fastrill reservoir site, which has been designated part of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge, I have heard these politicians spewing rhetoric about state’s rights and the federal government (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) overstepping its bounds. The point is, some governmental agency will own land designated for reservoirs one way or the other, and as I wrote a few months ago, at least if the USFWS gets hold of it, as in the case of the Fastrill site, the natural wonders of the bottomlands would not be lost forever. Chester Moore has got it down right. What governmental agency would be a better steward of the Neches River bottomlands—Dallas Water Utilities or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? Politicians who pride themselves on being called “conservatives” are promoting liberal agendas—land grabbing by eminent domain, violation of private property rights, and bigger government under pretense to stimulate the economy, to name a few. Conservation and conservatism have the same root meaning—“to conserve.” 8

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LOG ON TO THE ALL NEW TF&G WEBSITE www.FishGame.com BLOGS by Editor Don Zaidle, Exec. Editor Chester Moore, Gun Editor Steve LaMascus, and Fishing Editor Paul Bradshaw. ZAIDLE

MOORE

LaMASCUS

BRADSHAW

ARTICLE ARCHIVES The Current Issue — every word published with additional material and photos. Plus 7 years-worth of back issues (with MORE ISSUES added every week).

EMAG ARCHIVES Digital versions of the CURRENT ISSUE , with special features not possible in the printed version. Plus, 3 years of back issues (with MORE ISSUES added every week).

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AND MUCH MORE.

AND COMING SOON: VIDEO HOW-TO’S AND LIVEACTION VIDEO FEATURES. PLUS: UPLOAD YOUR OWN OUTDOOR VIDEOS. F i s h

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As Moore put it: “It is time for Conservation and Conservatism to line up as one—right now.” Dr. Michael Banks Friends of the Neches River Jacksonville, TX

MORE “CONSERVATIVE” VS. “CONSERVATION” Chester Moore’s column about “conservation” and “conservatism” was one that has needed to be written for a long time, and to have it written by someone as influential and important in the business as Chester Moore makes the impact that much stronger. For too long, both parties have virtually ignored the sportsman when it gets down to crunch time, save for the Republican’s support for gun and property rights. The fact that both parties are doing things that are

harmful to sportsmen has been well documented by political insiders, but rarely spoken about. After reading Mr. Moore’s column for such a long time, I know he is a genuine conservative who wants gun rights and less government intervention, and I also know he is a conservationist of the highest order. Seeing him recognized in Field & Stream month as a hero of conservation shows that [see TF&G Report in this issue for details]. Its nice to see Texas Fish & Game step out and say that the republican party needs to get back to its Teddy Roosevelt conservation roots and support conservation and conservatism. Justin Paul Via email

like many hunters, know the agony of going to the ballot and seeing two candidates who both are bad for sportsmen in the end. I respect Mr. Moore’s decision to vote along the lines of rights issues like most of us who vote Republican, but also to poke a stick at the hornet’s nest that is that party’s leadership and say it is time to get back to conservation roots and conserve our natural resources. In an election year, it is nice to see an outdoors political article that isn’t toeing a party line, but saying what a lot of us have been wanting to say ourselves. B.J. Norton Via email

TF&G FIRST, TF&G ROCKS

The column written by Chester Moore about being a conservationist and a conservative was a pleasant surprise this month. I,

Thank you for the amazing July issue. There were lots of things that really stood out, but a few of them are worth extra kudos. •TF&G First — You are always the first to have the real story on important issues. I look forward to seeing what you bring up in the future. • Sharks! — Your shark story and the cover photo were awesome. I had no idea blacktips had done so many attacks on people. Thanks for telling the truth. • Bowhunting Tech — Practice does make perfect, and the illustration with the balloon was great. I picked up my first bow back in April, a Matthews Switchback, after reading Lou Marullo’s column about turkey hunting with a bow, and have a goal of getting my first turkey this fall with my bow. Keep the articles coming, man. • Coastal Bend Deer — Wow! A story about deer somewhere besides the “golden triangle” in the Brush Country and about truly wild deer. I am not sure if my lease technically falls in the Coastal Bend, but its right along the fringe, and Calixto Gonzales is right—there are good deer in this region. Thanks to Mr. Gonzalez. Please keep up the good work and producing such amazing issues. Virgil Ritter Victoria, TX

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Editors Notes

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Hot News Overflow Due to space constraints in TF&G Report, I decided to place the following important news items in this space rather than omit them from this issue. —Don Zaidle

Brazoria County Hunting Ban

The Brazoria County Commissioner Court has passed an ordinance banning discharge of firearms “for hunting, target practice, or any other purpose” on tracts of 10 acres or less in the unincorporated areas of Brazoria County if the land is in a platted subdivision. A second ordinance prohibits bowhunting on

TF&G FIRST the same properties, but does not ban target practice with bows. The twin ordinances were approved by every commissioner attending the meeting on 8 July 2008, and became effective immediately. The Bar X subdivision between Angleton and West Columbia on Hwy 35 is locally well known for having a large herd of very tame deer roaming the neighborhood. The herd size and behavior owes to densely wooded land surrounding the development and a longstanding ban on hunting contained in the deed restrictions. Lately, some residents have complained of “illegal” bowhunting for deer, alleging arrows are sometimes found impaled in garage walls. Because there was little means to enforce the deed restriction against hunting, and violators were not breaking state law if hunting during bow season, Bar X sought help from Brazoria County Commissioner’s Court. Virtually all of the lots in Bar X are less than 10 acres. County Judge Joe King said the ordinances were aimed specifically at Bar X and Columbia Lakes subdivisions, and others that might 12

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be in the same situation. He said it was suspected some new residents of Bar X had moved there specifically to bowhunt for the resident deer, even though that was prohibited by deed restrictions. King said there is no intent to ban shooting or bowhunting on every small tract in the county, only in subdivisions platted out with dedicated streets located off the county roads. He acknowleged that arrows in garages could have been vandalism rather than a hunting problem; that there was no public comment period before the commission voted on the ordinances; no public notices of the hearing and vote were made; and there are not any plans to publicize the ordinances other than an article that appeared in the Brazosport Facts newspaper. Section 232.022 of the Texas Local Government Code allows the county to take these actions, but specifically restricts prohibiting ownership, possession, sale, or transfer of firearms or bows and arrows in the affected subdivisions. The same section also regulates explosives. —Mike Holmes

Galveston Trout Ban The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in July issued a consumption advisory against eating speckled trout and all species of catfish from Galveston Bay, citing concerns about PCB and dioxin contamination. This marks the first time the state health department has issued an advisory for an inshore game fish species from an entire major bay system. The advisory recommends limiting consumption to no more than 8 ounces per adult per month. Women who are nursing, pregnant, or might become pregnant, and children should not consume any catfish or speckled trout from Galveston Bay. In January 2005, DSHS issued a similar advisory for speckled trout from upper Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel. A 1990 advisory, still in effect, applies the same limits to catfish and blue crab from that area. This latest advisory applies to all of Galveston Bay to the seaward end of the Galveston jetties, and includes Chocolate Bay, East Bay, West Bay, and Trinity Bay.

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The new consumption limits came after sampling conducted at numerous locations throughout Galveston Bay between October 2006 and May 2007. Samples from numerous common species, including redfish, southern flounder, black drum, and blue crab were analyzed. Only speckled trout and gafftop catfish showed potentially harmful levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs or dioxins) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Because freshwater catfish species are found in the upper reaches of the bay system and saltwater catfish have similar life histories, the advisory applies to all species of catfish. “We’ve known for a long time that speckled trout typically don’t stray far from their home bay systems, but from our tagging studies, we also know that these fish move around within the Galveston Bay complex,” said Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries Division regional director, Lance Robinson. “Some people might wonder about fish in adjacent waters, and at this point we just don’t know. The DSHS study did not include samples beyond Galveston Bay, Trinity Bay, and East Bay.” Robinson said TPWD is supportive of DSHS in their attempts to locate additional funding to expand their monitoring efforts in waters adjacent to Galveston Bay and in other bay systems. “This may have some impact on local fishing guides and related services,” said TPWD Galveston Bay Ecosystem leader, Bill Balboa. “But catch-and-release fishing is growing in popularity, and redfish and black drum are plentiful. DSHS samples did not show dangerous levels of contaminants in those species. Other species we don’t normally associate with the upper Texas coast, like gray snapper, are doing quite well here, and more and more anglers are targeting those. We even had a pretty good striped bass fishery here this past winter.” There are no changes in size, bag, or possession limits for speckled trout or catfish on Galveston Bay. —Staff Report

E-mail Don Zaidle at editor@fishgame.com

Editors Notes

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TF&G Report

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Moore Named F&S “Hero Of Conservation” TF&G FIRST

EXAS FISH & GAME EXECUTIVE editor Chester Moore has been named a “Hero of Conservation” by Field & Stream magazine and Toyota in a program that honors individuals who do great things for America’s natural resources, hunters, and fishermen. “It’s a real honor to receive this award

and being recognized in Field & Stream,” Moore said. “That is probably the first outdoors magazine I read as a youngster, and I have fond memories of clipping photos of bears, mountain lions, and huge deer out of it to make scrap books of my outdoors dreams with my dad. That is where the aspiration to become an outdoor writer and work with wildlife began, so it means a lot to me on a personal level.” Chester was recognized for his efforts to conserve southern flounder populations via the push for a stocking program, his relent-

less drive to see the species conservation problems at the forefront of the outdoor media, and helping organize flounder roundups to fill tanks with broodstock at Sea Center Texas. “There is no doubt that seeing southern flounder populations rebound has been virtually a lifelong goal, and it’s exciting to know we are on the verge of big changes for the positive. Having the extra recognition this award brings to that is very exciting,” Moore said. “Chester is passionate about everything

BIG BAGS & CATCHES

ALLIGATOR GAR—Lake Livingston Dam

WAHOO—Galveston

REDFISH—Rattlesnake Bay

Steve Yates of Bedias, Texas, arrowed this 6foot, 6-inch, 123-pound alligator gar just south of Lake Livingston Dam. This was the second time that Yates has ever bowfished.

Jay Bush of Tiki Island, Texas, caught this 60plus-pound, 60-plus-inch wahoo 10 miles north of East 29 Rocks offshore from Galveston at a weed line and floating barrel. Jay was in a Fountain 29 Center Console boat with twin 225 Mercury engines.

Jerry Alvarado caught this 36-3/4-inch redfish while fishing in the channel cutting into Rattlesnake Bay. The fish was caught on shiner on light tackle with an All-star/Shimano combo with P-line 8-pound-test.

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he does, so it is no surprise that his conservation efforts would attract attention and receive recognition,” said Texas Fish & Game editor-in-chief, Don Zaidle. “Back in 2004, the Texas Legislature recognized Chester’s ‘Project: Flounder Future,’ initiative, and this recognition by Field & Stream takes that to a national level. It is just further evidence of this magazine’s and its staff ’s leadership in Texas conservation.” Moore was quick to point out that he did not work alone to achieve his flounder conservation goal. “While I have certainly worked hard for a long time on this, others need mentioning who have helped along the way with flounder. People like Larry McKinney, Shane Bonnot, David Abrego, Rodney Gamez, and Robert Adami with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Then there is Pat Murray and Robby Byers with the Coastal Conservation Association, and researchers like Joan Holt and Jeff Kaiser. None of this would have been possible without them.” The “Hero of Conservation Award” comes with a $1000 cash prize, which Chester will donate to a special fund he set up with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation. The fund is earmarked exclusively for the fledgling flounder-stocking program. “It makes me very happy to be able to give that fund a good kick-start, and know that at the same time it will be honoring Field & Stream and Toyota for their wonderful work recognizing the importance of conservation.” —Staff Report

voir have been under development for decades. Dallas and TWDB sued in January 2007 to block creation of the 25,281-acre Neches National Wildlife Refuge in Anderson and Cherokee counties, saying the area includes land necessary for Fastrill Reservoir. Refuge designation blocks the land from sale, clearing, or conversion to a reservoir. Dallas and TWDB filed an emergency motion with the court asking for a temporary

injunction on the land pending appeal or other action. As reported in the October 2006 and July 2008 issues of this magazine, the Neches River basin contains some of the last remaining hardwood bottoms in the state, making it key habitat for local wildlife and a prime stop for migratory birds. —Don Zaidle

OCTOBER 06, JULY 08

Court Nixes Fastrill Reservoir, Dallas Appeals A federal court has struck down a lawsuit filed by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the city of Dallas against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a proposed federal wildlife refuge along the Neches River in East Texas. The move could mean the end of the planned Fastrill Reservoir, which TWDB and Dallas contend is crucial to the city’s long-term water needs. Plans for the reserT E X A S

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Chester's Notes

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Dissing Texas

F YOU WANT TO MAKE A TEXAN MAD, THEN disrespect the Lone Star State. That is exactly what Outdoor Life magazine did in last April’s issue with their “Best Places to Live: Top 200 Towns for Hunters & Anglers.” They begin by featuring the top 10 towns, which included places like, Mountain Home, Arkansas; Lewiston, Idaho; and Page, Arizona. At this point, my suspicions were raised, but I figured OL and the other nationals slant their coverage toward trout (of the non-spotted sea variety) and elk, so Texas not being included in the top 10 was surprising, but not a total shock. Then I saw the remainder of the 200 list and realized that Texas had only five total inclusions. What the heck were they thinking? Recent statistics from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show that Texas is the No. 1 state in terms of hunters and anglers, with a combined 2.6 million licenses sold. Putting states like Montana ahead of Texas is like calling Fiji a super power. It just doesn’t stick. I have come up with 10 Texas destinations that should have made the list, and stacked against most of the OL list, they shame it in every way. These are in no particular order: Jasper — Within a stone’s throw of two of the country’s top largemouth bass lakes, Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend, makes Jasper an obvious choice. Then you throw the top duck hunting at Dam B, the wonderful fishing on the Angelina River, white18

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tail and eastern turkey hunting in two national forests, and you have an area that is hard to beat. Beaumont — This locale offers excellent speckled trout, redfish, and flounder fishing in Sabine Lake, and downtown being 30 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico. The Pineywoods and coastal marshes offer whitetail and hog hunting on top of a dozen duck species and scores of snow geese. The region is rich in public land, and two major river systems are ripe with catfish and bass. An angler can catch a limit of red snapper and shoot a raging boar the same day. Beat that, Lewiston, Idaho! Kerrville — In Kerr County, hunters can take more than 40 species of exotics from around the world at famous ranches like the 40,000-acre Y.O. On top of that, there is great whitetail and turkey hunting in addition to clear streams and the Guadalupe River, which are highly underrated fly-fishing destinations that include opportunity for the Texas-exclusive Guadalupe bass. Quitman — It’s hard to argue against Lake Fork as the best bass lake in the country, so it follows that this small town would appear on the list. Lake Fork offers anglers the best chance in Texas of catching a bass weighing 10 pounds or more, plus it has wonderful crappie fishing and highly underrated duck hunting. Uvalde — On the border of the Hill Country and South Texas Brush Country, Uvalde is a hunter’s paradise. Whether you are talking awesome dove hunting, top tier spring turkey locales, or monster whitetails that lurk in the dense thickets, it is hard to beat this area. Oh, and the stream fishing for a variety of species can be spectacular. Llano — They do not call it the “deer capital of Texas” for nothing. With over 100,000 whitetails in this county, huge turkey numbers, plus a thriving exotic species population, Llano deserves recognition. It also is excellent for anglers, who will find its

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namesake river full of catfish, largemouth bass, and huge sunfishes. It is within a short drive of Lake Buchanan, one of Texas’ top destinations for stripers. Rockport — Anyplace anglers can catch tailing redfish and literally have the opportunity to take hundreds of pintails (if that kind of thing were legal) should make the list. Rockport is a sportsman’s paradise, plus it is near the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, which offers lottery style draw hunts for several species. Port Isabel — Not many locales offer sight-casting for snook and huge tarpon, the opportunity to see hundreds of redheads toll to a decoy spread, and free-ranging nilgai antelope. That is exactly what the nearby Lower Laguna Madre and South Bay area offers on top of close access to blue water where anglers catch marlin and huge bull dolphin. Three Rivers — All one has to do is drive through Choke Canyon State Park, see dozens of huge whitetails, long-bearded turkeys, javelinas, feral hogs, bobcat, and quail, plus thousands of ducks, world-class bass fishing, and bowfishing for gar on the lake itself to put this small town on the list. Nolan Ryan lives there for a reason. Abilene — This area is one of the last true strongholds for bobwhite quail. It hosts some of the biggest hogs in the country, has a growing whitetail population, overlooked duck hunting, and is close to several quality reservoirs, including its namesake lake. I have nothing against other states, or writers at the national level being crazy for the non-speckled type of trout, but virtually ignoring Texas in a list of top outdoors places is messing with our heritage, and that is something you just don’t do.

E-mail Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

Chester's Notes

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Commentary_Debate

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One Step Forward, 1776 Steps Back

OR 2 8 YEARS, FROM ITS CONSTRUCTION IN 1961 until it was dismantled in 1989, the Berlin Wall was a symbol of the Iron Curtain. It was a concrete dividing line, both literally and figuratively, between freedom and oppression, happiness and sorrow, human rights and slavery. The wall was a barrier, not just between East and

West Berlin, but between good and evil. While it remained, 133 people were killed attempting to cross the wall from east to west, according to official records. The unofficial count is more than 200. For exactly 32 years, from its inception on 26 June 1976 until overturned by the Supreme Court on 26 June 2008, the

Firearms Control Regulations Act stood as a figurative Berlin Wall in Washington, D.C. The act banned handguns, automatic firearms, and high-capacity semi-automatic firearms; prohibited possession of unregistered firearms, and required disassembly or trigger locks on all firearms kept in homes. It was, just like the Berlin Wall, a barrier

“

For exactly 32 years, the Firearms Control Regulations Act stood as a figurative Berlin Wall in Washington D.C.

“

between freedom and oppression. No one knows, officially or unofficially, how many people died because of this act. When I first heard about the decision of the Supreme Court on 26 June, I mentioned to my wife that the date should be declared a national holiday. Later that morning an email from my editor, Don Zaidle, said the same thing. It seemed justice had finally prevailed, and that our government was developing common sense at last. Most disappointing was the news that the vote could easily have gone the other way. The justices voted 5-4 to overturn the unconstitutional act, which means we have four supreme court justices who are either so liberal they are willing to rule against the obvious meaning of the constitution of the United States, or they are not smart enough to recognize that the Bill of Rights applies to the people. I don’t know which is worse. The case in question, District of Colum20

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bia vs. Heller, has been followed closely in recent months because of its far-reaching ramifications. Since the district is not a state, but under federal jurisdiction, the outcome of the case is recognized to affect not just D.C., but the entire nation. The finding of the justices is expected to permeate case law in every corner of the nation. Pro-gun advocates are hailing the decision of the court as a huge victory for the American people, a triumph of good over evil, a reiteration of our individual right to keep and bear arms. And that’s what the decision appears to be, at least on the surface. But like a girl in a horror movie, we are compelled to open the door to the dark basement, knowing that what we find won’t be good. You would expect, as a logical American, that the Supreme Court would make a decision in this case, one way or the other, and state its position clearly. Either the Second Amendment applies to “the people” or it doesn’t. Either we have the right to arms or we don’t. It’s like being pregnant—either you are or you ain’t. But logic plays small part in government. The court’s finding starts out rather cheerfully, admitting that “the people” actually refers to the people. This is a good sign, since the argument against the Second Amendment has mostly been that only a militia has a right to arms. So far, so good. But then, about 54 pages in, the document states: “Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.” The usual prohibitions are mentioned, such as firearm ownership by felons and the mentally ill. “Conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms” is also mentioned, without clarification of whether the court means those already in place, or others yet to be thought of. But the scariest part is on page 55, which starts with “We also recognize another important limitation on the right to keep and carry arms.” Never mind that the Second Amendment itself says the right “shall not be infringed,” the Supreme Court, too big even for its own oversized britches, proceeds to do just that. The document states, “the sorts of weapons protected were those ‘in common use at the time’.” So, according to the Supreme Court, you don’t have the right to keep and bear arms

except in certain circumstances, in certain places, at certain times, and not at all unless you meet certain criteria. And the only weapons actually protected are muzzle-loading percussion and flintlock arms. There are other problems with the finding of the court, such as wording that implies possession of arms is a privilege granted by the government, instead of a right the government recognizes and protects for us.

Maybe I’m being pessimistic, but every silver lining really does have a cloud. The historic decision of 26 June looks good on the surface, but it seems to me the Supreme Court is patting us on the back with one hand and picking our holster with the other.

E-mail Kendal Hemphill at commentary@fishgame.com

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Small Water, Big Lessons

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HE SMALL COVE OF THE OLD HERMANN PARK duck pond was a special place during the late 1950s. The four-acre lake was situated across from the entrance to the Houston Zoo, and the far corner rimmed by tall pines and oaks was a hushed sanctuary. It beckoned for the fledgling casts that helped launch an angling career. The moss-rimmed water was green and deep. Buddy and I could not see the bottom—and that was significant in a time and place of narrow confines and limited opportunities. It was the wilderness edge of summer vacation, waiting within reach of hightopped Keds and Schwinn Classic Cruisers. We wielded Zebco 33’s and fiberglass spin-cast rods rigged with clumsy corks, awkward weights, and big hooks. We fished from the bank and never caught anything larger than the occasional suicidal bluegill or bullhead, but we repeatedly were drawn to the cove. Buddy and I reckoned it was the best bass water. Of course, this was strictly conjecture, since neither of us had ever hooked a largemouth. But we knew they were there, finning amid the green shadows. The lack of success in the excellent water became a growing frustration. We rigged with larger corks and bigger hooks baited with fatter chunks of bacon. We used flashy snap swivels and added extra weights to carry down into the tantalizing gloom, where the big ones surely lurked. In this assumption, we were correct. Buddy reared back manfully against a descending cork and hooked a slider turtle as

Small waters harbor rewards that transcend the size of the fish. large as a dinner plate. Well, at least it wasn’t another lowly “perch.” One morning, we walked from the bike rack near the zoo train station to the cove. We were talking and joking, tossing pine cones at the bouncing fox squirrels and clamoring white ducks that infested the park. We were almost to the corner before I saw the tall, slim kid. He stood with a spinning rod beside a dark tree trunk on the shadowed point of the cove. He was still and quiet, easy to overlook behind the tree. A small tackle box was by his feet, and an aluminum bait bucket was tethered against the bank. And, hanging

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from the curved handle of the bucket was one those metal clip-type stringers. The stringer sagged into the water. Buddy and I measured the newcomer. He looked maybe a year or two older than us, and the trim spinning rod and open-faced reel suggested a sophistication lacking in our giant red-and-white turtle-killer bobbers. The rod was rigged with a small cork about the size of a quarter. A single, tiny split shot was pinched onto the monofilament line about 2 feet below the cork, and a small single hook dangled below the weight. It wasn’t just any hook, but one of those specialized thin-wire live-minnow hooks with

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a long shank and wide gap—an Aberdeen. I think they call it an Aberdeen hook. I glanced back at Buddy’s garish assemblage of terminal rigs and realized mine was worse than his. (Figuring to one-up him, I had added a snazzy pink plastic bead above the shiny brass snap swivel.) The tall kid dipped into the bucket and impaled a wriggling, flashing 2-inch shiner on the hook. He flipped open the bail of the Mitchell 300 and, with casual grace and minimal commotion, side-armed a low cast across the cove. The minnow and cork dropped with a soft plop-plop alongside the edge of a weed mat. The surface was calm and we could see the faint shiver of the cork as the minnow struggled. The little float—unlike our preposterous red-and-white orbs—was a delicate transmitter. A thrilling thing happened. The stuttering cork halted, then bounced, then slanted with undeniable authority into the green. The tall kid leaned forward then flicked the rod back. The limber tip bent and the line sliced across the surface. The cork reappeared and a largemouth bass jumped. It weighed about a pound, but it looked as regal as any salmon. The open mouth and red gills shook. The bass fell back and dove, miring in the coontail. The tall kid reeled low, then slowly, firmly, lifted the bent rod against the tangled moss. The bass uprooted and skidded with a stiff, curled tail across the surface and onto the bank. The tall kid held the rod high and bent down to “chin land” the fish. Then he reached for the bait bucket and lifted the tethered stringer. I never will forget the image: seven or eight gorgeous, gleaming bass flapped and twisted into the air. The bounty of green, gold, and silver was stunning, almost unbelievable. The largest might have pushed an honest 2 pounds. Buddy and I stared at each other. A full stringer? Maybe for the great Jason Lucas or Bob Brister, the outdoor guy at the newspaper, but for a kid at the Hermann Park duck pond? No way. Buddy and I did not speak to the tall kid. Maybe we were intimidated; we surely were jealous. For whatever reason, we continued walking past “our” cove and did not stop until we were near the train bridge on the far side of the lake. There, we attempted to reconstruct what we had witnessed.

Big lessons can be learned from small water—one of the great truths of fishing. The next weekend, Buddy and I carried small corks, tiny weights, and trim hooks— and a minnow bucket. More important than the rigging was the thinking. We became more aware of low light, long shadows, and thick cover. We moved less and watched more. We were no longer on the outside. We went inside. We became predators. This is one of the great truths of success-

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ful fishing. It applies on any water, under all circumstances. Some anglers with the finest tackle and the most impressive passports fail to get it. They remain as random traffic on the outside. I was fortunate to learn that lesson early. And I do not recall ever seeing my tall teacher again. E-mail Joe Doggett at doggett@fishgame.com

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by Paul Bradshaw

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y son and I were sitting in church a while back. A friend of mine seated in front of us turned around, looked my six-yearold straight in the eye, and said, “There’s only four more months until dove season.” My boy’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning and he looked at me, grinning from ear to ear, because to him, there is no greater day on the calendar than September 1. I have to agree with him. We look forward to this day not only because it is the dove opener (and if it lands on a weekday, he knows he’s missing school), but also because it is the beginning of the best time of the year for outdoorsmen in Texas. Over the next 80 days (plus or minus a few), multiple hunting seasons will open and some of the greatest fresh- and saltwater fishing of the year starts to heat up as the temperatures cool down. You might as well prepare for the wife to be mad at you for the next three months due to the amount of time you are going spend in the woods and on the water; it just might be worth it.

DOVE Your 2008-2009 hunting license becomes effective September 1, and you might as well break it in right with a barrelmelting dove shoot. While hunters in the southern zone have to wait until midSeptember, outstanding hunting is available north of I-10 for those willing to put up with 100-degree temperatures, skin blistering ultraviolet rays, and questionable shooting by your hunting partners. There really isn’t a bad part of the state to chase these little grey ego busters, but to ensure consistent early season action, stay west of I-45. The group I spend every dove opener with traditionally hunts near the Priddy and Comanche areas, staying within a 45-minute drive of Lake Proctor, and we lay the smackdown on some birds every year for one single reason—we have a scout. What you have to remember about the dove opener is that you will be hunting native birds, so you need to locate the hot fields where local birds are feeding. Without scouting, you are just paying your money (for a day lease) and taking your chances. Just a few years back, the only thing you had to worry about was being able to distin26

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The chachalaca looks as strange as its name, but it is a real Texas game bird. guish a mourning dove from a scissortail. Now, white-wing dove have migrated north into traditional mourning dove territory, and Eurasian collared dove are becoming more common. Spend some time learning how to identify each. NOTE: There is no closed season or bag limit restriction for Eurasian collared dove or common pigeon (rock dove). TPWD recommends that plumage be left on these birds for identification purposes. TPWD also asks that hunters check dove for leg bands and report them. The bands are very small and easy to overlook. Previous studies indicated 2/3 of banded doves taken by hunters were never reported. High reporting rates maximize return on hunting license dollars spent for needed management information. Please report bands to the toll-free telephone number 800-327-BAND (2263).

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SEASON DATES: Central & North Zones: September 1 through the last Sunday in October WHERE TO GO: Stay west of I-45 & East of San Angelo What to look for: Sunflowers. Dove are stupid for sunflowers. However, if you find a day lease advertisement that boasts tons of birds, has never been hunted, and is full of sunflowers for just $25 per gun, don’t be surprised if when you get there you find empty hulls on the ground, piles of feathers, and gun-shy birds.

COASTAL REDFISH If you can put your shotgun down long enough to pick up a rod, right now might be the best time of the year for you to hook into the biggest fish of your life. Overstuffed red-

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fish flock to the surf in huge schools in the fall, giving beach-bound anglers ample opportunity to hook into 40 or more pounds of muscle and scale. Just about anywhere along the Texas coast has the potential to hold redfish this time of year, but some places historically produce bigger and more consistent catches than others. While the upper coast is sometimes shunned when the conversation turns to trophy saltwater angling, in autumn there is no better place along the Texas coast. The sandy waters (well, muddy waters, really) near High Island and Sea Rim (between Galveston and Sabine Pass) hold huge marauding schools of bull reds that swim within 50 yards of the shore. Last fall, I spoke with a local angler who was in the first gut, casting a rod for reds, when he was surrounded by a huge school in thigh-deep water. If you have a kayak, that just doubles the fun because you can paddle farther than the surf anglers can cast, and hooking into a fish that stretches more than 40 inches will give you the ride of your life. If you have a cast

net, you can gather all the bait you need; reds readily eat mullet that are still in the first gut. TIME TO GO: Mid-September through November WHERE TO GO: High Island and Sea Rim on the upper coast WHAT TO TAKE: A surf rod and reel with high capacity spool, and bug spray; the mosquitoes are huge even this time of year.

WATERFOWL Duck hunters are an odd bunch. They (we) spend thousands of dollars on guns, calls, and decoys, get up at insane hours, and walk through miles of thigh-deep mud to bag a few birds. In the middle of September, we get to start the season by chasing teal. Teal are the first waterfowl to migrate south and are fairly hunter-friendly—they readily decoy and are not call shy at this early stage of the hunting season. I have seen teal hunters use spinning-wing dove decoys to get teal to come in. The only downfall is they are fast, often flying in tight formation, and one shot might take a whole limit of four birds.

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Teal are in the group commonly called “puddle ducks,” but they might be more aptly called “mud ducks” since their preferred habitat consists of boot-sucking mud flats. If you are looking for teal in water over your shins, then you are hunting too deep. Some of the best teal habitat in the nation is along the Texas coast in miles upon miles of marshland. If you live in the eastern part of the state, look for teal in the backs of coves on major lakes, but be careful because resident wood ducks also live in this habitat, and mistaking a wood duck for a teal carries a heavy fine. At the time this was written, the teal season dates had not yet been set. But historically, it opens in the middle of September and lasts a minimum of 9 and maximum of 16 days. TIME TO GO: Middle of September WHERE TO GO: Head south to the coast or east to the backs of coves on Lake Fork & Sam Rayburn OTHER TIPS: The weather is warm, so look out for water moccasins and alligators. It might be best to leave the dog at home until big duck season starts in November.

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DEER Even with all the outdoor opportunities in the state this time of year, deer hunting is still king in Texas. If you don’t believe me, explain why local grocery stores start selling deer corn in October, and every town with a population greater than three has an annual big buck contest. Starting the first week of October, the stick-and-string crowd can hit the woods,

and the general season opens the first week of November in the majority of the state. Archery season might be your best bet for tagging a trophy buck, since the deer have not been pressured in a few months and are not hiding from hunters—yet. Traditionally, the South Texas Brush Country receives the most press regarding trophy bucks, but over the past few seasons, North Texas has come on the scene as a sleeper for trophy bucks. Even the eastern

part of Texas has been producing some nice animals, and with the wet springs the past two years, expect more—if you can find them in all the brush. SEASON DATES: October bow season; general season the first Saturday in November until the first Sunday in January in most of the state. WHERE TO GO: Skip South Texas this year and head north. The winner of the archery low-fence division of the Los Cazadores big buck contest for the 2007-2008 season came from Grayson County just north of the D/FW Metroplex. OTHER TIPS: Later in the season, get away from your feeder. By about the second week of November, the bucks have figured out you are there.

JAVELINA Texas is one of only three states that can boast a huntable population of javelina (peccary). Even though this tough little animal (which is not even closely related to a wild hog) has official big game status in the Lone Star State, it still gets little respect from Texas residents. In fact, javelina guide Randall Weems (682-365-3217) admits that the majority, if not nearly all, of his clients come from out of state. Seems like more of us native folks need to take advantage of our opportunities to hunt javelina. Javelina are not particularly smart, have bad eyesight, and move with the stealth of a third grade marching band (complete with percussion section), but they can be a hoot to hunt. If you hunt deer in one of the approximately 43 arid counties that host javelina, then expect to see them at your feeder. Sitting in a stand is a great way to take one, but spot and stalk works as well; is a more aggressive and often highly successful method; and a ton of fun—like hide-andseek for keeps. TIME TO GO: October 1 through the last weekend in February in 43 counties; 50 others have a year-round season. WHERE TO GO: While most hunters will head toward the Mexican border, Randall Weems suggested looking at Pecos County. WHAT TO TAKE: Javelinas are not big, so leave the magnum at home. Your varmint rifle, bow, or centerfire handgun should be adequate.

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BASS Some never think about bass fishing this time of year, but if you do not, you are missing out on some of the best bassing next to the spawn. Cooling weather puts the fish into a feeding frenzy, and most of the time the lake is vacant because the rest of the state is sitting in a dove field or deer stand. A guide at Lake Fork confided that autumn might be his favorite time of year because he suddenly doesn’t have to contend with all the boats that have been doing laps around the stump patch since March. It also doesn’t hurt that he boats some monsters in the cool weather. The key to fall bass fishing on Fork is to go deep, but not too deep. Find the thermocline (the transition between the warm upper layer of water and the cooler lower layer, which is normally around the 20-foot mark) and stay above it. Deep-diving crankbaits, Texas-rigged plastics, and swim baits worked through brush piles and standing timber along channels hold fish almost year-round, but get stacked up with bass in the fall. TIME TO GO: November, when everyone

else is in a deer stand. WHERE TO GO: Lake Fork; hit the main lake points and creek channels. OTHER TIPS: Carry good electronics. You will rely on your depth-finder to locate the thermocline and planted brush piles on creek channels and drop-offs. If you haven’t been kicked out of the house after all of this, there are still a few more hunting opportunities to look into, such as quail and turkey. However, if you are looking for something a little more exotic, somewhat off the wall, and an experience most hunters have never had the opportunity to partake in, then you may be interested in chasing chachalaca. (No, it is not along the lines of snipe hunting with a pillowcase and a flashlight.) Chachalaca are medium-sized birds (think pheasant) that inhabit the extreme southern section of the state. They are named after the cha-cha-lac sound they make. These game birds—which you might never have heard of—reside in some of the nastiest brush you can find, so go prepared to be poke, stabbed, and jabbed for the opportunity to maybe see one.

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TIME TO GO: After deer season. WHERE TO GO: Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties. WHAT TO TAKE: Tough clothes and thick skin because you will be walking through some nasty brush. Our neighbors to the east boast their state as the “Sportsman’s Paradise,” but who are they kidding. When it comes to the variety of game that can be pursued in the fall, Texas has just about every other state beat hands down. Living in a state where you can hunt deer and multiple bird species, and enjoy some of the best fishing in the nation has to be just about as close to heaven as an outdoorsman can get. When I die I may not go to heaven I don’t know if they let cowboys in If they don’t just let me go to Texas, Boy! Texas is as close as I have been. —Tanya Tucker

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by Herman W. Brune

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DEER PHOTO BY RUSSELLE GRAVES

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DA VINCI VITRUVIAN MAN INSET COURTESY OF LUC VIATOUR

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Guide’s Perspective: Jason McMillan glanced to his left and quit breathing. He stiffened and sat staring, then muttered almost inaudibly to his guide, “Don’t move.” That was easy enough. My binoculars were focused straight ahead and my attention centered on a group of three- and four-year old whitetail bucks. Jason was looking past me and I smiled at the notion that most folks move when you tell them, “don’t move.” The deer he studied walked into my peripheral vision and my breathing stopped. Nervous energy crackled within our makeshift blind. The jump in karma from quiet reverence to sudden fever should have sent every wild critter in the vicinity to their holes. Instead, the new buck sauntered to a stunted mesquite 40 yards away, raked its antlers in the limbs, chewed the smaller branches, and pawed the ground. It was obviously the king stud buzzard in this neck of the woods. The only thing this old boy needed was some cheap sunglasses and a Marlboro. We perched on our stools and waited. Finally, it marched toward the other bucks and began driving them away from the does. “What do you think?” Jason whispered. “That’s a helluva buck,” I wheezed. “It’s a straight 11-pointer with a kicker on its left G2. He’s got good mass, good width, he’s black-horned, big-bodied, and ... his tine length is only average and that might hurt his score. The problem is figuring the age. His head is blunt, his eyes are saggy, and he’s Roman-nosed like an old buck. He’s fat and has a belly showing ... but, his underline is a little too tight and there isn’t a real sway in his back; his back is pretty straight. He’s sort of deep through the brisket, and the glands on his hocks are colored up. But I can’t be certain that this is a 5-1/2-year-old shooter. His general confirmation says he’s 4-1/2 years old, but dad-gum this booger is right on that hard-to-tell line.” The date was December 13 and we were hunting a 30,000-acre open range ranch, where the guides’ jobs consisted of judging deer ages, grading antler scores, gutting, caping, psychiatric therapy for hunters, and supplying this professional service with only the elixir of John Barleycorn as medicinal aid. So, the first call of business was to make sure nobody blasts a trophy buck unless the beast is at least 5-1/2 years old. Then it’s our responsibility to guarantee a reasonable guess at the Boone & Crockett score. 32

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There were also new ideas from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department whitetail biologists interjecting burrs of reality that could disrupt standard management procedures and the way we think about the rut. These ideas weren’t new to anyone familiar with animal husbandry; but much of the outdoor community hasn’t processed these concepts to the higher level. Simply put, the onset of the annual breeding cycle is caused by the photoperiod (amount of daylight in a day) and not by a fresh cold front. This information cited that the optimum breeding dates in our eco-region were the 7-10 days after December 14—every year. It also said that for best results there must be a good buck-to-doe ratio and a healthy number of older bucks in the herd. Then, it’s handy to know that prior to the prescribed date, 10 percent of the doe population might already be bred. Armed with this knowledge, deer behavior observations offered new perspectives and possible answers to age-old questions. For one, a buck bred a doe on December 10 in the midst of numerous other bucks and none of the animals paid the slightest attention. It was apparent that the dominant male did the deed and that none of the other bucks were incensed because the normal rut was still days away. Nevertheless, the other bucks were beginning to harass does and change the color of their hocks. Meanwhile, Jason and I had our own dilemma and the impact of the new ideas hadn’t sunk home. “This buck is the main guy around here,” I said. “But we can’t take a chance on his age. Let’s see if anyone else has seen him and can give us a second opinion. I think he’ll be around here if we have an epiphany and decide to come back and whack him.” That night, the outfitter gave us a green light to shoot the deer. The next morning, December 14, dawned clear and cool. We took our stand and the mossy horn cooperated, showing up right on schedule. But that’s where everything quit going right. Jason peered through his riflescope for an hour while his candidate strolled between does, posed behind bushes, and stood exposed with its butt turned toward us. Then it lifted its head, sniffed the air, and trotted away. On Decmeber 15, the first propehsized day of the optimum 7- to 10-day breeding period, the scene changed. We were awestruck and realized the TPWD whitetail biologists hit the optimum breeding date— the rut—right on the nose. There was one 4 1/2 year old buck at the corn feeder, a multitude of never-before-seen yearlings and 2year-olds. The doe count was down and it was difficult to discern whether we were sur-

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veying last spring’s fawns, or yearling does. The bucks that were 3-1/2, 4-1/2, 5-1/2 years old and older had grabbed their girlfriends and disappeared to brushy hideaways. Not much happened for the next 8-10 days. The mature bucks had left the feeders and most of the guides reverted to high-racking around the ranch in search of a Muy Grande too enraptured in tending a doe to pay a vehicle attention. The guides were also practicing their rattling, with limited results. Then, around that 10-day mark, a few weary Lotharios began drifting back to the feeders. Throughout this period, practically all the guides remarked that the bucks were with the does, but the terminology of “chasing does” was used sparingly. Likewise, during this period there were minimal incidents of fighting or broken antlers reported. Then, one week after Christmas, what has been referred to as the “height of the rut” began to occur. Bucks went to war on each other and broken antlers became the norm. It wasn’t uncommon to see multiple bucks chasing one doe, and an old guide could clack his dentures to rattle in a troop of lusting rackheaded Romeos. Meanwhile, there were more does gathering at the feeders and it was evident that what we’d once called “heavy rut action” was actually the tail-end of the breeding season. The bucks were competing for the last few females that weren’t bred. This activity peaked after New Year and waned by the middle of January. Then, near the end of January, I found eight 3-1/2-, 4-1/2-, and 51/2-year old bucks congregated on a hilltop feeding, oblivious that for more than a month they’d fought and competed. In retrospect, the evidence not only took steps toward defining “the rut,” but it also made huge implications concerning trophy deer management. My conclusion was that, in this region, management bucks needed to be taken out of the herd before they had the opportunity to breed, and whenever caught red-handed with a doe. Then, likewise, trophy hunts shouldn’t be scheduled until after the optimum breeding dates, or December 25. But since I’ve so often railed against the self-anointed experts writing for magazines and newspapers, I wanted to check my findings with a real expert. I called TPWD biologist and whitetail program leader Mitch Lockwood. A Biologist’s Perspective: According to Lockwood, many people have questioned whether changing climatic conditions have changed breeding periods. He reiterated that the photoperiod is the baseline for the beginning of a breeding cycle, and that by using fetal samples, biologists can tell that there

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have been no significant changes in breeding periods. He also stated that as people practice better management, have better habitat, and more mature bucks in the population, they notice more rutting action. When the rut is less noticeable, it is often an indication of a wider doe-to-buck ratio, and where there is a deficiency of mature bucks in the herd. This will also extend the breeding season, which is less desirable and allows for more predation. Mitch agreed with the conclusions we had found and re-stated the most significant: “What you’ve seen makes a lot of sense to me. Now, keep in mind the difference between breeding activity and what hunters call ‘rutting’ activity. A buck is going to spend a lot of time tending a doe, and they’re going to spend a lot of time away from the feeders. And then when you get this intense action 10 to 14 days later, you’re seeing competition for the does at the tailend of the cycle. “As for the management question, a landowner should match their goals to the antler quality they desire to achieve. If I were the landowner, I’d lean toward the strategy of not hunting trophy bucks until after the optimum breeding dates. The flip side is that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. It may be awful hard not to pull the trigger on a buck if it offers a landowner quite a bit of income. Landowners must balance economics and biology. So, if I were a landowner and wanted maximum antler quality, and had only friends and family hunting, I’d probably not let them shoot trophy bucks until after the optimum breeding dates. “There has been breeding success research done by Dr. Randy De Young at Texas A&M, in Kingsville. It’s fascinating to see how poor a buck’s breeding success is to contributing to a population. A buck may breed a lot of does, but it only contributes 2.17 fawns to a population in that buck’s lifetime. Those stats shock a lot of folks, but that was found over an 11year study and took in fawns that made it to at least six months old. So, the goal for someone trying to increase antler quality is to have their trophy bucks contribute more than 2.17 fawns during its lifetime. The only way to do that is to eliminate the bucks you don’t want to breed. “Now, if you’ve been taking out the management bucks and have a trophy buck that is six, seven, or eight years old, hopefully its already made its contributions and you might consider taking it earlier in the season.”

PHOTO BY RUSSELL GRAVES

Average Buck Contributes 2.17 Fawns In Its Lifetime

HE BOMBSHELL DROPPED BY DR. RANDY

DeYoung, research scientist at Texas A&M University in Kingsville, was that the average buck contributes only 2.17 offspring to the general deer population during its lifetime. Then he went on to explain the findings of his data collection and conclusions that began with his PhD studies at Mississippi State.

“It’s not a handful of the biggest and dominant bucks that are siring all the fawns,” said Young. “There’s a lot more bucks breeding does than we’d previously thought, including the younger bucks. Then, with all the does with twins, as much as 25 percent of those twins are sired by two different bucks.” Young indicated that the greatest hurdle is to collect enough DNA samples from a particular deer population to be able to trace bloodlines. “We do some trapping on the King Ranch and work with Mickey Hellickson. But to get a lot of deer caught over a large area, we also do a lot of work with the guys at TPWD, like Mitch Lockwood and Clayton Wolf. It usually takes three or four years to gather enough DNA samples in a particular area to be able to track deer through DNA. If you’ve got several thousand acres with several hundred deer in the population, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Young explained why the average successful whitetail buck contributes only 2.17 offspring in its lifetime. “Since we’ve said that most of the does get bred during the optimum breeding dates, it’s easy to understand that with so many does coming into estrus at one time, there will be singular opportunities for bucks to breed does. The rest of the bucks aren’t just hanging around watching; they’re trying to breed does, too. There’s a

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lot of competition. But understand that we’re talking about averages. There are bucks that never sire offspring and there are bucks that might sire a few more. In populations where there are good age structure for the bucks, there are still 25 percent of the fawns being sired by the 1-1/2- and 21/2-year-old bucks.” Young answered the age-old question about buck-to-doe ratios, saying that anything from a 1:1 to a 1:3 was considered acceptable. The 2.17 lifetime success rate is most noticeable when there is more breeding competition. Whenever there is a larger spread in the buck-to-doe ratio, there is less competition and the lifetime average is harder to discern. The reason it’s harder to discern, Young said, is because too many deer are normally being killed out of such populations to permit gathering a database. “You can’t look at a picture or a B&C score and know that this is the buck that’s doing the breeding,” Young said. “Now we’re studying what makes a few bucks more successful breeders.” In Young’s studies, fawns had to reach six months in age before they were counted as offspring and a member of the population. Young enjoys that his research benefits hunters and wildlife managers. From a hunter’s perspective, optimum breeding dates and the rut are synonymous. But that is not the period during which bucks do the most fighting. About 10 percent of does are bred before the optimum breeding dates. Then 75 to 80 percent of does are bred during the optimum breeding dates if there is a good age demographic of bucks in the population. That leaves 10 percent of the does to breed after the optimum breeding dates. It is the competition, fighting, for the remaining 10 percent of the does that has often been mistakenly thought of as the “peak of the rut.”

Optimum Breeding Dates by Region Blackland Prairies, Oct. 27 Cross-Timbers and Prairies, Nov. 5 Edwards Plateau, November 16 Gulf Prairies and Marshes, October 21 High Plains, November 25 Pineywoods, November 11 Post Oak Savannah, October 27 Rolling Plains, November 25 South Texas Plains, December 14 Trans-Pecos, November 28

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by Mike Holmes

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big amberjack is a creature of brute strength and bad habits, a fish that will take your baited hook or jig with powerful intent, bend your rod to the breaking point, and then cut your line on structure if you can’t muscle it toward the surface first. Much of the time, you can’t. AJ are bullies, and they don’t mind picking a fight with the little guy. Several years ago, I was a guest on the charter boat Wango Tango for a three-day offshore expedition during the Freeport Jaycees annual July 4 Fishing Fiesta. After prospecting various spots along the 40- to 50-mile curve off Freeport in search of winning fish, we decided to try the Little Campeche Bank, close to 60 miles out, for our second night of fishing. After a long night of red snapper and kingfish action, only a few of our anglers were still hard at it the next day, but one of them got “lucky.” Fishing more or less standard snapper tackle (a Penn levelwind 345 series reel with 40-pound line on a matching rod), Gerald LeBlanc was dropping cut bait to the top of a rock 175 feet down that rose up from even deeper water around it, when something grabbed the bait and almost took the rod away from him. After a long, punishing battle, he finally worked the fish up from the bottom to find his adversary was an amberjack—a big amberjack. When the bruiser was on deck, the angler was urged to “hold it up” for me to shoot a photo, but the best he would agree to do after close to an hour of torture was to lie down beside it; the fish looked bigger than him. That ‘jack later pulled the scales at tournament headquarters to 63 pounds— good enough for first place in that division. Later that day, Capt. Wimpy Lowe of Angleton, owner and operator with his son, Hoyt, of the 48-foot boat, hooked something big on a 4/0 Penn Senator with an electric drive, also while bottom-fishing with cut bait. Thinking it was probably a big shark, Wimpy passed the rod to Hoyt; a deepwater shark on snapper gear is a young man’s game. After another long and painful fight, a 61-pound AJ joined his slightly larger brother in Wango Tango’s enormous fish hold, giving us first and second place for AJ in that year’s fiesta. The largest AJ I saw hit the dock from Wango Tango was a 93-pounder, caught by Erick Brock of Houston, who went geared up for big fish with a heavy stand-up rod, 36

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When you land a big amberjack, you know you have accomplished somthing special.

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two-speed lever drag reel, and special standup fighting harness. On the other hand, a group of farm girls originally from one of those boring northern states that begin with a vowel used to charter the boat every year, strictly for “meat” fishing. I saw them unload four AJ in the 60pound class after one trip, and Wimpy said he had to convince them to release a couple more by explaining there would be no room for snapper in the fish box. These girls were gluttons for punishment. The sheer power of an amberjack of this size must be felt or witnessed to be understood. Wango Tango carried an old Fenwick 80-pound class rod with Mildrum roller guides that had a hole drilled through its aluminum Unibutt to allow it to be pinned in a special rod holder that could be used as a fighting aid. This rig was intended for big Warsaw grouper in the depths far from shore, but a big AJ bent it almost to the limit one night, making a “U” shape that was a bit frightening to watch. Unlike their smaller cousins, the jack crevalle, AJ are often caught at night—or at

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least hooked at night. I fed large live mullet to several big ones over rocky structure one night with only broken leaders and burnt thumbs to show for my efforts. In all my personal tangles with really big AJ, the fish are, so far, undefeated. Amberjack in smaller sizes are still great game fish, and fine eating. In my experience, 90-100 feet of water is about the minimum depth for AJ of any size, usually around rigs or over bottom structure and wrecks. Out of Freeport, there are good numbers of decent amberjack on the rocks at German Charlie, and around rigs from the Tennecos on out. Good amberjack sometimes crop up at the V.A. Fogg wreck system. Some of the deeper shrimp boat wrecks 40-50 miles out have resident AJ that will take your live bait and then do terrible things to your tackle, arms, and back. From Little Campeche, where we caught our contest winners, you can see the Tequila rig 65 miles from shore on the 100-fathom drop, and big amberjack are taken off it. I know of several big ones taken around deep rigs on marlin lures pulled close to the

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structure, including at least one hooked and landed at Cerveza. A billfish captain I used to crew for liked to stop in the “Intersection” rig field on the way in from a slow day trolling around Cerveza and let his marlin plugs sink close to the rig structure. When the boat went back in gear and jerked the lures to life, often a big AJ was in pursuit. Although I have provided examples to the contrary, amberjack generally prefer live bait. Piggy perch or pinfish in larger sizes are like candy to AJ, but big mullet, blue runners, and vermillion snapper also work well. Because live bait also attracts just about everything else that swims, I once saw the reverse of the AJ-taking-snapper-bait when I hooked a fish at the 393C Tenneco platform on a live lane snapper, and passed the rod to Jake Cryer, back when I was running the 31 Bertram Parrothead for his dad, Mike Cryer. Instead of amberjack, we were looking for a 26-pound snapper. Lures also work well on amberjack. The current state record, a 121-pound behemoth taken in August 2005 by an angler with the appropriate name of John Stout, is listed as falling for a jig with cigar minnow trailer. Smaller AJ like bucktail jigs rigged this way. A heavy leadhead with a large plastic grub

type body threaded on an appropriately sized hook can be deadly on big amberjack, with white as good a color as any. Metal diamond jigs also do well. As in most jig fishing, the lure is worked by going to the bottom, then moving it up in increments between fluttering drops. Slamming strikes usually come on a drop. Work the entire water column before going back to the bottom, especially around a rig. Targeting big AJ requires serious tackle. Stand-up gear in the 50- to 80-pound class is not too heavy, and a suitable harness is required. Two-speed reels are good for retrieving to re-bait a hook or “juice’ a jig, but once the fish is hooked, it will be in no hurry to visit you on the surface, so a low geared single-speed reel, like a Penn Senator in 4/0 to 6/0 size, works well enough. I would choose monofilament over the new “super braids” because some line stretch is a good thing, and the thicker mono will have better abrasion resistance around rig legs, rocks, and wreck hulls; 50-pound line is sporty, but 80 will do a better job on big fish. Heavy mono leaders of 130-poundtest work for me, and are better than wire. When using live bait, a slip sinker rigged above the bait a few feet and stopped there

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with a bead or overhand knot gets the bait down where you want it, but allows enough freedom of movement to get a fish’s attention. When dead bait is the only option, cigar minnows, threadfin shad, mullet, or any recently deceased live baits are good. Squid works with good results to sweeten a jig. I have seen AJ go berserk over big, bloody chunks of fresh bonito; cut bait from a jack crevalle would probably work well, too. The same slip-sinker rig, but with maybe a big circle hook, does the job with cut bait. To me, catching big amberjack is like fishing for yellowfin tuna over 100 pounds: While result gives a great sense of achievement, it really isn’t sport fishing—it’s more just plain hard work. Successful amberjack fishermen are proud of their achievement. I once had to step in to prevent a fight on the dock that started over a 30-pound-class AJ, but I don’t think the angler who had to lay down beside his 63-pounder to have his picture taken would have had the strength to get into any fisticuffs over it.

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by Lenny Rudow ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS ARMSTRONG

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ake Hartwell, South Carolina: A half-million dollars is on the line. Waco, Texas, native Alton Jones will pocket it, if he can add 5 pounds and 2 ounces of hungry largemouth bass to his release well before the day ends. He does, because he knows where the structure is—and therefore where the bass are—thanks to a leap forward in modern fishing electronics technology—sideimaging sonar. “Side Imaging draws you a picture of the bottom,” Jones said in an ESPN interview. “It’s a digital picture of the bottom. It looks on the screen just as it would if you drained the lake and took a black-and-white picture of it. It’s really simple to use. I can make one swath through an area that has the potential to hold fish, as opposed to having to idle back and forth, zigzagging. I can see it all at once.” Side Imaging is not entirely new, but it is new to the recreational fishing world. In the past, units costing tens of thousands of dollars with grapefruit-sized transducers were necessary to get an underwater view of the fish and structure off to the sides of your boat. The low-cost sidescanning options on the recreational market consisted of units that operated by essentially turning a down-looking transducer sideways, and the results were less than spectacular. But Humminbird has changed all that, with their SI (Side Imaging) units. The newest SI unit, the 1197c SI Combo NVB, paints an image of what is under your boat for 240 feet in either direction on a huge 10.4-inch display. It pumps out a total 1000-watts RMS through downward-looking 200-and 83-kHz beams, and 455- and 800-kHz side-looking beams. What the heck is a kHz and why should you care? It describes the frequency of the beam transmitted by your unit in kilohertz (thousands of hertz or cycles per second), which in turn determines what you see and how well you see it. Higher frequencies put out shorter, quicker 40

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sound waves, which are sensitive to small anomalies. Lower frequencies put out longer, less frequent pulses, which are less sensitive but travel farther. Think of it this way: Toss a pebble into a pond and it makes small, fast waves that bounce back when they hit small items. That is a short frequency wave, which would be described with a high kHz number. Now, think of tossing a boul-

der into the same pond. It will create larger, less frequent waves, which roll right over small items but continue for a longer distance. Remember that your transducer reads the

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sound waves that bounce back to it. High frequency waves (200 kHz average for down-looking fish-finders) give you lots of detail because the smallest items create returns. But low frequency waves (50 kHz is common) will not register those tiny items, so the reflected waves contain less detailed information. In most conditions, that 200kHz wave will travel about 600 feet, which is the normal operating limit for a unit pumping out this frequency. A 50-kHz unit, with its lower detail, might reach thousands of feet. Humminbird SI units use a combination of super-high frequency, tightly focused beams to collect extremely detailed data, then “paint” that data onto the display screen. Frequency is only half of the picture. Another extremely important detail is the beam angle, expressed in degrees. This describes how wide the beam angle is and thus, how much territory it covers. Lowdegree angles are tight, more detailed beams, and high-degree angles are wider and less detailed. Think of beam angle like a flashlight: When the beam is tight, call it 20 degrees, the flashlight is set to spotlight. When the beam is wide, maybe 60-degrees, the flashlight is set to floodlight. Here, Humminbird made a huge departure from past units. Instead of the side-lookers projecting a coneshaped beam, they created an incredibly tight 1-degree horizontally-wide beam that is fan-shaped, at 86-degrees vertically. “It’s like taking an MRI of the water,” explained Mark Gibson, senior brand manager at Humminbird. “The transducer reads a very thin slice of very dense, detailed info, then it moves on. The time-distance relationship allows the unit to determine exact distances and depths, and when you consider the overall area you can look at on your unit, you’re able to cover literally 50 to 75 times the amount of territory that a traditional downlooker can see.” The unit’s computer combines the down-looking, 20-degree, 200kHz and 60-degree, 83 kHz beams; and two side-looking 86-degree, 455 kHz beams to produce a highly detailed screen image. You can down-look, side-look, or split the screen between down- and side-look modes, or combine with the chart plotter.

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Projecting these beams with 1000 watts of power provides target separation of 2.5 inches and 180 degrees of coverage. The 1197c is also a full-blown chart plotter/GPS unit, so when you see a likely looking spot, you can mark it and come back later. You can even see how far an object protrudes up from the bottom or how deep free-swimming fish are by looking at an objects “shadow.” So, you not only know there is a school of fish suspended over a submerged tree, you know they are suspended several feet above it. The downside to using this combination of beams is that side-looking is only effective in water up to 150 feet deep. Beyond that, it is all looking down. The other impediment is transducer size. Remember that incredibly tight, high-frequency 455 kHz beam requires an unusually large transducer. “We can do it on a trolling motor, and these systems work well,” said Gibson. “But on a transom mount, the transducer needs to be mounted low enough that it’s in the water at low speed, and rides out of the water at high speed. When you’re running at 30 or 40 mph, the down-looking sonar still functions perfectly. And while I have seen SideImaging work at speeds up to 40 mph, usually it works best at 7 or 8 mph.”

When we took an 1197c out for on-thewater testing, we found tagging the exact location of structure incredibly easy. After dropping back to idle, I fired up the unit and started patrolling along a riprap shoreline that had produced good numbers of fish in the past. Almost immediately, I saw something new—a pile of rocks about 10 feet from the shoreline, probably dropped by accident when the riprap was being put in place. A few yards farther down the shoreline, I was surprised to see structure off to the port side of the boat, in open water. I couldn’t tell what it was from the screen display; maybe it was more rocks, maybe a tree stump, or perhaps something else. But I could tell it was several feet across and poked up at least 2 feet from the bottom—and that there was a handful of fish hovering over it. I wanted to make a cast, but exactly how far off to the side was it? To find out, I placed the cursor over it, and instantly learned it was 50 feet away. Then I pressed the “mark” button, which tagged the item in the GPS storage. I will not have to remember where that spot is, because the unit will never forget. Pressing the cursor again brought up a zoomed image, and after a second pass, I was pretty confident that the item was a tree

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trunk lying sideways on the bottom. I make a cast, and got a strike. Anglers interested in Side-Imaging sonar have several options. The 1197c SI Combo NVB is certainly the Cadillac of the SI line, with a whopping 10.4-inch, 600 x 800 pixel screen; 16-channel WAAS-equipped GPS; 1000-watt power rating; SD card slot; Navionics chartography; 3000 waypoint/50 route memory; snapshot and recording capabilities; and temperature graphing. MSRP is $2999.99. If that busts your budget, consider the 997c, a similar unit with an 8-inch, 480 x 800 pixel screen, and costs $800 less. The line’s range continues down to one for the budget minded angler at $859 for the 797c2 SI Combo, which has a 5-inch, 640 by 480 pixel screen and puts out 500 watts of power. Humminbird has placed within reach of just about everybody, the most sophisticated consumer grade sonar system available. For more information about Side Imaging sonar, see www.humminbird.com. To view Side Imaging screen images, see www.sideimaging.com.

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acogdoches bass pro Lendell Martin, Jr. likes to remember a sultry summer night back in June of 1984. He and Joe T. Rogers had been anchored along the fringes of a main lake hump at Lake Pinkston for roughly four hours, and the fish had not been biting particularly well. Not surprisingly, the men were becoming bored. Martin eventually grew so tired of casting that he practically begged for a change in scenery. “I had dragged a Texas-rigged lizard around that hump so many times that there were probably trenches down there,” Martin recalled. “We’d been sitting there since midnight and had caught a few fish, but nothing to write home about. I wanted to try a different spot, but we were in Joe’s boat and he refused to move. He was downright stubborn about it.” Rogers’ affection for the little hump came naturally. He and another friend fished the spot two nights earlier and connected with a thick-shouldered 10-pounder. The previous April, Rogers’ older brother, Billy, caught an 11-pounder off the hump that won him $15,000 in a “Battle of the Lakes” tournament headquartered out of Tyler. Martin didn’t realize it as he griped and moaned, but Rogers’ persistence was about to pay off again—this time, with the biggest bass that either of the men had ever seen. The bite came around 4 A.M., just seconds after Martin’s 8-inch black lizard settled to bottom in about 10 feet of water. A full moon shined bright enough that he could almost see the line twitch in coincidence with a subtle bump in the night. “It felt sort of mushy when I picked up the slack, then I noticed my line slowly moving off to one side,” Martin said. “I knew when I set the hook that it was a good fish, but I had no idea how big it was until I finally pulled it into the boat.” Martin’s after-hours bass was a giant, especially by early-1980s standards. It weighed a whopping 12 pounds, 4 ounces. Nearly a quarter century later, the bass still ranks as his personal best. Rogers taught Martin a couple of valuable lessons about fishing for big bass at night, and he hasn’t forgotten them: 44

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1. Once a sweet spot, always sweet spot. If you know of a specific location on a lake that has produced big bass before, chances are it will produce the big bite again, sooner than you might believe. 2. When it comes to nightfishing, there is no substitute for patience. “The only reason I caught that fish was because Joe made me stay there,” Martin said. “It can be hard to do that when the fish aren’t feeding. But if you are after one big bite, patience can definitely be a virtue. That fish was more than likely suspended over deep water for most of the night, then moved up on top of the hump once it decided to feed. We basically waited the fish out until the dinner bell rang.” I learned an equally important lesson about nightA big, bulky jig is a great nighttime lunker bait. fishing roughly 22 years ago. Interestingly, it was taught on the same lake, less than 200 retired BASS pro, who now does commenyards from the exact spot where Martin tary for the popular internet website caught his 12 pounder, and within casting www.basszone.com and fishes local bass distance of the sweet spot where the late Earl tournaments for a living. He also does a litCrawford hauled in a 16.90-pound state tle guiding on the side at his home lake, record in 1986. Toledo Bend Reservoir. A friend and I set up camp along the When his busy schedule allows, there is edge the sharp drop-off shortly after dark. nothing Allen likes better than spending a The lake’s surface was slick as glass that night chasing big summer bass. He has night and a brilliant Harvest Moon glowed caught a passel of after-hours lunkers over like a muted spotlight as it topped the pines the years, but has yet to crack double digits. on the eastern horizon. Allen is a stickler for heavy line when he My friend opted to throw a jig, while I fishes at night. His personal favorite is 20baited up with a 7-inch live waterdog. I can’t pound Triple Fish fluorocarbon. He prefers remember if it was the first cast or the third, fluorocarbon over monofilament because it is but the waterdog didn’t last very long down super resistant to abrasion, provides superior there. Neither did the battle. I had the big knot strength, has no stretch, and it sinks. fish coming my way for a second or two, then “Night-fishing is one of the best ways to it made a powerful run downward and catch a big bass during the heat of summer,” wrapped in some brush. said Allen. “You never know what that next Pow! The 17-pound mono snapped like cast might bring, so it pays to be ready when sewing thread. What could have been a fish that big bite comes. You are really gambling of a lifetime is now a bittersweet memory out there with anything less than 20-poundthat always reminds me to re-spool with test.” nothing less than 25-pound-test when nightOften recognized as one of the best deepfishing is on the agenda. water structure experts on T-Bend, Allen Harold Allen of Shelbyville learned that usually fishes the same areas at night that he same lesson many moons ago. Allen is a fishes during the day. Some are near pri-

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mary boat lanes, and others are near the Sabine River and major creek channels. Regardless of the location, all of Allen’s honey holes have one thing in common: definitive structure that offers an abrupt change in water depth. “I like a spot that offers a sharp drop,” he said. “It could be an underwater ridge, hump, pond dam, or a main lake point. The key is to have deep water nearby and preferably some timber or brush. I think the big fish roam around in the timber all day long, then move up to feed on these types of places at night.” Another attribute Allen looks for in a night-fishing spot is isolation, preferably on the main lake. “I think main lake spots are more prone to hold bigger schools of fish,” he said. “The more isolated or hard-to-get-to a spot is, the more likely the fish will be unmolested by other anglers. That can make a huge difference in the number of bites you get. Rather than getting one or two bites, you might sit there an get 10-15 bites on as many casts.” Allen is equally picky about the type and color bait he uses. His favorites are a plastic

worm or lizard 8-12 inches in length. Best colors are dark ones like black, black/Neon, and Junebug. He also is fan of spinnerbaits with “thumper” Colorado blades. “The main reason behind using a big, bulky bait is to displace as much water as possible down there,” he said. “And a dark color is much easier for the fish to silhouette against the surface.” Allen rigs his plastics with a wide gap 4/0 or 5/0 hook and a 3/8-ounce weight. The big hooks provide plenty of bite to cut through thick plastic, while the mediumheavy slip sinker maximizes ability to stay in touch with the bait in deep water, and to detect strikes more easily. Randy Oldfield likes to fish a big worm at night, but he is more of a jig guy than anything else. Oldfield is a veteran Lake Fork guide who fishes exclusively at night during the hot summer months. The guide has caught his share of bruiser bass while fishing beneath the stars on the state’s most famous bass lake. His heaviest to date weighed 15.69 pounds. He caught the fish in August 2004 while dragging a black/blue 3/8-ounce Oldham Jig near a

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well-defined creek channel in about 14 feet of water. Oldfield agreed that location is key to successful night-fishing, and added that sometimes little things make the difference between a good trip and a great one. Some of the “little things” the expert shadow captain pays close attention to include: - Go Incognito — When approaching an area known to produce big fish, try to follow a clear path so you don’t bang the boat into stumps or other obstructions that could warn the fish of your presence. - Fish slowly — If you think you are fishing slowly, slow down some more. - Lights Out — Oldfield is convinced that big bass associate artificial light with danger. He never shines flashlights or spotlights into the water. He also mutes the glow of his rear running light by placing a water bottle over the fixture and securing it with duct tape. For safety’s sake, remove the bottle when the boat is underway or when fishing in areas with heavy boat traffic.

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HE PARKING LOT WAS FILLED TO CAPACITY on this early October morning. Trucks, SUVs, and campers lined up on picket duty as their owners lounged under tarps and sun tents. The smell of grilled fajitas, ribs, chicken, and seafood mingled and spread in a cloud over happy tailgaters, and men and women circulated among the vehicles, reconnected with old friends, and talked over the events of the weekend. Jesse Serna of San Antonio watched the crowd and smiled at the scattered laughter and screams of delight. “I look forward to this every year,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend.” It wasn’t a football game nor was it a major music festival, but the 23rd Big Shell Surf Fishing Classic, and all the people attending were waiting for the weigh-in and awards ceremony.

The Magnificent Seven

Surf Cats had very simple beginnings. According to its website, surfcatsoftexas.com, the event began in the early 1980s as a friendly tournament among seven friends, who would meet on ColumPHOTO BY CALIXTO GONZALES

bus Day weekend in October at Big Shell on the Padre Island National Seashore, throw some money into a pot, and test each others’ mettle as surf-fishermen. The winner of the “tournament” walked off with the cash. By 1985, the tournament had grown into a major organized event with 87 contestants.

by Calixto Gonzales The Big Shell Surf Fishing Classic has been a regular event on PINS ever since. The event has endured tropical weather, rough seas, and even cold fronts, but it has never been cancelled; it was rescheduled one year because of a predicted hurricane, but never called off. By the 2007 event, the tournament included more than 300 contestants from all over Texas and the United States. One fisherman, who asked to be referred to as “Ski,” traveled from New Jersey (he presented his driver’s license as proof) for the event. He is one of a loyal group of anglers who enter the tournament year after year. “This is my fifth tournament,” said Ski. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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“I’ve never caught a red drum big enough to be in the money, but I love this tourney. It’s worth the drive down and back.” “I’ve been doing this for six years,” said Craig, a member of the Surf Dogs fishing club. “We started with two fishermen, and now we have sixteen.” His partner, Raymond, added, “I used to bring my son to this tournament. Now, the son brings the father. That’s tradition.” The current tournament includes two divisions, open and sport, and prizes have jumped to $500 cash and a custom rod and reel for first prize in each division. The weigh-ins, held at the Briscoe King Pavilion near Bob Hall Pier, are major events with people driving in to simply witness the fish brought in.

Not for the Weak

The tournament is not a whiting-andpompano sort of event. Every year, sharks up to 6 feet in length (the maximum size limit allowed by the tournament) and stingrays weighing over 120 pounds come to the scales. Redfish and black drum that win the sport division usually measure over 40

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In This Issue C1

COVER STORY • The Big Shell Surf Tournament | BY CALIXTO GONZALES

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

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

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: UPPER COAST • September Flounder | BY CAPT. SKIP JAMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: MATAGORDA & MID COAST • Autumn Big Three | BY BINK GRIMES

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: ROCKPORT TO PORT ARANSAS • Follow Your Instincts | BY CAPT. MAC GABLE HOTSPOTS FOCUS: CORPUS TO BAFFIN BAYS • September Cast & Blast | BY CAPT. JIM ONDERDONK

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HOTSPOTS FOCUS: LOWER COAST • In the Arms of the Little Mouth | BY CALIXTO GONZALES

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SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides, Solunar Table, Best Hunting/Fishing Times | BY TF&G STAFF TEXAS TESTED • Fishbites; Buck Knives; and more | BY TF&G STAFF

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INDUSTRY INSIDER • Honda Marine: Bread & Butter Outboards | BY BRUCE SMITH

inches and weigh up to 35 pounds. Hardcore tournament anglers come equipped with surf rods ranging from 8 to 14 feet; outsized spinning reels; and Penn, Shakespeare, or Shimano conventional reels loaded with up to 400 yards of mono. Some load their reels with 40- or 60-pound braid (Power Pro seemed the brand of choice), which have the diameters of 10- and 12pound mono respectively. The thinner braid offers longer casts and less resistance in heavy surf. Fishermen hunting the giants of the surf—bull and lemon sharks, and stingray—bring 10/0 to 12/0 Penn Senators matched to extra-long big game surf rods outfitted with roller guides. These reels are spooled with 60- to 120-pound mono or Dacron. Again, 80- to 120-pound braided line is starting to show up more these days. Night-fishing is allowed during the tournament, so many of the fishermen have specialized vehicles that allow them to essentially live on the beach for the duration of the tournament. Trucks and SUVs outfitted with rod holders on their bumpers carry a dozen or more surf rods. Tents, cots, food, camp stoves, barbecue pits, ice chests, portable refrigerators, blankets, radios, generators, even television sets are standard C2

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SHOOT THIS • Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

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GEARING UP SECTION

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

HOW-TO SECTION

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: GALVESTON COMPLEX • More Fishing on Less Fuel | BY CAPT. MIKE HOLMES

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TEXAS BOATING • From Bad to Worse | BY LENNY RUDOW TEXAS KAYAKING • Kayaking Causes Bald Spots | BY GREG BERLOCHER SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Floaters, Swimming Deep | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Topping It Off | BY PAUL BRADSHAW REDFISH TRAILS • Fishing & Firecrackers | BY DR. TOMMY LOMONTE MISTER CRAPPIE • The Road Runner Story | BY WALLY MARSHALL HUNT TEXAS • Don’t Be a Slob Hunter | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Dove Guns & Loads | BY STEVE LAMASCUS WOO’S CORNER • Dock Fishing | BY WOO DAVES MY PLACE OUTDOORS • Dove Frenzy | BY RYAN VICK WILDERNESS TRAILS • Computer Cats | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

equipment. In spite of the appearance of looking soft, one resourceful fisherman even took a camp shower with him to freshen up before returning to civilization. “My wife hates it when I stink,” said Jimmy Moore, whose wife sat next to him, nodding in agreement the entire time. “She says I stink when I fish.” It is definitely not an event for the squeamish.

Trouble in Paradise

The 2007 Big Shell Surf Fishing Classic ran into some controversy that might force “Big Shell” from the title. The National Parks Service, which has stewardship of PINS, did not allow park access to tournament contestants due to tournament organizers’ refusal to pay a substantially higher fee for the Special Use Permit, along with fees for extra staff to handle garbage collection. Tournament Director Mike Plover was incredulous. “They changed the Special Use Fee by 1000 percent,” Plover said. “They also made some unreasonable demands to provide for garbage collection. It made no sense to abide by the demands. The ridiculous part of the entire issue was the amount of money they were sacrificing. If we have 300

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SPECIAL HUNTING SECTION • Trophy Fever | BY TF&G STAFF TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Bassing Blunders Cost Bucks | BY MATT WILLIAMS SPORTING TALES • Texas Legends & Lore | BY PAUL BRADSHAW NEWS FROM THE COAST • A Red of Many Spots; and more | BY TF&G STAFF CHESTER IN THE FIELD • Rock & Roll Hunters | BY CHESTER MOORE INSIDE CCA TEXAS • CCA Contributes to Goose Island Restoration | BY LUKE GILES GURLZ PAGE • The Crystal Fishing Ball | BY MARI HENRY AFIELD WITH BARRY • Why the “Big One” Gets Away | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR TEXAS TASTED • Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork | BY BRYAN SLAVEN DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

participants paying the $10 entrance fee to the park, that’s a profit of $3000 they’re turning away. It makes no sense.” As a solution to the issue, Plover opened the boundaries of the tournament to stretch from Aransas Pass to the sticks that mark the PINS boundary. Even with the extended boundaries, several fishermen were upset about the situation. “They [park regulations] have gotten tighter and tighter over the last three years,” said longtime tournament angler Jesse Serna. “We’re cleaner than the standard tourists. They leave all their trash out there. They leave beer bottles, empty beer boxes, and dirty diapers out there. We clean up after ourselves. It’s not right.” “They made a huge mistake by running us out of there,” said Jimmy Moore. “They could have tried to work with us, maybe even request we set up a beach clean-up. I’m sure Mike Plover would have gone for that. We all would have come out to help. Instead, they told us ‘it’s our way or the highway’.” As of this writing, repeated inquiries to the PINS Park Office went unanswered.

Big Fish

The change in boundaries had no effect

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on the fishing. Michael Bussell won the open division of the tournament with a 6foot, 2-inch lemon shark that weighed 126 pounds. Adam Aguilar’s 43.7-inch redfish weighed an eye-popping 26.9 pounds, enough to take top honors in the sport division. The tournament has been a big fish mecca for years. The official website is replete with photos of bull redfish, big sharks, and rays. Giant black drum, a pop-

PHOTOS BY CALIXTO GONZALES

Shark and drum figure prominently in the Big Shell tournament. ular fish at weigh-in, have been absent from contention since the imposition of the 14- to 30-inch slot limit (bull redfish may be weighed in if tagged with a trophy tag). The big sharks and rays must be in edible condition when brought in to weigh, and full utilization of all caught fish is heavily encouraged.

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“We encourage that all fish harvested be used by the tournament contestants,” said Plover. “You won’t find any of our fish in a dumpster.” Many anglers hope that the tournament’s relationship with PINS park officials isn’t in a dumpster, either. But if it is, and Big Shell is no longer the tournament’s home base, it will continue under a different name, but still a Texas coastal tradition.

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

Jumbo Shrimp & Silver Kings LOCATION: Brazos-Santiago Pass HOTSPOT: North Jetties (bank access) GPS: N26 04.080, W97 09.280

SPECIES: tarpon, kingfish BEST BAITS: live finger mullet, jumbo shrimp; topwaters in chrome/blue, Bone CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: September is a good time to latch into a Silver King. You will see these flashy brutes rolling along the jetties and in the pass. Live mullet or cocktail shrimp drifted on a fly line, or under a balloon work well, as does an oversized topwater such as the Magnum Super Spook. Bring wire leaders and plenty of lures, by the way, because the calm weather of September brings blue water close to the rocks, and kingfish with it. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Mexequita Flats GPS: N26 3.624, W97 11.532 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, topwaters, DOA Shrimp CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: Fish during a high tide. As always, live shrimp under a popping cork is very effective. If there is a high tide early in the morning, topwaters in bone and blue/chrome will draw crashing strikes. Fish around sand potholes scattered throughout the flats for speckled trout. Redfish will be cruising between the potholes. A little-used C4

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technique that is very effective is to sharp shoot potholes with a 1/4-ounce DOA Shrimp, YUM! Sweet Shrimp, or Tsunami Holoshrimp in clear/gold. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Long Bar GPS: N26 12.164, W97 15.957 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo. Shad tails in red/white, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse; topwaters CONTACT: Captain Luke Bonura, 956457-2101 TIPS: This area is within sight of the Queen Isabella Causeway. The submerged edge of the spoil islands is always good for solid speckled trout. Fishing bait off the edge is the easiest way to find those trout. Drift the length of the bar and throw either chunks of ballyhoo or large topwaters for redfish. If you are a boater, keep a sharp lookout. Some fishermen prefer to wade the area in the fall. Wet-footed fishermen catch plenty of big trout. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Old Causeway GPS: N26 4.197, W97 11.305 SPECIES: speckled trout, flounder BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mud minnows, soft plastics in chartreuse patterns CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: The area where the old Causeway joins to Long Island is an underrated but productive spot for both flounder and trout, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. Fish the drop-off where the easement falls into Laguna Madre for best results. Try a bucktail jig sweetened with either a live shrimp with the tailfin removed for extra scent (break the horn off and pass the hook from underneath the carapace and out the top so the shrimp rides straight) or a frisky mud minnow. Hop the combo along

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the bottom. When you feel a tap, lower your rod tip, reel in the slack, count to three, and set the hook hard. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Duncan House GPS: N26 17.908, W97 18.103 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; topwaters; soft plastics in red/white, New Penny; gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Drift near the spoil islands. Trout and redfish co-mingle all along the flats. Use either live shrimp under a popping cork or gold spoons; both will cover the most water in the shortest amount of time. If you prefer using soft plastics, red/white or New Penny are the most effective. A nifty bait to try is the new PowerBait Rattle Shrimp. You have the smell and flavor of PowerBait with the added perk of internal rattles. Fish might find them hard to resist. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Rattlesnake Bay GPS: N26 19.075, W97 20.454 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo; gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: September is sight-fishing time in Rattlesnake. Cast towards pods of tailing reds with gold spoons or a “skipped” ballyhoo (a weightless 4-inch head segment of ‘hoo worked just under the surface). If the water is off-colored and sight-fishing is difficult, then bottom fish with ballyhoo chunks and live shrimp under a popping cork. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Three Islands GPS: N26 16.643, W97 15.102 SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork

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CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Fall offers an incredible variety of fishing opportunities for Laguna Madre fishermen. If the trout and redfish are not cooperating, there are always schools of slotsized (14- to 30-inch) black drum to fish for. Watch for mud boils, which will tip you off to schools of foraging drum. A live shrimp under a cork is standard, but if you find one of those small crabs swimming around in your bait bucket, put him on the hook. A hungry black won’t turn those down. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Mansfield Jetties GPS: N26 34.025, W97 16.173 SPECIES: tarpon, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, finger mullet; Long A’s in Sweet Grape, Firetiger, Sinking CW Crabs CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Monster hunters should focus on the end of the jetties if they want to latch onto something big. Large redfish form big schools around the jetties, and tarpon are rolling along the beachfront is September. Large shrimp and live mullet on 1/2-ounce

Carolina rigs can be fished around the outside of the jetties for best results. Trolling Long A’s should locate tarpon in the 30100 pound range. The sinking version of the CW Crankbait fished in the eddies and currents around the jetties should also be very effective, especially when couple with Carolina Lunker Sauce’s Crab formula. LOCATION: LLM @ Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: North of East Cut GPS: N26 34.669, W97 22.403 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Mauler/Bull Minnow combo, gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: If you are more interested in slotsized redfish for the table, the focus on the opposite end of the East Cut. Pods of redfish will be harassing bait in the shallow flats North of the Cut. A Norton’s Bull Minnow in red/white or glow/chartreuse is the rig of choice for this scenario. YUM! Samurai Shad in black/chartreuse are also effective. Sight fishing with 1/4-ounce gold spoons is also effective. LOCATION: Laguna Madre @ Port Mansfield

HOTSPOT: Community Bar GPS: N26 34.669, W97 25.124 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in Limetreuse, Pearl; topwaters early; soft plastics in red/white, Firetiger CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: The Western shoreline from Community Bar to the Land Cut will be productive for speckled trout through the fall. Topwaters worked in the shallows from gray light until dawn are effective. Switch over to jerk baits and soft plastics as the day progresses and fish deeper water. Use a 1/4ounce jighead to facilitate working deeper water.

Pin a Trout LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: East Kleberg Point GPS: N27 16.300, W97 30.426

SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Baffin is always popular, but action really heats up after summer ends and everyone is back in school or work. Fish the shallows around rock edges and let the bait fall into deeper water. Use a Chatterweight for best results. LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Rivera Channel GPS: N27 17.395, W97 39.476 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, Gulp! lures CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Watch for birds working over schools that are crashing bait. When you locate a school, fish a Gulp! Shrimp or shad tail under an Old Bayside Paradise Popper X-treme. If the fish are deeper, work the lure without the cork. Use a 1/4-ounce jighead if

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the fish are deeper; switch to a 1/8-ounce jighead if using the X-treme cork. LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Center Reef GPS: N27 16.206, W97 34.362 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, croaker CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Fish the deep points around the Reef with live bait on a Chatterweight rig. Later in the day, fish closer to the rocks. Drift fishing is better than anchoring because it allows you to cover more water around the reef. Once you find a concentration of fish, focus on the area they are holding. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Emmord’s Hole GPS: N27 30.057, W97 19.546 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, or croaker; soft plastics in Tequila Gold CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: The grasslines in Emmord’s are still productive in September. Work live pinfish under a Paradise Popper around the grasslines early in the morning. There will be speckled trout lurking and waiting for the sort of meal a noisy pin will provide. Late afternoon means tailing redfish which means you can sight-cast with soft plastics on a light (1/8-ounce) jighead. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline GPS: N27 325.402, W97 2.075 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, croaker; Gulp! Baits/Paradise Popper CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Fish the area slowly and thoroughly. Trout will be lurking around the potholes along the grass beds. If you are fishing a weedline, then use a live pinfish or shrimp on a Chatterweight. If you are drifting potholes, then rig a 3-inch Gulp! or Bayside Shrimp under an Old Bayside Paradise Popper. Again, slow is the catchword, so temper your drift with a drift anchor if you have one. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre

HOTSPOT: ICW GPS: N27 37.167, W97 15.004 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: topwaters in bone; soft plastics in Tequila Gold CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Redfish will be prowling the shallows along the ICW in the afternoon. Work the shallows (as in 1-foot deep) with topwaters to get the fish’s attention. If the wind is up, back off and fish the edges of the ditch with jerkbaits and soft plastics. Gold and chartreuse are good color choices.

Glowing Redfish LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Green’s Bayou GPS: N28 49.417, W93 50.499 SPECIES: redfish

BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: Shrimp will be starting to migrate out of the marshes as weather begins to moderate. Key in on drains and points when the tide is draining out of the marsh. Toss up into the drain and work your bait back along the bottom. Finish the cast all the way to the boat. Some redfish have a tendency to follow the bait quite a ways. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: North Levee Road GPS: N29 54.194, W93 52.316 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Green Tomato, Strawberry/white CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: The middle of the lake is still very productive, especially with continued bird activity. If you don’t see any birds (which would be a rare day indeed), keep an eye out for slicks. Cast the perimeter of the schools as well as directly towards them. Heavier jigheads (1/4-ounce) will bring the bait down to the mid-depths much quicker. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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They will also facilitate longer casts so you can begin fishing a ways before you get to the school. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: West Jetty GPS: N29 39.681, W93 49.978 SPECIES: redfish, flounder BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Green Tomato, Strawberry/white CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: Redfish and flounder both migrate into the passes as they get ready to move off into the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. Live finger mullet will nail both fish. Soft plastics on heavy jigheads (3/8- to 1/2-ounce) will bump the bottom for flatties. Back off to a 1/4-ounce head to fish more in the mid depths for bull redfish. You don’t have to break out the big plastics for the reds. A 3inch tail will get its share of strikes. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Big Pasture Bayou GPS: N29 30.322, W95 35.780 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters; soft plastics in Opening Night, Cheyenne Gold CONTACT: Captain Shane Chessum, 409284-8616 TIPS: Baitfishes and shrimp are starting to move out of the bayous and into the Bay proper. Astute fishermen can intercept them with both soft plastics and topwaters. Fish around points and drains. Later in the month, back off and fish depth breaks and deeper water. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Yates Bayou GPS: N29 29.608, W95 36.026 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters; soft plastics in Opening Night, Cheyenne Gold CONTACT: Captain Shane Chessum, 409284-8616 TIPS: Water clarity is going to determine the lure color you use. If the water is stained, then fish with darker colors, while clearer water requires lighter colors. Work the depth breaks and drains along the shoreline. Watch for working bait. Fish deeper water if the tide is retreating, especially around those ubiquitous drains.

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Freshwater Reds

ers, prepared baits CONTACT: Jeff Snyder, 210-649-2435 TIPS: Fish the deeper water. Carolina rigs with crawfish or crawfish flavored prepared baits is a good technique, but chicken lives are always good. You never know when a hybrid or red will take your bait. They like crawfish and chicken livers, too. You need to be aware of your boat’s position in relation to the Intake Buoy.

LOCATION: Calaveras HOTSPOT: Granny’s Cove GPS: N29 17.084, W98 18.293

LOCATION: Rio Grande River HOTSPOT: River above Anzalduas Dam GPS: N26 25.100, W97 57.220 SPECIES: panfishes BEST BAIT: night crawlers, 1/32-ounce Road Runner jigs CONTACT: Anzalduas State Park, 956519-9550 TIPS: Some of the deeper holes under trees and deadfalls off excellent opportunities for some hand-sized sunfish and Rio Grande Perch. A little johnboat and a cane pole with a short segment of monofilament are perfect for this type of fishing. Dabble underneath these trees or around deadfalls. Don’t be persnickety. A big Rio Grande, scaled, gutted, and headed, fries up just like a bluegill.

Hum up a White Bass LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N31 54.533, W97 12.375 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummers, Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net

TIPS: Watch for early and late surface action around Triplett Point, Snake Island, and dam rip rap. Tail Hummers and RatL-Traps work best on schooling fish. On cloudy days, the schooling will last longer, sometimes all day. After sunrise, back off to the deep humps and watch your electronics for stacked schools, drop 3/4-ounce white or Chartreuse slabs down and bounce off bottom. Bite occurs on the fall. BANK ACCESS: Tailrace Fishing Pier, whites on jigs and Kastmaster spoons

Piped in Bass LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Pipe Island GPS: N32 54.171, W95 40.796 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: topwaters, spinnerbaits, and jerk baits CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com

TIPS: Get on the lake early for the topwater bite will usually end around 8-9 a.m. Cast topwaters, jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps to submerged sides of island, changing bait and presentation frequently until you hit the right combination. C8

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BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket, white and black crappie, catfish, sunfish

Crèmed Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Rocky Point GPS: N30 48.521, W98 23.871

TIPS: This little 445-acre lake is turning on and will get better before winter sets in. Work the Watermelon Pearl Ribbits around the vegetation mixed with timber and get ready for some bone jarring strikes. The Rage Tail Shad will work all day long shallow this time of year. If fishing gets slow find the isolated Reed beds on the lake and flip your favorite creature bait for some extra strikes. BANK ACCESS: Fishing, camping, picnicking, and a boat ramp are available at the

city-owned park on the southeast shore, largemouth bass, white crappie, walleye, white bass, catfish 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

Rage Tail Largemouth LOCATION: Lake Ballinger HOTSPOT: Across from Boat Ramp GPS: N31.759, W100.044 SPECIES: largemouth bass

BEST BAITS: Stanly Ribbits, Rage Tail Shad CONTACT: Wendell Ramsey, 325-2274931, bram4@suddenlink.net

For MORE HOTSPOT listings, go to our website and click CURRENT ISSUE ARTICLES

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September Flounder

OR THE LAST 39 YEARS, I HAVE BEEN blessed to fish around 200 days a year from Alaska to Central America. Still, the biggest thrill I get in the sport of fishing is just seeing a big spotted flounder the size of a trash can lid splash alongside the boat. What a feeling. I hope I never lose that passion for my favorite fish, the southern flounder. Sabine has long been known as one of the best systems for flounder on the Gulf Coast. In fact, the Texas record came from Sabine, a 13-pound, 2-ounce doormat. Most folks think these fish are hard to locate and harder yet to hook. Not so. They are predictable in September on

Sabine. Here is the info you need to consistently catch more and bigger flounder: Forget mud minnows. Most anglers drop anchor, throw out mud minnows, and wait for the fish to move through. Sure, it works, but what happens if the fish don’t trade by your boat? You have wasted valuable time that could have been used more wisely. Put that trolling motor down and start working the bank. Each angler should make a 45-degree discovery cast until you catch your first flounder. After you make contact, comb through the area thoroughly. Unlike speckled trout or reds, flounder rarely chase down a bait. These ambush predators bed up and wait for the bait to come to them. The bite window might be only 6-10 inches. Sometimes you have to hit them right on the sweet spot to trigger the predator instinct to kill. Remember, they bite for two reasons: intrusion of domain or hunger. Many times, we catch flounder that regurgitate live menhaden on the floor of

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Twin Lakes (near the drain) LOCATION: Hwy 87 south of Bridge City SPECIES: flounder LURE/BAITS: jig tipped with shrimp BEST TIMES: High tides in morning the boat. That’s a good sign you are in feeding fish. Look for areas along the bank that we call “transition zones.” For example, an area where salt grass meets Roseau cane, or where sand meets rock. Any change in the geological makeup of the bottom represents a transition zone. These hotspots generally hold and attract fish. Other good locations to check would be the mouths of any little drains or big bayous that feed into the bay. Generally, the drains have stronger currents, creating eddies. Flounder are suckers for eddies. Weaker baitfishes that cannot negotiate the strong tidal currents seek out the eddy for rest; the flounder wait for an easy lunch. If it is windy and your fishing is confined to a narrow bayou, work the deep banks on the outside bends and turns. Straightaways do not seem to hold the numbers. The “S” turns and outside bends historically attract more fish. Your bait is simple. Throw it all day. Don’t change. Use a 1/4-ounce leadhead with a 4-inch Old BaySide Speck Grub. The best color is Glow body with a chartreuse tail. Tip the bait with a piece of fresh, dead shrimp. Contact: Skip James 409-886-5341, jjames@gt.rr.com.

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More Fishing on Less Fuel

VEN BAY FISHERMEN ARE GOING TO SUFFER from the high cost of fuel—which isn’t likely to go down, by the way. There are ways to cope with the situation without giving up our time on the water, and, after all, just about anything one could choose as an alternative activity will still cost more with the increasing pump prices. Wade-fishermen already do their part to conserve fuel, even if they need a boat to get to their favorite spots. What the future might bring is the realization that we might not need so much boat to do it. Bay boats have gotten bigger in the last decade, as have many vessels used for most water sports. Some of this is for a safety factor, but a lot of pride of ownership in a longer hull and the speed provided by a larger engine must be factored in. Finding spots to wade that can be reached by a fuel

efficient vehicle, or with a short run in protected water aboard a smaller, less thirsty boat, might allow many more fishing hours to be worked into the family budget. For those who don’t like getting wet (and there is nothing shameful about that) there are other ways to conserve fuel. Sometimes it can be as simple as not bolting maximum horsepower to your transom. Just about all boats will handle a wide range of horsepower and still plane easily and offer safe performance. An engine of the smallest size recommended for a certain hull might actually be less efficient when operated at high rpm to obtain the same speed at which a larger engine could loaf along, but speed is not an absolute necessity, The bucks saved by purchasing that smaller engine can also be considered fuel savings, as

they can go into the tank, not to the bank. A quick show of hands here: Can you usually catch more fish skipping across the bay at high speeds, or drifting a promising reef, or anchored over a bait-holding pocket? You have to have lines in the water to make a catch, and the more time spent with lines in the water, the better. Back around the turn of the century, when I bass-fished a lot on Sam Rayburn, it was amazing how many times the best bass of the day was caught by someone casting at the boat ramp. Capt. Mike Holmes runs tarpon, shark, and bluewater trips on a classic 31 Bertram. To book a trip, call 979-415-0535. Email him at mholmes@fishgame.com.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Brazoria County Park at San Luis Pass, off the bank bordering the channel leading to the Pass itself. ALTERNATE SPOT: Oyster Creek City Park pier, FM 523 at Oyster Creek SPECIES: Speckled trout, redfish, flounder, and various panfishes BAITS: Live shrimp or finger mullet for trout and reds, mud minnows for flounder. Cut squid does very well for panfishes. BEST TIMES: Early and late, also in the cool of the nighttime hours. The Creek Pier is lighted; some fishermen at the Pass use generators to set up lights for night-fishing. Remember, this is the “Bank Bite.” Do not wade around San Luis Pass without a life vest. A long cast beats risking dangerous waters. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Autumn Big Three

UTUMN SUNRISES, SUNSETS AND, COOLER temps paint the most picturesque horizon of the year. Fall rejuvenates the soul and puts a hop in many every outdoorsman’s step after too many days of century mark summer mercury readings.

The bounty on the bays is an even better reason for optimism. Texas’ big three—speckled trout, redfish, and flounder—are all play-

ers this month. All you have to do is decide which one to target. Speckled trout is the most targeted saltwater specie in Texas, and autumn on the midcoast is quite possibly the optimal time to catch sheer numbers of specks. Diving gulls normally point the way, as white shrimp exit the marsh and flood the bays before eventually heading to the Gulf. Trout know this, and shadow shrimp throughout the bays, pushing them to the top where laughing birds pick off an easy meal. What turns into an easy avian meal translates to easy pickings for anglers. Toss a spoon, soft plastic, slow-sinking plug, topwater, and sometimes a bare hook, and rods bend immediately. East and West Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay are all prime venues.

Redfish are a close second on the angler watch list. Many reds are caught under birds, mixed with specks and large sand trout, but the real brutes hang out around the channels and passes leading to the ocean. Autumn is the best time of the year to catch an oversized spawner. Don’t fret if conditions on the beach are rough; big reds like a churned up surf when feeling the need to propagate. The strong currents carry fry to remote places where their survival rates increase. San Luis Pass, Mitchell’s Cut, the mouth of the Colorado River, Port O’Connor jetty, and Pass Cavallo are thoroughfares for migrating reds. Carolina-rigged cracked crab, finger mullet, or table shrimp are always on the menu. Autumn Equinox tides push 2 feet above normal in some places, covering reefs and pushing shrimp, shad, and mullet into the grass and the far reaches of the back bays. Redfish follow the influx of water and trollers toss small topwaters in Oyster Lake, Crab Lake, Contee Lake, and Pringle Lake. Those who prefer a more laid back approach anchor on reefs and toss live shrimp under a popping cork. Like redfish, southern flounder are autumn ocean spawners and are on the move along the same routes as the brutes. Few anglers strictly target flatfish, and most are caught as by-catch from dragging soft plastics along muddy bottoms for spots and dots. However, the few who go looking for flounder hang out around cuts and drains leading to the marsh. Old Gulf Cut and Boggy Cut in East Matagorda Bay, the Diversion Channel and area adjacent to the Army Corps of Engineers lock system near West Matagorda Bay, and Saluria Bayou in Port O’Connor are flounder locales. Best baits are soft plastic curly-tailed jigs, Bass Assassin Sea Shad, Norton Bull Minnows, Texas Red Killers, DOA Shrimp, and Gulp Shrimp. Tip you favorite plastic with a fresh piece of shrimp. It’s autumn. Enjoy! Contact: Bink Grimes, www.binkgrimesoutdoors.com.

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THE BANK BITE

Follow Your Instincts

’VE KNOWN SOME GREAT FISHERMEN IN MY life, and something they all had in common was the wisdom to know when, where, and how to throw conventional tactics and discard expert advice and follow their instincts. Case in point: I was fishing a tournament with a good friend, a “cagy old hook-setter,” and we didn’t have a single fish to weigh in on the first day. We had practiced all the finer points of big fish strategy, and sat out the first night after a blank day of fishing in a wet tent listening to it rain, trying to figure out why our science of angling wasn’t working. Late that night, tucked away in a damp sleeping bag, I remembered what my pappy

told me about great hunters and fishermen when the fish basket is light and the meat pole empty: Follow your instincts. I turned to my old friend and said, “If we didn’t know what we know now, and we were in our old boat (a 16-foot Lone Star with tiller-steer 20 horsepower Mercury), where would you fish? ” He didn’t hesitate, “I’d fish that point close to Liars Bluff.” Hmm...this time of year, there was no tide movement, so no baitfish. The moon phase was wrong, the barometric pressure too high, and the salinity factor too low. None of our compadres had caught any fish there in over two months. It was truly the last place anything that swims should be, but it was where we headed at first light the next morning. We ended up second and third in that tournament, due mostly to that twinge or feeling most of us get at one time or another while launching the boat or getting out of the truck, to abandon our well thought out plan and go with our gut instinct. September is a great month for intuition

The old piers and pilings across from Key Allegro is a best kept secret this time of year, and the person that wades this area early morning and late evening throwing a gold spoon, or Super Spook in Bone, will be rewarded with some nice reds.

or instinct fishing. With old man winter knocking on the door, the angler that knows his stuff and trusts it is likely to have filets for those cold winter days. St. Charles Bay: Drift the grass flats against the east shoreline using soft plastics in Plum/chartreuse. Once you find fish, make a wide circle and re-drift multiple times. Fish the deep pockets of the old Boy Scout Hole for trout using free-line shrimp. Aransas Bay: Seek the tops of shell piles covered by 2 feet of water. Use finger mullet and allow the bait to swim. Keep your line loose and pay attention to rapid changes or sharp jerks. Slowly reel in the slack and, at the least resistance, set the hook. Copano Bay: Use mud minnows on a fish-finder (Carolina) rig on a falling tide next to the grasses on the northwest shoreline. Mid-bay reefs are good places for topwater lures on calm days. Several blow-ups are common before a hook-up, so be patient and keep the lure action steady. Carlos Bay: Drift Carlos Lake using a popping cork and shrimp for trout. Use the same rig but with a Berkley Molting Crab for reds. Peeled fresh dead shrimp on a Carolina rig is a good bet for black drum. Mesquite Bay: Fish the cut between the ICW and Mesquite on weekdays, using a Carolina rig and cut bait (menhaden or fresh mullet) for reds. The south side of Ayres Reef is a great drift area on a southeast wind. There are multiple cuts, so extend your drifts and stay about 50 to 75 yards off the reef, drifting parallel with the reef. Sand eels in Morning Glory or Plum are the setup for good trout action. Contact: Capt. Mac Gable, Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601

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September Cast & Blast

EPTEMBER IS HERE, AND YOU KNOW WHAT that means—cast and blast! Dove season is here, and it’s great to do some fishing in the morning and shoot some dove in the evening. It does not get any better than that. Looking for redfish, the lagoon’s waters are as clear as can be. You can find redfish on the flats around the JFK Causeway. You can pole, troll, or drift-fish the flats, and

remember that if you can see the redfish, they can see you. Try to minimize boat noise—it can spook the fish. If you get out to the flats early enough, the topwater bite will produce a mixed bag of trout and reds. As the water temperature starts to rise, the trout will leave the flats looking for deeper, cooler water. The King Ranch Shoreline is also producing some good trout numbers. Fish the grass flats and larger sand pockets. If live bait is your choice, free-line piggy perch. Just snip the top dorsal fin off with a pair of scissors, use a No. 6/0 hook, run it through just above the anal fin, chuck it out, and hold on. Moving down a bit, the spoils around Bird Island will hold trout until the morning

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water heat up. Bass Assassins rigged with a 1/16-ounce screw-lock jighead will work well here. My go-to colors have been Plum in low light conditions, and Rootbeer/Red Glitter on brighter days. Getting down to Baffin Bay, Tide Gauge Bar will hold mixed bags of trout and redfish. Fishing early, try both sides of the bar, moving to the outside of the bar after mid-morning. Try to key in on areas loaded with baitfishes. While fishing Baffin this time of year, it is very important to follow the bait. Baffin Bay is not a very deep bay, so it heats up pretty fast as the sun beams down on her. As the water warms up, move out to

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In the Arms of the Little Mouth

EPTEMBER IS REDFISH TIME IN ON THE Lower Gulf Coast. Thousands of slotsized and oversized redfish school up and forage over the flats of Lower Laguna Madre and feed on any finfish or crustacean that fits in their big rubbery mouths. Any outdoorsman not chasing whitewing and mourning dove or watching football on television will be out on the water hunting for these huge pods of redfish. Fishermen who want to match up with a true bull redfish, a beast that can stretch the tape up to 44 inches, will look to Boca Chica on Brazos Island. The real monster redfish will be roaming over the guts and bars in the surf on Padre and Brazos islands. These fish are also packing on the protein before they make the journey to the offshore spawning grounds. The fish show up in the surf mid-month, and usually stay until late October or early November. During this time, these monsters of the suds ravage schools of mullet, pilchards, sardines, and ballyhoo.

One area accessible to both boaters and surf-fishermen is the Boca Chica jetties tip (26 3.904, W97 8.738). Redfish swim around the piled pink granite at the end of the point from the deeper Brazos-Santiago Pass, and into the surf on the Boca Chica Beach side. Boat fishermen can anchor upcurrent of the point and let out bow line until within casting range of the rocks. The best chance at hooking a trophy redfish would be with live bait, whether it is a large shrimp, crab (some fishermen swear by these nasty little buggers), or finger mullet (which is the most available bait for anyone who owns a cast net). Mud minnows are hardy and will outlive finger mullet in the bucket, and redfish don’t seem to notice that these guppy look-alikes don’t reside in the suds. If live bait is hard to come by, then fresh chunks of crab, mullet, pinfish, and ballyhoo are effective. Most fishermen prefer to use a slip-sinker rig while fishing the jetty tip. Egg and bell sinkers, however, have a tendency to snag in the rock crevices. Most usually bring plenty of terminal tackle, and spend plenty of time re-rigging. One way to mitigate the snagging issue is to use banana-type sinkers, such as the Lindy NoSnagg Sinker. It comes in weights from 1/4 to 1-1/2 ounces, and its long narrow design minimizes snagging in the rocks. Another rig that can prevent snagging is a bait walker, which has a safety-pin design with a sinker on the bottom arm and a swivel for a leader on the top arm. The sinker bounces along the bottom and rarely

THE BANK BITE HOTSPOT: Convention Center Shoreline GPS: N26 6.150, W97 10.350 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish TIPS: Topwaters and soft plastics on an incoming tide. snags. Both setups are available at Bass Pro Shops (www.basspro.com). Some sharpies have taken a page from Winter Visitors and use a sliding leader, which is made up of a short segment of line looped over the main line and several size 4 or 5 split shot sinkers crimped onto it. If a sinker gets caught up in the rocks, a steady pull causes the sinker to come off, and the entire rig is saved. Bank fishermen walking the rocks also have an excellent shot at some of these trophy redfish. The standard 7-1/2 foot surf rig is ideal for this sort of fishing. The longer rod means that you have more leverage to turn a big fish, and the extra length allows you to keep the fish out of the loose boulders at the base of the jetties. The faster recovery of a long rod also allows you to use braided line, which means greater line strength and capacity. If you prefer not using braid, you should still consider using a stiffer, more abrasion resistant line such as 15- to 20pound fluorocarbon to prevent break-offs. Braid also offers less water resistance, which means that strong waves are less likely to throw your rig into the rocks.

HOTSPOTS FOCUS: CORPUS TO BAFFIN BAYS Continued from Page C15 deeper water with structure, like east Kleberg Point, Center Reef, and the deeper rocks off Starvation Point. These areas are like a restaurant for summer time trophy trout. Soft plastics like the Stanley Wedgetail work very well this time or year. They look C16

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just like a mullet, and the tail puts out a vibration that really attracts trout and red. You reel it and you feel it. Nine-mile Hole is full of redfish—big ones. I have been spooled many times there. If you wade-fish, remember this is also stingray heaven, so be careful. Throw Bass Assassin Slurp Shrimp; Good Penny has been my go-to color. For some topwa-

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ter action, throw Pearl or Hot Pink; they have been winners in my books. Remember the “special” regs are in effect down south past Marker 21 in the cut and the daily limit is five trout. Contact: Capt. Jim “Donk” Onderdonk, 361-774-7710, www.pocolocolodge.com.

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Whether in a boat or on the rocks, please be aware of your surroundings and the conditions. If the wind picks up, the seas can get sloppy quickly, and a rogue wave can ruin your day in a hurry. A few years ago, a boat was thrown up on the rocks after seas got snarky, and the anchor line snapped. Many fishermen have been pulled off the jetties by surprise waves. Some have not been recovered alive. A little caution can prevent a tragedy. Of course, if you have a fit of apoplexy because you have hooked up to a 35-pound redfish, you are on your own. ••• One of the most common questions I have been asked lately has been concerning the five-fish speckled trout limit along Lower Laguna Madre. I have been asked repeatedly if the limit also applies to Boca Chica beach and the Mouth of the Rio Grande. According to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department sector captain Ken Baker in Brownsville, the five-fish limit applies to Lower Laguna Madre and not the Gulf of Mexico. If you are fishing the Brazos Santiago jetties, the five-fish limit applies. The surf on both Brazos Island (Boca Chica), the mouth of the river, and Padre Island to the Mansfield Jetties, you can catch and keep the alternative limit of 10 trout longer than 15 inches and one over 25 inches. The mouth of the Rio Grande is also exempt from the smaller limit. The five-fish limit applies to the Mansfield jetties and both the Brazos Santiago and Mansfield passes. An important rule to keep in mind, said Baker, is that if you run your boat out of Lower Laguna Madre and into the Gulf and retain 10 trout per person, you will be in violation of the five-fish limit should you re-enter LLM. Both the retention and possession limits of Lower Laguna Madre are five fish, and if a game warden stops you and finds that you are over the limit, you will be cited. Please also be aware that if you stop to fillet your catch at any cleaning station on Port Isabel or South Padre, any game warden that accosts you will probably have a hard time believing that you caught your fish in the Gulf and might cite you for being over the limit. 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 SEPTEMBER 2008 USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

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

T12

T11

T10

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

T9 T8

T13 T7

T6 T17

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

T15 T16

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on a wide variety of wildlife species.

AM & PM MAJOR phases occur when the moon reaches its highest point overhead as well as when it is “underfoot” or at its highest point on the exact opposite side of the earth from your positoin (or literally under your feet). Most days have two Major Feeding Phases, each lasting about 2 hours. PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

T20

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

T21

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

of the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

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

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

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

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

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...

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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

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

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

T14 T18

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

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

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Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 9:36a

Set: 7:36p Set: 9:06p

AM Minor: 6:51a

PM Minor: 7:13p

AM Minor: 7:40a

PM Minor: 8:02p

AM Minor: 8:30a

PM Minor: 8:53p

AM Minor: 9:21a

PM Minor: 9:44p

AM Minor: 10:13a

PM Minor: 10:37p

AM Major: 12:40a

PM Major: 1:02p

AM Major: 1:29a

PM Major: 1:51p

AM Major: 2:19a

PM Major: 2:41p

AM Major: 3:09a

PM Major: 3:33p

AM Major: 4:01a

PM Major: 4:25p

12p

12a

12p

Set: 7:33p Sunrise: 6:55a Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:34p Sunrise: 6:55a Moonrise: 11:32a Set: 10:13p Moonrise: 12:30p Set: 10:52p Moonrise: 1:27p

Moon Overhead: 4:09p

Moon Overhead: 3:24p 6p

12a

12p

SATURDAY

Set: 7:38p Set: 8:35p

Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:35p Moonrise: 10:34a Set: 9:38p

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 8:37a

Moon Overhead: 2:40p

12a

WEDNESDAY

Moon Overhead: 4:55p 12a

12p

12a

12p

SUNDAY

Set: 7:32p Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 11:36p Moonrise: 2:21p

Set: 7:31p Set: None

AM Minor: 11:04a

PM Minor: 11:29p

AM Minor: 11:55a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 4:52a

PM Major: 5:17p

AM Major: 5:43a

PM Major: 6:08p

Moon Overhead: 6:32p

Moon Overhead: 5:43p 12a

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

12p

Moon Overhead: 7:23p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sep1

z z

12a

FEET

+2.0

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:18a BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:02a

Moon Underfoot: 3:46a

BEST:

12:50-3:00 PM

BEST:

1:45-3:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:32a BEST:

2:30-4:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:19a

Moon Underfoot: 6:08a

BEST:

3:20-5:10 PM

BEST:

4:15-7:55 PM

Moon Underfoot: 6:57a BEST:

4:45-6:15 AM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

+2.0

6:00-8:05 PM

High Tide: 5:59 am 1.36 ft Low Tide: 11:49 am 0.61 ft High Tide: 6:16 pm 1.46 ft

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

12:13 am 6:10 am 12:28 pm 7:28 pm

0.72 ft 1.34 ft 0.45 ft 1.43 ft

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

12:46 am 6:16 am 1:09 pm 8:49 pm

0.98 ft 1.35 ft 0.34 ft 1.42 ft

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

1:12 am 6:10 am 1:54 pm 10:28 pm

1.21 ft 1.38 ft 0.28 ft 1.43 ft

Low Tide: 1:19 am High Tide: 5:18 am Low Tide: 2:46 pm

1.38 ft 1.44 ft 0.26 ft

High Tide: 4:20 am Low Tide: 3:49 pm

1.54 ft 0.27 ft

High Tide: 4:23 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

1.61 ft 0.28 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

F i s h

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

z {

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

G a m e ® / S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8

•

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z z

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 7:45-9:40 AM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

1 3

1 4

Set: 7:29p Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 12:24a Moonrise: 3:57p

Set: 7:28p Set: 1:17a

Sunrise: 6:57a Moonrise: 4:39p

Set: 7:27p Set: 2:13a

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 5:17p

Set: 7:26p Set: 3:12a

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 5:52p

Set: 7:25p Set: 4:12a

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 6:24p

Set: 7:23p Set: 5:12a

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 6:55p

Set: 7:22p Set: 6:11a

AM Minor: 12:20a

PM Minor: 12:45p

AM Minor: 1:07a

PM Minor: 1:33p

AM Minor: 1:54a

PM Minor: 2:19p

AM Minor: 2:38a

PM Minor: 3:02p

AM Minor: 3:21a

PM Minor: 3:45p

AM Minor: 4:03a

PM Minor: 4:26p

AM Minor: 4:46a

PM Minor: 5:08p

AM Major: 6:32a

PM Major: 6:58p

AM Major: 7:20a

PM Major: 7:45p

AM Major: 8:06a

PM Major: 8:31p

AM Major: 8:50a

PM Major: 9:15p

AM Major: 9:33a

PM Major: 9:57p

AM Major: 10:15a

PM Major: 10:38p

AM Major: 10:57a

PM Major: 11:20p

Moon Overhead: 8:13p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:53p

Moon Overhead: 9:04p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:42p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: None

Moon Overhead: 11:29p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:14a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 3:11p

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:48a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 8:39a BEST:

6L45-8:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 9:29a BEST:

7:40-9:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:18a BEST:

2:15-4:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:05a BEST:

9:10-11:00 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:52a BEST:

9:45-11:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 12:37p +2.0

BEST:

10:10AM-12:15PM

10:50AM-1:05PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

High Tide: 4:41 am Low Tide: 6:12 pm

C20

1.66 ft 0.27 ft

High Tide: 4:51 am Low Tide: 7:10 pm

• S E P T E M B E R

1.66 ft 0.25 ft

2 0 0 8 /

High Tide: 4:39 am Low Tide: 7:56 pm

T E X A S

1.65 ft 0.24 ft

F i s h

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

4:29 am 10:21 am 12:10 pm 8:34 pm

1.63 ft 1.47 ft 1.48 ft 0.25 ft

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

4:30 am 9:39 am 1:38 pm 9:08 pm

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

1.61 ft 1.38 ft 1.50 ft 0.31 ft

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

4:38 am 9:42 am 2:46 pm 9:43 pm

1.59 ft 1.23 ft 1.54 ft 0.40 ft

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

4:47 am 10:04 am 3:51 pm 10:18 pm

1.57 ft 1.04 ft 1.58 ft 0.56 ft

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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

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

1 6

THURSDAY

1 7

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 7:26p

Set: 7:21p Set: 7:12a

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 7:59p

Set: 7:20p Set: 8:13a

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 8:35p

Set: 7:18p Set: 9:18a

Sunrise: 7:01a Moonrise: 9:16p

AM Minor: 5:30a

PM Minor: 5:53p

AM Minor: 6:18a

PM Minor: 6:41p

AM Minor: 7:10a

PM Minor: 7:35p

AM Major: 11:41a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:06a

PM Major: 12:30p

AM Major: 12:57a

PM Major: 1:23p

Moon Overhead: 1:00a 6a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:34a

Moon Overhead: 1:46a 12a

12p

12a

12p

FRIDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:16p Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 7:17p Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 7:15p Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 10:25a Moonrise: 10:03p Set: 11:35a Moonrise: 10:58p Set: 12:44p Moonrise: None

Set: 7:14p Set: 1:49p

AM Minor: 8:08a

PM Minor: 8:35p

AM Minor: 9:10a

PM Minor: 9:39p

AM Minor: 10:15a

PM Minor: 10:45p

AM Minor: 11:20a

PM Minor: 11:51p

AM Major: 1:54a

PM Major: 2:21p

AM Major: 2:55a

PM Major: 3:24p

AM Major: 3:59a

PM Major: 4:30p

AM Major: 5:04a

PM Major: 5:35p

Moon Overhead: 3:26a 12a

SATURDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:21a

Moon Overhead: 4:22a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:23a 12a

12p

FEET

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 2:10p BEST:

12:00-1:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:00p BEST:

12:00-1;50 AM

12;50-2:45 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:53p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 4:51p BEST:

1:45-3:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 5:52p BEST:

2:50-4:45 AM

3L45-5L30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:54p +2.0

BEST:

5:00-6:35 AM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 1:23p +2.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

{ 15

12a

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

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

4:57 am 10:34 am 4:56 pm 10:55 pm

1.54 ft 0.82 ft 1.62 ft 0.76 ft

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

5:06 am 11:09 am 6:05 pm 11:34 pm

1.52 ft 0.58 ft 1.66 ft 1.00 ft

High Tide: 5:11 am 1.52 ft Low Tide: 11:50 am 0.35 ft High Tide: 7:20 pm 1.69 ft

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

12:14 am 5:10 am 12:36 pm 8:45 pm

1.25 ft 1.56 ft 0.16 ft 1.72 ft

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

12:53 am 4:58 am 1:29 pm 10:30 pm

1.50 ft 1.64 ft 0.03 ft 1.77 ft

Low Tide: 1:28 am High Tide: 4:34 am Low Tide: 2:31 pm

1.71 ft High Tide: 3:57 am 1.76 ft Low Tide: 3:42 pm -0.05 ft

1.86 ft -0.07 ft

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z z

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

2 8

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: None

Set: 7:12p Set: 2:47p

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: 1:06a

Set: 7:11p Set: 3:38p

Sunrise: 7:04a Moonrise: 2:14a

Set: 7:10p Set: 4:22p

Sunrise: 7:04a Moonrise: 3:21a

Set: 7:09p Set: 5:00p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 4:25a

Set: 7:07p Set: 5:34p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 5:26a

Set: 7:06p Set: 6:05p

Sunrise: 7:06a Moonrise: 6:25a

Set: 7:05p Set: 6:34p

AM Minor: ——-

PM Minor: 12:22p

AM Minor: 12:51a

PM Minor: 1:20p

AM Minor: 1:45a

PM Minor: 2:13p

AM Minor: 2:34a

PM Minor: 3:00p

AM Minor: 3:19a

PM Minor: 3:43p

AM Minor: 4:01a

PM Minor: 4:23p

AM Minor: 4:42a

PM Minor: 5:04p

AM Major: 6:07a

PM Major: 6:38p

AM Major: 7:06a

PM Major: 7:35p

AM Major: 7:59a

PM Major: 8:26p

AM Major: 8:47a

PM Major: 9:12p

AM Major: 9:31a

PM Major: 9:54p

AM Major: 10:12a

PM Major: 10:35p

AM Major: 10:53a

PM Major: 11:15p

Moon Overhead: 7:25a

12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:22a

Moon Overhead: 8:25a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:15a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:49a

Moon Overhead: 11:03a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:33p 12a

12p

FEET

BEST:

6:00-7:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 8:54p BEST:

7:00-8:40 AM

Moon Underfoot: 9:49p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 10:39p BEST:

7:55-9:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 11:27p BEST:

3:10-5:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: None BEST:

9:25-11:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: 12:11a +2.0

BEST:

10:05AM-12:15PM

10:45AM-12:50PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:55p +2.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

WEDNESDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

High Tide: 3:10 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

1.92 ft High Tide: 3:18 am -0.05 ft Low Tide: 6:19 pm

1.92 ft High Tide: 3:31 am -0.01 ft Low Tide: 7:27 pm

1.86 ft 0.07 ft

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

3:43 am 9:17 am 12:35 pm 8:26 pm

1.76 ft 1.47 ft 1.57 ft 0.21 ft

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

3:53 am 9:21 am 2:08 pm 9:16 pm

1.66 ft 1.25 ft 1.60 ft 0.40 ft

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

4:04 am 9:42 am 3:24 pm 10:02 pm

1.58 ft 1.01 ft 1.64 ft 0.63 ft

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

4:15 am 10:10 am 4:32 pm 10:44 pm

1.53 ft 0.77 ft 1.68 ft 0.87 ft

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z z

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 7:45-9:40 AM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 7:00p Moonrise: 10:18a Set: 8:47p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 6:59p Moonrise: 11:16a Set: 9:29p

Oct 1

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:04p Set: 7:04p

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 8:21a

Set: 7:03p Set: 7:36p

Sunrise: 7:08a Moonrise: 9:19a

Set: 7:01p Set: 8:10p

AM Minor: 5:25a

PM Minor: 5:47p

AM Minor: 6:11a

PM Minor: 6:33p

AM Minor: 6:59a

PM Minor: 7:22p

AM Minor: 7:51a

PM Minor: 8:15p

AM Minor: 8:45a

PM Minor: 9:09p

AM Minor: 9:39a

PM Minor: 10:05p

AM Minor: 10:34a

PM Minor: 10:59p

AM Major: 11:36a

PM Major: 11:58p

AM Major: ——-

PM Major: 12:22p

AM Major: 12:48a

PM Major: 1:11p

AM Major: 1:39a

PM Major: 2:03p

AM Major: 2:32a

PM Major: 2:57p

AM Major: 3:27a

PM Major: 3:52p

AM Major: 4:21a

PM Major: 4:47p

Moon Overhead: 1:17p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:47p

Moon Overhead: 2:01p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 3:35p 12a

12p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 6:58p Sunrise: 7:10a Moonrise: 12:11p Set: 10:16p Moonrise: 1:03p

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 7:23a

Moon Overhead: 5:14p

Moon Overhead: 4:24p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Set: 6:57p Set: 11:07p

Moon Overhead: 6:05p 12a

12p

FEET

+2.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 12:55a BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 1:39a BEST:

11:30AM-1:25PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:24a BEST:

12:15-2:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:11a BEST:

1:05-2:50 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:59a BEST:

2:00-3:50 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:49a BEST:

2:50-4:35 PM

3:50-5:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:39a BEST:

+2.0

4:45-7:20 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

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

C24

4:24 am 10:40 am 5:36 pm 11:22 pm

1.50 ft 0.57 ft 1.71 ft 1.10 ft

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

• S E P T E M B E R

4:33 am 11:13 am 6:38 pm 11:57 pm

1.50 ft 0.41 ft 1.72 ft 1.30 ft

2 0 0 8 /

High Tide: 4:36 am 1.52 ft Low Tide: 11:47 am 0.32 ft High Tide: 7:43 pm 1.72 ft

T E X A S

F i s h

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

12:27 am 4:28 am 12:25 pm 8:53 pm

1.46 ft 1.56 ft 0.29 ft 1.71 ft

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

12:47 am 3:48 am 1:07 pm 10:24 pm

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

1.59 ft 1.62 ft 0.30 ft 1.70 ft

Low Tide: 12:43 am 1.67 ft High Tide: 3:14 am 1.69 ft Low Tide: 1:56 pm 0.35 ft

High Tide: 3:20 am Low Tide: 2:54 pm

1.75 ft 0.40 ft

-1.0

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Fishbites— An Xtreme Bite

OU KNOW A SCENTED BAIT WORKS WHEN there is a tiny piece left on the jighead and you are still catching one fish after another. You know that a scented bait works when the water is the color of day-old coffee, and you are still catching fish. You know a scented bait works when you leave it sitting on the bottom while you pick out a backlash, and a trout comes along and slurps it up. Such were the cases with Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release line of scented tails. These baits are the product of decades-long research and development by marine researcher Dr. William Carr. Carr, a University of Florida professor for over 30 years, applied principals that he discovered during his research of the olfactory and gustatory habits of fish into creating a line of biodegradable baits that release

C26

• S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

natural live bait flavor and scents into the water that stimulate the feeding mechanism in predatory fish. When the UPS man delivered a box of assorted tails to me (Xtreme Scent Release comes in three different designs, a 5-inch Jerk Bait, 3.5-inch Shrimp Tail, and a 3inch Paddle Tail Shad), I quickly tore the lid of the box (I hadn’t been fishing in over a month and was going stir crazy), grabbed a bunch of bags, and made plans to take the old Teacher’s Pet (or at least the latest version of that stalwart boat) out to find some trout. Mother Nature had other plans for me, and I found a west wind blowing and dark brown-stained water when I got to the boat ramp. Gene, my fishing partner for the day, and I were a little discouraged by the conditions, but sometimes you must work for your fillets. Truthfully, the conditions were ideal for a series of experiments with the Fishbites tails, and off we went to find some cleaner water and hungry fish. We never found the former, but we did find the latter. After running around Lower Laguna Madre all morning and trying as many different spots as we could think of, we finally found some trout late in the day. They were holding in a small channel that fed out of Cullen Bay. Most of the trout were undersized, but we did find enough keepers to save the day. The action was steady, and all three Fishbites baits worked well. The lures did make the difference, because I swapped out lures several times while Gene kept using the Fishbites. I caught a couple of fish with other lures, but the trout (and occasional pinfish or whiting) kept consistently hitting Dr. Carr’s baits. Carr’s work involved developing watersoluble feeding stimulants that he later refined into concentrated forms that comprise the Xtreme Scent Release baits. In other words, these tails don’t simulate fish food, they are fish food. The scent and flavor melt off of the bait and into the water,

T E X A S

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

and any fish within range are stimulated into feeding. Gene was using the 3.5-inch Shrimp Tail, and he refused to give it up. The bait’s tail was eaten off, as were most of the segments. Eventually, a 1-inch kernel was left on the jighead, and Gene kept fishing with it. He kept hooking trout, which was impressive. At one point, the wind held up my jig in the air just long enough to create the backlash from hell in my Curado 100D. Fortunately, I was spooled with FireLine Braid, so picking out the bird’s nest wasn’t too difficult. While I was thus distracted, the bait rested at the bottom of the channel. That is, it rested until a 16-inch trout picked it up and gave me a good yank. There is little doubt that Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release works. They made a tough fishing day a good day, and neither Gene nor I went home unhappy. I would like to see the tails come in slightly thicker designs. The slim design limits the jighead size you can use. A thicker version of the Jerk Bait version would be absolute poison on Texas redfish. Until then, I guess I will have to continue fishing the current line of baits. Oh, woe is me. Contact: Carr Specialty Baits, Inc., 877840-2248, www.fishbites.com —Calixto Gonzales

Buck Knives—One Hand Only How many times have you had your hands full of something you couldn’t put down, and needed to open a pocketknife? I have lost count. All my life I have wanted to find a really good knife that I could open with one hand. For a while, when I was a federal agent, I carried a high-quality switchblade made by Boker. However, private citizens are forbidden from carrying

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such a practical tool. Why, I have never understood, as I can’t see that a switchblade is one bit more dangerous than any other edged weapon. Anyway, the search went on for many years. Well, I have finally found a couple of knives that fit the bill. At the SHOT show this year, Buck Knives showed me a two models that finally offer the farmer, rancher, cop, outdoorsman, or anyone else a tool that can be opened with one hand. I can’t tell you how much I have longed for such knives. First is the Buck Redpoint. It is a lightweight single-blade knife with a neoprene (I think) all-weather grip. It features a blade that can be opened by simply spinning a serrated wheel that extends above the front bolster. The blade is the combination type with the rear half serrated. The blade is locked in position both open and closed, and is freed by a thumb button. This is a great design that is much simpler to operate than it is to describe. I have been carrying my Redpoint a couple of months now and have grown to love it. My old Eye Brand Trapper has been retired to the knife drawer, at least for the present. The Redpoint comes in several rather garish colors, including bright blue and bright yellow, but you can always get the black or gray versions. I decided that the bright colors were an advantage in case I dropped the knife in deep grass or brush. With practice, this little knife can be opened one handed just as quickly as a switchblade, and the steel is easy to sharpen and keeps an edge well. Next are Buck’s new assisted opening knives. There are several models. The one I have is the Sirus. This knife is equipped with a spring-assisted blade. Once you have moved the blade a fraction of an inch by pushing down on the part of the blade that extends through the rear of the grip, the blade springs open like a switchblade. It is not, however, a switchblade and is completely legal because it is not opened mechanically, as there is no switch. The blade can be locked both open and closed and is, again, designed for opening quickly with one hand. My knife has a camouflage

handle. The blade is 3-1/4 inches with a drop point. This is a very useful knife design and one that I have grown very fond of. It would be extremely useful to the rancher or outdoorsman. It is nice to finally own a knife that you can open one-handed without using your teeth. Well done, Buck. Contact: Buck Knives, 800-326-2825, www.buckknives.com —Steve LaMascus

Tallon Time for Rod Holders Putting rodholders into a boat with thin gunwales can be a real dilemma; mount them on the inwales, and you have just created a shin-banger; topmount rodholders can’t take the pressure and stress created by large fish; and receiver-mount rodholders leave you with ugly receiver mounts inside your boat. Tallon Marine’s new mounting system, however, aims to solve this problem while expanding your boat’s abilities. Talon’s receiver mounts are thin, unobtrusive, and relatively inexpensive. Developed in New Zealand, they have a deceptively small opening that is covered with a rubber door. The insert connectors are Tshaped, and when you push them into the receivers, they drop down and the T grabs

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

F i s h

against the front of the receiver, securing it in place. Rodholders with the T-shaped connectors mounted on the back are available in single, triple, and quad holder racks, and all rodholders are made of stainless steel. When I tried mounting one on my boat, I felt it was secure enough to hang tight even when I trolled with a tight drag for hard-striking fish like king mackerel, and leaning against the holder didn’t cause the mount to bend or break. While these rodholders are great, Tallon expands your abilities by offering a multitude of other items that can be used with the receiver mounts. Ready to cut bait and do some chumming? Pull up the Tconnector on your rodholder, pop it off the mount, stow it below decks, and drop in the polyethylene bait table. You want to dive on a wreck? Tallon has a dive tank rack system that connects to the receivers as well. Cup holders, loops and hooks, and multi-purpose holders are also available. And, if you have a gadget like a handheld GPS or a cell phone that never seems to be stowed in the proper place, you can connect it to a Tallon mount with their connector/adaptor kits. These work with Gripper tabs to hold the item in place, so while you wouldn’t want to

G a m e ® / S E P T E M B E R

Continued on Page C33

2 0 0 8

•

C27

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Honda Marine: Bread & Butter Outboards range from the previous 40/50hp models. (Both of these Hondas are identical except the 50hp model has a different computer mapping that allows it to rev higher and get more fuel to make the extra 10hp.) Along with better fuel economy and smoother operation comes stronger off-idle

PHOTO BY BRUCE SMITH

OOK CLOSELY AT THE TRANSOM OF ANY OF the smaller aluminum fishing boats and Jon boats and odds are you’ll see a 40- or 50-horsepower four-stroke outboard. The same holds true for flats boats plying the really skinny waters along the Texas Gulf Coast. These mid-size engines have become the bread-and-butter power choice for anglers and hunters who want fuel economy and compactness coupled with light weight and performance. So, it’s no surprise Honda Marine focused their attention in 2008 on freshening up their popular BF40 and BF50 models. It’s a redesign that not only improves on what are already outstanding Honda technologies, but adds more of the features that raise the benchmarks of both performance and durability. The most notable aspects for fresh and saltwater boat owners is Honda upgrading the operating system to electronic fuel-injection and reducing the weight of their popular in-line three-cylinder to a svelte 214 pounds-lightest in this size outboard. EFI makes these new four-strokes instant starting under all weather conditions and results in ultra-smooth operation from idle to wide-open-throttle. They are also stellar runners down in those low trolling speeds. Shaving pounds off the transom improves the shallow water handling and overall performance of flats and light aluminum boats. An added benefit of the upgrades is the new Hondas provide nearly twice the charging capacity as the competitors, delivering a whopping 17 amps of battery charging power from the 22-amp alternator. They are also best-in-class in fuel economy, up 20percent in the 3500-4500 rpm cruising

“The Engine Control Module (ECM) then steps in to increase injector timing, creating a more potent air/fuel mixture,” explains Fulcher. “The resulting boost in available torque at low rpm contributes to a strong hole-shot to get the boat up on plane quickly.” We ran the 50hp on several different boats, including a PolarCraft 165 Side Console aluminum bass boat and a rotomolded Triumph 17 Center Console. In both applications, there seemed to be a slightly faster and stronger throttle response and quicker time-to-plane than we remembered on the previous generation Hondas.

Honda has redesigned and mid-range acceland BF50 models. eration thanks to what Honda engineers call “BLAST.” That’s an acronym for Honda’s patented Boosted Low Speed Torque system. John Fulcher, the senior engineering manager, said BLAST is one of the programs in the new outboard’s on-board computer that senses when the operator advances the throttle quickly and then “advances ignition spark timing to within one degree of the knock limit during ‘hammer down’ acceleration.

their popular BF40

What was very evident on both Honda-powered boats was the smoothness and strong power delivery of the new engines from trolling speed to wide-open throttle. It was also quite evident from Honda’s digital read-out gauges (yes, the new engines are designed to be fitted with the same digital electronics as found on the 200/225 V6s) the addition of EFI and the computer-controlled “Lean Burn” technology makes the 40/50hp Hondas true fuel-sippers.

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Continued from Page C28 The BF50 on the PolarCraft, for example, with three of us aboard, showed 7.2 mpg at 31 mph running wide-open at 5900 rpm. We slowed it down to a comfortable cruising speed (20 mph) and netted almost 10 mpg. That’s fuel efficiency any Texas angler can live with in these days of $4/gallon prices. “Lean Burn Control adjusts the air/fuel mixture for maximum fuel efficiency at cruise,” said Fulcher, “and the result is about a savings of 20 percent over the previous engine.” Fuel economy and acceleration weren’t the only things we noticed improved with the new Honda BF40/BF50. Performance while fishing, of course, is not limited to topend speed; slow trolling is also essential. The redesigned BF40 and BF50 EFI can troll 15-percent slower than before with the

ability to now troll at 800 rpm. The BF40 and BF50 EFI also feature Honda’s all-new high-performance gear case. A longer anti-ventilation plate helps trap water flowing to the propeller to minimize porpoising-a phenomenon caused by the prop losing bite when the engine is overtrimmed. Honda designers also streamlined the front of the lower unit and enlarged the bullet (gear case) to reduce drag for enhanced acceleration and fuel efficiency. Honda also improved an already good anti-corrosion package, utilizing a new paint coating process that provides four layers of internal cylinder block protection against corrosion. The new outboards also have small plastic snap-out covers to allow the owner to easily check and replace anodes located in the block’s water jacket. Some changes small, others big. All add

up to a much improved 40/50hp offering that should deliver Honda-reliability and performance for many, many years. Should warranty be a worry, Honda is the first outboard manufacturer to give a true 5-year, non-declining, transferable warranty from the manufacturer. (Other warranties are actually service contracts you purchase through a third-party, not the engine manufacturer.) Honda’s full warranty “gives full coverage from the first day of purchase to the last day of the five-year period,” said Steve Drenkard, the newly appointed marketing/product manager for Honda Marine. Contact: Honda Marine, 800-4267701, www.honda.com —Bruce W. Smith

TEXAS TESTED Continued from Page C27 put a rodholder or other weight-bearing item on one, it will work just fine for smaller items. Less expensive polycarbonate receivers and connectors are available, but I liked the stainless-steel versions, and after testing the rodholder, have a lot of confidence in its weight-bearing ability. Contact: Tallon Marine, Ltd., 866616-4063, www.tallonmarine.com —Lenny Rudow

JL Marine Audio— Sounds Like a Winner You want to listen to better Buffet while you run to the next hotspot? I tested out a pair of JL Marine Audio speakers, their new MX650 CCX 6.5-inch diameter coaxials, to find out if they could live up to real-world angler abuse. Sure, these 50-watt, 4-ohm, 2.7-inch deep flush-mounts sound great, thanks to

the DMA-optimized long-excursion design. And the choice of JL’s new Sport Grille or Classic Grille means you can choose the look to match your boat’s styling. You want more power? In a speaker box that is ready to mount on a tower? Okay, then opt for the M770-ETX CG model, which can carry 100 watts and includes a fiberglass mounting enclosure

on a mounting post that swivels 360degrees. But be prepared to spend big bucks for these little noisemakers—$1100. Then again, who cares about all these features if the speakers die after the first blast of a washdown hose? So, to start the ball rolling, I put the Rolling Stones on the stereo, jammed it up to 10, and took careful aim with my saltwater washdown. For a A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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solid 10 seconds, I sent water streaming right into the face of these injection-molded mica-filled polypropylene cone bodies with synthetic rubber surrounds and crossover features, which include solidstate tweeter protection to prevent tweeter failures due to abuse and to reset automatically. My treatment was definitely abusive, but not abusive enough. To simulate more real-world fishing conditions, my next move was to swing a 3-ounce lead sinker into the faceplate. Crack! It made plenty of noise, but the plastic held firm and didn’t shatter. In my final attempt at Texas-style torture, I squirted the speakers with nonskid deck cleaner and scrubbed them with a stiff-bristle brush, followed up by another blast of the washdown hose. Still, the sound of the Stones wafted across the bay. The new JL’s can take a boatload of abuse in the marine environment and keep on working. Contact: JL Audio, http://marine.jlaudio.com —LR

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Hydra-Sports 4100 Vector Sport Fish Measuring a full 41 feet, six inches overall with a 12-foot beam and 23 degree dead rise, the 4100 takes its place at the top of the Hydra-Sports line. We’ve combined the ultimate in top-of-the-line fishing features and comfort amenities in a platform worthy of the most extreme conditions. The 4100 features the same Kevlarreinforced, hand-laid fiberglass-laminated all-composite hull utilizing a premium gel coat finish as its smaller Hydra-Sports Vectors. The Integrated Structural Grid system, built of finished fiberglass bonded to the hull with methacrylate adhesive and

Suzuki Powers 4-Ward with Nation’s First 100-HP Motor A decade after starting America’s EFI 4-stroke outboard revolution, Suzuki Marine is setting a new benchmark with the launch of the only 100-horsepower 4-stroke outboard available in the United States. The new-for-2009 Suzuki DF100 has been engineered to provide superior acceleration and fuel efficiency in a compact, lightweight package, making it a powerful choice for a wide range of new and existing boats. Available in both 20- and 25-inch shaft versions, Suzuki’s new DF100 will be right at home on the transom of pontoon boats, small center consoles, bay boats, fish ‘n ski models and more. C34

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injected with urethane foam is the backbone for the famous HydraSports ride. The 4100 comes standard with six fish boxes, a 60-gallon tournament live well, plenty of rod holders and more than ample rod storage, a bait prep area with freshwater sink, tackle/gear storage and a pullout cooler. An optional Pro Package offers a 55-gallon bait well, two tuna tubes and a tackle center in place of the bait prep station, among other offerings. Ten different power options in triple or The DF100’s innovation begins with a 118.9 cu. in. inline 4-cylinder Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) powerhead with four-valves-per-cylinder. Suzuki’s proven digital multi-point electronic fuel injection optimizes performance under any engine load, temperature or altitude. Suzuki’s experience with high-performance engines has led to the development of features like the DF100’s tuned and water-cooled intake system and water-cooled fuel rail, which help to squeeze the most power out of every pony and the most miles from every gallon of fuel. In addition, Suzuki’s raceproven 4-into-2-into-1 exhaust system optimizes exhaust flow for superior performance and smooth acceleration. The new Suzuki DF100 also incorporates several proven engineering features designed to reduce the overall weight and size of this new 4-stroke outboard motor. An offset driveshaft and two-stage cam drive are used to move the DF100’s center of gravity forward on the transom. This not only reduces

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Hydra-Sports 4100 Vector quad outboard configurations, powering up to 1,400 hp, from Yamaha, Evinrude or Mercury and a 600 plus-gallon fuel capacity.

Contact: Hydra-Sports 1651 Whitfield Ave. Sarasota, FL 34243 Phone: (941) 753-7811 Web: www.hydrasports.com the outboard’s exterior dimensions so it looks great and fits better on boats with limited clearance, but also offers better balance on the transom which translates to reduced engine vibrations and improved performance and ride. Features like the DF100’s self-adjusting, oil-bathed timing chain (rather than a timing belt) remove this maintenance worry and help ensure season after season of hassle free operation. Further enhancing reliability over the long run are features like Suzuki’s one-piece forged crankshaft and durable stainless steel water pump. An air-cooled, highoutput 40-amp alternator keeps its cool as it keeps plenty of juice flowing to power the sophisticated marine electronics, pumps, lights and accessories found on today’s fishing and family boats. To learn more about the new Suzuki DF100 for 2009 — contact Suzuki Marine at (714) 996-7040 or visit Suzuki’s informative website at www.suzuki.com.

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Plano Guide Series More Than a Tackle Box The 1440 Guide Series Case has the maximum capacity for your larger accessories. It features a comfortable molded handle, four latches located on the font and sides along with the padlock detail provide premium protection.

Magnum Dock Light Fishing Lights Etc., one of the country’s leading producers of Underwater Fishing Lights introduces the hottest, brightest underwater halogen light to ever hit the market… the Magnum Dock Light. The Magnum Dock Light is a compact 120-volt, 300 watt halogen light that produces 1.5 Million C.P. of fish attracting light! No more 12-volt batteries to go dead, just plug the light in to any 120VAC outlet for instant light. Now you can change between white light, green light and blue light in under a minute and the bulbs and globe are replaceable by you. The light comes with a 25’ heavy-duty power-cord with a GFCI built into the plug for your safety. For more information, contact Fishing Lights Etc. at 785-259-1343 or visit our websites at www.fishinglightsetc.com and www.docklightsetc.com.

The 1440 Guide Series™ Case comes with a green TPR lining, along with an under-the-lid liner that provides private, secure and protected storage for video cameras, compact binoculars and other large accessories. It measures 12.5”L x 8.5”W x 5.11”H and retails for $34.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

PowerLoader Turns ATVs into Power Lifters If you have ever tried to load a trophy animal by yourself, you know how challenging it can be. Great Day’s patented PowerLoader allows one person to single-handedly load the biggest trophy in seconds without any lifting and straining. The Powerloader operates with use of any factory-installed or after-market winch and fits on all popular brands and models of ATV’s and UTV’s (Polaris, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kubota, John

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Plano Guide Series case. Deere, Cub Cadet, Bush Hog, and more). The PowerLoader can even be adapted to “Custom Golf Cart” style hunting vehicles, ex. - Bad Boy, Club Car, Stealth, EZGO. The Model PL250 PowerLoader is constructed of aircraft aluminum and has a 350lb. capacity The PowerLoader’s patented loading cradle telescopes out for

PowerLoader

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easy loading and then retracts for a secure ride home. Look for the PowerLoader in major catalogs and retail shops. Suggested retail for the PowerLoader is $299.00. For more information, call 866-649-1918, Ext 137 or visit www.GreatDayInc.com.

American classic. In doing so, we have improved upon a venerable design, while maintaining the integrity of a gun we all have come to love and trust during our days in deer camp,” says Iver Mossberg, CEO of O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. Out of the box the

Mossberg Goes Retro with Rifle

Mossberg 464 Lever-Action rifle

Founded in 1919, O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. is the oldest family-owned firearms manufacturer in America, and is the largest pump-action shotgun manufacturer in the world. Mossberg pulls the trigger on another American Classic, the all-new 464™ Lever Action Rifle. With a new design centered around improved accuracy, safety, and value, the 464 Lever Action Rifle maintains the classic lines of a deer hunter’s best friend. “We are very excited to pay tribute to such a great

American made 464 Lever Action Rifle, with its hardwood stock and blued receiver and barrel transcend you to days-gone-by. It weighs in at 6.7 lbs and has an overall length of 38.5”. The balance point is precisely at the juncture of the forend and receiver. The combination of weight, balance, and a smooth yet robust action makes the 464 Lever Action rifle tremendously fast han-

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thru magnetic camo curtains and locking pins. A raised-interior floor section allows you to store items off of the floor. Additional options and/or accessories are available. The Double FF Blind’s mobility and capabilities are endless whether pulled by Darkwoods’ ATV Quick Hitch Trailer or moved by hand. Simply disconnect your ATV from the trailer, place jack stands and hunt directly off of the trailer; or slide the blind off of the trailer and onto the ground for ground-level hunting. Call 405.520.6754, or www.darkwoodsblind.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, August 01, 2008 Contact: Brian Blank Tel: 610-373-5300 x215 Cell: 301-606-6679 Email: bblank@medalist.com

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dling, maneuverable and astoundingly accurate - qualities a traditional lever action and Mossberg are known for. For complete details on the new Mossberg® 464™ Lever Action and the complete line of commercial, specialpurpose, law enforcement and military shotguns, rifles and accessories, please call your local Mossberg dealer or visit www.mossberg.com.

All-New Medalist.com Set to Launch Medalist Performance Sports Apparel, the leaders in high performance technical apparel featuring their Silvermax™ technology, has announced today the launch of their new interactive website: www.medalist.com. The new site will connect consumers to the Athletic, Winter Sports, Outdoors, Hunting, Law Enforcement, and Military community. The new site will serve as a global interaction point for consumers, retailers, and strategic partners. The new Medalist.com will allow the user to interact by blogging with “Team Medalist” Pro-Staffers who share their passion and commitment to excel in their chosen field. Some examples include: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver (3 Time Lightweight UFC Champion of the World) discussing the Medalist “Persistence” life style. Ron Avery – President and Training Director for “The Practical Shooting School”, who will be demonstrating for The Law Enforcement and Military community shooting tips and instruction, focused upon HIGH PERFORMANCE SHOOTING. Matt Morrett – HS Pro-Staffer and five time World Champion Turkey caller will blog us through the fall hunting season starting in August; with keen insights so you can

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start preparing for the season. Matt will be providing inside tips throughout the season. Other contributor’s to the website will be: “Team Medalist” hunting pro staff as seen on TV and DVD - Xtreme Outdoors/ “Huntin’ Hard”, Hunter’s Specialties, Broadside Adventures, Team Backwoods – “Excalibur’s Huntin’ The Backwoods”, “All Outdoors with Alan Probst”, “Innerloc’s Out-There” and Five time UFC champion and Hunting host Tim Sylvia in “TST Outdoors”. As a special feature on the site, Trent Ewing, a high school student will keeps us up to date with the life style of today’s teens. Medalist has been in business since 1898, and has been an important supplier for troops in the military dating back to World War I. Medalist supplies performance apparel for the athletic, hunting, winter sports, outdoors, law enforcement, and military markets in over 2300 retail locations throughout the world. Medalist’s products have been tested under the most extreme of conditions over the years, including use in outer-space by the NASA Space Shuttle Crew. Medalist offers a wide range of products, for more information on Medalist Performance Sports Apparel call 1-800543-8952, or visit the company’s website: www.medalist.com.

$7.99-$14.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

The Internet Now Wears Camo

Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release bio-degradable plastic lures: (from top) Finesse Worm, Paddle Tail, Jerk Bait, XR Fatty, and Shrimp. Xtreme scent without extreme stink! Experience the Xtreme Scent, Xteme Site, Xtreme Action and Xtreme Bite of Fishites Xtreme Scent Release lures. Available now in both Freshwater and Saltwater varieties at your favorite tackle retailer. Freshwater and Saltwater shapes include: 5” Jerkbait, 3.5” Shrimp (headless), 3” Paddle Tail, 5” XR Fatty Jr (senko-style worm) & 6” Finesse worm. Carr Specialty Baits, Inc. St. Augustine, FL 32084 - ww.fishbites.com – 1-877840-2248.

Fishbites Goes to Xtreme with New Plano Guards Your Scent Lures Handguns

Carr Specialty Baits, Inc (makers of Fishbites) has released a new line scented lures called Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release (Fishbites Xtreme). Made from Fishbites’ propriety Hydro-Gel, Fishbites Xtreme lures holds almost all of their powerful flavor/scents inside the body of the lure until it hits the water. In short, it’s “the scent that melts in the water, not on your hands®”. These water-based, biodegradable plastic lures are taking the US-based Fishbites brand to a whole new level of technological achievement in the industry. There’s no longer a need to mess with stink baits or lures suspended in leaky tubs of foul smelling juice. Fishbites gives your hook

The 700 Series Gun Guard Pistol Cases protect your guns with a heavy-duty 600D exterior. Each pistol case has thick foam padding, full length zippers and a D-ring for easy hanging. The 700 Series cases are all light grey and retail for

CamoSpace.com was formed to be the number one destination for outdoorsmen and women to have a place online dedicated to them. By providing the hunters and anglers, as well as the campers, hikers and trail riders a website to express themselves in their own way, they have become one of the only websites fully dedicated to them all. This unique website was formed through the thoughts and ideas of the founder, Dennis Reid, Jr., and the website developer and designer Brandee Diggs. With the additional energy and drive to succeed brought in by Jimmy Coulbourne, the three have made an impact on this community by proving the site is geared and devoted directly to them, the outdoors lover. A social community designed by outdoorsmen for those passionate about their love of the outdoors has shown to be a need among the community. With no unrelated content or material that does not pertain to the concept of the website, the members feel comfortable knowing that they can visit the website without being distracted with ads, marketing campaigns or fluff, as we have coined it. The goal of the site is to provide a home for over 80 million outdoorsmen, and women, nationwide as well other worldwide geographic locations including Europe and Australia. Camospace.com is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide and is monitored to retain the concept and content in line. By keeping the site also family friendly, we attract the younger hunters and provide them with a safe and warm community to interact and learn more about what they love the most. CamoSpace.

Plano 700 Series pistol case.

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Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope

tive. I put it on the Sonora because the rifle is perfect for long-range predator work, and as we all know, a predator rifle is often used very early and very late in the day, as well as at

USHNELL HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR A very long time. David P. Bushnell founded the company in 1948 while with the U.S. occupation forces in Japan after WWII. Since that time, the company has grown immensely. Today, they make great sporting optics of all kinds. The Elite 4200 Scope is one of the best. The one I am testing now is on a new Kimber 8400 Sonora rifle (more on the new Kimber rifle in a future Shoot This! article) that I am putting through the wringer. This scope is a 2.5-10x40 and has the Bushnell Firefly reticle, a glow-in-the-dark reticle that you “charge up” by shining a light into the rear of the scope for a few seconds. If you do not want the glowing reticle, you just do not charge it. Simple and effec-

night. T h e 4200 Elite is a high-quality scope, comparable to the best in the business. Adjustments are precise and solid. The glass is clear as high mountain air. The sight is durable, and I wouldn’t hesitate to mount one on the biggest magnum rifle. In addition, the Elite has the Bushnell Rainguard coating on the lenses, which prevents fogging—something those who hunt in very cold or very wet climates can appreciate. It also carries the Elite Bullet-Proof warranty and a one-year

no questions a s k e d replacement guarantee in the U.S. The Bushnell website says of the Rainguard coating: “Rainguard, Bushnell’s permanent, patented, hydrophobic (water-repellant) lens coating, prevents fogging by causing condensation from rain, sleet, snow, or even your own breath to bead up into much smaller droplets than on standard coatings. Smaller droplets scatter less light, which results in a clearer, brighter view. Now the hunter won’t miss the shot of a lifetime because of rain or accidentally breathing on his eyepiece.” As for the Firefly reticle, I think it is a great idea. I have lost count of the times I had trouble finding a thin, black crosshair against the side of a dark colored animal in dim light. With a quick shot from your pocket flashlight into the back end of the scope, you have a glowing crosshair that allows precision shot placement in the poorest light. Not only that, the light transmission quality of the glass in the Elite 4200 is excellent, meaning that you can better see that deer in the last shooting light of the day. Bushnell makes entry-level scopes and scopes of truly superior quality—pretty much whatever you desire and can afford. They have scopes ranging in price from about 50 bucks up to $899 MSRP for the biggest Elite 6500. The Elite 4200 2.510x40 Firefly sells for $459 MSRP, which puts it right in the middle of the price range. I think it is worth the price, and then some. —Steve LaMascus

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The “Seven” Bull

Y HUSBAND, DICK, SURPRISED ME WITH A wonderful Christmas present—a bull elk hunt on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Dulce, New Mexico.

The hunt was incredible, and God was the director. We spotted over a hundred bulls, but they were skittish and many had broken tines from fighting. A good friend of mine had asked me to take one that would out-score her fiancé’s bull, so 320 was our measuring stick, and the search was on.

by Jackie Sessions, TF&G Reader The days leading up to New Year’s Eve were filled with 20-degrees below zero temperatures, driving snow, biting wind, an unsuccessful mile-long stalk up a snow-covered mountain, a non-productive 464-yard shot, and the most awesome scenery and

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wildlife that only God’s paintbrush could create. The days were also filled with questions and dialogue concerning hunting, politics, religion, cultural heritages, and friendships developed. Other guides and hunters freely shared their knowledge at lunch and dinners, and bonds were forged and memories made. Every possible hunting scenario was contemplated, and even the movie character Josey Wales was discussed. (Wales always wanted the sun at his back to give himself an edge.) On the fifth and final day of the hunt, the team took “Seven.” He was 3/4 of the way up the mountainside at Stone Lake Gap, 280 yards away. We were looking directly into the sun and the wind was fierce, so

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Trophy Fever

PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKIE SESSIONS

Special Hunting Section

Dick held his cap to the left of my scope to block the blinding sun. (Thoughts of Josey flashed through my mind.) With one shot from my Browning 7mm magnum, Seven fell after making 30 yards, and the billowing explosion of snow marked the spot. Our guides, Isaac Julian and Shanahan Truby Largo, were ecstatic. They put in a call to other guides for assistance in getting the bull down the vertical mountain face without damaging its near-perfect antlers. Three

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brave souls answered the call, and six men armed with ropes and knives scaled the treacherous slope and successfully completed the mission. My husband was one of those volunteers. (A recent illness hampered my ability to accompany the men, and they gently, but firmly recommended that I “supervise” their progress with binoculars from where I took the shot.) Seven scored 334 gross and 330 net. Our guides informed us that a tribal mem-

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ber had the highest scoring bull of the season, and Seven had the second highest net score. It was a team effort on a dream hunt filled with fantastic guides, wonderful new friends, magnificent scenery and wildlife, and incredible memories that last a lifetime. It just does not get much better than that. P.S.: I did suffer a “blonde” moment when the guides informed me that two bulls were lying down on the mountainside. (Actually, there were four bulls, but two went unnoticed until the report from the rifle spurred them into action.) I was to shoot the one that was facing right. I replied that the only bull I could spot in my Leupold was looking directly at me, and Truby semicalmly explained that two bulls were facing each other, and that I was to shoot the one whose head was to the right of his body. (God knew what He was doing when He only allowed me to see the one that I was supposed to shoot.) Besides, only my hairstylist knows that my blonde hair comes from a bottle.

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BUCK—BANDERA COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

Chandler Clark, age 13, of Houston, Texas, shot his first whitetail buck in Bandera County using his dad, Walt’s old Remington .270. Chandler has sat with his dad in many deer stands over the last 10 years, and his time has finally come.

Stacey Corbin of Galveston, Texas, shot her first deer with a .243 Weatherby Vanguard at over 100 yards near Goldthwaite in Mills County, Texas. The 9pointer scored just under 130 and was 4-1/2 years old.

BUCK—UVALDE COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MEDINA, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

Tristan Hill, age 8, of Lake Jackson, Texas, killed this buck on opening morning of youth weekend, while hunting with his dad and friends on Niggli Ranch in Uvalde County, Texas. The ranch is owned by Gary and Darrell Bielat.

Claire Barber of Tomball, Texas, shot her first buck on opening day while hunting with her father, Keith, and cousin, Heidi, at her grandparents’ Arrow Z Ranch in Medina, Texas. The 10-pointer scored a 120 and weighed 165 pounds.

Patty Nations of Round Rock, Texas, shot this Hill Country 9-point deer on the opening of youth season, scoring a 125. He was hunting with a great partner, his dad, on Portwood Ranch in Mills County.

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

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

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

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.)

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Scent Control

AST MONTH, I WROTE ABOUT SCOUTING AND how important it is to play the wind when finding your stand site. The weather plays such an important factor when it comes to bowhunting. A steady, strong wind will steer an arrow away from your target and make success so much more difficult. The wind will also be the first to give you away unless you take precautionary measures to avoid detection.

“God, that’s a big deer!” If you want that shot at the big one, you need to keep yourself and your hunting clothes clean. Wash your clothes in a non-scented soap. Then let them air-dry outdoors to keep any home odors off the fabric. It is always a good idea to store them in a scent free bag after they are dry. A clean plastic bag works fine. You could take it one step further and go to your lease or area you plan to hunt and collect a sample of the leaves and other ground debris in that particular area, then store your hunting clothes in the bags until you arrive at the location of the hunt. I shower every time I go into the woods—every time. Some of my hunting buddies think that a shower in the morning is good for the day. If you plan an afternoon

stand, then make sure you shower again, using a scent eliminator soap. Remember to shampoo, too, with a scent eliminator soap. You would be surprised to find out how much your hair will hold human scent. I wear a scent barrier under my camo clothes that helps wick away sweat from my body and keeps me comfortable for the hunt. This is usually made of a very thin material and feels like you have on nothing at all. Not only is it comfortable to wear, it also will help keep your scent down to a minimum. Bowhunters usually wear camouflage clothing when they venture in the woods. Today, they have many different kinds of camo. I recommend camouflage that not only matches the area you are hunting, but also has a scent eliminator built into the fab-

Chemical and clothing-based scent control is critical.

ric. Many companies advertise this new technology in their hunting clothing line, but I have found a company called Medalist is

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my favorite. Not only has it proven to work, the material it is made from is very comfortable and quiet—perfect for those long stand vigils. Before I leave my vehicle to head for the woods, I make it a habit to spray myself down with a scent eliminator. Although we all read that rubber boots do not have a scent, I disagree. Go to your local boot shop and check out the new boots. You can detect the rubber smell long before you are even close to them—and so can deer. If you need boots for the season, buy them well before you plan on using them and keep them out in the air to lose some of that “new” smell. Spraying the bottom of the boots with the scent eliminator will help. I spray my whole outfit, including the inside of my hat. It does work. Hunter’s Specialties products have been around for quite some time and have proven to be an effective tool against human scent. I have used their spray to mask other odors as well. In my hunting class, I put some deer urine on the finger of the other instructor— we all know how bad that can be. After spraying the scent eliminator from Hunter’s Specialties on his finger, the odor was all but a memory. (Why do I use my partner’s finger instead of mine? He lets me.) Take your time when you walk to your stand. The less you sweat, the better off you are. It would be wiser to be a few minutes late rather than speeding to your stand to beat the sunrise. Better yet, just set the alarm earlier. I would much rather be in my stand with 20 minutes to spare. That way, I can take my time with all of my gear and let the woods quite down. When I put out any scent attractant for the deer, I always wear latex gloves. It helps keep human scent contamination to a minimum. If you choose to use the scent bombs, place them upwind from your stand; the deer that walk by will stop for a second and turn their head away from you to investigate the smell. If you do not have a draw on the deer yet, this might be the perfect time. Keep the scent bombs within your known accuracy range and make sure you have a clear shot to the bomb. It would not be good if everything was going right and then a twig the size of a blade of grass gets in the way. You can purchase scent bombs from many places or just use a plastic 35mm film canister (if you can still find one). Place some stones in the bottom of the canister to

keep it from blowing over, and then put a piece of cotton on top. Dab the cotton with your favorite deer scent, and you have a great scent bomb that will cost far less than the commercial ones. When your hunt is done, simply replace the top of the canister and store it in a cool place. It will be ready to use on your next outing. It might be a good idea to use hunter orange tape on the film canisters. It is amazing how you can lose those things. Eliminating human scent is never an easy

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task, but by following these steps, it does tip the odds in your favor. Good luck this season, and don’t forget to keep the emails coming. Hunt smart and, most of all, hunt safe. E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com.

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From Bad to Worse

N THE WATER, THINGS CAN GO FROM BAD to worse in seconds. Quite often, we boaters are the ones who make things worse by doing something we shouldn’t. The question is: Can you recognize a bad situation that has the potential to become worse? And if so, will you know what to do to make it better, instead of boating from the frying pan into the fire?

The Bad: The bluefin tuna was stripping line from the Penn 30 International so quickly that Joe Angler was worried it would strip the reel. So, he turned the wheel over to Jim Neverboats, and asked him to steer while he worked on catching the fish. It took a good long time, but finally, Joe turned the fish and had it up to the boat. Jim let go of the wheel for a moment to gaff the fish, brought it over the gunwales, and a round of high-fives followed. Then, when Joe had a moment to look around and take stock of the situation, he saw that the other fishing lines were all running straight back to the motor. Uh-oh. Jim Neverboats had turned the boat

in a circle while he was at the wheel, and ran over the other fishing lines. Now, they were wrapped around the propeller. The Worse: Joe tilted up the outboard and cut the lines where they met the prop. Assuming a little bit of fishing line wouldn’t harm the propeller, he tilted the motor back down and started running for home. Halfway there, he heard the gut-wrenching sound of grinding metal. Then there was a big clunk! and the boat settled into the water. The motor was still running, but had a blown lower unit. The Lesson: Wrapping fishing line around the propeller can actually cause quite a bit of damage. It cuts into the seal, allowing lower unit oil to escape and seawater to seep in. Run the boat for more than a few minutes in this shape and your lower unit is doomed. Instead of running with the line wrapped around the prop, Joe should have shut down the motor, shifted it into neutral, then spun the prop backwards by hand to un-wind the line. If it didn’t unwrap, he should have un-wound it by hand until every last piece was off. The Bad: After paying thousands of dollars to have his lower unit fixed, Joe decides to go on a long cruise. He stocks the boat, checks the engine fluids, and points the bow for distant horizons. About halfway there, he sees a school of breaking fish and

decides to troll for a while. He sets his lines and everything seems just fine, until an engine alarm starts beeping. He looks at the gauges and sees that the engine is running hot. Joe looks at the tell-tail and sees that it is dripping water at a very slow rate instead of the usual steady stream, so he reels in his trolling lines, shuts off the motor, and the boat comes to a stop. Joe tilts up the motor and checks the intakes to be sure there isn’t a plastic bag or other item obstructing them. He sees nothing wrong. The Worse: Worried he might not make it to his destination, Joe turns around and heads for home. He decides to keep his speed low and putt along, hoping the engine won’t overheat as quickly. But after a few minutes, the temperature spikes again. He shuts down, and allows the engine to cool for a while. Then he re-starts it, and putts some more. After a few hours of this, he gives up and keeps the engine running even as the temperature gauge rises. Soon he smells burning rubber—a belt has melted. In moments, Joe is sitting dead in the water. The Lesson: Joe was doing the right thing when he checked the intakes, but once he discovered they were unobstructed and noticed that the tell-tail was dripping instead of pumping, he did the exact wrong thing by putting along. When cooling water flow is sub-par, you should rev the engine higher, not keep is slow, so that any dirt or grime clogging the system gets pushed through. Often in a situation like this, revving up to 3000 RPM a few times does the trick, and you can continue on your way. But by keeping the RPM low, Joe ensured that the problem remained. Continuing to putt along after watching the temperature rise was, of course, disastrous. If you can’t get a good flow of cooling water going again, shut down and call for a tow. Otherwise, you’re guaranteeing a serious problem after running a very short distance. The Bad: After signing his deed over to the marine mechanic, Joe is finally on the water again. He is running through rough

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water when he notices a funny “clunky” vibration running through the deck every time he comes down off a wave. He slows, and sees that the screws securing his T-top to the wood-cored deck have vibrated loose. The Worse: Joe gets out his screwdriver and tightens the screws. The rest of the trip goes fine. Over the next year, he has to re-tighten the T-top screws after every third or fourth trip, or after a particularly rough day. Then, one day, the screws turn and turn but won’t tighten. Joe takes the boat to the dealer, who tells him the deck is shot and needs a full-blown replacement. The Lesson: By allowing the screws to come loose and be retightened repeatedly, Joe allowed water to get into the decking and rot it out. Plus, every time he turned the screws, they chewed away a little bit more of the wood. If he had taken the boat to the dealer the first time the screws had come loose, they would have been able to do what should have been done in the first place— replace the screws with through-bolts and locking nuts, which won’t vibrate loose. But, it’s too late for that now; the wood is trashed.

The Bad: With his boat repaired and running properly again, Joe decided to head for the rigs and catch some snapper. It was a good plan and the cruise went just fine until he was about 10 miles from the inlet and he felt the boat slam into something. The Worse: After feeling the thud, Joe immediately pulled the throttles back to neutral and the boat settled into the water. Moments later, his fishing buddy, Jim yelled, “I see water in the cabin!” Joe scrambled below and, sure enough, there was a jagged hole in the hull just below the waterline and water was gushing in at a scary rate. Joe stuffed a cushion into the hole, went back to the helm, and put the boat into gear. He realized that as long as he kept the boat on plane the hole would be above the waterline and he could remain afloat. Unfortunately, there was already about 100 gallons of water in the bow of the boat, and with an additional 800 pounds of weight up forward, the boat couldn’t raise its nose and get onto plane. Within half an hour, Joe’s boat sank. If hadn’t been for a nearby sportfisherman that saved Joe and Jim, they would

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have died. Joe swore off boating forever, took his insurance money, and bought a Harley. The Lesson: Of course, Joe should have slowed down after feeling the impact, but he should have kept enough speed to keep the bow raised, if not all the way on plane, then he should have sent Jim to check for damage while he stayed at the helm. If your boat is taking on water from a hole below the waterline, the last thing you want to do is come to a dead stop. So long as you maintain forward motion, the boat will remain higher in the water and flooding can be drained via drain plugs or scuppers in the back of the boat. Stop, and you risk never moving forward again. Joe, we hope you have fun on your new bike and that you stay on dry land—where you belong. E-mail Lenny Rudow at boating@fishgame.com.

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Kayaking Causes Bald Spots

HE FIRST WEEKEND WITH OUR NEW Suburban was a memorable one. Plans for some outdoor solitude at Garner State Park were quickly dashed as the entire camp huddled around battery operated televisions, mesmerized as OJ’s white Bronco slowly led hundreds of police cars around Los Angeles. A few days of campfire food and a bad sunburn later, and we were off to the heart of East Texas. The War Pony loved to run and she ferried my family to myriad hunting, fishing, paddling, and camping destinations around the state, even on a few international trips to Florida, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Fourteen years and 255,000 miles passed without a single peep. It was a sad day when I sold the War Pony. Her teal flanks glistened shiny bright as her new owner drove her away. Unfortunately, the War Pony’s roof didn’t look quite as good; the paint had discolored and trickles of rust veined the green paint, making the SUV look like it had a bald spot just behind the windshield. Every element an outdoor writer could ever encounter in the field— mud, sand, dirt, caliche, gravel, rocks, hail, pine sap, fish slime, et al—was hurled on that vehicle and nothing could disfigure it… until I started hauling my kayak on the roof. Being a neophyte kayaker, I spent my entire budget on a paddle, hull, backrest, PFD, and a few accessories. Scant attention was directed at transporting my new boat. Two foam blocks sat on the roof to support the hull, while yards of rope secured it to the C46

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luggage rails. My Dad used car-top carriers to transport aluminum boats back in the early 60s, why couldn’t I do the same thing. The system worked for a while, but the foam pads had a bad habit of shifting around when I was loading the hull. One the way back home from fishing trips, sand and grit dropped off the hull and worked under the foam, creating a scouring pad that wiggled and jiggled with every bump in the road, no matter how tightly the kayak was tethered. Given time, pressure, and motion, glaciers cut a swath through granite mountains; the War Pony’s paint wasn’t quite that thick. I see lots of paddlers making the same mistake I made many years ago, lugging plastic hulls directly on the tops of their cars. Foam noodles are popular pads as they stretch completely across most vehicles. If you can tie the hull down securely, with the right type and enough rope, you can safely haul a kayak in this manner; but you should be aware that you eventually end up with a bald spot on your car roof. If you intend to piggyback a kayak or two to your favorite lake or bay, a better—and safer—alternative is a roof mount system. These systems typically tie into the luggage racks, allowing you to safely ferry boats on the top of your vehicle. Thule and Yakima are the two big names in the kayak carrier business. Both companies make fine products, and the only difference I can discern between their products is that one uses square aluminum tubing in their framework while the other uses round. Kayak carriers come in an interest number of setups, allowing you to stow multiple boats either horizontally or on their sides. You can also get a rack that holds a single boat to cut down on expenses. Kayak carriers can be tricked out with several handy options. Saddles slip onto the main rails and form a cradle for the hull. They secure the hull against side-to-side movement. Rollers are another great option. They are angled inward, providing the same cradling effect and reducing friction as you

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pull the kayak off or push it into place. Rollers make it much easier for a single person to hoist a kayak into place on the top of a vehicle. Kayak racks clamp onto the luggage racks that come as standard equipment on many vehicles. Every luggage rack has an associated load specification; you need to know this before installing a kayak carrier. Some factory luggage racks are workhorses, while others are glorified decorations. Adding a kayak carrier to the latter is a disaster waiting to happen. Regardless whether you plop your hull down onto a foam pad or into a kayak rack, make sure it is secured with the proper amount of rope or straps. Secure the kayak’s torso to the vehicle and then secure the bow and stern to the vehicle’s bumpers. If the rope or strap rubs tightly against your hood or bumper, tuck a small kitchen towel in between to avoid chaffing the finish. When securing the bow and stern, do not depend on the kayak’s carrying handles. They are designed for only carrying the boat and will fail under stress. The wind loading on a hull whizzing down the highway at 60 miles per hour is significantly greater than the task the handles were designed for. More than one kayak secured this way has blown off a vehicle roof at highway speeds. Fortunately, there haven’t been any deaths associated with flying kayaks, but it doesn’t take too much imagination to think what could happen. The new War Pony is just a colt, having accumulated only 150,000 miles—practically brand new for an outdoor writer. Look for me on the road. I am driving the Suburban with the kayak rack on top and the shiny paint on the roof. Email Greg Berlocher at kayak@fishgame.com.

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Floaters, Swimming Deep

LOATERS SWIMMING DEEP IS A VIABLE alternative use of a floating, near-surface swimmer. I first started using this rigging method about 10 years ago. At the bottom or near it, the targets were snapper, grouper, and ling. In the mid depths, predators besides those near the bottom would include dolphin, wahoo, and kingfish. This is a Carolina-rigged presentation where the depth fished is controlled by the size of the egg weight counteracting the floatation of the lure and current strength. It is an option offense that spells deep trouble for any predator down there. Just about any near-surface swim bait will work, such as jointed bodied stickbaits like the Luhr Jensen 7-inch Woodchopper with its rear propeller. The added vibration and flash of the spinning propeller blades sends a signal to predator. When any of these type lures are going to be fished with the egg weight resting on the bottom, go with a bit heavier weight than anticipated in order to pass through the middepths quickly. When using a slow sink, a lighter egg weight gives more of a “look” opportunity for predators. Leader length should be in the 2-3 feet range; 60- to 100pound mono or 40- to 80-pound wire work well. Standard egg weights can be used, but Quick Change Slip Leads give a weight adjustability without having to cut and re-tie your main line to the swivel. Using a loop knot connection from leader to lure gives a greater range of motion, translating into a C48

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more natural lure movement. Fishing this bait presentation in the middepths is done with the slip weight against the swivel. While on the sink or at depth, a slow to medium retrieve with added rod tip twitches will activate your floater/swimmer. When fished with the weight resting on the bottom, start with the swivel knot against the weight. Let line out slowly and your floater will swim up and away from the swivel. See the illustration. Pauses in the drift along with periodic rod tip twitches will bring the strikes you are looking for. After floating away for 5-7 feet, stop the “out and up” and begin a retrieve at slow to medium speed, along with more periodic rod tip twitches. This will give your lure an erratic diving and swimming motion as your leader works its way back to the swivel knot, contacting the slip weight. When you feel the added weight as the swivel comes tight against the slip weight, twitch in place for a minute or so, then repeat the drift back and retrieve procedure. If you want added attraction for your slip weight, carefully scrape its surface lightly

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with a knife. This flash also gets the visual attention of the locals down there. This scrape to flash is not a good idea in the middepths to the near surface area. Eyes attracted to the flash in that area of the water column might also come with a line-cutting set of dentures. A dulled surface to any lead weight can be achieved by placing them in a zip-seal bag filled with heavily salted tap water. Place the sealed bag in the sun for a couple of days. To fish this Deep Floater rig, do a “stop cast.” That is, thumb the spool just before your presentation enters the water. What this does is straighten your line, weight, leader, and lure, reducing the chance of your presentation entering the water in a tangled mess. On the sink, let your bait sink through an arc while keeping in touch with the sinker that is against the swivel knot. Work the lure while it is on the sink with various rod tip twitches, giving an erratic swim motion. E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com. ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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Topping It Off

ALL BASS FISHING IS FUN. THE FISH ARE more active, temperatures are bearable, and there are fewer idiots people on personal watercraft and in ski boats stirring up the lakes. This time of year can be one of the best to catch a lot of fish, and do so in a manner that is more fun than Carolina-rigging a soft plastic near a brush pile in 40 feet of water. Don’t get me wrong, I have multiple soft plastic baits tied on and fish them about 90 percent of the time, but in autumn, I put down the worms and pick up a topwater plug. Most of the year, topwaters are reserved for early and late in the day around vegetation, but now they will also work in open water as bass start schooling to gorge before winter sets in. While a topwater plug will catch bass straight from the box, a few simple modifications will make it even more effective. The biggest problem with topwater baits has nothing to do with the bait itself, but is a direct fault of the user. What is the first thing you do when a big bass swirls on your topwater? Most of us rare back to set the hook and yank the bait right out of the fish’s mouth. I know I typically don’t have the patience to wait until I feel the fish on the line before setting the hook. While this will never change, there is one thing that we can do to help with the issue. Most topwater plugs ride with the tail end slightly deeper in the water than the nose, but just a little bit. To increase hookups, we need to make the tail ride as deep in the water as possible while keeping the nose up so that the bait doesn’t lose its action. The first step to doing this is replacing the

ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

rear treble with a larger, heavier one. This not only weighs the back end down slightly (not much, but a little bit helps), but the larger treble also holds on better once the bass hits. The next step to get the backend down is to add weight internally or externally. The easiest way is to get a package of Storm SuspenDots and add them to the tail of the lure. SuspenDots are a great thing to have on hand at all times because they can be used to make crankbaits dive deeper and jerkbaits suspend, depending on where you apply them to the bait. If you put them on the tail of a topwater plug, the rear end will sit lower in the water with the plug in an almost vertical position. This will make it move slower but will increase hookups. Another way to make a topwater sit lower in the back and also make it more effective for open water use is to add a trailer bait on a short leader. This method is especially effective in the fall when bass are schooling over humps and points. Sometimes, a bass will come up and miss the topwater bait but will more easily take the trailer bait a few feet behind and below it. To add a trailer bait, first remove the rear

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treble from a popper or walk-the-dog type topwater, but leave the split ring. Replace the treble with a short fluorocarbon leader. At the other end of the leader, tie on a Mann’s Little George tail spinner. This bait has been around for a while and is just a hunk of lead with a spinner, but it works exceptionally well in this situation. If you don’t have a Little George, use a 1/8-ounce jighead with a white grub body. I prefer using a popping topwater plug for its action, and a short leader (less than 3 feet) to make it easier to cast. It is also a good idea to replace the front treble with a larger one since the lure will have only one. Topwater baits are some of the most popular on the market. With a few changes, they can also be the most reliable. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

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Fishing & Firecrackers

AMILY, FRIENDS, FISHING, AND FIRE crackers—that’s what it is all about on Independence Day. I have been wrapped up in chasing redfish up and down the gulf coast on the redfish cup tour for the last five years. Even though I love the competition and camaraderie, I still believe that taking your friends and family fishing is the most satisfying. Don’t get me wrong, having your name on a championship cup is

sweet, but in the spirit of a great American holiday (Fourth of July), friends and family take precedence. July is a month that the tournament trails usually take a hiatus, because all the big players in the fishing industry are gearing up for the ICAST show in Las Vegas. ICAST stands for International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. This show is the largest sportfishing trade show in the world. The American sportfishing association puts the show together and buyers and vendors from all over the world get together and produce, promote, buy and plan all the new products we see on the store shelves the upcoming year. I have enjoyed going to this show every year for the last seven years and this year is no different. One can only imagine walking into the Las Vegas convention center and seeing a square mile of every kind of fishing and outdoor products ever made. The really cool thing about these products is that most of them have not yet been released to the public for sale. This show is where all the vendors introduce their new products and hope the big buyers pickup their lines. For me it is like Christmas morning when C50

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you were a kid and waking up and walking into a room full of toys. There is every thing from a snap swivel to the most sophisticated electronics. I love seeing all the new products and talking to the people that invented them, and we are all searching for that magic bait. Seeing my friends and visiting with my sponsors and hopefully meeting new ones is a big part of this show. Hanging around and talking to some of my fishing heroes like Hank Parker, Kevin Van Dam, Roland Martin, Jose Wehebe, the Watts brothers just to name a few. Any body that’s any body in the fishing industry attends this show; I can’t wait. When I get back, Captain Jim and I will be gearing up for the next redfish cup event in Chalmette in August. Hopefully I can bring back some magic baits from Las Vegas and trick a few big Louisiana redfish. Meanwhile I will be fishing with my friends and family. E-mail Tommy Lomonte at tlomonte@fishgame.com. Visit his website, www.DrRedfish.com. PHOTO COURTESY OF TOMMY LOMONTE

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The Road Runner Story

VER THE LAST 50 YEARS, CRAPPIE LURES have been made, designed, handtied, and used more than you can ever imagine. Tube jigs, hair jigs, metal jigs, and lead jigs by the thousands have been used to target crappies. Just about any type of panfish or crappie lure designed to look like a baitfish, minnow, or some type of bug will catch a fish with the right presentation every time. Which brings me to my favorite crappie lure: the Blakemore Road Runner. Bert Hall designed the Road Runner in 1958. The lure had a horseheadshaped head with an Indiana spinner blade coming off the bottom, with a chenille body and marabou tail. Bert’s design attracted fisherman and game fish all over the country. He was in the automotive parts business out of Forsyth, Missouri at the time, and had two trucks that serviced tackle shops all over southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma under the name Hall Tackle Company. Hall Tackle Company was actually a jobber that serviced tackle shops and all 15 or 20 Wal-Mart stores with all kinds of tackle including minnow buckets, hooks, and weights. Jim Blakemore started Blakemore Lure Company over in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His company made trout flies, so to be closer to the trout market, he moved his company to Lebanon, Missouri. In the spring of 1969, Blakemore was killed in a fatal car wreck in Longview,

Texas. Shortly after his death, Joe Hall, the son of Bert Hall, purchased Blakemore Lure Company and moved the operation to Branson, Missouri, a few years later. Joe Hall, a natural born jet-setter in his time, was young and eager to make his dad’s lure the most productive fishing lure in the world. Joe started producing the Road Runner in Branson and had several families that hand-tied the lures for years. Today, the marabou Road Runner remains one of the most popular lures on the market. The bait will catch any game fish swimming anywhere in the world. The 1/8-ounce white marabou Road Runner is the No. 1 seller for Blakemore Lure Company to this day. Every spring, the white bass make a big spawning run up rivers and creeks all over Texas. You can actually know when this occurs by visiting local tackle stores and noting when they sell out of Road Runners. After the white bass run, the same lure is used to catch crappie. For the last 21 years, I have been a part of the Blakemore Lure Company pro team, along with the great Jimmy Houston. Jimmy has been promoting Road Runners going on 30 years on TV. Do you remember the old Blakemore commercial where the guy was sitting in his boat and there was a big explosion all around him? I think that was the greatest commercial ever on television. It aired every Saturday on the Jimmy Houston show. Blakemore Lure Company is a big part in my life. I have had the opportunity to work side by side with Joe Hall and his staff to design and field-test bait variants. I had the pleasure helping design the Road Runner Branson Bug and the New Road Runner Crappie Thunder. In 2004, Joe Hall sold Blakemore Lure Company to Wes Campbell, the owner of True Turn Hook Company in Wetumpka, Alabama. Joe and Wes Have A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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something in common: Joe’s dad invented the Road Runner, and Wes’s dad, John Wesley Campbell, invented the True Turn Hook. Whatever the company ownership, the Road Runner will never go away—it’s here to stay. And as Jimmy Houston always says: “You can’t fish a Road Runner wrong as long as you fish it slow.” E-mail Wally Marshall at mrcrappie@fishgame.com. Visit his website at www.mrcrappie.com.

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Bassing Blunders Cost Bucks

Good as they are at finding and catching bass, even the big league guys make mistakes. Of course, some brain anomalies are more costly than others.

many bass he stuffed in his livewells. A regular on the BASS tour since 1979, Elias committed a little league error when he unknowingly brought six fish to the scales— one fish over the legal limit. The 57-year old angler was assessed a stiff penalty for the rule violation. He was not allowed to weigh the biggest bass in his bag, a 6-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth. That penalty, plus a 4-ounce dead fish penalty, cut Elias’ opening round weight by more than 4 pounds. Not only did the mental error cost Elias the Day 1 lead, it ultimately cost him nearly $10,000 in prize money. Day 1 of the Bluegrass Brawl left Oklahoma bass pro Tommy Biffle in an even more serious state of limbo. Biffle, age 50, took himself out contention in the tournament—

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and quite possibly a shot at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic—when he was issued a citation by a Tennessee game warden for fishing in that state without a valid fishing license. Parts of Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake extend into the Volunteer State. Biffle said he had practiced in the same area for three days and had no idea he was fishing in Tennessee waters. The angler said the sign marking the state line is located in the woods and hard to see from the water. Biffle told reporters that he had just caught a 4pounder when the game warden approached him. “I told him that I had the telephone number in my pocket to call and get a license,” Biffle said, according BASS reports. “He said I could do that after he wrote me the ticket.” The violation resulted in the automatic disqualification of Biffle’s Day 1 weight. Biffle estimated he about 18 pounds in the livewell when he was issued the citation. Biffle and Elias weren’t the only wellknown pros to commit costly mistakes last season. In January, Longview bass pro Jim Tutt inadvertently brought six bass to weigh-in at the Stren Series Texas Division event on Lake Falcon. Tutt discovered the extra bass as he bagged his fish prior to taking them to scales. He subsequently went to the weigh-in stage and disqualified himself for the day. His five heaviest bass would have weighed close to 24 pounds. “What made it really bad is my co-angler had the same thing happen to him last year at Lake Amistad, and we talked about it off and on all day long,” Tutt said. “Then I turned around and did it myself. It was a bonehead mistake and it cost me dearly.”

Skeeter Owners Cash In at Fork More than 1600 Skeeter Boat owners from around the country competed in the 15th annual Skeeter Owner’s big bass tournament held earlier this year at Lake Fork. Skeeter paid out more than $40,000 in cash to hourly winners and awarded a fully rigged ZX200 bass boat valued at $43,000 the overall winner, Richard Meyer of Belton. Meyer won the event with 10.88-pound largemouth bass he caught a 10-inch Red Shad plastic worm he was fishing in about 10 feet of water. Several more bass exceeding the lake’s 16to 24-inch slot limit were brought to the scales, including two over 10 pounds. The second place fish, a 10.64-pounder, was caught by Eric Blane of Montgomery. Third place went to Louie Adams III of Lewisville, 10.04 pounds.

of Carthage took fourth, 8.78; LeRoy Sieve of Labadie, Missouri, fifth place, 8.74. Interestingly, both of the 10-pounders weighed at the tournament were wearing identification tags. The fish had been previously caught and entered in the SRA Lunker Bass program, a catch and release program that encourages anglers to release big bass caught on the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend. E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com.

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Don’t Be a Slob Hunter

HAVE SEEN IT. YOU HAVE SEEN IT. YOU DON’T like it, and neither do I—litter. Litter, as in shotgun hulls; dove feathers matting the ground; beer and soft drink cans and bottles, and snack wrappers strewn about. Sadly, you might know the persons who left them there, which brings such instances closer to home, and perhaps even intensifies the amount of disgust you have when you see it.

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If it doesn’t, well, Houston, we have a problem. All of us who hunt dove, quail, duck, and geese know how wonderful it is to arrive at a sunflower field, lake, stock tank, prairie, or woodland and be engulfed by the nature it yields. Unfortunately, not all of us who arrive at such places leave it as we find it. On afternoon last September, following a dove hunt in Palo Pinto County northwest

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of Fort Worth, I left the field in my pickup truck by following the main road through the pasture to a double iron gate, where I had heard numerous shots fired earlier. Ahead of me was a Suburban. It stopped and a youngster of about 12 years old got out and opened the gate. His father drove the suburban through, and I waved at the youngster to let him know that I would take care of closing the gate.

Litter, as in shotgun hulls, cans and bottles and snack wrappers.

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Nothing unusual about that. Something that was somewhat unusual but definitely should not have been unusual was what the youngster did next. He held up the palm of his hand, asking me to wait a moment, and then opened the passenger door of the suburban to say something to those inside. Within a few seconds, two adults and a young girl got out of the suburban and began picking up trash apparently left on the ground at the gate by other dove hunters who had left earlier. I quickly exited my truck and joined them with a plastic garbage bag I had had in my truck’s storage box. We shared the same thoughts about the behavior of some hunters, and the bad taste they often leave with landowners who have allowed them onto their lands to enjoy hunting while destroying hunter-landowner relationships. I don’t want to say this is a major cause of the rising cost in hunting lease fees in Texas, because it is not, but ask yourself if you think poor hunter-landowner relationships brought about by some hunters’ lack of respect for private or public land doesn’t enter into the equation.

I can’t tell you how appreciative I was of the adults and children in the Suburban who stopped ahead of me on that Palo Pinto County ranch last year. When I think about it, should I really have been all that appreciative? Should it really have been such a wonderful change from the norm? No, it should not. Rather than being something unusual, something so admirable, it should have been nothing more than a natural thing for someone to do. The fact that a young boy not only had been taught how to be a responsible hunter, but also taught the importance of reacting to that teaching, is what really grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, his reactions and mine should have been the norm and not something of special significance. It doesn’t take much to clean up your act. All it takes in many cases, such as how you leave a dove field, is a plastic garbage bag and the will to use it. If I knew someone who didn’t mind arriving at a dove field, choosing a place to hunt where other hunters have left their litter on the ground, and thought nothing about it, I would not want to hunt with them.

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It is just as easy to take your trash out with you when you leave as it is bring it in with you in the first place. Cleaning dove or any other game birds next to a gate or other area that is used by a landowner or other hunters is just as irresponsible as not picking up spent shotgun shells, cans, bottles, and any other trash you produce while hunting. It takes some hunters only a few hours to drive to a place they choose to hunt. How long does it take them to destroy the image of all of us hunters? Only as long as it takes them to leave their trash on the ground. Reconsider the young boy who stepped from the suburban to open the gate in Palo Pinto County, and suddenly realized that trash had been left on the ground by other hunters. If that had been your son, would he have been taught to do the same thing?

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

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Dove Guns & Loads

OVE SEASON IS HERE! THE LONG, HOT summer is nearly over, and the soulcleansing smell of gunpowder once again drifts gently on the warm breezes. Makes me want to go out and shoot something. This time of year is when ammunition manufacturers make their largest profits. Every store you walk into will have cases of Federal Game Loads stacked all over the floors. More ammo is expended on dove than on any other game animal in America. The stores are full of discount ammo that dove hunters purchase by the truckload. Most of us will do well with a standard field load. In 12-gauge, that means a load that shoots 1-1/8 ounces of shot. If it says it has less than that, beware. Some loads of less than the standard 12-gauge payload are very good. In fact, my favorite handload consists of 1 ounce of shot at about 1150 feet per second. And beware if the load brags about its velocity. That might be a way to take your attention away from the fact that it uses less shot. You do not need high velocity for dove. Anything that produces above about 1100 feet per second is just fine. Also, try to find shotshells that use plastic shot cups. Some of the low-end shells use wads and some kind of plastic shims that are supposed to protect the shot from contact with the barrel. These shells never pattern as well as those that are loaded with the tried and proven one-piece shot cup. You can tell when you shoot them because a couple or three of the thin plastic shims will come floating down to the ground like leaves falling from a dying tree. Most adults shoot 12-gauge guns and that’s just fine. However, dove are small,

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light-boned birds and any of the gauges will work just fine if kept within their limits. If you are shooting a .410 or 28-gauge, you need to keep your shots inside 35 yards, but both of these smaller gauges are a lot of fun. One of my favorite types of hunting is shooting dove around a water hole with my little .410 Browning Citori. The best gauge for children to learn with is not the .410. The wonderful little caliber (.410 is the bore size, not its gauge) is an expert’s gun, not an entry-level tool for children. Instead, try a single-shot 28gauge. The kids will hit more and have more fun. If they are too small to shoot a .28-gauge, they are probably too small to hunt flying birds. A .410 is so unforgiving that it should be reserved for shooters sufficiently talented and experienced that they are looking to put more zing in their hunting; rather like the fisherman who switches to an ultralight rig in lieu of his thunderstick and 20-pound line. If you don’t believe me, look up the scores shot with the .410 in NSSA skeet competition. Some shoot the .410 as well as they do the larger gauges, but the vast majority think the .410 is an unforgiving, difficult gauge and a necessary evil, and shoot it poorly compared to 28- and 20-gauges. I was A and AA in competition with all the gauges except the .410, in which I never graduated from Class B. I can attest that many targets I shot at with the .410 that didn’t break, would have broken when shot at exactly the same way with a larger gauge. You can do a bit better with 3-inch shells, but it still doesn’t compare with the 28-gauge. Keep that in mind when buying Junior’s first shotgun. If you handload, you can still get No. 7 shot. This is my favorite shot size for dove and quail. I think No. 6 is a bit too big and

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No. 8 a little too small. Number 7 offers a wonderfully thick pattern, yet still has the mass to get the job done if only a couple of shot hit the bird. If you don’t handload, No. 7-1/2 is great. Number 8 is okay, but I think I hit and lose (“feather” in the vernacular) a few birds with No. 8 that I would have killed instantly with No. 7 or 7-1/2. For you handloaders, my experience is that if I keep my velocity down to 1200 feet per second or a bit less, I get better patterns. Since your shots are (if you are an ethical hunter) under 50 yards, there is no need for higher velocity. If anything, increase your shot payload, not the velocity. The thicker pattern will increase the number of hits on each bird, but it also increases recoil. I prefer to shoot 1-ounce of shot and keep the shots closer. I still do very well out to around 40 yards with a 12-gauge, using a modified choke. In all the other gauges, I use the standard loads: 7/8-ounce in 20gauge, 3/4 in 28-, and 7/8- or 1-ounce in the 16-gauge. I really love the 16-gauge, by the way. If you are having trouble killing your dove or quail, try using a more open choke and shortening the range. A full or improved-modified choke will let you make shots a little farther, but they also produce smaller patterns. I prefer a modified or improved cylinder choke, and try to keep all my shots inside 35 yards. When I switch to a full choke, I seem to fringe more birds than I do with the open chokes, and I know I try to stretch the barrel a bit more. Fall is in the air and so are the dove. Get out there and burn some powder.

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Dock Fishing

OMEONE ASKED ME FOR A GOOD FALL pattern the other day, and right away I thought about all the bass I have caught over the years fishing boat docks. When you go to a new lake you can usually find bass on docks somewhere in the lake, whether it be the main lake or in the creeks. The first tool I want on my Nitro is a good depth finder and that would be my Raymarine DS 600X. Not only do I want to search around each dock for hidden brush piles, but it is critical to know the depth of the dock you are catching fish around. This can be a key to catching bass all over the lake. In other words if I’m catching fish on docks that are in 2-4 feet of water, then I want to ride around the lake and find as many docks in this depth as possible. Another key is where the dock is located. Is it on a main lake point? Is it on a rocky bank? Is it in a flat? Is it in a creek? Is it on the lower, middle, or upper end of the lake? Is it in clear, stained, or muddy water? What is the water temperature? Just any question that can zero in on that dock to a winning pattern. Is the dock wooden or metal? Is it stationary or floating? All these questions and many more can be a key to your success instead of just going and fishing each dock you come to. My No. 1 dock technique without a doubt is to fish a Zoom finesse worm, lizard, or U-tail on 10-pound fluorocarbon line, 1/8-ounce pegged worm weight painted with Herbie’s Magic Dust to match the color of the lure, and a 2/0 Mustad straight shank hook. I am going to spray this with Jack’s Juice (crawfish) and fish it on a 6-foot Woo Daves’ Extreme Bass Pro Shops’ spin-

ning rod and Extreme 40 spinning reel. You need to learn to make skip casts, getting the lure under the docks as far as possible. I will also flip a 3/8-ounce jig (black/blue) with a blue Zoom Super Chunk around docks. One other great technique is to run a 3/4ounce spinnerbait (shad pattern) around docks reeling as fast as possible. A lot of docks have man made brush piles around them. A good indicator is if you see rod holders on the dock or lights over the water. I have found that the section of the lake that has a lot of house trailers or small cabins in the area are where you will usually find the docks with brush around them. If you find a dock and it has brush, be sure and go back when the sun is at its brightest and fish the

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brush slowly. Another good dock to fish is one that the owners feed ducks around, as the feed draws baitfishes, which in turn brings in the bass. One other pattern I like on lakes with docks on deeper straight banks or riverbanks is to fish a Carolina rigged Zoom Centipede with a 3/4ounce Lindy’s NoSnagg weight and parallel the front of the docks. I have had great success in the fall doing this. Watermelon is my favorite color. Use a longer leader than normal (4 feet) and a 1/0 Mustad J-bend hook. One other great thing about fishing docks in the fall is that most people have taken their boats out of the water and you can cast up into them a lot easier.

If you find a dock and it has brush, go back when the sun is brightest and fish slowly.

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Texas Legends & Lore I

F YOU SPEND ENOUGH TIME OUTSIDE, AS MOST of us do, you will encounter something that you cannot explain. A shadow crosses your path on the way to the truck after dark, or something makes a sound you have never heard before while in the woods. We all have at least one story like this (I know I do) that we rarely share with anyone else because we are sure we would be fitted for a straightjacket. For the few outdoorsmen with enough security to share their tales the rest of us, we listen with a hint of disbelief, waiting for the punch line that never comes.

by Paul Bradshaw However, to the individuals who experience the events, they are real and no matter what we say, we will never convince them otherwise. One quiet evening in 2006, a resident of the East Texas reservoir Lake O’ the Pines was enjoying a walk near the water with her German shepherd. The dog enjoyed playing while the owner took advantage of the fresh air and serene landscape to relax and regroup, but in an instant, all that changed. The German shepherd suddenly disappeared in a swirl of water and fins as a catfish the size of a compact car engulfed it in a single bite. What typically serves as the climactic scene in a B-grade horror movie had just happened on the shores of a man-made lake as the owner stared incredulously at where her 85pound dog had been just a few seconds ago. While Lake O’ the Pines does hold some massive catfish, this one was well beyond what rational people would consider C58

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large. I remember back in my college days, when the rumors of man-eating catfish first started circulating around the murky waters of this reservoir. It was rumored that an angler running a trotline on the lake pulled up a catfish with a head 4 feet across and that would easily surpass 1000 pounds. (We usually joked that he must have been baiting the trotline with 20-pound shad.) The leviathan could swallow any angler foolish enough to fall out of the boat. As with most legendary fish, with a single turn of its head the catfish

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pulled free and swam off with a defiant splash of water. For a few years following that first sighting, any angler who latched into a fish that they could not turn, or when a trotline was pulled up with straightened hooks, it was assumed that the massive beast had struck again. The lake resembled a scene out of “JAWS” where catfishermen with deep-sea rigs vowed to catch the beast before it ate a swimmer, or attacked a skier like an

ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS ARMSTRONG

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oversized trolling plug. To date, the massive catfish still has not been caught, and since it has not been found floating anywhere in the lake, it must still be swimming around, scaring the scales off the other fish. Does a Lake O’ the Pines beast really exist? Who knows, but a few people in East Texas swear they have seen it...and one even claims it ate her dog. Along the southern coast of Texas lies a stretch of beach that has been instrumental in the history of our state and the nation. The wilderness setting of Padre Island has been the home of allegedly cannibal Indians and shipwrecked treasure hunters, and served as a bombing range during World War II. It was even on the short list of locations to test the first nuclear weapon due to its distance from civilization. Padre Island is the largest stretch of uninhabited barrier island left in the nation, and there is a lot of history buried in its dunes and sunken it its surf. Captain Billy Sandifer has spent more days on the sand of Padre Island than many of us have been alive. Making a living guiding anglers to the fish in the surf and tourists along the sand, Captain Billy has an intimate

knowledge of the island and has had a few encounters that are difficult— impossible, really—to explain. During a recent conversation, Billy admitted, “When people ask me to explain some of the stories, I can’t. All I know is they just happened.” Of the countless stories Captain Billy has lived through over his decades on Padre, his late night encounter with an unexpected visitor immediately comes to mind. Even it was decades ago, every detail remains etched in his mind, and after hearing him tell it, I can see why. “I hadn’t been back from Vietnam too long when we were down on the beach fishing. We were sitting around the campfire when we heard footsteps from someone walking down the beach, just out of the light of the campfire. I had a K-Bar knife in front of me, so I picked it up and the fellow with me picked up a hammer, and we just sat there. The footsteps moved around the truck to the passenger side, then the back, and then around the driver’s side before coming out front. From the sound of the steps, whoever or whatever was making them should have been standing right in front of us by the fire,

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but we couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, whatever it was let lose with a mournful crying scream as it walked around camp for about five minutes before it walked off. “Later, I was walking up onto the dunes to say my evening prayers. I had paddled out a few baits right before dark and was a little bit wet. This was back before kayaks, so we used life rafts. As I was walking toward the dunes, I came to a spot where the temperature seemed to drop, and being a little wet, I got chilled. As I walked away from the spot, I warmed up; and as I got closer, I cooled down. I called the fellow I was fishing with and had him stand in the same spot; he could feel how cold it was, too. As we walked back to the truck, he looked at me and said, ‘Billy, do you need anything out of the truck? Because I’m getting in there and not coming out until the morning.’ I got locked out of my own truck.” That is more of a campfire story than most of us have, but it was just the beginning of Billy’s evening. Being kicked out of his own truck wasn’t a hardship, since he typically slept on a cot in front of it, and this night was no different. The difference this time was that

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his night would be sleepless, as the visitor from earlier in the evening came back for an encore. For hours, whatever it was stalked around the camp, screaming and raising a ruckus, making it impossible for Billy to even consider falling asleep. “I finally couldn’t take it anymore,” Cap-

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tain Billy told me. “So I sat up and told whatever it was that if it would just leave me alone and let me sleep, then I’d never camp there again.” The negotiations didn’t work, and the activity went on all night until daybreak. Nonetheless, Billy kept up his end of the deal

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and never camped in that location again. In subsequent trips down the beach, Billy could still locate the cold spot, even though he didn’t camp near it, until hurricane Allen came through, shifting the sand and seemingly moving the spot. He later relocated the cold spot on the beach, but doesn’t share its location with many people. Billy related another story about a Padre Island experience shared with another freespirited individual who spent some time on the island. It seems an engineer who spent most of his career building refineries decided to he had enough of civilization and went to live on the island, which is very difficult to do since there are no permanent houses. The man ran the beaches sans clothing, and subsisted by drinking water from the inland freshwater marshes until he was netted and removed. That’s right—he was caught in a cast net like a naked wild mullet. However, once removed, he still hung out in the area near the bridge connecting the mainland to the island. Not one to talk much, it was rare when the man engaged in conversation consisting of more than one word, until one day, when he approached Captain Billy and asked, “Have you heard the flutes? ” Oddly enough, Billy knew exactly what he was talking about. “Down in the 40s (40 miles down the beach), on a calm night you can hear what sounds like a small Indian flute that plays three distinct songs,” Billy said. “I know the wind blowing can make noises—I hear it playing notes in my rod tubes—but these are three distinct songs that play one behind the other.” Are there really ghosts of Indians running around the sand playing flutes or keeping campers up all night? According to Billy, there are, and I am not one to argue because it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to share a story like that. I will take his word for it, and if I ever find a cold spot on the beach, you can bet I will not pitch my tent near it.

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A Red of Many Spots

MIE CLANTON OF CORPUS CHRISTI CAUGHT this spotted red in Laguna Madre on a pin perch with Capt. Alan White of Big Al’s Bay Charter on 6-16-08. It has over 650 spots. Texas Department & Wildlife Department biologists said it might

Annie Clanto with what may be a world record for spots on a redfish. be a world record for the number of spots. The fish was 28 inches long and weighted over 8 pounds. —Gina S. Rice

Studies Show Snapper LongLived Louisiana State University (LSU) scientists have been studying the age of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and came up with some surprising results. According to their research, the oldest red snapper reported in the scientific literature is an individual C62

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sampled in February 1991. “This specimen, a female 53.6 years of age at time of capture, was actually hatched before World War II and survived to “see”

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the dawn of the atomic age, the first man on the moon, and the technological boom of the late Twentieth Century,” reported R. Glenn Thomas, with LSU’s cooperative extension service. “However, an even older specimen, almost 59 years of age, was sampled from the commercial harvest by LSU biologists some years later. Such old individuals have been rarely encountered in the various research projects that have sampled either the commercial harvest or the recreational harvest; they have become even increasingly uncommon in the last decade or so. The vast majority of the red snapper harvested by the two fisheries are in the range of 2-6 years of age.” Thomas went on to report in LSU’s bimonthly publication, Lagniappe, red snapper grow in length relatively fast during their first 10 years or so of life, and reach an average length of about 30 inches. Growth rate decreases drastically thereafter as they shift more energy into reproduction and less energy into growth. “Interestingly, old individuals are seldom very large and large individuals are seldom very old,” Thomas wrote. “The 53.6-yearold female referenced above was a mere 33.5 inches long and weighed only 17.5 pounds. Conversely, the world angling record red snapper [caught off Louisiana by Doc Kennedy of Grand Isle on June 23, PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMES FRICK

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1996] was 41 inches long and weighed 50.25 pounds, yet was only 20 years old.” —Staff Report

Mexican Vessels Busted with 18 Tons of Shark A Mexican boat used for illegal fishing that was carrying 3 tons of captured shark

was confiscated by authorities near an ocean reserve, according to the EFE News Service. The Pargo V was being employed 8 nautical miles from the island of Roca Partida, part of the Revillagigedo Archipelago Biosphere Reserve, in violation of a law that stipulates such fishing must take place at least 12 nautical miles from the coasts in that area. The boat’s activity was detected by an oceanologist with Profepa, the Mexican

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agency that enforces environmental regulation, and later intercepted by members of that environmental organization and navy sailors. Its seven crewmembers were arrested in the operation. Reports indicate the Pargo V was being used for shark fishing and, at the time of its seizure, was employing an 8-kilometer (5mile) longline, on which eight sharks had been hooked The vessel was the second confiscated in the area over the past three weeks for illegal

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fishing. In mid-April, the Sebastian I was seized 11 nautical miles from the nature reserve with 18 tons of shark.” —Staff Report

E-Duck Stamps Available Waterfowlers wanting to get in on the early teal season now have an easy option for getting their federal duck stamp. This program allows wildlife agencies in nine states, including Texas, to sell stamps electronically through their individual automated licensing systems, providing a special receipt as proof of purchase. This proof of purchase, a unique code given to the purchaser instantly, will be accepted as evidence of a Federal Duck Stamp purchase for 45 days, which is time

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enough for the printed stamp to arrive in the mail. “The electronic proof of purchase will both fulfill the requirement for waterfowl hunters to possess the stamp, and allow visitors to National Wildlife Refuges to gain free access,” according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) news release. “After the 45 days, the proof of purchase will expire and the purchasers must possess the paper stamp to receive its full benefit.” The Federal Duck Stamp is currently available at most major sporting good stores selling hunting and fishing licenses, select post offices, and online through the U.S. Postal Service and AMPLEX, the USFWS Duck Stamp fulfillment center. “This pilot program explores one way to improve service to duck stamp purchasers, in particular those from rural or remote areas,” said USFWS director, H. Dale Hall. “We are always looking for new ways

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to better serve the public, and enhance wetland conservation.” Funds from Duck Stamp sales are a vital tool for wetland conservation, with 98 cents of every dollar generated used to purchase or lease wetland habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Since the stamp’s inception in 1934, more than $700 million has been raised to acquire more than 5.2 million acres of waterfowl habitat. In 2005, more than 1.6 million Federal Duck Stamps were sold. “The Duck Stamp program provides much needed funding for wetland conservation, and it is important that they are marketed appropriately for today’s web-savvy public,” said Matt Hogan, Executive Director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “The E-Duck Stamp meets the needs of modern day hunters and stamp collectors and ensures continued success for wetland conservation.” —Staff Report

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Ordinary Catch Yields “Trophy” Truck & Boat

PHOTO COURTESY OF HENRY ANDERSON

Henry Anders and his STARtaggged redfish.

S THE END OF JUNE APPROACHED, THE 19TH Annual State of Texas Anglers Rodeo (STAR) already had 11 tagged redfish caught, but surprisingly, none could be confirmed as winners. Thanks to persistence and the wise decision to register, Galveston resident Henry Anderson ended the losing streak. After winning many fishing tournaments throughout his life, dating back to tarpon tournaments in the 1950s, Mr. Anderson for the last few years has faithfully entered the CCA Texas/STAR tournament, setting his sights on the Upper Coast Speckled Trout or Tagged Redfish Divisions. This year, he was determined to focus on redfish. On June 29, that determination paid off. Anderson and his son left out of the Galveston Yacht Basin that Sunday morn-

ing at approximately 6:15 a.m. The fishing was slow, but around 8:00 a.m., Mr.

Anderson hooked a red, and after netting it, noticed that special little red tag. After studying the tag, all that could be made out was “CCA.” With high hopes that the tag was for 2008, Anderson told his son they needed to immediately go back to the STAR weigh station at GYB Bait & Tackle and get the fish turned in. The weigh station confirmed that Anderson had landed 2008 tagged redfish No. T840, good for a 2008 Ford F-150 Texas Edition truck, a Triton 22LTS boat, Mercury 150 motor, and McClain trailer in the Texas Ford Dealers Redfish Division. —Staff Report

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Dove Frenzy

AD CAME HOME FROM WORK EARLY ON Friday and said to pack our gear, because we were going to Grandpa’s to hunt dove. He does that sometimes after work. He just walks through the door and says we’re going to do something and then we do it. At least once a summer Dad comes in and announces that we’re going on what he calls “a long vacation” the next morning. Once it was a trip to the Grand Canyon, and another time it was to visit relatives out in California. When he makes those announcements, Mama gets a funny look in her eyes and then starts to wash clothes. I always go to sleep that night listening to the washer. Grandpa lives on a farm in the country, so the trip this time was a short one, only a couple of hours away. “Pack up,” Dad said. “We’re leaving tonight. I think Mama expected it, because she didn’t roll her eyes; she just dialed Grandma’s number to tell her we’d be there in a couple of hours. Sis and I grabbed a few things and helped Dad load the truck. He put the shotguns in the truck bed along with our bags, and we were gone in less than an hour. Grandpa was sitting on the front porch when we arrived. He came down the steps and hugged everyone. “Y’all got here in good time,” he said. “We can hunt down by the pool this evening. It’s been so dry they just pour down on the bank for a drink.” He would have said more, but Grandma came out of the house and

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she and Mama and Sis got to gabbing so much that we couldn’t even hear ourselves think. Grandpa was ready, though, so he grabbed his shotgun from where it stood just inside the kitchen door and poured a box of shells into the big front pocket of his overalls. Dad and I just slid the guns out of the cases there on the gravel drive, and we were ready. I put a box of shells in each pocket of my hunting vest. I used to put shells in those elastic loops on the front, but I noticed most of the older men we hunt with don’t do that, so now I don’t. Sis saw us getting ready and came out mad. She thought we were trying to leave without her, but Grandpa told her to just simmer down and get her gun. Ten minutes later, we walked through the gate and across the big pasture beside the house. The pool was just over the hill, but still about a quarter of a mile away. It didn’t take any time before Sis stepped in a fresh cow pie and that made her even madder. We laughed, because we’d all seen it and walked around that one. She told Grandpa he should sell all his stupid cows so she wouldn’t be stepping in cow mess all the time. “Sis,” he said, “if I sold those cows, I couldn’t make a living on this farm. Then we’d have to sell it and you wouldn’t have anywhere to hunt dove, or quail, or anything else, because we’d live next to you there in the city.” I didn’t like that idea one bit, because I couldn’t imagine

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Grandma and Grandpa living anywhere else in the world; and besides, I needed a place to hunt and fish. Birds were already flying in as we walked up to the pool. It had been so dry that the pool was half its normal size. There must have been 8 feet of bare sand between the usual edges of the bank and the water itself. “That’s why there are so many birds,” Dad said as about 50 birds flushed just in front of us. “They like to water on the open banks of pools so they can see and feel safe. You’ll always find them in places like this in dry weather.” There were two large trees, both on the same side of the tank. I sat with Dad in the shade under one, while Sis and Grandpa went to the other. We sat pretty close to the trunk, and everyone faced out toward the pastures and fields around us. They weren’t so far away we couldn’t talk pretty easily to one another. “Most of them will come from either the north or the west,” Grandpa said. “There are fields in both directions.” “They’ll head directly for one or both of these trees,” Dad said. “Dove like to fly toward trees sitting by themselves in a field.” He was almost right. It seemed that most of the birds wanted to fly between the trees, so we spent most of our time looking in one direction. It wasn’t but a few minutes and the action heated up. We drew an invisible line between the trees so that we wouldn’t shoot toward or across each other, and the fun began. Sis’ 20-gauge made a light crack against Grandpa’s old Browning humpback 12-gauge. She seemed to shoot twice for every time he shot. Then I noticed I was doing

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the same thing. Dad sat on my right, between me and Grandpa and Sis. He was taking most of the incoming birds, and I was left with those that were coming in from my left. Crossing birds are hard to hit, but I wasn’t going to give up. Birds came in behind us even while we were shooting. They only flew up from the water when one of us got up to walk out and pick up our downed birds. Grandpa shot twice and his bird kept coming. Sis cut down on it and the dove folded up to land with a thump not 20 yards away. “Good shot, Sis!” Grandpa yelled and thumbed more shells into his gun. I could tell his compliment made Sis feel good. She had a wide grin on her face when she went out to pick up the bird. I hollered at her to pick up one for me that I’d just shot. She stuck her tongue out at me and hurried back to her tree. In no time at all, I was out of shells. I patted my pockets, surprised that I’d already used up everything I’d brought. Dad shot a few more times, and then handed me his big Browning. “I have a few shells left,” he said. “Hammer away.” I did, but swinging that heavy 12-gauge was different from throwing my 20-gauge up to my shoulder. I hit a couple more birds, and then, as Dad says, the gun “went dry.” Grandpa stood up with a groan from where he was crouched beside the tree. “I’m too old to squat down like this,” he said. He hobbled around for a minute or two until his joints limbered up. We walked out into the open, and still the birds came. They dodged around us and then dropped down onto the pool bank. “Let’s go so they can get a drink,” Dad said. “We can get some more shells and come back,” I told him. He patted the birds in my vest. Then pointed at the birds Sis and Grandpa had piled on the ground. “Well, I guess we could do that. But then we’d be game hogs. We have enough for right now, and we need to give the birds a break so they can drink. We have all weekend to hunt.” “I’ll bring more shells when we come back tomorrow,” Sis said, waving at all the birds landing beside on the pool. Grandpa shook his head. “We won’t be back here tomorrow. We’ll let this pool rest and hunt somewhere else. That way there’ll be birds here so y’all can hunt Sunday

evening before you leave. I have another place we can go tomorrow.” “You don’t want to overhunt any place,” Dad said. “You’ll get a few more birds, but you’ll run the others off.” We walked back across the pasture. On the way, Dad reached out and nudged the barrel of Sis’ shotgun a little higher with a finger. I thought about what he said and realized he was right. There are places Uncle Robbie owns that are too close to the city. So, many people come out on opening

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day and the next and the next, then before long, the birds have left to get water or food somewhere else where there’s less shooting. “Think they learned anything? ” Dad asked Grandpa as we cleaned the birds out behind the barn so Grandma could fry them up for Saturday’s lunch. Grandpa pulled Sis’ ponytail, something I do just to make her holler, and said, “They usually do.” He might be right.

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Rock & Roll Hunters

PHOTO BY DON ZAIDLE

OCK & ROLL AND HUNTING MIGHT SEEM miles apart, but there are those in the industry who are huge supporters of hunting and the Second Amendment. The most obvious is, of course, TF&G’s own bowhunting editor, Ted Nugent. “I have seen Ted bring so many people into the hunting community. He might never get the credit for it by the industry, but the fact is we would be in a much worse place in terms of hunter numbers and hunting rights if it weren’t for Ted. I can guarantee that,” Chester said. Nugent’s column is a staple in TF&G, and Moore said it is nice to see other people in the entertainment industry admitting they are hunters: “Ted is by far the biggest asset we have, but it is nice for others to proudly proclaim they are hunters, and we are seeing more of that from sport’s stars to rock stars.” Chester is also buddies with Chris Caffery of Trans-Siberian Orchestra (guitar), who recently visited to hunt with Chester and TF&G associate bowhunting editor, Lou Marullo.

A Chester and the Nuge talk guitars at

Ted’s new home in Texas. Note the zebra theme complete with full body mounts. Left to right, Tim Soderquist of Ducks Unlimited, Chris Caffery of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, TF&G associate bowhunting editor Lou Marullo, and Chester after a hog hunt in Matagorda County.

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CCA Contributes to Goose Island Restoration

T IS A WELL-KNOWN FACT THAT WETLAND habitats and marshes play integral parts in Texas’ coastal environments. Without healthy wetlands, nurtured by critical freshwater inflows and covered with adequate vegetation, our coastal resources will be in serious trouble. Wetlands provide vital cover for all sorts of marine animals. Whether it is the tiny fry of redfish, speckled trout and red snapper or adult blue crabs and mud minnows, wetlands are a safe haven for an untold number of Gulf species. CCA Texas recognizes the importance of wetlands as well and with this in mind, the Executive Board recently voted to contribute $25,000 to the Goose Island State Park Marsh Restoration Project. Goose Island State Park is located north of Rockport on Aransas Bay. The project began 2001 when officials from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) became concerned about ongoing erosion of the southern shoreline of Goose Island. The resulting loss of marsh and grass beds, essential nursery habitat, was dramatic in both appearance and on the animal and plant species that depend on them for survival. It was a situation that needed to be corrected. The project was designed with the objective of creating wetland habitats in three separate phases. The first phase was designed to stabilize the approximately one mile long southern shoreline of Goose Island with the construction of an offshore rock breakwater to help reduce wave energy striking the island. Wave energy is a major factor in erosion and the breakwater does just as its name implies, it breaks up the energy of waves and eases erosion. The successful construction of the break-

water makes the implementation of Phase 2 possible and that is the creation of a lagoon between the breakwater and Goose Island. This lagoon of approximately 40 acres will increase the quantity and quality of habitats in Aransas Bay, thus creating a more populous and diverse variety of living organisms in the area.

by Luke Giles The third and final phase is to restore intertidal marsh habitat on the north side of Goose Island through the creation of a 24acre marsh. The new marsh will be created by using material generated by the dredging of two nearby boat channels. The $25,000

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donated by CCA Texas will help TPWD plant ten acres of smooth cordgrass, thereby creating a healthier environment not only for marine plants and animals but also for the people who love to visit the coast and enjoy Texas’ coastal resources. “The Texas coast has experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the last few years. This is especially true in the Rockport area” said Robby Byers, CCA Texas executive director. “A project of this type and of this proportion will have a tremendous effect on the local environment and help restore some of the wetlands we have lost through development. This is an effort in which all CCA Texas members should feel a tremendous amount of pride.” CCA Texas is proud to be a part of this important project along with the Texas General Land Office, Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, Gulf of Mexico Foundation, Aransas County, NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gulf of Mexico Program, and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

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The Crystal Fishing Ball

INALLY, WE ARE GOING FISHING. BETWEEN baseball tournaments, work, house building, and just life, we have finally found a weekend to go fishing. “David, what time do you think we will get there?” “Oh, probably around 6 p.m.” “Hey, David, you said I could drive, right?” Max said anxiously. Well, not through Houston you are not, Buster. Oh, and then there is that really dangerous construction area. Oh, please, David, don’t tell him he can drive there. “Yep, Bud, you can drive when we get to Ganado and pilot us into Port O’Connor. I’ll take a nap.” Nap? Right! No one is napping while a 15-year old is at the wheel of a vehicle powered by a V-8 under the pedal. No one is napping in this here truck. Okay, well, the dog can nap—but that is it! For the love of Mario, I hope I survive this learning to drive stuff. “So, I hear that the reds are running pretty good down there,” David said. “Baby, I think this is your time to hook one of those bull reds.” “I sure hope so, I am getting tired of catching everything but.” “Okay, Buddy, here is Ganado,” David said. “It is all yours. Let me just run into this store and pick up some Cheetos and something to drink. You want anything?” No! Nothing to drink. He cannot drink and drive. Both hands on the wheel. No radio, no cell phone, no petting the dog—and keep your eyes on the road! “Here, Baby, you sit up front with Max. I am going to do some work back here on my computer and then nap.” C70

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He is pulling in really fast. Now, Max, just because it says 70 miles per hour does not mean that you have to go that fast. These two-lane highways can be really dangerous. Just take your time— and no passing!” “No passing? Why not? Mom, there might be a need to pass, sometime. Hey, Mom, look—no hands!” “Maximilian! You put your hands back on that wheel right now! Oh, and did I mention that these small towns look for out-of-

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have never swerved. Why would I have swerved? I really do not think there was any swerving going on…” “Max? Yoo-hoo! Gotcha! That was payback for that hands off the wheel thing.” “Well, that is not funny, Mom. Not funny at all.” “Smell that gulf air!” David interrupted. “That is what I am talking about. Let’s get

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Why the “Big One” Gets Away Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but un-conquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! And since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou… whale! Thus, I give up the spear!

HOSE EPIC AND FINAL WORDS WERE SPOKEN by the fictional Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s literary classic, Moby Dick, first published in 1851. This story is an archaic but superb tale of a big fish that got away—and took the angler with it. Even though a whale is technically not a fish, the same rules apply. Big fish, or whales, are hard to capture, and that underlying theme of man versus big fish still plays to this day. We all want to catch a “big one.” Why this is important is hard to decipher. It must have some genetically linked psychological importance relating to being the tribe’s outstanding food provider of the month. But give a modern angler a choice of catching a number of small fish or just one big one, and he usually will choose the latter. Other notable authors have sailed this literary tempest. Hemingway’s timeless The Old Man and the Sea is another tale that expresses the hate, love, fear, anger, and disappointment of catching a huge fish only to lose it before the accolades and rewards arrive.

How about the blockbuster movie “Jaws”? Another story of man versus fish with the leading character a miserable shell of a man who develops the notion that catching the man-eating shark will revolutionize his sagging, pathetic life. This tale shares much with Moby Dick. Both Captains succumb to revenge against the fish for the pain they have inflicted upon the poor creatures that are just following their genetic programming. Some psychoanalysts see all of this as some sort of search for the meaning of life. Contraire, I say; most big fish are not captured and suitably documented because the angler is simply unprepared for the remote possibility of catching one. Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and possibly superior genes. In order to reach large sizes, fish must be very good at escaping predation by others, and at finding food. They must resist diseases, accidents, and just the plain bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no scientific proof to back up the claim that fish have memory, but big fish must recognize danger and avoid it. That includes being caught by a fisherman. However, sooner or later, they will make a mistake and bite something that has a hook in it. That mistake is critical to their futures, and they will realize the drama before the angler has a clue. They will seize the moment and take control of the situation. Big fish will employ every tactic in their book-of-life experiences to escape. This is the part where angler abilities come into play. Hooking a large fish is mostly a matter of luck, a being at the right place at the right

“

time scenario. But, landing a big one successfully is determined by the skill and preparedness of the individual. Here are a few tips to help make it happen when Moby Dick is on the other end of the line: - Use quality equipment that has the ability to handle and subdue large fish. Snoopy rods won’t cut it. Big fish are unforgiving and will destroy cheap fishing rods and reels before escaping. Better to be over than under gunned. - Become a nick and knot nut. Constantly check fishing line for nicks, dents, or frays and retie as necessary. Learn to tie perfect knots and constantly check them for wear and tear. - Have a big fish mindset. Every cast has the potential to catch a “big one.” Be prepared mentally so the fish does not gain the advantage before it is too late. This is probably the most important aspect of catching and landing a big fish, and also the most difficult. Catching a big fish that ultimately gets away has been the basis for many great fishing yarns. Maybe that is not a bad thing story-wise, but it is a lot more exciting to land a big fish. Being prepared in advance is the key to being able to tell the happy story about the “big one” that did not get away.

Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and genes.

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E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

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Computer Cats

N ELECTRONIC TUNE BLARED FROM A hidden spot. Every person at the supper table lost the focus of their conversation as a woman grabbed for her purse. Then like a chicken searching for a grasshopper she pecked through her belongings. With a deft flip, she withdrew the offending gizmo, put it to her ear, and started a new conversation - to the consternation of the people she now ignored. Electrons were the first culprits. They provided impetus for the scientists. Brain cells sizzled and the warning that tumors are caused by cell phones infiltrated the news. Soon a new excuse for declining vision also became common. “Staring at the computer monitor has ruined my eyes!” While personal computers have become necessary appliances in American homes and communication is simplified by ever more confounding cell phones, social etiquette is trashed and sacrificed by narcissism. Meanwhile, Bill Gates has surpassed Alexander Graham Bell on the list of household names and noteworthy inventors. The whole mess is disgusting to folks that value manners and have the wherewithal that society has moved closer through communication but further apart in personal interaction. With the price of gas, and watching some idiot walk through a crowd while yakking at full volume on a blue tube, it’s easy to saddle up and head for the hills - or the desert. Parts of the Chihuahua Desert are more remote than the wilderness areas in the Rocky Mountains. Much of the desert isn’t fit for man or beast. There are few streams and only the occasional spring. Windmills C72

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provide most of the water sustaining livestock and the sparse rains make agriculture almost impossible. So there aren’t many people, or telephone poles, or other manmade contrivances littering the landscape. This is the country of wide-open vistas where distant mountains serve as landmarks. Best of all, in the corner of the world that I enjoy, there is no cell phone service. And though the hacienda has a generator to provide electricity, it can easily become a custom to forego the noisy convenience. However, paradise comes at a price and demands maintenance. In this instance, something was killing an inordinate number of deer. In six weeks, the Mexican cowboys found six dead deer. The first thought was that a mountain lion had moved into the territory. So, we began our search. Each time a deer was killed, several of us inspected the site and walked in great circles around the area. There were always a few leg bones, some chewed up ribs, maybe the backbone and skull, and that was about all. Lions generally bite on the back of the neck or the throat. In some cases, they reach with a forepaw for a nose-hold and then break the victim’s neck. Then they eat their fill and cache the rest of the carcass. A big cat may come back once to feed but normally doesn’t come back a second time. It seems that they prefer fresh meat and would rather kill again. This often provides scavenging coyotes an opportunity for a cheap meal. But, the kills that we were finding seemed fresh and there was no indication they’d ever been cached by a lion. There was the possibility that it was a young cat and coyotes were chasing it from the kill, or cleaning up the carcass as soon as the lion left, but none of us could find any sign relative to a major feline. Armed with our minimal knowledge concerning mountain lion behavior, the ranch manager set traps where the big cats had been caught in the past. But several weeks and numerous deer kills later we needed more of a plan. The nearest lion hunter I

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knew was 2,000 miles away in Montana and the last advice he’d wasted on me wasn’t going to help. “Just about the time you think you know how mountain lions behave and everything about what a mountain lion will or won’t do - they change the rules.” Likewise, the landowner called the local mountain lion expert and didn’t get anymore useful insights. The drought conditions and summer heat weren’t conducive for trapping, but we tried to take the advantage. There were two water troughs within several hundred yards of three of the deer kills. We soaked the ground around the troughs in hopes to pick up more tracks. Then we scoured the ground and cow trails for 100 yards in every direction. But still the only tracks we found belonged to coyotes, deer, and raccoons. Then one of the cowboys found a young doe dead in an arroyo. The animal had been run across the pasture, down a steep bank, and then out on to the round river rocks. The race was over when the deer hit the rocks. The predators pulled down the prey and disemboweled it. The gravel bed showed the story as plain as a Sunday newspaper. The deer’s body was a short distance from the eaten gut pile and though the neck and ribs were picked clean, there was still some meat left on one hindquarter. The kill wasn’t a day old, and this was the same way I’d seen wolves kill a cow elk up the East Fork of the Wind River in Wyoming. It was amazing to think that coyotes had become this proficient at killing deer. Of the six deer that were found, the teeth all showed that they were two and three-years old. One of the three-year olds was a buck and judging from its hair and the leftovers of the gut pile, the deer were all in good shape. We had to do something. So, the next move was to dust off the traps I used as a kid. Of course, in those days I was trapping for hides and wanted raccoons. I’d never set traps looking to catch coyotes. My sets consisted of a slice of bacon dangling from a

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limb over a trap. It worked for coons but I had no idea if it would work in this instance. I realized that every successful coyote trapper used urine as a sex attractant and I wished I had something similar for mountain lions. Cats make scrapes to attract other cats. That was one of the things I’d had enough sense to look for when looking for lion sign, but this was the wrong time of the year. We were going to need some luck. For the next week, we set our traps and checked them every morning - nothing. We also drove at night spotlighting and shining deep into arroyos, across hillsides, and covering miles of country. Everyday we kept looking for tracks and any telltale sign that a mountain lion was prowling about, but we

found nothing. It was aggravating that the traps went untouched, but then at the end of the week the landowner queried me for my thoughts. “Well, we’ve been laying so much scent around walking these arroyos and checking our tracks that most predators are wary. Then we’ve been out all night driving pastures and I reckon we’ve gotten in the way of whatever is killing deer. We’re not catching or killing what we’re after, but I think we’ve slowed its ability to kill deer. My only suggestion is to keep up what we’re doing and try the trapping some more when it’s the right season to trap.” Just then, the radio crackled and the landowner looked away to answer the call.

Spanish expletives were exchanged, and in a moment, the landowner glanced back at me. “The cowboys found another dead deer at a different ranch.” I kicked my toe in the dirt and cussed. Then I scratched the stubble on my chin and confessed. “I’m going to Google mountain lions and then I’m going on the internet to find somebody that has the right bait to trap lions and coyotes.” I dug my toe into the ground harder and spit. “But dadgum I hate computers!” E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

THE GURLZ PAGE Continued from Page C70 the truck unpack and get to our appointed spot on the deck. Hey there, Peter! How is the fishing?” “Hi, guys! Welcome! It is suppose to be great. Wind’s down, surf is down, tides… well, I don’t know what the tides are. I am still confused how to read those darn reports. Never did understand that two tides deal.” Tides, shmides; wind, shwind; surf, turf… don’t ya’ll know all this talking about wind, surf, weather, and rain doesn’t make a mound of fish of difference to the outcome. It will be what it will be. Que Sera Sera. Up before light, tooling down the road to launch at the Fishing Center, we tear for the jetties to get to Peter’s favorite spot. So, the crystal fishing-ball says that all the reds are at the jetties. I don’t care where I catch one of those big fish, I just want a big fish. “Crap, that guy is in my spot!” Peter complained. “I guess we will have to go around the other side.” What is going on? A beautiful sunny day, not too much wind, but holy vomit, the boat seems to be doing a lot of rocking—or do they call that pitching? Whatever they call it, I don’t feel so good. “Baby, are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Maybe if I had not drank my dinner last night I wouldn’t be having this dilemma. But, jeez, after being on the edge of my seat

for 80 miles, I had to soothe my nerves somehow. But don’t admit it here. They will think you are a wimp. “What do you mean? I am fine. Never better. Beautiful day, lots of fish to catch. Now, let’s see, where did I put my rod…” Don’t look at the waves. Stop it! Why are you looking at the surf! Not good… getting worse… you moron… don’t think about throwing up… gosh, I hate this feeling. I will do anything not to up-chuck. I would never make it as a bulimic. What kind of fisherman are you? “Baby, you are sort of green. I think you are seasick.” “Me? Seasick? Heck, no. I don’t get seasick. So, where are these bull reds anyway?” My body is going limp—help me! I can’t hold my rod up. I feel numb, dizzy. Oh, my stomach! Uck. Must have been that protein bar this morning. Oh, Lord have mercy, it is all the classic signs—multiple sclerosis! I have been stricken with MS. That’s it. I am doomed. Disability insurance! Do I have long-term disability? I think I missed that day at work when we signed up for that. Just great! I am too young. What will David say? Will he still love me? “Peter, I think we had better get Mari to the beach over there; she is looking pretty ragged. Sweetie, let go of your rod.” Your nerves die! That’s what happens, you know. Something about the nerves and the spinal cord not making contact with the brain. Nothing makes a connection. My life A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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as I know it is over. I will never be the same. I wonder if they have a fishing tournament for MS victims… “Sweetie, here, let me help you over to the beach. The only way you get over this is to get to land. I know, it has happened to me. I remember when we were fishing tarpon and I could not have cared less. There I was, hanging over the cooler…” What did he say? I can’t hear him. He sounds all muffled. And my legs—my legs are shaky and all tingly. Man, this MS disease strikes without any warning. “Here, lay down on these life preservers and take a little nap. We will fish right over there. If you need anything, just give us a wave.” Wave—don’t mention waves! You might as well say, “heave-ho.” Okay, well, maybe just a quick nap. If it would just quit spinning inside my eyelids. “Hey, Baby, we are back. How you feeling?” It is a miracle! The symptoms are gone! I am cured! “Great! Must have been that protein bar I had this morning. Catch anything?” “Not even a hardhead. I don’t understand it. No wind, no rain, no fish. All indications pointed to an outstanding day at sea… but nothing.” That darn crystal fishing ball… defective again! And still no big bull red. E-mail Mari Henry at gurlz@fishgame.com.

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Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork

HIS RECIPE MIGHT BE FAMOUS IN THE Carolinas and in Tennessee, but we enjoy it just as much here in the Lone Star State. It is easy to prepare and may be cooked the day before, then heated up for serving the next day at the picnic, fishing trip, or wherever your heart desires. Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 6 hours. Yield 10-12 servings.

1 5- to 7-lb. pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt or picnic ham) 1/2 cup Texas Gourmet’s Sweet Chipotle Season All* 10-12 sandwich buns 1/2 jar Texas Gourmet’s Pineapple Chipotle Barbeque Grilling Sauce (this is a zesty blend; if you desire a mild flavor, substitute 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup cider vinegar Remove the pork roast from the refrigerator and season on all sides with Texas Gourmet’s Sweet Chipotle Season All. Wrap in plastic wrap and return to fridge for at least two hours, or overnight preferably. Pit Method: Place roast in preheated pit fat side up (using a combo of pecan and hickory wood) at 250-275 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 3 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from pit and set aside to cool slightly. C74

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Gas Grill Method: Place over low indirect fire, fat side up, and keep covered, cooking at 275-300 degrees for 3- to 3-1/2 hours, turning once. Transfer to foil, seal tightly, and cook for 3 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from grill and set aside to cool slightly. Oven Method: Place in preheated oven fat side up in a foil lined baking dish at 300 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 2-1/2 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly. Regardless of cooking method, open the foil and pour all of the meat juices into a bowl (be careful, the liquid is very hot), then transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the fat to separate. You can speed this process in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Scrape the fat off the top and discard. Pour the reserved juices into a saucepot over medium heat, then add the

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Pineapple Chipotle Grilling Sauce, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of cider vinegar. Set aside for the next step. Using two forks, or your hands (with kitchen latex gloves), shred the pork into bite-sized pieces, removing any excess fat from the roast as you go. Add the shredded meat to the Pineapple Chipotle Barbeque Grilling Sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar mixture, then serve hot on buns with Texas Style Creamy Coleslaw (recipe follows) and your favorite sweet or dill pickles. *Available at www.thetexas gourmet.com and at all Texas Academy Sports and Outdoors Stores.

Texas Style Creamy Cole Slaw Prep time: 30 minutes. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

PHOTO COURTESY OF BRYAN SLAVEN

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5 cups shredded green cabbage 5 cups shredded red cabbage 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup coarsely chopped purple onion 2 Granny Smith apples, cored, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 cup cider vinegar 4 tsp Texas Gourmet’s Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly 1-1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream 1 Tbs Creole mustard or other coarsegrained mustard Combine the green and red cabbages, carrots, and purple onion in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, toss the cubed apples with the lemon juice and add to the cabbage mixture. In a small mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, jelly, salt, and pepper and whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Pour the seasoned vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to thoroughly combine.

Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard and stir to combine. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the coleslaw and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight before serving.

Reader Tip

the outside gets crispy, usually in a couple of minutes. The results are at least as good as when first cooked, maybe better.

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

TF&G reader Clyde Townsend of Rockport, Texas, wrote in with the following tip:

Refried Fish

S P O N S O R E D BY:

Reheating fried fish by using a conventional oven or a microwave oven is usually a disaster, resulting in a soft, yucky covering. Try “refried fish.” Simply drop fried filets straight from the refrigerator into hot cooking oil. Refry just enough to crisp up the outside. The inside will warm by the time

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TEXAS SALTWATER

Nathan B oo 24-inch S ne peckled Tr out Hillman G uide Service

ROCKPORT

GALVESTON

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

PORT ARANSAS

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4678, ext. 5579.

ace Laird Wall out f Tr o r e g in ice Str Guide Serv rd Fo Hugo

CORPUS CHRISTI

Les & Dia ne and Ilene McDonald Faulkner Redfish Redfish Charters

LAKE AMISTAD

FREEPORT

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Charles Smith 25-inch Trout ors Coastal Bend Outdo

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Matt Willaford 23-inch Trout ce an Hillm Guide Servi

Phillip King Fish Freeport Charter Boats

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

TEXAS HUNTING

LAKE TEXOMA

BAFFIN BAY

COLORADO

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

SPOTLIGHT: HILLMAN GUIDE SERVICE

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

My entire life has been spent here on Galveston Bay. My great, great grandfather and his family moved here in the early 1920’s and he became one of the first shrimpers on Galveston Bay. He trawled with his boat, “Grandpa’s Pride” which was a 16-foot wooden hull that was powered by a 4-cylinder engine and a transmission from a Model T. My pawpaw and my father both followed in his footsteps by starting their own seafood businesses. We lived in a very small frame house on Dickinson Bayou from the early 70’s to the early 80’s. In 1982, I got my first boat which was a 12-foot John boat powered by an old 9.9 Johnson. During summer, when I wasn’t working on an oyster boat or filleting fish in our seafood market, I would venture out to areas in Dickinson Bay and lower Galveston Bay that my dad and my great uncle BB Hillman had shown me. I learned how to use MirroLures and Kelly Wiggler shrimp tails at a very early age because of them. It became obvious that saltwater was in my veins. Through my heritage and my love for fishing I decided to start my own charter business in 2004. I enjoy meeting people and I thoroughly enjoy sharing my fishing experience with them. Hillman Guide Service is 4 generations of knowledge, hard work, and the blessing of being able to share it with others all rolled into one. I run a 23-foot Gulf Coast and a 22-foot Boston Whaler equipped with state-of-the-art electronics. Please visit me at www.hillmanguideservice.com or call me at 409-256-7937 to schedule your next fishing trip. Happy fishing! – Captain Steve Hillman A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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BASS—PEARLAND, TEXAS

REDFISH—KEITH LAKE, TEXAS

Clif Gibson caught this bass in a neighborhood lake in Pearland, Texas. The bass was safely released after the picture was taken.

Myles L., 9 years old, of Beaumont, Texas, landed this monster redfish in Keith Lake, using a 606 Zebco.

BUCK—KERR COUNTY, TEXAS

TROUT—MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS

David Noble, age 6, of Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, shot Nathan Funderburk, age 4, of Missouri City, Texas, his first deer on his grandfather’s ranch in Kerr caught his first trout in Port Aransas. His dad is County. The 8-point buck was taken at 120 yards seen here holding the fish. with his dad, Joe’s Ruger .270.

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO: C78

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

BLACK DRUM—BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS Brock Bozeman of Canton, Texas, caught his first black drum while fishing with his dad and uncle Gary Bozeman, near San Luis Pass County Park. The drum was approximately 33 inches and was released after a 30-minute battle, along with about 20 others caught that day.

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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BASS—LAKE NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS

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BASS—TEXAS

JACK CREVALLE—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

Maicom Creamer caught this 12 .75-pound bass on Tristin Taylor, age 5, shows off her first bass, Travis Bryant of Whitneg, Texas, caught this jack Lake Nacogdoches, using a spinnerbait. caught without any help from her proud grandpa, crevalle while fishing with his dad and friend Curtis Steve LaMascus. Smith (pictured) in Port O’Connor, Texas. The approximately 3-foot Jack weighed in at 25 pounds and was released.

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Texas Legends & Lore

by Paul Bradshaw rest of us, we listen with a hint of disbelief, waiting for the punch line that never comes. However, to the individuals who experience the events, they are real and no matter what we say, we will never convince them otherwise. One quiet evening in 2006, a resident of the East Texas reservoir Lake O’ the Pines was enjoying a walk near the water with her German shepherd. The dog enjoyed playing while the owner took advantage of the fresh air and serene landscape to relax and regroup, but in an instant, all that changed. The German shepherd suddenly disappeared in a swirl of water and fins as a catfish the size of a compact car engulfed it in a single bite. What typically serves as the climactic scene in a B-grade horror movie had just happened on the shores of a man-made lake as the owner stared incredulously at where her 85-pound dog had been just a few seconds ago. While Lake O’ the Pines does hold some massive catfish, this one was well beyond what rational people would consider large. I ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS ARMSTRONG

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fish that they could not turn, or when a trotline was pulled up with straightened hooks, it was assumed that the massive beast had struck again. The lake resembled a scene out of “JAWS” where catfishermen with deepsea rigs vowed to catch the beast before it ate a swimmer, or attacked a skier like an oversized trolling plug. To date, the massive catfish still has not been caught, and since it has not been found floating anywhere in the lake, it must still be swimming around, scaring the scales off the other fish. Does a Lake O’ the Pines beast really exist? Who knows, but a few people in East Texas swear they have seen it...and one even claims it ate her dog.

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In This Issue

I30 I33

NEW PRODUCTS • What’s New From Top Outdoor Manufacturers | BY TF&G STAFF SHOOT THIS • Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

HOW-TO SECTION

COVER STORY • Texas Legends & Lore | BY PAUL BRADSHAW

HOTSPOTS & TIDES SECTION

I6 I14

TEXAS HOTSPOTS • Texas’ Hottest Fishing Spots | BY CALIXTO GONZALES & JD MOORE SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK • Tides, Solunar Table, Best Hunting/Fishing Times | BY TF&G STAFF

GEARING UP SECTION

I22 I24

TEXAS TESTED • Fishbites; Buck Knives; and more | BY TF&G STAFF INDUSTRY INSIDER • Honda Marine: Bread & Butter Outboards | BY BRUCE SMITH

I38 I40 I42

TEXAS BOATING • From Bad to Worse | BY LENNY RUDOW

I43 I44 I48 I50 I54

FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Topping It Off | BY PAUL BRADSHAW

TEXAS KAYAKING • Kayaking Causes Bald Spots | BY GREG BERLOCHER SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Floaters, Swimming Deep | BY PATRICK LEMIRE

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

I34 I46 I51 I52 I56

SPECIAL HUNTING SECTION • Trophy Fever | BY TF&G STAFF

I58 I60 I62

TEXAS TASTED • Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork | BY BRYAN SLAVEN

TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Bassing Blunders Cost Bucks | BY MATT WILLIAMS MY PLACE OUTDOORS • Dove Frenzy | BY RYAN VICK AFIELD WITH BARRY • Why the “Big One” Gets Away | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR GURLZ PAGE • The Crystal Fishing Ball | BY MARI HENRY

MISTER CRAPPIE • The Road Runner Story | BY WALLY MARSHALL HUNT TEXAS • Don’t Be a Slob Hunter | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Dove Guns & Loads | BY STEVE LAMASCUS WILDERNESS TRAILS • Computer Cats | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

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Along the southern coast of Texas lies a stretch of beach that has been instrumental in the history of our state and the nation. The wilderness setting of Padre Island has been the home of allegedly cannibal Indians and shipwrecked treasure hunters, and served as a bombing range during World War II. It was even on the short list of locations to test the first nuclear weapon due to its distance from civilization. Padre Island is the largest stretch of uninhabited barrier island left in the nation, and there is a lot of history buried in its dunes and sunken it its surf. Captain Billy Sandifer has spent more days on the sand of Padre Island than many of us have been alive. Making a living guiding anglers to the fish in the surf and tourists along the sand, Captain Billy has an intimate knowledge of the island and has had a few encounters that are difficult— impossible, really—to explain. During a recent conversation, Billy admitted, “When people ask me to explain some of the stories, I can’t. All I know is they just happened.” Of the countless stories Captain Billy has lived through over his decades on Padre, his late night encounter with an unexpected visitor immediately comes to mind. Even it was decades ago, every detail remains etched in his mind, and after hearing him tell it, I can see why. “I hadn’t been back from Vietnam too long when we were down on the beach fishing. We were sitting around the campfire when we heard footsteps from someone walking down the beach, just out of the light of the campfire. I had a K-Bar knife in front of me, so I picked it up and the fellow with me picked up a hammer, and we just sat there. The footsteps moved around the truck to the passenger side, then the back, and then around the driver’s side before coming out front. From the sound of the steps, whoever or whatever was making them should have been standing right in front of us by the fire, but we couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, whatever it was let lose with a mournful crying scream as it walked around camp for about five minutes before it walked off. “Later, I was walking up onto the dunes to say my evening prayers. I had paddled out a few baits right before dark and was a little bit wet. This was back before kayaks, so we

used life rafts. As I was walking toward the dunes, I came to a spot where the temperature seemed to drop, and being a little wet, I got chilled. As I walked away from the spot, I warmed up; and as I got closer, I cooled down. I called the fellow I was fishing with and had him stand in the same spot; he could

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feel how cold it was, too. As we walked back to the truck, he looked at me and said, ‘Billy, do you need anything out of the truck? Because I’m getting in there and not coming out until the morning.’ I got locked out of my own truck.” That is more of a campfire story than most

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of us have, but it was just the beginning of Billy’s evening. Being kicked out of his own truck wasn’t a hardship, since he typically slept on a cot in front of it, and this night was no different. The difference this time was that his night would be sleepless, as the visitor from earlier in the evening came back for an

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encore. For hours, whatever it was stalked around the camp, screaming and raising a ruckus, making it impossible for Billy to even consider falling asleep. “I finally couldn’t take it anymore,” Captain Billy told me. “So I sat up and told whatever it was that if it would just leave me

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alone and let me sleep, then I’d never camp there again.” The negotiations didn’t work, and the activity went on all night until daybreak. Nonetheless, Billy kept up his end of the deal and never camped in that location again. In subsequent trips down the beach, Billy could still locate the cold spot, even though he didn’t camp near it, until hurricane Allen came through, shifting the sand and seemingly moving the spot. He later relocated the cold spot on the beach, but doesn’t share its location with many people. Billy related another story about a Padre Island experience shared with another freespirited individual who spent some time on the island. It seems an engineer who spent most of his career building refineries decided to he had enough of civilization and went to live on the island, which is very difficult to do since there are no permanent houses. The man ran the beaches sans clothing, and subsisted by drinking water from the inland freshwater marshes until he was netted and removed. That’s right—he was caught in a cast net like a naked wild mullet. However, once removed, he still hung out in the area near the bridge connecting the mainland to the island. Not one to talk much, it was rare when the man engaged in conversation consisting of more than one word, until one day, when he approached Captain Billy and asked, “Have you heard the flutes? ” Oddly enough, Billy knew exactly what he was talking about. “Down in the 40s (40 miles down the beach), on a calm night you can hear what sounds like a small Indian flute that plays three distinct songs,” Billy said. “I know the wind blowing can make noises—I hear it playing notes in my rod tubes—but these are three distinct songs that play one behind the other.” Are there really ghosts of Indians running around the sand playing flutes or keeping campers up all night? According to Billy, there are, and I am not one to argue because it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to share a story like that. I will take his word for it, and if I ever find a cold spot on the beach, you can bet I will not pitch my tent near it.

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

Jumbo Shrimp & Silver Kings

effective is to sharp shoot potholes with a 1/4ounce DOA Shrimp, YUM! Sweet Shrimp, or Tsunami Holoshrimp in clear/gold.

LOCATION: Brazos-Santiago Pass HOTSPOT: North Jetties (bank access) GPS: N26 04.080, W97 09.280

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LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Long Bar GPS: N26 12.164, W97 15.957 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo. Shad tails in red/white, Pumpkinseed/chartreuse; topwaters CONTACT: Captain Luke Bonura, 956-4572101 TIPS: This area is within sight of the Queen Isabella Causeway. The submerged edge of the spoil islands is always good for solid speckled trout. Fishing bait off the edge is the easiest way to find those trout. Drift the length of the bar and throw either chunks of ballyhoo or large topwaters for redfish. If you are a boater, keep a sharp lookout. Some fishermen prefer to wade the area in the fall. Wet-footed fishermen catch plenty of big trout. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Old Causeway GPS: N26 4.197, W97 11.305 SPECIES: speckled trout, flounder BEST BAITS: live shrimp, mud minnows, soft plastics in chartreuse patterns CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: The area where the old Causeway joins to Long Island is an underrated but productive spot for both flounder and trout, especially early in the morning and late in the evening. Fish the drop-off where the easement falls into Laguna Madre for best results. Try a bucktail jig sweetened with either a live shrimp with the tailfin removed for extra scent (break the horn off and pass the hook from underneath the carapace and out the top so the shrimp rides straight) or a frisky mud minnow. Hop the combo along the bottom. When you feel a tap, lower your rod tip, reel in the slack, count to three, and set the hook hard.

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Calixto

LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Duncan House GPS: N26 17.908, W97 18.103 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait; topwaters; soft plastics in red/white, New Penny; gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Drift near the spoil islands. Trout and redfish co-mingle all along the flats. Use either live shrimp under a popping cork or gold spoons; both will cover the most water in the shortest amount of time. If you prefer using soft plastics, red/white or New Penny are the most effective. A nifty bait to try is the new PowerBait Rattle Shrimp. You have the smell and flavor of PowerBait with the added perk of internal rattles. Fish might find them hard to resist. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Rattlesnake Bay GPS: N26 19.075, W97 20.454 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, ballyhoo; gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: September is sight-fishing time in Rattlesnake. Cast towards pods of tailing reds with gold spoons or a “skipped” ballyhoo (a weightless 4-inch head segment of ‘hoo worked just under the surface). If the water is off-colored and sight-fishing is difficult, then bottom fish with ballyhoo chunks and live shrimp under a popping cork. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Three Islands GPS: N26 16.643, W97 15.102 SPECIES: black drum BEST BAITS: live shrimp/popping cork CONTACT: Captain Ruben Garcia, 956459-3286 TIPS: Fall offers an incredible variety of fishing opportunities for Laguna Madre fisher-

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

men. If the trout and redfish are not cooperating, there are always schools of slot-sized (14to 30-inch) black drum to fish for. Watch for mud boils, which will tip you off to schools of foraging drum. A live shrimp under a cork is standard, but if you find one of those small crabs swimming around in your bait bucket, put him on the hook. A hungry black won’t turn those down. LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Mansfield Jetties GPS: N26 34.025, W97 16.173 SPECIES: tarpon, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, finger mullet; Long A’s in Sweet Grape, Firetiger, Sinking CW Crabs CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: Monster hunters should focus on the end of the jetties if they want to latch onto something big. Large redfish form big schools

around the jetties, and tarpon are rolling along the beachfront is September. Large shrimp and live mullet on 1/2-ounce Carolina rigs can be fished around the outside of the jetties for best results. Trolling Long A’s should locate tarpon in the 30-100 pound range. The sinking version of the CW Crankbait fished in the eddies and currents around the jetties should also be very effective, especially when couple with Carolina Lunker Sauce’s Crab formula. LOCATION: LLM @ Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: North of East Cut GPS: N26 34.669, W97 22.403 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: Mauler/Bull Minnow combo, gold spoons CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: If you are more interested in slot-sized redfish for the table, the focus on the opposite end of the East Cut. Pods of redfish will be

harassing bait in the shallow flats North of the Cut. A Norton’s Bull Minnow in red/white or glow/chartreuse is the rig of choice for this scenario. YUM! Samurai Shad in black/chartreuse are also effective. Sight fishing with 1/4-ounce gold spoons is also effective. LOCATION: Laguna Madre @ Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: Community Bar GPS: N26 34.669, W97 25.124 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: Gulp! Jerk Shads in Limetreuse, Pearl; topwaters early; soft plastics in red/white, Firetiger CONTACT: Captain Terry Neal, 956-9442556, www.terrynealcharters.com TIPS: The Western shoreline from Community Bar to the Land Cut will be productive for speckled trout through the fall. Topwaters worked in the shallows from gray light until dawn are effective. Switch over to jerk baits and soft plastics as the day progresses and fish deeper water. Use a 1/4-ounce jighead to facilitate working deeper water.

Pin a Trout LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: East Kleberg Point GPS: N27 16.300, W97 30.426

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BEST BAITS: live shrimp, Gulp! lures CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Watch for birds working over schools that are crashing bait. When you locate a school, fish a Gulp! Shrimp or shad tail under an Old Bayside Paradise Popper X-treme. If the fish are deeper, work the lure without the cork. Use a 1/4-ounce jighead if the fish are deeper; switch to a 1/8-ounce jighead if using the X-treme cork. LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: Center Reef GPS: N27 16.206, W97 34.362 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, croaker CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Fish the deep points around the Reef with live bait on a Chatterweight rig. Later in the day, fish closer to the rocks. Drift fishing is better than anchoring because it allows you to cover more water around the reef. Once you find a concentration of fish, focus on the area they are holding. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Emmord’s Hole GPS: N27 30.057, W97 19.546 SPECIES: speckled trout, redfish BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, or croaker; soft plastics in Tequila Gold CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: The grasslines in Emmord’s are still productive in September. Work live pinfish under a Paradise Popper around the grasslines early in the morning. There will be speckled trout lurking and waiting for the sort of meal a noisy pin will provide. Late afternoon means tailing redfish which means you can sight-cast with soft plastics on a light (1/8ounce) jighead. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline GPS: N27 325.402, W97 2.075 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live shrimp, pinfish, croaker; Gulp! Baits/Paradise Popper CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Fish the area slowly and thoroughly. Trout will be lurking around the potholes along the grass beds. If you are fishing a weedline, then use a live pinfish or shrimp on a Chatterweight. If you are drifting potholes, then rig a 3-inch Gulp! or Bayside Shrimp

under an Old Bayside Paradise Popper. Again, slow is the catchword, so temper your drift with a drift anchor if you have one. LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: ICW GPS: N27 37.167, W97 15.004 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: topwaters in bone; soft plastics in Tequila Gold CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-9856089, 361-449-7441 TIPS: Redfish will be prowling the shallows along the ICW in the afternoon. Work the shallows (as in 1-foot deep) with topwaters to get the fish’s attention. If the wind is up, back off and fish the edges of the ditch with jerkbaits and soft plastics. Gold and chartreuse are good color choices.

Glowing Redfish LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Green’s Bayou GPS: N28 49.417, W93 50.499

SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in chartreuse, Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: Shrimp will be starting to migrate out of the marshes as weather begins to moderate. Key in on drains and points when the tide is draining out of the marsh. Toss up into the drain and work your bait back along the bottom. Finish the cast all the way to the boat. Some redfish have a tendency to follow the bait quite a ways. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: North Levee Road GPS: N29 54.194, W93 52.316 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Green Tomato, Strawberry/white CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: The middle of the lake is still very productive, especially with continued bird activity. If you don’t see any birds (which would be a rare day indeed), keep an eye out A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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for slicks. Cast the perimeter of the schools as well as directly towards them. Heavier jigheads (1/4-ounce) will bring the bait down to the mid-depths much quicker. They will also facilitate longer casts so you can begin fishing a ways before you get to the school. LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: West Jetty GPS: N29 39.681, W93 49.978 SPECIES: redfish, flounder BEST BAITS: live bait; soft plastics in Glow/chartreuse, Pearl/chartreuse, Green Tomato, Strawberry/white CONTACT: Captain Bill Watkins, 409-7862018, 409-673-2018 TIPS: Redfish and flounder both migrate into the passes as they get ready to move off into the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. Live finger mullet will nail both fish. Soft plastics on heavy jigheads (3/8- to 1/2-ounce) will bump the bottom for flatties. Back off to a 1/4-ounce head to fish more in the mid depths for bull redfish. You don’t have to break out the big plastics for the reds. A 3-inch tail will get its share of strikes. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Big Pasture Bayou GPS: N29 30.322, W95 35.780 SPECIES: redfish, speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters; soft plastics in Opening Night, Cheyenne Gold CONTACT: Captain Shane Chessum, 409284-8616 TIPS: Baitfishes and shrimp are starting to move out of the bayous and into the Bay proper. Astute fishermen can intercept them with both soft plastics and topwaters. Fish around points and drains. Later in the month, back off and fish depth breaks and deeper water. LOCATION: East Galveston Bay HOTSPOT: Yates Bayou GPS: N29 29.608, W95 36.026 SPECIES: speckled trout BEST BAITS: live bait, topwaters; soft plastics in Opening Night, Cheyenne Gold CONTACT: Captain Shane Chessum, 409284-8616 TIPS: Water clarity is going to determine the lure color you use. If the water is stained, then fish with darker colors, while clearer water requires lighter colors. Work the depth breaks and drains along the shoreline. Watch for working bait. Fish deeper water if the tide is retreating, especially around those ubiquitous drains.

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Freshwater Reds

a short segment of monofilament are perfect for this type of fishing. Dabble underneath these trees or around deadfalls. Don’t be persnickety. A big Rio Grande, scaled, gutted, and headed, fries up just like a bluegill.

LOCATION: Calaveras HOTSPOT: Granny’s Cove GPS: N29 17.084, W98 18.293

Hum up a White Bass

SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shad, gold spoons; swimbaits in blue, purple, chartreuse CONTACT: Jeff Snyder, 210-649-2435 TIPS: The water is beginning to cool from summertime highs, and redfish take the cue as time to fee. Fish the east side of the cove. Live shad or small sunfish on a bottom rig are the best bet, but gold spoons or 1/2-ounce swimbaits such as Storm’s Wildeye Shad also work quite well. Use stout tackle, because these fish can run large and have plenty of stuff to run your line over. LOCATION: Braunig HOTSPOT: Intake Channel GPS: N29 15.665, W98 22.373 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAIT: crawfish, shrimp, chicken livers, prepared baits CONTACT: Jeff Snyder, 210-649-2435 TIPS: Fish the deeper water. Carolina rigs with crawfish or crawfish flavored prepared baits is a good technique, but chicken lives are always good. You never know when a hybrid or red will take your bait. They like crawfish and chicken livers, too. You need to be aware of your boat’s position in relation to the Intake Buoy. LOCATION: Rio Grande River HOTSPOT: River above Anzalduas Dam GPS: N26 25.100, W97 57.220 SPECIES: panfishes BEST BAIT: night crawlers, 1/32-ounce Road Runner jigs CONTACT: Anzalduas State Park, 956-5199550 TIPS: Some of the deeper holes under trees and deadfalls off excellent opportunities for some hand-sized sunfish and Rio Grande Perch. A little johnboat and a cane pole with I10

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LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N31 54.533, W97 12.375 SPECIES: white bass

BEST BAITS: Tail Hummers, Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Watch for early and late surface action around Triplett Point, Snake Island, and dam rip rap. Tail Hummers and Rat-L-Traps work best on schooling fish. On cloudy days, the schooling will last longer, sometimes all day. After sunrise, back off to the deep humps and watch your electronics for stacked schools, drop 3/4-ounce white or Chartreuse slabs down and bounce off bottom. Bite occurs on the fall. BANK ACCESS: Tailrace Fishing Pier, whites on jigs and Kastmaster spoons LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: Temple Lake Park GPS: N31 07.429, W97 29.285 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid striped bass BEST BAITS: topwater baits to match forage size in silver or clear CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-369-7411, www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: Look for topwater feeding early and late. Pay attention to the size of shad regurgitated by the fish you catch, and try to closely match that forage size with your baits. Action will continue to improve as cold fronts cause temperatures to moderate and begin a cooling trend in water temperatures. BANK ACCESS: Temple Lake Park, white bass, largemouth bass,

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LOCATION: Lake Fairfield HOTSPOT: The Hump GPS: N31 47.843, W96 04. 032 SPECIES: red drum BEST BAITS: deep diving crankbaits and spoons CONTACT: Lex Hayes, 903-641-9609, www.lexsguideservice.com TIPS: Troll the deep diving crankbaits to get them to the depth that the reds are using. The water will still be warm in September and deep trolling will put your baits in the cooler water. The Hump is straight across from the second boat ramp and is usually a producer this time of year. You can also find reds in the inlet cove and dam area. The campground bank also produces in the evenings. BANK ACCESS: Fairfield Lake State Park Fishing Pier, largemouth bass, red drum, catfish LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Southeast Trees GPS: N29 54.945, W96 43.062 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: stinkbait, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Trees farthest from the bank are in 20 feet plus of water. Tie off or anchor close to the trees. Most are cedars, so be careful casting so not to hang up. Try to fish straight down in the deeper water. Water has not cooled much yet, so look for fish a little deeper than winter patterns. Fish close to bottom with a tight line. Early morning and late evening, try closer to bank in shallow water, where moss will allow. Fish will be eating moss along with the coots. Chum will bring cats out of the moss to your area, or you can chum straight down in the deeper water. BANK ACCESS: Oak Thicket Park, largemouth bass, catfish, redear sunfish LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Sulphur Creek (Creek Bed) GPS: N30 37.613, W96 03.108 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, shrimp, worms, stinkbait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: You’ll be anchoring in about 16-foot

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water. Fish moving to and from main lake to Sulphur Creek pass through this area. Use tight line Carolina rig, 2/0 Kahle hook for shad with 1-ounce egg sinker. Set out several rods around the boat and try different types of bait on the rods. Blue, yellow, or channel cats possible here. If targeting channel cats you could use some range cubes, since they sink without drifting better than sour chum. For channel cats, fish over the range cubes. BANK ACCESS: Boat Ramp Pier, bream, crappie, catfish LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool HOTSPOT: Lynn Creek Bridge GPS: N3237.377, W97 02.338 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: drop-shot Shakeyhead worm, Norman’s DD22 crankbait CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-468-1556, www.getagripguideservice.com TIPS: Work the bridge pilings with the Shakeyhead worm and troll the DD22 in and out and around the pilings. BANK ACCESS: Lynn Creek Fishing Dock, bream, crappie, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Big Island GPS: N33 03.034, W96 28.313 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: white and Shad colors on Bandit crankbaits and spinnerbaits, plastic worms in Watermelon Seed and Green Pumpkin will be the best CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Work the area behind the Big Island, and any riprap you can find. Main lake banks and points will be key to finding fish. BANK ACCESS: Ticky Creek Park, largemouth bass on crankbaits and spinnerbaits LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Flat Creek & Slough GPS: N32 07.729, W95 28.970 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: 3/8-ounce willow leaf spinnerbaits in white and chartreuse; topwaters in shad patterns like Tiny Torpedoes and poppers; Senkos in Watermelon and Junebug colors, rigged Texas or wacky style CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., www.matternguidesercvice.fghp.com TIPS: The back third of Flat Creek will hold schools of bass chasing schools of shallow shad. They will be feeding on shad to fatten

up for the coming winter. Use the above baits, changing frequently, until you find the right combination. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, bass, catfish, crappie. Fish pockets and rock wall. LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Hwy 309 Flats GPS: N31 58.324, W96 07.208 SPECIES: hybrid stripers and white bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shads and Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 903-389-4117, www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: Work the 309 Flats in the early morning for topwater action in shallow water 5 to 10 feet deep. Sassy Shads and Rat-L-Traps are deadly on the hybrids and almost anything shiny will catch the white bass. Look for baitfish popping the top and Herons and Egrets working the shoreline. When the topwater bite slows, move out to 20 feet and deeper water and bounce a slab along the bottom. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish shoreline each side of boat ramp and shoreline of cove immediately to the left of the ramp. Largemouth bass on spinnerbaits and Plumcolored Texas-rigged plastic worms. LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Henderson Point GPS: N32 11.571, W95 29.314 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid stripers BEST BAITS: topwaters; 1/4-ounce chrome/blue Rat-L-Trap CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: white bass and hybrid stripers can be found visibly schooling on the main lake points early and late. Ease up to the school, throw your lure over and beyond the school, and quickly reel in. Around 9:00 a.m., they will move out to the nearest drop-off. Good choice then is Dimple Spoon. BANK ACCESS: Flat Creek Public Ramp, largemouth bass, white and hybrid stripers, crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Magic Tree Hump GPS: N31 58.230, W96 18.110 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rig or drop-shot rigged with stickbait in Watermelon or Pumpkin colors CONTACT: Steve Schmidt, 817-929-0675cell, www.schmidtsbigbass.com TIPS: The Magic Tree Hump is at the A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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mouth of Crab Creek. It has a nice creek channel on the west side, and the key setup is on the side next to the tree line and creek. Throw up the hump with C-rig or drop-shot. I use an 18-inch leader with a 3/0 hook, and a 3/4- or 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten bead and (2) 8-millimeter force beads. Drag the C-rig or drop-shot from the middle of the hump or on the outside edge back toward the creek. Top water bite here is good early and late. For my drop-shot rig, I use a 10-pound Fluorocarbon Seaguar line with a number 1 Gamma Circle hook with a 3/16- or 1/4-ounce dropshot weight. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish shoreline each side of boat ramp and shoreline of cove immediately to the left of the ramp. Largemouth bass on spinnerbaits, plum colored Texas rigged plastic worms. LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Welch Park Roadbed GPS: N30 19.862, W96 32.733 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, worms, stinkbait, chicken livers CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Use Carolina rig, 3/4-ounce egg sinker, 1/0 Kahle hook with shad; No. 4 treble hook with other baits. Water is shallow here and drops off into the roadbed. Fish the drop off. Baitfish frequent the drop-off area and the catfish move in to feed on them. Fish are about a month away from fall patterns, which means bait fish will move and the catfish will follow. Fish this area through September. BANK ACCESS: Rocky Creek Park, largemouth bass, catfish, white and hybrid bass, catfish, white and black crappie. LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir HOTSPOT: Riprap face of the Dam GPS: N31 01.601, W97 31.858 SPECIES: white bass, schooling largemouth & smallmouth BEST BAITS: downrigging with artificial baits matching forage size in silver, white, and silver/white CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411, www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: If you haven’t been to Stillhouse in a while, please know we lost 100 percent of our hydrilla to flooding last year, so it is a whole new ballgame now as compared to the last decade of quality grass fishing. Go stocked

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with No. 13 and No. 12 Pet Spoons to match small shad, and Swimmin’ Image shallow divers to imitate larger shad. Run baits 1-2 feet above game fish marks on sonar and about 30 feet behind the downrigger ball. Low light times at dusk and dawn are always productive, with very windy days productive at any time. BANK ACCESS: Stillhouse Park, largemouth, smallmouth bass, catfish, crappie LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Juniper Point East & The Islands GPS: N33 51.892, W96 49.883 / N32 50.232, W96 44.552 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: RipTide Curltailers, and topwaters CONTACT: Bill Carey, 903-647-4022 Cell, www.striperexpress.com TIPS: The big fish move onto the flats during September. Early mornings cast pencil poppers and chug bugs on the shallow banks. Mid-morning change your lures to Rip Tide Curltailers and Sassy Shad soft plastics. Concentrate on the flats that run about 20 feet in depth. Locate the creek channels and dropoffs; these are the routes that the fish use to move up from deep water to feed. The gulls have arrived, so pay close attention to the birds, as they are your best fish-finders. BANK ACCESS: East Juniper Point and Washita Point, watch for stripers chasing shad along bank LOCATION: Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Reeds in cove at boat ramp A GPS: N31 32.997, W96 57.912 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: weedless frog, buzzbait, spinnerbait CONTACT: Jimmy D. Moore, 254-7442104, rayado@earthlink.net TIPS: Flip frog in pockets among cattails. Work buzzbait and spinnerbait outside and along the edges, and into open pockets. Best fishing will be early and late in the day. This pattern will hold through November, if the power plant is generating power. This keeps the water warm compared to lakes without power plants. BANK ACCESS: South levee, catfish at night on chicken livers and stinkbait. Drive east over I12

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levee, turn left, and park in old picnic area. LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Whitney Point GPS: N31 54.672, W97 20.873 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummers, Kastmaster spoons and chrome Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Watch for schooling activity at Whitney Point, Island Flats, and Sand Point early and late. Work the above baits by making long casts to schooling fish. Use medium retrieve. BANK ACCESS: Loafer’s Bend Shore, stripers and whites on Rat-L-Traps and topwaters; watch for shad being chased along the shoreline.

Piped in Bass LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Pipe Island GPS: N32 54.171, W95 40.796

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: topwaters, spinnerbaits, and jerk baits CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Get on the lake early for the topwater bite will usually end around 8-9 a.m. Cast topwaters, jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps to submerged sides of island, changing bait and presentation frequently until you hit the right combination. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket, white and black crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Chainey Point in 10-15 feet of water. GPS: N32 48.307 W95 33.452 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: prepared homemade and commercial stinkbaits CONTACT: Michael Rogge, 903-383-3406,

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www.lake-fork-guides.com TIPS: After chumming, wait a few minutes for the cats to show up, then lower stinkbait to bottom and raise slightly. Hold rod and line still and be patient. You shouldn’t have long to wait. If nothing happens in a few minutes, motion the stinkbait around a little, and then stop, still holding bait just off the bottom. If that doesn’t work, move bait a few feet and repeat process. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucked, white and black crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn - South HOTSPOT: Buck Bay Point GPS: N31 10.113, W94.04.557 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rigs with creature baits, lizards, French Fries, and Flukes in Watermelon colors; crankbaits in shad color and scale pattern CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., www.maternguideservice.fghp.com TIPS: There is a main lake point on the left side of Buck Bay that extends all the way out to the middle of the lake. You will see small islands on the west side of this point. There is a huge flat coming out into the middle of Buck bay. Fish down from the start of the point out in 8-12 feet on the break line and follow it in toward Buck Bay Cove. You’ll find Hydrilla here and some really big bass hang out here. Use Carolina rigs with the above mentioned baits, and also a red-eyed Pearl crankbait that will run 6 to 8 feet deep. Big bass have been caught working this bait through the hydrilla edge. BANK ACCESS: Powell Park Marina Fishing Pier largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, white and striped bass LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend South HOTSPOT: Six Mile Flat GPS: N31 14.228, W93 42.142 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rig using Watermelon Red or Strawberry/metal flake worm CONTACT: Jim Morris, 409-579-3485, cypresscreekmarina@valornet.com TIPS: Look for spotty grass in water 12 to 14 feet deep. Work C-rig all around and through grass, holding rod tip high and line

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tight so you can feel the slightest take/strike. When you feel the take, set the hook quickly, before the bass spits the worm out. BANK ACCESS: Ragtown Recreation Area, catfish, largemouth bass, crappie, white and striped bass

Crèmed Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Rocky Point GPS: N30 48.521, W98 23.871

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Green Pumpkin colored finesse worms by Crème CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Drop-shot finesse worm in 15 to 20 feet, using Standout hooks. Also use Shakeyhead jigs on 10-pound-test line with finesse worms. A fast rod tip works best. BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, fish live bait off bottom, cast over points with traps, catfish, crappie, largemouth, white bass LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: North Park GPS: N29 52.330, W98 12.476` SPECIES: largemouth, smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: football jigs in black and blue, tubes in Rootbeer, Green Pumpkin, dropshot Devil’s Tongue, Whacky Sticks in Watermelon Red CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Use 1/8-ounce Tungsten weight with Whacky sticks and Fluorocarbon line. Dropshot Devil’s Tongue on steep bluffs. Work Whacky Sticks on bluffs. BANK ACCESS: Comal Park, largemouth bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: The Road Bed GPS: N30 42.119, W97 20.907 SPECIES: white bass, crappie BEST BAITS: 1/32-ounce chartreuse marabou jig for crappie; white slab spoons for white bass CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-365-7761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm

TIPS: For white bass, fish slab spoons on top of roadbeds and ridges in areas where shad are working. Use electronics to find fish then jig the slab spoon off the bottom by hopping it 2 to 3 feet off the bottom. For crappie, fish brush piles at dam, in 8 to 15 feet of water using Berkley crappie Nibble on the jig, which gives scent and gets the crappie’s attention. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows, fished straight down under pier

Rage Tail Largemouth LOCATION: Lake Ballinger HOTSPOT: Across from Boat Ramp GPS: N31.759, W100.044

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Stanly Ribbits, Rage Tail Shad CONTACT: Wendell Ramsey, 325-2274931, bram4@suddenlink.net TIPS: This little 445-acre lake is turning on and will get better before winter sets in. Work the Watermelon Pearl Ribbits around the vegetation mixed with timber and get ready for some bone jarring strikes. The Rage Tail Shad will work all day long shallow this time of year. If fishing gets slow find the isolated Reed beds on the lake and flip your favorite creature bait for some extra strikes. BANK ACCESS: Fishing, camping, picnicking, and a boat ramp are available at the cityowned park on the southeast shore, largemouth bass, white crappie, walleye, white bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Oak Creek HOTSPOT: Brushy Rock Points GPS: N32 02.373, W100 17.212 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bone-colored Vixens, Rage Tail Craws, white Stanley spinnerbaits CONTACT: Wendell Ramsey, 325-2274931, bram4@suddenlink.net TIPS: There are three exposed points that are lined with thick brush. Start early with the topwater Vixens around the edges of the A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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cover. As the sun comes up work spinnerbaits around the shad schools hanging close to cover, then flip the Okeechobee Craw colored Rage Tail craws in the thick stuff and hold on. BANK ACCESS: Picnic area at Lake Creek Lodge, largemouth bass on spinnerbaits, crappie on jigs, white bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: South D&D GPS: N32 52.744, W98 29.395 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: jigs, slabs, topwaters CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Work the sand bars and humps from South D&D to Caddo, while looking for surface action. When found ease up to where the whites are feeding on shad and throw topwaters, and shallow running crankbaits. When you see balls of shad on your graph, work a jig tied 2 feet above slab for schools 10 to 20 feet deep. For 10 feet up to surface use deep diving crankbaits, and drop Rat-L-Trap to a count of ten, then rip it up through the balls of shad. Work Slabs on the 20-foot breaklines. Fish slabs and traps all the way to Costello Island. Keep an eye out for the birds and “jumpy” water which indicates nervous shad just under the surface. BANK ACCESS: Willow Beach RV Park, privately owned, ask operator for permission; largemouth bass, 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

For MORE HOTSPOT listings, go to our website and click CURRENT ISSUE ARTICLES

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

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

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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.

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

T15 T16

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on a wide variety of wildlife species.

T20

T21

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

of the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

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

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

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

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

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...

www.FishGame.com 2 0 0 8 /

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

• S E P T E M B E R

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

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

T14 T18

T19

I14

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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Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 9:36a

Set: 7:36p Set: 9:06p

AM Minor: 6:51a

PM Minor: 7:13p

AM Minor: 7:40a

PM Minor: 8:02p

AM Minor: 8:30a

PM Minor: 8:53p

AM Minor: 9:21a

PM Minor: 9:44p

AM Minor: 10:13a

PM Minor: 10:37p

AM Major: 12:40a

PM Major: 1:02p

AM Major: 1:29a

PM Major: 1:51p

AM Major: 2:19a

PM Major: 2:41p

AM Major: 3:09a

PM Major: 3:33p

AM Major: 4:01a

PM Major: 4:25p

12p

12a

12p

Set: 7:33p Sunrise: 6:55a Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:34p Sunrise: 6:55a Moonrise: 11:32a Set: 10:13p Moonrise: 12:30p Set: 10:52p Moonrise: 1:27p

Moon Overhead: 4:09p

Moon Overhead: 3:24p 6p

12a

12p

SATURDAY

Set: 7:38p Set: 8:35p

Sunrise: 6:54a Set: 7:35p Moonrise: 10:34a Set: 9:38p

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 6:53a Moonrise: 8:37a

Moon Overhead: 2:40p

12a

WEDNESDAY

Moon Overhead: 4:55p 12a

12p

12a

12p

SUNDAY

Set: 7:32p Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 11:36p Moonrise: 2:21p

Set: 7:31p Set: None

AM Minor: 11:04a

PM Minor: 11:29p

AM Minor: 11:55a

PM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 4:52a

PM Major: 5:17p

AM Major: 5:43a

PM Major: 6:08p

Moon Overhead: 6:32p

Moon Overhead: 5:43p 12a

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

12p

Moon Overhead: 7:23p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sep1

z z

12a

FEET

+2.0

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 2:18a BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:02a

Moon Underfoot: 3:46a

BEST:

12:50-3:00 PM

BEST:

1:45-3:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:32a BEST:

2:30-4:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:19a

Moon Underfoot: 6:08a

BEST:

3:20-5:10 PM

Moon Underfoot: 6:57a

BEST:

4:15-7:55 PM

+2.0

BEST:

4:45-6:15 AM

6:00-8:05 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

High Tide: 5:59 am 1.36 ft Low Tide: 11:49 am 0.61 ft High Tide: 6:16 pm 1.46 ft

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

12:13 am 6:10 am 12:28 pm 7:28 pm

0.72 ft 1.34 ft 0.45 ft 1.43 ft

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

12:46 am 6:16 am 1:09 pm 8:49 pm

0.98 ft 1.35 ft 0.34 ft 1.42 ft

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

1:12 am 6:10 am 1:54 pm 10:28 pm

1.21 ft 1.38 ft 0.28 ft 1.43 ft

Low Tide: 1:19 am High Tide: 5:18 am Low Tide: 2:46 pm

1.38 ft 1.44 ft 0.26 ft

High Tide: 4:20 am Low Tide: 3:49 pm

1.54 ft 0.27 ft

High Tide: 4:23 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

1.61 ft 0.28 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

z {

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

G a m e ® / S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8

•

I15

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z z

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 7:45-9:40 AM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

1 3

1 4

Set: 7:29p Sunrise: 6:57a Set: 12:24a Moonrise: 3:57p

Set: 7:28p Set: 1:17a

Sunrise: 6:57a Moonrise: 4:39p

Set: 7:27p Set: 2:13a

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 5:17p

Set: 7:26p Set: 3:12a

Sunrise: 6:58a Moonrise: 5:52p

Set: 7:25p Set: 4:12a

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 6:24p

Set: 7:23p Set: 5:12a

Sunrise: 6:59a Moonrise: 6:55p

Set: 7:22p Set: 6:11a

AM Minor: 12:20a

PM Minor: 12:45p

AM Minor: 1:07a

PM Minor: 1:33p

AM Minor: 1:54a

PM Minor: 2:19p

AM Minor: 2:38a

PM Minor: 3:02p

AM Minor: 3:21a

PM Minor: 3:45p

AM Minor: 4:03a

PM Minor: 4:26p

AM Minor: 4:46a

PM Minor: 5:08p

AM Major: 6:32a

PM Major: 6:58p

AM Major: 7:20a

PM Major: 7:45p

AM Major: 8:06a

PM Major: 8:31p

AM Major: 8:50a

PM Major: 9:15p

AM Major: 9:33a

PM Major: 9:57p

AM Major: 10:15a

PM Major: 10:38p

AM Major: 10:57a

PM Major: 11:20p

Moon Overhead: 8:13p

12a

WEDNESDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:53p

Moon Overhead: 9:04p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:42p 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: None

Moon Overhead: 11:29p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:14a 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Sunrise: 6:56a Moonrise: 3:11p

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:48a +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 8:39a BEST:

6L45-8:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 9:29a BEST:

7:40-9:15 PM

Moon Underfoot: 10:18a BEST:

2:15-4:20 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:05a BEST:

9:10-11:00 PM

Moon Underfoot: 11:52a BEST:

9:45-11:40 PM

Moon Underfoot: 12:37p +2.0

BEST:

10:10AM-12:15PM

10:50AM-1:05PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

High Tide: 4:41 am Low Tide: 6:12 pm

1.66 ft 0.27 ft

High Tide: 4:51 am Low Tide: 7:10 pm

1.66 ft 0.25 ft

High Tide: 4:39 am Low Tide: 7:56 pm

1.65 ft 0.24 ft

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

4:29 am 10:21 am 12:10 pm 8:34 pm

1.63 ft 1.47 ft 1.48 ft 0.25 ft

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

4:30 am 9:39 am 1:38 pm 9:08 pm

1.61 ft 1.38 ft 1.50 ft 0.31 ft

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

4:38 am 9:42 am 2:46 pm 9:43 pm

1.59 ft 1.23 ft 1.54 ft 0.40 ft

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

4:47 am 10:04 am 3:51 pm 10:18 pm

1.57 ft 1.04 ft 1.58 ft 0.56 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

MONDAY

TUESDAY

{ 15

WEDNESDAY

1 6

THURSDAY

1 7

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 7:26p

Set: 7:21p Set: 7:12a

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 7:59p

Set: 7:20p Set: 8:13a

Sunrise: 7:00a Moonrise: 8:35p

Set: 7:18p Set: 9:18a

Sunrise: 7:01a Moonrise: 9:16p

AM Minor: 5:30a

PM Minor: 5:53p

AM Minor: 6:18a

PM Minor: 6:41p

AM Minor: 7:10a

PM Minor: 7:35p

AM Major: 11:41a

PM Major: ——-

AM Major: 12:06a

PM Major: 12:30p

AM Major: 12:57a

PM Major: 1:23p

Moon Overhead: 1:00a

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:34a

Moon Overhead: 1:46a 12a

12p

12a

12p

FRIDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:16p Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 7:17p Sunrise: 7:01a Set: 7:15p Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 10:25a Moonrise: 10:03p Set: 11:35a Moonrise: 10:58p Set: 12:44p Moonrise: None

Set: 7:14p Set: 1:49p

AM Minor: 8:08a

PM Minor: 8:35p

AM Minor: 9:10a

PM Minor: 9:39p

AM Minor: 10:15a

PM Minor: 10:45p

AM Minor: 11:20a

PM Minor: 11:51p

AM Major: 1:54a

PM Major: 2:21p

AM Major: 2:55a

PM Major: 3:24p

AM Major: 3:59a

PM Major: 4:30p

AM Major: 5:04a

PM Major: 5:35p

Moon Overhead: 3:26a 12a

SATURDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 5:21a

Moon Overhead: 4:22a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 6:23a 12a

12p

FEET

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 1:23p +2.0

BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 2:10p BEST:

12:00-1:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:00p BEST:

12:00-1;50 AM

Moon Underfoot: 3:53p BEST:

12;50-2:45 AM

Moon Underfoot: 4:51p BEST:

1:45-3:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 5:52p BEST:

2:50-4:45 AM

3L45-5L30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:54p +2.0

BEST:

5:00-6:35 AM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

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

I18

4:57 am 10:34 am 4:56 pm 10:55 pm

1.54 ft 0.82 ft 1.62 ft 0.76 ft

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

• S E P T E M B E R

5:06 am 11:09 am 6:05 pm 11:34 pm

1.52 ft 0.58 ft 1.66 ft 1.00 ft

2 0 0 8 /

High Tide: 5:11 am 1.52 ft Low Tide: 11:50 am 0.35 ft High Tide: 7:20 pm 1.69 ft

T E X A S

F i s h

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

12:14 am 5:10 am 12:36 pm 8:45 pm

1.25 ft 1.56 ft 0.16 ft 1.72 ft

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

12:53 am 4:58 am 1:29 pm 10:30 pm

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

1.50 ft 1.64 ft 0.03 ft 1.77 ft

Low Tide: 1:28 am High Tide: 4:34 am Low Tide: 2:31 pm

1.71 ft High Tide: 3:57 am 1.76 ft Low Tide: 3:42 pm -0.05 ft

1.86 ft -0.07 ft

-1.0

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Page I19

z z

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008 MONDAY

TUESDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

2 8

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: None

Set: 7:12p Set: 2:47p

Sunrise: 7:03a Moonrise: 1:06a

Set: 7:11p Set: 3:38p

Sunrise: 7:04a Moonrise: 2:14a

Set: 7:10p Set: 4:22p

Sunrise: 7:04a Moonrise: 3:21a

Set: 7:09p Set: 5:00p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 4:25a

Set: 7:07p Set: 5:34p

Sunrise: 7:05a Moonrise: 5:26a

Set: 7:06p Set: 6:05p

Sunrise: 7:06a Moonrise: 6:25a

Set: 7:05p Set: 6:34p

AM Minor: ——-

PM Minor: 12:22p

AM Minor: 12:51a

PM Minor: 1:20p

AM Minor: 1:45a

PM Minor: 2:13p

AM Minor: 2:34a

PM Minor: 3:00p

AM Minor: 3:19a

PM Minor: 3:43p

AM Minor: 4:01a

PM Minor: 4:23p

AM Minor: 4:42a

PM Minor: 5:04p

AM Major: 6:07a

PM Major: 6:38p

AM Major: 7:06a

PM Major: 7:35p

AM Major: 7:59a

PM Major: 8:26p

AM Major: 8:47a

PM Major: 9:12p

AM Major: 9:31a

PM Major: 9:54p

AM Major: 10:12a

PM Major: 10:35p

AM Major: 10:53a

PM Major: 11:15p

Moon Overhead: 7:25a

12a

THURSDAY

12p

Moon Overhead: 9:22a

Moon Overhead: 8:25a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 10:15a 12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 11:49a

Moon Overhead: 11:03a 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 12:33p 12a

12p

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

WEDNESDAY

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 7:55p +2.0

BEST:

6:00-7:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 8:54p BEST:

7:00-8:40 AM

Moon Underfoot: 9:49p BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 10:39p

Moon Underfoot: 11:27p

BEST:

7:55-9:30 AM

BEST:

3:10-5:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: None BEST:

9:25-11:20 AM

Moon Underfoot: 12:11a +2.0

BEST:

10:05AM-12:15PM

10:45AM-12:50PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

High Tide: 3:10 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

1.92 ft High Tide: 3:18 am -0.05 ft Low Tide: 6:19 pm

1.92 ft High Tide: 3:31 am -0.01 ft Low Tide: 7:27 pm

1.86 ft 0.07 ft

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

3:43 am 9:17 am 12:35 pm 8:26 pm

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

1.76 ft 1.47 ft 1.57 ft 0.21 ft

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

F i s h

3:53 am 9:21 am 2:08 pm 9:16 pm

1.66 ft 1.25 ft 1.60 ft 0.40 ft

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

4:04 am 9:42 am 3:24 pm 10:02 pm

1.58 ft 1.01 ft 1.64 ft 0.63 ft

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

G a m e ® / S E P T E M B E R

4:15 am 10:10 am 4:32 pm 10:44 pm

2 0 0 8

1.53 ft 0.77 ft 1.68 ft 0.87 ft

•

I19

-1.0

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NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

z z

BEST:

= Peak Fishing 7:45-9:40 AM Period = FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

MONDAY

TUESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 7:00p Moonrise: 10:18a Set: 8:47p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 6:59p Moonrise: 11:16a Set: 9:29p

Oct 1

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Set: 7:04p Set: 7:04p

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 8:21a

Set: 7:03p Set: 7:36p

Sunrise: 7:08a Moonrise: 9:19a

Set: 7:01p Set: 8:10p

AM Minor: 5:25a

PM Minor: 5:47p

AM Minor: 6:11a

PM Minor: 6:33p

AM Minor: 6:59a

PM Minor: 7:22p

AM Minor: 7:51a

PM Minor: 8:15p

AM Minor: 8:45a

PM Minor: 9:09p

AM Minor: 9:39a

PM Minor: 10:05p

AM Minor: 10:34a

PM Minor: 10:59p

AM Major: 11:36a

PM Major: 11:58p

AM Major: ——-

PM Major: 12:22p

AM Major: 12:48a

PM Major: 1:11p

AM Major: 1:39a

PM Major: 2:03p

AM Major: 2:32a

PM Major: 2:57p

AM Major: 3:27a

PM Major: 3:52p

AM Major: 4:21a

PM Major: 4:47p

12p

Moon Overhead: 2:47p

Moon Overhead: 2:01p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Moon Overhead: 3:35p 12a

12p

Sunrise: 7:09a Set: 6:58p Sunrise: 7:10a Moonrise: 12:11p Set: 10:16p Moonrise: 1:03p

Sunrise: 7:07a Moonrise: 7:23a

Moon Overhead: 1:17p

12a

WEDNESDAY

Moon Overhead: 5:14p

Moon Overhead: 4:24p 12a

12p

12a

12p

Set: 6:57p Set: 11:07p

Moon Overhead: 6:05p 12a

12p

FEET

+2.0

12a

FEET

Moon Underfoot: 12:55a BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 1:39a BEST:

11:30AM-1:25PM

Moon Underfoot: 2:24a BEST:

12:15-2:10 PM

1:05-2:50 PM

Moon Underfoot: 3:11a BEST:

Moon Underfoot: 3:59a BEST:

2:00-3:50 PM

Moon Underfoot: 4:49a BEST:

2:50-4:35 PM

3:50-5:30 PM

Moon Underfoot: 5:39a BEST:

+2.0

4:45-7:20 PM

+1.0

TIDE LEVELS

+1.0

-1.0

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2008

Fishing Day’s Best Good Score Graph Score Score

= New Moon = Fi r s t Q u a r t e r = Fu l l M o o n = Last Quarte r = B es t Da y

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

4:24 am 10:40 am 5:36 pm 11:22 pm

1.50 ft 0.57 ft 1.71 ft 1.10 ft

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

4:33 am 11:13 am 6:38 pm 11:57 pm

1.50 ft 0.41 ft 1.72 ft 1.30 ft

High Tide: 4:36 am 1.52 ft Low Tide: 11:47 am 0.32 ft High Tide: 7:43 pm 1.72 ft

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

12:27 am 4:28 am 12:25 pm 8:53 pm

1.46 ft 1.56 ft 0.29 ft 1.71 ft

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

12:47 am 3:48 am 1:07 pm 10:24 pm

1.59 ft 1.62 ft 0.30 ft 1.70 ft

Low Tide: 12:43 am 1.67 ft High Tide: 3:14 am 1.69 ft Low Tide: 1:56 pm 0.35 ft

High Tide: 3:20 am Low Tide: 2:54 pm

1.75 ft 0.40 ft

-1.0

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Page I22

Fishbites— An Xtreme Bite

I22

• S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

When the UPS man delivered a box of assorted tails to me (Xtreme Scent Release comes in three different designs, a 5-inch Jerk Bait, 3.5-inch Shrimp Tail, and a 3inch Paddle Tail Shad), I quickly tore the lid of the box (I hadn’t been fishing in over a month and was going stir crazy), grabbed a bunch of bags, and made plans to take the old Teacher’s Pet (or at least the latest version of that stalwart boat) out to find some trout. Mother Nature had other plans for me, and I found a west wind blowing and dark brown-stained water when I got to the boat ramp. Gene, my fishing partner for the day, and I were a little discouraged by the conditions, but sometimes you must work for your fillets. Truthfully, the conditions were ideal for a series of experiments with the Fishbites tails, and off we went to find some cleaner water and hungry fish. We never found the former, but we did find the latter. After running around Lower Laguna Madre all morning and trying as many different spots as we could think of, we finally found some trout late in the day. They were holding in a small channel that fed out of Cullen Bay. Most of the trout were undersized, but we did find enough keepers to save the day. The action was steady, and all three Fishbites baits worked well. The lures did make the difference, because I swapped out lures several times while Gene kept using the Fishbites. I caught a couple of fish with other lures, but the trout (and occasional pinfish or whiting) kept consistently hitting Dr. Carr’s baits. Carr’s work involved developing watersoluble feeding stimulants that he later refined into concentrated forms that comprise the Xtreme Scent Release baits. In other words, these tails don’t simulate fish food, they are fish food. The scent and flavor melt off of the bait and into the water, and any fish within range are stimulated into feeding. Gene was using the 3.5-inch Shrimp

T E X A S

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G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

Tail, and he refused to give it up. The bait’s tail was eaten off, as were most of the segments. Eventually, a 1-inch kernel was left on the jighead, and Gene kept fishing with it. He kept hooking trout, which was impressive. At one point, the wind held up my jig in the air just long enough to create the backlash from hell in my Curado 100D. Fortunately, I was spooled with FireLine Braid, so picking out the bird’s nest wasn’t too difficult. While I was thus distracted, the bait rested at the bottom of the channel. That is, it rested until a 16-inch trout picked it up and gave me a good yank. There is little doubt that Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release works. They made a tough fishing day a good day, and neither Gene nor I went home unhappy. I would like to see the tails come in slightly thicker designs. The slim design limits the jighead size you can use. A thicker version of the Jerk Bait version would be absolute poison on Texas redfish. Until then, I guess I will have to continue fishing the current line of baits. Oh, woe is me. Contact: Carr Specialty Baits, Inc., 877840-2248, www.fishbites.com —Calixto Gonzales

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edged weapon. Anyway, the search went on for many years. Well, I have finally found a couple of knives that fit the bill. At the SHOT show this year, Buck Knives showed me a two models that finally offer the farmer, rancher, cop, outdoorsman, or anyone else a tool that can be opened with one hand. I can’t tell you how much I have longed for such knives. First is the Buck Redpoint. It is a lightweight single-blade knife with a neoprene (I think) all-weather grip. It features a blade that can be opened by simply spinning a serrated wheel that extends above the front bolster. The blade is the combination type with the rear half serrated. The blade is locked in position both open and closed, and is freed by a thumb button. This is a great design that is much simpler to operate than it is to describe. I have been carrying my Redpoint a couple of months now and have grown to love it. My old Eye Brand Trapper has been retired to the knife drawer, at least for the present. The Redpoint comes in several rather garish colors, including bright blue and bright yellow, but you can always get the black or gray versions. I decided that the bright colors were an advantage in case I dropped the knife in deep grass or brush. With practice, this little knife can be opened one handed just as quickly as a switchblade, and the steel is easy to sharpen and keeps an edge well. Next are Buck’s new assisted opening knives. There are several models. The one I have is the Sirus. This knife is equipped with a spring-assisted blade. Once you have moved the blade a fraction of an inch by pushing down on the part of the blade that extends through the rear of the grip, the blade springs open like a switchblade. It is not, however, a switchblade and is completely legal because it is not opened mechanically, as there is no switch. The blade can be locked both open and closed and is, again, designed for opening quickly with one hand. My knife has a camouflage handle. The blade is 3-1/4 inches with a drop point. This is a very useful knife design and one that I have grown very fond of. It

would be extremely useful to the rancher or outdoorsman. It is nice to finally own a knife that you can open one-handed without using your teeth. Well done, Buck. Contact: Buck Knives, 800-326-2825, www.buckknives.com —Steve LaMascus

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Rodholders with the T-shaped connectors mounted on the back are available in single, triple, and quad holder racks, and all rodholders are made of stainless steel. When I tried mounting one on my boat, I felt it was secure enough to hang tight even when I trolled with a tight drag for hard-striking fish like king mackerel, and leaning against the holder didn’t cause the mount to bend or break. While these rodholders are great, Tallon expands your abilities by offering a multitude of other items that can be used with the receiver mounts. Ready to cut bait and do some chumming? Pull up the T-connector on your rodholder, pop it off the mount, stow it below decks, and drop in the polyethylene bait table. You want to dive on a wreck? Tallon has a dive tank rack system that connects to the receivers as well. Cup holders, loops and hooks, and multipurpose holders are also available. And, if you have a gadget like a handheld GPS or a cell phone that never seems to be stowed in the proper place, you can connect it to a Tallon mount with their connector/adaptor kits. These work with Gripper tabs to hold the item in place, so while you wouldn’t want to put a rodholder or other weight-bearing item on one, it will

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PHOTO BY BRUCE SMITH

their popular BF40

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Continued from Page I-24 The BF50 on the PolarCraft, for example, with three of us aboard, showed 7.2 mpg at 31 mph running wide-open at 5900 rpm. We slowed it down to a comfortable cruising speed (20 mph) and netted almost 10 mpg. That’s fuel efficiency any Texas angler can live with in these days of $4/gallon prices. “Lean Burn Control adjusts the air/fuel mixture for maximum fuel efficiency at cruise,” said Fulcher, “and the result is about a savings of 20 percent over the previous engine.” Fuel economy and acceleration weren’t the only things we noticed improved with the new Honda BF40/BF50. Performance while fishing, of course, is not limited to topend speed; slow trolling is also essential. The redesigned BF40 and BF50 EFI can troll 15-percent slower than before with the

TEXAS TESTED Continued from Page I-23 work just fine for smaller items. Less expensive polycarbonate receivers and connectors are available, but I liked the stainless-steel versions, and after testing the rodholder, have a lot of confidence in its weight-bearing ability. Contact: Tallon Marine, Ltd., 866616-4063, www.tallonmarine.com —Lenny Rudow

Grille or Classic Grille means you can choose the look to match your boat’s styling. You want more power? In a speaker box that is ready to mount on a tower? Okay, then opt for the M770-ETX CG model, which can carry 100 watts and includes a fiberglass mounting enclosure on a mounting post that swivels 360degrees. But be prepared to spend big

bucks for these little noisemakers—$1100. Then again, who cares about all these features if the speakers die after the first blast of a washdown hose? So, to start the ball rolling, I put the Rolling Stones on the stereo, jammed it up to 10, and took careful aim with my saltwater washdown. For a solid 10 seconds, I sent water streaming right into the face of these injection-moldA L M A N A C / T E X A S

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ed mica-filled polypropylene cone bodies with synthetic rubber surrounds and crossover features, which include solidstate tweeter protection to prevent tweeter failures due to abuse and to reset automatically. My treatment was definitely abusive, but not abusive enough. To simulate more real-world fishing conditions, my next move was to swing a 3-ounce lead sinker into the faceplate. Crack! It made plenty of noise, but the plastic held firm and didn’t shatter. In my final attempt at Texasstyle torture, I squirted the speakers with nonskid deck cleaner and scrubbed them with a stiff-bristle brush, followed up by another blast of the washdown hose. Still, the sound of the Stones wafted across the bay. The new JL’s can take a boatload of abuse in the marine environment and keep on working. Contact: JL Audio, http://marine.jlaudio.com —LR

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Hydra-Sports 4100 Vector

molded handle, four latches

Measuring a full 41 feet, six inches overall with a 12-foot beam and 23 degree dead rise, the 4100 takes its place at the top of the Hydra-Sports line. We’ve combined the ultimate in top-of-the-line fishing features and comfort amenities in a platform worthy of the most extreme conditions. The 4100 features the same Kevlarreinforced, hand-laid fiberglass-laminated all-composite hull utilizing a premium gel coat finish as its smaller Hydra-Sports Vectors. The Integrated Structural Grid system, built of finished fiberglass bonded to the hull with methacrylate adhesive and injected with urethane foam is the backbone for the famous Hydra-Sports ride. The 4100 comes standard with six fish boxes, a 60-gallon tournament live well, plenty of rod holders and more than ample rod storage, a bait prep area with freshwater sink, tackle/gear storage and a pullout cooler. An optional Pro Package offers a 55gallon bait well, two tuna tubes and a tackle center in place of the bait prep station, among other offerings. Ten different power options in triple or quad outboard configurations, powering up to 1,400 hp, from Yamaha, Evinrude or Mercury and a 600 plus-gallon fuel capacity. Contact: Hydra-Sports 1651 Whitfield Ave. Sarasota, FL 34243 Phone: (941) 753-7811 Web: www.hydrasports.com

More Than a Tackle Box

4100 Vector located on the font and sides along with the padlock detail provide premium protection. The 1440 Guide Series™ Case comes with a green TPR lining, along with an under-the-lid liner that provides private, secure and protected storage for video cameras, compact binoculars and other large accessories. It measures 12.5”L x 8.5”W x 5.11”H and retails for $34.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

The 1440 Guide Series Case has the maximum capacity for your larger accessories. It features a comfortable I30

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Available in both 20- and 25-inch shaft versions, Suzuki’s new DF100 will be right at home on the transom of pontoon boats, small center consoles, bay boats, fish ‘n ski models and more. The DF100’s innovation begins with a 118.9 cu. in. inline 4-cylinder Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) powerhead with four-valvesper-cylinder. Suzuki’s proven digital multi-point electronic fuel injection optimizes performance under any engine load, temperature or altitude. Suzuki’s experience with high-performance engines has led to the development of features like the DF100’s tuned and watercooled intake system and water-cooled fuel rail, which help to squeeze the most power out of every pony and the most miles from every gallon of fuel. In addition, Suzuki’s race-proven 4-into-2-into-1 exhaust system optimizes exhaust flow for superior performance and smooth acceleration. The new Suzuki DF100 also incorporates several proven engineering features designed to reduce the overall weight and size of this new 4-stroke outboard motor. An offset driveshaft and two-stage cam drive are used to move the DF100’s center of gravity forward on the transom. This not only reduces the outboard’s exterior dimensions so it looks great and fits better on boats with limited clearance, but also offers better balance on the transom which translates to reduced engine vibrations and improved performance and ride. Features like the DF100’s self-adjusting, oil-bathed timing chain (rather than a timing belt) remove this maintenance worry and help ensure season after season of hassle free operation. Further enhancing reliability over the long run are features like Suzuki’s one-piece forged crankshaft and durable stainless steel water pump. An air-cooled, high-output 40-amp alternator keeps its cool as it keeps plenty of juice flowing to power the sophisticated marine electronics, pumps,

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lights and accessories found on today’s fishing and family boats. To learn more about the new Suzuki DF100 for 2009 — contact Suzuki Marine at (714) 996-7040 or visit Suzuki’s informative website at www.suzuki.com.

PowerLoader

any factory-installed or after-market winch and fits on all popular brands and models of ATV’s and UTV’s (Polaris, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kubota, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Bush Hog, and more). The PowerLoader can even be adapted to “Custom Golf Cart” style hunting vehicles, ex. - Bad Boy, Club Car, Stealth, EZGO. The Model PL250 PowerLoader is constructed of aircraft aluminum and has a 350lb. capacity The PowerLoader’s patented loading cradle telescopes out for easy loading and then retracts for a secure ride home. Look for the PowerLoader in major catalogs and retail shops. Suggested retail for the PowerLoader is $299.00. For more information, call 866-649-1918, Ext 137 or visit www.GreatDayInc.com.

Mossberg Goes Retro with Rifle Founded in 1919, O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. is the oldest family-owned firearms manufacturer in America, and is the largest pump-action shotgun manufacturer in the world. Mossberg pulls the trigger on another American Classic, the allnew 464™ Lever Action Rifle. With a new design centered around improved accuracy, safety, and value, the 464 Lever Action Rifle maintains the classic lines of a deer hunter’s best friend. “We are very excited to pay tribute to such a great American classic. In doing so, we have improved upon a venerable design, while maintaining the integrity of a gun we all have come to love and trust during our days in deer camp,” says Iver Mossberg, CEO of O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. Out of the box the American made 464 Lever Action Rifle, with its hardwood stock and blued receiver and barrel transcend you to days-gone-by. It weighs in at 6.7 lbs and has an overall length of 38.5”. The balance point is precisely at the juncture of the forend and receiver. The combination of weight, balance, and a smooth yet robust action makes the 464

Mossberg 464 LeverAction rifle

Lever Action rifle tremendously fast handling, maneuverable and astoundingly accurate - qualities a traditional lever action and Mossberg are known for. For complete details on the new Mossberg® 464™ Lever Action and the complete line of commercial, specialpurpose, law enforcement and military shotguns, rifles and accessories, please call your local Mossberg dealer or visit www.mossberg.com.

Magnum Dock Light Fishing Lights Etc., one of the country’s A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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leading producers of Underwater Fishing Lights introduces the hottest, brightest underwater halogen light to ever hit the market… the Magnum Dock Light. The Magnum Dock Light is a compact 120-volt, 300 watt halogen light that produces 1.5 Million C.P. of fish attracting light! No more 12-volt batteries to go dead, just plug the light in to any 120VAC outlet for instant light. Now you can change between white light, green light and blue light in under a minute and the bulbs and globe are replaceable by you. The light comes with a 25’ heavy-duty power-cord with a GFCI built into the plug for your safety. For more information, contact Fishing Lights Etc. at 785-259-1343 or visit our websites at www.fishinglightsetc.com and www.docklightsetc.com.

Medalist.com Set to Launch Medalist Performance Sports Apparel, the leaders in high performance technical apparel featuring their Silvermax™ technology, has announced today the launch of their new interactive website: www.medalist.com. The new site will connect consumers to the Athletic, Winter Sports, Outdoors, Hunting, Law Enforcement, and Military community. The new site will serve as a global interaction point for consumers, retailers, and strategic partners. The new Medalist.com will allow the user to interact by blogging with “Team Medalist” Pro-Staffers who share their passion and commitment to excel in their chosen field. Some examples include: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) legend Jens “Lil Evil” Pulver (3 Time Lightweight UFC Champion of the World) discussing the Medalist “Persistence” life style. Ron Avery – President and Training

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Director for “The Practical Shooting School”, who will be demonstrating for The Law Enforcement and Military community shooting tips and

information on Medalist Performance Sports Apparel call 1-800-543-8952, or visit the company’s website: www.medalist.com.

Plano Guards Your Handguns Plano 700 Series pistol case. instruction, focused upon HIGH PERFORMANCE SHOOTING. Matt Morrett – HS Pro-Staffer and five time World Champion Turkey caller will blog us through the fall hunting season starting in August; with keen insights so you can start preparing for the season. Matt will be providing inside tips throughout the season. Other contributor’s to the website will be: “Team Medalist” hunting pro staff as seen on TV and DVD - Xtreme Outdoors/ “Huntin’ Hard”, Hunter’s Specialties, Broadside Adventures, Team Backwoods – “Excalibur’s Huntin’ The Backwoods”, “All Outdoors with Alan Probst”, “Innerloc’s Out-There” and Five time UFC champion and Hunting host Tim Sylvia in “TST Outdoors”. As a special feature on the site, Trent Ewing, a high school student will keeps us up to date with the life style of today’s teens. Medalist has been in business since 1898, and has been an important supplier for troops in the military dating back to World War I. Medalist supplies performance apparel for the athletic, hunting, winter sports, outdoors, law enforcement, and military markets in over 2300 retail locations throughout the world. Medalist’s products have been tested under the most extreme of conditions over the years, including use in outer-space by the NASA Space Shuttle Crew. Medalist offers a wide range of products, for more I32

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The 700 Series Gun Guard Pistol Cases protect your guns with a heavyduty 600D exterior. Each pistol case has thick foam padding, full length zippers and a D-ring for easy hanging. The 700 Series cases are all light grey and retail for $7.99$14.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

Fishbites Goes to Xtreme Carr Specialty Baits, Inc (makers of Fishbites) has released a new line scented lures called Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release

Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release bio-degradable plastic lures: (from top) Finesse Worm, Paddle Tail, Jerk Bait, XR Fatty, and Shrimp.

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(Fishbites Xtreme). Made from Fishbites’ propriety Hydro-Gel, Fishbites Xtreme lures holds almost all of their powerful flavor/scents inside the body of the lure until it hits the water. In short, it’s “the scent that melts in the water, not on your hands®”. These water-based, biodegradable plastic lures are taking the US-based Fishbites brand to a whole new level of technological achievement in the industry. There’s no longer a need to mess with stink baits or lures suspended in leaky tubs of foul smelling juice. Fishbites gives your hook Xtreme scent without extreme stink! Experience the Xtreme Scent, Xteme Site, Xtreme Action and Xtreme Bite of Fishites Xtreme Scent Release lures. Available now in both Freshwater and Saltwater varieties at your favorite tackle retailer. Freshwater and Saltwater shapes include: 5” Jerkbait, 3.5” Shrimp (headless), 3” Paddle Tail, 5” XR Fatty Jr (senko-style worm) & 6” Finesse worm. Carr Specialty Baits, Inc. St. Augustine, FL 32084 - ww.fishbites.com – 1-877840-2248.

The Internet Now Wears Camo CamoSpace.com was formed to be the number one destination for outdoorsmen and women to have a place online dedicated to them. By providing the hunters and anglers, as well as the campers, hikers and trail riders a website to express themselves in their own way, they have become one of the only websites fully dedicated to them all. This unique website was formed through the thoughts and ideas of the founder, Dennis Reid, Jr., and the website developer and designer Brandee Diggs. With the additional energy and drive to succeed brought in by Jimmy Coulbourne, the three have made an impact on this community by proving the site is geared and devoted directly to them, the outdoors lover. A social community designed by outdoorsmen for those passionate about their love of the outdoors has shown to be a need among the community. With no unrelated content or material that

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does not pertain to the concept of the website, the members feel comfortable knowing that they can visit the website without being distracted with ads, marketing campaigns or fluff, as we have coined it. The goal of the site is to provide a home for over 80 million outdoorsmen, and women, nationwide as well other worldwide geographic locations including Europe and Australia. Camospace.com is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide and is monitored to retain the concept and content in line. By keeping the site also family friendly, we attract the younger hunters and provide them with a safe and warm community to interact and learn more about what they love the most. CamoSpace.

Darkwoods Blind Double FF Darkwoods Blind is taking its unique one-of-a-kind mobile hunting blinds to the next level with the new Double FF model for multiple hunters. The new Double FF model is the next series of hard-sided, custom-made hunting blinds. This large, all-season model has the same mobile capabilities as the original oneman blinds, only with exterior dimensions that exceed 5’x7’x7’ for a two-, three- or even four-man hunting capacity. A vast interior allows the bowhunter to pull to full draw from within the blind. All models include black, gray or camo-covered interior, a full walk-in door, wheelchair accessibility and an aluminum window system. The window system includes camowrapped security panels, clear plex viewing windows, see-thru magnetic camo curtains and locking pins. A raised-interior floor section allows you to store items off of the floor. Additional options and/or accessories are available. The Double FF Blind’s mobility and capabilities are endless whether pulled by Darkwoods’ ATV Quick Hitch Trailer or moved by hand. Simply disconnect your ATV from the trailer, place jack stands and hunt directly off of the trailer; or slide the blind off of the trailer and onto the ground for ground-level hunting. Call 405.520.6754, or www.darkwoodsblind.com

Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope

USHNELL HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR A very long time. David P. Bushnell founded the company in 1948 while with the U.S. occupation forces in Japan after WWII. Since that time, the company has grown immensely. Today, they make great sporting optics of all kinds. The Elite 4200 Scope is one of the best. The one I am testing now is on a new Kimber 8400 Sonora rifle (more on the new Kimber rifle in a future Shoot This! article) that I am putting through the wringer. This scope is a 2.5-10x40 and has the Bushnell Firefly reticle, a glowin-the-dark reticle that you “charge up” by shining a light into

the rear of the scope for a few seconds. If you do not want the glowing reticle, you just do not charge it. Simple and effective. I put it on the Sonora because the rifle is perfect for long-range predator work, and as we all know, a predator rifle is often used very early and very late in the day, as well as at night. The 4200 Elite is a high-quality scope, comparable to the best in the business. Adjustments are precise and solid. The glass is clear as high mountain air. The sight is durable, and I wouldn’t hesitate to mount one on the biggest magnum rifle.

In addition, the Elite has the Bushnell Rainguard coating on the lenses, which prevents fogging—something those who hunt in very cold or very wet climates can appreciate. It also carries the Elite BulletProof warranty and a one-year no questions asked replacement guarantee in the U.S. The Bushnell website says of the Rainguard coating: “Rainguard, Bushnell’s permanent, patented, hydrophobic (water-repellant) lens coating, prevents fogging by causing condensation from rain, sleet, snow, or even your own breath to bead up into much smaller droplets than on standard coatings. Smaller droplets scatter less light, which results in a clearer, brighter view. Now the hunter won’t miss the shot of a lifetime because of rain or accidentally breathing on his eyepiece.” As for the Firefly reticle, I think it is a great idea. I have lost count of the times I had trouble finding a thin, black crosshair against the side of a dark colored animal in dim light. With a quick shot from your pocket flashlight into the back end of the scope, you have a glowing crosshair that allows precision shot placement in the poorest light. Not only that, the light transmission quality of the glass in the Elite 4200 is excellent, meaning that you can better see that deer in the last shooting light of the day. Bushnell makes entry-level scopes and scopes of truly superior quality—pretty much whatever you desire and can afford. They have scopes ranging in price from about 50 bucks up to $899 MSRP for the biggest Elite 6500. The Elite 4200 2.5-10x40 Firefly sells for $459 MSRP, which puts it right in the middle of the price range. I think it is worth the price, and then some. —Steve LaMascus

PHOTO COURTESY OF BUSHNELL

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The “Seven” Bull

bulls, but they were skittish and many had broken tines from fighting. A good friend of mine had asked me to take one that would out-score her fiancé’s bull, so 320 was our measuring stick, and the search was on. The days leading up to New Year’s Eve were filled with 20-degrees below zero temperatures, driving snow, biting wind, an

Y HUSBAND, DICK, SURPRISED ME WITH A wonderful Christmas present—a bull elk hunt on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Dulce, New Mexico. The hunt was incredible, and God was the director. We spotted over a hundred

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by Jackie Sessions, TF&G Reader unsuccessful mile-long stalk up a snow-covered mountain, a non-productive 464-yard shot, and the most awesome scenery and wildlife that only God’s paintbrush could create.

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The days were also filled with questions and dialogue concerning hunting, politics, religion, cultural heritages, and friendships developed. Other guides and hunters freely shared their knowledge at lunch and dinners, and bonds were forged and memories made. Every possible hunting scenario was contemplated, and even the movie character Josey Wales was discussed. (Wales always wanted the sun at his back to give himself an edge.) On the fifth and final day of the hunt, the team took “Seven.” He was 3/4 of the way up the mountainside at Stone Lake Gap, 280 yards away. We were looking directly into the sun and the wind was fierce, so Dick held his cap to the left of my scope to block the blinding sun. (Thoughts of Josey

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flashed through my mind.) With one shot from my Browning 7mm magnum, Seven fell after making 30 yards, and the billowing explosion of snow marked the spot. Our guides, Isaac Julian and Shanahan Truby Largo, were ecstatic. They put in a call to other guides for assistance in getting the bull down the vertical mountain face without damaging its near-perfect antlers. Three brave souls answered the call, and six men

armed with ropes and knives scaled the treacherous slope and successfully completed the mission. My husband was one of those volunteers. (A recent illness hampered my ability to accompany the men, and they gently, but firmly recommended that I “supervise” their progress with binoculars from where I took the shot.) Seven scored 334 gross and 330 net. Our guides informed us that a tribal mem-

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Scent Control

AST MONTH, I WROTE ABOUT SCOUTING AND how important it is to play the wind when finding your stand site.

The weather plays such an important factor when it comes to bowhunting. A steady, strong wind will steer an arrow away from your target and make success so much more difficult. The wind will also be the first to give you away unless you take precautionary measures to avoid detection. To make myself virtually invisible to the nose of a deer, I follow many steps: Cleanliness is next to godliness, as in, “God, that’s a big deer!” If you want that shot at the big one, you need to keep yourself and your hunting clothes clean. Wash your clothes in a non-scented soap. Then let them air-dry outdoors to keep any home odors off the fabric. It is always a good idea to store them in a scent free bag after they are dry. A clean plastic bag works fine. You could take it one step further and go to your lease or area you plan to hunt and collect a sample of the leaves and other ground debris in that particular area, then store your hunting clothes in the bags until you arrive at the location of the hunt. I shower every time I go into the woods—every time. Some of my hunting buddies think that a shower in the morning is good for the day. If you plan an afternoon stand, then make sure you shower again, using a scent eliminator soap. Remember to shampoo, too, with a scent eliminator soap. You would be surprised to find out how much your hair will hold human scent. I wear a scent barrier under my camo clothes that helps wick away sweat from my body and keeps me comfortable for the hunt. I36

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This is usually made of a very thin material and feels like you have on nothing at all. Not only is it comfortable to wear, it also will help keep your scent down to a minimum. Bowhunters usually wear camouflage clothing when they venture in the woods. Today, they have many different kinds of camo. I recommend camouflage that not only matches the area you are hunting, but also has a scent eliminator built into the fabric. Many companies advertise this new technology in their hunting clothing line, but I have found a company called Medalist is my favorite. Not only has it proven to work, the material it is made from is very comfortable and quiet—perfect for those long stand vigils. Before I leave my vehicle to head for the woods, I make it a habit to spray myself down with a scent eliminator. Although we all read that rubber boots do not have a scent, I disagree. Go to your local boot shop and check out the new boots. You can detect the rubber smell long before you are even close to them—and so can deer. If you need boots for the season, buy them well before you plan on using them and keep them out in the air to lose some of that “new” smell. Spraying the bottom of the boots with the scent eliminator will help. I spray my whole outfit, including the inside of my hat. It does work. Hunter’s Specialties products have been around for quite some time and have proven to be an effective tool against human scent. I have used their spray to mask other odors as well. In my hunting class, I put some deer urine on the finger of the other instructor— we all know how bad that can be. After spraying the scent eliminator from Hunter’s Specialties on his finger, the odor was all but a memory. (Why do I use my partner’s finger instead of mine? He lets me.) Take your time when you walk to your stand. The less you sweat, the better off you are. It would be wiser to be a few minutes late rather than speeding to your stand to beat the sunrise. Better yet, just set the

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alarm earlier. I would much rather be in my stand with 20 minutes to spare. That way, I can take my time with all of my gear and let the woods quite down. When I put out any scent attractant for the deer, I always wear latex gloves. It helps keep human scent contamination to a minimum. If you choose to use the scent bombs, place them upwind from your stand; the deer that walk by will stop for a second and turn their head away from you to investigate the smell. If you do not have a draw on the deer yet, this might be the perfect time. Keep the scent bombs within your known accuracy range and make sure you have a clear shot to the bomb. It would not be good if everything was going right and then a twig the size of a blade of grass gets in the way. You can purchase scent bombs from many places or just use a plastic 35mm film canister (if you can still find one). Place some stones in the bottom of the canister to keep it from blowing over, and then put a piece of cotton on top. Dab the cotton with your favorite deer scent, and you have a great scent bomb that will cost far less than the commercial ones. When your hunt is done, simply replace the top of the canister and store it in a cool place. It will be ready to use on your next outing. It might be a good idea to use hunter orange tape on the film canisters. It is amazing how you can lose those things. Eliminating human scent is never an easy task, but by following these steps, it does tip the odds in your favor. Good luck this season, and don’t forget to keep the emails coming. Hunt smart and, most of all, hunt safe. E-mail Lou Marullo at lmarullo@fishgame.com. PHOTO COURTESY OF LOU MARULLO

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BUCK—BANDERA COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—UVALDE COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MEDINA, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

Patty Nations of Round Rock, Texas, shot this Hill Country 9-point deer on the opening of youth season, scoring a 125. He was hunting with a great partner, his dad, on Portwood Ranch in Mills County.

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

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

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.)

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From Bad to Worse

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Topping It Off

ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

rear treble with a larger, heavier one. This not only weighs the back end down slightly (not much, but a little bit helps), but the larger treble also holds on better once the bass hits. The next step to get the backend down is to add weight internally or externally. The easiest way is to get a package of Storm SuspenDots and add them to the tail of the lure. SuspenDots are a great thing to have on hand at all times because they can be used to make crankbaits dive deeper and jerkbaits suspend, depending on where you apply them to the bait. If you put them on the tail of a topwater plug, the rear end will sit lower in the water with the plug in an almost vertical position. This will make it move slower but will increase hook-ups. Another way to make a topwater sit lower in the back and also make it more effective for open water use is to add a trailer bait on a short leader. This method is especially effective in the fall when bass are schooling over humps and points. Sometimes, a bass will come up and miss the topwater bait but will more easily take the trail-

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er bait a few feet behind and below it. To add a trailer bait, first remove the rear treble from a popper or walk-the-dog type topwater, but leave the split ring. Replace the treble with a short fluorocarbon leader. At the other end of the leader, tie on a Mann’s Little George tail spinner. This bait has been around for a while and is just a hunk of lead with a spinner, but it works exceptionally well in this situation. If you don’t have a Little George, use a 1/8-ounce jighead with a white grub body. I prefer using a popping topwater plug for its action, and a short leader (less than 3 feet) to make it easier to cast. It is also a good idea to replace the front treble with a larger one since the lure will have only one. Topwater baits are some of the most popular on the market. With a few changes, they can also be the most reliable. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

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The Road Runner Story

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to look like a baitfish, minnow, or some type of bug will catch a fish with the right presentation every time. Which brings me to my favorite crappie lure: the Blakemore Road Runner. Bert Hall designed the Road Runner in 1958. The lure had a horsehead-shaped head with an Indiana spinner blade coming off the bottom, with a chenille body and marabou tail. Bert’s design attracted fisherman and game fish all over the country. He was in the automotive parts business out of Forsyth, Missouri at the time, and had two trucks that serviced tackle shops all over southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma under the name Hall Tackle Company. Hall Tackle Company was actually a jobber that serviced tackle

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shops and all 15 or 20 Wal-Mart stores with all kinds of tackle including minnow buckets, hooks, and weights. Jim Blakemore started Blakemore Lure Company over in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His company made trout flies, so to be closer to the trout market, he moved his company to Lebanon, Missouri. In the spring of 1969, Blakemore was killed in a fatal car wreck in Longview, Texas. Shortly after his death, Joe Hall, the son of Bert Hall, purchased Blakemore Lure Company and moved the operation to Branson, Missouri, a few years later. Joe Hall, a natural born jet-setter in his time, was young and eager to make his dad’s lure the most productive fishing lure in the world. Joe started producing the Road Run-

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ner in Branson and had several families that hand-tied the lures for years. Today, the marabou Road Runner remains one of the most popular lures on the market. The bait will catch any game fish swimming anywhere in the world. The 1/8ounce white marabou Road Runner is the No. 1 seller for Blakemore Lure Company to this day. Every spring, the white bass make a big spawning run up rivers and creeks all over Texas. You can actually know when this occurs by visiting local tackle stores and noting when they sell out of Road Runners. After the white bass run, the same lure is used to catch crappie. For the last 21 years, I have been a part of the Blakemore Lure Company pro team, along with the great Jimmy Houston. Jimmy has been promoting Road Runners going on 30 years on TV. Do you remember the old Blakemore commercial where the guy was sitting in his boat and there was a big explosion all around him? I think that was the greatest commercial ever on television. It aired every Saturday on Jimmy’s show. Blakemore Lure Company is a big part

in my life. I have had the opportunity to work side by side with Joe Hall and his staff to design and field-test bait variants. I had the pleasure helping design the Road Runner Branson Bug and the New Road Runner Crappie Thunder. In 2004, Joe Hall sold Blakemore Lure Company to Wes Campbell, the owner of True Turn Hook Company in Wetumpka, Alabama. Joe and Wes Have something in common: Joe’s dad invented the Road Runner, and Wes’s dad, John Wesley Campbell,

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invented the True Turn Hook. Whatever the company ownership, the Road Runner will never go away—it’s here to stay. And as Jimmy Houston always says: “You can’t fish a Road Runner wrong as long as you fish it slow.” E-mail Wally Marshall at mrcrappie@fishgame.com. Visit his website at www.mrcrappie.com.

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Bassing Blunders

NYONE WHO FOLLOWS PROFESSIONAL BASS fishing knows how fierce the competition is out there. Tournaments are often decided by fractions of an ounce. Even the smallest error can cost you a bundle— $100,000 or more. Good as they are at finding and catching bass, even the big league guys make mistakes. Of course, some brain anomalies are more costly than others.

by Matt Williams Perhaps the most widely publicized blunders of the 2008 BASS Elite Series season took place on Day 1 of the Bluegrass Brawl on Kentucky/Barkley Lakes. It was mid-June and the bass were relating heavily to offshore ledges. Former Bassmaster Classic champion Paul Elias found the ledge bite to his liking, reportedly catching as many as 50-60 fish over the course of the day. The bite was so good, in fact, that Elias evidently lost track of how many bass he stuffed in his livewells. A regular on the BASS tour since 1979, Elias committed a little league error when he unknowingly brought six fish to the scales— one fish over the legal limit. The 57-year old angler was assessed a stiff penalty for the rule violation. He was not allowed to weigh the biggest bass in his bag, a 6-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth. That penalty, plus a 4-ounce dead fish penalty, cut Elias’ opening round weight by more than 4 pounds. Not only did the mental error cost Elias the Day 1 lead, it ultimately cost him nearly $10,000 in prize money. Day 1 of the Bluegrass Brawl left Oklahoma bass pro Tommy Biffle in an even more I46

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serious state of limbo. Biffle, age 50, took himself out contention in the tournament— and quite possibly a shot at the 2009 Bassmaster Classic—when he was issued a citation by a Tennessee game warden for fishing in that state without a valid fishing license. Parts of Kentucky Lake and Barkley Lake extend into the Volunteer State. Biffle said he had practiced in the same area for three days and had no idea he was fishing in Tennessee waters. The angler said the sign marking the state line is located in the woods and hard to see from the water. Biffle told reporters that he had just caught a 4pounder when the game warden approached him. “I told him that I had the telephone number in my pocket to call and get a license,” Biffle said, according BASS reports. “He said I could do that after he wrote me the ticket.” The violation resulted in the automatic disqualification of Biffle’s Day 1 weight. Biffle estimated he about 18 pounds in the livewell when he was issued the citation. Biffle and Elias weren’t the only wellknown pros to commit costly mistakes last season. In January, Longview bass pro Jim Tutt inadvertently brought six bass to weigh-in at the Stren Series Texas Division event on Lake Falcon. Tutt discovered the extra bass as he bagged his fish prior to taking them to scales. He subsequently went to the weigh-in stage and disqualified himself for the day. His five heaviest bass would have weighed close to 24 pounds. “What made it really bad is my co-angler had the same thing happen to him last year at Lake Amistad, and we talked about it off and on all day long,” Tutt said. “Then I turned around and did it myself. It was a bonehead mistake and it cost me dearly.”

Skeeter Owners Cash In at Fork More than 1600 Skeeter Boat owners from around the country competed in the 15th

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annual Skeeter Owner’s big bass tournament held earlier this year at Lake Fork. Skeeter paid out more than $40,000 in cash to hourly winners and awarded a fully rigged ZX200 bass boat valued at $43,000 the overall winner, Richard Meyer of Belton. Meyer won the event with 10.88-pound largemouth bass he caught a 10-inch Red Shad plastic worm he was fishing in about 10 feet of water. Several more bass exceeding the lake’s 16to 24-inch slot limit were brought to the scales, including two over 10 pounds. The second place fish, a 10.64-pounder, was caught by Eric Blane of Montgomery. Third place went to Louie Adams III of Lewisville, 10.04 pounds.

Toledo Bend a Big Bass Splash The big ones were biting at the 2008 McDonald’s Big Bass Splash held on Toledo Bend last June. All told, 200 anglers weighed in 510 bass over three days totaling 2767.05 pounds, an average weight of 5.4 pounds per fish. Louisiana angler Jason Broadway of Robeline won the tournament with a 10.98 and picked up a prize package valued at more than $78,000. Missouri angler Stan Pace caught the second-place fish, a 10.13pounder. Third went to Jason Kezerle of Zwolle, Louisiana, 9.27; Randall Couthran of Carthage took fourth, 8.78; LeRoy Sieve of Labadie, Missouri, fifth place, 8.74. Interestingly, both of the 10-pounders weighed at the tournament were wearing identification tags. The fish had been previously caught and entered in the SRA Lunker Bass program, a catch and release program that encourages anglers to release big bass caught on the Louisiana side of Toledo Bend. E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com.

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Don’t Be a Slob Hunter

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the amount of disgust you have when you see it. If it doesn’t, well, Houston, we have a problem. All of us who hunt dove, quail, duck, and geese know how wonderful it is to arrive at a sunflower field, lake, stock tank, prairie, or woodland and be engulfed by the nature it yields. Unfortunately, not all of us who arrive at such places leave it as we find it. On afternoon last September, following a dove hunt in Palo Pinto County northwest of Fort Worth, I left the field in my pickup truck by following the main road through the pasture to a double iron gate, where I had heard numerous shots fired earlier. Ahead of me was a Suburban. It stopped and a youngster of about 12 years old got out and

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opened the gate. His father drove the suburban through, and I waved at the youngster to let him know that I would take care of closing the gate. Nothing unusual about that. Something that was somewhat unusual but definitely should not have been unusual was what the youngster did next. He held up the palm of his hand, asking me to wait a moment, and then opened the passenger door of the suburban to say something to those inside. Within a few seconds, two adults and a young girl got out of the suburban and began picking up trash apparently left on the ground at the gate by other dove hunters who had left earlier. I quickly exited my truck and joined them with a plastic garbage bag I had had in my

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truck’s storage box. We shared the same thoughts about the behavior of some hunters, and the bad taste they often leave with landowners who have allowed them onto their lands to enjoy hunting while destroying hunter-landowner relationships. I don’t want to say this is a major cause of the rising cost in hunting lease fees in Texas, because it is not, but ask yourself if you think poor hunter-landowner relationships brought about by some hunters’ lack of respect for private or public land doesn’t enter into the equation. I can’t tell you how appreciative I was of the adults and children in the Suburban who stopped ahead of me on that Palo Pinto County ranch last year. When I think about it, should I really have been all that appreciative? Should it really have been such a wonderful change from the norm? No, it should not. Rather than being something unusual, something so admirable, it should have been nothing more than a natural thing for someone to do. The fact that a young boy not only had been taught how to be a responsible hunter, but also taught the importance of reacting to that teaching,

is what really grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, his reactions and mine should have been the norm and not something of special significance. It doesn’t take much to clean up your act. All it takes in many cases, such as how you leave a dove field, is a plastic garbage bag and the will to use it. If I knew someone who didn’t mind arriving at a dove field, choosing a place to hunt where other hunters have left their litter on the ground, and thought nothing about it, I would not want to hunt with them. It is just as easy to take your trash out with you when you leave as it is bring it in with you in the first place. Cleaning dove or any other game birds next to a gate or other area that is used by a landowner or other hunters is just as irresponsible as not picking up spent shotgun shells, cans, bottles, and any other trash you produce while hunting. It takes some hunters only a few hours to drive to a place they choose to hunt. How long does it take them to destroy the image of all of us hunters? Only as long as it takes them to leave their trash on the ground.

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Reconsider the young boy who stepped from the suburban to open the gate in Palo Pinto County, and suddenly realized that trash had been left on the ground by other hunters. If that had been your son, would he have been taught to do the same thing? E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

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Dove Guns & Loads

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dren. Instead, try a single-shot 28-gauge. The kids will hit more and have more fun. If they are too small to shoot a .28-gauge, they are probably too small to hunt flying birds. A .410 is so unforgiving that it should be reserved for shooters sufficiently talented and experienced that they are looking to put more zing in their hunting; rather like the fisherman who switches to an ultralight rig in lieu of his thunderstick and 20-pound line. If you don’t believe me, look up the scores shot with the .410 in NSSA skeet competition. Some shoot the .410 as well as they do the larger gauges, but the vast majority think the .410 is an unforgiving, difficult gauge and a necessary evil, and shoot it poorly compared to 28- and 20-gauges. I was A and AA in competition with all the gauges except the .410, in which I never graduated from Class B. I can attest that many targets I shot at with the .410 that didn’t break,

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would have broken when shot at exactly the same way with a larger gauge. You can do a bit better with 3-inch shells, but it still doesn’t compare with the 28-gauge. Keep that in mind when buying Junior’s first shotgun. If you handload, you can still get No. 7 shot. This is my favorite shot size for dove and quail. I think No. 6 is a bit too big and No. 8 a little too small. Number 7 offers a wonderfully thick pattern, yet still has the mass to get the job done if only a couple of shot hit the bird. If you don’t handload, No. 7-1/2 is great. Number 8 is okay, but I think I hit and lose (“feather” in the vernacular) a few birds with No. 8 that I would have killed instantly with No. 7 or 7-1/2. For you handloaders, my experience is that if I keep my velocity down to 1200 feet per second or a bit less, I get better patterns. Since your shots are (if you are an ethical hunter) under 50 yards, there is no need for higher velocity. If anything, increase your shot payload, not the velocity. The thicker pattern will increase the number of hits on each bird, but it also increases recoil. I prefer to shoot 1-ounce of shot and keep the shots closer. I still do very well out to around 40 yards with a 12-gauge, using a modified choke. In all the other gauges, I use the standard loads: 7/8-ounce in 20-gauge, 3/4 in 28-, and 7/8- or 1-ounce in the 16-gauge. I really love the 16-gauge, by the way. If you are having trouble killing your dove or quail, try using a more open choke and shortening the range. A full or improved-modified choke will let you make shots a little farther, but they also produce smaller patterns. I prefer a modified or improved cylinder choke, and try to keep all my shots inside 35 yards. When I switch to a full choke, I seem to fringe more birds than I do with the open chokes, and I know I try to stretch the barrel a bit more. Fall is in the air and so are the dove. Get out there and burn some powder. E-mail Steve LaMascus at guns@fishgame.com.

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Dove Frenzy

ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

Dad and I just slid the guns out of the cases there on the gravel drive, and we were ready. I put a box of shells in each pocket of my hunting vest. I used to put shells in those elastic loops on the front, but I noticed most of the older men we hunt with don’t do that, so now I don’t. Sis saw us getting ready and came out mad. She thought we were trying to leave without her, but Grandpa told her to just simmer down and get her gun. Ten minutes later, we walked through the gate and across the big pasture beside the house. The pool was just over the hill, but still about a quarter of a mile away. It didn’t take any time before Sis stepped in a fresh cow pie and that made her even madder. We laughed, because we’d all seen it and walked around that one. She told Grandpa he should sell all his stupid cows so she wouldn’t be stepping in cow mess all the time. “Sis,” he said, “if I sold those cows, I couldn’t make a living on this farm. Then we’d have to sell it and you wouldn’t have anywhere to hunt dove, or quail, or anything else, because we’d live next to you there in the city.” I didn’t like that idea one bit, because I couldn’t imagine Grandma and Grandpa living anywhere else in the world; and besides, I needed a place to hunt and fish. Birds were already flying in as we walked up to the pool. It had been so dry that the pool was half its normal size. There must have been 8 feet of bare sand between the usual edges of the bank and the water itself. “That’s why there are so many birds,” Dad said as about 50 birds flushed just in front of us. “They like to water on the open banks of pools so they can see and feel safe. You’ll always find them in places like this in dry weather.” There were two large trees, both on the same side of the tank. I sat with Dad in the shade under one, while Sis and Grandpa went to the other. We sat pretty close to the trunk, and everyone faced out toward the A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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pastures and fields around us. They weren’t so far away we couldn’t talk pretty easily to one another. “Most of them will come from either the north or the west,” Grandpa said. “There are fields in both directions.” “They’ll head directly for one or both of these trees,” Dad said. “Dove like to fly toward trees sitting by themselves in a field.” He was almost right. It seemed that most of the birds wanted to fly between the trees, so we spent most of our time looking in one direction. It wasn’t but a few minutes and the action heated up. We drew an invisible line between the trees so that we wouldn’t shoot toward or across each other, and the fun began. Sis’ 20-gauge made a light crack against Grandpa’s old Browning humpback 12gauge. She seemed to shoot twice for every time he shot. Then I noticed I was doing the same thing. Dad sat on my right, between me and Grandpa and Sis. He was taking most of the incoming birds, and I was left with those that were coming in from my left. Crossing birds are hard to hit, but I wasn’t going to give up. Birds came in behind us even while we were shooting. They only flew up from the water when one of us got up to walk out and pick up our downed birds. Grandpa shot twice and his bird kept coming. Sis cut down on it and the dove folded up to land with a thump not 20 yards away. “Good

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HOSE EPIC AND FINAL WORDS WERE SPOKEN by the fictional Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s literary classic, Moby Dick, first published in 1851. This

story is an archaic but superb tale of a big fish that got away—and took the angler with it. Even though a whale is technically not a fish, the same rules apply. Big fish, or whales, are hard to capture, and that underlying theme of man versus big fish still plays to this day. We all want to catch a “big one.” Why this is important is hard to decipher. It must have some genetically linked psychological importance relating to being the tribe’s outstanding food provider of the month. But give a modern angler a choice of

catching a number of small fish or just one big one, and he usually will choose the latter. Other notable authors have sailed this literary tempest. Hemingway’s timeless The Old Man and the Sea is another tale that expresses the hate, love, fear, anger, and disappointment of catching a huge fish only to lose it before the accolades and rewards arrive. How about the blockbuster movie “Jaws”? Another story of man versus fish with the leading character a miserable shell of a man who develops the notion that catching the man-eating shark will revolutionize his sagging, pathetic life. This tale shares much with Moby Dick. Both Captains succumb to revenge against the fish for the pain they have inflicted upon the poor creatures that are just following their genetic programming.

MY PLACE OUTDOORS Continued from Page I-51 shot, Sis!” Grandpa yelled and thumbed more shells into his gun. I could tell his compliment made Sis feel good. She had a wide grin on her face when she went out to pick up the bird. I hollered at her to pick up one for me that I’d just shot. She stuck her tongue out at me and hurried back to her tree. In no time at all, I was out of shells. I patted my pockets, surprised that I’d already used up everything I’d brought. Dad shot a few more times, and then handed me his big Browning. “I have a few shells left,” he said. “Hammer away.” I did, but swinging that heavy 12-gauge was different from throwing my 20-gauge up to my shoulder. I hit a couple more birds, and then, as Dad says, the gun “went dry.” Grandpa stood up with a groan from where he was crouched beside the tree. “I’m too old to squat down like this,” he said. He hobbled around for a I52

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minute or two until his joints limbered up. We walked out into the open, and still the birds came. They dodged around us and then dropped down onto the pool bank. “Let’s go so they can get a drink,” Dad said. “We can get some more shells and come back,” I told him. He patted the birds in my vest. Then pointed at the birds Sis and Grandpa had piled on the ground. “Well, I guess we could do that. But then we’d be game hogs. We have enough for right now, and we need to give the birds a break so they can drink. We have all weekend to hunt.” “I’ll bring more shells when we come back tomorrow,” Sis said, waving at all the birds landing beside on the pool. Grandpa shook his head. “We won’t be back here tomorrow. We’ll let this pool rest and hunt somewhere else. That way there’ll be birds here so y’all can hunt Sunday evening before you leave. I have another place we can go tomorrow.”

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“You don’t want to overhunt any place,” Dad said. “You’ll get a few more birds, but you’ll run the others off.” We walked back across the pasture. On the way, Dad reached out and nudged the barrel of Sis’ shotgun a little higher with a finger. I thought about what he said and realized he was right. There are places Uncle Robbie owns that are too close to the city. So, many people come out on opening day and the next and the next, then before long, the birds have left to get water or food somewhere else where there’s less shooting. “Think they learned anything? ” Dad asked Grandpa as we cleaned the birds out behind the barn so Grandma could fry them up for Saturday’s lunch. Grandpa pulled Sis’ ponytail, something I do just to make her holler, and said, “They usually do.” He might be right.

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Some psychoanalysts see all of this as some sort of search for the meaning of life. Contraire, I say; most big fish are not captured and suitably documented because the angler is simply unprepared for the remote possibility of catching one. Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and possibly superior genes. In order to reach large sizes, fish must be very good at escaping predation by others, and at finding food. They must resist diseases, accidents, and just the plain bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no scientific proof to back up the claim that fish have memory, but big fish must recognize danger and avoid it. That includes being caught by a fisherman. However, sooner or later, they will make a mistake and bite something that has a hook in it. That mistake is critical to their futures, and they will realize the drama before the angler has a clue. They will seize the moment and take control of the situation. Big fish will employ every tactic in their book-of-life experiences to escape. This is the part where angler abilities come into

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play. Hooking a large fish is mostly a matter of luck, a being at the right place at the right time scenario. But, landing a big one successfully is determined by the skill and preparedness of the individual. Here are a few tips to help make it happen when Moby Dick is on the other end of the line: - Use quality equipment that has the ability to handle and subdue large fish. Snoopy rods won’t cut it. Big fish are unforgiving and will destroy cheap fishing rods and reels before escaping. Better to be over than under gunned. - Become a nick and knot nut. Constantly check fishing line for nicks, dents, or frays and retie as necessary. Learn to tie perfect knots and constantly check them for wear and tear. - Have a big fish mindset. Every cast has the potential to catch a “big one.” Be prepared mentally so the fish does not gain the advantage before it is too late. This is probably the most important aspect of catching and landing a big fish, and also the most difficult. Catching a big fish that ultimately gets

Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and genes.

away has been the basis for many great fishing yarns. Maybe that is not a bad thing story-wise, but it is a lot more exciting to land a big fish. Being prepared in advance is the key to being able to tell the happy story about the “big one” that did not get away. E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

“

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hold names and noteworthy inventors. The whole mess is disgusting to folks that value manners and have the wherewithal that society has moved closer through communication but further apart in personal interaction. With the price of gas, and watching some idiot walk through a crowd while yakking at full volume on a blue tube, it’s easy to saddle up and head for the hills - or the desert. Parts of the Chihuahua Desert are more remote than the wilderness areas in the Rocky Mountains. Much of the desert isn’t fit for man or beast. There are few streams and only the occasional spring. Windmills provide most of the water sustaining livestock and the sparse rains make agriculture almost impossible. So there aren’t many people, or telephone poles, or other manmade contrivances littering the landscape. This is the country of wide-open vistas where distant mountains serve as landmarks. Best of all, in the corner of the world that I enjoy, there is no cell phone service. And though the hacienda has a generator to provide electricity, it can easily become a custom to forego the noisy convenience. However, paradise comes at a price and demands maintenance. In this instance, something was killing an inordinate number of deer. In six weeks, the Mexican cowboys found six dead deer. The first thought was that a mountain lion had moved into the ter-

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ritory. So, we began our search. Each time a deer was killed, several of us inspected the site and walked in great circles around the area. There were always a few leg bones, some chewed up ribs, maybe the backbone and skull, and that was about all. Lions generally bite on the back of the neck or the throat. In some cases, they reach with a forepaw for a nose-hold and then break the victim’s neck. Then they eat their fill and cache the rest of the carcass. A big cat may come back once to feed but normally doesn’t come back a second time. It seems that they prefer fresh meat and would rather kill again. This often provides scavenging coyotes an opportunity for a cheap meal. But, the kills that we were finding seemed fresh and there was no indication they’d ever been cached by a lion. There was the possibility that it was a young cat and coyotes were chasing it from the kill, or cleaning up the carcass as soon as the lion left, but none of us could find any sign relative to a major feline. Armed with our minimal knowledge concerning mountain lion behavior, the ranch manager set traps where the big cats had been caught in the past. But several weeks and numerous deer kills later we needed more of a plan. The nearest lion hunter I knew was 2,000 miles away in Montana and the last advice he’d wasted on me wasn’t going to help. “Just about the time you think you know how mountain lions behave and everything about what a mountain lion will or won’t do - they change the rules.” Likewise, the landowner called the local mountain lion expert and didn’t get anymore useful insights. The drought conditions and summer heat weren’t conducive for trapping, but we tried to take the advantage. There were two water troughs within several hundred yards of three of the deer kills. We soaked the ground around the troughs in hopes to pick up more tracks. Then we scoured the ground and cow trails for 100 yards in every

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direction. But still the only tracks we found belonged to coyotes, deer, and raccoons. Then one of the cowboys found a young doe dead in an arroyo. The animal had been run across the pasture, down a steep bank, and then out on to the round river rocks. The race was over when the deer hit the rocks. The predators pulled down the prey and disemboweled it. The gravel bed showed the story as plain as a Sunday newspaper. The deer’s body was a short distance from the eaten gut pile and though the neck and ribs were picked clean, there was still some meat left on one hindquarter. The kill wasn’t a day old, and this was the same way I’d seen wolves kill a cow elk up the East Fork of the Wind River in Wyoming. It was amazing to think that coyotes had become this proficient at killing deer. Of the six deer that were found, the teeth all showed that they were two and three-years old. One of the three-year olds was a buck and judging from its hair and the leftovers of the gut pile, the deer were all in good shape. We had to do something. So, the next move was to dust off the traps I used as a kid. Of course, in those days I was trapping for hides and wanted raccoons. I’d never set traps looking to catch coyotes. My sets consisted of a slice of bacon dangling from a limb over a trap. It worked for coons but I had no idea if it would work in this instance. I realized that every successful coyote trapper used urine as a sex attractant and I wished I had something similar for mountain lions. Cats make scrapes to attract other cats. That was one of the things I’d had enough sense to look for when looking for lion sign, but this was the wrong time of the year. We were going to need some luck. For the next week, we set our traps and checked them every morning - nothing. We also drove at night spotlighting and shining deep into arroyos, across hillsides, and covering miles of country. Everyday we kept looking for tracks and any telltale sign that a mountain lion was prowling about, but we found nothing. It was aggravating that the traps went untouched, but then at the end of the week the landowner queried me for my thoughts. “Well, we’ve been laying so much scent around walking these arroyos and checking our tracks that most predators are wary. Then we’ve been out all night driving pastures and I reckon we’ve gotten in the way of whatever is killing deer. We’re not catching

or killing what we’re after, but I think we’ve slowed its ability to kill deer. My only suggestion is to keep up what we’re doing and try the trapping some more when it’s the right season to trap.” Just then, the radio crackled and the landowner looked away to answer the call. Spanish expletives were exchanged, and in a moment, the landowner glanced back at me. “The cowboys found another dead deer at a different ranch.” I kicked my toe in the dirt and cussed.

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Then I scratched the stubble on my chin and confessed. “I’m going to Google mountain lions and then I’m going on the internet to find somebody that has the right bait to trap lions and coyotes.” I dug my toe into the ground harder and spit. “But dadgum I hate computers!” E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

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The Crystal Fishing Ball

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Me? Me, sit up front? Ugh. I will be a wreck. At least in the back, I could pretend that I am asleep. I could close my eyes when I can’t stand to watch when he passes a car. Oh, suck it up. You know that he does a good job. “Okay, Max, now watch out when you back out here. Parking lots are the most dangerous places. A lot of accidents happen just right here.” “Mo-om! Please!” “Okay, okay, but I am just saying. Yikes! Watch that guy. He is going to back up. Oh, and look out for that car over there. He is pulling in really fast. Now, Max, just because it says 70 miles per hour does not mean that you have to go that fast. These two-lane highways can be really dangerous. Just take your time—and no passing!” “No passing? Why not? Mom, there might be a need to pass, sometime. Hey, Mom, look—no hands!” “Maximilian! You put your hands back on that wheel right now! Oh, and did I mention that these small towns look for out-oftowners to speed through their town? So, better keep a keen lookout for the change in speed limit signs.” “Sweetie, let the poor guy drive,” David said from the back seat. “Look! It is the Speedy Stop! We made it! Max, you did an outstanding job! Really! I wasn’t even too nervous when you swerved on that bridge over Port Lavaca.” “Mom! I did not! What are you talking about? I never swerved or anything close to swerving. I don’t know why you would say something like that… swerving. I do not swerve. I have never swerved. Why would I have swerved? I really do not think there was any swerving going on…” “Max? Yoo-hoo! Gotcha! That was pay-

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back for that hands off the wheel thing.” “Well, that is not funny, Mom. Not funny at all.” “Smell that gulf air!” David interrupted. “That is what I am talking about. Let’s get the truck unpack and get to our appointed spot on the deck. Hey there, Peter! How is the fishing?” “Hi, guys! Welcome! It is suppose to be great. Wind’s down, surf is down, tides… well, I don’t know what the tides are. I am still confused how to read those darn reports. Never did understand that two tides deal.” Tides, shmides; wind, shwind; surf, turf… don’t ya’ll know all this talking about wind, surf, weather, and rain doesn’t make a mound of fish of difference to the outcome. It will be what it will be. Que Sera Sera. Up before light, tooling down the road to launch at the Fishing Center, we tear for the jetties to get to Peter’s favorite spot. So, the crystal fishing-ball says that all the reds are at the jetties. I don’t care where I catch one of those big fish, I just want a big fish. “Crap, that guy is in my spot!” Peter complained. “I guess we will have to go around the other side.” What is going on? A beautiful sunny day, ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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not too much wind, but holy vomit, the boat seems to be doing a lot of rocking—or do they call that pitching? Whatever they call it, I don’t feel so good. “Baby, are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Maybe if I had not drank my dinner last night I wouldn’t be having this dilemma. But, jeez, after being on the edge of my seat for 80 miles, I had to soothe my nerves somehow. But don’t admit it here. They will think you are a wimp. “What do you mean? I am fine. Never better. Beautiful day, lots of fish to catch. Now, let’s see, where did I put my rod…” Don’t look at the waves. Stop it! Why are you looking at the surf! Not good… getting worse… you moron… don’t think about throwing up… gosh, I hate this feeling. I will do anything not to up-chuck. I would never make it as a bulimic. What kind of fisherman are you? “Baby, you are sort of green. I think you are seasick.” “Me? Seasick? Heck, no. I don’t get seasick. So, where are these bull reds anyway?” My body is going limp—help me! I can’t hold my rod up. I feel numb, dizzy. Oh, my stomach! Uck. Must have been that protein bar this morning. Oh, Lord have mercy, it is all the classic signs—multiple sclerosis! I have been stricken with MS. That’s it. I am doomed. Disability insurance! Do I have long-term disability? I think I missed that day at work when we signed up for that. Just great! I am too young. What will David say? Will he still love me? “Peter, I think we had better get Mari to the beach over there; she is looking pretty ragged. Sweetie, let go of your rod.” Your nerves die! That’s what happens, you know. Something about the nerves and the spinal cord not making contact with the brain. Nothing makes a connection. My life as I know it is over. I will never be the same. I wonder if they have a fishing tournament for MS victims… “Sweetie, here, let me help you over to the beach. The only way you get over this is to get to land. I know, it has happened to me. I remember when we were fishing tarpon and I could not have cared less. There I was, hanging over the cooler…” What did he say? I can’t hear him. He sounds all muffled. And my legs—my legs are shaky and all tingly. Man, this MS disease strikes without any warning.

“Here, lay down on these life preservers and take a little nap. We will fish right over there. If you need anything, just give us a wave.” Wave—don’t mention waves! You might as well say, “heave-ho.” Okay, well, maybe just a quick nap. If it would just quit spinning inside my eyelids. “Hey, Baby, we are back. How you feeling?” It is a miracle! The symptoms are gone! I am cured!

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“Great! Must have been that protein bar I had this morning. Catch anything?” “Not even a hardhead. I don’t understand it. No wind, no rain, no fish. All indications pointed to an outstanding day at sea… but nothing.” That darn crystal fishing ball… defective again! And still no big bull red. E-mail Mari Henry at gurlz@fishgame.com.

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Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork

fishing trip, or wherever your heart desires. Prep time: 30 minutes. Cook time: 6 hours. Yield 10-12 servings. 1 5- to 7-lb. pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt or picnic ham) 1/2 cup Texas Gourmet’s Sweet Chipotle Season All* 10-12 sandwich buns 1/2 jar Texas Gourmet’s Pineapple Chipotle Barbeque Grilling Sauce (this is a zesty blend; if you desire a mild flavor, substitute 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce 1/2 cup dark brown sugar 1/3 cup cider vinegar Remove the pork roast from the refrigerator and season on all sides with Texas Gourmet’s Sweet Chipotle Season All. Wrap in plastic wrap and return to fridge for at least two hours, or overnight preferably. Pit Method: Place roast in preheated pit fat side up (using a combo of pecan and hickory wood) at 250-275 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 3 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from pit and set aside to cool slightly.

easily with a fork. Remove from grill and set aside to cool slightly. Oven Method: Place in preheated oven fat side up in a foil lined baking dish at 300 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 2-1/2 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly. Regardless of cooking method, open the foil and pour all of the meat juices into a bowl (be careful, the liquid is very hot), then transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the fat to separate. You can speed this process in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Scrape the fat off the top and discard. Pour the reserved juices into a saucepot over medium heat, then add the Pineapple Chipotle Grilling Sauce, 1/2 cup S P O N S O R E D BY:

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BRYAN SLAVEN

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of brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of cider vinegar. Set aside for the next step. Using two forks, or your hands (with kitchen latex gloves), shred the pork into bite-sized pieces, removing any excess fat from the roast as you go. Add the shredded meat to the Pineapple Chipotle Barbeque Grilling Sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar mixture, then serve hot on buns with Texas Style Creamy Coleslaw (recipe follows) and your favorite sweet or dill pickles. *Available at www.thetexas gourmet.com and at all Texas Academy Sports and Outdoors Stores.

Reader Tip

TF&G reader Clyde Townsend of Rockport, Texas, wrote in with the following tip:

Refried Fish

outside. The inside will warm by the time the outside gets crispy, usually in a couple of minutes. The results are at least as good as when first cooked, maybe better. Contact Bryan Slaven, "The Texas Gourmet," at 888-234-7883, www.thetexasgourmet.com; or by email at texas-tasted@fishgame.com.

Texas Style Creamy Cole Slaw Prep time: 30 minutes. Yield: 8 to 10 servings. 5 cups shredded green cabbage 5 cups shredded red cabbage 1 cup shredded carrots 1 cup coarsely chopped purple onion 2 Granny Smith apples, cored, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 2 tsp lemon juice 1/2 cup cider vinegar 4 tsp Texas Gourmet’s Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly 1-1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup sour cream 1 Tbs Creole mustard or other coarsegrained mustard Combine the green and red cabbages, carrots, and purple onion in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, toss the cubed apples with the lemon juice and add to the cabbage mixture. In a small mixing bowl, combine the vinegar, jelly, salt, and pepper and whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Pour the seasoned vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard and stir to combine. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the coleslaw and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight before serving. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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TEXAS SALTWATER

Nathan B oo 24-inch S ne peckled Tr out Hillman G uide Service

ROCKPORT

GALVESTON

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

PORT ARANSAS

For Classified Rates and Information call Dennise at 1-800-750-4678, ext. 5579.

ace Laird Wall out f Tr o r e g in ice Str Guide Serv rd Fo Hugo

CORPUS CHRISTI

Les & Dia ne and Ilene McDonald Faulkner Redfish Redfish Charters

LAKE AMISTAD

FREEPORT

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Charles Smith 25-inch Trout ors Coastal Bend Outdo

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Matt Willaford 23-inch Trout ce an Hillm Guide Servi

Phillip King Fish Freeport Charter Boats

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

TEXAS HUNTING

LAKE TEXOMA

BAFFIN BAY

COLORADO

ADVERTISERS, MAIL IN YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!

SPOTLIGHT: HILLMAN GUIDE SERVICE

OUTDOOR SHOPPER

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BASS—PEARLAND, TEXAS

REDFISH—KEITH LAKE, TEXAS

Clif Gibson caught this bass in a neighborhood lake in Pearland, Texas. The bass was safely released after the picture was taken.

Myles L., 9 years old, of Beaumont, Texas, landed this monster redfish in Keith Lake, using a 606 Zebco.

BUCK—KERR COUNTY, TEXAS

TROUT—MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO: I62

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T E X A S

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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BASS—LAKE NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS

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BASS—TEXAS

JACK CREVALLE—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

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Texas Legends & Lore

remember back in my college days, when the rumors of man-eating catfish first started circulating around the murky waters of this reservoir. It was rumored that an angler running a trotline on the lake pulled up a catfish with a head 4 feet across and that would easily surpass 1000 pounds. (We usually joked that he must have been baiting the trotline with 20-pound shad.) The leviathan could swallow any angler foolish enough to fall out of the boat. As with most legendary fish, with a single turn of its head the catfish pulled free and swam off with a defiant splash of water. For a few years following that first sighting, any angler who latched into a fish that they could not turn, or when a trotline was pulled up with straightened hooks, it was assumed that the massive beast had struck again. The lake resembled a scene out of “JAWS” where catfishermen with deepsea rigs vowed to catch the beast before it ate a swimmer, or attacked a skier like an oversized trolling plug. To date, the massive catfish still has not been caught, and since it has not been found floating anywhere in the lake, it must still be swimming around, scaring the scales off the other fish. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

F i s h

Does a Lake O’ the Pines beast really exist? Who knows, but a few people in East Texas swear they have seen it...and one even claims it ate her dog. Along the southern coast of Texas lies a stretch of beach that has been instrumental in the history of our state and the nation. The wilderness setting of Padre Island has been the home of allegedly cannibal Indians and shipwrecked treasure hunters, and served as a bombing range during World War II. It was even on the short list of locations to test the first nuclear weapon due to its distance from civilization. Padre Island is the largest

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In This Issue

N14 N20 N23

INDUSTRY INSIDER • Honda Marine | BY BRUCE SMITH NEW PRODUCTS • What’s New From Top Outdoor Manufacturers | BY TF&G STAFF SHOOT THIS • Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope | BY STEVE LAMASCUS

OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE SECTION

N24 N36 N40

SPECIAL HUNTING SECTION • Trophy Fever | BY TF&G STAFF

N42 N44 N46 N47

TEXAS TASTED • Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork | BY BRYAN SLAVEN

TOURNAMENT INSIDER • Bassing Blunders Cost Bucks | BY MATT WILLIAMS GURLZ PAGE • The Crystal Fishing Ball | BY MARI HENRY

HOW-TO SECTION

N28 N30 N32 N33 N34 N35 N37 N38

COVER STORY • Texas Legends & Lore | BY PAUL BRADSHAW

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

GEARING UP SECTION

N12

TEXAS TESTED • Fishbites; Buck Knives; and more | BY TF&G STAFF

stretch of uninhabited barrier island left in the nation, and there is a lot of history buried in its dunes and sunken it its surf. Captain Billy Sandifer has spent more days on the sand of Padre Island than many of us have been alive. Making a living guiding anglers to the fish in the surf and tourists

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TEXAS BOATING • From Bad to Worse | BY LENNY RUDOW TEXAS KAYAKING • Kayaking Causes Bald Spots | BY GREG BERLOCHER SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS • Deep Floaters | BY PATRICK LEMIRE FRESHWATER BAITS & RIGS • Topping It Off | BY PAUL BRADSHAW HUNT TEXAS • Don’t Be a Slob Hunter | BY BOB HOOD TEXAS GUNS & GEAR • Dove Guns & Loads | BY STEVE LAMASCUS MISTER CRAPPIE • The Road Runner Story | BY WALLY MARSHALL WILDERNESS TRAILS • Computer Cats | BY HERMAN W. BRUNE

along the sand, Captain Billy has an intimate knowledge of the island and has had a few encounters that are difficult— impossible, really—to explain. During a recent conversation, Billy admitted, “When people ask me to explain some of the stories, I can’t. All I know is they just happened.”

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DISCOVER THE OUTDOORS • Classifieds | BY TF&G STAFF AFIELD WITH BARRY • Why the “Big One” Gets Away | BY BARRY ST. CLAIR PHOTO ALBUM • Your Action Photos | BY TF&G STAFF

Of the countless stories Captain Billy has lived through over his decades on Padre, his late night encounter with an unexpected visitor immediately comes to mind. Even it was decades ago, every detail remains etched in his mind, and after hearing him tell it, I can see why. “I hadn’t been back from Vietnam too long when we were down on the beach fishing. We were sitting around the campfire when we heard footsteps from someone walking down the beach, just out of the light of the campfire. I had a K-Bar knife in front of me, so I picked it up and the fellow with me picked up a hammer, and we just sat there. The footsteps moved around the truck to the passenger side, then the back, and then around the driver’s side before coming out front. From the sound of the steps, whoever or whatever was making them should have been standing right in front of us by the fire, but we couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, whatever it was let lose with a mournful crying scream as it walked around camp for about five minutes before it walked off. “Later, I was walking up onto the dunes to say my evening prayers. I had paddled out a few baits right before dark and was a little bit wet. This was back before kayaks, so we used life rafts. As I was walking toward the

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dunes, I came to a spot where the temperature seemed to drop, and being a little wet, I got chilled. As I walked away from the spot, I warmed up; and as I got closer, I cooled down. I called the fellow I was fishing with and had him stand in the same spot; he could feel how cold it was, too. As we walked back to the truck, he looked at me and said, ‘Billy, do you need anything out of the truck? Because I’m getting in there and not coming out until the morning.’ I got locked out of my own truck.” That is more of a campfire story than most of us have, but it was just the beginning of Billy’s evening. Being kicked out of his own truck wasn’t a hardship, since he typically slept on a cot in front of it, and this night was no different. The difference this time was that his night would be sleepless, as the visitor from earlier in the evening came back for an encore. For hours, whatever it was stalked around the camp, screaming and raising a ruckus, making it impossible for Billy to even consider falling asleep. “I finally couldn’t take it anymore,” Captain Billy told me. “So I sat up and told whatever it was that if it would just leave me

near the bridge connecting the mainland to the island. Not one to talk much, it was rare when the man engaged in conversation consisting of more than one word, until one day, when he approached Captain Billy and asked, “Have you heard the flutes? ” Oddly enough, Billy knew exactly what he was talking about. “Down in the 40s (40 miles down the beach), on a calm night you can hear what sounds like a small Indian flute that plays three distinct songs,” Billy said. “I know the wind blowing can make noises—I hear it playing notes in my rod tubes—but these are three distinct songs that play one behind the other.” Are there really ghosts of Indians running around the sand playing flutes or keeping campers up all night? According to Billy, there are, and I am not one to argue because it takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to share a story like that. I will take his word for it, and if I ever find a cold spot on the beach, you can bet I will not pitch my tent near it.

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Tides and Solunar Table for SEPTEMBER 2008 MONDAY

1 High Tide: 5:59 am 1.36 ft Low Tide: 11:49 am 0.61 ft High Tide: 6:16 pm 1.46 ft

Sunrise: 7:15a Moonrise: 9:03a AM Minor: 7:15a PM Minor: 7:37p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

5:05am – 6:35am

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

Set: 8:03p Set: 8:59p AM Major: 1:04a PM Major: 1:26p 3:05p 2:43a

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 4:41 am Low Tide: 6:12 pm

1.66 ft 0.27 ft

Sunrise: 7:19a Moonrise: 3:42p AM Minor: 12:44a PM Minor: 1:09p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

{ 15 High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

4:57 am 10:34 am 4:56 pm 10:55 pm

1.92 ft -0.05 ft

Sunrise: 7:27a Moonrise: 12:19a AM Minor: 12:22a PM Minor: 12:46p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

z 29

4:24 am 10:40 am 5:36 pm 11:22 pm

Sunrise: 7:31a Moonrise: 7:49a AM Minor: 5:49a PM Minor: 6:11p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Sunrise: 7:20a Moonrise: 4:27p AM Minor: 1:31a PM Minor: 1:57p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

4:00pm – 5:15pm

5:06 am 11:09 am 6:05 pm 11:34 pm

Sunrise: 7:23a Moonrise: 8:22p AM Minor: 6:42a PM Minor: 7:05p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Sunrise: 7:27a Moonrise: 1:26a AM Minor: 1:15a PM Minor: 1:44p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

4:10pm – 5:45pm

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

• S E P T E M B E R

4:33 am 11:13 am 6:38 pm 11:57 pm

Sunrise: 7:31a Moonrise: 8:48a AM Minor: 6:35a PM Minor: 6:57p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

2 0 0 8 /

PRIME TIME

5:25am – 6:50am*

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

Set: 8:02p Set: 9:28p AM Major: 1:53a PM Major: 2:15p 3:49p 3:27a 1.66 ft 0.25 ft

8:10pm – 9:30pm

Set: 7:53p Set: 1:36a AM Major: 7:44a PM Major: 8:09p 9:29p 9:03a 1.52 ft 0.58 ft 1.66 ft 1.00 ft

T E X A S

Sunrise: 7:16a Moonrise: 11:02a AM Minor: 8:54a PM Minor: 9:17p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

High Tide: 4:39 am Low Tide: 7:56 pm

Sunrise: 7:20a Moonrise: 5:09p AM Minor: 2:18a PM Minor: 2:43p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

0.98 ft 1.35 ft 0.34 ft 1.42 ft

5:35am – 7:00am

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

Set: 8:00p Set: 9:59p AM Major: 2:43a PM Major: 3:05p 4:34p 4:11a 1.65 ft 0.24 ft

PRIME TIME

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

PRIME TIME

5:05pm – 6:35pm

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

3:35pm – 4:50pm

High Tide: 3:31 am Low Tide: 7:27 pm

Sunrise: 7:28a Moonrise: 2:35a AM Minor: 2:09a PM Minor: 2:37p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Set: 7:43p Set: 9:45a AM Major: 1:21a PM Major: 1:47p 2:59a 3:24p 1.86 ft 0.07 ft

1:20am – 2:45am

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

Set: 7:34p Set: 4:51p AM Major: 8:23a PM Major: 8:50p 9:47a 10:14p

4:20pm – 6:10pm

Set: 7:26p Set: 7:57p AM Major: 12:23a PM Major: 12:46p 2:26p 2:04a

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

PRIME TIME

5:35am – 6:45am

Set: 7:59p Set: 10:34p AM Major: 3:33a PM Major: 3:57p 5:20p 4:57a 1.63 ft 1.47 ft 1.48 ft 0.25 ft

4:45am – 6:00am

Set: 7:50p Set: 3:32a AM Major: 9:14a PM Major: 9:39p 11:07p 10:43a

PRIME TIME 12:14 am 5:10 am 12:36 pm 8:45 pm

Sunrise: 7:25a Moonrise: 9:36p AM Minor: 8:32a PM Minor: 8:59p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

1.21 ft 1.38 ft 0.28 ft 1.43 ft

PRIME TIME 4:29 am 10:21 am 12:10 pm 8:34 pm

Sunrise: 7:21a Moonrise: 5:46p AM Minor: 3:02a PM Minor: 3:26p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

High Tide: 5:11 am 1.52 ft Low Tide: 11:50 am 0.35 ft High Tide: 7:20 pm 1.69 ft

Sunrise: 7:24a Moonrise: 8:56p AM Minor: 7:34a PM Minor: 7:59p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME 1:12 am 6:10 am 1:54 pm 10:28 pm

Sunrise: 7:17a Moonrise: 12:01p AM Minor: 9:45a PM Minor: 10:08p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

10:10pm – 11:30pm

Set: 7:52p Set: 2:33a AM Major: 8:30a PM Major: 8:55p 10:18p 9:54a

PRIME TIME

F i s h

Set: 7:35p Set: 4:08p AM Major: 7:30a PM Major: 7:59p 8:50a 9:19p 1.50 ft 0.41 ft 1.72 ft 1.30 ft

PRIME TIME

4:45pm – 6:00pm

Set: 7:44p Set: 8:40a AM Major: 12:30a PM Major: 12:54p 2:11a 2:34p 1.92 ft -0.01 ft

12:46 am 6:16 am 1:09 pm 8:49 pm

THURSDAY

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 3:18 am Low Tide: 6:19 pm

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:27p Set: 7:27p AM Major: ----PM Major: 12:00p 1:41p 1:20a

0.72 ft 1.34 ft 0.45 ft 1.43 ft

WEDNESDAY

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 4:51 am Low Tide: 7:10 pm

Set: 7:36p Set: 3:18p AM Major: 6:31a PM Major: 7:02p 7:50a 8:20p

1.50 ft 0.57 ft 1.71 ft 1.10 ft

Sunrise: 7:16a Moonrise: 10:02a AM Minor: 8:04a PM Minor: 8:26p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

6:10am – 7:35am*

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 3:10 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

12:13 am 6:10 am 12:28 pm 7:28 pm

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:45p Set: 7:37a AM Major: ----PM Major: 12:05p 1:24a 1:47p

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

8:00pm – 9:25pm

Set: 7:54p Set: 12:43a AM Major: 6:56a PM Major: 7:22p 8:38p 8:13a

1.54 ft 0.82 ft 1.62 ft 0.76 ft

Sunrise: 7:23a Moonrise: 7:50p AM Minor: 5:54a PM Minor: 6:17p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

TUESDAY

1.25 ft 1.56 ft 0.16 ft 1.72 ft

5:25pm – 6:55pm

Set: 7:41p Set: 10:54a AM Major: 2:18a PM Major: 2:45p 3:51a 4:18p

PRIME TIME 3:43 am 9:17 am 12:35 pm 8:26 pm

Sunrise: 7:29a Moonrise: 3:43a AM Minor: 2:58a PM Minor: 3:24p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

1.76 ft 1.47 ft 1.57 ft 0.21 ft

1:35am – 2:55am

Set: 7:32p Set: 5:27p AM Major: 9:11a PM Major: 9:36p 10:39a 11:04p

PRIME TIME

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Tides and Solunar Table for SEPTEMBER 2008 FRIDAY

5 Sunrise: 7:17a Moonrise: 1:00p AM Minor: 10:37a PM Minor: 11:01p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

4:30 am 9:39 am 1:38 pm 9:08 pm

Sunrise: 7:21a Moonrise: 6:19p AM Minor: 3:45a PM Minor: 4:09p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

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

12:53 am 4:58 am 1:29 pm 10:30 pm

Sunrise: 7:25a Moonrise: 10:23p AM Minor: 9:34a PM Minor: 10:03p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

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

PRIME TIME

Low Tide: 1:19 am High Tide: 5:18 am Low Tide: 2:46 pm

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

SATURDAY

3:53 am 9:21 am 2:08 pm 9:16 pm

Sunrise: 7:29a Moonrise: 4:48a AM Minor: 3:43a PM Minor: 4:07p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

1.38 ft 1.44 ft 0.26 ft

PRIME TIME

5:00am – 6:15am

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

Set: 7:49p Set: 4:33a AM Major: 9:57a PM Major: 10:21p 11:53p 11:30a 1.50 ft 1.64 ft 0.03 ft 1.77 ft

4:38 am 9:42 am 2:46 pm 9:43 pm

5:55pm – 7:10pm

Low Tide: 1:28 am High Tide: 4:34 am Low Tide: 2:31 pm

1:50am – 3:10am

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

Set: 7:31p Set: 6:00p AM Major: 9:55a PM Major: 10:18p 11:28a 11:51p

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

Sunrise: 7:30a Moonrise: 5:50a AM Minor: 4:25a PM Minor: 4:47p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

6:10pm – 6:45pm

Set: 7:56p Set: None AM Major: 6:07a PM Major: 6:32p 7:47p 7:22a 1.57 ft 1.04 ft 1.58 ft 0.56 ft

Sunrise: 7:22a Moonrise: 7:20p AM Minor: 5:10a PM Minor: 5:32p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 3:57 am Low Tide: 3:42 pm

1.86 ft -0.07 ft

Sunrise: 7:26a Moonrise: None AM Minor: 11:44a PM Minor: ----Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

4:50am – 6:00am*

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

New Moon

First Quarter

{

Full Moon

Last Quarter

6:35pm – 7:55pm

Set: 7:38p Set: 2:19p AM Major: 5:28a PM Major: 5:59p 6:48a 7:19p

PRIME TIME

4:15 am 10:10 am 4:32 pm 10:44 pm

1.53 ft 0.77 ft 1.68 ft 0.87 ft

Sunrise: 7:30a Moonrise: 6:50a AM Minor: 5:06a PM Minor: 5:28p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

5:15am – 6:30am*

Set: 7:29p Set: 6:58p AM Major: 11:17a PM Major: 11:39p 12:58p 12:36a

PRIME TIME

5:45am – 6:55am

Set: 7:47p Set: 6:35a AM Major: 11:21a PM Major: 11:44p 12:39a 1:02p

PRIME TIME

SYMBOL KEY

7:45pm – 9:00pm*

PRIME TIME 4:47 am 10:04 am 3:51 pm 10:18 pm

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:30p Set: 6:30p AM Major: 10:36a PM Major: 10:59p 12:14p None

1.61 ft 0.28 ft

Sunrise: 7:18a Moonrise: 2:51p AM Minor: ----PM Minor: 12:19p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Set: 7:39p Set: 1:14p AM Major: 4:23a PM Major: 4:54p 5:46a 6:17p 1.58 ft 1.01 ft 1.64 ft 0.63 ft

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 4:23 am Low Tide: 5:01 pm

5:05am – 6:25am

PRIME TIME

4:04 am 9:42 am 3:24 pm 10:02 pm

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:48p Set: 5:34a AM Major: 10:39a PM Major: 11:02p None 12:16p 1.71 ft 1.76 ft -0.05 ft

Sunrise: 7:26a Moonrise: 11:17p AM Minor: 10:39a PM Minor: 11:09p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

7:25pm – 8:45pm

Set: 7:57p Set: 11:55p AM Major: 5:16a PM Major: 5:41p 6:57p 6:32a 1.59 ft 1.23 ft 1.54 ft 0.40 ft

Sunrise: 7:22a Moonrise: 6:50p AM Minor: 4:27a PM Minor: 4:50p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

PRIME TIME

Set: 7:40p Set: 12:05p AM Major: 3:19a PM Major: 3:48p 4:47a 5:16p 1.66 ft 1.25 ft 1.60 ft 0.40 ft

1.54 ft 0.27 ft

Sunrise: 7:18a Moonrise: 1:57p AM Minor: 11:28a PM Minor: 11:53p Moon Overhead: Moon Underfoot:

Set: 7:58p Set: 11:12p AM Major: 4:25a PM Major: 4:49p 6:08p 5:44a 1.61 ft 1.38 ft 1.50 ft 0.31 ft

PRIME TIME

High Tide: 4:20 am Low Tide: 3:49 pm

7:00pm – 8:25pm

SUNDAY

PRIME TIME

Good Day

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

BEST DAYS

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 ® / S E P T 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

2 0 0 8

•

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

Hum up a White Bass LOCATION: Lake Aquilla HOTSPOT: Triplett Point GPS: N31 54.533, W97 12.375

SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummers, Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Watch for early and late surface action around Triplett Point, Snake Island, and dam rip rap. Tail Hummers and RatL-Traps work best on schooling fish. On cloudy days, the schooling will last longer, sometimes all day. After sunrise, back off to the deep humps and watch your electronics for stacked schools, drop 3/4-ounce white or Chartreuse slabs down and bounce off bottom. Bite occurs on the fall. BANK ACCESS: Tailrace Fishing Pier, whites on jigs and Kastmaster spoons LOCATION: Lake Belton HOTSPOT: Temple Lake Park GPS: N31 07.429, W97 29.285 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid striped bass BEST BAITS: topwater baits to match forage size in silver or clear CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-369-7411, www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: Look for topwater feeding early and late. Pay attention to the size of shad regurgitated by the fish you catch, and try to closely match that forage size with your baits. Action will continue to improve as cold fronts cause temperatures to moderate and begin a cooling trend in water temperatures. N6

• S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

JD MOORE

CALIXTO GONZALES

BANK ACCESS: Temple Lake Park, white bass, largemouth bass,

BANK ACCESS: Oak Thicket Park, largemouth bass, catfish, redear sunfish

LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Sulphur Creek (Creek Bed) GPS: N30 37.613, W96 03.108 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, shrimp, worms, stinkbait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: You’ll be anchoring in about 16-foot water. Fish moving to and from main lake to Sulphur Creek pass through this area. Use tight line Carolina rig, 2/0 Kahle hook for shad with 1-ounce egg sinker. Set out several rods around the boat and try different types of bait on the rods. Blue, yellow, or channel cats possible here. If targeting channel cats you could use some range cubes, since they sink without drifting better than sour chum. For channel cats, fish over the range cubes. BANK ACCESS: Boat Ramp Pier, bream, crappie, catfish

LOCATION: Lake Fayette County HOTSPOT: Southeast Trees GPS: N29 54.945, W96 43.062 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: stinkbait, worms CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Trees farthest from the bank are in 20 feet plus of water. Tie off or anchor close to the trees. Most are cedars, so be careful casting so not to hang up. Try to fish straight down in the deeper water. Water has not cooled much yet, so look for fish a little deeper than winter patterns. Fish close to bottom with a tight line. Early morning and late evening, try closer to bank in shallow water, where moss will allow. Fish will be eating moss along with the coots. Chum will bring cats out of the moss to your area, or you can chum straight down in the deeper water.

T E X A S

F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool HOTSPOT: Lynn Creek Bridge GPS: N3237.377, W97 02.338 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: drop-shot Shakeyhead worm, Norman’s DD22 crankbait CONTACT: Randy Maxwell, 817-4681556, www.getagripguideservice.com TIPS: Work the bridge pilings with the Shakeyhead worm and troll the DD22 in and out and around the pilings. BANK ACCESS: Lynn Creek Fishing Dock, bream, crappie, largemouth bass LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Big Island GPS: N33 03.034, W96 28.313 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: white and Shad colors on Bandit crankbaits and spinnerbaits, plastic

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

worms in Watermelon Seed and Green Pumpkin will be the best CONTACT: Jeff Kirkwood, 972-853-0949, www.fishinwithjeff.com TIPS: Work the area behind the Big Island, and any riprap you can find. Main lake banks and points will be key to finding fish. BANK ACCESS: Ticky Creek Park, largemouth bass on crankbaits and spinnerbaits LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Flat Creek & Slough GPS: N32 07.729, W95 28.970 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: 3/8-ounce willow leaf spinnerbaits in white and chartreuse; topwaters in shad patterns like Tiny Torpedoes and poppers; Senkos in Watermelon and Junebug colors, rigged Texas or wacky style CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., www.matternguidesercvice.fghp.com TIPS: The back third of Flat Creek will hold schools of bass chasing schools of shallow shad. They will be feeding on shad to fatten up for the coming winter. Use the above baits, changing frequently, until you find the right combination. BANK ACCESS: Dam Park, bass, catfish, crappie. Fish pockets and rock wall. LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Hwy 309 Flats GPS: N31 58.324, W96 07.208 SPECIES: hybrid stripers and white bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shads and Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Royce Simmons, 903-3894117, www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: Work the 309 Flats in the early morning for topwater action in shallow water 5 to 10 feet deep. Sassy Shads and Rat-L-Traps are deadly on the hybrids and almost anything shiny will catch the white bass. Look for baitfish popping the top and Herons and Egrets working the shoreline. When the topwater bite slows, move out to 20 feet and deeper water and bounce a slab along the bottom. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish shoreline each side of boat ramp and shoreline of cove immediately to the left of the ramp. Largemouth bass on spinnerbaits and Plum-colored Texas-rigged plastic worms. N8

• S E P T E M B E R

2 0 0 8 /

LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Henderson Point GPS: N32 11.571, W95 29.314 SPECIES: white bass, hybrid stripers BEST BAITS: topwaters; 1/4-ounce chrome/blue Rat-L-Trap CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: white bass and hybrid stripers can be found visibly schooling on the main lake points early and late. Ease up to the school, throw your lure over and beyond the school, and quickly reel in. Around 9:00 a.m., they will move out to the nearest drop-off. Good choice then is Dimple Spoon. BANK ACCESS: Flat Creek Public Ramp, largemouth bass, white and hybrid stripers, crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Richland Chambers Reservoir HOTSPOT: Magic Tree Hump GPS: N31 58.230, W96 18.110 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rig or drop-shot rigged with stickbait in Watermelon or Pumpkin colors CONTACT: Steve Schmidt, 817-929-0675cell, www.schmidtsbigbass.com TIPS: The Magic Tree Hump is at the mouth of Crab Creek. It has a nice creek channel on the west side, and the key setup is on the side next to the tree line and creek. Throw up the hump with C-rig or dropshot. I use an 18-inch leader with a 3/0 hook, and a 3/4- or 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten bead and (2) 8-millimeter force beads. Drag the C-rig or drop-shot from the middle of the hump or on the outside edge back toward the creek. Top water bite here is good early and late. For my drop-shot rig, I use a 10-pound Fluorocarbon Seaguar line with a number 1 Gamma Circle hook with a 3/16- or 1/4-ounce drop-shot weight. BANK ACCESS: Midway Landing, fish shoreline each side of boat ramp and shoreline of cove immediately to the left of the ramp. Largemouth bass on spinnerbaits, plum colored Texas rigged plastic worms.

T E X A S

LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Welch Park Roadbed GPS: N30 19.862, W96 32.733 F i s h

G a m e ® / A L M A N A C

SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: shad, worms, stinkbait, chicken livers CONTACT: Weldon Kirk, 979-229-3103, www.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Use Carolina rig, 3/4-ounce egg sinker, 1/0 Kahle hook with shad; No. 4 treble hook with other baits. Water is shallow here and drops off into the roadbed. Fish the drop off. Baitfish frequent the dropoff area and the catfish move in to feed on them. Fish are about a month away from fall patterns, which means bait fish will move and the catfish will follow. Fish this area through September. BANK ACCESS: Rocky Creek Park, largemouth bass, catfish, white and hybrid bass, catfish, white and black crappie. LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Reservoir HOTSPOT: Riprap face of the Dam GPS: N31 01.601, W97 31.858 SPECIES: white bass, schooling largemouth & smallmouth BEST BAITS: downrigging with artificial baits matching forage size in silver, white, and silver/white CONTACT: Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411, www.HoldingTheLineGuideService.com TIPS: If you haven’t been to Stillhouse in a while, please know we lost 100 percent of our hydrilla to flooding last year, so it is a whole new ballgame now as compared to the last decade of quality grass fishing. Go stocked with No. 13 and No. 12 Pet Spoons to match small shad, and Swimmin’ Image shallow divers to imitate larger shad. Run baits 1-2 feet above game fish marks on sonar and about 30 feet behind the downrigger ball. Low light times at dusk and dawn are always productive, with very windy days productive at any time. BANK ACCESS: Stillhouse Park, largemouth, smallmouth bass, catfish, crappie LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Juniper Point East & The Islands GPS: N33 51.892, W96 49.883 / N32 50.232, W96 44.552 SPECIES: striped bass BEST BAITS: RipTide Curltailers, and topwaters

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ALL GPS COORDINATES VERIFIED BY

CONTACT: Bill Carey, 903-647-4022 Cell, www.striperexpress.com TIPS: The big fish move onto the flats during September. Early mornings cast pencil poppers and chug bugs on the shallow banks. Mid-morning change your lures to Rip Tide Curltailers and Sassy Shad soft plastics. Concentrate on the flats that run about 20 feet in depth. Locate the creek channels and drop-offs; these are the routes that the fish use to move up from deep water to feed. The gulls have arrived, so pay close attention to the birds, as they are your best fish-finders. BANK ACCESS: East Juniper Point and Washita Point, watch for stripers chasing shad along bank LOCATION: Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Reeds in cove at boat ramp A GPS: N31 32.997, W96 57.912 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: weedless frog, buzzbait, spinnerbait CONTACT: Jimmy D. Moore, 254-7442104, rayado@earthlink.net TIPS: Flip frog in pockets among cattails. Work buzzbait and spinnerbait outside and along the edges, and into open pockets. Best fishing will be early and late in the day. This pattern will hold through November, if the power plant is generating power. This keeps the water warm compared to lakes without power plants. BANK ACCESS: South levee, catfish at night on chicken livers and stinkbait. Drive east over levee, turn left, and park in old picnic area. LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Whitney Point GPS: N31 54.672, W97 20.873 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: Tail Hummers, Kastmaster spoons and chrome Rat-L-Traps CONTACT: Randy Routh, 817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Watch for schooling activity at Whitney Point, Island Flats, and Sand Point early and late. Work the above baits by making long casts to schooling fish. Use medium retrieve. BANK ACCESS: Loafer’s Bend Shore, stripers and whites on Rat-L-Traps and topwaters; watch for shad being chased along the shoreline.

Piped in Bass LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Pipe Island GPS: N32 54.171, W95 40.796 SPECIES: largemouth bass

BEST BAITS: topwaters, spinnerbaits, and jerk baits CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, 903-5302201, www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Get on the lake early for the topwater bite will usually end around 8-9 a.m. Cast topwaters, jerk baits and Rat-L-Traps to submerged sides of island, changing bait and presentation frequently until you hit the right combination. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucket, white and black crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Chainey Point in 10-15 feet of water. GPS: N32 48.307 W95 33.452 SPECIES: catfish BEST BAITS: prepared homemade and commercial stinkbaits CONTACT: Michael Rogge, 903-3833406, www.lake-fork-guides.com TIPS: After chumming, wait a few minutes for the cats to show up, then lower stinkbait to bottom and raise slightly. Hold rod and line still and be patient. You shouldn’t have long to wait. If nothing happens in a few minutes, motion the stinkbait around a little, and then stop, still holding bait just off the bottom. If that doesn’t work, move bait a few feet and repeat process. BANK ACCESS: Fishing Pier at Minnow Bucked, white and black crappie, catfish, sunfish LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn - South HOTSPOT: Buck Bay Point GPS: N31 10.113, W94.04.557 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rigs with creature baits, lizards, French Fries, and Flukes in Watermelon colors; crankbaits in shad color and scale pattern CONTACT: Don Mattern, Sr., www.maternA L M A N A C / T E X A S

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guideservice.fghp.com TIPS: There is a main lake point on the left side of Buck Bay that extends all the way out to the middle of the lake. You will see small islands on the west side of this point. There is a huge flat coming out into the middle of Buck bay. Fish down from the start of the point out in 8-12 feet on the break line and follow it in toward Buck Bay Cove. You’ll find Hydrilla here and some really big bass hang out here. Use Carolina rigs with the above mentioned baits, and also a red-eyed Pearl crankbait that will run 6 to 8 feet deep. Big bass have been caught working this bait through the hydrilla edge. BANK ACCESS: Powell Park Marina Fishing Pier largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, white and striped bass LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend South HOTSPOT: Six Mile Flat GPS: N31 14.228, W93 42.142 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rig using Watermelon Red or Strawberry/metal flake worm CONTACT: Jim Morris, 409-579-3485, cypresscreekmarina@valornet.com TIPS: Look for spotty grass in water 12 to 14 feet deep. Work C-rig all around and through grass, holding rod tip high and line tight so you can feel the slightest take/strike. When you feel the take, set the hook quickly, before the bass spits the worm out. BANK ACCESS: Ragtown Recreation Area, catfish, largemouth bass, crappie, white and striped bass

Crèmed Bass LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Rocky Point GPS: N30 48.521, W98 23.871

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BANK ACCESS: Shaw Island, fish live bait off bottom, cast over points with traps, catfish, crappie, largemouth, white bass LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: North Park GPS: N29 52.330, W98 12.476` SPECIES: largemouth, smallmouth bass BEST BAITS: football jigs in black and blue, tubes in Rootbeer, Green Pumpkin, dropshot Devil’s Tongue, Whacky Sticks in Watermelon Red CONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, 210-8232153, kandie@gvtc.com TIPS: Use 1/8-ounce Tungsten weight with Whacky sticks and Fluorocarbon line. Drop-shot Devil’s Tongue on steep bluffs. Work Whacky Sticks on bluffs. BANK ACCESS: Comal Park, largemouth bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Granger HOTSPOT: The Road Bed GPS: N30 42.119, W97 20.907 SPECIES: white bass, crappie BEST BAITS: 1/32-ounce chartreuse marabou jig for crappie; white slab spoons for white bass CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, 512-3657761, www.txfishing.com/tidwell/index.htm TIPS: For white bass, fish slab spoons on top of roadbeds and ridges in areas where shad are working. Use electronics to find fish then jig the slab spoon off the bottom by hopping it 2 to 3 feet off the bottom. For crappie, fish brush piles at dam, in 8 to 15 feet of water using Berkley crappie Nibble on the jig, which gives scent and gets the crappie’s attention. BANK ACCESS: Wilson Fox Fishing Dock, crappie on live minnows, fished straight down under pier

Rage Tail Largemouth LOCATION: Lake Ballinger HOTSPOT: Across from Boat Ramp GPS: N31.759, W100.044 SPECIES: largemouth bass N10

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BEST BAITS: Stanly Ribbits, Rage Tail Shad CONTACT: Wendell Ramsey, 325-2274931, bram4@suddenlink.net TIPS: This little 445-acre lake is turning on and will get better before winter sets in. Work the Watermelon Pearl Ribbits around the vegetation mixed with timber and get ready for some bone jarring strikes. The Rage Tail Shad will work all day long shallow this time of year. If fishing gets slow find the isolated Reed beds on the lake and flip your favorite creature bait for some extra strikes. BANK ACCESS: Fishing, camping, picnicking, and a boat ramp are available at the city-owned park on the southeast shore, largemouth bass, white crappie, walleye, white bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Oak Creek HOTSPOT: Brushy Rock Points GPS: N32 02.373, W100 17.212 SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Bone-colored Vixens, Rage Tail Craws, white Stanley spinnerbaits CONTACT: Wendell Ramsey, 325-2274931, bram4@suddenlink.net TIPS: There are three exposed points that are lined with thick brush. Start early with the topwater Vixens around the edges of the cover. As the sun comes up work spinnerbaits around the shad schools hanging close to cover, then flip the Okeechobee Craw colored Rage Tail craws in the thick stuff and hold on. BANK ACCESS: Picnic area at Lake Creek Lodge, largemouth bass on spinnerbaits, crappie on jigs, white bass, catfish LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: South D&D GPS: N32 52.744, W98 29.395 SPECIES: white bass BEST BAITS: jigs, slabs, topwaters CONTACT: Dean Heffner, 940-779-2597, fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Work the sand bars and humps from

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South D&D to Caddo, while looking for surface action. When found ease up to where the whites are feeding on shad and throw topwaters, and shallow running crankbaits. When you see balls of shad on your graph, work a jig tied 2 feet above slab for schools 10 to 20 feet deep. For 10 feet up to surface use deep diving crankbaits, and drop Rat-L-Trap to a count of ten, then rip it up through the balls of shad. Work Slabs on the 20-foot breaklines. Fish slabs and traps all the way to Costello Island. Keep an eye out for the birds and “jumpy” water which indicates nervous shad just under the surface. BANK ACCESS: Willow Beach RV Park, privately owned, ask operator for permission; largemouth bass, crappie, striped and white bass

Jumbo Shrimp & Silver Kings LOCATION: Brazos-Santiago Pass HOTSPOT: North Jetties (bank access) GPS: N26 04.080, W97 09.280 SPECIES: tarpon, kingfish

BEST BAITS: live finger mullet, jumbo shrimp; topwaters in chrome/blue, Bone CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956551-9581 TIPS: September is a good time to latch into a Silver King. You will see these flashy brutes rolling along the jetties and in the pass. Live mullet or cocktail shrimp drifted on a fly line, or under a balloon work well, as does an oversized topwater such as the Magnum Super Spook. Bring wire leaders and plenty of lures, by the way, because the calm weather of September brings blue water close to the rocks, and kingfish with it.

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Pin a Trout LOCATION: Baffin Bay HOTSPOT: East Kleberg Point GPS: N27 16.300, W97 30.426

Shad also work quite well. Use stout tackle, because these fish can run large and have plenty of stuff to run your line over.

CONTACT: Jeff Snyder, 210-649-2435 TIPS: The water is beginning to cool from summertime highs, and redfish take the cue as time to fee. Fish the east side of the cove. Live shad or small sunfish on a bottom rig are the best bet, but gold spoons or 1/2ounce swimbaits such as Storm’s Wildeye

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

Glowing Redfish LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: Green’s Bayou GPS: N28 49.417, W93 50.499 SPECIES: redfish

Freshwater Reds LOCATION: Calaveras HOTSPOT: Granny’s Cove GPS: N29 17.084, W98 18.293 SPECIES: redfish BEST BAITS: live shad, gold spoons; swimbaits in blue, purple, chartreuse A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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Fishbites

You know a scented bait works when there is a tiny piece left on the jighead and you are still catching one fish after another. You know that a scented bait works when the water is the color of day-old coffee, and you are still catching fish. You know a scented bait works when you leave it sitting on the bottom while you pick out a backlash, and a trout comes along and slurps it up. Such were the cases with Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release line of scented tails. These baits are the product of decades-long research and development by marine researcher Dr. William Carr. Carr, a University of Florida professor for over 30 years, applied principals that he discovered during his research of the olfactory and gustatory habits of fish into creating a line of biodegradable baits that release natural live bait flavor and scents into the water that stimulate the feeding mechanism in predatory fish. When the UPS man delivered a box of assorted tails to me (Xtreme Scent Release comes in three different designs, a 5-inch Jerk Bait, 3.5-inch Shrimp Tail, and a 3-inch Paddle Tail Shad), I quickly tore the lid of the box (I hadn’t been fishing in over a month and was going stir crazy), grabbed a bunch of bags, and made plans to take the old Teacher’s Pet (or at least the latest version of that stalwart boat) out to find some trout. Mother Nature had other plans for me, and I found a west wind blowing and dark brown-stained water when I got to the boat ramp. Gene, my fishing partner for the day, and I were a little discouraged by the conditions, but sometimes you must work for your fillets. Truthfully, the conditions were ideal for a series of experiments with the Fishbites tails, and off we went to find some cleaner water and hungry fish. We never found the former, but we did find the latter. After running around Lower Laguna Madre all morning and trying as many different spots as we could think of, we finally found some trout late in the N12

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day. They were holding in a small channel that fed out of Cullen Bay. Most of the trout were undersized, but we did find enough keepers to save the day. The action was steady, and all three Fishbites baits worked well. The lures did make the difference, because I swapped out lures several times while Gene kept using the Fishbites. I caught a couple of fish with other lures, but the trout (and occasional pinfish or whiting) kept consistently hitting Dr. Carr’s baits. Carr’s work involved developing water-soluble feeding stimulants that he later refined into concentrated forms that comprise the Xtreme Scent Release baits. In other words, these tails don’t simulate fish food, they are fish food. The scent and flavor melt off of the bait and into the water, and any fish within range are stimulated into feeding. Gene was using the 3.5-inch Shrimp Tail, and he refused to give it up. The bait’s tail was eaten off, as were most of the segments. Eventually, a 1-inch kernel was left on the jighead, and Gene kept fishing with it. He kept hooking trout, which was impressive. At one point, the wind held up my jig in the air just long enough to create the backlash from hell in my Curado 100D. Fortunately, I was spooled with FireLine Braid, so picking out the bird’s nest wasn’t too difficult. While I was thus distracted, the bait rested at the bottom of the channel. That is, it rested until a 16-inch trout picked it up and gave me a good yank. There is little doubt that Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release works. They made a tough fishing day a good day, and neither Gene nor I went home unhappy. I would like to see the tails come in slightly thicker designs. The slim design limits the jighead size you can use. A thicker version of the Jerk Bait version would be absolute poison on Texas redfish. Until then, I guess I will have to continue fishing the current line of baits. Oh, woe is me. Contact: Carr Specialty Baits, Inc., 877840-2248, www.fishbites.com —Calixto Gonzales

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Buck Knives How many times have you had your hands full of something you couldn’t put down, and needed to open a pocketknife? I have lost count. All my life I have wanted to find a really good knife that I could open with one hand. For a while, when I was a federal agent, I carried a high-quality switchblade made by Boker. However, private citizens are forbidden from carrying such a practical tool. Why, I have never understood, as I can’t see that a switchblade is one bit more dangerous than any other edged weapon. Anyway, the search went on for many years. Well, I have finally found a couple of knives that fit the bill. At the SHOT show this year, Buck Knives showed me a two models that finally offer the farmer, rancher, cop, outdoorsman, or anyone else a tool that can be opened with one hand. I can’t tell you how much I have longed for such knives. First is the Buck Redpoint. It is a lightweight single-blade knife with a neoprene (I think) all-weather grip. It features a blade that can be opened by simply spinning a serrated wheel that extends above the front bolster. The blade is the combination type with the rear half serrated. The blade is locked in position both open and closed, and is freed by a thumb button. I have been carrying my Redpoint a couple of months now and have grown to love it. My old Eye Brand Trapper has been retired to the knife drawer, at least for the present. The Redpoint comes in several rather garish colors, including bright blue and bright yellow, but you can always get the black or gray versions. I decided that the bright colors were an advantage in case I dropped the knife in deep grass or brush. With practice, this little knife can be opened one handed just as quickly as a switchblade, and the steel is easy to sharpen and keeps an edge well. Next are Buck’s new assisted opening knives. There are several models. The one I have is the Sirus. This knife is equipped with

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Honda Marine

OOK CLOSELY AT THE TRANSOM OF ANY OF THE smaller aluminum fishing boats and Jon boats and odds are you’ll see a 40- or 50-horsepower four-stroke outboard. The same holds true for flats boats plying the really skinny waters along the Texas Gulf Coast. These mid-size engines have become the bread-and-butter power choice for anglers and hunters who want fuel economy and compactness coupled with light weight and performance. So, it’s no surprise Honda Marine focused their attention in 2008 on freshening up their popular BF40 and BF50 models. It’s a redesign that not only improves on what are already outstanding Honda technologies, but adds more of the features that raise the benchmarks of both performance and durability. The most notable aspects for fresh and saltwater boat owners is Honda upgrading the operating system to electronic fuel-injection and reducing the weight of their popular inline three-cylinder to a svelte 214 poundslightest in this size outboard. EFI makes these new four-strokes instant starting under all weather conditions and results in ultra-smooth operation from idle to wide-open-throttle. They are also stellar runners down in those low trolling speeds. Shaving pounds off the transom improves the shallow water handling and overall performance of flats and light aluminum boats. An added benefit of the upgrades is the new Hondas provide nearly twice the charging capacity as the competitors, delivering a whopping 17 amps of battery charging power from the 22-amp alternator. They are also best-in-class in fuel economy, up 20-percent in the 3500-4500 rpm cruising range from the previous 40/50hp models. (Both of these

Hondas are identical except the 50hp model has a different computer mapping that allows it to rev higher and get more fuel to make the extra 10hp.) Along with better fuel economy and smoother operation comes stronger off-idle and mid-range acceleration thanks to what Honda engineers call “BLAST.” That’s an acronym for Honda’s patented Boosted Low Speed Torque system. John Fulcher, the senior engineering manager, said BLAST is one of the programs in the new outboard’s on-board computer that senses when the operator advances the throttle quickly and then “advances ignition spark timing to within one degree of the knock limit during ‘hammer down’ acceleration. “The Engine Control Module (ECM) then steps in to increase injector timing, creat-

Honda has redesigned their popular BF40 and BF50 models. ing a more potent air/fuel mixture,” explains Fulcher. “The resulting boost in available torque at low rpm contributes to a strong holeshot to get the boat up on plane quickly.” We ran the 50hp on several different boats, including a PolarCraft 165 Side Console aluminum bass boat and a roto-molded Triumph 17 Center Console. In both applications, there seemed to be a slightly faster and stronger throttle response and quicker time-toplane than we remembered on the previous

generation Hondas. What was very evident on both Honda-powered boats was the smoothness and strong power delivery of the new engines from trolling speed to wide-open throttle. It was also quite evident from Honda’s digital read-out gauges (yes, the new engines are designed to be fitted with the same digital electronics as found on the 200/225 V6s) the addition of EFI and the computer-controlled “Lean Burn” technology makes the 40/50hp Hondas true fuel-sippers. The BF50 on the PolarCraft, for example, with three of us aboard, showed 7.2 mpg at 31 mph running wide-open at 5900 rpm. We slowed it down to a comfortable cruising speed (20 mph) and netted almost 10 mpg. That’s fuel efficiency any Texas angler can live with in these days of $4/gallon prices. “Lean Burn Control adjusts the air/fuel mixture for maximum fuel efficiency at cruise,” said Fulcher, “and the result is about a savings of 20 percent over the previous engine.” Fuel economy and acceleration weren’t the only things we noticed improved with the new Honda BF40/BF50. Performance while fishing, of course, is not limited to top-end speed; slow trolling is also essential. The redesigned BF40 and BF50 EFI can troll 15-percent slower than before with the ability to now troll at 800 rpm. The BF40 and BF50 EFI also feature Honda’s all-new high-performance gear case. A longer anti-ventilation plate helps trap water flowing to the propeller to minimize porpoising-a phenomenon caused by the prop losing bite when the engine is over-trimmed. Honda designers also streamlined the front of the lower unit and enlarged the bullet (gear case) to reduce drag for enhanced acceleration and fuel efficiency. Honda also improved an already good anti-corrosion package, utilizing a new paint coating process that provides four layers of internal cylinder block protection against corrosion. The new outboards also have small plastic snap-out covers to allow the owner to

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Continued from Page N14 easily check and replace anodes located in the block’s water jacket. Some changes small, others big. All add up to a much improved 40/50hp offering that should deliver Honda-reliability and performance for many, many years. Should warranty be a worry, Honda is the

first outboard manufacturer to give a true 5year, non-declining, transferable warranty from the manufacturer. (Other warranties are actually service contracts you purchase through a third-party, not the engine manufacturer.) Honda’s full warranty “gives full coverage from the first day of purchase to the

last day of the five-year period,” said Steve Drenkard, the newly appointed marketing/product manager for Honda Marine. Contact: Honda Marine, 800-426-7701, www.honda.com —Bruce W. Smith

TEXAS TESTED Continued from Page N12 a spring-assisted blade. Once you have moved the blade a fraction of an inch by pushing down on the part of the blade that extends through the rear of the grip, the blade springs open like a switchblade. It is not, however, a switchblade and is completely legal because it is not opened mechanically, as there is no switch. The blade can be locked both open and closed and is, again, designed for opening quickly with one hand. My knife has a camouflage handle. The blade is 3-1/4 inches with a drop point. This is a very useful knife design and one that I have grown very fond of. It is nice to finally own a knife that you can open one-handed without using your teeth. Well done, Buck. Contact: Buck Knives, 800-326-2825, www.buckknives.com —Steve LaMascus

Tallon Rod Holders Putting rodholders into a boat with thin gunwales can be a real dilemma; mount them on the inwales, and you have just created a shin-banger; top-mount rodholders can’t take the pressure and stress created by large fish; and receiver-mount rodholders leave you with ugly receiver mounts inside your boat. Tallon Marine’s new mounting system, however, aims to solve this problem while expanding your boat’s abilities. Talon’s receiver mounts are thin, unobtrusive, and relatively inexpensive. Developed in New Zealand, they have a deceptively small opening that is covered with a rubber door. The insert connectors are Tshaped, and when you push them into the receivers, they drop down and the T grabs against the front of the receiver, securing it in place. Rodholders with the T-shaped connec-

tors mounted on the back are available in single, triple, and quad holder racks, and all rodholders are made of stainless steel. When I tried mounting one on my boat, I felt it was secure enough to hang tight even when I trolled with a tight drag for hard-striking fish like king mackerel, and leaning against the holder didn’t cause the mount to bend or break. While these rodholders are great, Tallon expands your abilities by offering a multitude of other items that can be used with the receiver mounts. Ready to cut bait and do some chumming? Pull up the T-connector on your rodholder, pop it off the mount, stow it below decks, and drop in the polyethylene bait table. You want to dive on a wreck? Tallon has a dive tank rack system that connects to the receivers as well. Cup holders, loops and hooks, and multi-purpose holders are also available. And, if you have a gadget like a handheld GPS or a cell phone that never seems to be stowed in the proper place, you can connect it to a Tallon mount with their connector/adaptor kits. These work with Gripper tabs to hold the item in place, so while you wouldn’t want to put a rodholder or other weight-bearing item on one, it will work just fine for smaller items. Contact: Tallon Marine, Ltd., 866-6164063, www.tallonmarine.com —Lenny Rudow

JL Marine Audio You want to listen to better Buffet while you run to the next hotspot? I tested out a pair of JL Marine Audio speakers, their new MX650 CCX 6.5-inch diameter coaxials, to find out if they could live up to realworld angler abuse. Sure, these 50-watt, 4-ohm, 2.7-inch deep flush-mounts sound great, thanks to the A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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DMA-optimized long-excursion design. And the choice of JL’s new Sport Grille or Classic Grille means you can choose the look to match your boat’s styling. You want more power? In a speaker box that is ready to mount on a tower? Okay, then opt for the M770-ETX CG model, which can carry 100 watts and includes a fiberglass mounting enclosure on a mounting post that swivels 360-degrees. But be prepared to spend big bucks for these little noisemakers—$1100. Then again, who cares about all these features if the speakers die after the first blast of a washdown hose? So, to start the ball rolling, I put the Rolling Stones on the stereo, jammed it up to 10, and took careful aim with my saltwater washdown. For a solid 10 seconds, I sent water streaming right into the face of these injection-molded mica-filled polypropylene cone bodies with synthetic rubber surrounds and crossover features, which include solid-state tweeter protection to prevent tweeter failures due to abuse and to reset automatically. My treatment was definitely abusive, but not abusive enough. To simulate more realworld fishing conditions, my next move was to swing a 3-ounce lead sinker into the faceplate. Crack! It made plenty of noise, but the plastic held firm and didn’t shatter. In my final attempt at Texas-style torture, I squirted the speakers with nonskid deck cleaner and scrubbed them with a stiff-bristle brush, followed up by another blast of the washdown hose. Still, the sound of the Stones wafted across the bay. The new JL’s can take a boatload of abuse in the marine environment and keep on working. Contact: JL Audio, http://marine.jlaudio.com —LR

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Hydra-Sports 4100 Vector Measuring a full 41 feet, six inches overall with a 12-foot beam and 23 degree dead rise, the 4100 takes its place at the top of the Hydra-Sports line. We’ve combined the ultimate in top-of-the-line fishing features and comfort amenities in a platform worthy of the most extreme conditions. The 4100 features the same Kevlarreinforced, hand-laid fiberglass-laminated all-composite hull utilizing a premium gel coat finish as its smaller Hydra-Sports Vectors. The Integrated Structural Grid system, built of finished fiberglass bonded to the hull with methacrylate adhesive and injected with urethane foam is the backbone for the famous Hydra-Sports ride. The 4100 comes standard with six fish boxes, a 60-gallon tournament live well, plenty of rod holders and more than ample rod storage, a bait prep area with freshwater sink, tackle/gear storage and a pullout cooler. An optional Pro Package offers a 55gallon bait well, two tuna tubes and a tackle center in place of the bait prep station, among other offerings. Ten different power options in triple or quad outboard configurations, powering up to 1,400 hp, from Yamaha, Evinrude or Mercury and a 600 plus-gallon fuel capacity. Contact: Hydra-Sports 1651 Whitfield Ave. Sarasota, FL 34243 Phone: (941) 753-7811 Web: www.hydrasports.com

More Than a Tackle Box The 1440 Guide Series Case has the maximum capacity for your larger accessories. It features a comfortable molded hanN20

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dle, four latches located on the font and sides along with the padlock detail provide premium protection. The 1440 Guide Series™ Case comes with a green TPR lining, along with an under-the-lid liner that provides private, secure and protected storage for video cameras, compact binoculars and other large accessories. It measures 12.5”L x 8.5”W x 5.11”H and retails for $34.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

Nation’s First 100-HP Motor A decade after starting America’s EFI 4-stroke outboard revolution, Suzuki Marine is setting a new benchmark with the launch of the only 100-horsepower 4-stroke outboard available in the United States. The new-for-2009 Suzuki DF100 has been engineered to provide superior acceleration and fuel efficiency in a compact, lightweight package, making it a powerful choice for a wide range of new and existing boats. Available in both 20- and 25-inch shaft versions, Suzuki’s new DF100 will be right at home on the transom of pontoon boats, small center consoles, bay boats, fish ‘n ski models and more. The DF100’s innovation begins with a 118.9 cu. in. inline 4-cylinder Dual Overhead Cam (DOHC) powerhead with fourvalves-per-cylinder. Suzuki’s proven digital multi-point electronic fuel injection optimizes performance under any engine load, temperature or altitude. Suzuki’s experience with high-performance engines has led to the development of features like the DF100’s tuned and watercooled intake system and water-cooled fuel rail, which help to squeeze the most power out of every pony and the most miles from every gallon of fuel. In addition, Suzuki’s race-proven 4-into-2-into-1 exhaust system

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optimizes exhaust flow for superior performance and smooth acceleration. The new Suzuki DF100 also incorporates several proven engineering features designed to reduce the overall weight and size of this new 4-stroke outboard motor. An offset driveshaft and two-stage cam drive are used to move the DF100’s center of gravity forward on the transom. This not only reduces the outboard’s exterior dimensions so it looks great and fits better on boats with limited clearance, but also offers better balance on the transom which translates to reduced engine vibrations and improved performance and ride. Features like the DF100’s self-adjusting, oil-bathed timing chain (rather than a timing belt) remove this maintenance worry and help ensure season after season of hassle free operation. Further enhancing reliability over the long run are features like Suzuki’s one-piece forged crankshaft and durable stainless steel water pump. An air-cooled, high-output 40-amp alternator keeps its cool as it keeps plenty of juice flowing to power the sophisticated marine electronics, pumps, lights and accessories found on today’s fishing and family boats. To learn more about the new Suzuki DF100 for 2009 — contact Suzuki Marine at (714) 996-7040 or visit Suzuki’s informative website at www.suzuki.com.

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ATV’s and UTV’s (Polaris, Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kubota, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Bush Hog, and more). The PowerLoader can even be adapted to “Custom Golf Cart” style hunting vehicles, ex. - Bad Boy, Club Car, Stealth, EZGO. The Model PL250 PowerLoader is constructed of aircraft aluminum and has a 350lb. capacity The PowerLoader’s patented loading cradle telescopes out for easy loading and then retracts for a secure ride home. Look for the PowerLoader in major catalogs and retail shops. Suggested retail for the PowerLoader is $299.00. For more information, call 866-649-1918, Ext 137 or visit www.GreatDayInc.com.

law enforcement and military shotguns, rifles and accessories, please call your local Mossberg dealer or visit www.mossberg.com.

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School”, who will be demonstrating for The Law Enforcement and Military community shooting tips and instruction, focused upon HIGH PERFORMANCE SHOOTING. Matt Morrett – HS Pro-Staffer and five time World Champion Turkey caller will blog us through the fall hunting season starting in August; with keen insights so you can start preparing for the season. Matt will be providing inside tips throughout the season. Other contributor’s to the website will be: “Team Medalist” hunting pro staff as seen on TV and DVD - Xtreme Outdoors/ “Huntin’ Hard”, Hunter’s Specialties, Broadside Adventures, Team Backwoods – “Excalibur’s Huntin’ The Backwoods”, “All Outdoors with Alan Probst”, “Innerloc’s Out-There” and Five time UFC champion and Hunting host Tim Sylvia in “TST Outdoors”. As a special feature on the site, Trent Ewing, a high school student will keeps us up to date with the life style of today’s teens. Medalist has been in business since 1898, and has been an important supplier for troops in the military dating back to World War I. Medalist supplies performance apparel for the athletic, hunting, winter sports, outdoors, law enforcement, and military markets in over 2300 retail locations throughout the world. Medalist’s products have been tested under the most extreme of conditions over the years, including use in outer-space by the NASA Space Shuttle Crew. Medalist offers a wide range of products, for more information on Medalist Performance Sports Apparel call 1-800543-8952, or visit the company’s website: www.medalist.com.

Plano Guards Your Handguns The 700 Series Gun Guard Pistol Cases protect your guns with a heavy-duty 600D exterior. Each pistol case has thick foam padding, full length zippers and a Dring for easy hanging. The 700 Series cases are all light grey and retail for $7.99$14.99. For more information contact Douglas Riewski at driewski@planomolding.com or visit www.planomolding.com.

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Fishbites Goes to Xtreme Carr Specialty Baits, Inc (makers of Fishbites) has released a new line scented

lures called Fishbites Xtreme Scent Release (Fishbites Xtreme). Made from Fishbites’ propriety Hydro-Gel, Fishbites Xtreme lures holds almost all of their powerful flavor/scents inside the body of the lure until it hits the water. In short, it’s “the scent that melts in the water, not on your hands®”.

These water-based, biodegradable plastic lures are taking the US-based Fishbites brand to a whole new level of technological achievement in the industry. There’s no longer a need to mess with stink baits or lures suspended in leaky tubs of foul smelling juice. Fishbites gives your hook Xtreme scent without extreme stink! Experience the Xtreme Scent, Xteme Site, Xtreme Action and Xtreme Bite of Fishites Xtreme Scent Release lures. Available now in both Freshwater and Saltwater varieties at your favorite tackle retailer. Freshwater and Saltwater shapes include: 5” Jerkbait, 3.5” Shrimp (headless), 3” Paddle Tail, 5” XR Fatty Jr (senko-style worm) & 6” Finesse worm. Carr Specialty Baits, Inc. St. Augustine, FL 32084 - ww.fishbites.com – 1-877840-2248.

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outdoorsmen, and women, nationwide as well other worldwide geographic locations including Europe and Australia. Camospace.com is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, worldwide and is monitored to retain the concept and content in line. By keeping the site also family friendly, we attract the younger hunters and provide them with a safe and warm community to interact and learn more about what they love the most. CamoSpace.

Bushnell Elite 4200 Firefly Scope

USHNELL HAS BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR A very long time. David P. Bushnell founded the company in 1948 while with the U.S. occupation forces in Japan after WWII. Since that time, the company has grown immensely. Today, they make great sporting optics of all kinds. The Elite 4200 Scope is one of the best. The one I am testing now is on a new Kimber 8400 Sonora rifle (more on the new Kimber rifle in a future Shoot This! article) that I am putting through the wringer. This scope is a 2.5-10x40 and has the Bushnell Firefly reticle, a glowin-the-dark reticle that you “charge up” by shining a light into

PHOTO COURTESY OF BUSHNELL

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The “Seven” Bull

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PHOTO COURTESY OF JACKIE SESSIONS

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Scent Control

AST MONTH, I WROTE ABOUT SCOUTING AND how important it is to play the wind when finding your stand site.

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BUCK—BANDERA COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—UVALDE COUNTY, TEXAS

BUCK—MEDINA, TEXAS

BUCK—MILLS COUNTY, TEXAS

Patty Nations of Round Rock, Texas, shot this Hill Country 9-point deer on the opening of youth season, scoring a 125. He was hunting with a great partner, his dad, on Portwood Ranch in Mills County.

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

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

(Please include “Trophy Fever” in the subject.)

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From Bad to Worse

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Kayaking Causes Bald Spots

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Deep Floaters

rear propeller. The added vibration and flash of the spinning propeller blades sends a signal to predator. When any of these type lures are going to be fished with the egg weight resting on the bottom, go with a bit heavier weight than anticipated in order to pass through the mid-depths quickly. When using a slow sink, a lighter egg weight gives more of a “look” opportunity for predators. Leader length should be in the 2-3 feet range; 60- to 100-pound mono or 40- to 80-pound wire work well. Standard egg weights can be used, but Quick Change Slip Leads give a weight adjustability without having to cut and re-tie your main line to the swivel. Using a loop knot connection from leader to lure gives a greater range of motion, translating into a more natural lure movement. Fishing this bait presentation in the mid-

depths is done with the slip weight against the swivel. While on the sink or at depth, a slow to medium retrieve with added rod tip twitches will activate your floater/swimmer. When fished with the weight resting on the bottom, start with the swivel knot against the weight. Let line out slowly and your floater will swim up and away from the swivel. See the illustration. Pauses in the drift along with periodic rod tip twitches will bring the strikes you are looking for. After floating away for 5-7 feet, stop the “out and up” and begin a retrieve at slow to medium speed, along with more periodic rod tip twitches. This will give your lure an erratic diving and swimming motion as your leader works its way back to the swivel knot, contacting the slip weight. When you feel the added weight as the swivel comes tight against the slip weight, twitch in place for a minute or so, then repeat the drift back and retrieve procedure. If you want added attraction for your slip weight, carefully scrape its surface lightly with a knife. This flash also gets the visual attention of the locals down there. This scrape to flash is not a good idea in the mid-depths to the near surface area. Eyes attracted to the flash in that area of the water column might also come with a line-cutting set of dentures. A dulled surface to any lead weight can be achieved by placing them in a zip-seal bag filled with heavily salted tap water. Place the

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ILLUSTRATION BY PATRICK LEMIRE

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Topping It Off

ALL BASS FISHING IS FUN. THE FISH ARE MORE active, temperatures are bearable, and there are fewer idiots people on personal watercraft and in ski boats stirring up the lakes. This time of year can be one of the best to catch a lot of fish, and do so in a manner that is more fun than Carolina-rigging a soft plastic near a brush pile in 40 feet of water. Don’t get me wrong, I have multiple soft plastic baits tied on and fish them about 90 percent of the time, but in autumn, I put down the worms and pick up a topwater plug. Most of the year, topwaters are reserved for early and late in the day around vegetation, but now they will also work in open water as bass start schooling to gorge before winter sets in. While a topwater plug will catch bass straight from the box, a few simple modifications will make it even more effective. The biggest problem with topwater baits has nothing to do with the bait itself, but is a direct fault of the user. What is the first thing you do when a big bass swirls on your topwater? Most of us rare back to set the hook and yank the bait right out of the fish’s mouth. I know I typically don’t have the patience to wait until I feel the fish on the line before setting the hook. While this will never change, there is one thing that we can do to help with the issue. Most topwater plugs ride with the tail end slightly deeper in the water than the nose, but just a little bit. To increase hook-ups, we need to make the tail ride as deep in the water as possible while keeping the nose up so that the bait doesn’t lose its action. The first step to doing this is replacing the rear

ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL BRADSHAW

treble with a larger, heavier one. This not only weighs the back end down slightly (not much, but a little bit helps), but the larger treble also holds on better once the bass hits. The next step to get the backend down is to add weight internally or externally. The easiest way is to get a package of Storm SuspenDots and add them to the tail of the lure. SuspenDots are a great thing to have on hand at all times because they can be used to make crankbaits dive deeper and jerkbaits suspend, depending on where you apply them to the bait. If you put them on the tail of a topwater plug, the rear end will sit lower in the water with the plug in an almost vertical position. This will make it move slower but will increase hook-ups. Another way to make a topwater sit lower in the back and also make it more effective for open water use is to add a trailer bait on a short leader. This method is especially effective in the fall when bass are schooling over humps and points. Sometimes, a bass

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will come up and miss the topwater bait but will more easily take the trailer bait a few feet behind and below it. To add a trailer bait, first remove the rear treble from a popper or walk-the-dog type topwater, but leave the split ring. Replace the treble with a short fluorocarbon leader. At the other end of the leader, tie on a Mann’s Little George tail spinner. This bait has been around for a while and is just a hunk of lead with a spinner, but it works exceptionally well in this situation. If you don’t have a Little George, use a 1/8-ounce jighead with a white grub body. I prefer using a popping topwater plug for its action, and a short leader (less than 3 feet) to make it easier to cast. It is also a good idea to replace the front treble with a larger one since the lure will have only one. Topwater baits are some of the most popular on the market. With a few changes, they can also be the most reliable. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at freshrigs@fishgame.com.

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Don’t Be a Slob Hunter

HAVE SEEN IT. YOU HAVE SEEN IT. YOU DON’T LIKE it, and neither do I—litter. Litter, as in shotgun hulls; dove feathers matting the ground; beer and soft drink cans and bottles, and snack wrappers strewn about. Sadly, you might know the persons who left them there, which brings such instances closer to home, and perhaps even intensifies the amount of disgust you have when you see it. If it doesn’t, well, Houston, we have a problem. All of us who hunt dove, quail, duck, and geese know how wonderful it is to arrive at a sunflower field, lake, stock tank, prairie, or woodland and be engulfed by the nature it yields. Unfortunately, not all of us who arrive at such places leave it as we find it. On afternoon last September, following a dove hunt in Palo Pinto County northwest of Fort Worth, I left the field in my pickup truck by following the main road through the pasture to a double iron gate, where I had heard numerous shots fired earlier. Ahead of me was a Suburban. It stopped and a youngster of about 12 years old got out and opened the gate. His father drove the suburban through, and I waved at the youngster to let him know that I would take care of closing the gate. Nothing unusual about that. Something

that was somewhat unusual but definitely should not have been unusual was what the youngster did next. He held up the palm of his hand, asking me to wait a moment, and then opened the passenger door of the suburban to say something to those inside. Within a few seconds, two adults and a young girl got out of the suburban and began picking up trash apparently left on the ground at the gate by other dove hunters who had left earlier. I quickly exited my truck and joined them with a plastic garbage bag I had had in my truck’s storage box. We shared the same thoughts about the behavior of some hunters, and the bad taste they often leave with landowners who have allowed them onto their lands to enjoy hunting while destroying hunter-landowner relationships. I don’t want to say this is a major cause of the rising cost in hunting lease fees in Texas, because it is not, but ask yourself if you think poor hunter-landowner relationships brought about by some hunters’ lack of respect for private or public land doesn’t enter into the equation. I can’t tell you how appreciative I was of the adults and children in the Suburban who stopped ahead of me on that Palo Pinto County ranch last year. When I think about it, should I really have been all that appreciative? Should it really have been such a wonderful change from the norm? No, it should not. Rather than being something unusual, something so admirable, it should have been nothing more than a natural thing for someone to do. The fact that a young boy not only had been taught how to be a responsible hunter, but also taught the importance of reacting to that teaching, is

what really grabbed my attention. Unfortunately, his reactions and mine should have been the norm and not something of special significance. It doesn’t take much to clean up your act. All it takes in many cases, such as how you leave a dove field, is a plastic garbage bag and the will to use it. If I knew someone who didn’t mind arriving at a dove field, choosing a place to hunt where other hunters have left their litter on the ground, and thought nothing about it, I would not want to hunt with them. It is just as easy to take your trash out with you when you leave as it is bring it in with you in the first place. Cleaning dove or any other game birds next to a gate or other area that is used by a landowner or other hunters is just as irresponsible as not picking up spent shotgun shells, cans, bottles, and any other trash you produce while hunting. It takes some hunters only a few hours to drive to a place they choose to hunt. How long does it take them to destroy the image of all of us hunters? Only as long as it takes them to leave their trash on the ground. Reconsider the young boy who stepped from the suburban to open the gate in Palo Pinto County, and suddenly realized that trash had been left on the ground by other hunters. If that had been your son, would he have been taught to do the same thing? E-mail Bob Hood at hunting@fishgame.com.

SALTWATER BAITS & RIGS Continued from Page N32 sealed bag in the sun for a couple of days. To fish this Deep Floater rig, do a “stop cast.” That is, thumb the spool just before your presentation enters the water. What this N34

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does is straighten your line, weight, leader, and lure, reducing the chance of your presentation entering the water in a tangled mess. On the sink, let your bait sink through an arc while keeping in touch with the sinker that is against the swivel knot. Work the lure

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while it is on the sink with various rod tip twitches, giving an erratic swim motion. E-mail Patrick Lemire at saltrigs@fishgame.com.

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Dove Guns & Loads

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The best gauge for children to learn with is not the .410.

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

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Bassing Blunders

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Skeeter Owners Cash In at Fork More than 1600 Skeeter Boat owners from around the country competed in the 15th

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The Road Runner Story

VER THE LAST 50 YEARS, CRAPPIE LURES have been made, designed, hand-tied, and used more than you can ever imagine. Tube jigs, hair jigs, metal jigs, and lead jigs by the thousands have been used to target crappies. Just about any type of panfish or crappie lure designed to look like a baitfish, minnow, or some type of bug will catch a fish with the right presentation every time. Which brings me to my favorite crappie lure: the Blakemore Road Runner.

Bert Hall designed the Road Runner in 1958. The lure had a horsehead-shaped head with an Indiana spinner blade coming off the bottom, with a chenille body and marabou tail. Bert’s design attracted fisherman and game fish all over the country. He was in the automotive parts business out of Forsyth, Missouri at the time, and had two trucks that serviced tackle shops all over southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma under the name Hall Tackle Company. Hall Tackle Company was actually a jobber that serviced tackle shops and all 15 or 20 Wal-Mart stores with all kinds of tackle including minnow buckets, hooks, and weights. Jim Blakemore started Blakemore Lure Company over in Shelbyville, Tennessee. His

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company made trout flies, so to be closer to the trout market, he moved his company to Lebanon, Missouri. In the spring of 1969, Blakemore was killed in a fatal car wreck in Longview, Texas. Shortly after his death, Joe Hall, the son of Bert Hall, purchased Blakemore Lure Company and moved the operation to Branson, Missouri, a few years later. Joe Hall, a natural born jet-setter in his time, was young and eager to make his dad’s lure the most productive fishing lure in the world. Joe started producing the Road Runner in Branson and had several families that hand-tied the lures for years. Today, the marabou Road Runner

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Computer Cats

necessary appliances in American homes and communication is simplified by ever more confounding cell phones, social etiquette is trashed and sacrificed by narcissism. Meanwhile, Bill Gates has surpassed Alexander Graham Bell on the list of household names and noteworthy inventors. The whole mess is disgusting to folks that value manners and have the wherewithal that society has moved closer through communication but further apart in personal interaction. With the price of gas, and watching some idiot walk through a crowd while yakking at full volume on a blue tube, it’s easy to saddle up and head for the hills – or the desert. Parts of the Chihuahua Desert are more remote than the wilderness areas in the Rocky Mountains. Much of the desert isn’t fit for man or beast. There are few streams and only the occasional spring. Windmills provide most of the water sustaining livestock and the sparse rains make agriculture almost impossible. So there aren’t many people, or telephone poles, or other man-made contrivances littering the landscape. This is the country of wide-open vistas where distant mountains serve as landmarks. Best of all, in the corner of the world

that I enjoy, there is no cell phone service. And though the hacienda has a generator to provide electricity, it can easily become a custom to forego the noisy convenience. However, paradise comes at a price and demands maintenance. In this instance, something was killing an inordinate number of deer. In six weeks, the Mexican cowboys found six dead deer. The first thought was that a mountain lion had moved into the territory. So, we began our search. Each time a deer was killed, several of us inspected the site and walked in great circles around the area. There were always a few leg bones, some chewed up ribs, maybe the backbone and skull, and that was about all. Lions generally bite on the back of the neck or the throat. In some cases, they reach with a forepaw for a nose-hold and then break the victim’s neck. Then they eat their fill and cache the rest of the carcass. A big cat may come back once to feed but normally doesn’t come back a second time. It seems that they prefer fresh meat and would rather kill again. This often provides scavenging coyotes an opportunity for a cheap meal. But, the kills that we were finding seemed fresh and there

MISTER CRAPPIE Continued from Page N37 remains one of the most popular lures on the market. The bait will catch any game fish swimming anywhere in the world. The 1/8ounce white marabou Road Runner is the No. 1 seller for Blakemore Lure Company to this day. Every spring, the white bass make a big spawning run up rivers and creeks all over Texas. You can actually know when this occurs by visiting local tackle stores and noting when they sell out of Road Runners. After the white bass run, the same lure is used to catch crappie. For the last 21 years, I have been a part of the Blakemore Lure Company pro team, along with the great Jimmy Houston. Jimmy N38

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has been promoting Road Runners going on 30 years on TV. Do you remember the old Blakemore commercial where the guy was sitting in his boat and there was a big explosion all around him? I think that was the greatest commercial ever on television. It aired every Saturday on the Jimmy Houston show. Blakemore Lure Company is a big part in my life. I have had the opportunity to work side by side with Joe Hall and his staff to design and field-test bait variants. I had the pleasure helping design the Road Runner Branson Bug and the New Road Runner Crappie Thunder. In 2004, Joe Hall sold Blakemore Lure Company to Wes Campbell, the owner of True Turn Hook Company in Wetumpka,

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Alabama. Joe and Wes Have something in common: Joe’s dad invented the Road Runner, and Wes’s dad, John Wesley Campbell, invented the True Turn Hook. Whatever the company ownership, the Road Runner will never go away—it’s here to stay. And as Jimmy Houston always says: “You can’t fish a Road Runner wrong as long as you fish it slow.”

E-mail Wally Marshall at mrcrappie@fishgame.com. Visit his website at www.mrcrappie.com.

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was no indication they’d ever been cached by a lion. There was the possibility that it was a young cat and coyotes were chasing it from the kill, or cleaning up the carcass as soon as the lion left, but none of us could find any sign relative to a major feline. Armed with our minimal knowledge concerning mountain lion behavior, the ranch manager set traps where the big cats had been caught in the past. But several weeks and numerous deer kills later we needed more of a plan. The nearest lion hunter I knew was 2,000 miles away in Montana and the last advice he’d wasted on me wasn’t going to help. “Just about the time you think you know how mountain lions behave and everything about what a mountain lion will or won’t do they change the rules.” Likewise, the landowner called the local mountain lion expert and didn’t get anymore useful insights. The drought conditions and summer heat weren’t conducive for trapping, but we tried to take the advantage. There were two water troughs within several hundred yards of three of the deer kills. We soaked the ground around the troughs in hopes to pick up more tracks. Then we scoured the ground and cow trails for 100 yards in every direction. But still the only tracks we found belonged to coyotes, deer, and raccoons. Then one of the cowboys found a young doe dead in an arroyo. The animal had been run across the pasture, down a steep bank, and then out on to the round river rocks. The race was over when the deer hit the rocks. The predators pulled down the prey and disemboweled it. The gravel bed showed the story as plain as a Sunday newspaper. The deer’s body was a short distance from the eaten gut pile and though the neck and ribs were picked clean, there was still some meat left on one hindquarter. The kill wasn’t a day old, and this was the same way I’d seen wolves kill a cow elk up the East Fork of the Wind River in Wyoming. It was amazing to think that coyotes had become this proficient at killing deer. Of the six deer that were found, the teeth all showed that they were two and three-years old. One of the three-year olds was a buck and judging from its hair and the leftovers of the gut pile, the deer were all in good shape. We had to do something. So, the next move was to dust off the traps I used as a kid. Of course, in those days I was trapping for

hides and wanted raccoons. I’d never set traps looking to catch coyotes. My sets consisted of a slice of bacon dangling from a limb over a trap. It worked for coons but I had no idea if it would work in this instance. I realized that every successful coyote trapper used urine as a sex attractant and I wished I had something similar for mountain lions. Cats make scrapes to attract other cats. That was one of the things I’d had enough sense to look for when looking for lion sign, but this was the wrong time of the year. We were going to need some luck. For the next week, we set our traps and checked them every morning - nothing. We also drove at night spotlighting and shining deep into arroyos, across hillsides, and covering miles of country. Everyday we kept looking for tracks and any telltale sign that a mountain lion was prowling about, but we found nothing. It was aggravating that the traps went untouched, but then at the end of the week the landowner queried me for my thoughts. “Well, we’ve been laying so much scent around walking these arroyos and checking our tracks that most predators are wary. Then

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we’ve been out all night driving pastures and I reckon we’ve gotten in the way of whatever is killing deer. We’re not catching or killing what we’re after, but I think we’ve slowed its ability to kill deer. My only suggestion is to keep up what we’re doing and try the trapping some more when it’s the right season to trap.” Just then, the radio crackled and the landowner looked away to answer the call. Spanish expletives were exchanged, and in a moment, the landowner glanced back at me. “The cowboys found another dead deer at a different ranch.” I kicked my toe in the dirt and cussed. Then I scratched the stubble on my chin and confessed. “I’m going to Google mountain lions and then I’m going on the internet to find somebody that has the right bait to trap lions and coyotes.” I dug my toe into the ground harder and spit. “But dadgum I hate computers!” E-mail Herman W. Brune at wilderness@fishgame.com.

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The Crystal Fishing Ball

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I am going to do some work back here on my computer and then nap.” Me? Me, sit up front? Ugh. I will be a wreck. At least in the back, I could pretend that I am asleep. I could close my eyes when I can’t stand to watch when he passes a car. Oh, suck it up. You know that he does a good job. “Okay, Max, now watch out when you back out here. Parking lots are the most dangerous places. A lot of accidents happen just right here.” “Mo-om! Please!” “Okay, okay, but I am just saying. Yikes! Watch that guy. He is going to back up. Oh, and look out for that car over there. He is pulling in really fast. Now, Max, just because it says 70 miles per hour does not mean that you have to go that fast. These two-lane highways can be

really dangerous. Just take your time—and no passing!” “No passing? Why not? Mom, there might be a need to pass, sometime. Hey, Mom, look—no hands!” “Maximilian! You put your hands back on that wheel right now! Oh, and did I mention that these small towns look for out-of-

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towners to speed through their town? So, better keep a keen lookout for the change in speed limit signs.” “Sweetie, let the poor guy drive,” David said from the back seat. “Look! It is the Speedy Stop! We made it! Max, you did an outstanding job! Really! I wasn’t even too nervous when you swerved on that bridge over Port Lavaca.” “Mom! I did not! What are you talking about? I never swerved or anything close to swerving. I don’t know why you would say something like that… swerving. I do not swerve. I have never swerved. Why would I have swerved? I really do not think there was any swerving going on…” “Max? Yoo-hoo! Gotcha! That was payback for that hands off the wheel thing.” “Well, that is not funny, Mom. Not funny at all.” “Smell that gulf air!” David interrupted. “That is what I am talking about. Let’s get the truck unpack and get to our appointed spot on the deck. Hey there, Peter! How is the fishing?” “Hi, guys! Welcome! It is suppose to be great. Wind’s down, surf is down, tides… well, I don’t know what the tides are. I am still confused how to read those darn reports. Never did understand that two tides deal.” Tides, shmides; wind, shwind; surf, turf… don’t ya’ll know all this talking about wind, surf, weather, and rain doesn’t make a ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL WATSON

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mound of fish of difference to the outcome. It will be what it will be. Que Sera Sera. Up before light, tooling down the road to launch at the Fishing Center, we tear for the jetties to get to Peter’s favorite spot. So, the crystal fishing-ball says that all the reds are at the jetties. I don’t care where I catch one of those big fish, I just want a big fish. “Crap, that guy is in my spot!” Peter complained. “I guess we will have to go around the other side.” What is going on? A beautiful sunny day, not too much wind, but holy vomit, the boat seems to be doing a lot of rocking—or do they call that pitching? Whatever they call it, I don’t feel so good. “Baby, are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Maybe if I had not drank my dinner last night I wouldn’t be having this dilemma. But, jeez, after being on the edge of my seat for 80 miles, I had to soothe my nerves somehow. But don’t admit it here. They will think you are a wimp. “What do you mean? I am fine. Never better. Beautiful day, lots of fish to catch. Now, let’s see, where did I put my rod…” Don’t look at the waves. Stop it! Why are you looking at the surf! Not good… getting worse… you moron… don’t think about throwing up… gosh, I hate this feeling. I will do anything not to up-chuck. I would never make it as a bulimic. What kind of fisherman are you? “Baby, you are sort of green. I think you are seasick.” “Me? Seasick? Heck, no. I don’t get seasick. So, where are these bull reds anyway?” My body is going limp—help me! I can’t hold my rod up. I feel numb, dizzy. Oh, my stomach! Uck. Must have been that protein bar this morning. Oh, Lord have mercy, it is all the classic signs—multiple sclerosis! I have been stricken with MS. That’s it. I am doomed. Disability insurance! Do I have long-term disability? I think I missed that day at work when we signed up for that. Just great! I am too young. What will David say? Will he still love me? “Peter, I think we had better get Mari to the beach over there; she is looking pretty ragged. Sweetie, let go of your rod.” Your nerves die! That’s what happens, you know. Something about the nerves and the spinal cord not making contact with the brain. Nothing makes a connection. My life as I know it is over. I will never be the same.

I wonder if they have a fishing tournament for MS victims… “Sweetie, here, let me help you over to the beach. The only way you get over this is to get to land. I know, it has happened to me. I remember when we were fishing tarpon and I could not have cared less. There I was, hanging over the cooler…” What did he say? I can’t hear him. He sounds all muffled. And my legs—my legs are shaky and all tingly. Man, this MS disease strikes without any warning. “Here, lay down on these life preservers and take a little nap. We will fish right over there. If you need anything, just give us a wave.” Wave—don’t mention waves! You might as well say, “heave-ho.” Okay, well, maybe just a quick nap. If it would just quit spinning inside my eyelids. “Hey, Baby, we are back. How you feeling?” It is a miracle! The symptoms are gone! I am cured! “Great! Must have been that protein bar I had this morning. Catch anything?” “Not even a hardhead. I don’t under-

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stand it. No wind, no rain, no fish. All indications pointed to an outstanding day at sea… but nothing.” That darn crystal fishing ball… defective again! And still no big bull red. E-mail Mari Henry at gurlz@fishgame.com.

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Pineapple Chipotle Pulled Pork

Pit Method: Place roast in preheated pit fat side up (using a combo of pecan and hickory wood) at 250-275 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 3 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from pit and set aside to cool slightly. Gas Grill Method: Place over low indirect fire, fat side up, and keep covered, cooking at 275-300 degrees for 3- to 3-1/2 hours, turning once. Transfer to foil, seal tightly, and cook for 3 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from grill and set aside to cool slightly. Oven Method: Place in preheated oven fat side up in a foil lined baking dish at 300 degrees for 4 hours uncovered, then wrap in foil and continue cooking for 2-1/2 more hours or until the roast is very tender and will pull apart easily with a fork. Remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly. Regardless of cooking method, open the foil and pour all of the meat juices into a bowl (be careful, the liquid is very hot), then transfer the bowl to the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the fat to separate. You can speed this process in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Scrape the fat off the top and discard. Pour the reserved juices into a saucepot over medium heat, then add the Pineapple Chipotle Grilling Sauce, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of cider vinegar. Set aside for the next step.

S P O N S O R E D BY:

Using two forks, or your hands (with kitchen latex gloves), shred the pork into bite-sized pieces, removing any excess fat from the roast as you go. Add the shredded meat to the Pineapple Chipotle Barbeque Grilling Sauce, brown sugar, and vinegar mixture, then serve hot on buns with Texas N42

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Style Creamy Coleslaw (recipe follows) and your favorite sweet or dill pickles. *Available at www.thetexas gourmet.com and at all Texas Academy Sports and Outdoors Stores.

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gar, jelly, salt, and pepper and whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Pour the seasoned vinegar mixture over the cabbage mixture and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and mustard and stir to combine. Add the mayonnaise mixture to the coleslaw and toss to thoroughly combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight before serving.

Reader Tip

TF&G reader Clyde Townsend of Rockport, Texas, wrote in with the following tip:

Refried Fish

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ing oil. Refry just enough to crisp up the outside. The inside will warm by the time the outside gets crispy, usually in a couple of minutes. The results are at least as good as when first cooked, maybe better. 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

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Charles Smith 25-inch Trout ors Coastal Bend Outdo

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of a man who develops the notion that catching the man-eating shark will revolutionize his sagging, pathetic life. This tale shares much with Moby Dick. Both Captains succumb to revenge against the fish for the pain they have inflicted upon the poor creatures that are just following their genetic programming. Some psychoanalysts see all of this as some sort of search for the meaning of life. Contraire, I say; most big fish are not captured and suitably documented because the angler is simply unprepared for the remote possibility of catching one. Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and possibly superior genes. In order to reach large sizes, fish must be very good at escaping predation by others, and at finding food. They must resist diseases, accidents, and just the plain bad luck of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no scientific proof to back up the claim that fish have memory, but big fish must recognize danger and avoid it. That includes being caught by a fisherman. However, sooner or later, they will make a mistake and bite something that has a hook in it. That mistake is critical to their futures, and they will realize the drama before the angler has a clue. They will seize the moment and take control of the situation.

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Big fish will employ every tactic in their book-of-life experiences to escape. This is the part where angler abilities come into play. Hooking a large fish is mostly a matter of luck, a being at the right place at the right time scenario. But, landing a big one successfully is determined by the skill and preparedness of the individual. Here are a few tips to help make it happen when Moby Dick is on the other end of the line: - Use quality equipment that has the ability to handle and subdue large fish. Snoopy rods won’t cut it. Big fish are unforgiving and will destroy cheap fishing rods and reels before escaping. Better to be over than under gunned. - Become a nick and knot nut. Constantly check fishing line for nicks, dents, or frays and retie as necessary. Learn to tie perfect knots and constantly check them for wear and tear. - Have a big fish mindset. Every cast has the potential to catch a “big one.” Be prepared mentally so the fish does not gain the advantage before it is too late. This is probably the most important aspect of catching and landing a big fish, and also the most difficult. Catching a big fish that ultimately gets away has been the basis for many great fishing yarns. Maybe that is not a bad thing story-wise, but it is a lot more exciting to land a big fish. Being prepared in advance is the key to being able to tell the happy story about the “big one” that did not get away.

Big fish get that way because they have superior survival abilities and genes.

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“

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E-mail Barry St. Clair at bstclair@fishgame.com.

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BUCK—KERR COUNTY, TEXAS

REDFISH—KEITH LAKE, TEXAS

BLACK DRUM—BRAZORIA COUNTY, TEXAS

David Noble, age 6, of Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas, shot Myles L., 9 years old, of Beaumont, Texas, landhis first deer on his grandfather’s ranch in Kerr ed this monster redfish in Keith Lake, using a County. The 8-point buck was taken at 120 yards 606 Zebco. with his dad, Joe’s Ruger .270.

Brock Bozeman of Canton, Texas, caught and released his first black drum while fishing with his dad and uncle Gary Bozeman, near San Luis Pass County Park. The drum was nearly 33 inches.

BASS—LAKE NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS

JACK CREVALLE—PORT O’CONNOR, TEXAS

BASS—TEXAS

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO:

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

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

Note: All non-digital photos submitted become the property of Texas Fish & Game and will not be returned. TF&G makes no guarantee when or if any submitted photo will be published. A L M A N A C / T E X A S

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TrophyQuest

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‘So Many Fish My Arms Hurt’

HE SUCCESS OF A FISHING TRIP IS OFTENmeasured by how many fish were caught—but how about the fishing was so great that your arms hurt the next day. That’s how Karen Allee, wife of Morris Allee, described the results of their saltwater Trophy Quest trip. Morris was the lucky Texas Fish & Game subscriber who had his name drawn for a fishing trip to Baffin Bay on the lower Texas coast this past June. He and Karen were fishing with Capt. Joe Gonzales of JCG Outfitters. “We caught 16 keeper trout, averaging about 18 inches in length, but the catching was non-stop,” said Morris. He estimates he and his wife must have caught 50-60 speck-

by Tom Behrens led trout, most of them 14-15 inches long. The fish were released back into the bay. “They were not legal, but they were a lot of fun to catch,” said Morris. Karen, who is not a stranger to a fishing rod, said she actually got tired of fishing and her arms hurt from the non-stop action: “I have been fishing all of my life and I have

HOW YOU CAN WIN! TEXAS FISH & GAME HAS GIVEN AWAY OVER 200 TROPHY QUEST TRIPS. TROPHY QUEST is free guided hunting or fishing trips within the state of PHOTO COURTESY JOE GONZALES

never had that problem before. Every time I threw my pole out, I had a bite or got a fish in the boat.” After spending the night at the Holiday Inn SunSpree at North Padre Island, the Allee’s met Gonzales at 6:00 a.m. at the boat ramp. The duo started the day fishing with live croaker. “I had 10 dozen croaker with us, and by 11:00 a.m., we ran out of bait,” said Gonzales. “I switched the rods to fish with Berkley Gulp! and continued to catch trout.” They began their day Karen and Morris Allee with their catch of speckled trout from Baffin Bay. anchored over some scattered rock, fishing the croaker. Capt. Gonzales thinks the fish was a big They then switched to a drift along the south redfish: “I had been catching a lot of redfish shoreline. Karen had the big fish story of the day, or in the area. We were joking with her that the at least, she thinks it was a big fish. The fish fish was probably one of the tagged CCA redfish, or we could put up wanted posters of snapped 30-pound-test braided line. “I saw the fish running across the top of a pink cork, if anybody had seen it.” The water and it hit my line, took my cork under. Allee’s are members of CCA. She can always say that the one that got I started reeling in and then I realized it away was huge. After all, it broke 30-poundbroke the line,” she said. “She lost it and the cork didn’t come up,” test braided line. Morris said. “Then the cork came up right SPECIES: speckled trout beside the boat and it started taking off. You LOCATION: Baffin Bay could see the cork on the top of the water. GUIDE: Capt. Joe Gonzales, 361-537We were trying to follow it using the trolling 8942, www.jcgoutfitters.com motor. All of a sudden, it disappeared and it FOOD, DRINK & LODGING: Holiday Inn Sundidn’t come up again. We continued to fish Spree, Corpus Christi-North Padre Island, in the area for about another hour, but never 361-949-8041 saw the cork again.”

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 T E X A S

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 F i s h

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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WATERFOWL INSET PHOTO BY CHESTER MOORE

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by Chester Moore T E X A S

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oys, you’re looking at the fastest duck in the world. Ain’t nothing faster than a bluewinged teal.” As the tiny acrobats flew overhead, their wings cutting the air like miniature jets as the sun gently peeked over the horizon, it seemed as if that statement was dead-on. After all, the man saying it was the manager of a huge hunting club and had better than 30 years experience guiding duck hunters. It was still a few more minutes before shooting time, and as tends to happen in duck blinds, a debate ensued. One of the other hunters yelled out, “A mallard is actually the fastest. They just don’t look as fast because they are so big.” “You must be crazy,” replied the guide. “Actually, you’re both wrong,” I said with a smile. “The canvasback is the fastest of all waterfowl and can fly up to 72 mph.” About that time, hundreds of teal started coming in, so we opted to continue our debate later and prepare for what looked to be a quick limit of birds. When I got home, I did a bit of research and found out we were all wrong. While not technically a duck, mergansers do fall under the umbrella of “waterfowl,” and according to the Audubon Encyclopedia of North American birds, a red-breasted merganser was clocked at 100 mph while being chased by an airplane. That friendly exchange got me to thinking about the many myths and misconceptions concerning waterfowl and waterfowl hunting. Among all of North America’s hunted game, duck and geese are probably the most misunderstood due to their migratory nature and the many factors that affect their life cycle and populations. Let’s stay with the flight speed issue for a minute, because the facts are much different from perception. Teal, which many hunters think are the fastest flyers, are actually among the slowest with an average flight speed of only 30 mph. “It’s the dipping, darting, and diving of a flock as it strafes the decoys that make some hunters go all thumbs as the tiny birds rocket by,” said Mike Checkett, biologist with Duck Unlimited (DU). When duck have a strong tailwind in their 52

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The mystique of far-ranging wild ducks often spawns myths about their behavior and biology.

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favor, the speed of migration flights can be more than impressive. Mallards, which fly around 50 mph, with a 50 mph tailwind can travel up to 600 miles in six hours. If you ever thought, Wow, these duck weren’t here yesterday. They must’ve just showed up, they probably did. And they could have come from as far away as Kansas overnight. For many years, the myth abounded that a duck’s quack does not echo. That myth got put to bed in 2003 when an acoustic expert Trevor Cox at the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, performed a series of experiments using a duck named “Daisy.” Cox first recorded Daisy’s quack in a special acoustic-damping chamber with jagged surfaces that absorb rather than reflect sound waves. He then moved Daisy to a reverberation chamber with cathedral-like acoustics. The tests revealed that a duck’s quack definitely echoes, just like any other sound, but perhaps not as noticeably. “A duck quacks rather quietly, so the sound coming back is at a low level and might not be heard,” Cox told the UK Press Association. “Also, a quack is a fading sound. It has a gradual decay, so it’s hard to tell the difference between the actual quack and the echo. That’s especially true if you haven’t previously heard what it sounds like with no reflections.” Texas waterfowling lore is replete with a number of other myths and misconceptions. Take, for example, mottled duck, which many hunters believe nest in and inhabit only coastal counties. Last year, on two different hunts at Choke Canyon reservoir I shot mottled duck and saw dozens of them in the backwaters of the main lake and in the river north of the reservoir. “We see mottled ducks around here yeararound, which is something a lot of people find unusual,” said Shawn DeCento of San Antonio, who owns property in Three

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Rivers and hunts Choke Canyon extensively. Speaking of mottled duck, there is a common misconception that they along with wood duck are the only truly native species in the Lone Star State. The truth is, we also have an expanding population of black-bellied and fulvous whistling duck. Both are often tagged “Mexican whistler” or “squealer,” and have some unique attributes. The first is they are much more goose-like than a typical duck. They have long necks, fly in a V-formation, and both males and females sport the same plumage. In fact, some zoologists say these “ducks” are really geese. Other species nest in some areas of Texas, albeit in low numbers. These include mallard, some of which nest on the playa lakes in the Panhandle and the small lakes of the LBJ National Grasslands; blue-winged teal; and shoveler. We even have resident wild Canada geese that are becoming accustomed to city life; the golf course four miles from my house has a couple of pairs nesting on its ponds. Pintail are currently at the center of a growing controversy, as some analyses have dedicated many pages of cyberspace to blaming their population decline on hunting pressure. As detailed in my book, Texas Waterfowl, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) statistics show that by 2002, pintail numbers hit a record low of 1.8 million birds. There has been some rebound due to better nesting conditions, but pintail populations are still at a fraction of where they used to be. A prime example of what is really going in with pintail centers on the Canadian prairie, the pintail’s preferred nesting rounds. Since the early 1980s, millions of acres of this region have changed from autumn to spring agricultural seeding. This has been severely detrimental to pintail, as studies by DU Canada have shown that fall seeded areas produce one successful pintail

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nest per 80 acres, while spring seeded areas produce one per 1000 acres. Another change in Canadian agriculture has hurt pintails: Farmers used to practice “summer fallowing” where they gave cropland a rest every second summer. According to DU Canada, since the 1970s, farmers have converted 13 million acres of summer fallow to annual cropping in prime pintail breeding grounds. “This massive land-use change sees more nesting in habitats that will likely be destroyed by farm machinery,” said DU Canada’s Pintail Initiative Project report. “Pintail will not re-nest as persistently as some other ducks. Therefore, pintails are less well adapted to deal with nest loss than other species.” There is another problem in pintail paradise—predators, particularly raccoons. The natural prairie habitat is not very conducive to raccoons, but as Man made changes to the region, it allowed ‘coons to flourish. By the 1970s, ‘coons took a strong hold on the region and are now very common to the point of being a major problem. Nesting success in some areas range as low as 0 to 7 per-

cent, and ‘coons do much of this damage. In one study, Vance Lester of the University of Saskatchewan and Aaron Pearse of Idaho State kicked off a predator removal project on 16-square-mile blocks near the town of Ceylon. Lester covered nest success while Pearse measured duckling survival. The control block (untrapped) had an 11 percent nest success while the trapped area had 28 percent. Duckling survival in the control area was 28 percent, and 50 percent in the trapped area. Another misconception regarding waterfowl harvest involves the special conservation order for light geese. Some hunters say it is not trimming the huge population of midcontinental snow geese, while others say it is having too much impact. This rumor was rampant last year because goose hunting was very tough. The reality is that, due to weather conditions in the Arctic, there was a very small hatch of young snows, and that meant mostly mature birds in the sky. “When you have a situation like that, it creates very challenging hunting for Texans. We end up getting the mature geese that have seen it all migrating southward.

Juvenile geese decoy much better than mature ones,” said Dave Morrison with TPWD. “Then you add the fact that many of the juveniles we do have get shot at before they reach us, and you can see how a difficult situation can arise.” On the other hand, the conservation order has had some effect on snow goose numbers. According to USFWS officials, the 1998 conservation order to expand light goose hunting via limitless bags and the use of electronic calls into the spring has brought the population down some. According to mid-winter surveys, the population peaked in 1998 at more than 3 million birds; the population today is nearly 2.4 million. The next time you are in a duck blind or lying in a field waiting for geese to come in, challenge your friends with these facts and figures. You might just wager your way into not having to pick up the decoys, or having your buddies pick up the tab for breakfast. We waterfowlers are typically a smart bunch, but some of the mysteries of these amazing creatures elude all of us.

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SCOTUS & the Second Amendment

S I SWAB DOWN ONE OF MY HUNDREDS OF privately owned, individually possessed firearms again this fine morning, I snicker and shake my head in disbelief that there are four “justices” on the “Supreme” Court of the United States (SCOTUS) that do not believe Americans have individual rights. Sure, I am somewhat pleased that we now have a SCOTUS confirmation of the self-evident truth and Godgiven individual right to keep and bear arms, but the 5-4 ruling is another painful example, like Guantanamo and the decree against the death penalty for child rapist decisions, that indicates a divisive culture war raging on, and four Supreme justices frighteningly disconnected from the heart and soul of America. Certain that God gave each of us the individual gift of life, and so very relieved that our founding fathers were prudent enough to write down these self-evident truths for future reference, everybody I know needs no confirmation whatsoever that self-defense, individual self-defense, is not only a God given right, but a moral imperative in the hearts and souls of good people everywhere. Just as we wouldn’t need confirmation that our choice of religion is indeed an individual right, or that we could possibly need a government permit to express our individual thoughts in speech, good Americans will continue to fight for the return of our sacred Second Amendment rights where someday soon, we will not need a government issued license to keep and bear arms. After all, 54

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Nugent

Ted readies one of his heavy-hitter rifles—a .338 Lapua—for some fun on the range. from the supreme court of common sense on the not-so-mean streets of America, everybody I know understands clearly that “keep” means one thing and one thing only—it’s

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mine and you can’t have it. We know without question that “bear” can only mean, “Yes, I have it right here in my hands or within instant grasp”—nothing more and nothing

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Ted admires a Henry lever rifle, one of hundreds of firearms in his personal collection. less. And need I explain, “shall not be infringed”? I hope not. That these self-evident truths have been bastardized to the point of “gun free zones” is nothing less than heartbreaking in America today. Everybody knows that it is in these anti-American, anti-Constitutional “gun free zones” where innocent people are forced into unarmed helplessness and where the highest body count of innocents are stacked up by evil perpetrators celebrating the condition of helpless sheep to slaughter. Since the insane gun ban, Washington D.C. has been a violent criminal’s dream environment, where they are assured no resistance. That is a bizarre, immoral condition and a direct result of the cult of feel good liberals who couldn’t care less about dead good people, as they wring their hands worrying about the rights of the most evil amongst us. For shame. I am responsible for my personal defense and the defense of my family. Our founding fathers clearly believed this as well. Evidence shows that 9-1-1 is a last-ditch call for a clean-up crew to sift through the aftermath of criminal activity. I can’t imagine allowing myself to be unarmed, helpless, and reliant

upon the heroes of law enforcement who, though always do the best that they can do, cannot and will not be there when we need them. They represent damage control all too often, when quality control is in the hands of responsible individuals. The same Supreme Court determined long ago that cops have no lawful obligation to protect us from anything. Self-defense is our job. Thank God the Supreme Court got it right by striking down the D.C. gun ban, legalizing personal protection in the nation’s capitol and now across America, thereby

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guaranteeing our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—rights bestowed to us by God, the Supreme Authority. D.C. has been a cesspool of crime for years. This ruling confirms the rights of good people the ability to defend themselves against bad people. Who could possibly find fault with that supreme dose of common sense? Banning guns hasn’t worked to deter crime or make communities safer; in fact, just the opposite. All gun bans have ever accomplished is the creation of guaranteed victims. This has been supremely sad, wrong-headed, and dangerous. Most of us cannot imagine the thought process by which bureaucrats and courts could force laws on good people rendering us disarmed and helpless, then turn around and send us the bill for their armed security. Obama, what say you? Various thugs, punks, crackheads, and other devils that have victimized innocents at will are on a long overdue notice with this ruling. Good ultimately conquers evil, as it should be. The SCOTUS decision came days before Independence Day, fittingly affirming that Americans are independent, and have the right to the most basic of rights—the right to defend themselves against tyranny in whatever ugly form it might take. Now the good people of America must fight harder and relentlessly to regain all of our lost Second Amendment rights in each state where unarmed helplessness continues. Take note, Mayor Daley. E-mail Ted Nugent at bowhunting@fishgame.com

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Freshwater

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New Regs On September 1

EPTEMBER 1 MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE new fiscal year for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. It also is the day when a host of new rule and regulation changes will go into effect on a handful of freshwater impoundments around the state. Rule changes usually don’t excite me much, unless they show some serious promise for snuffing a particular problem or making a noticeable improvement that will benefit the resource and ultimately make fishing better. A special 16-inch “maximum” length limit on largemouth bass that goes into effect this month at 2200-acre Lake Nacogdoches in southeast Texas is loaded with possibilities. The experimental limit replaces the fivefish, 14- to 21-inch slot limit, which has been in place for several years. Under the new rule, anglers can retain five bass up to 16 inches per day, so it won’t penalize anyone who likes to eat bass. However, all fish longer than 16 inches must be released immediately, except that one fish longer than 24 inches may be temporarily retained so that it can be weighed for possible induction to the state’s Budweiser ShareLunker program. Special length and bag limits are nothing new to modern fisheries management schemes in Texas. Fisheries scientists have for years relied on slot limits, high minimum length limits, restrictive creel limits, and catch-and-release-only regulations to manage 56

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dozens of Texas fisheries in accordance with lake-specific bass population dynamics, and desired management goals. The 16-inch max is unique to the list because it is the first bass limit that places an across-the-board cap on the size of fish an angler can legally keep. Todd Driscoll of Jasper looks at the 16inch max as another wrench in the toolbox of possible ways to fine tune a “stock” fishery to make it perform more like a hot rod. Driscoll is the TPWD District 3D fisheries biologist that rides shotgun over lakes Nacogdoches, Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend, Timpson, B.A. Steinhagen, Kurth, Martin Creek, and Striker. The biologist said the decision to make Lake Nacogdoches the guinea pig for the experimental limit was an easy one. Long-term data collected via electro-fishing and other surveys indicates the reservoir supports a bountiful population of bass under 16 inches, with stable recruitment rates that remain high from one year to the next. Moreover, the fishery is productive enough to support above average numbers of trophy class fish. Another factor taken into consideration was the high incidence of harvest of bass at the top end of the slot limit. According to Driscoll, one-on-one angler creel surveys conducted at the lake indicated that more than 50 percent of the anglers interviewed said they would keep a fish greater than 21 inches if they happened to catch one. “We suspected for years that harvest was limiting the production of large bass at Lake Nacogdoches, and our angler creel surveys verified that,” Driscoll said. “Catch events of fish over 6 pounds are fairly rare no matter where you are, and it doesn’t take much harvest of fish in that class to really reduce the number of 10-pound fish that a lake can produce.” Sticking with TPWD policy, Driscoll arranged for public hearings to allow anglers and other interested parties to make known their opinions on the proposed 16-inch max

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before it was adopted by the TPW Commission last March. Interestingly, only a handful voiced opposition in comparison to the number of those in favor the new limit. “Angler acceptance played a major role in our decision,” Driscoll said. “If the anglers had told us they didn’t want it (the 16-inch max), it would have gone away.” All this can’t help but make one wonder: Are there other Texas bass lakes that fit the criteria for 16-inch maximum length limit on largemouth bass? Most definitely, but Driscoll said it will probably be a while before any steps are taken to do it. “There are a handful of other lakes, most in East Texas, where this regulation could be applied in the future,” he said. “But we’re going to wait and see what kind of results we get at Lake Nacogdoches first.” Other new freshwater fishing regulations that become law September 1 are as follows: • At Austin’s Lady Bird Lake, carp anglers may retain only one common carp 33 inches or larger per day. • On community fishing lakes, anglers may use no more than two fishing poles at once. • Bass caught from Purtis Creek State Park and Lake Raven at Huntsville State Park (both catch-and-release-only lakes) must be at least 24 inches to be temporarily retained for weighing purposes and possible donation to the ShareLunker program. • On Lake Texoma, there will be no minimum length limit on spotted bass. The previous length limit was 14 inches. • Lake Nasworthy and Colorado City Reservoir go to a three-fish, 20- to 28-inch reverse slot limit on red drum. • The taking of catfish with a bow and arrow is no longer legal.

E-mail Matt Williams at freshwater@fishgame.com

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7/30/08

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Page 57

Getting the Lead Out

EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE INFLUENCE OF a group of individuals working together with a single-minded obsession, no matter how asinine it seems. You probably think I’m referencing the actions of groups such as PETA or the Humane Society of the United States that openly subject us to their radical views on the treatment of animals with propaganda and blatant destruction of personal property. However, I am discussing a more subtle attack on venison as a credible food source that has gone mostly under the radar because it has not been covered by major network news, and is being touted as a “health” issue Beginning around March of this year, many agencies whose objective is to help needy individuals by providing meals began discarding tons of donated venison based on a study by a group with what can be seen as questionable motives. The Peregrine Fund has been around for over three decades with the intent to help preserve and restore populations of large endangered birds of prey. It’s a noble cause and I’m not discounting their work, I’m just questioning their methods and the far-reaching implications of the controversy they have started. The dumping of thousands of pounds of venison in Iowa, North Dakota, and Wyoming has gone mostly unnoticed down here, but check out the internet hunting sites for the states involved and they are abuzz with information. In case you haven’t heard what us going on here’s the story: Dr. William Cornatzer, a board member of the Peregrine Fund, conducted a study where he had CT scans performed on approximately 100 packages of venison donated to various food pantries by hunters. Roughly 60 percent of the packages were

determined to contain at least trace levels of lead. Just to instigate thought, ask yourself why a dermatologist with a connection to a group that has been trying to get lead bullets outlawed for years would conduct this kind of study. Is he really looking out for your best interests or playing on the fear we have about human lead consumption in an effort to have lead bullets outlawed to save a few more birds of prey? This study was followed up by another, again conducted by someone associated with the Peregrine Fund, where 30 deer taken with firearms were sent to different processors and the meat was again tested for metals. Of all the packages tested, 43 percent contained metal (at least one piece as small as a grain of salt), most of which was lead. In all, 24 of the 30 deer tested had lead fragments in at least one package of venison while six did not. With very little information available about the study, it brings to mind all kinds of questions regarding its reliability and therefore validity. What were the deer shot with—handgun, rifle, shotgun? Caliber also might be an important consideration. Where was the shot placement? Did a neck shot animal some how wind up with lead in the tenderloin? Was the wound channel cleaned and meat discarded, or processed from this area? If lead bullets truly explode upon impact, sending lead fragments throughout the deer’s body, then how do they explain that six of the deer had no traces of lead at all? Why aren’t we questioning the butchering practices of the 24 processors who passed along lead tainted meat and benchmarking off the six who did not to determine the differences in their methods? Can it be proven that each package contains meat from just one deer and the processor did not mix and match? As a side note, a study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture took a random sampling of venison processed by 39 meat processors around the state. Some of the processors had zero lead contamination while at least one had over 70 percent of their packages test positive for lead. It sounds like this is not really an issue of bulT E X A S

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let material but deals more with the processing methods. Nevertheless, at least three states threw the baby out with the bathwater, wasting donated venison based on a study conducted by an organization with questionable motives. This would be akin to the state throwing away all it’s Ford trucks based on a study conducted by General Motors advising that 51 percent of all wrecks on the third Thursday of the month involve Ford vehicles. There is no question that lead in the blood stream is not a good thing. However, how did we get to the point that all of a sudden eating venison taken by a firearm hunter is akin to licking an asbestos sucker? I guess eating beef injected with who knows what is healthier. Hunters have been taking game animals with lead bullets for centuries without ill effect, but that might be about to change. The trend has already started on the left coast. Last December, California banned the use of lead bullets to hunt big game in areas designated as California condor range. Those hunters cannot use lead bullets or even have them in their possession while hunting in the condor range. This might be the first step toward outlawing lead bullets in the entire state, and while we don’t like to think about it, a lot of national regulations start with a partial ban in California. We might be heading in the direction of waterfowl hunting, where we can use only “non-toxic” bullets for everything we hunt. (I’m thinking of starting to squirrel hunt with a slingshot and steel ball bearings, but I’m sure someone will find a way for that to be classed “toxic” as well.) There is a generation of waterfowl hunters who have grown up without ever knowing the effectiveness of lead shot on ducks, and the next generation of deer hunters might be in the same boat, even though—so far—there has not been a single documented case of lead poisoning from tainted venison. E-mail Paul Bradshaw at deerhunting@fishgame.com

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7/31/08

12:06 PM

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Autumn Offshore Bonanza

EPTEMBER USUALLY BEGINS A MORE pleasant, less crowded time on the water. This September, it might be even less crowded, but not as pleasant due to very restrictive fuel prices and shorter bag limits and open seasons for most species. Red snapper season (if you blinked, you might have missed it) in federal waters beyond 9 miles offshore is closed, and those snapper residing in state waters will be hit hard, if they haven’t been already. For those who just don’t feel alive unless they can head through the jetties at least occasionally (and who count a trip as a success when they slide the boat between those same jetties on a safe return, rather than by the content of the fish box) there is still offshore sport to be had. The usual tips about running slower, tuning engines, less horsepower under the hood, eliminating excess weight, and fishing with buddies to share costs are all valid, but not exactly secrets. Going to sailboats or paddle power doesn’t work for all of us, either. Burning less fuel while still being able to fish offshore is going to mean changing habits and attitudes. The plain fact is, the only real way to save fuel offshore (other than feigning a breakdown and getting towed in every few trips) is to cover less water, which means fishing closer to shore. Through the fall, fishing closer in doesn’t have to be so painful, especially for those who understand the “sport” part of sport fishing. One of the strongest light tackle fish 58

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in the world is very common in Texas waters within a few miles of the beach, yet gets very little directed pressure. The jack crevalle will give you all the fight you want, you just don’t want to eat it. While fishing for jacks, however, you might very well catch a king mackerel or two, or any of several small shark species that are fairly decent on the table. Ling can be found around close-in rigs and over bottom structure, and some are real bruisers. Bull reds can be found on “inshore” structure, and large Gulf trout will mix with small snapper in the same spots. Spanish mackerel are the real “sleepers” of offshore fishing, and fall is the best time to pursue them. On bay gear, Spanish macks are great fighters, they are much better to eat than their kingly cousins, and the daily bag

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and possession limit is 15 fish per angler. Large schools of Spanish macks roam from almost on the beach to several miles out on calm fall days, often on the surface and mixed with bonito and bluefish. Bonito (properly “little tunny”) are the smallest true members of the tuna clan, and fight accordingly. They can be eaten, but are best considered for sport and as excellent bloody bait for everything from shark to snapper. Bluefish are even more overlooked by most Texans. Considered a prime sport fish on the Atlantic coast, blues are often included with the other members of the “Trash Can Slam” (jack crevalle and bonito). Blue-

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fish do not run as big in the Gulf, but do reach as much as the state record of 18 pounds or so occasionally. Blues of 5-7 pounds fight harder than many larger fishes, and are seldom shy about taking a bait. These fish spawn in the Gulf in winter and are best targeted in cooler waters. Most of the blues I’ve caught have been around rigs, where they will bite all but the heads off snapper being brought to the boat when a hungry school is present. A blue hooked near the bottom will often stop fighting on the way up and rush to bust the surface, where they put on a hell of a splashing and thrashing display. Bluefish will feed through the whole water column around a rig, but can be taken on surface baits and lures when found working bait on top in open water. Fresh bluefish fillets are very tasty, as long as the strip of dark red meat along the lateral line is removed (which is true with most saltwater fishes). Like Gulf trout, however, they do not survive freezing very well, and will tend to be soft unless handled with care and frozen in water or vacuum bagged. The ultimate method to save on offshore fishing is to sell that boat, if you can, and charter trips with your remaining local captains who can manage to stay in business. Not only will you help them feed their families, but you’ll get more time actually fishing, and a lot more relaxing experience. Like the late Frank Woolner, the original editor of Saltwater Sportsman, said in one of his books: “When you own an offshore fishing boat, instead of getting to fish more, you become mostly a boat driver, so your buddies can fish more!”

Capt. Mike Holmes runs tarpon, shark, and bluewater trips on a classic 31 Bertram. To book a trip, call 979-415-0535. Email him at mholmes@fishgame.com.

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Old Dogs & New Tails

ACK IN THE DAYS OF REMOTE ANTIQUITY (or the 1950s and 60s, if you prefer) lure choices were fairly limited in design and variety. Over the years, some lures such as the Zara Spook remain very popular. Others, like the spoon and bucktail, have continued to find a niche in modern tackle boxes, although their uses are generally limited. Still others, such as the Pluggin’ Shorty Shrimp, have faded into the mists of time. Most of these lures were effective for trout, redfish, snook, and flounder, but for various reasons, fell out of favor with fishermen. “When we first started fishing the coast, we had a very limited selection—spoons, MirrOlures, Bingo plugs,” said Captain Charlie Paradoski (281-343-0221), who has guided along the Texas Gulf for 36 years, and fished it even longer. “The first soft plastic we ever used was the Boone Tout. They all caught literally hundreds of fish in a day, but things changed.” Paradoski pointed out that that many modern lures have different dimensions that enhance their effectiveness, most notably sound chambers. An excellent example is a permutation of one of the most popular trout lures ever used on the coast, the MirrOlure 7M. “You can use a 7M,” Paradoski said. “They work great. But the 7MR is a little better because it throws off sound.” The “R” signifies it has rattles inside. Not only do many new lures feature sound, scent is also common as a built-in or add-on feature. As was written in the feature “That Smell” in the February 2007 issue, soft bait manufacturers have produced scented lures that have become the go-to baits for many fishermen on the coast and Texas lakes. It’s only understandable that some of the more venera-

ble, unscented (and even some scented) plastics fall out of favor. It is important to note that Paradoski did say that the old version of the same lure still works well. That seems to be the case with many of the classic lures. A great example is the H&H Lures Cocahoe Minnow. For years, the red and white version of this venerable shad tail was a staple in every tackle box. It caught literally millions of trout and redfish. Over the years, this saltwater veteran has started seeing less play as other newer soft plastics have come along. Swimbaits have become more popular, as have shrimp imitators such as the red-hot DOA Shrimp, Tsunami Holoshrimp, and ZMan Ultra Shrimp. That doesn’t mean the Cocahoe is no longer effective. In fact, on a recent trip to Sabine, Captain Bill Watkins and I really put the hurt on Louisiana beachfront trout with Queen Cocahoes in LSU colors (purple/gold). “Last year, in the surf, I had a client who said that he used his own lures,” said Paradoski. “He used a Pluggin’ Shorty Shrimp. He matched the rest of us trout for trout with that old lure.” For those who’ve never heard of it, the Pluggin’ Shorty Shrimp was invented in the 1930s by the late Anton “Pluggin’ Shorty” Stetner, a longtime fishing partner of Paradoski. Legend has it that the first lures were carved out of toothbrush handles. They and the minnow plug that also bears Stetner’s nickname became so popular that Stetner couldn’t keep up with the orders. It was later put into production by Doug English Lures and then the Bingo Bait Company after merging with English’s company. The Pluggin’ Shorty Shrimp and all the Bingo lures have not been produced since the mid-1980s due to what the website www.bingobait.com refers to as “financial reasons.” The Pluggin’ Shorty Shrimp is actually a collector’s item, with one in pristine condition in its original packaging selling for upward of $40 on eBay. That doesn’t change the fact that the lure is still very effective. Another lure that remains very successful T E X A S

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but has fallen out of favor among saltwater fishermen is the broken-back minnow, most notably the Cotton Cordell Jointed Redfin. Broken backs were the go-to bait for a very long time. A state record trout fell to a Redfin, and a video that is still floating around on store shelves shows a 12-pound trout falling to one. “The Redfin was the first truly big bait we ever used,” Paradoski said of the 5-inch jointed plug. “We caught tons of big trout with them, especially the chrome and black pattern. They were awesome.” Another very popular pattern was locally called “Texas Chicken”—pink back/silver sides/yellow belly. Many considered the pattern as the ultimate trout and (as I learned on a trip) snook killer. The biggest snook I ever landed, a fat 32incher, fell to a Redfin in Texas Chicken that I fished with long, sweeping pulls of the rod get it to dive 6 inches under, and then let rise to the surface on a semi-slack line. The water was murky, and all I saw was a silver flash and a toilet-flush swirl underneath the plug. Redfins are effective because they not only have the disjointed wiggle that the segmented body gives it, but they also increase a fisherman’s chances at hooking up. Most topwaters are low-percentage lures. A fish will blow up a popper or dog-walker, but chances are they will miss the lure completely. With its sub-surface action, a Redfin is more likely to get swallowed by a striking fish, thus improving the chances of the hooks gaining purchase. As with any lure, it comes down to how much faith a fisherman has in it. If he believes a lure will catch fish, he will fish it accordingly. “What you use is what you have confidence in,” Paradoski said. “Like I said, I still have clients who bring the old stuff down with them, and they catch plenty of fish.” Sometimes, as the saying goes, old age and guile trumps youth and style.

E-mail Calixto Gonzales cgonzales@fishgame.com

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11:59 AM

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Get Licensed Now, Avoid the September 1 Rush

EW HUNTING AND FISHING LICENSES FOR 2008-09 became available August 15, and TPWD encourages hunters to buy early and avoid the rush heading into the September 1 dove season opener. “If you wait until the Labor Day Weekend, you’re probably going to be standing in line to buy a license,” said Tom Newton with the TPWD licensing section. “Savvy hunters have figured it out and are buying their licenses early.” All current annual hunting and fishing licenses (except for the year-to-date fishing license) expire August 31. Texas issues 2.1 million hunting and fishing licenses annually through 28 TPWD field offices, more than 65 state parks, and at over 1500 retailers across Texas. Because dove season in the North and Central Dove Zones opens on a Monday, Newton predicted there will be a weekend rush to buy licenses: “Last year, we sold over 350,000 licenses during the four-day period around the opening weekend of dove season. It takes 3-5 minutes to process a license sale transaction, so it’s likely there will be delays if you wait until the last minute.” By comparison, Newton said the department averaged less than 20,000 license transactions a day during the two weeks prior to the dove season opener, as opposed to five or six times that number on the days 60

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around opening weekend. A last-minute license purchase rush is probably inevitable in some areas of the state, particularly along the I-35 corridor where many dove hunters descend. Fortunately, other license buying avenues are available. “Hunters who need to purchase a license at the last minute or those who don’t want to stand in line have a couple of options,” said Newton. “They can also purchase licenses online through the TPWD website [www.tpwd.state.tx.us] or by calling 800-895-4248. There is a $5 convenience fee for either option and a major credit card is required.” License sales call center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The online transaction system is available 24/7. A license confirmation number is issued at the time of purchase for online and phone orders, and the physical license is mailed separately. Confirmation numbers will verify that a license has been purchased, which is sufficient for dove hunting, but will not allow hunters to take fish or wildlife that requires a tag. In addition to a hunting license, all wingshooters need a game bird stamp. To hunt dove or teal in September, a Migratory Game Bird Stamp ($7) is required. Duck hunters also need to purchase a Federal Duck Stamp and receive HIP (Harvest Information Program) certification. HIP

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certification will be printed on the license at the time of sale only after the purchaser answers a few brief migratory bird questions. Lifetime license holders must also be HIP-certified and purchase the Federal Duck Stamp to hunt migratory birds. All other state stamp endorsements are included with a lifetime license Other mandatory endorsements to consider at the time of purchase include an Upland Game Bird Stamp (required to hunt all non-migratory game birds, including turkey, quail, pheasant, chachalaca, and lesser prairie chicken). Anyone who purchases the Super Combo license package, the best bang for the buck, automatically gets the needed stamps. Hunter Education Certification is also required of any hunter born on or after 2 September 1971 and is at least 17 years old. For hunters unable to work in a hunter education class before hunting season, TPWD offers a deferral option that allows people age 17 or older a one-time-only extension to complete the state hunter education requirements. The individual must first purchase a hunting license and then may purchase the deferral option. Hunters using the deferral must be accompanied by someone age 17 or older that is also licensed to hunt in Texas. The accompanying individual must have completed hunter education or be exempt from the requirements (born before 2 September 1971). The extension is good for one license year, by which time the person with the deferred option needs to complete a hunter education course. This option is not available to those who have ever received a conviction or deferred adjudication for lack of hunter education certification; they still must take the course before going afield.

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FLW Wets a Hook In College Bass Fishing

OLLEGIATE LEVEL COMPETITIVE BASS FISHING has witnessed considerable growth over the last decade, and it is about to get bigger. That prediction comes after of a recent announcement made by wealthy Minnesota businessman, Irwin Jacobs. Jacobs is the chairman of Genmar Inc., the world’s largest recreational boat manufacturer. He is also chairman of FLW Outdoors, one of the country’s leading tournament organizers. The Benton, Kentucky, outfit hosts more than 200 fishing tournaments targeting bass, walleye, redfish, kingfish, and stripers each year. During the annual FLW Outdoors sponsors meeting held last May in Bentonville, Arkansas, Jacobs announced a program that will bring competitive college bass fishing under the organization’s tournament umbrella beginning in 2009. The full details of the program had not been released at press time, but FLW Outdoors’ vice president of communications Dave Washburn said the initial plan is to create a televised collegiate tournament circuit that will allow full-time students who are members of a fishing club recognized by a four-year college or university the opportunity to compete in a series of qualifying and regional events, which will ultimately send two anglers to the $2 million Forrest Wood Cup. The pro-division winner of that tournament earns $1 million. Washburn said college bass fishing has been growing in popularity the last few years, and thinks this could be the catalyst that blows it wide open. “It’s going to be huge,” he said. “There

are 126 colleges around the country with organized fishing clubs, and there are approximately 17,000 colleges out there. There is a tremendous amount of potential for growth.” FLW hopes to nurture the growth by luring more young anglers onto the water with an attractive no-fee team tournament format that will provide travel allowances and supply boats for anglers who want to compete. The circuit will probably be broken into five geographic regions (similar to the FLW Stren Series trail), with four qualifying events in each one. Students will fish for scholarship money during each one-day qualifying event and five, two-day regional championships. Fox Sports Network will televise the events. FLW Outdoors will donate to the schools of the top five teams after each regional event. The top finishers from the five regional tournaments will compete in a national championship, with the winning team earning a trip to the Cup. While the college circuit will follow a team format, the anglers’ performances will be tracked individually over the course of the season. This will determine who will compete as a pro and who fishes as a co-angler in the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW will provide the national champion with a Chevy truck and Ranger boat wrapped in his school’s colors. The ramifications of FLW’s newest bass tournament innovation remains to be seen. From the outside looking in, it appears the benefits could be monumental for the fishing industry, the anglers, and college athletics programs. T E X A S

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Young anglers are the future of the sport. The more anglers who get involved in the sport at a young age, the more boats, motors, rods, reels, and tackle will be sold down the road—and that is good for the entire industry. The NCAA has said it has no interest in competitive fishing beyond it being a club sport, but that could eventually change. Imagine the recognition and media attention a junior accounting major could gain for an alma mater with a $1 million Forrest Wood Cup title under his or her belt. “Tournament bass fishing at the collegiate level has existed for some years now, but never on a scale comparable to what we will be offering,” said Charlie Evans, FLW Outdoors president and CEO. “We view our new collegiate program as a quantum leap forward for the sport and for both male and female college students, who, for the first time, can jump into tournament fishing without worrying about boat access or entry fees. It’s an unprecedented opportunity for the next generation of great anglers in this country, and for the industry as a whole.” Not surprisingly, college bass fishing has a serious presence in Texas. Of the 126 colleges and universities nationwide with school-sanctioned fishing clubs, 10 are in Texas: Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas A&M University, Baylor University, North Central Texas University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M UniversityKingsville, Texas Tech University, University of Texas at Arlington, and the University of Texas. You can bet all or some will be represented when FLW’s collegiate bass circuit debuts in 2009. The opportunity is too good to pass up. —Matt Williams

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The Truth About Taz & Redhead

O THERE I WAS, STANDING IN THE BOAT BOW, my rod bowed so tightly the line was singing like a violin string. Woodrow shouted at me to keep the tip up, and I tried to calmly explain that the rod was pointed skyward, but the fish had the tip almost touching the water...

...so, anyway, this is the Redhead, and Dad just went outside to watch the rain and left the computer on. He said something about forgetting what rain looks like, but anyway, I saw this column that he was working on. Y’all need to know, he makes most of this stuff up, except for the real parts. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about me and my sister, Taz, who’s now known as “Squanto.” She’s hanging over my shoulder and wants to write, too, but I told her to keep an eye on out for Dad so he won’t catch us and start yelling like it’s the end of the world or something. For the most part, I enjoy my Dad’s columns and his slight fabrications, but when we’re in his stories, we seem like we’re still five. I’m not your typical 19-year old girl 62

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because of the way I was raised. I hunt, fish, camp, hike, and pretty much anything else you can think of that gets me muddy or makes me smell like a stinky animal. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t enjoy doing all of the typical girl things, like getting my hair done or laying out on the beach. Take our trip to Hawaii:

I would have liked to do a little more relaxing instead of hiking in the mountains for seven days. Yeah, yeah, I know. Why whine about being in Hawaii? I just wanted more layout time to get a little more bronze. Oh, dang. Hold on...I think he’s on his way in.... Never mind. Mr. I Know Everything in the Outdoors couldn’t figure out where he left his shoes. He came in to ask where they were. In his old age, his mind is going. I think he had them on about an hour ago. Speaking of old age, Dad has gotten to the point where if he sits in his chair for more than two seconds to read, or on the couch, he starts snoring so loud the walls shake. He swears he’s just resting his eyes, but we all know. For example, the other day he rented “a good ol’ war movie” about Iwo Jima. Ten minutes into this cinematic adventure, he’s snoring so loud you couldn’t hear the bombs in Surround Sound. I was sitting on the couch with my boyfriend and Shana (that’s mom, who he calls the War Department), and we couldn’t stop laughing. Fine, fine. I guess Squanto wants to tell her perspective and whatnot about Dad. I hope she’s not too harsh on the old man. I love him dearly. I wouldn’t want him to be embarrassed about any of this column. It’s so unlike his normal stuff, except that it’s true! This is Taz, and I hate it when she calls

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me “Squanto.” I’m the youngest daughter. So, here’s the deal, people: I’m not going to be so nice when it comes to my dad and his “little fabrications.” The man just straight up takes all his funny lines from me and makes them his own. Well, maybe not all of them—the majority, perhaps. I’d say that’s

plagiarism, wouldn’t you? If you ask me, the War Department, Redhead, and I are the real comical geniuses in this family. Who do you think he comes to when he’s having a mental block of funniness? That’d be us. If you want me to break it down for you, here it is: 87 percent of his work most-

ly comes from the rest of us. For example, once we went on vacation to float down the Guadalupe River and I noticed something rather odd that needed pointing out. “Look, monks having a picnic!” I pointed to some real monks who were eating at a picnic table beside the river. Dad thought the statement was pretty funny. So funny, in fact, that he took it and used the line as his own in one of his columns to make himself look good. I know what you’re thinking: How pathetic, Reavis! Even though I’ve been pretty harsh on the old man, not everything is necessarily a lie. He can be a pretty big goof without our help sometimes. When we were in Mexico, we snorkeled in a really fishy river. There were little fish, colorful fish, brown fish, and one huge grouper the size of an airplane under a floating bridge. His depiction was pretty accurate of my amazing flying act from the water to the bridge when I saw that monster, but I was just a little scared. That thing was huge, and I wasn’t about to stay there one more second. It was about to eat me, but Dad made it seem like more than it was and he thought it was funny that I was so scared. I would like for all of you to think of this as “Taz’s tell-all story.” Oh, and by the way, my father has never once in my life called me by that little nickname. The name is Megan, a.k.a. “Squanto,” and I really have no idea why he started calling me Taz in the first place. I’m a pretty chill individual as opposed to the image you might get of a Tasmanian devil causing utter chaos. I guess he makes us look lame on purpose by giving us goofy, not-at-all-funny lines and nicknames as payback for our rowdiness. Honestly, all that’s probably fair since we always have people over causing ruckus and interrupting his scheduled bedtime of 8:32 p.m. Wait...he’s coming back. Now he sees us...I think he knows what we’re doing and he’s running and yelling “Stop!” and he’s almost here and now so I’ll just push the “Send” butto E-mail Reavis Wortham at humor@fishgame.com

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