September 23, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

LSONews.com Lone✯Star Outdoor News September 23, 2011

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September 23, 2011 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 8, Issue 3

Raging fl amesAmazing trail cam pictures from a ranch near Possum Kingdom Lake.

Page 27

Inside

❘❚ LSONews.com

Large schools are working along the midcoast.

Page 8

Reds on the fl ats❘❚ FISHING

Opening weekend good for those in the right spots.

Page 4

Teal busters

Anglers on Matagorda Bay have a new jetty. A small boat cut is coming soon.

Page 8

New access

El Paso boot maker designs unique footwear.

Page 5

Big 5 boots

❘❚ HUNTING

All they can eat buffet

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 24Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 29Fishing Report . . . . . . . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 29Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 14Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 28Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 32Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 31Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 29

Bow season approaching

By Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Texas bowhunters face a double-edged sword this year when they head afi eld for the bow season opener on Oct. 1.

Despite the lack of moisture

See BOW SEASON, Page 25

By Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Dove are thriving in Texas, but not everywhere, as some hunters have found.

The fi rst couple weeks of

the season in the North and Central Zones, and the spe-cial white-winged dove area in South Texas, have played out as forecasters expected.

Ranches and farmland with dove food have received

the lion’s share of action. Areas that have been

good in years past, but with scant food because of drought, were dismal.

Outfi tters expect that pre-scription will hold for the

popular South Zone season, which opened Sept. 23.

“If you got feed, you got birds,” said Mike Wyatt of Coleman-based First Shot Outfi tters. “We’ve been shooting lots of limits.”

Wyatt said he has much less land available to him this season, but he still uses fi elds in Coleman, Tom Green, Taylor and Concho counties.

NO CARRYOUTS: White-winged dove had plenty to eat at this sunfl ower fi eld south of Hondo. The birds congregated here until Sammy Nooner combined his crop and tilled the soil under. It took almost two days for the fl ock to hit other fi elds in the area. Good scouting is a must this year. Birds are concentrated and, even if you have food, they may not be there yet. The South Zone opened Sept. 23. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

ABOUT TIME: It’s almost time to head to the woods for the start of bow season. Deer are in decent condition and could surprise hunters with their antlers this year. Photo by LSON.

September givestop-water preview

for white bass

See BUFFET, Page 25


Cooler weather revis-ited Texas a few times in early to mid-September, but white bass largely stayed in their summer-time patterns — with a few brief but notable exceptions.

Guides and anglers kept targeting humps, points and other struc-ture to catch plenty of the plump, silvery fi sh.

But some guides reported brief glimpses

of top-water action that is popular in the fall, when boatloads of white bass can be found in schools feeding at the surface, especially in October and November.

Guide Larry Thomas saw some schooling the early evening of Sept. 15 on the southern part of Lake Tawakoni.

“I saw them surfac-ing,” Thomas said, “and I’m talking about the big magnum sandies, not the little ones.”

Most of his white bass, however, have been caught while working near shallow sandbars and coves that “still have

See WHITE BASS, Page 22

SCHOOLING: White bass have kept to their summer patterns during September, although some guides have noticed brief instances of fall-like top-water action. Photo by LSON.

September 23, 2011 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com


HUNTINGTeal hunters

‘rusty’ in opener,others shoot

limits By Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Eighteen-year-old El Campo resident Slade Schiurring had never shot a banded duck.

That changed the opening weekend of early teal season when Schiurring, hunting on family land near Garwood, downed a banded blue-winged hen.

“My family are big rice farmers and we all lim-ited out Saturday morn-ing,” Schiurring said. “On Sunday, we lim-ited out again and on Monday morning before school, we only killed three, but one of them was a banded bird.”

Schiurring said he called the number on the band while still in the duck blind and learned the teal had traveled from Saskatchewan, Canada.

“We’ve got a couple of roost ponds that held 50,000 birds on open-ing morning,” he said. “I think there are still 20,000 birds out there today. Hunting pres-sure is moving them around a little bit.”

Matthew Friedrichs and several friends found themselves hunting over a newly fl ooded rice fi eld near the town of Nada on the opening morning of early teal season.

The group downed 16 birds.

“We could have had another 16, but our shooting was a little rusty,” Friedrichs said. “We went back the next day and shot 12.”

Friedrichs had friends hunting near Katy, and they had mixed results.

“Opening morning,

Dreadlocks and spent hulls

See TEAL, Page 17


Jared Lindsay has dreadlocks and a beard. His wife, Lauren, has tattoos and a nose ring.

Their children — a little girl, a toddler boy and another baby on the way — are loosely named after their favorite rock and reggae musicians.

And, yes, this Fort Worth couple cares deeply about nature.

But they also participate in the food chain.

“We buy organic — we hate all these chemicals in our foods — and we love animals,” Lauren said. “Maybe people will call us a little bit ‘hippie.’

“But we’re more ‘country’ in the sense that we’re not vegan or vegetarian.

“We like our meat.”

The Lindsays recently joined Jared’s family for an annual dove season opener hunt near Haskell, where his relatives farmed cotton.

“We do a lot of cooking and hunting and a couple of my uncles play guitars and sing,” said Jared, a groundskeeper at Texas Christian University and a freelance photographer.

“I may lean toward being a hippie,” he continued, “I get teased all the time by other groundskeepers. We’re big fans of recycling, earthiness and good music.

“But, at the same time, I have these roots that go back to cot-ton farming. It’s about hunting, and it’s about family.

“It feels like home.”Jared met Lauren, who grew

up in Fort Worth, when she was working at the photo counter of

a pharmacy in Weatherford — his hometown.

They soon learned they had a lot in common, like their tastes in music.

Jared said daughter, Marleigh, 3, is “subconsciously” named for the late reggae artist Bob Marley, and son, Jack, for folk-rock singer Jack Johnson.

They also like musician Ben Harper; their second daugh-ter, due in November, will be named Harper.

“My wife, she’s the type of person that you have a real hard time keeping shoes on her,” Jared said. “She loves to be outside, barefoot and playing Frisbee golf.”

Lauren didn’t camp much growing up, and never hunted, but Jared did; he started young with his father, Marty, an auto-body repairman in Weatherford.

‘Hip’ family enjoysdove hunting


Autumn colors burst across Texas early this year — in July.

By the time fall actually began on Sept. 23, scores of Texas trees, includ-ing oaks, had long been cloaked in red, brown and rust, the result of harsh heat in the record-breaking summer of 2011.

As a result, foresters scouting for seed acorns reported that hard mast produc-tion has been “minimal to none” from eastern portions of West Texas and on through the Hill Country.

Scratch acorns from the list of foods deer will use to get through the coming winter.

Foresters were also concerned that per-sistent drought may result in tree deaths across the state. Jim Rooni of the Texas Forest Service in Austin said that “could be a landscape changer.”

Landscape changer

See DREADLOCKS, Page 16

Foresters won’t know until spring

how many trees survived drought

NO REPLACEMENTS: State foresters have been scouting for seed acorns, but they report that this year's hard mast production has been “minimal to none.”

See LANDSCAPE, Page 23

READ MORE■ Oaks for wildlife Page 6

Quail Setback

Surveys showcontinued decreases


Two back-to-back years of favorable weather can help improve quail popula-tions, biologists say, and a very wet 2010 provided its share.

But drought dominated headlines throughout 2011, dashing hopes for a rebound.

Recently completed statewide quail surveys show it.

The surveys, started in 1978, follow random 20-mile roadside survey lines to get a picture of how quail are doing. But decreases since last year’s surveys are signifi cant.

“Counts were at a record low for the Rolling Plains,” said Robert Perez, upland game bird program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The average number of roadside quail observed this year was 5.7, way below the “long-term mean” of 21, according to the data.

Wildfi res in that region destroyed a lot of quail habitat, but Perez said benefi ts

from the blazes would result when mois-ture fi nally returned.

That happened the weekend Sept. 16-18 when at least a quarter-inch fell over much of West Texas. Other areas, like South and East Texas, got a lot more — about 1-2 inches.

Perez predicted that rain will prompt

the “burn country” to “quickly respond with a fl ush of vegetation.”

“We’ve seen that a number of times in South Texas,” he said.

That region, like the rest of the state, had suffered, as shown by this year’s survey.

See QUAIL, Page 21

DOWN FOR THE COUNTS: Annual roadside surveys for quail are down from last year in most regions of the state, although some Gulf Coast counties showed an increase. Photo by LSON.

FAMILY TIME: Marleigh Lindsay (above and at left) helps her father, Jared, clean dove during a recent family hunt near Haskell. Photos by Lindsay family.



Boots are made for walking.Unless they are a work of art, like the Big

5 pair of boots commemorating the top fi ve African game species. They are made by the J.B. Hill Boot Company in El Paso.

Diana Farmer, who oversees the J.B Hill factory, said the boot-making process begins when clients decide they want a custom pair of boots.

“Some people come in with a set idea and others come in clueless,” Farmer said. “We analyze what they want and build them a boot. A client doesn’t have to be in the store; in fact, we send a fi tting instruc-tion kit to about 80 percent of our clients.”

The fi tting kit tells clients how to mea-sure their feet correctly and also comes with a pair of boots for them to try and relate how they feel.

“The boots take six to eight weeks in the summer and eight to 10 weeks in the fall and winter,” she said. “The Big 5 boot takes about fi ve months because of the carving.”

Once the proper measurements have been taken, work on the boot begins.

“Next we’ll talk about designs,” Farmer said. “Most people know roughly what they want, so we’ll sample leathers and fi g-ure out what their needs are. Do they need a dress boot or something more durable?

“I’ll tell them what works best in differ-ent areas and we’ll go over the toe, heel, right down to the color of thread we’ll use for the stitching.”

Farmer said the factory has 13 people who work on the boots, and most have been building boots all of their lives.

“Each one is very specialized,” she said. “They’ve been doing it since they were 8 or 9-years-old and most are in their 60s and 70s. Lucchese, which is a high-end factory boot, produces about 350 pairs of boots a day. We produce eight.

“We aren’t worried about volume, just mak-

ing a really high-quality boot.”Farmer said the idea for

the Big 5 boot came from Dr. J.B. Hill himself, as he walked the aisles of a Safari Club International Show.

“The Big 5 are represented all over in the hunting world,” Farmer said. “The elephant is the centerpiece.”

Kansas City, Mo., resident John Wilson noticed the boot walking the same aisles at SCI.

“First off, when I saw the boot it was eye-catching,” Wilson said. “I am a hunter and happened to take the Big 5, and there aren’t very many of us running around. The artwork for something that was inscribed on leather really popped, in my opinion.

“It was a neat idea.”Wilson said he and his

wife were fi tted at the show, and purchased several more pairs of J.B. Hill boots because of the quality and craftsmanship in each boot.

Wilson owns one of only 14 Big 5 pairs made so far, and the company plans to end at 20 pairs.

“Each boot has a number sown into it,” Farmer said. “When we do a collector boot like the Big 5, we do stop.”

Farmer said the workmanship on the Big 5 boot is a lenghty process.

“You have to wet the leathers, cut and pound each edge,” she said. “They use a tool called a swivel knife that pushes the leather out for a three-dimensional look. The leathers are hand-stained after that — it’s very labor intensive.”

Owners of the Big 5 boots know they are originals, even though the designs are similar.

Some clients have asked for their initials to be included on the boot or other modifi cations, such as a hunter requesting his own elephant hide be used in the boot.

The average J.B. Hill pair of boots cost around $1,000. The Big 5 boot retails for around $5,300.

Wilson said he enjoyed the fact that it was another way to use his entire trophy.

“When hunting the elephant, all of the meat goes to the local villagers, and by using this leather for the boot, it utilizes all of that resource,” he said. “I like that aspect.”

Big 5 boots — a work of art you can wear

CRAFTSMANSHIP: Many hours are spent carving the Big 5 into leather (top photo) before it is molded onto the boot by one of 13 expert craftsmen working at the J.B. Hill Boot Company in El Paso. Photos by Diana Farmer.



Last year, as dry weather bore down on East Texas, Jim Looke was hoping the best for oak trees he planted on a 2,500-acre family ranch near Hockley.

He bought 1,000 seedlings and planted them inside thin tubes designed to jacket the trees from deer that, one day, would enjoy their acorns.

But that phase of the project withered.

“I didn’t water them in a drought,” said Looke, a petro-leum engineer from Houston. “I just thought they could make it on their own.

“I’m learning.”But lessons are paying off in

Looke’s quest to “landscape for wildlife.”

He is planting stands of fast-growing oak and fruit trees that he hopes will become perma-nent food plots for deer.

This year he bought 1,500 trees from Mossy Oak’s Nativ Nurseries in West Point, Miss. They’re still in pots, but will be planted later.

“I had to have someone come and water them,” Looke said of the potted trees. “The good news is, I got about 80 percent of them still standing and I’m pretty excited about it.”

Looke, 61, wants to see acorns dropping in a few years, not decades. He believes that will happen with these Mossy Oak trees, which, he said, “are like oaks on steroids.”

“Everyone thinks an oak has to grow 50 to 60 years before you get any use out of them,” Looke said. “But if Mossy Oak is telling me the truth — and I think they are — I’ll have acorns in fi ve years.

“Ten years from now I still hope to be out here bowhunting, and with a lot more deer around.”

Mossy Oak’s RapidMAST sys-tem picks seed from trees that produced mast while very young, explained Blake Hamilton, a con-sultant for the company.

“Our Mossy Oak pro staff monitors acorns from all over the country,” he said. “We try to match genetics to your area.”

The trees’ “drop times” for acorns are carefully recorded. Some are later than others.

But by planting a mix of them, a landowner can ensure

that acorns are hitting the ground from archery season all the way through the second rut in late winter, Hamilton said.

Costs start at $3.49 for a sin-gle seedling; add another $5 for a special hybrid.

There are price breaks for bulk purchases and custom packages can be assembled with mixes of mast and fruit trees to benefi t particular spe-cies of wildlife.

The seedlings start out in spe-cial cups riddled with holes. When roots try to escape the holes, they’re “pruned” by the air. That spurs the tree into grow-ing secondary “feeder roots,” which eventually form a fi brous ball of hearty roots that promote faster growth and resilience.

Realtree Nursery in Alachua, Fla., a longtime family-owned farm that was licensed this year

by Realtree, uses a similar air pruning system.

Robert Wallace, a third-generation manager of the farm, said the business offers oaks and fruit trees, but it also specializes in chestnut trees, which, he added, are excellent food plot trees that do remark-ably well in East Texas.

They’re high in carbohy-drates. A diet of them, he said, “really sweetens venison up.”

“We’ve been shipping to Texas for many years, and it has been a great market,” Wallace said. He added, however, that recent sales have been soft because of drought.

But late summer isn’t the best time to plant. Hamilton and Wallace both said the Texas tree-growing season starts in the fall when soil temperatures are much cooler.

It can continue through the cooler winter months and as late as March, according to the Texas Forest Service.

Late summer is best for site preparations, but new planters can spend a summer research-ing which trees to select.

“We’ve been in business a long time,” Wallace said, “and a cou-ple years ago Atlanta had a terri-ble drought, just like Texas. Two years before that it was Virginia. But once rain returns, people will be wanting to replant.

“Droughts never last forever.”

Realtree Nursery: (386) 462-2820.Mossy Oak Nativ Nurseries: (662) 494-4326

Oaks, chestnuts offerpermanent food plots

Congratulations, Ivan! You can claim your Nikon 10x42

Trailblazer ATB binoculars at the

Nikon Sport Optics dealer nearest you:

Alpine Range5482 Shelby Rd.

Fort Worth, TX 76140(817) 478-6613 Dr. Octavio Guzman of Laredo noticed the big 10-point buck at a feeder last season on

a ranch in Webb County, so that’s where he brought his nephew, IVAN KARABANOFF, to

hunt. The Weatherford teen was 15 when he joined his uncle on the ranch a few days

before Christmas. The 10-pointer returned; Ivan used a .243-caliber to deliver a 100-

yard shot to the heart. “This is Ivan’s favorite rifl e,” said his dad, Thomas Karabanoff,

“and he is a dead shot with it.”

Texas broadhead company

shooting for big things


A new broadhead company in Fredericksburg is trying to cut its way into the competitive

archery market with a unique design.

Hartcraft Ltd. has spent two years designing the

X-Change broadhead, which features a single ferrule

body that can quickly accommodate fi ve-blade options in a matter of seconds.

According to Gary Wood, offi ce man-ager for the company, the features that make the broadhead unique are the single ferrule, fi ve completely interchangeable blades and the reversible blades on all fi ve broadhead options.

“You could be sitting in a stand waiting on a whitetail, and a turkey comes out,” Wood said. “You could quickly change from the Trophy 1 broadhead to the Lopper and be ready to go.

“They also have reversible blades for when one side gets dull; you can pull them out, reverse them and be ready to go again. Instead of a three-blade pack, you really get six blades.”

Wood said the company has a 100 per-cent warranty on the ferrules.

AFreits

a

See BROADHEADS, Page 16

DEER DELICACY: Trees from Mossy Oak’s Nativ Nurseries — like the one that pro-duced this sawtooth acorn — and chestnut trees from Realtree Nursery are excellent additions to deer habitat, according to the companies. Photo by Bill Miller, LSON.


FISHING

By Mike PriceFOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Small boats leaving Matagorda Harbor to fi sh in West Matagorda Bay have to go through locks at the intersection of the Colorado River and the Intracoastal Waterway.

This means waiting for barges to pass through or the gates to open. In addi-tion, small boats in close proximity to barges and tugs can create dangerous situa-tions. However, in the near future, going fi shing in West Matagorda Bay will be faster, easier and safer.

Construction of a new small boat cut between the Old Colorado River and the Diversion Channel — to be called Bragg’s Cut (named after Mike Bragg from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) — will begin this month.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ locks were built a little over 50 years ago for tugboats and barges that were not nearly as wide as they are now,” said Tommy Cuntz, Matagorda guide and Port of Bay City Authority commissioner. “Every time you go through the locks, you see broken pilings and

boards where barges have run into the sides. Tugboat operators are really con-cerned about the number of small boats going ahead or behind them.

“So the Corps wants the cut in order to eliminate as many small boats going through the locks as possible. That is why it was approved.”

The cut will be 50 feet wide with a tapered concrete bot-tom and a depth of 4 feet. In theory, current fl owing through the cut should keep it free from any buildup of sand and mud.

When small boats go through Bragg’s Cut, they can turn south in the Diversion Channel and go into West Matagorda Bay. Fishing guides have put PVC pipes highlighted with orange cones and tape in the Diversion Channel to guide boats through the shallowest areas.

Sometimes, however, logs coming down the Colorado River get into the boat channel.

Cuntz said that origi-nally the Corps of Engineers planned to keep the boat lane clear of debris, but that part of the plan has been dropped, so boaters will have to keep a sharp eye out for logs and other debris.

New Matagorda small boat cut

under construction

By Mike PriceFOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Construction on the new east jetty in Matagorda is complete.

Before the jetty was built and the passage between the jetties was dredged, most boats could not go offshore from Matagorda.

The mouth of the Colorado River was almost completely fi lled with sand, making naviga-tion possible only on high tide — and only if you knew where gaps in the sand bars were.

Now the depth between the jetties is at least 14 feet, and this depth extends well beyond the end of the jetties.

“The response from boat owners to the

new, safe, deep water access jetties has been very positive,” said Matagorda harbormaster Craig Hlvankia. “Boats that left Matagorda Harbor, because getting through the jetties was iffy, have started to trickle back. We built a new dock and have room for more boats.”

The new jetty has also become a very pop-ular fi shing venue. It is accessible by four-wheel drive vehicle, or you can park at in the Matagorda Jetty Park parking lot and walk to the jetty.

Recently, Larry Cissna from Sweeny, went to the jetty to fi sh with his sons, Jake and Wyatt. They used a cast net to catch baitfi sh before rigging their tackle for bottom fi shing.

When asked if anything was biting, the boys proudly showed off the redfi sh they caught.

“We only have to catch one more to have our limits,” Larry said.

Matagorda has a new jetty

Redfi sh in schools near fl ats


Despite a full moon hamper-ing fi shing during the middle of

September, the redfi sh bite along the midcoast has been good, if you can get to the schools before many of the other anglers show up.

“It kinda sucked,” said one

guide. “If you could get on the schools early, you could be done quickly. After that, they shut down, especially when 20 boats with trolling motors start chas-ing them.”

A large school of reds have been getting heavy pressure off

of Allens Bite, and, according to Rockport guide Terry Coufal, some big fi sh have been mixed in with a lot of slot reds.

“The majority of the reds right now are in the 23- to 27-inch

Action good early and midday

See REDFISH, Page 18

REDS ON THE FLATS: Redfi sh are biting along the edges of fl ats along the midcoast. The fi sh are grouped up and some big bull reds are starting to appear alongside pods of slot-sized fi sh. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

A ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency may result in layoffs at an East Texas power plant, but fi shing will likely con-tinue at the facility’s lake.

The EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule requires Texas gen-erators to begin reducing emis-sions next January.

To comply with the rule, Luminant, a Dallas-based energy company, announced Sept. 12 that it would have to idle two units at the coal-fi red Monticello Power Plant, 10 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant.

Curtailing production will force 500 layoffs, company offi cials said, unless they prevail in a federal law-suit aimed at overturning the rule.

Fishing, however, will continue at Monticello Lake — a popular fi shery for largemouth, channel cats and sunfi sh.

Anglers especially enjoy the lake in winter when the plant produces cur-rents and higher water temperatures that really stir the bass in winter.

Ashley Barrie, spokeswoman for Luminant, said access to the lake would continue.

“I can’t speculate on water impacts at this point,” she added, “but there’s certainly potential for cooler water temperatures.”

Idled activity at Monticello may actually improve the fi shing, accord-ing to one angler.

Bud Parks of Garland said he used to fi sh the lake only in winter, but now he likes to go there in the summer, too.

“It will certainly improve summer-time fi shing if the water is cooler, not hotter,” Parks said. “It will open more of the lake to the fi sh. If it gets 115 or 125 degrees in that discharge area, not a lot of fi sh are there.”

—Staff report

NEW JETTY ACTION: Fishermen on the new East Matagorda Jetty (top) cast for many of the species found congregating there such as redfi sh, trout and fl ounder. Jake and Wyatt Cis-sna (bottom) proudly display redfi sh caught from the new jetty. Photos by Mike Price, for Lone Star Outdoor News.

Monticello fi shing might

change


High-schooler catches strange fi shNew Braunfels High School sophomore Andrew Cumberland was fi shing for sunfi sh in the

Guadalupe River July 12 when he spotted a really ugly fi sh in shallow water. Thinking it was a carp, he switched to dough bait, which the fi sh took immediately.

“I was surprised when I pulled it into the kayak,” Cumberland said. “I had never seen a fi sh that looked like it — it seemed to be prehistoric.”

With the help of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fi sheries biologists at the A.E. Wood State Fish Hatchery in San Marcos, Cumberland determined that he had landed a suckermouth catfi sh. The 21-inch fi sh weighed 3.45 pounds.

Cumberland did not return the fi sh to the water, which was the correct action under the circumstances. “These fi sh are the most destructive exotic fi sh in Texas,” said Dr. Gary Garrett, a fi sheries

scientist and TPWD’s director of watershed conservation. “They take over important habitats such as springs, push out and replace native species (including listed species and species of conservation concern), decimate native vegetation and undermine and destabilize banks. In no way do they have any redeeming qualities.”

TPWD recommends that anyone catching a suckermouth catfi sh follow Cumberland’s exam-ple and do not return it to the water.

Cumberland’s catch became the new state rod-and-reel record for the species and garnered him two $5,000 scholarships from the Federation of Student Anglers (FSA), an international student angling organization based in Bulverde.

—Staff report

RIVER MONSTER: This suckermouth catfi sh was pulled out of the Guadalupe River by New Braunfels resident Andrew Cumberland. Photo by Dale Cumberland.

Angler, age 10, starts lure companyBy Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Michael Wood III has no time for video games.The 10-year-old angler from San Antonio

had a busy summer at camp and vacation-ing in Alaska where he fi shed for salmon.

And, now that school is underway, the fi fth-grader is a fullback for the San Antonio Academy Wildcats.

Plus, he has a company to run.Golden Lure Tackle Company launched

earlier this year with spinner baits that Michael designs and assembles at home.

Included are the “Golden Nugget Spinnin’ Squid,” the “Blue Braided Beauty” and the “Wedding Zinger.”

They cost just under $5, and Michael has sold about 300 of them.

“Fishing is my favorite thing in the world,” he said. “I started making lures because I thought it would be a really fun hobby. And besides, most people won’t have the experi-ence of starting their own business.”

Michael tests his lures on the coast and in freshwater lakes. His family regularly fi shes at Rockport, where he caught his fi rst keeper trout, a 17-incher, when he was 4 years old.

The entrepreneur said he decided to focus on spinner baits “because they’re an all-around great lure that works good in fresh-water and saltwater.”

“They’re very easy to make, too,” he said. “With all the blades and beads you can put on them, they’re so attractive to a fi sh, and the way they move through the water, the blade vibrates and that’s very important in attract-ing the fi sh.”

Michael’s parents didn’t fl inch when he told them he wanted to sell his lures.

His mother, Jodi, said they were pleased that he wanted to try something productive.

“My husband and I are big outdoor people,” she said. “We hunt and we fi sh,

and teach our children all about that. “And Michael, since he was 5, has been

able to go out in the hot, hot June and July and stay out there, even when the dads are ready to come in.”

But if Golden Lure was to be taken seriously, it needed serious help.

Jodi turned to a longtime friend, Camille Mandigo of Texas Creative Marketing in San Antonio, to help Michael develop his logo, marketing

See LURE COMPANY, Page 11

ENTREPRENEUR: Michael Wood III has turned a hobby into a business. His Golden Lure Tackle Company produces spinner baits that he sells for just under $5. Photo by Golden Lure Tackle Company.


ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 85–91 degrees; 6.45’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters and weightless soft plastics early, later switching to Carolina rigs, jigs and Texas rigs. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 86–92 degrees; 6.28’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastics, jigs, and drop shots. Catfi sh are good on cheesebait, shrimp and liver over baited holes. Yellow catfi sh are fair on trotlines, juglines and droplines baited with live perch.

ARROWHEAD: Water turbid; 84–89 degrees; 8.08’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters, Texas rigs and spinnerbaits. Crappie are fair on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Blue catfi sh are good on juglines with cut shad.

ATHENS: Water clear, 86–91 degrees; 4.64’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, shakyheads and Carolina rigs — midday concen-trate on deeper brush piles. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

BASTROP: Water clear; 84–87 degrees. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse crankbaits, spinnerbaits and soft plastics. Crappie are good on minnows and green tube jigs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp, liver, and nightcrawlers.

BELTON: Water clear; 82–86 degrees; 9.96’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinnerbaits and soft plastics in coves. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp and stinkbait.

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 86–92 degrees; 8.09’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms and football jigs off ledges and in brush piles. Crappie are good on live minnows. White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters. Catfi sh are fair to good on trotlines or juglines.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on crankbaits and watermelon soft plastic worms in reeds. Striped bass are good on liver and shad off points. Redfi sh are good on perch, shad, and silver spoons near the dam. Channel catfi sh are excellent on liver, shrimp, and cut bait near the dam.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 85–90 de-grees; 13.37’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits in shad patterns and Texas-rigged Jackall Sasuteki Craws on deeper docks. Best colors are green pumpkin with pincers dipped in chartreuse. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on slabs. Channel catfi sh are fair on cut and prepared bait.

BROWNWOOD: Water clear; 15.96’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Grande Bass 4” watermelon red worms and Bass Hogg spinnerbaits near the docks in 12–18 feet. Hybrid striper are fair on shad. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and small crankbaits off lighted docks at night. Crappie are good on Li’l Fishies and minnows over brush piles. Channel catfi sh are fair on trotlines baited with cut bait and liver.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 81–84 de-grees; 30.11’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on shad fl ukes, Pop–R’s, and water-melon red Whacky Sticks on jigheads off points and ledges in 8–20 feet early. Striped bass are fair on live bait and plastic swim baits near the dam. Crap-pie are fair on chartreuse tube jigs and minnows. Channel catfi sh are good on liver, minnows, and stinkbait. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on juglines and trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch.

CADDO: Water stained; 86–91 degrees; 1.62’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rig worms and top-waters ear-ly, late switching to shallow crankbaits around isolated cover. Yellow bass are good on minnows. Catfi sh are fair on nightcrawlers and prepared bait.

CALAVERAS: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits, and crankbaits near the dam. Striped bass are good on chicken livers and shad along the shoreline. Redfi sh are slow. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfi sh are fair on liver, cheesebait, shrimp, and

shad near the railroad trestle.

CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 79–82 de-grees; 7.99’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on watermelon soft plastics and top-waters over grass early, and on red fl ake worms and Devil’s Tongues off points and ledges. Smallmouth bass are fair on pumpkin tube jigs and smoke grubs in 10–20 feet early. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on live bait.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 86–92 degrees; 6.44’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rig worms,

shaky heads and fi nesse jigs around docks — best action is in early morn-ing with deep brush piles producing throughout the day on Carolina rigs. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on live shad.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 78–82 degrees; 15.45’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse crankbaits, spinnerbaits, and Rat–L–Traps. Crap-pie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Channel catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

CONROE: Water fairly clear; 81–84 de-grees; 5.37’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse Carolina-rigged soft plastics and Senkos. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp.

COOPER: Water lightly stained; 85–91 degrees; 10.13’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium crankbaits and Texas-rigged worms throughout the day. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are fair to good on Sassy Shad and live shad. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait and cut bait.

FALCON: Water clear; 87–91 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are excellent on stinkbait, shrimp, and cut bait.

FAYETTE: Water clear. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon and shad colored swim baits, spinnerbaits, and soft plastics in 12–20 feet. Channel and blue catfi sh are fair on cut shad.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 86–91 de-grees; 6.48’ low. Largemouth bass are good on 3/4 oz. football head jigs with LFT Hyper Freak trailers, Carolina rigs and deep-diving crankbaits in deeper water along main lake humps, drops and brush piles. The early bite is shal-low on top-waters and soft plastics with reports of square-bill crankbaits producing around shallow timber. Bass are also reported schooling mid-day around bridges. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

GRANBURY: Water clear; 85–88 degrees; 5.74’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on chartreuse Rat–L–Traps and soft plastics. Striped bass are fair

on chartreuse striper jigs. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait, liver and live bait.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 87–92 degrees; 3.68’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, fi nesse jigs and medium crankbaits along main lake points. Good deep crankbait and football head jig bite along offshore structure as well. Reports of improved shallow water bite as well. Crappie are good on minnows. White bass are good on top-waters and Rat–L–Traps. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers and cut shad.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 86–92 degrees; 3.09’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, medium crankbaits and jigs. Deep brush piles are best later in day. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared baits.

LAKE O’ THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 86–92 degrees; 3.15’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs and shallow crankbaits, switching to jigs later in the day off brush piles. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 87–92 degrees; 10.83’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rig creature baits, top-waters and medium crankbaits. Shallow bite is good early. White bass are good on slabs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water fairly clear; 82–85 degrees; 0.29’ low. Largemouth bass are good on blue fl ake Whacky Sticks, blue jigs, and Texas-rigged soft plastics near docks in 5–10 feet. Striped bass are good on Li’l Fishies and Spoiler Shads at night. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies at night. Crappie are fair on blue Curb’s crappie jigs and live minnows in clear water. Channel catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers and dipbait. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 87–92 degrees; 5.53’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium-running crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas-rigged plastics on main lake points in 10–15 feet or football head jigs along same areas. Jackall Flick Shakes around boat stalls are producing too. Shallow bite is improving. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are fair on slabs and Sassy Shad. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 88–91 degrees; 3.17’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinnerbaits and soft plastic worms. Striped bass are fair on Rat–L–Traps and chartreuse striper jigs. White bass are good on troll tubes, pet spoons and green Charlie slabs. Crappie are good on minnows.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water stained; 89–92 degrees; 3.43’ low. Largemouth bass to 2 pounds are good on minnows from docks. White bass are good near the dam early. Channel catfi sh are fair on stinkbait and shrimp. Blue catfi sh are good on trotlines and juglines baited with perch.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 85–90 degrees; 35.04’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on Zell Pops, Senkos, Texas rigs and Rat–L–Traps. White bass are fair to good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 86–92 degrees; 5.49’ low. Largemouth bass are good on medium crankbaits, Texas-rigged worms and shakyheads. The shallow bite is improving. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Hybrid stripers are fair on slabs, Sassy Shad and live shad. White bass are fair to good on slabs and minnows. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water stained; 84–89 degrees; 8.43’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters early, later switching to drop-shot rigs, Carolina rigs, Texas rigs and medium-running shad-pattern crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and Little Georges. Striped bass are fair on live shad. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 86–92 de-grees; 3.93’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Gene Larew Salt Flickrs rigged on a shaky head and 3/4 oz. Revenge football head jigs in chameleon/char-treuse on main lake points with rock. Crappie are good early and late on jigs and minnows in brush in 20–25 feet. White bass are excellent — schooling early from the dam to the marina. Catfi sh are fair on Danny King’s punch bait over baited holes.

RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water fairly clear; 86–91 degrees; 6.57’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, deep crankbaits and football jigs, later in the day switching to shakyheads around the deeper docks. White bass are fair on slabs and live shad. Hybrid striper are fair on slabs and live shad. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are fair on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 80–84 degrees; 12.35’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters early, later switching to shallow-running crankbaits, Texas rigs and Rat–L–Traps. Catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live bait and nightcrawlers.

TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 86–92 degrees; 6.02’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters early, later switching to black/blue Firewater 1/2 oz. jigs, Texas-rigged blue fl eck worms and square-bill crankbaits. Bladed jigs are producing on windy days. White bass are excellent on white SSS Slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4” to 6” white or shad-pattern Sassy Shad in the shallows early then suspending deep during the day — drifting live bait is also produc-ing. Catfi sh are excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

TEXOMA: Water fairly clear; 86–91 degrees; 6.92’ low. The lake is cur-rently experiencing an outbreak of Blue–green algae.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 79–82 degrees; 11.02’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black/red fl ake craw worms early. White bass are fair on Li’l Fishies. Bream are good on crickets and nightcrawlers off docks in 4–5 feet. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live bait and liver.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 82–85 degrees; 48.87’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on smoke grubs and watermelon worms in 15–30 feet. White bass are good on small crankbaits and jigging spoons in 20–30 feet. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers and cut perch in 30–40 feet.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 80–83 degrees; 15.62’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Catfi sh are good on shrimp and stinkbait.

NORTH SABINE: Redfi sh are good in the marsh on soft plastics and frogs. Drifters have worked slicks for trout and redfi sh on plastics and top-waters.

SOUTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under birds and pods of shad. Trout are good at the jetty on live bait and top-waters. Bull redfi sh are good at the jetty.

BOLIVAR: Trout are good on the south shoreline on Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels. Trout, bull redfi sh, black drum, sand trout and redfi sh are good at Rollover Pass.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are good for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on soft plastics and live shrimp under a popping cork. Redfi sh are good on live bait around the reefs.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. Trout are good for drifters on plum Bass Assassins, TTF Flats Minnows, Norton Bull Minnows and live shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Bull redfi sh are good in the surf and at San Luis Pass on crabs and mullet. Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetties on shrimp and crabs.

TEXAS CITY: Sand trout and Gulf trout are good in the channel on shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good in Moses Lake on crabs and shrimp.

FREEPORT: Bull redfi sh are good on live bait and crabs on the Surfside beach. Black drum and redfi sh are good on the reefs. Bull redfi sh are showing at all the jetties.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp over humps and scattered shell. Trout and redfi sh are fair to good on the shorelines for waders tossing small top-waters and live shrimp under a popping cork.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair on sand and grass humps on soft plastics and top-waters. Redfi sh are good on live shrimp and top-waters in Oyster Lake, Crab Lake and Shell Island.

PORT O’CONNOR: Bull redfi sh are good in the surf and at the jetty on natural baits. Trout and redfi sh are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp.

ROCKPORT: Redfi sh are good on mullet on the Estes Flats and around Mud Island. Trout and redfi sh are good on the St. Joe shoreline on scented baits. Large schools of redfi sh have been seen on the fl ats.

PORT ARANSAS: Redfi sh are fair at East Flats and Shamrock Cove on top-waters and plastics under rattling corks. Offshore is good for amberjack, kingfi sh, tuna and dolphin.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh are good on the shallow fl ats on gold spoons and small top-waters. Sand trout and croakers are good in the channels on fresh shrimp. Trout are good on top-waters in Oso Bay.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are good on top-waters and plum plastics around rocks and grass. Redfi sh are good in the Land Cut on live bait. Redfi sh are fair to good in knee–deep water on gold spoons and top-waters.

PORT MANSFIELD: Redfi sh are showing in large schools on the sand. Redfi sh are fair to good while drifting pot holes on top-waters and soft plastics under a popping cork. Trout are good on the ledges of the channel on soft plastics.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout, redfi sh and snook are fair to good on the Mexiquita Flats on DOA Lures and live bait. Tarpon and snook are good on shrimp and shad at the jetties.

PORT ISABEL: Redfi sh are good at Gas Well Flats on Gulps under a popping cork. Trout and redfi sh are fair to good while drifting sand and grass fl ats on live shrimp, DOA Shrimp under popping corks.

TEXAS FISHING REPORT

HOT BITES SALTWATERSCENE

ng in large schools on the

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ines for waders tossing

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LARGEMOUTH BASS

AMISTAD: Good on soft plastics, jigs, and drop shots.

BRIDGEPORT: Good on medium-run-ning crankbaits in shad patterns and Texas-rigged Jackall Sasuteki Craws on deeper docks.

CEDAR CREEK: Good on Texas rig worms, shaky heads and fi nesse jigs around docks — best action is in early morning with deep brush piles producing throughout the day on Carolina rigs.

JOE POOL: Good on Texas rigs, medium crankbaits and jigs.

SAM RAYBURN: Good on top-waters early, later switching to shallow running crankbaits, Texas rigs and Rat–L–Traps.

CRAPPIE

BROWNWOOD: Good on Li’l Fishies and minnows over brush piles.

CONROE: Good on minnows and blue tube jigs.

Sponsored by

d t S L i P

CATFISH

BRAUNIG: Channel catfi sh are excel-lent on liver, shrimp, and cut bait near the dam.

FALCON: Channel and blue catfi sh are excellent on stinkbait, shrimp, and cut bait.

LBJ: Channel catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers and dipbait. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch.

TAWAKONI: Excellent in deep water drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

ARROWHEAD: White bass are good on slabs.

BELTON: Hybrid striper are good on live shad.

BOB SANDLIN: White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters.

GRAPEVINE: White bass are good on top-waters and Rat–L–Traps.

LAVON: White bass are good on slabs.

TAWAKONI: White bass are excellent on white SSS Slabs and tailspins.

TRAVIS: White bass are good on small crankbaits and jigging spoons in 20–30 feet.

HOT SPOT

Lake Ray HubbardAnglers have reported catching good numbers of bass on Texas-rigged baits and deep crankbaits. Great reports have come from the river, if

you can access places to get to the fi sh. Other reports have bass being caught from 7 to 10 feet on rocks near drop-offs to deeper water.

Photo by LSON.


Open on Lake Fork:Public 154West 515Vals LandingPopes LandingOak RidgeMinnow BucketMustang ResortLake Fork Marina

Open on Toledo Bend (according to Sabine River Authority):

Swede Johnson Recreations Site 1Huxley Bay Marina

Haley’s FerryEast HamiltonHolly ParkPendleton Harbor MarinaAlpine MarinaIndian Mounds CampingFin & Feather LodgeSix MileSRA Recreation Site 7

Open on Lake Livingston:Tigerville ParkPaul Cauthan Park on White Rock Creek

Boat ramps: Record lake lows; few public ramps still open strategy and Web site (www.

fi shgoldenlure.com). “That part was some of the

best experiences he had,” Jodi said. “They really treated him like an adult and they had the conversations with him, not me, even though I was in the room with them.”

Michael said he couldn’t remember the fi rst fi sh he caught on one of his lures, but one of his fi rst customers, his godfather Benjamin Kinney, does.

“I bought some of them, just as a favor to little Michael,” said the Houston business-man. “But I bought them not thinking much more about it.”

Kinney was fi shing on the coast when he ran into some diffi culty.

“In the summertime, the weeds get so bad in the back lakes,” he said. “Well, I tied on one of Michael’s lures and sure enough, we caught a bunch of redfi sh.

“Those spinners keep the weeds off.”

Kinney said the fi shing lure industry “is probably the hard-est business to break into,” but his godson “certainly has a future at something.”

Michael isn’t thinking in terms of adulthood. Right now he’s concentrating on fi lling orders. Sometimes he enlists help from his buddies and little sister, Payton, a second-grader.

He pays the crew 10 cents a lure, plus Jodi makes cookies.

“We usually just set up lit-tle bowls of beads, blades and skirts,” Michael said. “I teach my friends how to put them on and I’ll clamp them down.

“We have a good time doing it.”

Lure companyContinued From Page 9

Bass Club awarded for youth program success

The Magnolia-Tomball Bass Club, a B.A.S.S. Federation Nation affi liate in southeastern Texas, has been tapped to receive the 2010 Berkley Angler Recruitment and Retention Award from the Berkley Conservation Institute.

The club was recognized for its part in founding the Ignition Bass Youth Fishing League. Several club members approached Ignition Bass in 2009 with the idea for a youth program that involved competition. Ignition Bass agreed to take on the project with the oversight of a board of directors for the nonprofi t

youth circuit.The Ignition Bass Youth Fishing

League now has four age divisions and six regular-season tourna-ment events with an average of 27 anglers competing in each event.

Jim Brockman, tournament director for Ignition Bass, runs the Youth Fishing League on a volun-teer basis. He was a member of the Magnolia-Tomball Bass Club when it hit on the idea to ask an established organization to “do something for the kids,” Brockman said.

“And that's how it got started. Members of the Magnolia-Tomball Bass Club volunteer their time and their boats if needed for the kids who don't have a boat,” he said.

—Staff report

New fi shing regulations affect some West Texas reservoirs

Some Texas reservoirs have dif-ferent fi sh-harvest regulations as of Sept. 1.

Lake Kirby, where the 12-inch minimum length and 25-fi sh daily bag limit for blue and channel cat-fi sh was changed to a no minimum length limit and daily bag limit of 50 blue or channel catfi sh in any combination. No more than fi ve blue or channel catfi sh 20 inches or greater can be kept.

The new catfi sh regulation will give anglers more harvest opportunities and will also provide more protection

of larger catfi sh, letting their numbers increase, or at least maintain, for cat-fi sh for anglers to enjoy.

Lake Alan Henry, near Post, will have a new regulation for bass. Gone is the 18-inch mini-mum length limit on spotted bass and smallmouth bass.

The new minimum length limit for smallmouth bass is 14 inches, and the daily bag limit is fi ve fi sh. For spotted and largemouth bass, there will be no minimum length limit and a daily bag limit of fi ve largemouth or spotted bass in any combination; however, only two bass less than 18 inches may be retained per day.

One other new regulation is that handfi shing, or noodling, is now legal for blue, channel and fl athead catfi sh. All current length and bag limits apply.

—Staff report


It’s no secret that Texas lakes are down this year.Many spots that have produced big bass for anglers in past years have

been too dry to launch boats this summer.According to the Lake Fork Marina, only eight boat ramps are cur-

rently open due to low water. The Sabine River Authority, which controls water on Toledo Bend,

released a statement saying the lake set a record for the lowest level ever on Sept. 13, when water levels reached 160.91 feet msl.

Only 11 public boat ramps remain open. According to the Mark Waters, assistant project manager for the

Trinity River Authority, only two public boat ramps operated by TRA are open on Lake Livingston.

“The water is very low right now,” Waters said. “Jet skis and smaller boats are able to launch, but prudent judgment is needed for larger boats.”

Open public boats ramps


TRESPASSING TO HUNT IS POACHINGAfter seeing signs of trespass-

ing, Terrell County Game Wardens Saul Aguilar and Kenneth Stannard found individuals who were hunting dove without landowner consent, and no hunter education cards. One was a felon in possession of a fi re-arm. Cases pending.

BAITING SEASON BEGINSWhile on patrol in Brewster County,

game wardens discovered what appeared to be a baited dove hunting fi eld. To get a clear defi nition on what would be considered normal agricul-tural planting practices, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was called in to assist. A USFWS agent concluded that the agricultural planting practices used on this fi eld were not normal for the county and determined that the fi eld was baited. Wardens, working in conjunction with USFWS, began watching the fi eld for possible dove hunting activity. On the second day of the season, the wardens noticed several vehicles parked near the fi eld and heard shots in the area. The war-dens made contact with six hunters who had harvested 71 dove. The birds were seized and citations were issued for hunting dove over bait.

OPENING DAY DOWNERSOn opening day of dove sea-

son, Tarrant County Game Wardens John Padgett and David Vannoy found two hunters with unplugged shotguns and a dead scissor-tailed fl ycatcher. At another fi eld, the war-dens checked one man who said he had taken his limit during his morn-ing hunt. Vannoy checked 12 dove in the man’s bag and obtained a written confession about the limit of dove killed that morning. Padgett found more evidence of freshly killed birds in the brush. The man fi nally admitted to killing 19 dove over the

daily bag limit. Multiple cases and civil restitution are pending.

DOUBLE-DIPPING DOVE HUNTERSTarrant County Game Wardens

John Padgett and David Vannoy checked a group of dove hunters who had not taken the required hunter education course. After issu-ing citations, the wardens spoke with them about their previous hunts of the season. After hearing about the large number of birds killed among the group, one subject admitted to killing his daily bag limit dur-ing both the morning and afternoon hunts of the previous day. A written confession was obtained, and addi-tional citations for killing over the daily bag limit were issued. Cases and civil restitution are pending.

BOAT ‘THEFT’ NOT WHAT IT SEEMSHarris County Game Warden

Jennifer Inkster was notifi ed that a caller was reporting that his boat was being stolen near the Kemah Bridge. Inkster immediately headed

for the bridge boat ramp and saw the Seabrook Police Department, Sea Tow, and the caller's registered ves-sel under the bridge. Seabrook PD said the caller was in their custody for outstanding warrants and had accused them of “stealing his boat.”

VIOLATIONS GALOREStarr County Game Wardens

Benjamin Baker and Jerry Norris had a busy opening weekend for the special white-winged season. The wardens located hunters shoot-ing over bait, in a closed area, with unplugged shotguns, no hunter safety cards, killing protected spe-cies in a fi eld with about 15 hunters and not a license among them. Numerous appointments with the local magistrates were arranged.

BAIT AND MORE BAITThrockmorton County Game

Warden Shea Guinn was in an area where there were many dove fl y-ing late in the evening. Capt. Lacy Loudermilk came to help fi nd

bait on a large stock tank. Bait was found late that night. Haskell County Game Warden Ryan Peacock and Stephens County Game Warden Cliff Westbrook assisted the next morning in visiting with hunters. Citations are pending.

JUST A FEW TOO MANY DOVEKing/Knox County Game Warden

Jim Daniels and Dickens/Kent County Game Warden Danny Kessel entered a camp in King County. The four out-of-state hunters had 114 dove over their possession limit.

WE WEREN’T DOING ANYTHINGGillespie County Game Warden

Sam Harris received a call regarding possible road hunting. Harris con-tacted the complainants who said they heard a shot and saw a truck parked on the road near their resi-dence. The landowners were able to get a description of the driver and a license plate number, and said they had seen a second person running in the brush. While en route, Harris

encountered the suspect vehicle with two individuals and initiated a stop. Harris recovered a recently fi red .222 rifl e with a spent cartridge and denials from the occupants. Harris seized the rifl e for evidence and proceeded to the complainants’ ranch where the landowner had dis-covered a freshly killed young axis buck. After a little surgery, Harris recovered an intact, mushroomed bullet from the carcass. The suspect vehicle and owner have been iden-tifi ed as suspects in two other road hunting cases in the last month.

BAITING TO PRODUCE INTEREST IN HUNTING WAS POOR LOGIC

District 1 Game Wardens Deshanna Creager and Scott Kirkpatrick came across several dove hunters from the Metroplex. During the process of checking licenses and bag lim-its, bait was found in and around the area they were hunting. After a brief investigation, the father-in-law of one hunter admitted to placing the bait to increase the likelihood his son-in-law would have an abundance of birds and have a good hunt, thereby increasing the likelihood the son-in-law would take up the sport. Cases pending.

THE BAIT GOES ONErath County Game Warden Zach

Havens was scouting a fi eld at mid-day and noticed it had been hunted. Havens’ interest in the fi eld rose when he noticed a trickle of milo that had been placed around the fi eld. He came back later in the afternoon when a vehicle pulled into the fi eld. Havens made contact and the individual driving admitted to placing the bait and allowing friends to hunt the property. The fi eld was closed to dove hunting and the indi-vidual was charged with placing bait to attract migratory game birds.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

Edwards County Game Warden Scott Holly and Kimble County Game Warden Lee Morrison teamed up to work dove hunters. Once darkness fell, the two wardens proceeded to an area where several reports of possible road hunting for axis deer had been received. Just as the wardens pulled in, a truck drove by pull-ing a trailer with no lights. The wardens stopped the vehicle and noticed that the bed of the truck had dove feathers stuck to it, as well as a case of shotgun shells with blood on it. Shotguns were in the front seat of the vehicle. The occupants stated they had not done any dove hunting that afternoon. With the fresh evidence in front of them, the two said that they had shot around 34 to 37 dove the day before. Holly and Morrison then began questioning the hunters about the fresh feath-ers and wet blood that was all over the bed of the truck.

The two hunters then admitted that they had shot a few birds and left them at the ranch. When asked how many birds had been shot, the two hunters said “a lot.” When asked what “a lot” was, the two stated more than 100 birds had been shot that afternoon between the two of them. One of the hunters did not have a current hunt-ing license. The wardens followed the hunters back to the ranch to inspect the birds. Once at the ranch, the two hunters retrieved 109 birds killed that afternoon. After limits were separated for that day for one hunter, 94 birds were confi scated. Due to the one hunter not hav-ing a license for that day and the day before, another 19 birds were confi scated at that hunter’s residence. The two wardens fi led on the hunters for over the daily bag limit, hunter education violation, no hunting license and no trailer lights. Cases pending.

‘A LOT’ MIGHT NOT BE THE RIGHT ANSWER


HEROESSHARE AN ADVENTURE■ Want to share hunting and fi shing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers? E-mail them with contact and caption

information to editor@lonestarout-

doornews.com. High-resolution origi-

nal jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes,

Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box

551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

NOAH MORALES was 10 when he got his fi rst buck the day after Christmas last season in Frio County.

WALKER, 8, and LOGAN, 6, JENKE of San Antonio recently tag-teamed this 27 1/2-inch redfi sh in the Gulf of Mexico. The red, caught on croaker, weighed 8 1/2 pounds. It was Logan’s largest redfi sh to date.

TONY and JOEY MOLINA of Harlingen recently caught these fl ounder on fresh bait while bottom fi shing the Lower Laguna Madre.

BRANTLEE ALEXANDER of Mount Pleas-ant dropped this bobwhite last season while hunting with his grandfather, Cooter Alexander, near Colorado City.

Kids returning to school get asked, “What did you do on your summer vacation?” RHODY BAKER, 16, of Cibolo, left, could say he visited grandparents Monroe and Holly Carr in Marco Island, Fla., but he also hooked this tarpon, estimated to be at least 100 pounds. “What a thrill to see my grand-son fi ght it for 20 minutes,” Monroe said. “Catch and release, of course.”

HENRY BRYARLY, 5, of Dallas caught this yellow bass while fi shing with family on Lake Lavon.

BRITTON NEW of Fort Worth recently took this red hartebeest while hunting with Coenraad Vermaak Safaris near Kimberley, South Africa. It scored 69 3/4. He also got a springbok that scored 41 1/4.

It was Thanksgiving weekend last season when TREY MCLENDON, then 12 years old, got this big-bodied buck on his family’s ranch in Gillespie County. He thought it was an 8-pointer that he couldn’t get a shot at earlier, but this deer had two extra points.


“We just agreed we’d take our kids camping,” Jared said. “We didn’t even think about it.

“And, being around my dad, their grandfather, we knew they’d be around hunting.”

Lauren said it took her awhile to accept the idea of killing animals for food.

“It was really foreign and bizarre to me,” she said.

But she came to realize that hunting is how peo-ple have gotten food for thousands of years.

And game animals, she added, “have lived a good life, not cooped up in cages like a lot of our food.”

The Lindsays are amazed how Marleigh and Jack have taken to the outdoors. Both children eagerly joined in the pluck-ing and cleaning of dove on opening weekend.

“It was surprising to see my daughter’s love of dove hunting,” Jared said. “I’d tell her to cover her ears, and after I shot a dove, she’d say,

‘Daddy, can I pick it up?’“Then she’d talk to it and

even try to console it. She’d say, ‘I’m sorry we had to shoot you, but don’t worry, we’re going to eat you.’”

Lauren said she enjoys handling a shotgun, and she’s eager to join in the

actual hunting.“I’ll have a license and baby-

sitter come next dove sea-son,” she said with a laugh.

“I can see that on the sur-face this all seems a little contradicting,” Jared said. “But, I think it’s just us … being us.”

DreadlocksContinued From Page 4

“I don’t care if you shoot them into a brick wall,” he said. “Send it back to me and I’ll replace them.”

Hartcraft offers a master pack that includes six ferrules, six locking col-lars, 12 blades for all fi ve combina-tions, a fl ashlight and a carrying case.

“If a hunter purchases the master

pack, they can go hunt for anything in the world,” Wood said. “I just sent our fi rst pack-age to a customer in Hawaii, so word it defi -

nitely getting out.”Lone Star Outdoor News shot a sample

broadhead and found them to be accurate with solid penetration into a block tar-get. They were also easy to unscrew and quickly replace or reverse the blades.

The value pack retails for $37.95. The master pack sells for $114.95.

BroadheadsContinued From Page 6

to a me

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GENERATIONS: Marleigh and Jack Lindsay of Fort Worth help their grandfa-ther, Marty Lindsay of Weatherford, clean dove during the family’s annual dove hunt near Haskell. Photo by Jared Lindsay.


the group shot no more than 10 birds,” he said. “Then the next morning, everyone shot their limits.”

Hunters said the teal were swarming into fl ooded rice fi elds, especially more recently fl ooded fi elds.

“The numbers were up this year,” Friedrichs added. “I talked to some guys at TPWD and they said the majority of birds aren’t even here yet. They think (the teal) are still up in the fl ooded areas of the Midwest.”

Despite the late arriv-als, hunters across the state reported solid teal shoot-ing, especially near good water sources.

Multiple hunters reported killing limits in the Garwood area.

Fishing guide Bobby Kubin reported several fl ocks fl ying overhead on Lewisville Lake during opening weekend.

Hunter Luke Thorkildsen

shot a limit near Royse City, east of Dallas.Stephenville hunter Randy Farrow

reported blue-winged teal working his decoys without hesitation during opening morning, and he also had several green wing teal show up on Sunday.

On Choke Canyon, Game Warden John Palacios said he checked almost 15 groups of hunters opening weekend and they were

“doing pretty well.”“We’ve got a bunch of blue

(winged) teal,” he said. “It was about 50/50 as far as drakes and hens from the hunters I checked, but the majority were blues.

“There was a good number of hunters opening weekend, and the birds are spread out right now.”

Palacios said the lake was “horribly low.”

Hunters at TPWD wild-life management areas along the coast had mixed success. Opening weekend at the J.D. Murphree WMA saw 113 hunt-ers kill 124 birds. Justin Hurst WMA had 24 hunters the sec-ond weekend and they shot 19 birds. Mad Island WMA had 34 hunters take 100 birds and 36 hunters at the Guadalupe Delta WMA shot 136 birds the second weekend of the season.

TEAL TIME: Teal provided hunters with good shoots in many locations around the state. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

BANDED: This banded blue-winged teal was shot by Slade Schuirring near Garwood. The bird was banded in Canada. Photo by Slade Schuirring.

TealContinued From Page 4


range,” he said. “But we have caught a few oversized reds with that big school. Early morning top-water action has been superb.”

Coufal said once the early morning bite has tapered off, the fi sh are sluggish until about noon, when they pick up feed-ing again. That is typical for full moon fi shing, he said.

“Mullet is the fi rst choice of bait, followed by piggy perch,” he added.

Coufal said there also have been pods of redfi sh near the Lydia Ann Channel, and if anglers can fi nd these smaller schools, the fi shing can be better because the fi sh aren’t pressured as much as the bigger groups.

Guides complained of extremely low tides during mid-September, but are hope-ful a little rain will push water levels back to normal and improve fi shing.

The tide has been extra low, but the redfi sh are all over the fl ats, an Ingleside guide

reported. He said the fl ats near Rockport are really shallow, but once the water comes back up, the fi shing will be really good.

Reports of bull reds moving into staging areas are out there, but they’re still several weeks away from really grouping up.

A subscriber sent LSON a report from an outing on Sept. 14.

“I fi shed the Lighthouse Lakes area from my kayak yesterday,” he said. “I launched, paddled

across the channel into the lakes, turned around, got out of the boat and started throw-ing a top-water into the entry channel off the main channel. Oh my gosh.

“The reds went completely nuts, with huge hogs coming off the bottom and nailing my Spook … caught more than I could count.”

Other positive reports have emerged from Long Reef and Mustang Island, although wade fi shermen are warning other anglers about lots of rays this year making it hazard-ous to wade in spots.

RedfishContinued From Page 8

SEE VIDEO■ Go online to redfi sh video: www.LSONews.com

Parker hopes to make Elite SeriesLittle Elm resident Janet Parker has a clear shot at becoming the fi rst woman to compete in

the Bassmaster Elite Series.Parker said if she qualifi es she won’t hesitate to commit for the 2012 Elite Series season.“I am on top of the world,” she said. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this chance.”Parker took a big step toward the Elite Series on Sept. 10 with a 10th-place fi nish on the

Arkansas River in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open division. The high fi nish jumped her from sixth to second place in the points standings. If she can stay in the Top 5 through the end of the season, she hopes to be among the Open invitees for the 2012 Elite Series.

To be Elite, she fi gures she needs a 50th-place or better fi nish in the one remaining tourna-ment on the 2011 Central Open schedule, the Oct. 20-22 event on Table Rock Lake out of Branson, Mo.

“If I can get that eligibility, I want to fi sh the Elites. I want to make history as the fi rst female,” she said.

A former Bassmaster Women’s Tour (WBT) pro, Parker joined the 2010 Opens when the women's tour disbanded after the 2009 sea-son. She had competed in all four seasons of the women's tour's existence, garnering a win on the Ouachita River in 2009 and quali-fying for the championship.

— Staff report

SEE MORE■ Tournament briefs

Page 21


Yamamoto second on Champlain

Palestine, Texas angler Gary Yamamoto committed his entire week, Sept. 15-18, to skipping docks with his namesake Senko.

Although his pattern produced the heaviest single-day stringer in Lake Champlain, New York history, it dwin-dled each of the four tournament days. Part of the reason it dwindled was that many of the lakeshore own-ers were pulling their docks out for the winter.

Despite fi shing methodically, Yamamoto said he sampled up to 100 docks in a day. On day four, he brought in fi ve largemouths that weighed 15 pounds, 11 ounces, bringing his total weight to 74 pounds, 12 ounces.

“I started out this morning on a new area,” Yamamoto said. “At noon, I just had one good one. I didn’t want to stay and gamble so I went back to my primary spot. I was confi dent I could catch fi ve, but I was trying to get the bites to catch Dave.”

As only he can do, Yamamoto put a unique twist on his Senko pre-sentation. In addition to adding a 1-inch, No. 7 screw, he also hooked the Senko backwards.

“I hooked it backwards so instead of going to the boat it moves back towards the dock.”

Yamamoto earned $31,329 for his runner-up fi nish.

“Yesterday I thanked my employ-ees and all my bait buyers and my wife said it was the best speech she’s ever heard,” he said. “I know how to play the game now. If I keep every-body happy, I get to keep fi shing.”

Dave Wolak won the event. —Staff report

Cowtown anglers dominate Bass Champs North championship

Fort Worth was well represented at the Bass Champs North Region Championship Sept. 17 on Cedar Creek Reservoir near Athens.

The team of Hugo Velasco of Fort Worth and Bill Wilcox of Burleson took fi rst place with 10 fi sh weighing 35.86 pounds. They won a Skeeter ZX 20 boat with a Yamaha motor.

Second place went to Corey Waldrop and Craig Waldrop, both of Fort Worth. Their 10-fi sh total of 34.93 pounds fetched a $2,500 prize.

Dale Boren and Jody Holubek, also of Fort Worth, took third with nine fi sh weighing 33.92 pounds.

The big bass prize went to Robert Alexander of Rockwall, who boated an 8.12-pound fi sh for $500.

—Staff report

TOURNAMENT BRIEFS

The average number of South Texas bobs spotted in this year’s survey was 8, down from 8.6 a year ago.

But Perez said he believes it could have been worse. This region’s proxim-ity to the Gulf Coast may have provided extra moisture from morning dew dur-ing the harshest days of summer.

Gulf moisture may have contributed to a surprising boost in quail observed in a few counties that hug the coastline. The surveys in the Gulf Prairies showed an average of 19.4 birds, compared to 5 last year.

“The downside is there’s not a lot of pub-lic hunting opportunities there,” Perez said. “And day leasing there is not a com-mon practice, so hunters should call the local chambers of commerce and learn names of people who may be leasing.”

Another increase, although slight, was recorded for blue or “scaled” quail in the Trans-Pecos region.

They averaged 6.3 sightings in the surveys, up from 5 last year. That’s still far below the long-term mean of 16.4, according to TPWD records.

As in previous “down” years, success-ful hunters will fi nd coveys of “carryover” birds from last year on ranches that pro-actively manage for quail, Perez said.

Those places, he said, have cover standing, where quail can nest, feed, hide and proliferate.

“I don’t want to discourage hunters from going out entirely,” Perez said, “but places with birds are going to be places that didn’t have livestock going back to the spring.”

By midsummer, a lot of Texas cattle operations moved or sold their stock, but that may have been too late to ben-efi t quail, Perez said.

“Quail can’t live in a parking lot,” he said, “but it looks like a parking lot out there now. As you drive across the state, it really catches your eye.”

QuailContinued From Page 4


Do you have a deer lease that you’d liketo list for FREE in Lone Star Outdoor News’

Texas Deer Season special section in October?

water in them.”“It has been real good,

mainly on Little George-type spinners,” he added. “Surfacing has been good in the morning and evening and trolling with just about anything during the day.

“The shad also had a new hatch, and they’re pretty spread out, but the sandies are going through them pretty good.”

About 20 miles farther east at Lake Fork, guide Gene Snider said he expects white bass will soon start “stack-ing up on deep water.”

“On Lake Fork, sand bass are going to get better from here on,” he said. “I saw a few fi sh schooling about 3 in the after-noon in 40 feet of water, run-ning some shad,” he said. “But they didn’t stay up long.”

Meanwhile, Snider has been putting customers on white bass in the early morn-ings while fi shing in 15-30 feet of water off of points and roadbeds.

“Most of the time,” he said, “I just use a chrome jigging spoon — no particular brand — half to 3/4 of an ounce.”

At Richland Chambers Reservoir near Corsicana, guide Mark Parker has found white bass with the tried-and-true summer technique of keying on birds chasing shad in open water.

“The (white) bass and hybrids went right in after them,” Parker said. “When the birds aren’t working, we get up on the humps and points.”

He has found the best suc-cess throwing slabs, includ-ing one of his own designs, the Mark Parker Special.

Farther south, in Central Texas, Lake Buchanan guide

Clancy Terrill noticed some recent top-water activity for white bass on the upper half of the lake where the Colorado River enters it.

But, he noted, “They’re still in their summer pattern. Some days it’s feathers and some days it’s chicken.

“Some guys like to troll, but the majority are going out with jigging spoons.

“If there’s a breeze here, they’re doing better. But if it’s dead calm — not so much.”

Farther down on the Colorado River system, white bass were good at night on Li’l Fishies and at Lake Travis, northwest of Austin, on small crankbaits and jigging spoons.

Guide Larry Thomas, (940) 229-0288Guide Gene Snider, (903) 638-1868Guide Mark Parker, (254) 479-0550Guide Clancy Terrill, (512) 633-6742

White bassContinued From Page 1


However, heavy rains blanketed Texas the weekend of Sept. 16-18, leaving 1-2 inches in East and South Texas and at least a quarter inch in much of West Texas.

The rains were also a welcome respite from wildfi res that heaped more stress on Texas trees. But the moisture came too late to benefi t acorns.

“There would have been less (acorns) anyway without fi res, just because the moisture wasn’t in the ground,” said Daniel Duncum, a TFS district forester in Longview. “Most acorns did not fully develop.”

A year ago, Tropical Storm Hermine deluged vast swaths of Texas with torrential rains that nour-ished the state’s wildlife habitat.

But Hermine skipped East Texas, which stayed dry through the win-ter and spring, setting the stage for the unusual changing of the col-ors in summer.

Duncum said these trees have gone into survival mode.

“A lot of our district foresters (reported) that hardwood trees on sandy ridge tops are dropping their leaves completely,” he said. “That could be the best thing they could do.

“When the plant senses it’s in trouble, it will close off the sto-mata on the bottom of the leaf and hold moisture in the plant.

“Once they drop leaves, the trees can no longer lose moisture.”

Severe drought will kill a tree, but Duncum and Rooni agreed that for-esters wouldn’t know the extent of the damage until next spring when trees are upposed to produce new leaves.

“What we’re telling folks now is, if there is any green at all in the leaf, there’s a good chance the tree will survive,” Duncum said.

Deer hunters obviously won’t be cursing acorns for luring deer away from their feeders this season.

But the state’s top wildlife offi -cial said well-stocked feeders could be important tools going into win-ter, and not just to attract bucks.

“If you have an artifi cial food source, you need to use that to help get your populations down,” said Clayton Wolf, director of wildlife for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “That way you’re putting as little pres-sure on habitat as possible.”

Deer mostly depend on forbs and weeds, but acorns can richly enhance the diet.

“Whether it’s squirrels, deer or turkey, the perfect combo is mast crops followed by a green spring,” Wolf said, “but this year it’s going to be the opposite.”

Nurseries sell replacement seed-lings, some that are crossbred with traits that allow them to establish early and produce acorns within a few years. (See related story page 6.)

Duncum noted, however, that for-ests naturally regenerate themselves, but only on nature’s timetable.

“New seeds come in on the wind or animals bring them in,” he said. “The forest will rebuild itself; it’s just going to take time.”

LandscapeContinued From Page 4


Diseases known to cause inter-nal bleeding in white-tailed deer are suspected of killing numerous ani-mals recently in Texas breeder pens.

Epizootic hemorrhagic dis-ease, or EHD, and the similar blue tongue disease, aren’t new to Texas’ native deer.

But breeders are noticing an uptick of infections, usually evi-denced by disoriented deer bleeding from the nose or other openings.

Dying deer have been reported in pens in north, northeast and southern areas of the state. It’s unclear how many free-ranging deer are also getting sick because they are harder to monitor.

“I’ve never known it to be this bad,” said George Taliaferro, a breeder in Kaufman County. “Right now I got little over 50 deer and 16 have been attacked. It’s still going on. I found one sick today.”

As of Sept. 15, Taliaferro, who has been vaccinating his deer against the diseases, had lost three, including his biggest buck, which measured 327 inches.

“The scuttlebutt around the industry is there has been quite a bit of it this year,” said Dr. Frank Ondrovik of Utopia, a South Texas deer breeder and veterinar-ian. “I would call this a moder-ately severe year.”

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has “received sev-eral dozen” reports of deer

with EHD symptoms, said Ryan Schoeneberg, TPWD’s deer disease program specialist.

“EHD is suspected,” he said.A snapshot of the diseases indi-

cates they are three times worse than last year, according to infor-mation from the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.

As of Sept. 7, this lab, based at Texas A&M University, confi rmed 147 reports of three EHD strains, including: 25 of EHD I; 87 of EHD II; and 35 of EHD VI.

Last year, there were only 48 com-bined confi rmed cases of these three EHD strains, said Dr. Alfonso Clavijo, an assistant director at the lab.

Clavijo added that the lab has confi rmed about 15 cases of blue tongue so far this year; normally

there are only six for the whole year.He said there are surely a lot

more instances of the diseases, but his lab only tests blood or tissue samples sent by veterinarians.

“I would expect the same kind of distribution in wildlife,” he said. But, he added, no samples from free-ranging deer have yet reached his lab.

Some breeders say their deer are especially vulnerable if they have northern genetics that aren’t immune to strains of EHD found in Texas.

“But,” Clavijo added, “that doesn’t explain why we have so much this year. We had the same genetics last year, and the year before.”

Midge fl ies, also called gnats, spread the diseases by sucking the blood of animals infected

with viruses, including livestock, Ondrovik said.

Then the gnats transfer the viruses when they bite healthy animals. The diseases deteriorate blood vessels; infected deer hem-orrhage internally and die.

The gnats do their worst damage during the hot, dry weather of mid to late summer. That is perplexing, Schoeneberg said, because they require humidity to breed.

“We don’t know why they are busy now,” he said. “It could be there is a central water location, so fl ies are there.”

Infections could continue until the onset of winter.

“When we get a good, cold freeze those fl ies die,” Schoeneberg said, “and the disease stops.”

EHD, ‘blue tongue’ suspected in breeder deer deaths


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across the state this year, deer hunt-ers could be pleasantly surprised at antler growth.

The silver lining this year is bucks should come to corn much better than the past several seasons because of a lack of natural forage.

“Because of the intense drought, antler quality is below average,” said Daniel Kunz, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist in South Texas. “But for the intensity of the drought, the deer don’t look all that bad.”

Mesquite beans and prickly pears saved the day for the adult deer, although not helping a poor fawn crop.

“There really should be good hunter opportunity this year because the deer will really come to the corn,” he said. “The mesquite beans have helped antler quality, although this year will certainly be worse than last year.”

In East Texas, the Pineywoods region has some big deer, but body mass could be down because of a lack of forage.

“Like everywhere this year, I imag-ine, it’s bad,” said Gary Calkins, dis-trict biologist for TPWD. “It does appear that we are going to have fair antler development despite the poor range conditions.

“I’ve seen some trail camera pictures of some really good-looking deer.”

Calkins said the bodies of the deer, especially the bigger bucks he has seen, are fair to poor.

“None of them look really terrible, but you can tell on some of those big-ger bucks where most of their nutri-tion went this year. They are having it a little tough, and we could see some post-rut mortality this year.”

Calkins said the deer have been foraging on about anything they can fi nd, but if hunters have beau-tyberry, yaupon or any green water or willow oaks, they should see plenty of deer.

“The deer will be moving this season to fi nd food,” Calkins said. “If they can fi nd feed, they will be coming into it, whether that’s corn or anything else.”

The Hill Country should be in store for an excellent bow season. Reports from many ranches, espe-cially those with water, said they are seeing good bucks regularly coming to corn and other food sources.

“Our deer are very well taken care of,” said Lewis Scherer, ranch manager at the Flagler Ranch in west Kerr County. “Because of the drought, there wasn’t much out there for them to eat, but the bucks I’ve seen look really good.

“Our fawn crop was about 50 percent, and I put out extra water for the does this summer.

“Horn-wise, I’ve seen about a 2- to 4-inch loss overall on score from last year.”

Bottom line: if you have water and managed your herd through the drought, expect to see good deer coming to corn. If not, your deer might be on your neighbor’s property come bow season.

“Near San Angelo we have fi ve milo fi elds,” he said. “We just cut them three weeks ago. Then you have all this wheat up here that didn’t get high enough to harvest. It is only ankle high.”

Outfi tter Clint Hammonds in northern Mills County, north of Goldthwaite, also reported good conditions.

“We got the food, the water, the roosting — we got it all,” he said. “On one place I got,

basically everyone is limiting out — that is, the ones who can shoot.”

On a fi eld that backs up to the unincorporated town of Priddy, he recently shot a limit on white-winged dove.

“This is the fi rst year I’ve seen them up here that thick,” he said.

Corey Mason, dove pro-gram leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said the food available on large pieces of land have lured lots of action.

“Places with small acreage are having a little tougher time,” he said. “The birds are really concentrated now. Those that have good food, and haven’t been pressuring them

too much, have been shooting near to full bags.”

In the North Zone, hunt-ing has been “fair” deep in the Panhandle around Amarillo and also in East Texas near Paris, according to a TPWD report.

Better shooting was reported over tanks in fi elds north of Dallas, TPWD said.

Mason added that the South Zone holds a lot of promise, based on what he saw working a

check station near Hondo during the special white-winged season the fi rst two weekends of September.

Outfi tter Charlie Reagor of BR Outfi tters, based in Uvalde County, said he has high hopes for the

South Zone season.His operation straddles U.S.

90, the boundary between the Central and South Zones. He said birds in the Central Zone thus far “have been average to average.”

“It has been so dry,” Reagor said. “And when (dove) hatched in 106 degrees, it’s a hard time keeping them going.”

Reagor said he would put hunters over cut milo, corn, sunfl owers and sesame. He also has access to tanks.

“We’re seeing more birds in the South,” he said. “We’re hoping for good things.”

Mike Wyatt, First Shot Outfi tters: (325) 280-3676Clint Hammonds: (325) 451-4140Charlie Reagor, BR Outfi tters: (830) 279-3929Nooner Ranch: (830) 741-8614

GOOD DOG: Jake Morrison thanks his lab, Chase, after another retrieve. He and his father Dave were hunting at the Nooner ranch and both fi nished their limits of whitewings. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

SEE VIDEO■ Go online to dove video: www.LSONews.com

BuffetContinued From Page 1


SoundGear by La PierreThe earplugs don’t look like much — but the

digital battery-powered device does two things. It enhances “envi-ronmental” sounds around the hunter and muffl es the blast of the shotgun when the trigger is pulled.

The enhancement is almost spooky good. Conversations of dove hunters nearly 200 yards away were heard as though they were at the next table in a restaurant. Not all of the chatter was interesting.

At fi rst, the sound of the shotgun blast didn’t seem to be dampened to a great degree. Until the device was taken out of the ear and another shot fi red that is — then the degree of muffl ing was noticeably apparent.

While not the optimal choice when shooting at

the range, the SoundGear works wonders when the hunter relies on his or her ears to hear the wings of the birds or the noises on the ground, and provides a level of protection when the shot is fi red.

But beware: many of us with hearing issues also have trou-ble seeing little things at close distances. The batteries are very small, easy to drop (in the grass, in our case). It’s best to install the batteries before leav-ing home where the aging eyes can see the tiny positive and negative symbols.

Also be ready for the price. A complete SoundGear kit costs $899. You get a pair of earplugs, two pairs of silicone sleeves (one large, one small), a battery removal tool, two packs of batter-ies and a cleaning brush. There’s also a one-

year limited warranty.

—Craig Nyhus

(952) 947-4846www.soundgearhearing.com

Birds captured taking off at sunrise near Mayville, NDWe are at that time of year when there are a large number of migratory waterfowl transiting the

Central fl yway. With the change of seasons, a wide variety of avian species are heading south. Many nest in area lakes, taking off around sunrise.

When the atmospheric conditions are correct, these fl ocks of birds are “visible” on the Mayville Doppler radar as they lift off of area lakes. As they take fl ight, near concentric rings become visible, expanding out-ward, quickly “dissipating” as the fl ocks disperse. At right is an image from the Mayville Doppler captured around sunrise, Tuesday, Sept. 13.

This phenomenon is relatively common, espe-cially in the spring, fall and other times when the fl yways are especially busy. Atmospheric condi-tions have to be just right, with an inversion near the surface of the earth. This inversion bends the radar beam in such a way that it is closer to the surface than it is under normal conditions. This “ducting” of the radar beam allows for objects close to the actual surface — such as birds taking off — to be readily visible.

— Staff report

ENHANCEMENT: The SoundGear device muffl es the blast of a shotgun but also picks up sounds 200 yards away. Photo by SoundGear.

BIRD RINGS: A radar screen shot near Mayville, shows "bird rings" when waterfowl leave their roosts. Photo by NWFS.


Texas Feral Hog Roundup A hunting contest like no other

A hunting contest like no otherWhat could be better? A hunting contest that is simple beyond belief, helps eradicate a

monumental problem, rewards entrants with incredible prizes and feeds the hungry.Enter the Feral Hog Roundup, a product of the American Hog Hunting Association and

sponsored by Academy Sports + Outdoors and other businesses.

The contest and prizes:It’s super simple. With four regions in Texas, archery and rifl e hunters will have the chance to

compete for prizes for their heaviest hogs in each category of each region. For prizes, the fi ve heaviest hogs will set the mark for rifl e hunters, and for archers the heaviest single hog will be used. But there is no limit to the number of hogs that may be taken and weighed in. A dozen or so weigh-in stations in each region will eliminate the long drives for hunters. And the prizes are big, from ATVs to UTVs, to guns, archery equipment, blinds, hunting accessories and more.

The top 50 rifl e hunters and top 30 archery hunters from each region will be invited to an awards party where a shot at a new pickup begins.

“At each region, we’ll have a contest among the top 50 to choose fi ve entries in both rifl e and archery from each region,” said CEO Rich Schultz. “Weights don’t matter in this contest. After the fall and spring seasons, in May 2012, we’ll have a big celebration to present awards and to give away the trucks — one for rifl e hunters and one for archers.

“Basically, a hunter who registers and harvests a good hog will have a one-in-320 shot at a new truck — pretty good odds.”

The seasons:There are two seasons, two ceremonies per region and two sets of prizes per region. Sea-

son dates are Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2011 and Jan. 1 – April 30, 2012.

The costs:The contest isn’t cheap — because it’s worth it. Rifl e hunting fees are $50 for a fi ve-day hunt in one

region. For the entire fall or spring season in a region, it’s $150. For those who can hunt in all four regions, it’s $400 per season. Archery hunting fees are $100 per region, or $275 for all four regions per season.

There are incentives, though. Rifl e hunters signing up at a participating Winchester retailer, Academy and numerous other independent dealers will receive a $50 gift card. Archery hunt-ers will receive a $30 gift card.

Feeding the hungry:The Feral Hog Roundup is serious about feeding America’s hungry and encourages all

hunters to donate their hog meat to a food bank or charity that accepts donations.

How to enter:Entry forms, tournament rules, region maps and prizes may be viewed at www.americanho-

ghunting.com. For more information, call Rich Schultz at (602) 329-3366.

Advertisement

Fire rolls through ranch; trail camera captures the action

WALL OF FLAMES: These photos shot on the Belding Ranch, just north of Highway 101, show a fast-moving range fi re devouring cedar near a feeder. The sequence, shot several weeks ago, was taken by a trail camera over the course of fi ve minutes. The fi re burned half of the ranch near Possum Kingdom Lake. According to Miguel Diaz, who works on the ranch, the only animal found dead was a hog at a feeder. Photos by Miguel Diaz.


DATEBOOKSeptember 24Texas Deer AssociationSportsman’s BanquetKC HallSeguin(210) 767-8300www.texasdeerassociation.com

Dallas Safari ClubFall Youth SAFETY eventGreystone Castle Mingus(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

September 27Texas AgriLife Extension ServiceWildlife Guide Training WorkshopCorpus Christi(979) 845-1023www.naturetousrism.tamu.edu

Ducks UnlimitedKilgore Banquet(903) 245-4548www.ducks.org

Ducks UnlimitedWharton DinnerHungerford HallHungerford(979) 532-3175www.ducks.org/texas

September 28-30South Texas Wildlife ConferenceSpring Creek Place Event Center Victoria(210) 826-2904

September 28Coastal Conservation AssociationDallas Chapter Fall KickoffTailwaters Flyfi shing Company(214) 243-9435www.ccatexas.org

September 29Quail CoalitionCross Timbers Chapter DinnerFort Worth(817) 731-3402www.quailcoalition.org

Ducks UnlimitedSan Antonio DinnerAlzafar Shrine Temple(210) 396-6282www.ducks.org/texas

September 30Texas Deer AssociationSportsman’s BanquetCasa Blanca BallroomLaredo(210) 767-8300www.texasdeerassociation.com

October 1-2Gun and Knife ShowAbilene Civic Center(830) 285-0575www.texasgunandknifeshows.com

October 5Ducks UnlimitedLone Star Chapter Sportsman BanquetLegion HallLlano(512) 755-9770www.ducks.org/texas

Houston Safari ClubMonthly MeetingEmbassy Suites(713) 623-8844www.houstonsafariclub.org

Coastal Conservation AssociationGreater Sugarland Chapter meetingSpring Creek BBQMissouri City(713) 626-4222www.ccatexas.org

October 6Coastal Conservation AssociationState of TX BBQ and STAR AwardsHouston Farm Ranch Club(713) 626-4222www.ccatexas.org

October 7Coastal Conservation Association2011 Banquet Guides Cup(361) 563-2010www.ccatexas.org

October 8Arabia Shrine Sportsmen2011 Shriners ShootoutAmerican Shooting Center Houston(936) 672-3103www.arabiashrinesportsmen.com

Coastal Conservation AssociationBabes on Baffi n and Blue Ladies TournamentBaffi n Bay(361) 563-2010www.ccatexas.org

October 13Wild Game SupperBeretta GalleryHighland Park Village(214) 559-9800www.berettausa.com

October 14Operation Game Thief Clay shootNational Shooting ComplexSan Antonio(512) 389-4381www.ogttx.com

October 14-15Taxidermy KingTrophy mount auctionWill Rogers Memorial CenterFort Worth(512) 451-7633www.taxidermyking.com

October 20Texas Deer AssociationBoard of Directors meetingJW Marriott, San Antonio(210) 767-8300www.texasdeerassociation.com

Dallas Safari ClubMonthly MeetingRoyal Oaks Country Club(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

Austin Fly FishersMeetingNW Rec Center(512) 346-0592www.austinfl yfi shers.com

Lone Star Outdoor News, ISSN 2162-8300, a publication of Lone Star Outdoor News, LLC, publishes twice a month. A mailed subscrip-tion is $30 for 24 issues. Newsstand copies are free, one per person. Copyright 2011 with all rights reserved. Reproduction and/or use of any photographic or written material without written permission by the publisher is prohibited. Subscribers may send address changes to: Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355 or e-mail them to [email protected].

Advertising Call (214) 361-2276 or e-mail editor@lone staroutdoornews.com to request a media kit.

For home delivery subscriptions www.LSONews.com(214) 361-2276

Executive Editor

Editor

Associate Editor

Associate Editor

Graphics Editor

Business/Products Editor

Operations Manager

Accounting

Web site

Founder & CEO

Craig Nyhus

Bill Miller

Conor Harrison

Mark England

Amy Moore

Mary Helen Aguirre

Mike Hughs

Ginger Hoolan

Bruce Soileau

Mike Nelson

David J. Sams

National Advertising Accounts Manager

Contributors Kyle CarterAlan ClemonsDavid DraperWilbur LundeenJohn MeyerAaron ReedErich SchlegelDavid SikesScott SommerlatteChuck UzzleRalph Winingham


Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 33

ACROSS1. Deer hunter's spring preparation6. A _____ bass8. Do this to hunting routes9. A small game, _____ hare

10. Name for the rarest of trout11. Term for a man-made deer trail13. Color hunter wears for safety15. A large bass species17. The tusker18. Hunter's name for a certain small game19. Act of moving lure to attract fi sh21. Large bears23. These should be in icefi shing kits26. Used to fry fi sh over open fi re27. A very good walleye bait28. A predator30. Species catfi sh, _____ cat31. A grouping of fi sh in one spot32. A female dall

DOWN1. Type habitat deer will hide in2. The Great ______3. Type of a simple tent4. Sage or ruffed5. A food source of the trout6. Another name for the dogfi sh7. Trapped for the fur

12. A source of deer food14. Of the trout family

16. Term for the expert fi sherman17. Breed of gundog good for pheasant hunt18. A member of the weasel family20. The chain _______22. Crappies spawn in _____ water

24. Term for a type angler casting method

25. A deer lure, _____ rag28. To throw out the bait29. A rugged outing, ___ fi shing

Legend: Major=2 hours. Minor=1 hour. Times centered on the major-minor window. F=Full Moon, N=New Moon, Q=Quarter > = Peak Activity. For other locations, subtract 1 minute per 12 miles east of a location, and add 1 min-ute per 12 miles west of a location.

Sun Moon Tides| |

6 venison steaks, tenderized, about 1/2 pound each1/2 cup fl our1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper3 tbsp cooking oil2 large onions, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices4 cups of stewed tomatoes1 tsp paprika

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the fl our, salt, pepper and paprika. Dredge the venison steaks in the seasoned fl our mixture, coating both sides. Heat a heavy frying pan over

medium-high heat, add the oil, and brown both sides of the steaks. Don't crowd the steaks when browning ... it's best to brown one or two at a time.

Place the browned venison steaks in a large baking dish with lid, add the remaining ingredi-ents and mix a bit to get some of the tomato and onion under the steaks. Cover the dish and place it in the oven, baking for two to three hours, or until the meat is falling apart tender.

— free-venison-recipes.com

4 duck breast fi llets4 boneless, skinless chicken fi llets2 polish sausages30-40 peeled, dev-eined shrimp2 pkgs frozen gumbo vegetables2 cans whole tomatoes1 med. chopped onion1 tsp butter1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp thyme1/2 tsp black pepper1/4 tsp red pepperTabascoSalt to taste

Soak duck in salt water and ice for 20 minutes (repeat at least twice). Place meat, vegetables, butter, Worcestershire sauce, spices and a couple of dashes of Tabasco into slow

cooker and cover with water. Bring to boil for fi ve minutes, stir-ring. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Use fork to shred meats and sim-mer for another four to six hours on very low heat. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve over rice.

— Texas Wild Game Cookbook

Duck gumbo

FullOct 12 Last

Oct 20FirstOct 4

NewSept 27

Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 1:54 a.m. 3.0 H 6:46 a.m. 2.7 L 10:03 a.m. 2.9 H 6:12 p.m. 0.7 L Sep 24 2:05 a.m. 2.9 H 6:49 a.m. 2.5 L 11:57 a.m. 2.9 H 7:06 p.m. 0.9 L Sep 25 2:18 a.m. 2.9 H 7:22 a.m. 2.0 L 1:23 p.m. 3.0 H 7:57 p.m. 1.1 L Sep 26 2:31 a.m. 2.9 H 8:03 a.m. 1.4 L 2:40 p.m. 3.2 H 8:48 p.m. 1.4 L Sep 27 2:46 a.m. 2.9 H 8:47 a.m. 1.1 L 3:53 p.m. 3.4 H 9:38 p.m. 2.0 L Sep 28 3:03 a.m. 2.9 H 9:34 a.m. 0.5 L 5:05 p.m. 3.4 H 10:29 p.m. 2.3 L Sep 29 3:21 a.m. 3.0 H 10:24 a.m. 0.2 L 6:19 p.m. 3.6 H 11:22 p.m. 2.7 L Sep 30 3:39 a.m. 3.0 H 11:18 a.m. 0.0 L 7:37 p.m. 3.6 H Oct 01 12:21 a.m. 3.0 L 3:55 a.m. 3.2 H 12:16 p.m. 0.0 L 9:03 p.m. 3.4 H Oct 02 1:22 p.m. 0.2 L 10:37 p.m. 3.4 H Oct 03 2:36 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 04 12:04 a.m. 3.4 H 3:56 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 05 12:57 a.m. 3.2 H 5:12 p.m. 0.7 L Oct 06 1:28 a.m. 3.0 H 7:20 a.m. 2.5 L 10:33 a.m. 2.7 H 6:18 p.m. 1.1 L Oct 07 1:46 a.m. 3.0 H 7:39 a.m. 2.3 L 12:04 p.m. 2.7 H 7:11 p.m. 1.3 L

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 2:41 a.m. 2.4 H 7:12 a.m. 2.1 L 10:50 a.m. 2.3 H 6:38 p.m. 0.6 L Sep 24 2:52 a.m. 2.3 H 7:15 a.m. 2.0 L 12:44 p.m. 2.3 H 7:32 p.m. 0.7 L Sep 25 3:05 a.m. 2.3 H 7:48 a.m. 1.6 L 2:10 p.m. 2.4 H 8:23 p.m. 0.9 L Sep 26 3:18 a.m. 2.3 H 8:29 a.m. 1.1 L 3:27 p.m. 2.6 H 9:14 p.m. 1.1 L Sep 27 3:33 a.m. 2.3 H 9:13 a.m. 0.9 L 4:40 p.m. 2.7 H 10:04 p.m. 1.6 L Sep 28 3:50 a.m. 2.3 H 10:00 a.m. 0.4 L 5:52 p.m. 2.7 H 10:55 p.m. 1.9 L Sep 29 4:08 a.m. 2.4 H 10:50 a.m. 0.1 L 7:06 p.m. 2.9 H 11:48 p.m. 2.1 L Sep 30 4:26 a.m. 2.4 H 11:44 a.m. 0.0 L 8:24 p.m. 2.9 H Oct 01 12:47 a.m. 2.4 L 4:42 a.m. 2.6 H 12:42 p.m. 0.0 L 9:50 p.m. 2.7 H Oct 02 1:48 p.m. 0.1 L 11:24 p.m. 2.7 H Oct 03 3:02 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 04 12:51 a.m. 2.7 H 4:22 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 05 1:44 a.m. 2.6 H 5:38 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 06 2:15 a.m. 2.4 H 7:46 a.m. 2.0 L 11:20 a.m. 2.1 H 6:44 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 07 2:33 a.m. 2.4 H 8:05 a.m. 1.9 L 12:51 p.m. 2.1 H 7:37 p.m. 1.0 L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Sep 23 3:11 a.m. 1.5 H 8:08 a.m. 1.3 L 11:20 a.m. 1.4 H 7:34 p.m. 0.3 L Sep 24 3:22 a.m. 1.4 H 8:11 a.m. 1.2 L 1:14 p.m. 1.4 H 8:28 p.m. 0.4 L Sep 25 3:35 a.m. 1.4 H 8:44 a.m. 0.9 L 2:40 p.m. 1.5 H 9:19 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 26 3:48 a.m. 1.4 H 9:25 a.m. 0.7 L 3:57 p.m. 1.5 H 10:10 p.m. 0.7 L Sep 27 4:03 a.m. 1.4 H 10:09 a.m. 0.5 L 5:10 p.m. 1.6 H 11:00 p.m. 0.9 L Sep 28 4:20 a.m. 1.4 H 10:56 a.m. 0.3 L 6:22 p.m. 1.6 H 11:51 p.m. 1.1 L Sep 29 4:38 a.m. 1.5 H 11:46 a.m. 0.1 L 7:36 p.m. 1.7 H Sep 30 12:44 a.m. 1.3 L 4:56 a.m. 1.5 H 12:40 p.m. 0.0 L 8:54 p.m. 1.7 H Oct 01 1:43 a.m. 1.5 L 5:12 a.m. 1.5 H 1:38 p.m. 0.0 L 10:20 p.m. 1.6 H Oct 02 2:44 p.m. 0.1 L 11:54 p.m. 1.6 H Oct 03 3:58 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 04 1:21 a.m. 1.6 H 5:18 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 05 2:14 a.m. 1.5 H 6:34 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 06 2:45 a.m. 1.5 H 8:42 a.m. 1.2 L 11:50 a.m. 1.3 H 7:40 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 07 3:03 a.m. 1.5 H 9:01 a.m. 1.1 L 1:21 p.m. 1.3 H 8:33 p.m. 0.6 L

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 2:03 a.m. 2.1 H 7:09 a.m. 1.4 L 10:12 a.m. 2.0 H 6:35 p.m. 0.4 L Sep 24 2:14 a.m. 2.0 H 7:12 a.m. 1.3 L 12:06 p.m. 2.0 H 7:29 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 25 2:27 a.m. 2.0 H 7:45 a.m. 1.0 L 1:32 p.m. 2.1 H 8:20 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 26 2:40 a.m. 2.0 H 8:26 a.m. 0.7 L 2:49 p.m. 2.2 H 9:11 p.m. 0.7 L Sep 27 2:55 a.m. 2.0 H 9:10 a.m. 0.5 L 4:02 p.m. 2.3 H 10:01 p.m. 0.0 L Sep 28 3:12 a.m. 2.0 H 9:57 a.m. 0.3 L 5:14 p.m. 2.3 H 10:52 p.m. 1.2 L Sep 29 3:30 a.m. 2.1 H 10:47 a.m. 0.1 L 6:28 p.m. 2.5 H 11:45 p.m. 1.4 L Sep 30 3:48 a.m. 2.1 H 11:41 a.m. 0.0 L 7:46 p.m. 2.5 H Oct 01 12:44 a.m. 1.5 L 4:04 a.m. 2.2 H 12:39 p.m. 0.0 L 9:12 p.m. 2.3 H Oct 02 1:45 p.m. 0.1 L 10:46 p.m. 2.3 H Oct 03 2:59 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 04 12:13 a.m. 2.3 H 4:19 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 05 1:06 a.m. 2.2 H 5:35 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 06 1:37 a.m. 2.1 H 7:43 a.m. 1.3 L 10:42 a.m. 1.8 H 6:41 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 07 1:55 a.m. 2.1 H 8:02 a.m. 1.2 L 12:13 p.m. 1.8 H 7:34 p.m. 0.6 L

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 2:30 a.m. 2.0 H 6:22 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 24 2:41 a.m. 1.9 H 7:52 a.m. 1.6 L 11:37 a.m. 1.7 H 7:26 p.m. 0.7 L Sep 25 2:45 a.m. 1.7 H 7:58 a.m. 1.3 L 1:28 p.m. 1.8 H 8:30 p.m. 0.8 L Sep 26 2:44 a.m. 1.6 H 8:23 a.m. 1.0 L 2:59 p.m. 1.9 H 9:34 p.m. 1.0 L Sep 27 2:38 a.m. 1.4 H 8:57 a.m. 0.6 L 4:21 p.m. 2.0 H 10:43 p.m. 1.2 L Sep 28 2:26 a.m. 1.4 H 9:38 a.m. 0.3 L 5:42 p.m. 2.0 H Sep 29 10:25 a.m. 0.0 L 7:05 p.m. 2.1 H Sep 30 11:15 a.m. -0.2 L 8:33 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 01 12:11 p.m. -0.2 L 10:07 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 02 1:13 p.m. -0.1 L 11:36 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 03 2:20 p.m. 0.1 L Oct 04 12:42 a.m. 2.1 H 3:32 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 05 1:23 a.m. 2.1 H 4:46 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 06 1:46 a.m. 2.0 H 5:57 p.m. 0.8 L Oct 07 1:59 a.m. 1.9 H 7:22 a.m. 1.6 L 11:46 a.m. 1.8 H 7:03 p.m. 1.0 L

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 8:52 a.m. 1.2 H 10:15 p.m. 0.4 L Sep 24 9:54 a.m. 1.1 H 11:12 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 25 3:50 p.m. 1.0 H Sep 26 12:07 a.m. 0.7 L 6:18 a.m. 0.8 H 10:45 a.m. 0.7 L 6:08 p.m. 1.1 H Sep 27 1:01 a.m. 0.8 L 4:41 a.m. 0.9 H 11:38 a.m. 0.6 L 8:01 p.m. 1.1 H Sep 28 12:29 p.m. 0.4 L 10:05 p.m. 1.2 H Sep 29 1:57 a.m. 1.1 L 2:50 a.m. 1.2 H 1:22 p.m. 0.3 L Sep 30 3:43 a.m. 1.3 H 2:16 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 01 4:36 a.m. 1.4 H 3:15 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 02 5:28 a.m. 1.5 H 4:18 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 03 6:17 a.m. 1.5 H 5:28 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 04 7:00 a.m. 1.4 H 6:46 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 05 7:31 a.m. 1.3 H 8:07 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 06 7:28 a.m. 1.2 H 9:23 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 07 6:50 a.m. 1.2 H 10:33 p.m. 0.7 L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 11:56 a.m. 0.62 H 9:57 p.m. 0.36 LSep 24 1:14 p.m. 0.60 H 10:34 p.m. 0.41 LSep 25 3:17 p.m. 0.57 H 10:59 p.m. 0.47 LSep 26 5:29 a.m. 0.54 H 11:30 AM 0.49 L 6:32 p.m. 0.55 H 10:44 p.m. 0.54 LSep 27 4:30 a.m. 0.58 H 12:46 p.m. 0.43 LSep 28 4:02 a.m. 0.63 H 1:47 p.m. 0.38 LSep 29 4:11 a.m. 0.69 H 2:44 p.m. 0.34 LSep 30 4:47 a.m. 0.73 H 3:40 p.m. 0.32 LOct 01 5:40 a.m. 0.75 H 4:38 p.m. 0.32 LOct 02 6:44 a.m. 0.76 H 5:37 p.m. 0.34 LOct 03 7:53 a.m. 0.76 H 6:36 p.m. 0.36 LOct 04 9:04 a.m. 0.75 H 7:30 p.m. 0.39 LOct 05 10:13 a.m. 0.73 H 8:18 p.m. 0.43 LOct 06 11:20 a.m. 0.71 H 8:56 p.m. 0.46 LOct 07 12:33 p.m. 0.68 H 9:21 p.m. 0.51 L

Houston2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONSep-Oct Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 2:09 8:23 2:36 8:49 07:09 07:17 2:56a 4:33p 24 Sat 2:56 9:09 3:22 9:35 07:09 07:16 4:00a 5:12p 25 Sun > 3:42 9:55 4:08 10:21 07:10 07:15 5:05a 5:51p 26 Mon > 4:30 10:43 4:56 11:09 07:10 07:14 6:12a 6:30p 27 Tue N 5:21 11:34 5:48 12:02 07:11 07:12 7:20a 7:10p 28 Wed > 6:17 12:03 6:45 12:31 07:11 07:11 8:29a 7:53p 29 Thu > 7:19 1:04 7:48 1:34 07:12 07:10 9:40a 8:41p 30 Fri 8:25 2:09 8:55 2:40 07:12 07:09 10:50a 9:34p 01 Sat 9:32 3:17 10:02 3:47 07:13 07:08 11:56a 10:30p 02 Sun 10:37 4:22 11:07 4:52 07:13 07:06 12:57p 11:30p 03 Mon 11:38 5:24 ----- 5:53 07:14 07:05 1:51p NoMoon 04 Tue Q 12:10 6:20 12:34 6:47 07:14 07:04 2:39p 12:30a 05 Wed 12:58 7:10 1:23 7:35 07:15 07:03 3:20p 1:30a 06 Thu 1:43 7:55 2:06 8:18 07:16 07:02 3:56p 2:28a 07 Fri 2:24 8:35 2:46 8:57 07:16 07:00 4:29p 3:24a 08 Sat 3:02 9:12 3:23 9:33 07:17 06:59 5:00p 4:18a 09 Sun 3:39 9:49 3:59 10:09 07:17 06:58 5:30p 5:10a 10 Mon > 4:16 10:26 4:36 10:47 07:18 06:57 6:00p 6:03a 11 Tue > 4:55 11:06 5:16 11:27 07:18 06:56 6:31p 6:55a 12 Wed F 5:37 11:48 5:59 ----- 07:19 06:55 7:05p 7:48a

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightSep 23 2:34 a.m. 2.0 H 6:51 a.m. 1.2 L 10:43 a.m. 1.8 H 6:17 p.m. 0.3 L Sep 24 2:45 a.m. 1.8 H 6:54 a.m. 1.1 L 12:37 p.m. 1.8 H 7:11 p.m. 0.4 L Sep 25 2:58 a.m. 1.8 H 7:27 a.m. 0.8 L 2:03 p.m. 2.0 H 8:02 p.m. 0.5 L Sep 26 3:11 a.m. 1.8 H 8:08 a.m. 0.6 L 3:20 p.m. 2.1 H 8:53 p.m. 0.6 L Sep 27 3:26 a.m. 1.8 H 8:52 a.m. 0.5 L 4:33 p.m. 2.2 H 9:43 p.m. 0.8 L Sep 28 3:43 a.m. 1.8 H 9:39 a.m. 0.2 L 5:45 p.m. 2.2 H 10:34 p.m. 1.0 L Sep 29 4:01 a.m. 2.0 H 10:29 a.m. 0.1 L 6:59 p.m. 2.3 H 11:27 p.m. 1.2 L Sep 30 4:19 a.m. 2.0 H 11:23 a.m. 0.0 L 8:17 p.m. 2.3 H Oct 01 12:26 a.m. 1.3 L 4:35 a.m. 2.1 H 12:21 p.m. 0.0 L 9:43 p.m. 2.2 H Oct 02 1:27 p.m. 0.1 L 11:17 p.m. 2.2 H Oct 03 2:41 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 04 12:44 a.m. 2.2 H 4:01 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 05 1:37 a.m. 2.1 H 5:17 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 06 2:08 a.m. 2.0 H 7:25 a.m. 1.1 L 11:13 a.m. 1.7 H 6:23 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 07 2:26 a.m. 2.0 H 7:44 a.m. 1.0 L 12:44 p.m. 1.7 H 7:16 p.m. 0.5 L

San Antonio2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONSep-Oct Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 2:22 8:35 2:48 9:01 07:21 07:30 3:09a 4:45p24 Sat 3:08 9:21 3:35 9:48 07:22 07:29 4:13a 5:25p 25 Sun > 3:55 10:08 4:21 10:34 07:22 07:27 5:19a 6:04p 26 Mon > 4:42 10:55 5:09 11:22 07:23 07:26 6:25a 6:42p 27 Tue N 5:33 11:47 6:01 12:14 07:23 07:25 7:32a 7:23p 28 Wed > 6:30 12:16 6:58 12:44 07:24 07:24 8:42a 8:07p 29 Thu > 7:31 1:17 8:01 1:46 07:24 07:23 9:52a 8:55p 30 Fri 8:37 2:22 9:07 2:52 07:25 07:21 11:02a 9:47p 01 Sat 9:44 3:29 10:15 3:59 07:25 07:20 12:08p 10:44p 02 Sun 10:50 4:35 11:19 5:05 07:26 07:19 1:09p 11:44p03 Mon 11:51 5:37 ----- 6:05 07:26 07:18 2:04p NoMoon 04 Tue Q 12:22 6:33 12:46 7:00 07:27 07:17 2:51p 12:44a 05 Wed 1:11 7:23 1:35 7:48 07:27 07:15 3:32p 1:44a 06 Thu 1:56 8:07 2:19 8:30 07:28 07:14 4:09p 2:42a 07 Fri 2:37 8:48 2:58 9:09 07:28 07:13 4:42p 3:37a 08 Sat 3:15 9:25 3:35 9:46 07:29 07:12 5:13p 4:31a 09 Sun 3:51 10:01 4:12 10:22 07:30 07:11 5:43p 5:23a 10 Mon > 4:28 10:39 4:49 10:59 07:30 07:10 6:13p 6:15a 11 Tue > 5:08 11:18 5:29 11:39 07:31 07:08 6:44p 7:08a 12 Wed F 5:50 ----- 6:12 12:01 07:31 07:07 7:18p 8:01a

Amarillo2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONSep-Oct Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 2:35 8:48 3:02 9:15 07:34 07:43 3:13a 5:07p 24 Sat 3:22 9:35 3:48 10:01 07:35 07:42 4:21a 5:44p 25 Sun > 4:08 10:21 4:34 10:47 07:36 07:40 5:29a 6:19p 26 Mon > 4:56 11:09 5:22 11:35 07:36 07:39 6:39a 6:54p 27 Tue N 5:47 ----- 6:14 12:28 07:37 07:38 7:50a 7:31p 28 Wed > 6:43 12:29 7:11 12:57 07:38 07:36 9:03a 8:12p 29 Thu > 7:45 1:30 8:14 2:00 07:39 07:35 10:17a 8:57p 30 Fri 8:51 2:35 9:21 3:06 07:39 07:33 11:29a 9:48p 01 Sat 9:58 3:43 10:28 4:13 07:40 07:32 12:37p 10:43p 02 Sun 11:03 4:48 11:33 5:18 07:41 07:30 1:38p 11:43p 03 Mon ----- 5:50 12:04 6:18 07:42 07:29 2:31p NoMoon 04 Tue Q 12:36 6:46 1:00 7:13 07:42 07:28 3:17p 12:45a 05 Wed 1:24 7:36 1:49 8:01 07:43 07:26 3:56p 1:47a 06 Thu 2:09 8:21 2:32 8:44 07:44 07:25 4:30p 2:47a 07 Fri 2:50 9:01 3:12 9:23 07:45 07:23 5:00p 3:45a 08 Sat 3:28 9:38 3:49 9:59 07:46 07:22 5:28p 4:42a 09 Sun 4:05 10:15 4:25 10:35 07:46 07:21 5:55p 5:37a 10 Mon > 4:42 10:52 5:02 11:13 07:47 07:19 6:23p 6:32a 11 Tue > 5:21 11:32 5:42 11:53 07:48 07:18 6:52p 7:27a 12 Wed F 6:03 ----- 6:25 12:14 07:49 07:17 7:23p 8:22a

Dallas2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONSep-Oct Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets23 Fri 2:15 8:28 2:41 8:54 07:14 07:23 2:56a 4:43p 24 Sat 3:01 9:14 3:28 9:41 07:15 07:22 4:02a 5:21p 25 Sun > 3:48 10:01 4:14 10:27 07:15 07:20 5:09a 5:57p 26 Mon > 4:35 10:48 5:02 11:15 07:16 07:19 6:18a 6:34p 27 Tue N 5:26 11:40 5:54 12:07 07:17 07:18 7:27a 7:13p 28 Wed > 6:23 12:09 6:51 12:37 07:17 07:16 8:39a 7:54p 29 Thu > 7:24 1:10 7:54 1:39 07:18 07:15 9:51a 8:41p 30 Fri 8:30 2:15 9:00 2:45 07:18 07:14 11:02a 9:32p01 Sat 9:37 3:22 10:08 3:52 07:19 07:12 12:10p 10:28p 02 Sun 10:43 4:28 11:12 4:58 07:20 07:11 1:11p 11:28p 03 Mon 11:44 5:30 ----- 5:58 07:20 07:10 2:05p NoMoon04 Tue Q 12:15 6:26 12:39 6:53 07:21 07:08 2:51p 12:29a 05 Wed 1:04 7:16 1:28 7:41 07:22 07:07 3:31p 1:30a 06 Thu 1:49 8:00 2:12 8:23 07:22 07:06 4:06p 2:29a 07 Fri 2:30 8:41 2:51 9:02 07:23 07:04 4:37p 3:27a 08 Sat 3:08 9:18 3:28 9:39 07:24 07:03 5:07p 4:22a 09 Sun 3:44 9:54 4:05 10:15 07:25 07:02 5:35p 5:16a 10 Mon > 4:21 10:32 4:42 10:52 07:25 07:00 6:04p 6:10a 11 Tue > 5:01 11:11 5:22 11:32 07:26 06:59 6:34p 7:03a 12 Wed F 5:43 11:54 6:05 ----- 07:27 06:58 7:06p 7:58a

Venison swiss steak


PRODUCTS

XCELLERATOR SUPPLEMENT: This premium mineral supple-ment for deer is part of Rack One’s Ignite Whitetail Hunting System. Used alone, or as part of the feed system, this growth phase prod-uct is designed to maximize ant-ler growth and overall herd health by providing vital minerals, nutri-ents and vitamins in the quantities needed. Among the many miner-als in the supplement are calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and sodi-um. The latter is helpful in regulat-ing blood pressure and the amount

of fl uid that a deer’s body is able to retain during the hottest days of summer. A 5-pound bag of Xcellerator sells for about $15.

(800) 723-2445www.huntrack1.com

XCELLERATOR SUPPLEMENT: Thi i i l l

OVERLAND BOOT: Hunters who require a rugged hiking boot should check out Irish Setter’s Overland boot, which

is built to withstand the punishing conditions encountered on a prolonged hunt. It is its toothy rubber outsole – the same Quest outsole that the company uses on its best hiking boots – that provides superior traction on the rocky and uneven terrain that hunters might have to traverse while following their prey. Available in gray and brown, the non-insulated

boots with leather uppers and waterproof construction will retail for about $130.

(888) 738-8370www.irishsetterboots.com

DND DUCK CALLS: Down-N-Dirty Outdoors has introduced four signature duck calls – the Havoc, Chaos, Hitman 2 and Vicious – that provide the full range of natural sounds from seductive feed calls and quacks to attention-grabbing hail and come-back calls. Each two-piece unit is constructed of solid acrylic material that is precision-machined, has reeds that are cut by hand, and is individually tuned. The Havoc is a compact single-reed call with a small bore size that creates squealing and bouncing hen sounds while the Chaos, also a sin-gle-reed call, is slightly larger with a more aggressive bore for medium-range hail calls. The Hitman2 offers plenty of volume for high fl yers. And, the single-reed Vicious features a sound barrel that is stretched to pro-duce more volume with a wide-open bore that allows hunters to produce 40-note hail calls with no prob-lem. The calls sell for about $112.

www.downndirtyoutdoors.com

ROCNA FISHERMAN ANCHOR: Anglers, divers and others who anchor repeatedly during an out-ing require an anchor that sets fi rmly and is easily retrieved in all areas, including rock, reef, sand and weed. The Fisherman an-chor does just that. Made for smaller, weight-sensitive boats, this galvanized anchor is available in 9- and 13-pound models. It features a shackle rail for easier recovery of a fouled anchor from the opposite direction; a secure at-tachment point for overnight anchoring; and a roll bar that ensures the anchor will always turn itself to the correct direction for setting. The anchor also has skid rails to direct the blade into the seabed and a chisel-like tip that cuts through weeds or hard bottoms. The self-launching Rocna anchor is ecologically friendly so an-glers don’t have to worry about anchor drag in fragile environments. The Fisherman an-chors start at about $160.

www.rocna.com

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4674 GUIDE SERIES HYDRO-FLO TACKLE BAG:This 2011 ICAST Best of Show winner in the Tackle Management Category is by Plano Molding Company. The Hydro-Flow Tackle Bag is engineered to allow water to fl ow through the bottom while keeping the in-terior dry. It is a bag that can be placed by the stream or in a wet boat all the while keeping the tackle inside dry and easily ac-cessible. The bag's base is impact-resistant with non-skid rubber feet. It offers seven utility boxes plus storage in its roomy dual compartment side pockets and back expandable pocket. Underneath the top cover is a plastic zippered pocket for maps of fa-vorite fi shing spots or plastic lures. The 24-inch by 13.5-inch by 13.5-inch bag costs just under $100.

(800) 226-9868www.planomolding.com

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OUTDOOR BUSINESS

Outdoor Business Order Form3 Easy Options: Mail this form, Call the offi ce (214) 361-2276, or E-mail; [email protected]. Please e-mail any photos, clip art and logos.

$60 per issue per unit or $55 per issue per unit

(12 or more issues)

Unit sizes:1 Unit 2" wide x 1.125" high2 Units 2" wide x 2.25" high or 4" wide x 1.125" high4 Units 4" wide x 2.25" high

Wording for ad:


CONSERVATION

Oyster reef restoration helps habitat, game fi sh

The Galveston Bay Foundation has worked with residents from several communities along Galveston Bay this summer as part of GBF’s community-based oyster reef restora-tion program.

The program was reinstated as a result of the devastation to native oyster populations from Hurricane Ike in 2008, when sediments were deposited across reefs, suffocating 50 percent of Galveston Bay’s oysters.

Volunteers in San Leon, Bayview and Kemah joined together to restore Galveston Bay’s oysters and became “oyster gardeners,” raising oysters that will be used to seed nearby reef restoration sites.

On Sept. 17, community members in San

Leon removed the oyster gardening bags from their piers and placed the live, gardened oysters on several adjacent constructed reef pads to expedite colonization by oysters. This particular reef restoration site is 5 acres and extends along the north shore of Eagle Point.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department constructed the reef pads, and GBF is aid-ing with community involvement. On the reef pads, the oysters become mature within their fi rst year and quickly begin spawning to fur-ther the reefs’ development. For the past three summers, volunteers in the community of San Leon have been gardening oysters to help restore reefs and have witnessed the results fi rsthand — better fi shing and cleaner water. This summer, Kemah and Bayview residents have joined the oyster gardening effort.

—Staff report

Rigs to Reefs legislation could preserve idle rig habitat

Legislation fi led by U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) is intended to prevent rigs and other structures from being removed from the Gulf of Mexico.

In response to the 2010 Gulf oil spill, the U.S. Department of Interior issued a directive ordering that all nonproducing rigs be plugged and any remaining structure removed within fi ve years. Vitter’s Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act of 2011 would allow those structures to remain in the Gulf as vibrant artifi cial reefs.

“More than ever we need to create habitat for marine life in the Gulf, not dispose of it,” said Vitter. “These idle rigs are serving a valuable purpose by supporting our fi sheries, and it just doesn’t make sense to remove them.”

“The structures are generally regarded as the largest man-made artifi cial reef in the world, providing habitat to dozens of species of fi sh and marine life, many of which are structure-dependent,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of Coastal Conservation Association's national government relations committee.

—Staff report

Three new members join Texas Conservation Hall of Fame

J. David Bamberger, George C. “Tim” Hixon and the Texas Wildlife Association comprise the Class of 2011 to be inducted into the Texas Conservation Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

In 1969, Bamberger, the co-founder and CEO of Church's Fried Chicken, bought 3,000 acres in Blanco County. His plan was to dem-onstrate to others that, with careful habitat restoration, land could be restored to support wildlife and livestock and improve the quality of life of the owners. What was widely agreed by experts to be a challenged piece of ground has grown to 5,500 acres of prime real estate.

Through the removal of invasive woody species such as Ashe juniper, the planting of native grasses, water capture and diversion, and other now-proven measures, fi sh, wildlife and native habitat fl ourished.

The TWA was organized in 1985 as an advocate for wildlife, managers, landowners and hunters in educational, scientifi c, politi-cal, regulatory, legal and legislative matters.

TWA administers the Texas Youth Hunting Program and co-sponsors the Texas Big Game Awards.

Hixon is the past Chairman of Hixon Properties Incorporated, a family business based in San Antonio.

Hixon has served as executive VP of Game Conservation International, treasurer of the African Wildlife Foundation, president of the Boone and Crockett Club and the San Antonio Zoological Society, a Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioner, chairman of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, board member of the Texas Nature Conservancy and is presently a member of the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute.

—Staff report

Puzzle solution from Page 29

NEW PEARLS: Community members in San Leon move oysters from bags to several constructed reef pads in an effort to expedite more oyster colonies. Photo by the Galveston Bay Foundation.


LONE STAR MARKET

To advertise in this section, call Mike Hughs at (214) 361-2276 or e-mail him at [email protected].

September 23, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting

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Transcript of September 23, 2011 - Lone Star Outdoor News - Fishing & Hunting