HE MOON GETS A LOT OF credit, and plenty of blame, for a great many things that a ect our lives and surroundings. It can be held responsible for everything from se ing romantic moods to triggering werewolf a acks. It has inspired myths, religions, and mankind’s greatest feat of exploration—when humans literally walked on its surface.
In our neck of the universe, the moon has long been relied upon as a gauge of shing and hunting prospects. Its gravitational pull makes tides ow—every sailor, coastal angler, and beach front realtor knows this. And its phases are considered prime factors in the movement and feeding habits of game.
Tidal movement itself, the ow of water in and out, would appear to be explanation enough for the increased feeding action—and lure biting—that occurs when the tides are running. But there is more to it than that.
A formal study of solar (sun) and lunar (moon) e ects on sh—coined the Solunar eory—was established in the 1920s by an angler named John Alden Knight. Knight compiled a list of various factors that had long been thought to account for good, and poor, shing outcomes. Applying scienti c methods, he eliminated all the factors but those associated with the tides.
His research found that tidal in uence had less to do with the physical movement of water and more to do with the forces causing that movement—the positions of the sun and, especially, the moon. Knight’s initial conclusions pinpointed speci c periods during the solar and lunar cycles that produced increased activity in both sh and game. ese periods of “solunar activity” coincided with the peak of the daily lunar cycle—when the moon was at its highest point over any given location.
In another study, a biologist at Northwestern University conducted an
experiment on oysters to nd whether certain traits, such as opening their shells, were caused by tidal action or by the moon. When rst relocated from their ocean habitat to a lab in Chicago, the oysters followed a pa ern of opening their shells in sync with high tide back in their home habitat. But they soon adjusted to opening when the moon was directly overhead, or underfoot at Chicago. e ndings of all this research shows that celestial forces not only a ect tides and coastal sh but could be responsible for the behavior of game sh—and game—everywhere. It also opened the door to forecasting conditions for any local position.
Solunar tables have been a staple of newspapers and outdoor magazines for almost a hundred years. anks to John Knight’s exhaustive study, and the onward march of technology, this data is now more reliable as a planning tool for anglers and hunters.
Countless tinkerers and entrepreneurs have built on Knight’s research and developed innumerable variations in the form of data services and apps to tackle the eternal quest for more, and bigger, bags and catches.
Do these tools work? Based on our experience, and more importantly, the feedback from thousands of readers over the decades that our own Sportsman’s Daybook has evolved, we’d have to say, “Yes. ey do.”
Success on the water or in the eld has always required knowing as much as possible about the prey and its habitat. Any tool that advances that knowledge has value, and one of those tools happens to be Earth’s closest neighbor.
It pays to stay in tune with the moon.
Email Ardia at aneves@fishgame.com
Email Roy at rneves@fishgame.com
JOE DOGGETT • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
DOUG PIKE • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
LENNY RUDOW • BOATING EDITOR
MATT WILLIAMS • FRESHWATER EDITOR
PETE ROBBINS • BASS FISHING EDITOR
KELLY GROCE • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
LOU MARULLO • HUNTING EDITOR
LARRY WEISHUHN • WHITETAIL EDITOR
DUSTIN ELLERMANN • SHOOTING EDITOR
REAVIS WORTHAM • HUMOR EDITOR
GRANT GISEL • DIGITAL CONTRIBUTOR
MORIAH FORMICA • DIGITAL CONTRIBUTOR
STAN SKINNER • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
LISA MOORE • CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR
SUBSCRIPTIONS
3431 RAYFORD RD SUITE 200-408 SPRING, TX 77386
PHONE (800) 725-1134
ONLINE SUBSCRIBER SERVICE FISHGAME.COM/MY-ACCOUNT
FRAUD HOTLINE: (281) 869-5511
Call this number if you receive a suspicious offer in the mail or by phone
ARDIA NEVES
PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
DIRECT PHONE: ( 281) 869-5549
EMAIL: ANEVES@FISHGAME.COM
LARRY DALTON • OFFICE MANAGER 3431 RAYFORD RD. SUITE 200-408 SPRING, TX 77386
PHONE ( 281) 869-5511 • FAX (346) 348-2100
TEXAS FISH & GAME (ISSN 0887-4174) is published bi-monthly by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC., 3431 Rayford Road, Suite 200-408, Spring, TX 77386. ©Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. All rights reserved. Content is not to be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. The publication assumes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs and manuscripts. Subscription rates: 1 year $24.95; 2 years $42.95; 3 years $58.95. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 3431 Rayford Road, Suite 200-408, Spring, TX 77386. 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, 3431 Rayford Road, Suite 200-408, Spring, TX 77386. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 3431 Rayford Road, Suite 200-408, Spring, TX 77386.
Email change of address to: subscriptions@fishgame.com.
Email new orders to: subscriptions@fishgame.com.
Email subscription questions to: subscriptions@fishgame. com.
Periodical postage paid at Houston, TX 77267-9946 and at additional mailing offices.
Tips for winning a tug of war between bull redfish and your kayak. by Lenny Rudow
Pairing
THE ARTICLE ABOUT THE FTW
Ranch breeding Asian wildlife to save species no longer hunted in their native lands was great. I was particularly interested to see Tur in the equation. ere is a lot of exotic hunting and ranches out there, but you don’t hear a lot about people working toward goals like this. at is great to hear.
Chip Nielsen
LOVED THE STORY OF SAVING
Asian exotics on Texas soil! I had no idea there were hog deer on any ranch in Texas. at alone was worth picking up the last issue.
Robert Gibson
Editor: e FTW Ranch has a great breeding program for some beautiful and interesting species. It’s great to see that kind of thing being done here in Texas.
IS IT POSSIBLE I SAW A WARTHOG in South Texas? It certainly looked like
:: by TF&G READERS
one crossing the road late at night down in McMullen County?
Perry Fountain
Editor: It is possible. ere are a few ee-ranging warthogs in South Texas and there have been sightings in McMullen County. I wasn’t there, but it
was most likely a feral hog with large tusks or li le hair due to mites, but there actually are some warthogs om exotic ranch escapes in South Texas.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON THE odds of Texas producing a state record speckled trout within the next ve years?
Joe Anderson
Editor: e odds are low. I wrote an article for our e-newsle er, e Fish & Game Report, detailing the trends of record trout catches, that touched
on this to some extent. One of the issues is eeze kills and I showed how both the current record Bud Rowland sh and the Jim Wallace sh both lived through eezes, with the Wallace sh living through at that time, one of the largest in history. e last kill did a lot of damage to trout in the area most likely for a record-the Lower Coast. And we have had incredible amounts of coastal habitat degradation and loss since both of those records were taken, which is almost never considered. I think the Rowland sh has a good chance of being a permanent state record.
HAVE WE ENTERED AN ERA without realizing it?
Has the insane level of shing pressure, combined with sheries habitat loss and pollution brought us to a place where there will be no more state records of popular sport sh?
I recently did an episode of my Higher Calling Wildlife podcast (sponsored by Texas Fish & Game) and pondered whether we would ever see a sh eclipse the 13-pound state record ounder caught by Herbert Endico in 1976.
at’s 47 years folks.
e world record ounder weighed 20 pounds, 9 ounces and was caught in Florida 40 years ago this year. e feedback was pretty much unanimous that we have passed the record era of the species.
Texas’s 18.18-pound state record largemouth bass was caught by Barry St. Clair in 1992.
ere’s only one sh in Texas’s Top 10 sh that was caught a er that 1990s and that was Brodey Davis’s 17.06 mutant-sided lunker caught on O.H. Ivie and it sits at number seven.
Bass are in a unique position on this list because they are the only sh here bred speci cally to produce monster sh. Fingerlings from Sharelunkers (13 pounds or larger) are released all around the state, so a state record bass isn’t out of the question. But even with all that hard work toward a mega bass, only one has cracked theTexas Top 10 since the 90s.
Speckled trout are an interesting case in this record discussion as coastal freezes, habitat losses and shing pressure are no doubt having an impact.
It’s important to look back at history for some perspective on this. Carl “Bud” Rowland caught the current o cial state record speckled trout May 23, 2002 in Lower Laguna Madre. It weighed 16 pounds and measured a monstrous 37 inches. is replaced the record trout Jim Wallace caught in 1996 in Ba n Bay that weighed 13 pounds, 11 ounces.
Wallace’s sh beat the 13-9 record held by Mike Blackwood set in 1975. It took 21 years for that record to fall.
One could look at major coastal freeze kills as being a limiting factor in big trout production, and that’s a valid point, but Wallace’s sh came seven years a er the major freeze kill of 1989. at sh was de nitely born before the freeze.
at should give anglers hope of what is possibly still swimming the waters of the Texas coast or what will appear in a few years.
Is it possible for the genetics of a species to grow to epic sizes to be lost?
e Texas record sand trout was 6.5 pounds and caught 51 years ago. e Louisiana state record sand trout was a whopping 11 pounds and was caught in 1973.
eir number 10 sh was caught in 1975 and weighed 7.25 pounds.
e biggest sandie I have ever caught was about 10 years ago and it weighed 2.5 pounds. I was absolutely shocked at catching one so big.
When was the last time you caught one that weighed over a pound? ink about it.
Even our crappie records are pre y old.
While the four-pound black crappie record was taken on Toledo Bend in 2002, the 4.56pound record white crappie was caught on Navarro Mills in 1968.
In terms of our everyday shing, this doesn’t ma er.
Very few of us ever catch a record sh of any kind and it usually never enters our minds. e goal is to enjoy ourselves and maybe catch a few for the frying pan or beat our personal best sh.
is is not about looking back at the “glory day” or any of that nonsense.
But it is worth examining for a conservation perspective. How much pressure
:: by CHESTER MOORE, JR. TF&G Editor-in-Chief
are we pu ing on sh? Does changes in weather pa erns and frequency of cold and hot extremes have an impact on our sh that we are just now starting to notice?
I have no doubt the reason we don’t see those super big sand trout catches any longer is due to the literal billions of sand trout caught in shrimping trawls over the years.
A resource can only take so much and perhaps it responded by the species no longer growing to large sizes. Or maybe as I suggested before, those genetics are gone.
Texas is having incredible bass shing right now, and the crappies are always biting it seems. Trout have struggled on much of the coast due to the freeze of 2021 and concerns linger over another weather event. Flounders are at a serious low, and there are questions about the species future from here to South Carolina. Even Louisiana issued a fall closure this year.
Let that sink in.
I believe we need to look back at record catches of the past every once in a while and question what we’re doing. If 20 years from now, we still haven’t had a new state record speckled trout, then maybe that shows a permanent shi in our shery.
We all as anglers need to realize we are losing habitat every day. If we publish an article on bag limit changes, we get hundreds of responses.
When it comes to habitat, the response is much less passionate. “l need to put more focus on the health of our sheries, habitat and waterways so we can have healthy sheries for generations to come.”
You never know, if we do the right things, maybe someone will sha er one of these records and blow our minds.
Carl “Bud”
IT’S DIFFICULT TO BE OPTIMIStic about things we can see that don’t look like they should or once did, but this past winter delivered a genuine slice of hope for southeast Texas waterfowl hunters.
Since my son was born in 2007, and right up to this past season, it was nearly impossible to nd more than a few dozen geese, of any size or color, gathered in the same eld at the same time on what used to be the Katy Prairie west of Houston.
Two and three decades ago, it almost seemed tougher mid-winter to nd a harvested rice or soybean eld that didn’t have birds on it. I was fortunate enough to be an avid waterfowl hunter and guide during that time, and the memories are indelible.
e past is the past, though, so no need to dwell on it. And neither, I’m glad to say, have I given up on a potential revitalization of that area. A er more recent winters than not of driving that prairie and searching unsuccessfully for something that even remotely resembled a large concentration of geese, an amazing thing happened.
I saw a picture on social media, posted by a man I’ve known for decades, of snow geese not far north of Hwy 90 between Katy and Brookshire. And then I received a couple of private messages that shared the same news. And then a couple more, and I got cautiously optimistic about the slight but real chance that this prairie and the remaining farmland that entirely surrounds Houston’s sprawl may – may – draw more birds in the future.
ose geese were there, thousands of them in a single eld on what’s le of the region’s formerly enormous agricultural footprint. And in relatively nearby stubble, still more birds.
is wasn’t the sky- lling spectacle my
friends and I witnessed so long ago, but it was a far more impressive sight than most younger hunters had ever seen. And that made me feel good. About the prairie speci cally and about our bays and about Texas wildlife in general.
What the return of those birds to that prairie represented was a reminder that change, for be er or for worse, isn’t permanent. For those geese to nd their way to the Katy Prairie again meant that somewhere else in the yway, hunters were staring at empty elds. at’s their change.
Does it mean that next year’s ights into this region will be larger still and that what’s
:: by DOUG PIKE
TF&G Senior Contributing Editor
safe from predators.
For geese, those rest areas are open water. Sleeping geese would be “si ing ducks” if they slept on land, hunted and haunted by a number of predators. On water, it’s virtually impossible for any fourlegged animal to approach without detection.
As a guide, in the elds early to set up and late to scout for the following day, I saw more than a few coyote try to tiptoe through shallow water that held huge ocks of sleeping geese. I saw them try, but I never saw one succeed. Wake one goose, and that coyote’s hunt is nished.
And back brie y to food, most of the former visitors to that prairie each winter were drawn by thousands of acres of mostly rice along with the occasional section of soybeans, corn or peanuts. e prairie provided a bountiful bu et and was more than able to support any and every goose that wintered there.
le of the prairie might be blanketed again someday in mid-continent snow geese? Probably not, but even if only 10 percent of the geese I remember come back, like Capistrano’s swallows, that prairie could be a productive hunting ground for the relatively small number of people who’d be out there during future seasons.
Waterfowl aren’t that much di erent than any wildlife species. ey’re driven by only two forces, food and shelter. ey need food, fuel for their bodies, to make their annual migrations and endure harsh winter weather. And they need rest between refueling sessions in areas where they are
In the same vein, it was a dramatic reduction in rice production years ago that relocated most of the hundreds of thousands of geese and ducks that once rode out the cold months on that prairie.
ere was a li le more rice here this past year and a few more soybeans or corn or peanuts there, and the birds found it all. And stayed longer, in larger numbers, than in perhaps any of the past 15 years.
Change happens in the outdoors. Not always for the be er, but always for a region. is time, in this once mind-blowing mecca to waterfowl hunters, the change was good. Small, yes, but an encouraging sign a er nothing of the sort for so, so long.
was a far more impressive sight thanThis past winter brought a glimmer of hope to South Texas waterfowlers.
ALLON CLEPPER IS NO STRANGER TO readers here at Texas Fish & Game.
She has wri en articles for us about high school bass shing and her favorite shing strategies.
And recently the teen from the Montgomery Fishing Team at Lake Creek High School in Montgomery, Texas made a big splash on the national scene.
She and her partner Wya Ford beat out 235 other boats at Alabama’s Pickwick Lake last spring, catching 39 pounds-nine ounces to win the High School Fishing National Championship and earn the 17-year-olds four year college o ers totaling $180,000 and other prizes.
Oh, and Fallon made history.
She’s the rst female to win the national title in a high school tournament
“Winning the national championship was amazing. But that wasn’t the best part of the entire trip, just having a li le girl look up to me and just be like, ‘I want to be her one day,” Clepper said in a story in the e Washington Post.
Yes, e Washington Post.
Clepper and Ford have had a whirlwind of a time since the big win and have made mainstream national media.
Clepper and Ford were not the only big winners from Texas last year.
Mark Cerja Jr. and Gus Richardson of the Lone Star Junior Bassmasters won the Bassmaster Junior National Championship at the Carroll County Recreational Lake in Huntington, TX.
A Day 1 limit of 10-7 put Cerja and Richardson in second place. Catching another limit of 7-14 in the nal round, they claimed the top award — a $2,000 scholarship they’ll split according to an article wri en by David Brown at Bassmaster.com.
“I’ve been shing since I was 2, and I was taught to sh hard and grind and never give up,” Cerja said.
According to Bassmaster, Lone Star Jr Bassmasters is a group of youth ages 7-18 who get together 10 times per year to sh competitive bass tournaments. e objective of the club is to provide this opportunity to as many youth as possible.
Austin Yeager of the Splendora High School Bass Fishing Team was the overall winner of the 2022 St. Croix and Texas
Fish & Game Conservation Challenge.
Yeager took part in several of the seven total challenges and extended his conservation e orts to not only bass shing, but
catch-and-release of alligator gar sh.
“He’s obviously passionate about shing and sheries conservation and took to his own to inspire others to get some skin
in the game on conservation. He’s a very deserving winner of the grand prize which is a $1,000 scholarship courtesy of St. Croix,” said Texas Fish & Game Editor-In-Chief
Wyatt Ford and Fallon Clepper with their High School Fishing National Championship trophy.Chester Moore.
St. Croix and Texas Fish & Game in January 2022 collaborated on behalf of youth and incentivized conservation activism among Texas high school bass shing competitors.
“We believe this tech-savvy generation can do great things for sheries and conservation. We have partnered with Texas Fish & Game to create the Texas High School Bass Conservation Challenge, which will be a fun way for students to promote conservation as well as win some great prizes.” said Jesse Simpkins, Vice President of Marketing at St. Croix.
St. Croix and Texas Fish & Game sent seven di erent challenges to high school bass team sponsors throughout the state during the spring semester.
Individual challenge winners got their choice of a Bass X rod from St. Croix.
In February, St. Croix and Texas Fish & Game began a program to get high school bass anglers to sign a pledge to conserve sheries’ resources and sh in an ethical manner.
TF&G is working directly with high
school bass shing sponsors to promote the pledge and help spread conservation and angling ethics through this St. Croixsponsored program.
that inspired us here at TFG. ey went to the city council of Orange and got permission to put shing line disposal receptacles at public boat ramps.
e problem of people throwing line in the water is a boating hazard as line can get caught in props and cause issues and is also a pollution concern. ey took it upon themselves to make this happen and make a di erence for shing and shermen.
e LCM bass team has racked up many accomplishments over the last few years, including multiple School of the Year honors by the Southeast Texas High School Bass Fishing Association.
We would like to send out news releases on tournaments and other issues related to high school bass shing via our Fish & Game report e-newsle er. You can help us by sending stories and photos to cmoore@ shgame.com.
We have commi ed to covering high school and collegiate bass shing since both of their inceptions and will continue to do so.
We believe there is great potential to use this as a platform to create generations of anglers who not only understand how to
sh but how to use shing as a positive for sheries and their lives.
shing from the same Glacier Bay 22, I nally ( nally!) bought a new boat this season, a Caymas 26 HB. Naturally, this meant ge ing a completely new marine electronics suite. And despite being immersed in the marine industry and constantly exposed to the latest and greatest sh nders, chartplotters, and radar, what happened next u erly shocked me: the electronics upgrade literally changed the way I sh.
Generally speaking, when new electronics get introduced to the marketplace I’ll get an initial viewing at one of the major boat shows, shing events, or press conferences. en through the course of the next year, that same gear tends to pop up on new boats I’m testing or shing from for press-related shing trips, and I’ll get some on-the-water experience with it. e unit on my own personal boat, however, was a decade old. As we all know, in the world of electronics that made it u erly ancient.
What I discovered a er shing the new boat for a couple of months is that using these systems when you’re a passenger on a boat is simply nothing like using them as you captain the boat yourself. Case in point: the Caymas is rigged with a Humminbird Apex 16 MEGA SI chartplo er/ sh nder. I’ve been on dozens of boats rigged with Humminbird’s MEGA side-imaging, and always appreciated its utility. But now I have to admit that those days spent looking over the captain’s shoulder at the marks o to each side didn’t tell the whole story. Unlike the old-tech side-scan I’d been using for years, I’ve found that I can check out structure I know sometimes holds sh, with the intent of nding out if sh are there or not at the moment — the returns are that much clearer and more accurate. Now I can idle through open water and look at a school of bait from both above and below at the same time and say with con dence
whether or not there are predators on the periphery.
Basically, once I’d learned the basics of how to operate the system, I began wasting a heck of a lot less time ailing in barren water. Previously I was guessing whether sh were present or not, now I know for sure in short order. And when I see that sh are present but I’m not ge ing bites, I know to start changing colors, lure types, and retrieve styles, and that I should stick around until I can gure out just what the sh want. When I’m Spot-Locked in a position where sh are on the move, I know if anything passes by within casting distance and which direction to let the lures y. And when I’m using the meter to look for sh at longer distances in deeper water, I know when to pull a 90-degree turn and how far to go before stopping to vertically jig over them.
e di erence in sh- nding abilities is huge, but it’s not the only thing that improved with the upgrade. On my old system, when I wanted to pull up the radar I had to split screens (and thereby reduce size and visible detail levels) or toggle between the chart plo er and the radar in order to navigate through the fog or darkness. Now, the radar is overlaid directly onto the chartplo er screen. On my old system I had an 11” LCD and found it necessary to reach for my glasses in order to pick out small numbers or markings on the chart. With the 16” Apex, I can leave those glasses in the glovebox. (Note than at a 16:9 aspect ratio an 11” LCD screen has 51.7 square inches of space while a 16” screen has 104.9 square inches — so it’s actually close to twice the size). And on my old system I sure as heck couldn’t tap the screen on an intriguing looking mark, then swipe to tell the trolling motor to drive to it.
If you’ve read Texas Fish & Game for years and years,
:: by LENNY RUDOW TF&G Boating Editor
you’ve heard me proselytize before about regularly upgrading your electronics. I usually say that at least every ve or so years it’s worth doing. All this time I thought I knew what I was missing out on and failed to heed my own advice because, well, I’m cheap. Now I know be er. And for anyone who is comfortable with their 10-year-old electronics, remember this: you may have seen newer gear in action on someone else’s boat and think you know just what sort of advantages it will or will not give you. But unless and until you captain that boat day in and day out for a month or two, you won’t really know what advantages you’re ceding. And by the time 2028 rolls around, you can bet that I’ll bite the bullet and upgrade my own electronics again.
SKINFLINT RED ALERT: You say modern marine electronics are just too dang expensive for regular upgrading? Look up the numbers, and you’ll nd that most units of equal LCD size carry a price tag that’s very close to the MSRP you would have seen a decade ago. at makes it seem like you’re ge ing all the new tech for about the same cost. But when you gure in the e ect of in ation, it turns out that modern units are generally 30- to 40-percent less costly than they were a decade ago.
AKE CONROE IS KNOWN FOR ITS superior largemouth bass fishing.
Conroe is one of the highest-ranking lakes among those that have produced Sharelunkers (13-pound or larger bass) and has hosted several world championship tournaments including the Bassmaster Classic. As good as the bass fishing can be on this reservoir that dams up the West Fork of the San Jacinto River in
Montgomery and Walker Counties, the perch fishing is better. It can be epic.
I learned this myself in May 2021 while catfishing under the 1097 Bridge.
Only having a few live shiners, channel cats were biting steadily. But after pitching a shiner near a piling on the north side of the bridge, I got a hard “thump”. At first, I thought it might be a big crappie, so I waited a couple of seconds and set the hook.
The fish fought harder than any crappie I ever caught and was shocked when I pulled in a massive bream. It was without a doubt the largest I had ever caught and I at that point had caught some big ones. What was equally as impressive was the one I caught nearly as big on the following cast. I’m talking legit
monsters! And o cials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department note this in their o cial pro le of the lake.
“Bluegills of gigantic proportions can be had by the angler who wants to be patient and target them. ey can be caught along rip rap, shing deep near the toe of the slope (sometimes 8 feet or more). Baits must reach near the bo om quickly to avoid the small bait-stealers that inhabit the shallower water. Live worms or crickets are the best producers. Some good y-rod action can also be had using sinking insect imitation ies and sinking y line.”
ey also note the lake’s superior crappie action.
“Crappie are also very popular and o er good opportunities for anglers seeking table fare. Black and white crappie made a comeback in the lake with the e orts of the Lake Conroe Restocking Association’s spring stockings of advanced juvenile crappie.
Good catches of crappie can be had in early spring and in the fall.”
ere are several abundant species of pan sh available on the lake, so for anglers looking to scratch a particular species o the life list, Conroe is a good stop. Let’s check out key pan sh species and look at some of the TPWD pro les
BLACK CRAPPIE: e black crappie is easily confused with the white crappie. However, it is deeper-bodied than the white crappie, and silvery-green in color.
e record for black crappie is 2.40 pounds and was caught by Daniel T. Chow on April 17, 2022, showing big crappie is a happening thing right now on the lake.
WHITE CRAPPIE: e white crappie
is deep-bodied and silvery in color, ranging from silvery-white on the belly to a silvery-green or even dark green on the back. ere are several vertical bars on the sides.
e dorsal n has a maximum of six spines. While both white and black crappie will congregate around brush piles and bridges, whites will school up in open water. Few anglers pursue them this way, but they are more likely to be found on open ats than their close cousins. e Conroe record is a whopping 2.7 pounds and was caught by Shannon E. Evere on April 17, 2019. Once again, this shows catches of huge crappie in recent years.
BLUEGILL: Bluegills may be distinguished from other sun sh by the dark spot at the base of the dorsal n, vertical bars on their sides, and a relatively small mouth. Bluegills begin spawning when water temperatures reach about 70°F. Spawning may peak in May or June but continues until water temperatures cool in the fall. e lake record is a very large 1.41 pounds and was caught by Tina Cunningham.
REDEAR SUNFISH: e redear is a deep-bodied sun sh with a relatively small mouth. Color ranges from dark olive green above to almost white on the belly. e sides are usually yellow to green. ese are o en called “shellcracker”. Nicholas Mosley caught the 1.12-pound lake record.
Finding pan sh is as easy as nding structure.
Conroe is loaded with man-made brush piles that are a magnet for pan sh. Anglers
The author caught his biggest bream ever in consecutive casts while fishing on Lake Conroe in 2021
shing for crappie should load up with live shiners and lower them down toward the bo om and slowly reel up until they get bit. en they should mark that spot on their line and keep shing in that zone. Crappie can be voracious but o en key in on speci c
depths to bite.
Bream can be over the same brush piles but will o en hit closer to the surface. A red wiggler or hunk of nightcrawler shed under a bobber is usually a great way to score.
e aforementioned 1097 is a great place to sh and although it receives a lot of pressure, seemingly constantly gives up good catches.
Moving into the northern tier of the lake, anglers should not overlook the shorelines along the Sam Houston National Forest. Fallen trees, layovers, and weed lines will hold good numbers of bream.
ese are great spots in particular for y shing. Small poppers are fun to sh early and late as perch hit the surface feeding on insects and insect pa erns work once the sun comes up and sh are bonded to structure.
I personally plan to hit Conroe this year to y sh for perch and hopefully score on more giants. Looking back at the largest of the two sh I caught, I have no doubt it would have been in contention for a lake record. It was, however, dipped in ba er and fried. And that’s OK. One of the best parts about seeking pan sh is pu ing them in the pan and creating great meals for the family.
THE TUG IS THE DRUG, and when you’re on a kayak, a red drum makes for a very potent tug.
Inch for inch, few gamefish can produce a pull like a redfish. A 20-incher feels like many 26- or 27-inch specimens of other species, and a 40-incher feels like it has as much torque as a 115-horsepower outboard. If you’re on a kayak, that makes battling those bulls particularly dicey — and particularly fun. But to enjoy the adrenaline-inducing sleigh ride resulting from a redfish, first you have to fool them into biting. Then, you’ll have to make every move count if you’re going to bring that fish up to the boat and eventually land it.
These tips for kayak fishing for redfish will help.
• You have two advantages over boat anglers: stealth and draft. You also have an advantage over wade fishermen in the form of more mobility. Play to your
advantages and maximize each of these traits.
• Stay away from those noise-making, fish-spooking boats and head for the flats and backwater cuts where they dare not tread. When you see more than one boat fishing an area the best move is often to head in the opposite direction — even if you know they’re in a good spot. There’s a fair chance that if any smart fish were around they’ve already bugged out. And stay on the move until you locate some active fish.
• Use the tide and wind to your advantage, rather than fighting against them. Any time you find yourself working hard to cast along a shoreline or get close enough to cast to a target, ask yourself if you could paddle upwind or upcurrent, then do a controlled drift back down. In some cases this may mean paddling or pedaling an extra quarter-mile or more to get upwind or upcurrent of a target zone. But it’s time and energy well spent, because once you’ve reached a good starting point, you’ll spend more time fishing and less time battling the elements.
• If you like sight fishing, get a SUP paddle and practice using it. These work much better than a standard paddle for maneuvering the boat while standing, and if you’re trying to spot fish in the shallows, you’ll see 10 times as many if you can stand up as you work your way along. Some sharpies like to leash the paddle, so when they spot a fish and transition from paddle to rod they can simply let the paddle slide silently into the water.
• Be sure to position your kayak properly prior to the cast. Carelessly fling your lure at a 90-degree angle to the boat, and if you hook up you’ll be at an immediate disadvantage as you try to fight the fish. Swinging the bow around in line with the fish so you can fight it properly takes time and effort, increases the potential for slack to get into the line, and reduces your ability to maintain maximum pressure right from the start. So before you even take that cast, get the bow pointed
in the proper direction every time.
• Don’t rush the fight. Bringing a green fish up to the boat is risky, and once you have a fish firmly hooked chances are it’ll stay that way until you get it close (90-percent of the fish you hook are either lost immediately after the fight begins, or during the landing process). That said, also be careful not to fight fish that will be released to the point of exhaustion. You’ll have to make a judgement call as to when the fish is tired (after it stops making those long, bulldog runs) and when it’s nearing the point of no return (when it begins rolling on its side or belly at the surface).
• When you get the fish closer than a kayak’s length loosen your drag by about a third if the water is deep enough for the fish to pull straight down. When the fish is far away from the boat your effective drag is looser than it seems, since the fish can pull the boat as well as pulling drag. But if the fish goes vertical it can’t tow the boat any longer, and the full force of your drag gets applied. With very large fish this can be dangerous, particularly if
your line suddenly snaps — which has the potential to throw you off balance in a big way. Loosen the drag and not only do you reduce the chance of rolling, you also reduce the chance of losing the fish.
• Be aware of counter-balancing the fish with your body. Landing very large fish is one of the top ways kayak anglers flip, so you need to be aware of how the fish will shift your center of balance at all times. Lean away from the fish as you pull it in, and don’t distract yourself by trying to take a selfie during this critical maneuver (yes, we’ve watched it happen, and yes, we’ve seen both the angler and the phone end up in the drink as a result).
• Invest in good landing gear. A pair of quality fishing gloves will make it much easier to grab and control the fish while also protecting you from injury. A lip-gripper can go a long way in helping to control the fish, as well. Nets should float if dropped, have rubberized mesh (never knotted nylon, which can scrape off the fish’s protective coat of slime),
and be sized appropriate to the target.
• With very large bull redfish, there’s a good chance your landing net won’t be up to the job. In this case you can use your leg to help “sweep” the fish into the boat. Start by dropping the leg into the water from the knee down (assuming conditions permit, of course). Then bring the fish in close and get a grip with a pair of lip-grippers, grab it around the tail, or grab the lure (if the fish is hooked securely and there’s a safe way to do so without getting your hand close to trebles). Lean away from the fish as you lift it and simultaneously kick your foot up, sweeping the fish into the kayak. Once the fish is in the boat, dropping both legs over the sides will help you remain stable as you deal with it.
Catching redfish is fun no matter how you do it, but battling these beasts from a kayak is particularly rewarding and particularly challenging. Put these tips to work, and with a little luck, it’s a challenge you’ll soon be facing with success.
HERE IS NO ANGLING PURSUIT QUITE LIKE BASS fishing. While every species has its intricacies and multiple ways to pursue, none have the depth of options available like the largemouth bass. Considering the range of waterways bass inhabit and their propensity to get finicky, pursuing them can be like putting together a puzzle.
A big piece of that puzzle is choosing the right rod to use with specific lure styles.
From Flippin’ sticks to shaky head setups, there are myriad options available in both casting and spinning. We’ve looked at some of the leading rods on the market and matched up a list of lure styles with rods to help you match the best rod to your favorite technique.
SPINNERBAITS: Spinnerbaits catch hundreds of thousands of bass in Texas every year. Whether you’re fishing Colorado, Willow Leaf, or even the in-between Indiana blade, they are simple to use and draw big strikes.
A St. Croix 7 ‘3 Victory medium/fast casting rod is a great choice to throw spinners, and with this line of rod’s comfort and balance, you can chunk heavy spinners all day without fatigue.
JIGS: Texas Fish & Game once polled professional bass anglers as to which one type of lure they would fish if seeking the fish of a lifetime. Nearly three-quarters of them answered with “jig.”
A good jig- ipping rod is indispensable for a bass angler and in the Victory line, and the 7 ‘6 moderate-fast casting rod is hard to beat.
Being able to horse a sh in and get a lure working down through heavy cover, yet still being able to feel slight bites and work the jig, isn’t a task for just any rod. is one will get the job done.
TOPWATERS: Anglers are mixed on the best kind of topwater rod to sh. On the casting side of things, especially for walking-style plugs, the St. Croix Victory 7 ‘1 medium-heavy/fast is a great option. On the spinning side, the 7’1 medium with fast action is great for shing chugging style lures.
No ma er the style rod, remember not to overreact when you get a “blowup”. It’s usually best to let the sh strike and wait for a second to set the hook to make sure it has the lure in its mouth.
FINESSE: Finesse shing is essentially
using shorter, lighter lures on a spinning rod to get bass to eat when the bite is o in times such as high barometric pressure or during unusually cold periods.
For this, you need a medium/extra fast 6’8 St. Croix Victory spinning rod. is is perfect for vertical shing small drop shot rigs, chunking tube jigs around docks, and delivering small swimbaits when the bass are keyed in on smaller shad.
BUZZBAITS: A 7’2” medium heavy/ moderate fast Victory casting rod is perfect for throwing big buzzbaits.
ese are great for searching out water, as you can cover long distances and they are a great way to introduce kids to shing larger lures. Since you essentially just have to keep them running along the surface, anyone can learn to use them with minimal instruction.
HAIR JIG: Hair jig shing isn’t something that is super popular in Texas yet. is nesse strategy is gaining traction around
the nation, especially for big “o shore” bass. is 7 ‘10 medium-light/ extra fast spinning rod in the Victory line is specically designed for this tactic, giving anglers everything they need from the reach to the sensitivity.
TEXAS RIG: Many bass anglers started on a Texas rig and although it’s sometimes overlooked nowadays, due to its simplicity, it can still deliver.
e simple bullet weight/hook/worm combo is easy to sh, and it’s super e ective. St. Croix’s 7’3” medium heavy/moderate fast Victory casting rod is excellent for this application, with the combination of enough backbone and action to make the technique impactful.
7’2” heavy/moderate Victory Casting Rod is great for full-contact crankbait shing. e light, well-balanced rod gives anglers extra stamina while shing a technique that can quickly cause fatigue.
A light, well balanced rod can fight off the fatigue of deep cranking.
WACKY WORM: Wacky worm shing is old school but still has a huge following, especially in East Texas where it’s a great way to catch bass along grasslands on the big reservoirs and pick apart docks and
cypress stumps in the river systems.
Spinning rods are great for wacky shing and a 7 ‘1 Victory medium/fast action is a great setup for going wacky style.
SHAKY HEAD: is can fall under the “ nesse” category, but it’s also sort of a category of its own, so we thought it worth the pro le.
St. Croix’s 7’1 medium/fast Victory spinning rod is perfect for this application as it gives the angler the needed length and action for shaky head presentation.
Now is a great time to get more serious about matching rods and lures and pu ing a li le more technical edge to your bass shing.
Texas is experiencing a major uptick in trophy bass shing with mega catches caught over the last couple of years at lakes like Sam Rayburn and O.H. Ivie.
But it’s not just the enormous sh that are on the rise, it’s the overall opportunity to catch quality bass around the state. Virtually everyone is within an hour of a top-notch reservoir. Add to that high-quality river and stream shing and bass shing is as good as it has ever been in Texas.
Taking the extra time to think out rod selection can go a long way in helping you sh more e ciently and hopefully catch more sh in the process.
And hopefully, some of them are genuine Texas-sized specimens.
THE MARINE FORECAST
for the Upper Texas Coast called for 5-10 miles per hour winds with 2-3 foot seas.
Experienced offshore anglers know that usually means 15 miles per hour with four foot seas, but for anglers with offshore boats, that’s a doable day for fishing.
A few hours later, the forecast switched.
As a tornadic thunderstorm system swept through the region and swung a little lower than expected, the forecast changed. 2-3 foot seas, changed to 8-13 feet with 25 miles per hour winds gusting to 50.
That’s extremely dangerous and that scenario happened during the third week of January 2023. There were no reports of marine fatalities but there have been during similar extreme weather outbreaks in recent years.
The coast is an awesome place of fishing, fun and adventure but things can go dark quickly. While weather is the obvious big threat there are others on the coast that rarely get addressed.
Continuing our “staying live” series, we bring you things to be aware of on the coast, so you can make informed decisions.
SUDDEN STORMS: Other than wearing a life jacket, always, the most important thing you can do for boating safety is to stay aware of weather. Having weather apps on your phone helps as alerts can signal changing situations but you also need a good VHF radio and keep it on.
Sometimes apps fail and so does your cell signal, but the VHF alerts are pretty consistent. It doesn’t matter how good the fish are biting, if it seems dangerous - leave. Period.
Also, be cautious when leaving. Don’t think you can “beat the front” in. At best you might need a chiropractor when you get home and at worst you could capsize.
RIP CURRENTS: Rip currents have killed numerous wade fishermen along the coast. Anglers need to be hyper aware.
According to the United States
Lifesaving Association (USLA), there is a myth that rip currents are always visible. They are not.
“Spotting a rip current can be difficult. To check for rip currents at the beach, stand back from an elevated position, like a dune line or beach access, and look for places where waves are not breaking.”
Any of the following clues may indicate that a rip current is present:
• A channel of churning, choppy water;
• An area of water that is a notable difference in color;
• A line of foam, or debris moving steadily offshore; or
• A break in the incoming wave pattern
ROGUE WAVES: Last year we did a major feature on rogue waves that have been linked to numerous boating accidents and at least one fatality on the Texas Coast.
These waves originate from ship traffic and catch many anglers and boaters off guard. They are extremely dangerous and in our opinion, the danger will only increase as larger ships move into our bay systems, particularly along the Houston-Galveston Ship Channel.
This certainly includes people wading along the edge of ship channels. Be super cautious as this issue is only going to increase.
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: I’ll never forget when several anglers had cinder blocks dropped onto their vehicles from a bridge along the Intracoastal Canal. The same year there were reports of people in boats stalking other anglers night fishing along a popular dock.
Remote areas bring out criminals. They are vastly outnumbered by nice folks, but criminals and psychos are present along remote areas of our coast and operate under the cover of darkness at boat docks, remote bank fishing locations and various public access areas.
Do not go alone, especially at night, and if you get a bad feeling about a place, do not go. If you’re already there when it comes, leave.
Not everyone visiting the remote
surf at 2 a.m. is trying to catch the best tides for bull redfish. I interviewed a man who witnessed a white van dumping something on the beach at High Island in the 70’ s. A few weeks later, bodies were found. He and his father had seen serial killer Dean Coryll and only been a few hundred yards from him.
No one else is talking about this stuff but we feel compelled to share.
SNAKES: Cottonmouths and rattlesnakes are common around certain beaches and islands along the coast. The number of rattlesnakes on some of the islands in Upper and Lower Laguna Madre can be high. There are quite a few in the Aransas Bay complex as well.
Upper Coast marshes are loaded with cottonmouths, so be careful when wading some of the shoreline and especially when duck hunting in the early teal season.
SHARKS: Shark numbers are on the rise. And that includes some of the most dangerous species like bull sharks.
We can easily say you are more likely to be struck by lightning than bitten by a shark. Tell that to the guy bitten by a shark.
Be cautious when wade fishing, swimming and diving and don’t ever get comfortable around sharks. If you see a lot of big ones in a particular area, you might want to consider wade fishing somewhere else.
Better safe than sorry.
Texas Fish & Game has promoted shark conservation in numerous issues per year for the last two decades and we’re glad to see sharks doing much better. But we also know people sometimes get attacked and with more sharks and more people in the water, attacks will happen.
(If you have a dangerous encounter along the coast, we would like to share your story with others. You can email them to chester@chestermoore.com.)
to raise awareness to wild turkey conservation. The goal was to use photojournalism to show the story of wild turkeys in Texas and around America. I believe that as turkeys go, so does the health of the forest.
If we get forests right for turkeys, everything else benefits.
I photographed Eastern turkeys in the Pineywoods of East Texas, Florida’s Osceola, Gould’s in Arizona, Merriam’s in Colorado, and Rio Grandes in numerous locations.
This journey was epic, challenging, and fun. But most of all, it was revealing.
The very fact that wild turkeys were down to 1.5 million birds in 1973 and here we are 50 years later with around
6.7 million is an incredible testament to conservation.
The National Wild Turkey Federation was founded that year and has been a force for positive change on behalf of turkeys, and to this day serves as a point of fundraising, expertise, and motivation for turkey and forest health projects. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is doing a great job managing turkeys and bringing Eastern turkeys back.
But there are problems with turkeys in America.
In New York for example, there has
been a large decline in birds. Just across the border from me in Louisiana, a similar change in turkey numbers has occurred.
Other challenges, including development, are challenging not only to these great birds but other wildlife. I got to see that firsthand while traveling from the eastern seaboard to the Sky Islands of Arizona.
This journey clarified that wild turkey conservation is not only a worthy pursuit but a vital one.
Wild turkeys are animals that hunters can get behind and everyone in America can understand if educated. Forest health might be a big pill to swallow but ensuring the future of such an iconic, American bird has appeal.
During this process, I have done
numerous presentations at schools, foster group homes, and for families and found that kids connect with turkeys too. And while the current crop of biologists, forestry workers, and other environmental professionals are doing a good job, what will the future hold?
I believe the charge to keep is not only to keep conserving turkeys but also to inspire young people to take up their cause. It’s great to have kids turkey calling contests and events like that, but it needs to go deeper.
It needs to touch the heart and go to a broader audience.
Maybe there can be others who see a photo of a turkey in a magazine, clip it out and place it in a scrapbook as I did when I was a kid. And maybe one day they will end up writing about their turkey conservation journey.
I’m no one special, but I have been able to do special things involving wild turkeys and my beloved wild sheep and it began in childhood with a scrapbook.
How much more powerful would it be if programs designed to inspire a love of wild turkeys and turkey conservation were to touch the hearts of children across the wild turkeys’ range?
ere are programs in existence and kudos to them.
e following are some things I have done with kids involving turkeys over the last few years and they have been wildly successful, judging by the smiles on their faces and feedback from parents and educators.
Many states have license plate programs bene ting conservation. Texas has license plates featuring desert bighorns, horned lizards and largemouth bass and Florida has manatee plates.
A fun project for kids is to have students design a wild turkey license plate. ey can either draw it or use a photo editing program. Have them use their imagination for any state, using any of the ve varieties of wild turkeys.
Parents can email these designs to chester@chestermoore.com. We will post entries on our Higher Calling Wildlife social media and will have an annual contest via our social media platforms to determine the best design. The winning entry will receive a special wild turkey prize package.
If you have mounted turkeys, calling expertise, enough photos for a PowerPoint presentation, and a love of kids, try a turkey day at school.
My friend Cindy Childress is a teacher at Mauriceville Elementary in Southeast Texas. For the last two years, I have done presentations on wild turkeys and wild sheep at different times.
In November 2022, when everyone is thinking about turkey, I did a presentation called Beards & Bighorns that addressed wild sheep and wild turkeys.
I connected with NWTF and The Wild Sheep Foundation to give the kids turkey and sheep decals and let them learn about all wild turkeys, with a special emphasis on Eastern turkey restoration in their area.
You don’t have to be an expert or educator to do this. Teachers love to have people
come to their classes and it’s always a hit with kids.
Easter egg hunts are a long-held American tradition that goes along with the global holiday.
In 2022, students at Little Cypress Christian Academy in Orange, TX, and Empowerment Church in Port Arthur, TX got a conservation twist with their egg hunts.
Through our Higher Calling Wildlife outreach, we put on turkey egg hunts.
The idea was to raise awareness of the presence of wild turkeys in East Texas and point school-aged kids to their conservation needs.
For each hunt, a dozen wooden eggs were painted to look like wild turkey eggs. Kids were instructed to turn those in to get a special prize package including caps, decals, and rulers, courtesy of NWTF.
Many other plastic eggs were set out with special wild turkey wooden challenge tokens and other items inside.
Our model is to partner with schools, churches, and other groups already doing an egg hunt, and to add to what they have.
It blesses them by making their event bigger and it gives them a unique chance to captivate the imagination of kids regarding wild turkeys.
A full-body Rio Grande turkey mount was on display, and while handing out a prize package to a third grader who found one of the wooden turkey eggs, I heard something that blew me away.
This little third grader walked up and pointed at the turkey mount and said, ‘We need to help these birds and raise money for them. They’re cool.”
You can not only make a difference in turkey conservation but in the life of a child.
That’s a win-win and our world could use a whole lot more of those these days.
And we could use more kids thinking that wild turkeys and raising money for them is “cool”.
That is revolutionary.
be too far away. ey would certainly be in range to hear your calls.
:: by LOU MARULLO TF&G Hunting Editor
OPENING DAY WAS A COLD
one. At least the rain had stopped, but the elds were muddy. Only the true lover of turkey hunting would even consider ge ing up to slide around in the mud as you trudge to your favorite spot—that is me in a nut shell.
I have o en said that I enjoy hunting these birds more than hunting whitetail deer—and I will bet that I am not alone.
ere is something about hearing these majestic birds giving us their symphony of gobbles in the early dawn. It somehow seems to make it all worthwhile.
Although the number of turkey hunters has declined over the years, unfortunately, so have the number of turkeys. ere are many reasons why that is, especially in a state as large as Texas. Severe drought in some parts of Texas as well as too much rain in other areas can cause the turkey numbers to diminish.
Add varmints to the mix, and one can see why it has been a bad year for those birds. However, I am con dent that these numbers will pick up. Simply because the numbers are not there, should not deter you from still getting out in the great outdoors to pursue your favorite sport.
Chances are, if you have one area where you usually see turkeys, that particular spot will still produce. ese birds like to roost in the same location night a er night. Now that is not to say they will be in the exact same tree every night, but generally, they will not
Some grizzled veterans prefer to wait until mid -morning to hunt turkeys. Although I consider myself in the same category, I like to get there at pre-dawn to listen for the rst
If I do not hear any birds sounding o , then I have the option to move to another location and try again. On the other hand, if I do hear those gobbles, then I am absolutely sure I have birds around. If I can’t call them to me at rst light, then I still have a good chance to take one later in the morning.
Most of my hunts have been successful later in the morning, but there have been times when I am lucky right o the roost. I recall one particular season where a certain tom would call every morning, then he would y down in a di erent direction and leave me empty handed.
My wife thought I had lost my mind when I would get my weary bones up every morning in pursuit of that particular bird. I must admit, as I drank my morning co ee in an e ort to wake up, I thought that she might be right.
A er all, this bird with a brain the size of a pea had outsmarted me for days. en one morning I snuck in the roosting area under the blanket of darkness and set up one hen decoy 20 yards from where I sat down.
I waited for sunrise when all of a sudden, the familiar gobble sounded o . is time, instead of yelping back to him, I just made a few so clucks. I did not even know if he heard me because all was silent. But then in the dark dawn light, I saw a black gure heading to my decoy.
I never even heard him y down, but there he was none the less. More important, there I was too. I came home early that morning and tapped lightly on our bedroom window. My wife looked out and saw a proud hunter with a nice tom turkey in his hands.
She told me later that the expression on my face looked like a mad man who had gone totally bonkers for this bird. I might have even stood close to the window and screamed at the top of my lungs for
all the neighbors to hear, “I GOT HIM.”
But that is only hearsay, and I will never admit to it.
One important thing to remember: If the tom is with hens, it is extremely di cult to call him in to you. As a ma er of fact, I have had times when the hen will purposely walk away from your call, dragging the tom along.
One trick that worked for me is almost comical. Once I knew the tom was “henned up,” I waited to hear the boss hen call. en I would suddenly interrupt her call with a deep raspy hen call to simulate the biggest hen.
Every time she called; I purposely interrupted her. Again, and again and again. I could actually hear it in her voice that she was ge ing agitated at the intruder hen. But I kept my game going until she came looking for me.
When I spo ed her, she had a few other hens and a nice big tom following her. I let most of them walk by me. ey all ew in different directions a er I shot the big boy.
Another technique is to just wait until mid-day to start your hunt. Most of the time, if a tom is with a hen, he will stay with her until she heads for her nest. It has been my experience that all is quiet until about 9:30. at’s when the hen has already le the tom, and he is searching for another hen. Once, while hunting with my cousin, we were in a blind, and this exact scene happened.
I had my bow, and he had his shotgun. At around the golden hour, the tom came back looking for us. Except there were three of them all toms and all big.
I whispered to my cousin to shoot on the count of three. He picked one, and so did I. I drew my bow and so ly counted down. All of a sudden, two birds had a bad morning.
I have to say I really do LOVE turkey hunting. I have had some great hunts, and I know you will too. It is just a fantastic time to be outdoors doing what you love.
Have fun and hunt safe.
FISHERMEN ARE AMONG THE WORLD’S GREATEST story tellers. ey also can be pre y shrewd when it comes to guring out cool ways to rig or modify baits to fool more sh.
Bass shermen are particularly cra y, especially with their plastics. Changing hook position or adding a li le weight here and there can mean subtle or drastic changes in the action, fall rate and overall performance of a so plastic lure like a worm, stick bait or creature. At times, may add up to more bites.
Mississippi bass pro Paul Elias gave so swim bait shing a new twist way back in October 2011 when he rigged ve paddle tail swimmers on homemade jig heads and a ached them to a weird-looking shin’ apparatus not many in the bass shing community had ever seen before — now known as e Alabama Rig.
Elias gave the A-rig a coming out party on Lake Guntersville in Alabama, site of the FLW Tour Open bass tournament. He found the sh suspended in the water column over deep water and exploited them to the tune of 102 pounds, 8 ounces on 20 bass over four days — a whopping 17-pound margin over second place. Elias pocketed $100,000.
While matching a ve-inch swim bait with a jig head was nothing new at the time, throwing them ve at a time on a rig with as many spread wires and swivels connected to a single head was a tactic not many bass anglers had tried, or heard of.
Elias changed all of that. e A-rig has since proven so deadly it is now banned in some tournaments and considered an IGFA records rule violation if equipped with more than one live hook. However, it is perfectly legal for recreational use on Texas waters. It’ll work yearround, but anglers have found it to be most e ective at times when bass are herding shad over deep, open water. e belief is the cluster of swim baits simulates a pod of eeing shad that invokes a violent predatory response in bass.
ere are several other ways to rig so plastics that break the conventional molds of Texas and Carolina rigging, several of them intended for nesse or high pressure situations when the bass are wanting something a li le bit di erent. Here are a few worth trying:
WACKY RIG WORM: e worm is hooked through the middle of the body, usually through the egg sac. is causes the worm to dangle freely at both ends and creates a peculiar action.
Cast it out, let it sink a few seconds and move it towards the boat using subtle twitches with the rod tip, pausing occasionally to let the bait sink in the water column. e center-punched worm pulsates at both ends when twitched and sinks horizontally with a slow, u ering action when paused. Most strikes come on the fall.
NEKO RIG: It’s a modi ed version of the wacky rig. A small exposed or weedless hook is cross hooked through the body cavity or
34
by
38
Reported
46
Reported by TF&G Staff
54 SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK
Tides and SoLunar Data
SECRETS TO SUCCESS WITH SOFT PLASTICS
Matt Williams
FISH & GAME FORECAST CENTER SALTWATER
by Capt. Eddie Hernandez, Capt. Derek York, Capt. Mark Talasek, Capt. Kyle Hodson, Capt. Gerad Meritt and Capt. Brian Barrera
FISH & GAME FORECAST CENTER FRESHWATER
parallel with the body, usually just below the bait’s egg sack or mid-section. Some anglers prefer to slip a rubber O-ring around the body and use it to hold the hook in place when cross hooking. The idea is it prevents tearing up soft baits prematurely.
A light weight with a sharp end or screw insert is center punched in the head. Several manufacturers like Z-Man, Big Bite Baits, Mustad, Damki and VMC offer weights specifically for Neko rigging. You can also use a small finishing nail.
The bait pulsates when twitched; keep slight tension on the line to keep the bait standing upright, head down, as it moves through the water.
CHICKEN RIG: A modified version of the Neko rig intended for weedless applications. The hook is Texas rigged along the body cavity rather than leaving the point exposed. This makes the Neko rig virtually weedless so it can be fished through grass and other cover with less worry of hanging up. VMC’s Finesse Neko hook works great for chicken rigging.
DROP SHOT: Easy to build and simple to fish, the drop shot is a light-line tactic where the hook is tied to the main line leaving a lengthy leader (a foot long or more) for attaching a special drop shot weight that hangs directly below. Be sure to run the leader tag back through the top eye of the hook before attaching the weight. This keeps the hook facing upright.
The mechanics of the set up keep the bait elevated off the bottom and away from the weight. This gives the bait a natural action and limits resistance when a fish eats it. Small finesse worms hooked through the nose rule in drop shot arenas. Several companies make specialty drop shot weights that are cylinder or ballshaped with a clip for securing to the line quickly.
Hardly a secret among tournament pros, the drop shot is a popular tactic when fishing vertically for schools of fish relating to bottom or suspended in deep water. It also can be effective when cast and dragged across the bottom like a Carolina rig on gravel banks or around
docks and other structures.
POWER SHOT: The rigging is basically the same as the drop shot, except it calls for heavier tackle, line, an EWG style hook and a 3/4-ounce cylinder weight to go after fish buried up in thick vegetation using a vertical presentation. It’s a good idea to add a sturdy barrel swivel on the main line, ahead of the hook, to reduce line twist.
MINI CAROLINA RIG: The mini model is built similar to the standard Carolina rig, except the slip sinker is significantly smaller, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce. Secure the weight between two bobber stops, or using a rubber Peg-It strip that slides between the slip sinker hole and the line. This allows for sliding the weight up or down to adjust leader length without damaging the line. Ideal in shallow water situations around grass and other cover when other tactics aren’t cutting it.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST come to an end, and sometimes give way to something even be er. at’s exactly what I’m hoping for this year on Sabine Lake.
It’s not that the winter shing on Sabine has been sub-par because it hasn’t. In fact, it is always pre y good and this year has been no exception. e reality, however, is that we are now heading full steam into the spring months. is magical time of year begins on March 23, 2023, with daylight savings time beginning March 12, 2023.
If you are like me, those two dates should get your juices owing, even if shing wasn’t in the equation. e fact that you are reading this means that shing de nitely is a major part of it so there is even more reason for you and I to be excited. You can almost sense
the excitement by people’s demeanor at the boat ramp.
A er a somewhat long winter, and being teased with a few hints of spring, it is nally within our grasp. ese two months could possibly bring the largest welcoming commi ee of the year coast wide. No more teasers. March 23 marks the true beginning of spring. A nice southerly ow will dominate and assist strong incoming tides in bringing pre y water deep into the far reaches of the Sabine ecosystem. Bait sh that had been hanging tight to their comrades will begin to sca er and venture throughout the system, thus opening a window of opportunity for predator sh and anglers alike. Soon we will have the green light to sh basically anywhere we want, and to do it with con dence. Sand and grass will once again be players as water temperatures below the mid 50’s will no longer be a factor. Mud bo oms will hold sh year round but as the water continues
to warm, more and more sh will follow bait to sandy ats and shorelines.
is is the rst chance we’ve had in a while to catch trout in the surf and at the je ies. Some of these yellow mouthed beauties will hold here for a while before making their way down the channel and into the bay. rowing topwaters early is a good idea to help locate the sh. From there it’s pre y much choose your weapon. In the lake, the north revetment wall should be primed to take o in a big way. Always a popular destination, and very easily accessible for bank shermen, trout, reds and ounder will begin to show up with the hordes of bait sh that utilize it for forage and protection.
Topwaters and so plastics of all sizes and colors should get good results. Also, look for bird activity to increase on the south end and main lake as we progress into spring with large schools of trout and reds beginning to consistently push pods of shrimp to the surface. Everything is beginning to heat up, so come join us in the excitement of some good Sabine spring shing.
CONTACT CAPT. HERNANDEZ:
Email: GHGS.Eddie@gmail.com
Online: GoldenHookGuide.com
Reported by CAPT. DEREK YORK
IT’S FINALLY STARTING TO feel like springtime here in Galveston a er a cold and foggy winter. e spring breakers will be here in short order to take over Galveston Island. A lot of families will be looking to get their families out on the water for some fun while shing.
My favorite time of year is here because springtime at the Galveston je ies o ers some of the best sheepshead shing found
anywhere. e black drum run is in full swing, and the speckled trout and reds are feeding good with the warming water temps.
e sheepshead is o en overlooked, leaving many anglers frustrated at the cleaning table. It’s one of the best tasting sh in the bay. It also provides a great ght when hooked.
Typically, I use a rig designed for the bo om with a ¼- ounce egg sinker, a bead, a small swivel, 10-12 inches of 20- to 25-pound uorocarbon leader and a small hook with a live shrimp.
When shing at the je ies or anywhere near structure, I tell people to put it in the rocks as these sh are usually found feeding on the barnacles and other crustaceans living there. ey are usually light biters and can be a li le tricky to hook at times, so keep tension on your line and feel for that slight thump. With a ve sh limit per person and a 15-inch minimum, limits are pre y easy to come by this time of year.
Some of my biggest sheepsheads have come during this time of year. For cleaning them, if you are leting them out, I suggest starting at the tail and working your way toward the head while using good straight edge and serrated edge knives.
If you like catching giant sh, then you need to be targeting the black drum in the springtime. My rigs for these sh are super simple as I’ve said before. A three-way swivel with lighter leader for the weight and a large circle hook for a piece of blue crab. ese sh are o en found in deeper water, 15 to 30 feet, around some kind of hard bo om or structure. Once located, it is not uncommon to catch numerous sh in one spot. e Texas City Dike, Galveston je ies, gas wells and concrete ship all are prime spots to catch these sh which get up to more than 50 pounds.
THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF SABINE LAKE, AT THE MOUTH OF THE NECHES River, offers a wealth of angling opportunities with a wide variety of game species. Selected HOTSPOTS are shown in the table below, and on the map.
Trout and red sh are being over the bay at this time from West Bay into
Trout and red sh are being caught all over the bay at this time from West Bay to East Bay and up into Trinity Bay. e back lakes
and smaller water bodies like Clear Lake, Moses Lake and the upper parts of the bay are producing good numbers of these sh both on arti cial and live bait.
So, make sure you take the time to get out on the water and take your family or someone new to the sport of shing. You’ll be glad you did. Until next time, see you on the water.
Email: SportStalkerFishing@sbcglobal.com
Online: FishGalvestonBayTX.com
Another winter of temperatures in the teens is behind us.
Mother nature unleashed another harsh winter on Texas.
e bay system handled it much be er than the freeze of 2021. Shorter periods of freezing temperatures aided the sheries this time. Hopefully, the trout population will continue their recovery.
I’m not quite sure whether it will ever be like it used to be. My dad started guiding in the early 1970s with the late great Raymond Cox. As a young ve-year-old boy I hopped into the boat for all the scouting trips I could.
I remember stories from the ’50s and ’60s when limits were not needed. Trout and reds were sold at market. ey caught them by the icebox full. Man! Did I not
have the best opportunity to learn from two Matagorda Bay legends.
Raymond was one of the greatest wade shermen until he enjoyed staying in the boat later in life. Power poles were a galvanized anchor with three feet of chain. I was the anchor boy.
“Be quiet when you slide the anchor into the water.” “Don’t slam the icebox lid.” “You’re scaring the sh away!” He had a pet peeve for being quiet on the water.
“Cast the cut mullet out as far as possible away from the boat and let it sit.” “Don’t move it!” “You will confuse the redsh.” at was one of his favorite sayings, LOL.
It worked.
I think he had a red sh spot on his tail. He was the best in the business. RIP Mr. Raymond.
Melvin Talasek was a hardcore wade sherman. He would tie on a black topwater with a chartreuse head and throw it all day long. Mirrolure invented this color because of him—his favorite.
With a cigare e in his mouth, he’d slowly reel in the lure. “Slower the be er,” he preached.
He would cast, reel, stop, take a pu of cigare e, let the lure sit then start doing his topwater twitch. Some of the best blowups came right a er it’s been si ing.
RIP Dad.
Nothing is like it used to be. But our shing is still pre y darn good! Only slipon corks were available back then. ey worked great when sh numbers were triple what we have today.
Now you can get a good heavy cork with beads on each side. ey imitate trout hi ing the top of the water. e weight helps you cast farther to keep the bait in the strike zone longer—much be er than the old slip-on.
Golden spoons were one of the rst
arti cial lures. Both old guys told me the spoons caught sh in the old days and nothing has changed.
e marshes are lling up with a new crop of shrimp and glass minnows. Reds and trout are starting to feed along the shoreline again.
It’s a good time to be on the water. Give me a call for your next visit to Matagorda Captain Mark Talasek 979-479-1397.
CONTACT CAPT. TALASEK:
Email: MarkTalasek@sbcglobal.com
Online: TalasekGuideService.com
LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Anahuac Refuge Flats
GPS: N 29 33.804, W 94 32.374 (29.5634, -94.5396)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Super Spook or a One Knocker topwater
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Favorite colors: To me colors are not as important as presentation.
LOCATION: Galveston East Bay
HOTSPOT: Siever’s Cut
GPS: N 29 26.5619, W 94 42.1379 (29.4427, -94.7023)
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics
SOURCE: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041
www.gofishgalveston.com
TIPS: Top soft plastic colors are Chicken-on-a-
chain-Slammin chicken-Limetreuse and pearl.
LOCATION: Galveston Jetties
HOTSPOT: South Jetty
GPS: N 29 19.0111, W 94 41.0068 (29.3169 -94.6834)
SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Live and artificial redfish bait
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Best fishing with full moon and moving tides
281-788-4041
www.gofishgalveston.com
TIPS: Normally Marcaccio prefers a smaller topwater-but if the water becomes choppy he will switch off to a bigger topwater so that the fish can find it easier.
LOCATION: Galveston West Bay
HOTSPOT: Anderson Ways
GPS: N 29 15.016, W 94 53.0158 (29.2503 -94.8836)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics, Corkies or Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: The important thing is not the lure. It is to be at the right place at the right time.
LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Bart’s Pass
GPS: N 29 31.412, W 94 49.205 (29.5235 -94.8201)
LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay
HOTSPOT: Vin-Ta-Un Flats
GPS: N 29 32.794, W 94 45.805 (29.5466, -94.7634)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics, Corkies or Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: If you are looking for a state record caliber trout, 98 percent of the time, the fish will come when you are wade fishing.
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
SOURCE: Capt. Paul Marcaccio
LOCATION: Matagorda East Bay
HOTSPOT: Bird Island
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
GPS: N 28 43.86, W 95 45.6169 (28.7310 -95.7603)
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Norton Bull Minnow or Lit’l Fishie
SOURCE: Capt. Tommy Countz
281-450-4037
www.matagordafishing.com
TIPS: Close to Bird Island is a big mud flat. Drift the mud flat, bouncing the bait off the bottom. During cold weather a lot of times the fish are on the mud flats…1/4 or 3/8 ounce lead head gets the bait down pretty quick, and covers a lot more water.
LOCATION: Matagorda West Bay
HOTSPOT: Greens Bayou
GPS: N 28 29.0123, W 96 13.0094
Reported by CAPT. KYLE HODSON
AS WITH OTHER STYLES OF shing, there are many mornings in our sport of y- shing that are lled with excitement!
ere’s the anticipation of the play-byplay that rolls through your mind as you consider the day’s conditions. ere’s also the essential optimism that’s shared in the cockpit of the poling ski as you envision Matagorda
(28.4835 -96.2168)
sound. Best Gulp! colors are pearl or New Penny.
LOCATION: Sabine Lake
HOTSPOT: East Pass
GPS: N 29 59.0269, W 93 46.5619 (29.9838, -93.7760)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Gulp under a popping cork
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Catch a lot of fish under a popping cork with Gulp on a light jig head, 1/16 oz, 3 to 5 feet under a Coastal Popping Cork. They have a good ‘clack’
Island’s backcountry.
As saltwater anglers, there are also mornings when we question our sanity. is might be brought about by the sound of ags whipping against ag poles, which could be a warning—whether heeded,
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: 5 Inch Provoker soft plastic
SOURCE: Capt. Bill Watkins
409-673-9211
www.fishsabinelake.com
TIPS: Depending on how much fresh water we have coming in will determine where the trout will locate. If the lake is real clear and salty, the fish will be distributed all over the lake, many of them up north by the rivers.
these exact days this past December. We were greeted with ENE winds gusting to 25mph - the type that sprays everyone as you make your way across the bay. Air temperatures were holding in the upper 40’s, and we were blanketed in heavy cloud cover and high winds—the odds were stacked against us.
We arrived at our destination and made our way through the maze of marsh. Looking for relief from the wind, we were encouraged as we placed ourselves upon the unbeaten path. We truly felt that the further o the trail we could go, the greater reward we might receive. So, we discussed the upcoming lake and its possibilities, and talked about the plan.
or not - of high winds, along with rigging clanking on other nearby boats. Whatever your vision, the realization is ampli ed once you’re away from land and out on the water.
Unfortunately, we experienced one of
Upon entering this Matagorda Island back lake, something caught my eye and I shouted to my angler, “9 o’clock, we might have something.” He’d already keyed on the same thing. His shot now moved to our 12 o’clock. He held the shot, and he presented a well-placed 40-foot cast to what I knew was a good sh. My initial fear was that this sh was going to drag us down through some of the shallow guts that I wouldn’t be able to pole us to. My angler, however, did a fantastic job, and he was
able to land his red sh without pause. e moral of the story—you never know unless you go, even if the odds happen to be stacked against you! Fly- sh whenever you can! You’ll love it!
If you’re shing with conventional gear along the Texas Coastal Bend region, keep in mind that our mid-coast bay waters can o en become severely discolored because of this month’s tides and winds. However, don’t let that discourage you from shing any one area. Learn to sh the signs and conditions, and not the spot. If you discover jumping bait sh in “chocolate milk” water, throw a top water or slow sinker, especially if the bait’s being driven against the windward shoreline. Best results will come when using darker colors, which has yielded some handsome catches in some seemingly overwhelming conditions. In other words, never give up on the situation at hand during March—just keep grinding!
CONTACT CAPT. HODSON:
Email: KyleHodson@hotmail.com
Online: BayFlatsLodge.com
LOCATION: Port Aransas
HOTSPOT: Inside Mud Island
GPS: N 27 56.006, W 97 1.0041 (27.9334 -97.0167)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Cut menhaden and cut perch head, dead shrimp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: I also like to fish San Antonio Bay. There are some great reefs in there that if the wind is low, you can find some really good reefs that will hold good, good numbers of black drum.
LOCATION: Port Lavaca
HOTSPOT: Garrett Reef
GPS: N 28 39.814, W 96 22.455 (28.6636 -96.3743)
SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Cut menhaden and cut perch head, dead shrimp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: DOA Soft Plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: On the spoil banks look for subtle structure breaks, such as gaps between the banks.
LOCATION: Port O’Connor
HOTSPOT: New Half Moon Reef
GPS: N 28 33.7999, W 96 14.5309 (28.5633 -96.2422)
LOCATION: Rockport
HOTSPOT: Bay Oil Wells and Pads
GPS: N 28 2.742, W 96 57.8339 (28.0457, -96.9639)
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
www.rockportguidedadventures.com
TIPS: March is for redfish fishing. If it’s a north wind, fish Matagorda Island, anywhere between Panther Island and Cedar Bayou.
LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Night Hawk Bay
GPS: N 27 33.196, W 97 16.369 (27.5533, -97.2728)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: DOA Soft Plastics or Berkley Gulp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: The new Half Moon is close to the coordinates for the old Half Moon Reef.
LOCATION: Redfish Bay
HOTSPOT: Dagger Island
GPS: N 27 50.217, W 97 9.966 (27.8370, -97.1661)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Corkys or Soft Plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: A Berkley Gulp in a pearl color also works great in the clearer water.
LOCATION: Rockport
HOTSPOT: Spalding Reef
GPS: N 28 6.2689, W 96 54.4709 (28.1045 -96.9079)
SPECIES: Redfish
BEST BAITS: Popping cork/shrimp ro soft plastics
SOURCE: Capt. Daniel Land
361-876-7610
rdhuntng16@yahoo.com
TIPS: Switching to a braid line has inclrease his catches. The thinner diameter line is harder for the fish to see.
LOCATION: Upper Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: King Ranch Shoreline
GPS: N 27 29.134, W 97 21.1079 (27.4856, -97.3518)
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Down South Lures in bright colors
SOURCE: Capt. Chad Verburgt 361-463-6545
TIPS: We should be getting a pretty good return on a lot of our fish that are coming back in from the Gulf.
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Corkies or Soft Plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Not all structure is visible above the water. Using your sonar locate well pads that the superstructure has been removed from.
LOCATION: San Antonio Bay
HOTSPOT: Panther Reef
GPS: N 28 13.0105, W 96 41.0139 (28.2168 -96.6836)
SPECIES: Speckled trout
BEST BAITS: Sand Shad with a 1/8 oz. lead head
SOURCE: Capt. Tommy Countz
281-450-4037
TIPS: Twenty miles of shoreline from the King Ranch to Baffin Bay- Run the shoreline till you find bait action. Some big trout come from this shoreline.
Reported by CAPT. GERAD MERRITT
SPRING FISHING IS FINALLY here. Although the water and air temperatures are rising, they are still uctuating between cool to cold in the evenings and mornings. During mid-day, the water temperatures become increasingly warmer, encouraging the sh to move quite frequently.
gloomy out, I check the ats and some drop-o s on the shallower side but try and look for warmer water. Although this may be in the shallow areas, it is most likely a li le deeper than what you would normally like to see.
Sunny days, or should I say warmer days, bring warmer water temperatures to the higher or shallower water tables. I still try and nd the di erent water structures while working grass lines and pot holes in between following the pa ern we have see thus far. We are using live shrimp with the occasional live croaker and possibly piggie perch for live bait. Cut mullet and dead shrimp for drum on the bo om (as well as live shrimp under a popping cork). At this time we are doing our best to match plastic lures to the water clarity, depth, grass ats, and structure changes. It is also important to match the actions to what the water is doing as far as wind, current, and location.
Reported by CAPT. BRIAN BARRERA
LOOKING INTO MARCH AND
On days I am spring shing, I pick spots based on air/water temperature and the amount of sun versus clouds. For colder days, I also glance at what the moon is doing and base my decisions on all of these factors.
My shing trips start in the morning and end mid-day, so the major and minor bite times aren’t always in my favor. is does not mean the sh are not in the correct location and hungry. It just indicates that based on all this information, certain times should technically be be er for feeding. When it is cold and
Do not be scared to try something different every once in a while and enjoy the spring shing season!
CONTACT CAPT. MERRITT:
Email: GeradMerritt@gmail.com
Online: ParadiseGuideServices.com
April it’s always hard to pinpoint exactly where you’ll be, exactly what you’ll be doing, or how you’ll be doing it on any given day. ese are transition months, is it going to be cold? Is it going to be hot? Will the sh be deep or shallow? ese “transition” months cause indecision in some of the sh schools. Some are already entering summer patterns, some are still holding on strong to winter pa erns. It can take a while to get ahold of them, but once you do it can be great shing. I like to start in deep grass pockets for red sh and trout looking to ambush overpassing bite size bait sh. If that’s not happening I start to cruise the shallow ats looking for warmer water and schools of bait sh scattering from under the boat. If I see a good amount of sh over a 75-100 yard stretch I feel like it’s worth swinging around on. I’m a lure guy when it comes to red sh and trout, but sometimes in these transition months I’ll use certain kinds of bait like ballyhoo or live mullet. Anchoring up or dri ing along mangrove covered spoil islands can be good with these kinds of baits.
But don’t get under con dent, March and April are also extremely easy and fun months to sh if you decide to take what Mother Nature is willing to give you… e sheepshead shing is phenomenal during this time period, they are spawning and holding in massive schools in semi-deep
structure, anywhere from 6-20’ deep from inshore channels and bridges to nearshore wrecks within just a few hundred yards of the je ies. Once I locate the schools on my humminbird sh nder Live or dead shrimp free lined o the side of the boat will get chewed every time! Be ready for triple and quadruple hook-ups when hangin’ in schools of these convicts. ey’re not easy to let but the tasty meat is worth the work. ey call ‘em “bay snapper” for a reason!
Trophy hunting? With the good moons, full or new, in March and early April you can nd me chasing monster trout on pink topwaters and jigs with so plastics. It’s the time of the year where the trout tend to be the heaviest, and most willing to destroy noisy walk the dog style topwater lures, which is an absolute blast! Many personal best sh are a ained by my clients during these times.
CONTACT CAPT. BARRERA:
Email: CaptBrianBFishing@gmail.com
Online: InshoreFishingSouthPadre.com
LOCATION: Arroyo Colorado
HOTSPOT: North of Arroyo
GPS: N 26 22.0107, W 97 20.0005 (26.3668 -97.3333)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Corkies, soft plastics in dark colors
SOURCE: Captain Joey Farah 361-442-8145
TIPS: Fish the rocks off the point in deeper water. Fish Corkies and eel-style plastics on light jigheads.
LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Marker 63
GPS: N 26 14.343, W 97 16.482 (26.2391, -97.2747)
BEST BAITS: 3 inch Berkley Gulp under a popping cork
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Fish grass beds and along the spoil banks… all shallow water from 18 inches to two feet deep.
LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Queen Isabella Causeway
GPS: N 26 5.0155, W 97 12.0163 (26.0836, -97.2003)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Egret Wedge Tail and Kelly Wiggler
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: If the weather is warm Capt. Johnson will start the day with a topwater and use them all day if I have a consistent bite. If the action slows, he will go either to a soft plastic or a Corky… a slow twitch bait.
LOCATION: Baffin Bay
HOTSPOT: East Kleberg Point
GPS: N 27 16.3, W 97 30.46 (27.2717 -97.5077)
SPECIES: Sheepshead
BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp, fresh shrimp.
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Free line shrimp around the pilings. Braided line is best for light bites.
LOCATION: Middle Ground
HOTSPOT: Channel
GPS: N 26 36.398, W 97 24.102 (26.6066, -97.4017)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Live bait, Gulp Shrimp, twitchbaits.
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Fish the flats just west of the Marker. Trout and redfish hang out around the potholes in 3- to 4-feet of water. The traditional live bait and soft plastics work well.
LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Gaswell Flats
GPS: N 26 12.138, W 97 17.8489 (26.2023, -97.2975)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Various baits
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Topwaters, red/white soft plastics, gold or chrome spoons.
LOCATION: Port Mansfield
HOTSPOT: Land Cut Spoils
GPS: N 26 49.0094, W 97 28.0021 (26.8168, -97.4667)
SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish
SPECIES: Speckled Trout
BEST BAITS: Catch 2000 or Corkys
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: The Catch 2000 and Corkys are suspending baits…just a slow twitch, keep them above the grass. Favorite colors are pink/chartreuse for a Catch 2000 and a pearl/green on the Corky.
LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre
HOTSPOT: Stover Point
GPS: N 26 12.0031, W 97 17.0117 (26.2001, -97.2835)
KLEBERG POINT ON THE WEST SHORE OF BAFFIN BAY IS THE GATEWAY TO TWO productive extensions, Cayo Del Grullo and Laguna Salada. Selected HOTSPOTS are shown in the table below, and on the map.
SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish
BEST BAITS: Popping Cork with live shrimp
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: When fishing open water, fish the flood tides. In smaller bays fish an ebb tide because the nutrients are being flushed out of the small bays and channels.
area at the bottom; dawn-midday, dusk 7
LOCATION: Lake Bob Sandlin
HOTSPOT: River Boat Cove
GPS: N 33 3.479, W 95 1.876 (33.0580, -95.0313)
TIPS: Fish live minnows or white/chartreuse jigs. Troll the brush piles. Morning through afternoon.
LOCATION: Lake Houston
HOTSPOT: Scott’s Point
GPS: N 30 1.878, W 95 7.736 (30.0313, -95.1289)
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Soft plastics
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Afternoon is best time of day.
LOCATION: Lake Cooper/Jim Chapman
HOTSPOT: Brush Piles
GPS: N 33 18.323, W 95 38.286 (33.3054, -95.6381)
LOCATION: Lake Fork
HOTSPOT: Main Lake Pockets and Coves
GPS: N 32 48.0659, W 95 33.4319 (32.8011, -95.5572)
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows or jigs, use spider rigs trolling
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Use spider rigs when trolling
LOCATION: Lake Livingston
HOTSPOT: Harmon Creek
GPS: N 30 52.134, W 95 23.9039 (30.8689, -95.3984)
SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Jigs, Rat-L-Traps in Chrome Blue
SOURCE: David S Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602
TIPS: Cast jigs and Rat-L-Traps in deep holes off sandy points. Troll the holes with the same baits.
LOCATION: Lake Murvaul
HOTSPOT: Jones Branch
GPS: N 32 2.554, W 94 26.012 (32.0426, -94.4335)
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows, jigs
SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 903-593-5077
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Grandebass Airtail and Rattlesnake
SOURCE: Lance Vick 903-312-0609
TIPS: Big bass are shallow in pockets and coves. Fish a weightless worm rigged weightless, throw to the shoreline and fish slow next to stumps and grass; or a Texas-rigged Grandebass 6.5 Rattlesnake. On a cold front throw a Carolina-rigged 4.75 Rattlesnake on shallow clay points.
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Navigate the creek graphing brush & fish; dawn, morning, dusk
LOCATION: Lake Nacogdoches
HOTSPOT: Mills Branch
GPS: N 31 35.929, W 94 49.374
(31.5988, -94.8229)
SURFACE AREA: 9,004 acres
DEPTH: 65.6 feet
BOB SANDLIN IS AN ALL-AROUND good lake for anglers, with abundant
populations of largemouth and white bass, crappie and catfish.
Fish attractors have been placed on the lake. See this symbol... ...on the map).
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 409-698-9114
TIPS: Fish live minnows or jigs. Use bottom rigs and fish around trees. Avoid midday.
LOCATION: Lake O the Pines
HOTSPOT: Cedar Springs
GPS: N 32 50.616, W 94 41.656 (32.8436, -94.6943)
CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
BEST BAITS: Shrimp, dough bait
SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 903-938-1007
TIPS: Use bottom rigs. This spot is good all day.
LOCATION: Lake Sam Rayburn
HOTSPOT: Cannons
GPS: N 31 14.012, W 94 21.708 (31.2335, -94.3618)
GPS: N 31 53.5319, W 93 55.896 (31.8922, -93.9316)
spawn. Concentrate on the bars and the inside bends of the river sandbars. If the current is running, look for the eddies where the water is still. The Whites will bunch up in the still water.
LOCATION: Lake Wright Patman
HOTSPOT: Big Creek Cove Points
GPS: N 33 19.883, W 94 11.628 (33.3314, -94.1938)
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Chicken livers, cut bait
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Fish the bushes. Move to grass if the water temperature falls.
LOCATION: Lake Toledo Bend
HOTSPOT: Sabine River, Government Ditch
Reported by TF&G STAFF
LOCATION: Lake Austin
HOTSPOT: River Bend
GPS: N 30 19.844, W 97 56.041 (30.3307, -97.9340)
SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Rat-L-Traps, shallow diving square bill crankbaits, Road Runners, Tail Spinners, and slab spoons
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: The White Bass will be in the river for the
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows, jigs
SOURCE: TPWD District Fisheries Office 903-938-1007
TIPS: Fish live minnows or white/chartreuse jigs. Hit the timber and weeds. Morning through afternoon.
Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Focus on the middle section of the Cowhouse Creek arm, near the old creek channel. Watch sonar for suspended pods of fish and fish the Thin Fin on a downrigger if the fish are deep, or a Smash Shad on a flat line if the fish are within 12 feet of the surface.
LOCATION: Lake Buchanan
HOTSPOT: Main Lake Ridges and Humps
GPS: N 30 49.374, W 98 23.0279 (30.8229, -98.3838)
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Topwaters
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Topwaters work best; morning, dusk; all day
LOCATION: Lake Belton
HOTSPOT: Cowhouse Creek Arm
GPS: N 31 8.7899, W 97 32.088 (31.1465, -97.5348)
SPECIES: White Bass and Hybrids
BEST BAITS: Storm Thin Fin in Silver Shad color or a 2.75” Storm Smash Shad in Rainbow Smelt color
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
SPECIES: Striped Bass and White Bass
BEST BAITS: Live Shad
SOURCE: Clancy Terrill
512-633-6742
www.centraltexasfishing.com
TIPS: Striper and White Bass fishing should be excellent in 30-40 feet of water near ridges and humps. Concentrate on the upper half of the lake.
LOCATION: Canyon Lake
HOTSPOT: Canyon Lake Marina
GPS: N 29 54.684, W 98 14.256 (29.9114, -98.2376)
SURFACE AREA: 3,624 acres
DEPTH: 45 feet
1969
CHANNEL CATFISH ARE THE MOST sought-after species followed by
hybrid striped bass, red drum and largemouth bass..
The main cover is cattails and bulrush along the shoreline.
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Hard plastic jerk baits, soft plastic jerk baits, top-water, slow-rolling spinnerbaits, lipless or square-bill crankbaits
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Look for prime areas for spawning in shallow water. This is one of the best times of the year to fish the back of coves and other shallow water areas. Bass will hit just about anything during the spawning season. The main difference in lure selection is the sizes. The best fishing occurs just before frontal passage and then a couple days after when the winds return from the south.
LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake Creeks
GPS: N 32 13.098, W 96 3.6719 (32.2183, -96.0612)
with spinnerbaits and plastics. You should find fish in most all these areas.
LOCATION: Lake Eagle Mountain
HOTSPOT: Pelican Island
GPS: N 32 59.278, W 97 30.909 (32.9879585, -97.5151480)
with cover such as brush or lay downs mixed in. The best way to catch these fish is by anchoring the boat and casting several lines with cutbait out on the bottom on the edge of the brush.
LOCATION: Fayette County Res.
HOTSPOT: Fite’s Ridge
GPS: N 29 55.5, W 96 44.418 (29.9250, -96.7403)
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch Bait
SOURCE: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103
www.fishtales-guideservice.com
TIPS: Water is very deep here-maybe 50 feet. Throw out a marker and chum around it. Either anchor with long rope or use trolling motor to keep you close to marker. Fish straight down with tight line over chum.
LOCATION: Lake Granger
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits and plastics
SOURCE: Jason Barber 903-887-7896 www.kingscreekadventures.com
TIPS: Fish the back 1/3 of all the spawning creeks
SPECIES: Blue catfish
BEST BAITS: cut bait
SOURCE: Kolby Kuhn, Final Cast Guide Service
817-243-5858
kolbymkuhn@gmail.com
TIPS: When the water starts to warm up, the bait moves to shallower water. The blue catfish will follow the bait. Look for wind-blown points and shoreline
HOTSPOT: Rivers, Creeks, and Coves
GPS: N 30 41.8379, W 97 22.278 (30.6973, -97.3713)
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: 1/16 oz. jigs, either plastic or marabou - Bass Assassin brand preferred
SOURCE: Tommy Tidwell
512-365-7761
www.gotcrappie.com
TIPS: This is the time of year that crappie start looking for the warmest places which are protected coves and sloughs. Look for any shallow places that gets a lot of sunlight and is protected from the wind. Use long crappie rods with a slip bobber set up. Set the depth to about 16 inches. Fish these right next to the bank in the thickest cover that you can find. The prime time to try this is the day after you have three warm days and nights.
LOCATION: Lake Joe Pool
HOTSPOT: West Tree Flats
GPS: N 32 36.735, W 97 03.208 (32.6123, -97.0535)
LOCATION: Lake Limestone
HOTSPOT: Mouth of Navasota River
GPS: N 31 26.348, W 96 23.36 (31.4391, -96.3893)
TIPS: Fish the old river channel where it comes under the bridge in 12 to 15 feet of water with either minnows or tiny crappie jigs.
LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts
HOTSPOT: Flats
GPS: N 33 22.5834, W 97 3.4896 (33.3764, -97.0582)
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Prepared baits
SOURCE: Carey Thorn
469-528-0210
whitebassfishingtexas.com
TIPS: Fish prepared baits on Carolina rig or trotline.
LOCATION: Lake Lavon
HOTSPOT: Dam Area and Main Lake Boat Slips
GPS: N 33 1.956, W 96 28.92 (33.0326, -96.4820)
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Live or cut shad, stink bait
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Drift fish in 5-15 feet of water; this spot is good all day
LOCATION: Lake Palestine
HOTSPOT: Old Folks Playground
GPS: N 32 9.624, W 95 28.074 (32.1604, -95.4679)
SPECIES: White Bass
BEST BAITS: Topwaters, swimbaits
SOURCE: Dean Heffner
940-329-0036
TIPS: The white bass will be getting close to the end of their spawn and be looking to fatten back up. The shad spawn will be starting in April, and this is a great time to fill the freezer with fillets. Flats and main lake points are great places to fish for white bass.
LOCATION: Lake Richland-Chambers
HOTSPOT: Fisherman’s Point Marina
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Live minnows, black/chartreuse and white/chartreuse jigs with 1/32 and 1/16 oz. pink jig heads.
SOURCE: Carey Thorn
469-528-0210
whitebassfishingtexas.com
TIPS: Crappie fishing excellent under private boat slips. Fishing is also good at the dam spider rigging in 18 to 28 foot depths.
LOCATION: Lake Lewisville
HOTSPOT: Cottonwood Cove
GPS: N 33 9.538, W 96 55.891 (33.1590, -96.9315)
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Big Eye Jigs, Top Shelf Spinner Baits, Shimmy Shakers, and Mr. Twister Comida in Black/Blue
SOURCE: Ricky Vandergriff 903-561-7299 or 903-530-2201 www.rickysguideservice.com
TIPS: Fish brush and drainage ditches around the old folks playground. Fish the Big Eye Jig in the brush along the side of the islands and fish the Top Shelf Spinner Bait and Shimmy Shaker up in the brush and drainages. Another bait is the Mr. Twister comida in blk blue color fished in both locations.
LOCATION: Lake Ray Hubbard
HOTSPOT: Harbor Bay Marina Bridge
GPS: N 32 53.3939, W 96 29.4059 (32.8899, -96.4901)
GPS: N 31 56.3699, W 96 7.4459 (31.9395, -96.1241)
SPECIES: Crappie, White Bass and Hybrid Striper
BEST BAITS: Crappie: small minnows or jigs, Whites and Hybrids Striper: silver slabs and a blue/ chrome Rat-L-Traps
SOURCE: Royce Simmons
903-389-4117
www.gonefishin.biz
TIPS: April is historically the BEST month to catch shoreline spawning Crappie, main lake white bass and hybridss on the Flats. Crappie will be in shallow water in the many Coves and Creek Tributaries on the lake. Small minnows or jigs fished under a cork and placed beside any structure will work best.
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows, jigs
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishandgamegear
TIPS: Live minnows, white/yellow jigs, fish tree tops; all day
SPECIES: Crappie
BEST BAITS: Minnows or tiny crappie jigs
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas
LOCATION: Lake Somerville
HOTSPOT: Snake Island
GPS: N 30 18.75, W 96 35.634 (30.3125, -96.5939)
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Shad, Punch bait
SOURCE: Weldon Kirk
979-229-3103
www.fishtales-guideservice.com
TIPS: Fish the south side of this island with wind blowing into shore. Shad should be gathering shallow now. Us tight line and cast close to shore.
LOCATION: Stillhouse Hollow Lake
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 31 1.9499, W 97 35.0519 (31.0325, -97.5842)
BEST BAITS: Weightless lizards, wacky-rigged Senkos, crankbaits and spinnerbaits
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
TIPS: Tthe spawn is almost over. Use a weightless lizard or wacky rigged Senko shallow around beds.
LOCATION: Lake Tawakoni
HOTSPOT: Stone Point Area
GPS: N 32 58.245, W 96 0.926 (32.9708, -96.0154)
TIPS: Fish bait on a bottom rig, drift or anchor; dawn-midday
LOCATION: Lake Texoma
HOTSPOT: Paw Paw Creek
GPS: N 33 53.982, W 96 53.79 (33.8997, -96.8965)
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
SPECIES: Catfish
BEST BAITS: Sponge bait or Live shad
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas Fishgame.com/fishgamegear
SPECIES: Striped Bass
BEST BAITS: RoadRunner and Sassy Shad jigs
SOURCE: Bill Carey
903-786-4477
www.striperexpress.com
TIPS: In March the white bass have already spawned, and the stripers are staging up the main tributaries. Main lake points, ditches and creeks will hold stripers. 1oz. RoadRunner and Sassy Shad jigs in white or chartreuse will work best. Fish the creeks in 12 to 20 feet of water with a slow retrieve for fish up to 20 pounds. Watch the seagulls, they can be your best fish finder. When you are fishing under the birds keep your lure in the top 15 feet of water.
LOCATION: Lake Whitney
HOTSPOT: Whitney Hump
GPS: N 31 54.666, W 97 20.868 (31.9111, -97.3478)
SPECIES: Stripers
BEST BAITS: Chartreuse Wild Eyed Shad and Live Gizzard shad
SOURCE: Randy Routh 817-822-5539
www.teamredneck.net
TIPS: Use Wild Eyed Shad swim baits early. Cast out on the hump and retrieve medium to fast to catch the stripers as they are moving up on the hump gorging on the spawning shad. After the sun comes up back off the hump and anchor in 30 feet of water and fish live shad suspended off the bottom.
LOCATION: Lake Cisco
HOTSPOT: Main Lake
GPS: N 32 26.381, W 99 00.066 (32.439685, -99.001097)
SURFACE AREA: 14,969 acres
MAXIMUM DEPTH: 45 feet
IMPOUNDED: 1966
LAKE ARROWHEAD IS RECOGNIZED AS a premier white crappie lake. Arrowhead also contains channel, blue, and
flathead catfish. Largemouth bass fishing can be very good at times. Fish attractors have been added to the reservoir. See this symbol... ...on the map). u
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Wacky worms, jerkbaits
SOURCE: Lance Benson, TPWD 325-692-0921
Lance.Benson@tpwd.texas.gov
TIPS: Lake Cisco is a small impoundment in Eastland County approximately 1050 acres in size. It is surrounded by steep rocky bluffs that offer great fishing habitat. There are several docks on the lake that have great fishing opportunities. Try throwing a wacky worm or ned rig under the docks. As the water warms up, a floating jerk bait thrown near rocks and brush can produce some big strikes. Lake Cisco has very clear water in the main part of the lake and stained water in the creek areas. There is plenty of brush in the creek area that hold lots of fish. Spinnerbaits in the past have produced lots of quality fish in both size and numbers.
LOCATION: Lake Fort Phantom Hill
HOTSPOT: White Elephant Ramp
GPS: N 32 36.620, W 99 41.156 (32.61034, -99.68594)
SPECIES: Largemouth, White and Hybrids
BEST BAITS: Crankbaits, spoons, jigs
SOURCE: Glenn Chancellor, TPWD 325-692-0921
Glenn.Chancellor@tpwd.texas.gov
TIPS: Located just North of Abilene, Fort Phantom offers great action on late spawn largemouth bass, white bass, and hybrid striped bass fishing. Fort Phantom covers a little over 4,000 acres with shallower creek channels and flooded timber on the south end, and steep rock on the north. Largemouth tend to have a late spawn in this reservoir, so heavy bass are still in the cards early April. If you are after hybrids dead stick around the dam and White Elephant ramp, or troll around the sailboat cove and main ramp. Later in the month white bass turn on can be found on most of the rocks, but especially right outside the main ramp cove.
LOCATION: Lake Granbury
HOTSPOT: River Near Tin Top
GPS: N 32 34.559, W 97 49.295 (32 34.559, -97 49.295)
SPECIES: Crappie (and more)
BEST BAITS: Small jigs with soft plastics in Electric Chicken and Chartreuse colors worked near structure near banks/docks
SOURCE: Michael W. Acosta
Unfair Advantage Charters
254-396-4855
TIPS: Swim or bounce your jigs across the bottom. Work the bends in the river and look for fish either in the deeper holes and when active on top of flats adjacent to the deeper water. Crappie will be spawning most creeks and sloughs all over the lake and in the river. Granbury water temperatures are in the 60’s. Spring patterns are in full force. Wintering Birds are still in place and are pointing anglers to active
feeding fish from the dam to the river above Granbury. Passing cool fronts/storm fronts continue to dominate the weather pattern. Stripers are pushing baitfish to the surface. White bass are spawning, and many are moving back to the main lake. Jigs with soft plastics and jigging slabs continue to put sandbass in the boat. Catfish action is great on cut shad and hotdogs fished under deeper docks and creek entrances.
LOCATION: Lake Granbury
HOTSPOT: Granbury Indian Harbor Ditch
GPS: N 32 24.576, W 97 44.910 (32 24.576, -97 44.910)
SOURCE: Dean Heffner
940-329-0036
Fav7734@gmail.com
BEST BAITS: Live shad
SOURCE: Dean Heffner
940-329-0036
SPECIES: Largemouth bass
BEST BAITS: Jig and pig, plastics, spinner baits
SOURCE: Michael W. Acosta
Unfair Advantage Charters
254-396-4855
TIPS: Work your presentation around bedding areas/ seawalls and shallow structure. Small feeder creeks near housing additions will have numerous beds. The river above Granbury will also have blacks spawning in shallow flats off creek channels. Granbury water temperatures are in the 70’s. Spring patterns are in full force. Wintering Birds are still in place and are pointing anglers to active feeding fish on the main lake. Passing cool fronts/storm fronts continue to dominate the weather pattern.
LOCATION: Lake O.H. Ivie
HOTSPOT: North Island Channel Edge
GPS: N 31 32.584, W 99 40.663 (31.543067, -99.677717)
TIPS: March is spawning season, so everything is in a hurry to fatten up for the spawn, or has already headed that way. Best tactic is to first watch the birds; second, troll or flatline RatLTraps an crankbaits. This will help you locate fish instead of blindly blowing down the lake. Slow down and get in tune with the birds and the water, and you will get on fish faster. If you can them, live shad is the best bait. Otherwise, match the hatch and color. Stick to basic colors— white and chartreuse are on the list. Go slow, 2.8 mph. Keep what you want to eat and release the rest.
LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom
HOTSPOT: Cedar Creek
GPS: N 32 53.542, W 98 33.180 (32.893, -98.553)
Fav7734@gmail.com
TIPS: April is full on spawn, but the spawn I am chasing this month is the shad spawn. Look for the birds to put you on the bait. But be careful. If you get greedy and stuff your tank, you will lose them all, so take just enough Most livewels won’t hold but 3 to 5 dozen medium to small shad anyway. Once you get your bait, anywhere you go on PK you will catch fish . Start in 20 feet right off the bank where you caught your bait. Then use your graph to find a breakline and set up on it.
SPECIES: Largemouth Bass
BEST BAITS: Crankbaits
SOURCE: Texas Lakes & Bays
TIPS: Fish deep crankbaitss, work steep channel; dawn-dusk.
LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom
HOTSPOT: Peanut Patch
GPS: N 32 53.627, W98 30.998 (32.894, -98.517)
SPECIES: Striped bass
SPECIES: Striped bass
BEST BAITS: Live shad, RatLTraps, crankbaits
The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for our Base Point, Galveston Channel (N 29.317, W 94.88)
Tidal movement and daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on many fish and game species.
AM & PM MINOR phases occur when the moon rises and sets. These phases last 1 to 2 hours.
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 TIMES: Our Forecast Calendar uses both Tide and SoLunar projections to predict the best fishing times and days. Generally, if a SoLunar Period (Major/Minor) falls within an hour of sunrise or sunset, fishing conditions should be better. On certain days where Tidal Activity is stronger, the best fishing times may fall ouside the normal SoLunar range. While tides are not a direct factor in FRESHWATER FISHING, SoLunar Activity still accounts for increased feeding activity in freshwater species. It is also a prime factor in the movement and feeding habits of game species.
SOLUNAR ACTIVITY is shown in the Green Boxes on the Calendar pages. Moon Overhead and Underfoot times are given in the SoLunar Box and illustrated on the Fishing Graph. Use the SOLUNAR ADJUSTMENT SCALE on the map below to adjust times for points East and West of our Base Point at Galveston Channel.
TIDE
PREDICTIONS are located in the White Area at the top of the Calendar Pages. You can use the CONVERSION TABLE below to make adjustments. It is keyed to 23 other tide stations along the Texas Coast (see these map icons: T1 ). Adjust low and high tide times, plus or minus in minutes, from the times given for the Base Point at Galveston Channel.
ORIAH FORMICA IS a powerful, young vocal sensation.
e lead singer and guitarist for the all-female rock band Plush has done everything from sing with metal legends Stryper to compete on television’s e Voice
And last December, she wrapped up a massive tour singing with TransSiberian Orchestra with two sold-out shows in San Antonio.
Her greatest love, however, is shing.
“Fishing is probably the only place where I feel totally at peace. I just love it,” Formica said.
Turned onto shing at a very young age by shing with her father, she said the sh that really hooked her into the sport was a bass.
“I remember when I was really li le, catching a nice bass and that really did it for me. When you’re a kid and catch a 3-4 pound bass you think it’s a giant,” she said.
A native of upstate New York, Formica has plenty of opportunities to catch largemouth and smallmouth as well as other top inland sport sh. A friend asked her if she wanted to
sh a pond on family property, and not expecting much, she hooked into one of her favorite-ever catches.
“It was just this tiny pond, but I caught a big pike. I love to sh ponds, and really any kind of waterway, because you never know what you might catch,” she said.
e Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour was very time-consuming, as most stops had a 3 p.m. and a 7 p.m. show, so shing was not an option. When she’s out with Plush, however, she loves to sh when she gets a chance.
“We were at a venue in North Carolina and they had pictures of people with sh they had caught and I found some shing gear up against the wall. So, I asked around and they had a pond there for people who play there to sh, which I did before the show and a er,” she said.
Although most barriers to women shing have been obliterated, some young girls might still feel a little hesitant to get involved if they’re the only female in their family or friend group into it.
Formica said they should grab a rod and reel and hit the water.
“For any girls that are into shing and maybe
none of their friends are, I was that girl. I am that girl. Keep at it and have fun. It brings a lot to my life, and it will a lot to yours.”
(You can hear Formica on the T&FG-sponsored podcast Higher Calling Wildlife with Chester Moore on all major podcasting platforms and thehighercalling.podbean.com.)
If you need a reminder why shing can soothe the soul and is an important way to relax and refocus, listen to this fun episode with a next-level talent. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook @moriahformica and @plushrocks on Instagram and @plusho cial on Facebook)
Editor’s Note: at the time of writing the brace rule was just released yet not o cially published. e nearly 300 page regulation is still being combed through by lawyers and gun rights groups. Chances are it will go through the courts as well. Check for updates at FishGame.com.
SINCE THE RELEASE OF THE pistol brace around a decade ago, millions of braced pistols have been manufactured and sold to the public. e ATF has issued several technical approval le ers to multiple companies in numerous variations con rming that these braces are indeed just pistols and not regulated as SBRs. However, in January 2023 the ATF released 2021R-08F, a “ruling” declaring all previous approval le ers null and void therefore making millions of gun owners potential felons.
At the time of this article being submitted to publication, the pistol brace rule is not yet o cially published. However at SHOT Show 2023 the ATF was answering plenty of questions and raising just as many concerns about the upcoming brace Armageddon.
e short summary is that all braces are now considered stocks by the ATF. If you have one installed on a rearm that has a sub-16” barrel, it is declared an SBR (Short Barreled Ri e) and possession of such requires approval and tax stamp from the ATF. is tax stamp is the same process as owning a suppressor or full auto machine gun in the form of a background check, months of waiting for the approval process, along with a $200 tax. is infringement on your constitutional right has been in place since 1934 and violation of such can carry a penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 ne.
e ATF has declared an amnesty registration period (which somewhat reminds me of what they did when they
declared “Street Sweeper Shotguns” to be a “Destructive Device”) of 120 days from rule publication where you can register your braced pistol with the ATF tax free.
e other options given to you by the ATF are to remove the brace completely, which should also be disposed of since possession of it within the area of a short barreled rearm can be ruled as “constructive intent” of an illegal SBR. Or you can ensure your barrel is at least 16” in length per NFA Act of 1934 or destroy/surrender your braced pistol to the ATF.
:: by DUSTIN ELLERMANN TF&G Shooting Editor
tered their braces, it could take 80 years for them to be approved.
Hopefully by the time of publication this
To register your braced pistol you will have to le a “Form 1” (Application to Make and Register a Firearm) which, if approved, would include your personal information such as passport photo, photos of your rearm, ngerprints, rearm information, as well as personal information in the NFRTR (the central federal registry of all NFA items). Further, the ATF’s NFA branch is so ine cient at processing tax stamps that it was calculated if the millions of assumed brace owners regis-
issue is a bit more clear. However readers need to know that they might soon be considered felons by their government by purchasing something recently approved and perfectly legal. e best solution is to abolish the unconstitutional and antiquated National Firearms Act of 1934 which regulates barrel length in the rst place. Contact your government representatives and voice your concern about this.
THE SUN WAS COMING UP as Wrong Willie strapped on his snake guards while keeping a wary eye on the area around us. “I liked it be er two days ago when it was too cool for the snakes to be out.”
“I’m not worried.” I studied the overgrown fencerow beside my truck.
“I’m not worried either. Just careful.”
I reached into the bed and plucked out a low-slung folding camou age chair I’ve used for years while hunting turkey. Once I’m se led in and comfortable, my rear is barely two inches o the ground.
Willie’s eyes widened. “You’re not gonna sit in that, are you? at’ll put you almost nose to nose with the ra lesnakes.”
“We haven’t seen one out here yet.”
“So that’s why you’re wearing snake guards, too?”
“It’s those stories James told while he was showing me the lease.”
I followed James through the lease for three hours that rst day as he showed me the best spots to hunt deer, turkey, and hogs, all the while lling the silent spells with stories about nding ra lers in his deer stand, curled up under his truck, and waiting patiently beside the gates.
Willie straightened up and double-checked the grass at our feet, then gave the contents of the bed of my truck a good exam, as if snakes are bad about climbing over the tailgate. “I wish you hadn’t told me about that one crawling into the stand with him.”
“I wish he hadn’t told me, either.” I adjusted one of the guards around my shins. “But we’ve been lucky so far. I’m wondering if all these hogs have eaten most of the snakes.”
“Let’s change the subject.” Willie picked up a feeder motor. “I found this one on an old feeder a couple of weeks ago. I got it going. We can bolt it back when we stop for lunch.”
Except for the rust, widely-spaced scratches that could have come from a bear or a Sasquatch, and a couple of dents, it looked as if it might run. He held it up, as if observing a found diamond. “It’s set to go o at seven in the morning and the evening, but I had a li le trouble with the timer, though.”
He paused when a turkey gobbled in the distance.
I forgot the motor when another bird responded from a di erent direction. My box call was on the tailgate, so I picked it up and struck a couple of hen yelps just for grins. “We need to get se led in somewhere.”
Willie thumbed three shells into his twelvegauge. “I think I’m just gonna stand beside a tree and wait for them. at way I won’t be si ing on any ra lers.”
A nearby gobbler thundered an answer.
“ at was close!” Willie’s voice was barely above a whisper. On his hands and knees, grunted his way into in the back of my truck.
“What’re you doing?”
“I intend to shoot that bird.”
“You’re using my truck for a turkey blind?”
“Why not? ere aren’t any snakes up here, and a li le elevation won’t hurt, neither. at bird was really close. Hit your call again.”
I did, and another turkey answered from a di erent direction.
e truck shi ed as Willie found a more comfortable position on top of three bags of corn that cost nearly as much as my rst car.
I whispered. “You’re gonna have to be still if this is gonna work.”
“I had to move that motor. e corner was digging into my leg.”
I edged toward a nearby bush and squa ed down. All was silent for a few minutes before another gobbler called from the mesquites and brush. A second bird responded from the other direction.
Since my own shotgun was still in the case, I pointed. “Shoot that one when he comes up.”
“Don’t you have a mouth call? You’re moving around too much.”
“My legs are going to sleep.” A icker of movement through the mesquites and cholla on the other side of the truck caught my a ention. “ ere’s a bird coming from your right.”
Willie turned slowly, bringing the shot-
:: by REAVIS Z. WORTHAM TF&G Humor Editor
gun to his shoulder. He whispered, “Where?”
e rst turkey must have been only feet away when it gobbled again. I’d forgo en it was coming in, and the big tom was so close I jumped. e box in my hand croaked and the second bird on Willie’s right went silent...
…at the same moment the feeder motor he’d rebuilt went o and...
…the rotator vibrated against a corner of one corn sack, sounding so much like a ra lesnake that…
…I levitated and…
…only inches away from the motor, Willie sucked all the air from twenty feet around us as he ascended without assistance, clawing his way on the roof of the pickup while...
…several yards away, a third tom we hadn’t seen launched into the air to cause…
…two humans to use the same bad word… …in stereo.
ree-toed feet rustled the leaves as they ed the scene.
All went silent. e birds were gone.
Drained, I staggered on numb legs to the truck where I draped over the side like a fresh killed deer. “Your timer is o .”
He drew a deep breath, as if it might be his last. “Daylight savings time.”
“Another reason to hate it.” I dropped the box call that yelped, and a distant tom responded.
“I hope he doesn’t come over here.” Willie dropped back down from the cab and laid back on the corn. “I can’t take another one right now.”
“Neither can I,” I said, and climbed into the back of the truck and stretched out beside him on the expensive corn to recover in a snake-free environment.
Mineral Wells
GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT! SEND YOUR ACTION PHOTOS TO Photos@FishGame.com For best results, send HIGH quality JPEG digital files.
No guarantee can
Midlothian
Seven-year-old Paige Sample caught this nice sunfish while fishing on a public lake in Midlobass Lake
Ronald Pace caught this seven-pound, four-ounce on
thian with her Poppy. Mineral Wells.
Sam Rayburn
Frankie Hamby caught this 22-pound blue cat on rod and reel at Lake Sam Rayburn.
REDFISH
Aransas Bay
Krisi Durham caught this 31-inch redfish while fishing in Aransas Bay.
REDFISH
Port O’Connor
Nine-year-old Aiden Matey caught this 7.5-pound, 27-inch redfish at Port O’Connor.
