october 14, 2011 - lone star outdoor news - fishing & hunting

LSONews.com Lone✯Star Outdoor News October 14, 2011

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October 14, 2011 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 8, Issue 4

Move itChange tactics for top-water

bass bite. Page 8

Inside

❘❚ LSONews.com

Angler, 8, hooks ‘Big 3’ on the coast —twice.

Page 8

Garrett’s grand slams❘❚ FISHING

Hunters near water drop lots of dove in South Zone opener.

Page 4

‘Like Argentina’

Austin teen helps Team USA bring home fl y-fi shing world championship.

Page 8

Gold medal glory

Little action seen in fi rst early Canada geese season.

Page 5

Honkers

❘❚ HUNTING

By Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Sulphur Springs archer Kyle Koon knew he had a nice buck on the property he hunts in Hopkins County in Northeast Texas.

Last year, the buck was a 135-class deer; a nice deer for the area on low-fence ranches like the one Koon was hunting.

“We had trail-cam pic-tures of him the previous four years,” Koon said. “He had a double-white throat patch, so we could always tell it was him.”

Koon was hunting opening day of bow season when the big deer fed toward him in the stand.

“It took 20 minutes for him to get close enough,” he said. “He was quartering to me until he turned to leave. When he

turned, I took the 15-yard, quartering-away shot.”

The big deer was rough scored in the low 170s typi-cal, but because of the extra points and drop tine, he unof-fi cially scored 193 non-typical. It could be the biggest buck to ever come out of Hopkins County.

“As soon as he laid down, I started shaking and just felt relief,” Koon said. “I’ve been hunting my whole life and bow hunting for about 10 years, but this is my best buck by far.

“We guessed him in the 160s, but he had so much trash on his bases and was much heavier than we thought.

“I guess he ate a lot of nutri-tious forbs this year because of the drought. We’ve never seen him eating any protein.”

Despite Koon’s success, and reports of several nice deer

being killed the fi rst two weeks of the Texas bow season, the October bow opener started quietly this season.

“We didn’t have anything big knocked down that I have heard of,” said Grayson County Game Warden Dale Moses. “Several close encoun-ters, but nothing big.”

Moses noted, however, that the deer that he did see were in surprisingly good shape — better than he thought they would be, considering the statewide drought.

“And the horns look much better than what I was seeing on game trail cameras,” he said.

He said hunters have told him the bigger deer are already going nocturnal, which usu-ally happens soon after bucks shed velvet. They could stay

PRIME TIME: Several bucks mill around a fl at near sunset on the Rafter W Ranches outside of Sonora opening weekend of bow season. The young bucks on the ranch looked to be in good shape, but many of the bigger older bucks were still keeping a low profi le. For more on early deer hunting, see Page 4. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

Several good bucks, but bow opener mostly slow

❘❚ CONTENTSClassifi eds . . . . . . . . . Page 32Crossword . . . . . . . . . Page 33 Fishing Report . . . . . . . Page 10For the Table. . . . . . . . Page 33Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12Heroes. . . . . . . . . . . Page 16Outdoor Datebook . . . . . Page 22Outdoor Business . . . . . Page 29Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 25Sun, Moon and Tide data . . Page 33


It’s October, which means one thing for serious Gulf Coast anglers — big bull reds schooling inshore getting ready to spawn.

According to Joe Farah, owner of Farah’s Backwater Adventures out of Corpus Christi, the bull reds are beginning to change their diets from shrimp to piggy perch and mul-let, and the fi shing has been fantastic.

“They are really hitting around the passes and the beachfront is going off,” Farah said. “They are the most consistent

Bull reds doing battle along coast

Shrinking lakes have benefi ts,

downsides

See BOW OPENER, Page 14

By Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Jeffrey Piel of New Braunfels thought a big catfi sh had latched onto his bait — a Carolina-rigged 6-inch Zoom lizard, pitched into about 4 feet of grassy water to mimic spawning perch.

What actually was brought to the boat fi ve months ago

on Choke Canyon Reservoir was a 13.2-pound large-mouth. Piel was fi shing with guide Charles Whited of San Marcos, his friend, on the lake that straddles Live Oak and McMullen counties.

Fast forward to early October when the reservoir’s level

See LAKES, Page 17

HEFTY CATCH: Chris Armstrong struggles to hold a big bull red. October is the prime time for these big bull reds as they congregate in the channels. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.

See BULL REDS, Page 23

October 14, 2011 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com


HUNTING

South Zone dove season opens with a bang


Like much of the Central Zone dove season, the South Zone hunters in fi elds with food and water reported good success early in the season.

Mark Katzfey, who operates a guide service in Live Oak County, said his 85 hunters all shot two-day limits during opening weekend.

“We had good birds,” Katzfey said. “We have fi elds with croton and corn, but the croton was the best. The pond (hunting) wasn’t as strong because we had about a 3-inch rain a week before the season, but they are getting bet-ter as the water dries up.”

Similar challenges were expected after rain blanketed much of the state Oct. 8-9.

Katzfey said scouting has

been key to his success this year as birds quickly move from one fi eld to another searching for food.

“I’m still scouting for this weekend,” he said. “I’m still seeing a steady supply of birds, but they are moving around. They vanish one day and then you have to go fi nd them.

“But they are here. Smaller outfi tters with limited fi elds could be in trouble this year.”

Kerrville hunter Andrew Phillips hunted with friends on a ranch near Riviera in Kleberg County and had a fantastic open-ing weekend shoot.

“We tore it up,” Phillips said. “Eight hunters killed eight lim-its in a hurry. I’ve never hunted in Argentina or Mexico, but this had to be close. It was insane.”

Phillips said the group was hunting a fl yway

between roosting areas and tanks on another property next door.

The second weekend of the South Zone sea-son, a bigger group killed nearly 300 birds on the same property.

“I think the fact that they aren’t pressuring the birds during the week is very benefi cial,” Phillips added. “I wasn’t there, but a bunch of hunters all killed their limit dur-ing the second weekend. It was hot and they had a great hunt, again.”

Jo Ann Carol, owner of the Texas Star Ranch near Moore, north of Pearsall, said opening weekend was fantastic for 25 hunters there.

“They all shot limits,” she said. “We did have a bad wind storm (Sept. 28), and that blew a lot of birds out. And then it got incredibly hot, so the birds didn’t fl y as good,

but the hunters who were out the second week said it picked back up.”

She said her fi elds are a mix of croton and mesquite roosting areas, with tanks that attract birds coming to water.

In Webb County, Game Warden Mark Nelson said he checked

hunters during the second weekend of the season.

“The guys hunting over milo did pretty well,” Nelson said. “But the guys who hunted over tanks did the best. Having a tank with water in it right now is like having legal bait.”

Antler quality holds on MLDP ranches


It’s a good year for antlers, judging by bucks that were harvested the fi rst two weeks of October on ranches in the Managed Lands Deer Permit Program.

Unrelenting hot, dry weather had caused some land man-agers and biologists to question if range conditions this year would crimp antler quality.

But some of the deer killed on several MLDP-enrolled ranches tell a different story.

Take, for example, the buck that gross scored 247 after it was downed at the Bang Whitetail Ranch in Gillespie County.

“Last year we had his sheds and he was a typical 12-point at what we estimated to be 4 years old,” said Jason Bang, whose family owns the ranch near Willow City.

This year, however, that buck outgrew being “a slick 12,” and added seven more points with mass, Bang said.

This non-typical deer, taken by Jimmy Slayden of Victoria, has been entered in the Macho Grande Division of the 46th annual Muy Grande Deer Contest, headquartered in Freer.

As of Oct. 11, it was in second place behind a non-typical buck that measured 273 1/8. Mike Wilty of Birmingham, Ala., harvested the deer on the Nooner Ranch in Medina County.

Bang said his ranch operation has taken steps to ensure healthy deer.

“We supplemental feed year-round,” he said. “That way they always have access to food, and that has been pretty critical this year.”

Scant rainfall discouraged the planting of food plots this

year, Bang said. His area has received only about 5 inches of rain this year, and two of those inches fell during the Oct. 8-9 weekend.

The Bang family has drilled a new well and set up water-ing troughs, which has paid off; Slayden’s buck was one of four harvested in early October that weighed between 235 and 280 pounds.

Still, there are challenges.“The older, mature deer are surviving, as long as they have

food or water,” Bang said. “But we’ve seen that fawn survival rates are incredibly low this year, and we’re hearing that from everybody.”

But other favorable reports surfaced in early October.A crew from Lone Star Outdoor News dropped several

healthy management deer Oct. 1-2 at the Rafter W Ranches in Sutton County.

WHERE ARE THEY? A hunter in the South Zone (top) searches for birds as a large fl ock takes fl ight behind him. After a quick change of direction (right), he’s all smiles after connecting on several whitewings. Photos by David J. Sams, LSON.

See MLDP RANCHES, Page 18

Fawn survival still a concern

EARLY RIFLES: Matt Hicks leaves a Sutton County blind after sunset on Oct. 1 — the opening day of the early season for ranches enrolled in the Managed Lands Deer Permit Program. Hunting with fi rearms is allowed early on MLDP ranches. Hicks saw 30-plus deer come to feeders on morning and afternoon hunts. The regular gun season opens statewide Nov. 5. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.



It was an unusual feeling — shooting Canada geese in September.

Mike Jolley, one of the own-ers of Pintail Farms hunting club near Telephone in Fannin County, said he and a couple members got into a small fl ock of honkers the fi nal weekend of Texas’ fi rst-ever early Canada season.

The season was held con-currently with the traditional early teal sea-son, Sept. 1-25.

“It makes your heart go crazy,” Jolley said of see-ing the black-and-white geese at his club in northeast Texas. “There were about eight and we wound up getting six.

“We ended up getting some teal, too.”

But that excitement was limited. Those were the only shots Jolley and company had at early Canadas.

Guide J.J. Kent of Pottsboro said he put clients on September honkers in Grayson County, but not often.

Other reports were few and hard to fi nd.

“Nobody seems to know

anything,” said Kevin Kraai, waterfowl program leader for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Other than what I’ve seen on some of the forums here and there, I’ve heard absolutely nothing.

“I think there probably is a lot more success than what we’re hearing, but right now

we have no monitoring pro-gram (for early Canada geese).”

The total number of Canadas taken during the early season may not be known until months from now after post-season sur-veys are completed.

Kraai added, however, that the early season would con-tinue.

He said hunters responded to the concept favorably dur-

ing public comment periods. Also, TPWD offi cials expected a low turnout because there aren’t that many geese that can be hunted.

The early season was approved only for the state’s Eastern Hunting Zone — basically the counties east of Interstate 35, where waterfowl

hunters are allot-ted 107 days to hunt during the regular season.

But the hunt-ers haven’t typi-cally used all of the allotted days, like they do in the Western Zone where they get 96 days. So federal wild-life offi cials allowed 25 days in September to be shifted to the early season in the Eastern Zone.

The quarry would be the so-called “resi-dent” fl ocks of Canadas that are primarily

confi ned to Northeast Texas.“But as far as any being

taken, we haven’t checked any,” said Game Warden Shawn R. Smith. “We were hoping we’d have a good turnout, but there just really haven’t been any.”

Guide J.J. Kent, (903) 271-5524Pintail Farms Hunting Club, (800) 508-4245

Early Canada season light — as expected

EARLY: Dennis Richmond (left) and Ryan Bassham, both of Mur-phy, joined guide J.J. Kent in limiting out on early Canada geese one day in September. Repeating the success of this Grayson County hunt proved diffi cult for hunters across the Eastern Zone. Photo by J.J. Kent.


Congratulations, Tanner! You can claim

your Nikon 10x42 Trailblazer ATB binoculars at the

Nikon Sport Optics dealer nearest you:

Nagel's Gun Shop6201 San Pedro Ave.

San Antonio, TX 78216(210) 342-5420

TANNER WINN, 7, of

Windcrest honored

his ancestry in

September when he

shouldered his great-

great grandfather’s

.410 double-barreled

shotgun to hunt the

special white-winged

dove season in Starr

County. “Only one

barrel works,” said

his dad, Todd Winn,

“so he has learned

how to make each

shot count.” Mission

accomplished, judg-

ing by this photo.

Said Todd, “He has

shot more birds on

the wing than any of

us did using this gun

— at any age!”

Pronghorn season: Strong in the Panhandle,

weak in Trans Pecos

TPWD suggest hunters fi ll their tags early

State wildlife biologists are encourag-ing hunters to complete deer harvests early to help ensure enough food is available through the winter months.

The recommendation results from one of the worst Texas droughts on record, offi cials said.

“It doesn’t take a biologist to under-stand that drought has serious impacts on the state’s nearly 4 million white-tailed deer,” said Alan Cain, white-tailed deer program leader with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Everything from antler quality to fawn production and overall survival will be affected by the tough range conditions this year.”

Archery season began Oct. 1 and continues through Nov. 4. The general gun season opener is Nov. 5.

By reducing deer numbers early on, Cain said, hunters can help ensure enough food is available through the cold winter months.

“As with many wildlife species, the very young and the very old often have much more diffi cult times dealing with extreme weather events,” he said.

Isolated incidents of deer die-offs as a result of the drought are possible, Cain said, but anything on a large scale isn’t likely even if dry conditions con-tinue.

“Keep in mind deer have survived through some pretty tough times, including the drought of the 1950s,” he said.

By managing habitat properly, many ranches can moderate some of the effects of drought on antler quality. Any buck with a good set of antlers this year is one that has great potential, Cain added, especially a young buck, and hunters may consider passing up that type of deer.

“Just think, if a buck can grow a good set of antlers on the native range under these conditions what he could do dur-ing a good year,” he said.

— TPWD report


Perhaps it’s like kids being told to eat their spinach.

They’d rather eat ice cream; but parents know the leafy veg-etable is more nutritious.

That may be an analogous explanation about how prong-horn bucks can grow healthy racks during a drought.

Two guides in the Panhandle described that theory one day after the pronghorn season closed in Texas. This year it ran Oct. 1-9.

“In the fi rst three days of sea-son, we shot fi ve that gross scored 80 inches, and the biggest was over 86,” said Clay Pope of Pope Brothers Guide Service of Utopia, a South Texas operation that runs Panhandle pronghorn hunts.

“There was more mass on the antelope than I’ve ever seen,” said Pope, who operates in Dallam County. “People always think it has to be a wet year for horns to be any good, but I think, in the dry years, they have to eat something different.

“It makes them eat stuff that is good for them.”

Pope said he wasn’t sure what that was. Guide Roger Dillard of Hill Country Adventures, San Antonio, also ascribed to that theory.

He is another South Texas guide

who puts clients on pronghorn bucks in Dallam County, and also neighboring Sherman County.

“This year I was very con-cerned because of the drought,” he said. “But I believe they found something to eat that was high protein, because their horns were as big around as my arm.

“It was a good year.”Shawn Gray, pronghorn pro-

gram coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said harvest data won’t be known for a couple of months.

“We give landowners a month or so to turn in their harvest cards,” he said.

TPWD this year issued about 1,000 pronghorn permits to landowners in the Panhandle, but only about 150 to ranches in the Trans-Pecos region, where antelope populations are drop-ping from drought and disease.

Most of those permits went to Hudspeth County, where one report put the hunting as “fair.”

That assessment came from Dr. Dan McBride, a Burnet veter-inarian, who volunteers his ser-vices, working with the TPWD’s Trans-Pecos Pronghorn Working Group. He collects samples from harvest pronghorn that are ana-lyzed for diseases.

But at a ranch he visited this season, hunters chose to take only 16 bucks, even though 20

permits were available.That is because fawn recruit-

ment in the region appears to be very low — “8 to 10 percent at best,” he said.

Meanwhile, he noted, adult antelope appear healthy.

“We did not see emaciated looking ones,” McBride said. “There’s no old folks home out here; if you get in poor shape, you don’t live very long. One

day we saw 100 head of ante-lope, but we never saw a baby.

“The math speaks for itself. With no babies to replace those, the end result is decreasing num-bers. We’re past the tipping point.

“We’re in the red area.”

Roger Dillard, Hill Country Adventures, 210-445-2926Clay Pope, Pope Brothers Guide Service and Outfi tting, 830-966-2498

SPEED GOAT: Guide Roger Dillard of San Antonio presents a pronghorn buck that he downed this season in the Panhandle. Guides said their clients had good hunts in that region, but activity in the Trans-Pecos area was only “fair,” one observer said. Photo by Roger Dillard.


FISHINGExpect hot

crappie bite soon


There is nothing more that Toledo Bend guide Greg Crafts likes to do than fi sh for fall crappie on his home lake.

And this year, he thinks it will be more fun than usual.

“It should be an exceptional season because of the low water levels,” Crafts said. “We’re just get-ting into the season and need a lit-tle cooler weather to get the water temperatures to drop.”

Crafts said Toledo Bend is 12 feet low, and the lake has lost 50,000 surface acres from the 186,000 total acres the lake carries at nor-mal capacity. Most of the rains that fell Oct. 8 and 9 missed the area.

“It’s fi xing to bust wide-open around Nov. 1,” he said. “It’s a pretty simple technique (to) fi sh natural cover that holds crappie. We plant brush tops that hold fi sh and we fi sh for them by ver-tically fi shing jigs or live baits around the tops of those brush piles.”

Crafts said the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recently changed the crappie limit to 25 per angler, with no minimum length.

“This lake was named one of the top 10 crappie lakes in the coun-try several years ago,” Crafts said. “Crappie are cyclical, depending on water temperatures, lake levels and such, but I look for this season to be one of the best ever.”

North Texas crappie guide Guy Skinner agreed.

“If the rest of the fall season fol-lows the way it has started, it is going to be bonkers,” Skinner said. “We are catching really nice crap-pie from the lakes where I guide — Lewisville and Grapevine.”

Skinner said each lake has its own characteristics and should be fi shed accordingly.

“Grapevine has very little stand-ing timber,” he said. “We put a lot of brush piles in the lake, and we are catching them from 8 to 14 feet of water. We are going through a lot of dinks to get to the keepers, but that will change at the end of this month.”

Skinner said he’s catching fi sh up to 2 pounds on 1/8-ounce jigs with plastic bodies.

“Lewisville is nothing but a fl ooded forest,” he said. “The lake is 6.5-feet low and lots of stumps are showing — even in places that scare me. But the fi shing has been very good on timber and brush piles.”

Skinner said he’s fi nding fi sh in timber that is 15- to 25-feet deep, with the fi sh holding in the 10- to 12-feet range.

“They are holding on timber in the vertical water column at that depth,” he said. “We are catching them from 6- to 20-feet deep on the brush piles. Again, you have to go through a lot of dinks, but you can easily put a limit in the boat.”

Jigs are the main choice, but Skinner recommended a jig tipped with a live minnow to tar-get bigger fi sh.

“Fall is my favorite time hands down,” he added. “Crappie are so dependable right now, and they are only going to get better.”

Other lakes reporting solid crap-pie bites included Brownwood, Fork and Sam Rayburn.

Guide Greg Crafts, (936) 368-7151Guide Guy Skinner, (214) 886-7752

Austin youth helps Team USA to fl y-fi shing world title


Noah Thompson was a few days late for the Youth Fly Fishing World Championships in Sansepolcro, Italy in late August.

But he had a good excuse — the fi rst high school football game of the season for his Austin Westlake team.

Despite breaking his hand play-ing football, Thompson helped Team USA capture its fi rst Youth World Championship.

He came home in eighth place in the individual standings this year. Last year he was third.

“It was incredible,” he said. “After last year, I was excited to go back.”

The Austin native calls Lake Austin his home lake, but honed his skills while fi shing many of the Hill Country rivers, including the Guadalupe, Llano and Colorado.

Despite being late to Italy, Thompson was ready to compete because he read up on what the fi sh were doing.

“I began doing research about six months before the event,” Thompson said. “I called a guy from New York who had fi shed the river before, and he recommended bright pink streamers.

“I started out the competition throwing those bright colors.”

Angler, 8, catches back-to-back grand slamsBy Bill MillerLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Garrett Arnett of Tomball, being 8 years old, is a guy of very few words.

During a recent interview, his answers tended to be the two-word variety, like “yes, sir” or “no, sir.”

But actions speak louder than words.

In September, Garrett, while fi shing with his dad, T.J., on Galveston Bay, caught not one, but two “grand slams” of speck-led trout, redfi sh and fl ounder.

What was that like?“Pretty cool,” Garrett said. The 3rd grader from Swenke

Elementary School in Tomball achieved the slams during back-to-back weekends Sept. 10 and 17. Both times he was visiting his grandparents’ bay house at San Leon.

“They just got into a spot that had fi sh,” grandfather Tom Arnett said. “That’s good because, with kids, if they’re not catching something, they’ll get bored.”

But, he added, that doesn’t seem to be an issue with Garrett.

Saltwater fi shing came nat-urally to him after he started out catching bass in the fam-ily’s backyard pond, using spinnerbaits and top-water plugs, T.J. said.

“When we get to the bay on a Friday, he just begs me to run up to Eagle Point Fishing Camp and get 3 to 5 pounds of dead shrimp,” T.J. said. “He will get

For fall bass, get the bait movingBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Fall in Texas usually means the start of hunting season, unless you are a die-hard bass angler.

Then it means a change of tac-tics from the deep-water fi shing that dominates the hot summer months.

KEEP IT MOVING: Anglers looking to hone in on fall bass should throw a

bait that can cover a lot of water with movement, such as a crankbait,

buzzbait or spinnerbait. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.

See FALL BASS, Page 21

See GRAND SLAMS, Page 23

See AUSTIN YOUTH, Page 20

BEST IN THE WORLD: Austin angler Noah Thompson casts toward a fi sh recently in the waters of Italy. He helped the junior team from the U.S. capture its fi rst team gold medals at the world championships. Photo by Wendy Thompson.

SLAM KING: Garrett Arnett of Tomball shows off one of two grand slams he caught in September. His two sets of speckled trout, redfi sh and fl ounder were both caught on upper Galveston Bay. Photo by Tom Arnett.


North Texas brothers hooked on tarponBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

Dallas resident Marshall Tippen was an avid fl y-fi sherman growing up as a boy in the mountains of Colorado. He loved cast-ing to trout in the streams near his home.

Then his family moved to Texas when he was in the eighth grade and took him to the coast to fl y-fi sh for trout and redfi sh.

Tippen was hooked.“We focused on redfi sh and trout when

we fi rst started going to the coast,” Tippen said. “Until we caught a tarpon. That is what we’ve focused on the past couple of years.

“Hands down, I love the saltwater deal the most.”

The “we” Tippen refers to is his younger brother Brendan, an avid fl y-fi sherman himself.

Brendan attends the Cambridge School of Dallas, and likes sight-casting to big fi sh.

“I like to be able to see the fi sh that I’m casting at, as he either swipes my fl y or taunts me by ignoring it all together,” Brendan said. “Tarpon fi shing, in my opin-ion, is the best kind of fl y-fi shing, because of this very reason. However, the other reason

I love tarpon fi shing is because of the chal-lenge it offers.”

Marshall, a University of Oklahoma stu-dent majoring in petroleum engineering, said the best time to a catch the fi sh is on an outgoing tide, right after the slack.

“We caught a lot off the jetties (near South Padre) and some from the boat,” he said. “It was actually easier to catch them off the jet-ties. We could see the fi sh rolling and we just cast in the vicinity and start stripping.”

Marshall does battle with the silver kings using a Sage 10-weight rod, Tibor reel and throwing “Tarpon Toad” fl ies — a rabbit hair fl y with a 2.5-inch long streamer.

Mashall, Brendan and their dad, Peter, hunt the fi sh together each summer from South Padre Island up to Port Mansfi eld.

“When you hook a big tarpon, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” Marshall said. “My biggest was about a 40-pounder this past summer. We hooked about 15 but only landed four. There isn’t a lot you can do when you hook a big one and he decides to turn and head the other way.

TARPON TEAM: Brothers Marshall, left, and Brendan Tippen show off a nice tarpon caught from the South Padre jetty this summer. The pair focus on summer tarpon along the Texas Coast. Photo by Marshall Tippen.

See BROTHERS HOOKED, Page 24


ALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 78–83 degrees; 6.45’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters and weightless soft plastics early, later switching to spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps. Crappie are fair on live minnows. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait and nightcrawlers.

AMISTAD: Water clear; 78–82 degrees; 6.92’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters, soft plastics and spinnerbaits. Striped bass are fair on top-waters and jerkbaits. White bass are fair on slabs, crankbaits and minnows. Catfi sh are good on cheesebait, shrimp and nightcrawlers over baited holes in 15–30 feet.

ARROWHEAD: Water turbid; 76–82 degrees; 8.08’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters, squarebill crankbaits and spinnerbaits. White bass are good on slabs. Blue catfi sh are good on juglines with cut shad.

ATHENS: Water clear, 82–88 degrees; 5.18’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads 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; 75–78 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on char-treuse/black crankbaits and soft plastics.

BELTON: Water murky; 80–84 de-grees; 11.31’ low. Largemouth bass are good on spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps. Hybrid striper are good on live shad. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on hot dogs and summer sausage. Yellow catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live perch.

BOB SANDLIN: Water lightly stained; 82–87 degrees; 8.44’ low. Largemouth bass are good on black and blue jigs around visible color. Shallow crankbaits are producing as well. Crappie are good on live minnows. White bass are good on Humdingers and top-waters.

BRAUNIG: Water clear. Largemouth bass are slow. Striped bass are very good on liver and shad near the pier. Redfi sh are fair down-rigging spoons near the dam. Channel catfi sh are fair on liver, shrimp, cut bait and cheesebait. Blue catfi sh are good on cut bait.

BRIDGEPORT: Water clear; 82–86 degrees; 13.80’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits in shad patterns, Skinny Dipper swimbaits and Texas-rigged Jackall Sasuteki Craws around main lake docks in 12–15 feet. Crappie are good on jigs and minnows. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs.

BROWNWOOD: Water lightly stained; 78–85 degrees; 16.57’ low. Largemouth bass to 9 pounds are excellent on top-waters and shaky heads with red bug and watermelon worms. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies and Rat–L–Traps. Crappie are good on Li’l Fishies over brush piles in 6–12 feet and under lighted docks at night in 8–15 feet. Channel catfi sh are good on cut bait and stinkbait over baited holes. Yellow catfi sh to 15 pounds are good on trotlines baited with perch in 5–15 feet.

BUCHANAN: Water clear; 75–79 de-grees; 32.35’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on watermelon red Whacky Sticks, Pop–R’s and shad fl ukes along ledges in 5–15 feet early. Channel catfi sh are good on liver and stinkbait. Yellow and blue catfi sh are very good on rod/reel, juglines and trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch upriver.

CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 81–86 degrees; 7.00’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads and fi nesse jigs around docks — best ac-tion is in early morning. White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid stripers are good on live shad. Crappie are fair to good on minnows.

COLEMAN: Water clear; 75–79 de-grees; 15.99’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse spinnerbaits and Rat–L–Traps. Hybrid striper are fair on white striper jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and green tube

jigs. Channel catfi sh are good on shrimp and stinkbait.

COLETO CREEK: Water fairly clear; 3.71’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on minnows and crankbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on shrimp, liver, and nightcrawlers.

COOPER: Water lightly stained; 81–86 degrees; 11.22’ 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; 84–88 degrees. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Channel and blue catfi sh are excellent on frozen shrimp, minnows, stinkbait, and cut bait.

FORK: Water fairly clear; 81–86 degrees; 6.97’ low. Largemouth bass are good on fl ipping jigs. Concen-trate on the wood cover near creek channel bends. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and prepared bait.

GIBBONS CREEK: Water clear. Largemouth bass are good on pump-kinseed Carolina-rigged soft plastics, spinnerbaits, and Rat–L–Traps. Cat-fi sh are good on stinkbait and liver.

GRANBURY: Water clear; 77–81 de-grees; 6.85’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse spinnerbaits and soft plastics. Crappie are fair on min-nows and green tube jigs. Catfi sh are good on stinkbait, shrimp, and liver.

GRANGER: Water stained; 81–84 degrees; 4.83’ low. Largemouth bass are good on soft plastic worms and jigs upriver around fl ooded timber. White bass are good on slab spoons over humps and ridges. Crappie are very good on chartreuse tube jigs in 5–12 feet. Blue catfi sh are good on juglines baited with Zote soap.

GRAPEVINE: Water clear; 80–86 degrees; 4.44’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged worms, fi nesse jigs, and top-waters along main lake points. Baitfi sh concentrat-ing at mouths of creeks and pockets. 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.

GREENBELT: Water stained; 78–85 degrees; 36’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on top-waters early, later switching to squarebill crankbaits and Texas rigs fi shed off points. Crappie are fair to good on jigs and minnows over brush piles. White bass are fair on slabs. Smallmouth bass are fair on spoons and orange crankbaits. Catfi sh are fair to good on prepared bait.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 81–84 degrees; 3.20’ low. Largemouth bass to 5 pounds are very good on perch-colored crankbaits in 10–13 feet. Crappie are very good on min-nows at night. Red ear bream are good on live worms over grass beds. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with perch in 15 feet.

JOE POOL: Water clear; 81–85 degrees; 3.66’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, medium crankbaits and jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs.

LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 81–86 degrees; 3.65’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas rigs, shallow crankbaits and then jigs later in the day off brush piles. Crap-pie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on cut shad.

LAVON: Water lightly stained; 81–85 degrees; 12.18’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged crea-ture baits, top-waters and squarebill crankbaits. Shallow bite is good early. White bass are good on slabs. Crap-pie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge columns. Catfi sh are good on cut shad and nightcrawlers.

LBJ: Water fairly clear; 78–82 degrees; 0.27’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on blue fl ake Whacky Sticks, watermelon Erratic jigs, and Texas-rigged soft plastic worms around docks and lay downs in 5–15 feet early. Striped bass are good on Spoiler Shads and Li’l Fishies at night. Channel catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers, liver and stinkbait. Yellow and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch.

LEWISVILLE: Water clear; 81–86 degrees; 6.38’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow-running crankbaits, Skinny Dipper swimbaits and swim jigs along the riprap near dam. Shallow bite is improving. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are good on slabs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear; 80–83 degrees; 3.73’ low. Largemouth bass are very good on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. Crappie are good on min-nows. Blue catfi sh are good on shad.

NAVARRO MILLS: Water stained; 78–82 degrees; 3.89’ low. Largemouth bass are fair but small on minnows from docks. White bass are good on black/chartreuse roadrunners. Channel cat-fi sh are good on stinkbait and shrimp. Blue catfi sh are good on trotlines and juglines baited with perch and cut shad. Yellow catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with cut shad.

O.H. IVIE: Water stained; 78–84 degrees; 35.04’ low. Largemouth bass are fair to good on Yellow Magics early, later switching to shallow-running crankbaits, chrome Rat–L–Traps and Texas rigs.

PALESTINE: Water lightly stained; 81–86 degrees; 5.94’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shal-low crankbaits, spinnerbaits and bladed jigs. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs. Catfi sh are good on prepared bait.

POSSUM KINGDOM: Water stained; 79–86 degrees; 8.43’ low. Largemouth bass are good on top-waters early, later switching to weightless Senkos, Texas rigs and shallow-running crankbaits. Crappie are fair on minnows and jigs. White bass are fair to good on slabs and Road Runners. Striped bass are fair to good on live shad. Catfi sh are fair to good on nightcrawlers.

RAY HUBBARD: Water fairly clear; 81–67 degrees; 6.16’ low. Largemouth bass are good on Texas-rigged crea-ture baits and squarebill crankbaits. Some reports of Rat-L-Traps catching numbers. Top-waters early around riprap are producing. Crappie are fair on minnows and Road Runners. White bass are excellent on humps in 17–23 feet with hybrids mixed in. Catfi sh are good on prepared baits.

RAY ROBERTS: Water clear; 80–85 degrees; 4.48’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on Pop Rs and Zara Puppys early, later switching to shallow-running cranks around the edge of grass and points with rock — shallow timber is starting to hold bass as well. Crappie are very good on jigs and minnows in brush in 20–25 feet. White bass are excellent on char-treuse/white slabs bounced in 30–35 feet on deep humps and ridges.

SAM RAYBURN: Water lightly stained; 78–82 degrees; 12.74’ low. Largemouth bass are good on water-melon crankbaits and spinnerbaits. Catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with live bait and stinkbait.

STILLHOUSE: Water stained; 78–82 degrees; 16.70’ low. Largemouth bass are good on crankbaits, min-nows and Rat–L–Traps. White bass are good on crankbaits and slabs. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on minnows and nightcrawlers.

TAWAKONI: Water fairly clear; 82–87 degrees; 6.54’ 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 squarebill crankbaits. White bass are excellent on white SSS Slabs and tailspins — school-ing on points early and late. Striped bass and hybrid striper are good on 4” to 6” white or shad-pattern Sassy Shad. Catfi sh are excellent deep wa-ter drifting cut bait and fresh shad.

TEXOMA: Water fairly clear; 83–88 degrees; 7.25’ low. The lake is currently experiencing an outbreak of Blue–Green Algae. Please check www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fi shboat/fi sh/recreational/lakes/texoma prior to planning a trip to Texoma.

TOLEDO BEND: Water stained; 76–80 degrees; 11.48’ low. Largemouth bass are good on chartreuse soft plastic worms, spinnerbaits and deep-diving crankbaits. Striped bass are slow. White bass are good on Li’l Fishies. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on trotlines baited with shrimp and nightcrawlers.

TRAVIS: Water stained; 80–83 de-grees; 52.40’ low. Largemouth bass are fair on white grubs and char-treuse worms in 15–25 feet. Striped bass are slow. White bass are good on smoke grubs and jigging spoons. Crappie are slow. Channel and blue catfi sh are good on nightcrawlers and cut perch. Yellow catfi sh are slow.

WEATHERFORD: Water fairly clear; 81–86 degrees; 7.56’ low. Largemouth bass are good on shallow crankbaits, shaky heads and Texas rigs.

WHITNEY: Water stained; 78–81 degrees; 16.08’ low. Largemouth bass are good on watermelon Rat–L–Traps, spinnerbaits and soft plastics. Striped bass are fair on minnows. White bass are fair on minnows. Crappie are fair on minnows and white tube jigs. Catfi sh are good on shrimp and punchbait.

NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good under the birds when the wind allows on soft plastics and good in the river on live shad. Redfi sh are good in the marsh on small top-waters and Stanley Ribbits..

BOLIVAR: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on soft plastics and plugs. Black drum and redfi sh are good at Rollover Pass. Croakers are good at the pass on shrimp.

TRINITY BAY: Trout are fair for drifters working pods of shad and mullet on Bass Assassins, Trout Killers and Sand Eels. Redfi sh are good at the spillway on crabs and mullet. Trout and redfi sh have been found in the marsh on plastics.

EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are fair to good on the south shoreline on top-waters and soft plastics. Whiting and sand trout are good on the edge of the Intracoastal on fresh shrimp. Gulf trout have been caught in the channel on shrimp.

WEST GALVESTON BAY: Sheepshead, redfi sh and black drum are good at the jetty on shrimp and crabs. Flounder are beginning to move along the channel.

TEXAS CITY: Redfi sh are fair in Moses Lake on shrimp and mullet. Flounder are fair on mud minnows and jigs tipped with shrimp in the channel.

FREEPORT: Redfi sh are fair in Bastrop Bay on live shrimp. Sand trout and sheepshead are good on live shrimp on the reefs. Bull redfi sh are good in Cold Pass and San Luis pass on cracked blue crabs.

EAST MATAGORDA BAY: Trout are fair for drifters on live shrimp over humps and scattered shell. Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal and in Lake Austin on crabs and mullet.

WEST MATAGORDA BAY: Redfi sh are fair to good in Oyster Lake and Crab Lake on shrimp. Trout are fair on shell and grass on soft plastics. Flounder are fair to good on soft plastics over muddy bottoms.

PORT O’CONNOR: Trout and redfi sh are fair on top-waters over soft mud in waist–deep water in San Antonio Bay. Trout and redfi sh are fair for drifters working the back lakes with live shrimp and top-waters.

ROCKPORT: Bull redfi sh and black drum are fair to good in the Lydia Ann Channel on crabs. Trout are fair over grass while drifting with live shrimp. Redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the fl ats on plastics and shrimp.

PORT ARANSAS: Trout are fair to good on the edge of Super Flats on soft plastics. Bull redfi sh are good in the Shrimpboat Channel and at the jetty on crabs and fi nger mullet. Redfi sh are fair to good on the East Flats on top-waters and plastics.

CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfi sh are fair to good around in coves and channels on small top-waters and spoons. Redfi sh are good in the Humble Channel on crabs and table shrimp. Tides have been below normal.

BAFFIN BAY: Trout are fair to good in mud and grass on Corkies and top-waters. Redfi sh are good at Yarborough on natural baits, soft plastics and top-waters. Trout are good at night in the Land Cut.

PORT MANSFIELD: Trout are fair to good on top-waters around sand and grass holes. Redfi sh are fair to good while drifting pot holes and sight–casting to the shallows. Bull redfi sh are good at East Cut.

SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfi sh are fair to good on the edge of the Intracoastal on DOA Shrimp and soft plastics. Tarpon and redfi sh have been caught at the jetty on live shad.

PORT ISABEL: Trout are good while drifting fl ats on live shrimp and plastics under pop-ping corks. Trout and redfi sh are fair to good in South Bay on live shrimp.

TEXAS FISHING REPORT

HOT BITES SALTWATERSCENE

Trout are fair to good on

g ,

BAY: Redfish are fair

LARGEMOUTH BASS

BOB SANDLIN: Good on black and blue jigs around visible color. Shallow crankbaits are producing as well.

BROWNWOOD: Excellent on top-waters and shaky heads with red bug and watermelon worms.

CEDAR CREEK: Good on Texas-rigged worms, shaky heads and fi nesse jigs around docks — best action is in early morning.

JOE POOL: Good on Texas rigs, me-dium crankbaits and jigs.

LIVINGSTON: Very good on spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

CRAPPIE

ATHENS: Good on jigs and minnows.

COLEMAN: Good on minnows and green tube jigs.

GRANGER: Very good on chartreuse tube jigs in 5–12 feet.

Sponsored by

g j yy

CATFISH

BUCHANAN: Yellow and blue catfi sh are very good on rod/reel, juglines and trotlines baited with goldfi sh and perch upriver.

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

TOLEDO BEND: Channel and blue cat-fi sh are good on trotlines baited with shrimp and nightcrawlers.

Flats on top-waters and

WHITE, HYBRID, STRIPER

BRIDGEPORT: White bass are good on slabs. Hybrid striper are good on slabs.

LBJ: Striped bass are good on Spoiler Shads and Li’l Fishies at night.

RAY ROBERTS: White bass are excellent on chartreuse/white slabs bounced in 30–35 feet on deep humps and ridges.

TAWAKONI: White bass are excellent on white SSS Slabs and tailspins — schooling on points early and late.

HOT SPOT

South SabineBull redfi sh are being caught in good numbers at the jetty on crabs,

along with sheepshead and drum. Trout are being caught on soft plas-tics and live bait on the reefs. Photo by LSON.


Side-scanning technology locates fi sh, measures them


Texas Parks and Wildlife Department District Fisheries Biologist Dan Bennett noticed something when he was using side-scan imaging to map bottom veg-etation on the Trinity River.

“It’s really come along the past few years,” Bennett said. “We have several proj-ects throughout the state right now using images from recordings and snapshots of the bottom. We paste them together to make a detailed map of the bottom in regards to aquatic vegetation.”

But Bennett noticed fi sh showing up in great detail on the side-scan imager — so

sharp, in fact, that he began to fi gure out which specie of fi sh he was looking at, and the size of the fi sh.

“Along with evaluating the vegetation, we have the abil-ity to identify what type of fi sh we are seeing and mea-sure them,” he said. “We haven’t done it a lot, but the resolution can get down to 2.5-inches per pixel. If a fi sh is larger than that, it shows up.”

Bennett was initially look-ing at big alligator gar, and said he saw several in the 5- to 6-foot range.

“This is really showing us the size of the fi sh, what schools are down there and how they relate to structure,” Bennett said. “It defi nitely benefi ts the angler. We go

in and map pools before we fi sh them. If we fi nd a spot with a bunch of big fi sh, we are going to con-centrate there.”

Tournament pro Clark Reehm of Lufkin said many pros take advantage of the technology, but it depends on the style of fi shing to determine how much use it can be to an angler.

“I personally don’t use it much,” Reehm said. “I know what fi sh shapes look like, but I don’t go into that great a detail. You can see the size and you can judge fi sh, but I’m more of a

shallow-water type. I use it mostly to fi nd bait.”

Reehm said many vet-eran anglers don’t like the new imaging technology because it cuts down on the young anglers’ learning curve, and that cuts into the veterans’ advantage from experience.

“When I use side scan on a slick, clear-bottomed lake, I am looking for ‘cancers,’” Reehm said. “Just a rough patch on the smooth lake bottom. Finding the bottom composition is key for me.

“What is that bottom made of? It’s just another tool to utilize because we are looking for any legal method that gives us an advantage at this level.”

HOW BIG? Side-scanning technology can help anglers locate fi sh, along with pinpointing what species an angler is looking at and even the sizes of the fi sh, by counting the pixels. Photo by TPWD.


NO, I WASN’T HUNTINGHarris County Game Warden Tim

Holland had just returned home after working a wildfi re when he received a call concerning a group of dove hunters peppering a home. Holland observed a group of hunters hunting in a fi eld, as well as one individual hunting from the backyard of a residence adjacent to the fi eld. When Holland drove into the area, the individual had entered the home, but came back out, minus a shotgun. This individual denied that he had been hunting during the warden’s inspection of the group. Holland then asked the individual to retrieve the 20-gauge shot-gun he had seen him fi ring earlier. The individual was cited for hunting dove without a valid license. Case pending.

LEAD SHOTSHELLS LEAD TO TICKETSWharton County Game Wardens

Chris Bird and Aaron Koenig checked teal hunters and discovered several shotgun shells containing lead shot in possession of the hunters. Also located were a large number of empty hulls matching the lead shells fl oating around the duck blind. A total of six green-winged teal were seized, and all remaining lead shot shells were con-fi scated. Cases pending.

YOUNGSTER GIVES DAD’S VIOLATION AWAY

Tarrant County Game Warden John Padgett made contact with a dove hunter and his children. The hunter said that no birds had been shot. One of the hunter’s sons asked, “What about that bird you shot and let us play with, that we threw in the bushes?” The hunter asked his son to go and get the bird. It turned out to be a mockingbird. Cases pending.

SELLER OF DUCK MOUNTS STUNGFort Bend County Game Warden

Barry Eversole, with some e-mail assistance from Galveston County Game Warden Bobby Kana, made contact with an individual who had placed an ad offering water-

fowl mounts for sale on Craigslist. Working in plain clothes, Eversole met the individual and bargained a deal to purchase a pair of mounted widgeon. Case pending.

TOO MANY BIRDS FOR EVENING HUNTEdwards County Game Warden

Scott Holly and Kimble County Game Warden Lee Morrison pulled up to a ranch gate in Edwards County. As soon as they stepped out, shots were heard in the distance. Just before sunset, the wardens drove to the location of the shooters, who were in possession of 14 extra doves. Citations for over the daily bag limit and no hunter education were issued.

TEAL BAITERS CAUGHT ON VIDEOLamar County Game Warden Bryan

Callihan recently received informa-tion about a private lake baited for teal season. Red River County Game Warden Daniel Roraback assisted Callihan and videotaped the entire hunt. Twelve cases were fi led on four men for hunting over bait, plac-ing bait to attract, hunting with an unplugged shotgun, taking illegal ducks, no hunting license and no migratory bird stamp.

BATCHELOR PARTY BIRDS, BEERSErath County Game Warden Zach

Havens observed a group of vehicles parked in a coastal fi eld and heard a variety of gunshots that sounded like pistols, large caliber rifl es and shotguns. Havens began seeing birds drop from the air as they fl ew

near the vehicles. Closer inspec-tion revealed members of a bachelor party that had killed several scissor-tailed fl ycatchers. Cases pending.

FAWN KEPT IN CAGE RELOCATEDTravis County Game Wardens

Braxton Harris and Christy Vales were walking through fi elds near some houses to check a few back-yard dove hunters. As the wardens were checking licenses, birds and plugs, they noticed behind one of the houses a young white-tailed fawn in a cage. The owner was cited for possession of a live game animal and the fawn was released inside the state park. Case pending.

NETTERS NETTED WITH 200 POUNDS OF GAMEFISH

Moore/Sherman County Game Warden Ryan Hunter and a National Parks Service ranger caught four men netting game fi sh on Lake Meredith. The violators were using a home-made gill net and were in possession of more than 200 pounds of walleye and catfi sh. Cases are pending.

WARDEN’S ‘LOOK’ TROUBLESDOUBLE-DIPPER

Uvalde County Warden Rachel Kellner and Maverick County Warden David Thorne checked a dove fi eld in the evening and encountered a man who initially said he shot a morning limit and later changed his story and said he hadn't hunted. Kellner and Thorne followed the individual back to camp. The man stated the war-

dens could look around, but he had no clue where any birds were. Freshly marinated dove breast skewers were located in the fridge. The man told Kellner he knew he was in trouble when she gave him the same look his ex-wife used to give him. Exceeding the daily bag limit cases pending.

TEAL OUTFITTER BAGGED WITH EXCEEDING BAG LIMIT

Runnels County Game Warden Lane Pinckney apprehended an outfi tter and his guide who had exceeded the teal limit by eight birds. Pinckney was enter-ing the ranch gate at the same time the hunters were travelling toward the gate. Upon seeing the warden’s vehicle, the suspect vehicle turned around and proceeded back into the ranch rather quickly. The hunters had a limit of teal in the bed of the truck and claimed to have turned around to go pick up their shotgun shells. A search of the vehicle revealed eight more teal stuffed into a pair of waders in the back seat of the vehicle. The outfi tter claimed all the birds in excess and will be banned from the ranch.

BUT IT SAYS RIGHT HERE THE SEASON IS OPEN

Hidalgo County Game Warden Ira Zuniga cited six hunters for no hunt-ing licenses, no hunter education certifi cates and hunting mourning doves in closed season. He seized 25 dove. The subjects pulled out a 2010-2011 Outdoor Annual and showed the warden that they were legal. Zuniga provided them with a

new 2011-2012 Outdoor Annual with the correct dates. Citations pending.

CHECKING SAME FIELD IN MORNING, EVENING DUPES DOUBLE-DIPPERSMaverick County Game Wardens

Cody Buckaloo and David Thorne, along with Uvalde County Game Warden Javier Fuentes, teamed up to patrol Frio County for the begin-ning of the regular dove season. Many hunters from the morning who shot their limits were very surprised when they were contacted that eve-ning and the wardens remembered they had limited out. The war-dens wrote 11 citations on this day for over the bag limit on dove and seized 92 birds. Cases and civil res-titution pending.

JETTY FISHERMEN SURPRISED BY WARDENS

A report of individuals keeping oversized red drum was received by Cameron County Game Warden Santana Torres. Torres, Game Wardens Mark Vela and Dan Cantu headed toward the jetties and waited for the individuals to load up and head home. A total of 17 citations were issued for no fi shing license, oversized red drum and undersized speckled trout.

NEEDED: BIRD IDENTIFICATION COURSE

Wharton County Game Warden Chris Bird was patrolling for open-ing day dove hunters in the South Zone. Bird came across two hunt-ers in a fi eld who had packed up for the morning and were headed home. While checking the men, Bird found another type of bird species. The two men claimed that the birds were running along the ground when they shot them and that they thought the birds were teal. Bird then asked why they shot the “teal” with lead shot, which is illegal. The two men stood speechless, and Bird wrote citations for hunting and possessing bobwhite quail out of season. Cases pending.

GAME WARDEN BLOTTER

Bexar County Game Warden Kathleen Stuman and Wilson County Game Warden Jesse Garcia entered a fi eld where numerous shots had been fi red. As they entered, they noticed a small red car that had its engine lying on the ground and numerous parts removed. They checked the dove hunters and found several violations. One subject was

found hiding in the brush, but Stuman was unable to locate his shotgun. It was found buried in the ground. When asked why he buried the shotgun, the subject said, “I thought you were going to take it away.” The small car was reported sto-len out of Bexar County. The Bexar County Sheriff's Offi ce arrived and handled the stolen car. Cases pending.

STOLEN CAR, BURIED SHOTGUN FOUND IN DOVE FIELD


that way until pre-rutting activity begins to heat up later in the month.

Moses said he expects deer to come to corn bet-ter than they did last year, due to the poor mast crop in North Texas this year.

“(The deer) are work-ing harder to fi nd food this year,” he said. “The acorns I’ve seen have been small, but it depends on where the oak trees are located. If they are along creeks and drain-ages, they could produce a better mast crop this year.”

A soaking rain covered much of North, Central and South Texas the weekend of Oct. 8-9, bringing some needed relief to the area.

In South Texas, the focus on Oct. 1 was more about dove rather than deer, game wardens said.

“I didn’t check a single deer hunter opening week-end,” said Webb County Game Warden Mark Nelson. “The bucks are still in velvet down here, and we didn’t see the amount of hunters opening weekend like we did last year.”

Nelson said antlers are down in his area, and he has noticed more deer being hit by cars than in years past.

In Lavaca County, several nice deer were turned in at the Knights of Columbus Big Buck Contest, according to Steve Bludau, co-chairman of the competition, now in its 25th year. (See related story on Page 21.)

“We really did (have some nice deer turned in),” Bludau said. “We had a bow hunter that killed a 150-inch deer and in our youth divi-sion, a teenager turned in a 135. Those are pretty nice deer for Lavaca County.”

Bludau said hunters told him that deer were hitting corn hard.

He added that morning hunts had been more successful than the evenings, possibly due to the high temperatures in the afternoon.

Reports online were mostly poor, with hunt-ers sweating on stand and not seeing many shooter bucks. The deer many people were see-ing needed better nutrition.

Bow openerContinued From Page 1

WHAT DROUGHT? Sulphur Springs archer Kyle Koon shows off the 190-class non-typical he killed opening weekend in Hopkins County. The East Texas buck was 4.5 years old and grew from a 135-inch deer last year. Photo by Kyle Koon.


HEROES

TERRY NEILL of Blanco credits a doe for unknowingly enticing this fi ne buck to come within range of the .223-caliber rifl e of his 9-year-old son, JOSHUA. “This was his fi rst hunt and, of course, his fi rst buck,” Terry said. “We had been watching this buck for about three weeks.”

SHARE ANADVENTURE■ Want to share hunting and fi shing photos with other Lone Star Outdoor News readers? E-mail them with contact and caption information to [email protected]. High-resolution origi-nal jpegs only. Mail prints to Heroes, Lone Star Outdoor News, P.O. Box 551695, Dallas, TX 75355.

The ADAMS FAMILY of Rockwall (from left), BRANTLEY, RAY and ALEX recently joined Capt. Weston Russell (far right) to catch these king mackerel off of West Palm Beach, Fla.

TAYLOR KENNOM, 3, and her 4-year-old brother, TRACE, of Krum fi shed Labor Day weekend on their family’s lease in Anderson County. Taylor quickly caught several bass, and Trace also caught a nice one. Together they caught more fi sh, and big-ger ones than their dad.

DAVE PRICE of Carrollton hunted this red stag last March with guide Shane John-ston on the South Island of New Zealand. Said Dave, “Great hunt, beautiful animal and we had a great time with Shane. New Zealand should be on everyone's ‘must visit’ list.”

Talk about lucky. CADEN ARELLANO, 7, of Fort Worth got out of school early

one day last season to go hunting with his dad, AARON, near Throckmorton. His good fortune increased when he

harvested his fi rst deer, a mature doe, with a .243-caliber Remington rifl e. “I was the proudest dad in Throckmor-

ton that night,” Aaron said.

CHASE STEVENSON of Burnet (right) recently joined his cousin, TAYLOR KNAPP, of Golden, Colo., for some lobster hunting off of Key Largo, Fla.

CINDY SWISHER of Garland caught this 17-inch native brown trout in July while fi shing on the Flint River near Crested Butte, Colo. Her guide was Lu Warner of Dragonfl y Anglers. “This was Cindy’s fi rst fl y-fi shing ad-venture,” said her husband, Bill, “and by all accounts she is now hooked on it.”


had retreated another 10 feet. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

offi cials were saying the slowly-shrinking pool at Choke Canyon and other reser-voirs would help concentrate fi sh, making them easier to fi nd.

That is not expected to deplete any fi sh-eries, said Todd Driscoll, a TPWD biolo-gist in Jasper. As an example, he described Sam Rayburn Reservoir, 114,500 acres, which was only 55-65 percent capacity in September.

“Are anglers going to signifi cantly impact the numbers of fi sh in a lake?” he asked. “More than likely not, based on high populations and the practice of catch and release.”

But, the biologist added, concentrated fi sh can become conditioned to pressure.

Driscoll knows because he’s also a tour-nament angler who placed second at a Bassmaster Weekend Series event Sept.

24-25 on Sam Rayburn.“Here’s how it worked for

people who were on the fi sh,” he recalled. “Twenty to 25 per-cent had strikes or roles on bait, but only 25 percent of those fi sh would eat it.

“They’ve seen enough baits lately; they’re just not willing to commit to anything.”

And although fi sh are concen-trated, fi shable waters may be hard to reach.

Some lakes have gotten so low, many boat ramps have closed.

Nevertheless, Texas anglers will keep fi nding ways to get on the water, said Mukhtar Farooqi, the TPWD district biologist in San Angelo.

His example was nearby Twin Buttes Reservoir, 9,080 acres, which in September was only 1.5 percent full.

“At Twin Buttes, the ramps are closed,” Farooqi said, “but the nature of the banks are such that you can still launch without getting stuck, if you have four-wheel drive.

“People are getting bass and crappie that way.”

Kayakers and tube anglers, he said, will stay on a lake until it is so low it can’t pro-duce enough dissolved oxygen to sup-port a fi shery.

“That’s getting into O.C. Fisher terri-tory,” Farooqi said, referring to the fate of the San Angelo lake that was dry by mid-summer.

In a dire case like that, Farooqi said anglers shouldn’t hesitate to catch and eat whatever fi sh remain in the shrinking pool. Restocking can be done once rains return and recharge the lakes.

“Then you will have made use of that resource,” he said, “because there is a possibility that the lake might die. Twin Buttes will be dry soon; probably next summer at this rate.”

Guide Charles Whited, (512) 557-6772

LakesContinued From Page 1 ‘New lake effect’ offers

hope for anglers worried about reservoirs


A Texas angler could eas-ily slip into depression with so much chatter about plummeting lake levels and closed boat ramps.

But one state fi sheries biologist offers hope.

Todd Driscoll, a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist in Jasper, said lakes ham-mered by persistent drought rebound tremen-dously, thanks to “trophic upsurge,” also called “the new lake effect.”

It happens on lakes that have been low for at least one or two growing sea-sons, Driscoll said.

During these periods, he explained, signifi cant vegetation can grow on the exposed lake bottoms.

When water returns the plants are fl ooded, which pro-vides great cover for young sport fi sh that become adults a year or more later, Driscoll said.

“A good example of this is Lake Falcon, which has fre-quently fl uctuated 20 to 30 feet below full pool, and in 2002 was over 50 feet low,” Driscoll wrote in a recent report.

Falcon has produced 17 “ShareLunkers” since 1990 — 12 of them since Driscoll’s benchmark year of 2002. Six of those 12 were caught this year.

“Lake Falcon locals say that

fi shing there is as good as it has ever been,” he said, “and much of it is due to trophic upsurge.”

But the benefi ts continue, Driscoll said.

The fl ooded vegetation even-tually dies and decomposes, which unleashes nutrients for plankton. The plankton, in turn, becomes food for fi ngerlings.

“Sport-fi sh fry need plank-ton during their fi rst month or two of life,” Driscoll said. “Increased plankton abun-dance also means higher sport fi sh abundance.”

Another example is Choke Canyon Reservoir. Guide Charles Whited of San Marcos

said anglers in his boat have caught two 13-pound bass since last May on the lake.

Those bass were ineligible to be counted as ShareLunkers because they were caught after the last season ended in April. The latest season began Oct. 1.

In early October, Whitehead said that exposed hydrilla along Choke Canyon’s shore reminded him of when the lake got really low about 12 years ago.

“But then it came up and for about fi ve years it was the best lake in Texas,” Whited said.

Ten of the lake’s 13 ShareLunkers were caught between 2005-2010.

LUNKER: Jeffry Piel of New Braunfels presents the 13.2-pound largemouth he caught last May on Choke Canyon Reservoir. The shrinking pools at that lake and others are expected to concentrate fi sh, making them easier to fi nd. That dynamic may stall slightly on Choke; about 1.54 inches of rain fell in that area the second weekend of October. Photo by Charles Whited.

BETTER TIMES AHEAD? Fish habitat in drought-stricken lakes like Lake Travis (above) can rebound tremendously with “trophic upsurge,” also called “the new lake ef-fect.” But fi rst they have to get rain. Heavy showers Oct. 8 and 9 dropped about 2.32 inches on Lake Travis, which was expected to rise a foot, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority. Photo by Chase Fountain, TPWD.


Range conditions were very dry and about 30 deer were observed running to corn when feeders sounded dur-ing a morning hunt. The deer seemed to be in reasonably good shape, however, with the exception of a few haggard does with fawns.

Alan Cain, white-tailed deer program coordinator for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,

described a ranch in Bandera County that produced bucks that scored 163 and 171.

“For that county, that’s a great deer,” he said. “They do some feeding, but they also have some plant species that are not very common, like Texas mulberry. It’s just a testament to them keeping habitat in good shape.”

He added that TPWD biolo-

gists have been impressed with a 190-class deer killed by a bow-hunter in Hopkins County (See bow hunting report page 1).

The East Texas buck was taken on a low-fence operation, but it never showed up on trail cameras set up at protein feed-ers.

“The point being, there are some big deer out there,” Cain said.

MLDP ranchesContinued From Page 4

NON-TYPICAL: Jimmy Slayden of Victoria shows the buck that he hunted at the Bang Whitetail Ranch in Gillespie County. The non-typical deer gross scored 247. Photo by Bang Whitetail Ranch.


Thompson said the Tevere River receives heavy pres-sure, since it is only one of two Italian rivers where anglers fl y-fi sh. The primary species are brown trout and grayling.

“Everywhere I fi sh the entomology is very similar,” he said. “Over there, the fi sh are heavily pressured, so I found the fi sh were eating more out of curiosity.”

One random incident confi rmed Thompson’s sus-picions.

“At the beginning of one session, I threw a blueberry in the water and a trout ate it,” he said. “I thought that was different and it con-fi rmed that they were biting out of curiosity.”

Thompson said each angler was given a 300-yard section of river chosen in a random computer drawing. Anglers had about 30 min-utes to study their sections before their three-hour fi sh-ing sessions began.

“Each angler had a con-troller (or referee) that was with you the whole time you were fi shing,” he said. “I had to feel my way through the competition a little bit because I got there late, but after the fi rst day, I was very comfortable.”

Thompson’s broken hand didn’t hinder him while fi shing, but it did make net-ting the fi sh diffi cult.

The fi ve-member U.S. team took the lead on Day 1 and never looked back for the remaining two days.

“After the fi rst day we led by a large margin and

won by a large margin,” Thompson said. “All of our team was in the top 15. The U.S. team had never won gold, and I don’t think they’ve had a performance like the way the whole team fi shed. Last year I fi nished third, but the team missed medaling by one fi sh.

“It felt better this year with the team winning.

“Instead of me just being up on the podium, our whole team and coaches got to celebrate this year. Next year the competition is in France, and I’m already looking forward to it.”

Austin youthContinued From Page 8

CLINCHING THE GOLD: Angler Noah Thompson, at left, poses with a nice trout and the competition referee assigned to him in Italy. Photo by Wendy Thompson.


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For Houston-area pro Jason Reyes, it means fi nding lake points with a top-water lure, especially this fall when fi sh will be concen-trated due to low water levels. (See related story, Page 1.)

“We’ve had such a hot sum-mer, that I think this fall will be better than most,” Reyes said. “The fi sh are really going to be concentrated. After a couple of cold fronts, there will be a good top-water bite.

“Check lake points as opposed to creeks because the creeks are so low.”

Reyes added that good fi sh-ing should be found this fall on extended lake points, where fi sh will be so bunched up.

“The fi sh are going to start hav-ing a stronger metabolism and become a lot more active,” he said. “When the water gets below 80 degrees, I’ll pick an early morn-ing buzzbait. As long as that water temperature is right, you can fi sh it throughout the day.

“When lakes go low, fi sh will be really bunched up and it is hard to beat a buzzbait. I put it on heavier line, and it is a great loca-tor bait as well as a big fi sh bait.”

For all-around baits, Reyes rec-ommended a Lucky Craft RC 1.5 crankbait and Big Bite Bait’s Cane Thumper — a new bait that Reyes said was producing for him.

Texas pro Ronnie Wagner, who calls Lake Conroe his home lake, said the bass currently are making the transition from deeper water to back pockets of lakes that still hold water.

“The shad are balling up at the mouth of creeks and the bass are just following,” he said. “Throw a crankbait, or any bait that has a lot of movement. I’m throwing 200-series Bandits and I’m also throwing blades. An early-morn-ing buzzbait or a Yellow Magic are also great.

“It’s usually a matter of process of elimination because the water is so low on most Texas lakes, but Mother Nature has done a lot of the work this year.”

Wagner said any structure below the water line will be holding fi sh this year.

“They are relating to anything structure-wise,” he said. “Once you fi nd them, they are wolf packs,” he said. “Top-water baits along riprap seem to be catching a lot of fi sh, especially in places like Sam Rayburn.

“People are catching them on Zara Spooks really good.”

Wagner said his favorite fall colors consist of darker patterns such as green pumpkinseed and junebug.

A crew from Lone Star Outdoor News fi shed at Lake Fork on Oct. 5 and came away with several nice fi sh.

Strike King’s Texas-rigged Rage Tail Craws and Pro Model Crankbaits Series 3 both put nice fi sh in the boat.

The group fi shed the edges of creeks next to shallow fl ats where bass were pushing baitfi sh.

Fall bassContinued From Page 8 ‘Small’ big buck contest

grows into big eventBy Conor HarrisonLONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

What started out 25 years ago as a small, Lavaca County-only big buck con-test has turned into some-thing much bigger — a six-division contest with huge prizes and an annual entry of 1,400 hunters from across the state.

And Steve Bludau, the Knights of Columbus Big Buck Contest organizer, couldn’t be happier.

“In 1987, it was just Lavaca County,” Bludau

said. “But then people started asking, ‘What about us?’ At fi rst, we opened a state of Texas division, but South Texas was dominating that, so we made a few more.”

Now, along with the state division, the contest has categories for Lavaca County only, South Texas, a high-fence division, a mule deer division and youth categories for the state and Lavaca County.

“The mule deer division is new this year,” Bludau

said. “And we are giving away lifetime hunting licenses for both youth division winners this year. That’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Bludau said the high-est he has placed is sec-ond in the Lavaca County division in 1997. A distant relative, Bradley Bludau, already leads this year with a 150-class buck.

“It’s exciting and a good competition between fam-ily members,” he said. “Second place was the best I

could do, but I’m real proud of that. We have had quite a few repeat winners.”

Contestants can regis-ter online at www.kchall.com, as well as check the current leaderboard with pictures of trophies that have already been har-vested.

“We give the prizes away at a wild game sup-per in January,” Bludau said. “It’s a free entry (into the supper) with entry into the contest and we have exhibits, gun raffl es,

4-wheel raffl es and about 1,500 people every year.”

The registration fee is $20, which includes entry into all divisions, except the new mule deer divi-sion. That costs an addi-tional $10 or just $20 if a hunter only registers for the mule deer category.

“People are seeing some good bucks this year, so we are excited,” Bludau said.

For more information, call Bludau at (361) 798-0596


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

October 18Delta WaterfowlBeaumont Chapter DinnerCourville’s Catering(409) 718-8280www.deltawaterfowl.org

Ducks UnlimitedTyler DinnerHarvey Hall Convention Center(903) 570-0214www.ducks.org/texas

Ducks UnlimitedTexoma Dinner and BanquetMayor Arena, Denison(903) 821-7467www.ducks.org/texas

October 20Dallas Safari ClubMonthly MeetingRoyal Oaks Country Club(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

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

Ducks UnlimitedArlington Chapter BanquetSt. Vincent De Paul Catholic Churchwww.ducks.org/texas

Ducks UnlimitedVictoria DinnerClub Westerner(361) 894-5178www.ducks.org/texas

Texas Wildlife AssociationWebinarDavid Brimager, Aging deer on the hoof(512) 551-3004www.texas-wildlife.org

Delta WaterfowlCleburne DinnerJohnson County Sheriff’s Posse Grounds(817) 307-4468www.deltawaterfowl.org

October 22Don HewlettHunting and Fishing ExpoDon Hewlett Chevrolet Gerogetown(512) 763-3503www.hewlettexpo.com

October 25Central Texas Safari Club — SCIWildlife Legacy GalaAustin Club(512) 773-5674www.centexsci.org

October 27Delta WaterfowlSan Antonio dinner(210) 441-8143www.deltawaterfowl.org

Ducks UnlimitedHouston DinnerRiver Oaks Country Club(281) 795-8832www.ducks.org/texas

Delta WaterfowlSan Antonio DinnerAnne Marie’s(210) 441-8143www.deltawaterfowl.org

October 29-30Gun and Knife ShowGillespie County Fairgrounds. Fredricksburg(830) 285-0575www.texasgunandknifeshows.com

October 29National Wild Turkey FederationBass Pro Gun GalaPearland Bass Pro www.basspro.com

November 3Dallas Safari Club Trophy Room TourDSC Pavilion(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

November 4Dallas Safari Club YPG Dallas Stars game(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

November 5Eldorado Game Dinner Schleicher County Civic Center(325) 853-3331

Ballinger Annual Hunter’s DinnerBallinger Community Center(325) 365-2333www.ballingertx.org

Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce Wild Game DinnerKendall County Fairgrounds(830) 249-8000www.boerne.org

November 7Houston Safari ClubMonthly meeting Embassy Suites, Energy Corridor(713) 623-8844www.houstonsafariclub.org

November 10-12Texas Deer AssociationSan Antonio Farm and Ranch ExpoFreeman Coliseum(210) 767-8300www.texasdeerassociation.com

November 10Dallas Woods and Waters ClubMonthly meeting and dinnerSheraton North Dallas Hotel(214) 570-8700www.dwwcc.org

November 16Ducks UnlimitedDallas BanquetCrown Plaza Suites(214) 282-3000www.ducks.org/texas

November 17Dallas Safari ClubMonthly meetingOmni Hotel(972) 980-9800www.biggame.org

on.com

n

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].

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


Bass Champs division sets records on Falcon

The Bass Champs Southern Division concluded its season Oct. 8-9 on Falcon International Reservoir, and the team of Robert Ballard from Del Rio and Clarence Vaughn from Amarillo took home top honors with a two-day weight of 86.16 pounds.

According to Bass Champs President Chad Potts, the event shattered all sorts of records for the series.

“It was windy, but the fi shing was incredible,” Potts said. “We had 104 teams weigh in more than 20 pounds on the fi rst day; we set all kinds of records. We had 16 (teams) over 30 and two over 40.”

Potts said the tournament set records for total weight, number of 20-pound bags and total win-ning weight.

“Most of the top guys were fl ip-ping a jig into trees,” he said. “Flipping was the predominant pattern, but the fi shing was so good, you could catch them on almost anything. It took more than 60 pounds just to get a check.

“Guys who caught 29 pounds both days didn’t get a thing.”

Ballard and Vaughn won a Skeeter Bass Boat and motor val-ued at $55,000 for their victory.

Coming in second place was the team of Chris Snyder from Cibolo and Patrick Starnes of San Antonio. Rounding out the top three was the team from Nacogdoches consisting of Jonathan Garrie and Keith Morris.

— Staff report

TOURNAMENT BRIEF

out (on the pier) at 7 a.m., and stay out there until we make him come in for breakfast.”

“He’s out there in his paja-mas most mornings,” added his mother, Angie.

The Arnetts keep Garrett coated in sunblock as the day wears on, T.J. said.

“He’ll sit on the pier all day long,” Tom said. “If he catches a croaker he’s happy.”

An angler achieves a slam by catching each of the "Big Three" species in a single day. Garrett's fi rst one involved a 25-inch redfi sh, a 17-inch trout and a 19-inch fl ounder. The second was with a 23-inch red, along with a trout and fl ounder that were both 20 inches.

Both slams were caught with shrimp under popping corks from boats in the upper bay. The Arnetts made their casts over oyster shells in 2- to 3-feet of water, TJ. said.

Garrett said his most memo-rable catch was the big redfi sh in the fi rst slam.

“That red — it almost pulled me in the water,” Garrett said. “I had to have my dad help me reel it in.”

T.J. said Garrett was so excited with his fi rst slam, he wanted to go out and do it again.

“The very next weekend, that’s exactly what he did,” T.J. said. “Now he thinks that’s something you should do every time.”

Is that so, Garrett?“Yes, sir.”

Grand slamsContinued From Page 8

things this time of year. The scattered grass is heavy across the fl ats, making top-waters tough to use.

“The best, in my opinion, is a 1/2- to 3/4-inch gold weed-less spoon.”

Farah recommended a crank and jerk presentation to make it easier for the big reds to take the spoon.

“When you crank and jerk, it lets that spoon fl utter to the bottom, giving the fi sh a chance to come down on the bait,” he said.

The redfi sh in the Laguna Madre have been hit hard by pressure during the summer, according to Farah. He said water temperatures are return-ing to normal and schools aren’t being broken up by anglers like they were the past few months, making them

easier to catch.Guides along the lower

coast have seen good num-bers of slot fi sh, with the big reds in the bay schooling up.

“There are a few big ones in the bay,” said Capt. Richard Weldon of Weldon Charters, based out of Rio Hondo. “The ones in the bay are organizing right now to head out into the Gulf. We are catching a lot in the 18- to 26-inch range.

“There are also a lot of trout, mostly in the 18- to 20-inch range, but we are catching some 22- to 24-inchers on every trip.”

Weldon said reds are hitting top-water baits in his area.

Guide reports from the Port O’Connor area had big reds hitting top-water and live baits.

Guide Joe Farah, (361) 949-1103Guide Richard Wheldon, (956) 245-0146

Bull redsContinued From Page 1

BIG RED: Alan Skrobarcek holds a nice bull red caught near Rockport. Redfi sh are primed for spawning, giving anglers a window to catch these big fi sh. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.


TPWD reminds anglers how to properly handle ‘ShareLunkers’

Largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more are rare.

Only 523 have been recog-nized during the 25 years of the ShareLunker program man-aged by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The agency offered several tips to ensure such a fi sh is properly weighed and recognized for the program.

Once caught, the fi sh should not be allowed to fl op around in the bottom of the boat or on the bank. This removes the slime coat that protects the fi sh from infection and can also result in wounds.

Many bass are caught on soft plastic baits, and sometimes they swallow them. Removing the hook through the gill arch is the recom-mended method.

Next, put it in a livewell that has a proper oxygenation system.

ShareLunker entries must be weighed on a certifi ed scale.

A number of reservoirs around the state have offi cial ShareLunker weigh and holding stations that have certifi ed scales and a tank equipped to hold big bass and keep them alive. Call ahead to learn what is available.

If the fi sh doesn’t qualify to be a ShareLunker, handle it carefully and get it back into the water as soon as possible. The next time it’s caught, it might weigh 13 pounds.

Offi cials said TPWD personnel would pick up fi sh within 12 hours.

— TPWD report

Early signs: coastal fi sheries healthy despite events in 2011

Fall gill net surveys are underway on the Texas Gulf Coast, and early observations indicate continued growth in populations of speckled trout and other species.

The annual surveys, conducted by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, began in mid-Septem-ber and will continue through late November. Similar surveys are con-ducted each spring.

While it’s too early to report exact data, TPWD biologists said that trout appear plentiful, even on the middle coast — a continued rever-sal of the declines reported there several years ago.

In January, TPWD offi cials fl oated an idea to address the declines by cutting the current midcoast bag limit from 10 to fi ve speckled trout. They dropped it, however, when lots of juvenile trout started turning up in the surveys.

Redfi sh and fl ounder also appear to be strong, said Robin Riechers, coastal fi sheries director.

The good signs come despite a couple of coastal events that got the attentions of biologists and anglers in 2011 — but game fi sh, so far, have avoided major kills.

First was a powerful freeze in February, which only seemed to kill baitfi sh.

Reports of red tide surfaced in September and October. Some dead seatrout and redfi sh washed ashore in September, but by early October, nearly all of the dead fi sh reported were mullet or menhaden.

— Staff report

License lost? TPWD sells replacements

The hunter thought he was being smart. Responsible.

His wallet was stuffed with only a little bit of cash, but all kinds of cards —busi-ness cards, gift cards, insurance cards, grocery store savings cards…

It was a bit crowded for his new 2011-2012 Super Combo hunting-fi shing license, so he decided to put it into a plas-tic bag and stuff that into a cargo pocket of his hunting pants.

But his smart thinking slipped during the Oct. 1 Texas bow season opener. That’s when he decided the plastic bag would also be a good place for a small bottle of sinus-relief nasal spray. It wasn’t.

The bottle leaked onto his license, blurring his signature and other type. Time for a new one.The hunter was relieved to learn that other people have been in similar straits, because

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has a remedy.Replacement licenses can be bought where licenses are sold across the state. The hunter replaced his at the retailer where he bought the fi rst one. He paid a $10 fee

for the license and $3 to replace the Federal duck stamp. — Staff report

BLURRED: Texas hunting and fi shing licenses that be-come lost or damaged (like this one) can be replaced where licenses are sold. There is a $10 fee. Photo by LSON.

“My brother hooked a really big one that took him all the way to the end of the jetty and almost spooled him before he broke off.”

Brendan loves hooking into a big fi sh.“There is no feeling like it,” he said.

“The fi rst run often times nearly takes the rod out of your hands and before long the fi sh is far into your backing.”

Marshall said school has made it diffi -cult to get down to the coast in the fall, but he wants to take a trip soon, when tarpon reverse their migrations and head south along the Texas Coast, heading for their wintering grounds in Mexico.

“Until I can get down there, I’ll have to keep myself happy duck hunting this fall,” he said. “If we have any water.”

Marshall said he enjoys hanging out with his family, doing something they all love.

“Being with family is one of the best parts about it,” he said. “Our cousins also come down and we have a big time.”

Brothers hookedContinued From Page 9


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eco-glass lenses and phase-cor-rected, high-refl ective silver al-loy multilayer prism coating of-fer superb light transmission and

resolution for dawn-to-dusk glass-ing. Long eye relief combined with multi-click turn-and-slide rubber

eyecups, makes these new mod-els extremely user-friendly and

suited for virtually any hunt-ing situation. The binoculars also offer fl ip-down rubber lens covers to protect the objec-

tive lenses from scratches and dirt. The 8x42 model sells for about $230, while the 10x42 model sells for about $250.

(800) 645-6687www.nikonhunting.com

>>

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BONE COLLECTOR XTO:Bad Boy Buggies presents its limited edition hunting vehicle. Only 500 units will be manufactured. This XTO comes with a dash-mount-ed double gun/bow rack, a roof with a fully integrated cargo rack that makes it easier to load and unload, and a comfort-grip steer-ing wheel. Other features include a green LED spotlight that mounts on top, a front brush guard and impact-resistant wide fender fl ares. Plus, if offers plenty of power. This 4x4 all-electric hunting vehicle is available in Realtree AP camoufl age, $14,199 MSRP.

(800) 324-7868www.missiongolfcars.com


LONE STAR MARKET

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

Reward offered for stolen blinds, feeders in Glasscock County

Investigators are seeking tips in the thefts of hunting blinds and feeders last month from two Glasscock County ranches.

The thefts were reported Sept. 19 on the Powell and Brunson ranches, both located off of Texas 137, between Garden City and Midland.

Stolen were eight hunting blinds and seven feed-ers, according to Midland Crime Stoppers, which is helping investigators on the case. The total value was estimated at $15,000, Crime Stoppers said.

Trey Robbins III, a Midland businessman, owned some of the stolen items. He said they were located on a ranch he has leased for 46 years.

Robbins has put up some of the reward money that is being handled by Crime Stoppers. He added that he would be willing to put up much more than the items were worth to help catch the thieves.

“That’s such a low-life thing to do,” he said. “What kind of person would do that?”

A white or gray Ford pickup was spotted with two feeders in the back, according to Crime Stoppers.

The organization will pay cash rewards up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests.

Call 1-800-7-LOCKUP or leave a secure tip online at www.midlandcrimestoppers.com. Tipsters can remain anonymous and no caller ID is ever used.

— Staff report

Joshua Creek to host weekend with famed shooter Bobby Fowler Jr.

Joshua Creek Ranch near Boerne in the Texas Hill Country, the only Beretta Two Trident Lodge in Texas, will host a clays and European-style driven pheasant shooting event Nov. 11-13.

Special guest is world-title shooter Bobby Fowler Jr., owner of Elite Shooting School in Houston.

As one of the nation's most accomplished shot-gun professionals, Fowler customizes shotgun instruction for all ages and skill levels. He is dedi-cated to developing the sport and enhancing the shooting experience with one-on-one individual instruction.

“We are thrilled to host a shooter of Bobby's cali-ber and experience,” said Ann Kercheville, president of Joshua Creek Ranch. “During the past 21 years, our primary objective has been to provide our guests with exceptional and memorable outdoor experi-ences.”

Fowler is a perennial member on the National Sporting Clays Association All-American Team and Team USA and he is a Texas Hall of Fame inductee.

For more information, see info at www.josh-uacreek.com or call (830) 537-5090.

— Joshua Creek report

DU against plan to cut water to rice farmers

Ducks Unlimited is urging water offi cials to reconsider plans that would cut or eliminate sup-plies to coastal rice farmers if the drought worsens next year.

Each year, an estimated 2 million waterfowl spend the winter in fl ooded rice fi elds on the Texas coast, according to DU.

But the Lower Colorado River Authority in August announced it could not provide “supple-

mental” water to fl ood waterfowl management units this year.

A month later, LCRA offi cials announced that they would seek permission to reduce or eliminate water for rice farmers if conditions don’t improve dramatically by March 2012.

That request would have to be approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Rebecca S. Motal, LCRA’s general manager, said the plans aren’t meant to single out farmers, but to “stave off a possibility that none of us want to see – having water released for a crop next year only to be cut off mid-crop.”

“This would cause the crop to wither in the fi eld and the water to be wasted,” Motal said.

But DU said the plans would “further exacer-bate waterfowl habitat shortfalls along the Gulf Coast,” according to a news release.

“It is not simply a matter of local water-fowlers not having a place to hunt,” said Todd Merendino, DU’s manager of conservation pro-grams in Texas. “With the widespread loss of freshwater prairie wetlands and coastal marshes, fl ooded rice fi elds provide critical resting and feeding habitat for waterfowl along the Gulf Coast.”

— Staff report


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

DOVE North Zone and Central Zone Sept. 1-Oct. 23 and Dec. 23-Jan. 8South Zone Sept. 23-Oct. 30 and Dec. 23-Jan. 23

Bag limit: 15 birds and not more than two white-tipped doves.Special White-winged Dove Area Sept. 3-4, 10-11, Sept. 23-Oct. 30, Dec. 23-Jan. 19

The daily bag limit in the SWWDA during the fi rst two weekends is 15 doves in the aggregate, to include no more than 4 mourning doves and 2 white-tipped doves. Once the general season opens, the aggregate bag limit will be 15.

EARLY TEAL-ONLY Sept. 10-25

EARLY CANADA GEESE Sept. 10-25 (Eastern Zone Only)

ALLIGATOR 22 counties & special properties Sept. 10-30 (by permit only)Remainder of the state Apr. 1-June 30

PRONGHORN ANTELOPE (By permit only) Oct. 1-9

WHITE-TAILED DEERArchery-Only Season Oct. 1-Nov. 4Special Youth Season* Oct. 29-30, Jan. 2-15General Season North Texas (209 counties) Nov. 5-Jan. 1 South Texas (30 counties) Nov. 5-Jan. 15Late Antlerless and Spike North Texas (106 counties) Jan. 2-15 South Texas (30 counties) Jan. 16-29Muzzleloader (57 counties) Jan. 2-15

MULE DEER Archery-Only Season Oct. 1-Nov. 4General Season Panhandle (38 counties) Nov. 19-Dec. 4 SW Panhandle (11 counties) Nov. 19-27 Trans Pecos (19 counties) Nov. 25-Dec. 11

JAVELINANorthern (43 counties) Oct. 1-Feb. 26Southern (50 counties) Sept. 1-Aug. 31

PHEASANTPanhandle (37 counties) Dec. 3-Jan. 1Chambers, Jefferson & Liberty counties Oct. 29-Feb. 26

SQUIRREL Special Youth Season** Sept. 24-25East Texas (51 counties) Oct. 1-Feb. 5, May 1-31Other Open counties Sept. 1-Aug. 31

LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKENNo open season for lesser prairie chicken.

QUAILStatewide (all counties) Oct. 29-Feb. 26

RIO GRANDE TURKEYArchery-Only Season Oct. 1-Nov. 4Fall Season Special Youth Season* Oct. 29-30, Jan. 21-22 North Zone (122 counties) Nov. 5-Jan. 1 South Zone (26 counties) Nov. 5-Jan. 15 Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, & Willacy counties Nov. 5-Feb. 26Spring Season North Zone (101 counties) Mar. 31-May 13 Special Youth Season* Mar. 24-25, May 19-20 South Zone (54 counties) Mar. 17-April 29 Special Youth Season* Mar. 10-11, May 5-6 1-Turkey Bag Limit (11 counties) Apr. 1-30

EASTERN TURKEY+Spring-Only Season East Texas (28 counties) Apr. 15-May 14

CHACHALACACameron, Hidalgo, Starr and Willacy counties Oct. 29-Feb. 26

RABBITS and HARES No closed season.

In addition to a hunting license, a migratory game bird stamp endorsement ($7) is required to hunt any migratory game bird, including mourning dove (a Federal Sandhill Crane Permit also is required to hunt sandhill crane). An upland game bird stamp endorsement ($7) is required to hunt turkey, quail, pheasant or chachalacas. See County Listings in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Outdoor Annual for specifi c county regulations and more detailed information.*In all counties that have an open season for those species.** In all counties that have an Oct. 1-Feb. 5 and May 1-31 open squirrel season.+ Rio Grande and Eastern Turkey may be hunted in these counties.

DOWNLOADCharts for season dates, sunrise and sunset may be downloaded at LSONews.com.

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<— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — Clip for your camp ✄ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — >

German huntress to receive Capstick award

An icon in the European hunting, conservation and business com-munities, Christiane Underberg of Rheinberg, Germany, has been selected to receive the 2012 Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award from Dallas Safari Club.

Underberg will be honored at the DSC Convention and Sporting Expo in Dallas, Jan. 5-8, 2012.

DSC and the Dallas Ecological Foundation present the Capstick Award in recognition of exemplary leadership in conservation, educa-tion, hunting, humanitarian causes, research, permanent endowments and charitable giving.

Underberg has hunted throughout Europe as well as Alaska, Canada

and Argentina, amassing a fi ne col-lection of trophies. She is skilled with handgun, rifl e and shotgun. Her experiences afi eld have given her a deep environmental ethic and thoughtful, respected voice in resource conservation and manage-ment. She is or has been active in the International Council for Game and Wildlife Management, World Wildlife Fund and Council for Sustainable Development of the German Government. Underberg holds numerous honors from different countries for her work and contri-butions to ecological, cultural and scientifi c causes.

Along with her husband, Emil, she helped initiate in 1970 the Fund for Environmental Studies Tyrol/Austria for sustainable management of natu-ral resources.

“The couple was inspired to do something after witnessing changes in the land and forest — and the result-

ing impacts on game animals — on one of their hunting areas. Today the organization they helped create has 40 years of data on sustainable graz-ing, timber and wildlife management. This pioneering work has helped shape policies and practices to help sustain and balance resource use in Europe,” said Ben Carter, DSC execu-tive director.

Underberg also is an authority and frequent speaker on hunting ethics, never missing an opportunity to com-municate her strong belief that the ethical hunter is the salvation of wild-life and habitat.

Born in 1939 in Frankfurt, she grew up hunting with her father and in 1958, at age 19, became one of the fi rst women in the post-war era to pass the stringent German hunt-ing exams.

— Dallas Safari Club report

Texoma still open to boating and fi shing

All previously announced blue-green algae advisories and warnings on Lake Texoma are still in effect. The Corps of Engineers retests the affected lakes every 30 days.

Retesting will be completed in the coming weeks at all the affected lakes.

Once test results are received, which may take a week or two after sampling is completed, the warn-ings and advisories may be adjusted or lifted as appropriate.

However, Texoma is open to boat-ing and fi shing. Boaters are advised to avoid any areas with visible algae scum. Fish should be cleaned well and entrails should be discarded, but fi sh are fi ne to consume.

A blue-green algae bloom can occur in any lake at any time if the condi-tions are right and can persist through a wide range of weather conditions.

Though it is impossible to pre-dict how long these warnings and advisories will be in place, substan-tially cooler temperatures over a prolonged period of time, possibly weeks or months, and/or substan-tial rainfall are some of the factors that help levels to return to the safe limit. Additional factors such as the amount of nutrients present in the water from stream runoff also affect the blue-green algae levels.

— U.S. Army Corps of Engineers report

Law Enforcement Division receives new patrol boats

Three new patrol vessels arrived the fi rst week of October for coastal law enforcement use by Texas game wardens, all manufac-tured by SAFE Boats International.

The 38-foot P.V. Peter Holt will be stationed in Rockport. Two 29-foot vessels, which have yet to be named, will dock in Palacios and Corpus Christi.

The P.V. Peter Holt, named for the former Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission chairman from San Antonio, was funded through a joint enforcement agree-ment with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The two 29-foot vessels were paid for through a state Homeland Security/Port Security grant. Two additional 27-foot vessels to arrive later this year were funded by a special session rider in the clos-ing days of the recent legislative session, and will be stationed along the Rio Grande in Zapata on Falcon Lake and in the McAllen area.

“All of these vessels will pro-vide state-of-the-art platforms for

Texas game wardens to conserve our resources and protect the pub-lic for decades to come,” said Col. Pete Flores, TPWD law enforcement director.

Flores said the boats have 20-year life expectancies.

— TPWD report

Dead sharks found in net near border

More than 3,000 dead sharks were found tangled in a three-mile long illegal net off the coast of Texas, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department offi cials.

Game wardens found the fi sh in late September off Texas' southern South Padre Island near the bor-der with Mexico, TPWD spokesman Steve Lightfoot said. No arrests have been made.

“This is by far the most sharks I have ever gotten in one load,” Texas Parks and Wildlife Sgt. James Dunk told local TV station KGBT. “We have here probably two to three miles of gill net that was placed in our waters about four miles north of the Mexico border right off the beach,” Dunk said.

Authorities believe Mexican fi sher-men set the illegal nets — a common practice along the southern border.

Dunk said Mexican fi shermen regularly sneak into the U.S. to lay illegal nets.

“They get over here in a matter of two minutes and be back in Mexico in a matter of two minutes. ... The guys we have caught in the past have fl at told us that there are no more fi sh over there and that is why they are coming over here,” Dunk said.

— Staff report

CHRISTIANE UNDERBERG


Editor's note: Someone who spends a lot of money on a big game hunt, and works very hard to harvest a animal, expects a quality trophy mount to represent the experience. But if the mount comes back and the hunter is disappointed with it, the taxidermist may not be at fault. Field care is critical for preparing a trophy mount.

Longtime taxidermist Evelyn Billington of Billington Ranch taxi-dermy in Georgetown offers the following tips to ensure your ani-mal becomes an exceptional mount.

Field care of any deer, elk and pronghorn is of utmost importance for making a mounted trophy. Bad fi eld care can end up in a mediocre mount even though a highly qualifi ed taxidermist does it.

LEAVING THE FIELDOne thing hunters tend to do is to drag their freshly killed

trophies. But dragging them over rough terrain, brush or fallen trees can damage hides signifi cantly and make them unusable for mounting. Get a cart, sled, or truck (or even a horse) to carry your animal to the camp.

Also, don’t hang a prospective trophy by the neck with a rope, which can cut into the neck and cause the hair to rub off and even fall out. It can also leave a permanent impres-sion on the hide. Instead, always hang your trophy either by the legs, or tie the rope to the antlers.

Do not cut the throat. If your trophy is a deer, antelope or other antlered or horned big game, cape it out as soon as possible and freeze the cape. This will prevent bacteria

growth, which can cause hair loss down the road. Do not salt the hide. Remember, it is always better to leave more hide on the animal than cutting it too short. Your taxider-mist will thank you for that.

SKINNING AND CAPINGThe best way to cape out any game such as deer, antelope

or elk is to skin it out like peeling off your socks at the end of the day. Do not cut down the back or up the brisket. If you leave the back hide on, you can just pull the whole hide down the back and over the head of the animal. Then cut off the head where it connects to the neck.

On the legs, just make a circular cut above the knee joint and pull the leg out. This will leave plenty of leg hide for the taxidermist to work with.

If you know how to remove the hide from the head of the animal you may want to consider this option. If you have never done this before, let someone with experience do it.

SHIPPINGBefore you ship the specimen to your taxidermist, make

sure it is frozen solid. You do not want it to thaw out during the shipping process.

Wrap the frozen specimen in several plastic bags. Then wrap it with several layers of either newspaper or packaging paper.

Always use a Styrofoam container to ship frozen items. Stuff the container with several more layers of paper to ensure good insulation and to keep the animal from mov-ing around in the container.

Make sure to label each animal on the outside as to what it is and how you want it mounted.

Also include your complete address, phone number, when and where the animal was killed and your hunting license number.

In Texas, FedEx and UPS are going to be your better choices for shipping. Most packages can be sent regular ground within Texas since it only takes one to two days at the most to get to their destination point.

Outside of Texas, you may want to send it either “Express” with the Postal Service, or second-day air with UPS or FedEx.

Never send anything priority mail or regular mail from out of state because those options can take several days to arrive and the animal could spoil during shipping.

Always ship on either a Monday or Tuesday and always notify your taxidermist that you are about to send the package.

Evelyn Billington, (254) 793-2120, [email protected] or www.billingtonranchtaxidermy.com

Proper fi eld care matters for trophy mounts

WHAT A DRAG: Hunters typically drag their trophies out of the fi eld, but they should use another method if they want to have a shoulder mount made. Dragging over rough terrain can signifi cantly damage the hide. Photo by David J. Sams, LSON.


Classifi ed Order Form3 Easy Options: Mail this form, Call the offi ce (214) 361-2276, or E-mail; [email protected]

per word! 20 word minimum2 issues minimum

$1

MERKEL GUNSFor Sale

Merkel K1 Single Shot .270 WinThe Merkel K1 Jagd Stalking Rifl e features a breakopen design utilizing the patented Franz Jager action and a cock-ing/uncocking slide, which provides a simple and posi-tive safety. Has fi ne engraved hunting scenes. $2,250.

Merkel K1 Single Shot .270 Wby Mag

The Merkel K1 Jagd Stalking Rifl e features a breakopen design utilizing the patented Franz Jager action and a cock-ing/uncocking slide, which provides a simple and posi-tive safety. Has fi ne engraved hunting scenes. $2,500.

Merkel K1 Single Shot .308 Win.

The Merkel K1 Jagd Stalking Rifl e features a breakopen design utilizing the patented Franz Jager action and a cock-ing/uncocking slide, which provides a simple and posi-tive safety. Has fi ne engraved hunting scenes. $2,250.

Merkel 280 EL Side by Side 28ga

Featuring exhibition grade wood, slightly used very blemishes on stock. Hand engraved receiver with a nickel fi nish. $5,000.

Merkel 2001 EL Sport Over/Under 28ga

Slightly used very blem-ishes on stock, featuring exhibition grade wood and a hand engraved receiver and a nickel fi nish. $6,400.

Merkel 147 E Side by Side 20gaSlightly used very blemishes on stock, featuring high grade wood and a hand engraved receiver and a nickel fi nish. $3,750.

Merkel 360 Side by Side 410gaSlightly used very blem-ishes on stock, featuring exhibition grade wood and a engraved receiver. $3,200.Contact Nick.

(830) 537-4472

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Spring fed pond, food plots, coastal,Deer, Turkey & Dove On pavement, Trees. Call TXChoice.

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DECOYS WANTEDWooden

Duck and Goose. Top prices paid. Ask for David.

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AWESOME DOVE Hunts

$85 per person. Lodging avail-able! Whitetail and Axis Deer Hunting Packages Available. Owned and operated by Kelly and Jo Ann Carroll. [email protected] www.thetexsstarranch.com

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CUSTOM CABINSPro Built On Your SiteMany sizes and stylesavailable. Quality work. Competitive pricing.Sturdy Built Buildings.w w w . s b b c i . c o m

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THUNDERBIRD Hunting Club and Lodge

Exclusive Individual and Corporate Waterfowl Memberships. A higher cal-iber hunting experience.

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DEER LEASE WANTEDLone Star Outdoor Newsis looking for a hunt-ing and fi shing lease with all hunt and fi sh rights. Central or Northwest Texas. Camphouse is needed.

(214) 361-2276

CLASSIFIEDSGUN BLUING

Specialty ShopWe specialize in Hot Caustic, Rust and Nitre Bluing as well as Pakerizing, Stainless Steel Bluing, Camoufl aging and Stock Restoration.Duracoat-certifi ed fi nishing.Mention this ad for 10% dis-count. 4529 Elm Bottom Circle, Aubrey, TX 76227, GunBluingSpecialtyShop.com

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SHOOT DOVE in Style!

Side-by-side shotgunSmith & Wesson Elite Gold20-gauge, 26” BBL, English stock. In box, never fi red. $1850(214) 361-2276 x 201

TROPHY RAM ANDHog Hunts

East Texas. Lodging included. $100 per day. RazorBack Hog Hunting Ranch. (713) 203-3860. (713) 849-4200.razorbackranch.com

TAXIDERMISTNeal Coldwell

P.O. Box 643, Center Point, Texas 780101301 Broadway, Kerrville, Texas 78028

(830) 634-7207

PREMIER HUNTING Land

50-300 acres in Edwards, Val Verde, Kinney, or Terrell County.Twenty year fi xed rate owner fi nancing or TX Vet fi nancing.www.texasranchland.com

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HOG ERADICATION HUNTS

Unlimited Hogs. Llano and San Saba River bottom.Lodging Included.Threadgi l lRanches.com

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SOUTH PADRE Fishing

Reds, Trout, Flounder, Snook. Everything sup-plied but food and licenses. Multiple trip discounts. Call Capt. Thomas for details or [email protected].

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PROSPECT RETRIEVERSHunting Retriever TrainingQuality Labradors. Started Hunting Retrievers. Paris, TX.

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ACRES FOR SALELake Amistad Salem Point Lot 14, 5.5 acres. Zoned res-idential. Walk to water. Well. Nearby power. $70K obo.

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WE GUARANTEE FUN Specialists in the thrill of the hunt with artifi cial lures.Exciting fall top-water fi shing.Vicious strikes and extreme fi ghts. Loads of fun!Lake Texoma striper fi shing. Cast & Blastwww.striperexpress.com.Call us Today!

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TAXIDERMISTBillington Ranch

billingtonranchtaxidermy.com(254) 793-2120

SALES PERSONWanted:Hunting/Fishing

Established International hunting/fi shing Agency seeking commission based sales person to sell trips. Good potential income. Can work from home. Chance to travel. E-mail resume [email protected]

DO YOU NEED HELPWith Deliveries?

Houston Area. Budget Distribution Services. Noel:

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By Alan ClemonsFOR LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS

At fi rst glance, the new Mako Pro 17 Skiff looks like … well, it looks just like another center-console skiff.

But check it out under the bow and notice the hull design. Looks like a catamaran. Sort of. Then you fi nd out the hull is an inverted V, a concept nearly 100 years old that has stood the test of time for reliability and handling.

That’s the idea behind Mako’s new offering in its inshore lineup for 2012, as revealed recently to dealers and the boating media at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo. The Pro 17 Skiff is part of several new or

tweaked boats in the Mako, Sun Tracker and Nitro lines.“Don’t stereotype it as a saltwater boat because it’s more

than that,” said Steve Mason of Tracker Marine in describ-ing the Pro 16 and Pro 17 Skiff Tiller, both of which have the inverted-V hull. “It’s not a new concept, but it’s a brand-new concept for us.

“It’s designed to carry weight. It’s not afraid of that. It’s designed for rough water. It’s not afraid of that. The differ-ence is the hull.”

Albert Hickman, a Canadian, patented the hull design in 1914. He fi rst pitched it to military offi cers looking for ways to carry troops and equipment during World War I. He argued that large boats with his hull design could transport men and

gear more effi ciently, but the brass wasn’t convinced.After the war, Hickman shifted his focus to the recre-

ational market.The inverted-V design creates a tunnel of sorts in the mid-

dle of the hull. Toward the stern, the midline V fl attens at the transom.

By trapping air and water, the tunnel creates lift and, in con-cert with an outboard engine, provides a smooth, stable ride.

As Mason noted, the Mako shouldn’t be stereotyped as only for inshore saltwater use. It will fi t that use well, of course, but can also fi nd a home on freshwater lakes.

“You can put on a 4-inch hydraulic plate with a PowerTech 4-blade prop with L-cup in it and run it 5 inches up on the plate with the skeg near the bottom of the boat,” said Jeremy Mataya, Tracker test-ing manager. “It would be real easy to set that boat up to run safely in 8-10 inches of water.”

The Mako 17 has a bow-molded raised fi sh-ing platform with nonskid surface. The for-ward seat has an 8-gallon aerated baitwell while the helm seat comes with an 85-quart cooler. The center console unit includes vertical rod holders, space to mount optional electronics and below-console storage areas.

Mataya said the ability to carry weight on plane along with stability in choppy water makes the Mako 17 worth a look.

“There is so much surface area on the bottom of the boat that if you get into a real good chop, you’ll feel the boat take off,” he said. “There’s a lot of wet surface area on the bottom, and it cre-ates less friction and resistance.

“We’ve run it in really shallow water, and being able to plane out with smaller motors and a heavy load was important. Plus, we wanted to keep it light so it could be towed with smaller vehicles.”

The Pro 17 has an 80-inch beam and weighs 950 pounds, Mataya said.

New Mako boats embrace classic ‘V’ design for reliability, handling

STABILITY: Mako’s new offering in its inshore lineup for 2012 features boats with inverted-V hulls that are designed to carry weight and handle rough-water chop. Photo by David J.Sams, LSON.

TROPHY WHITETAIL Deer Hunts

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STRIPER FISHINGLake Texoma a.m. and p.m. trips. SUMMER SPECIAL! Free lodging with 4 or more people. We pro-vide: 23' Falcon Striper boat (seats 6-7 people), all rods, reels, and bait. Call Jay. StaleyAdventures.com

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MOVE TO KERRVILLE!Look at this beautiful, 1930s style home near downtown Kerrville, minutes from the hunting mecca of Texas.3 bedroom/3 bath with a guest house (2,400 sq. ft.). 505 Elm St.$212,500. Call Becky McFadden with RE/MAX or go to www.beckymcfadden.com

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LSON CAPSBe the best look-ing hunter in camp. LSON caps only $10. Order today.

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(979) 743-5526


Solunar | Sun times | Moon timesMoon Phases

FOR THE TABLEOUTDOOR PUZZLER | By Wilbur “Wib” Lundeen Solution on Page 34

ACROSS1. A good item to have on

hunting trips 5. A habitat deer will hide in 9. The shoulder hide on a deer10. Crappies and perch are _____12. Cloth used to sharpen hooks13. The slippery swimmer14. Letter code for a shotgun

model15. A cover for wildfowl17. Deer mark on a tree trunk19. A camper's gear item22. A large grouping of game24. A type of lure26. A game bird27. A species of perch31. Anglers fi sh this area at

times34. The arrow is his ammo36. A group of decoys37. Name earned by the

expert fi sherman39. Shot fi red without careful

aim41. Some lures have this to

attract game44. A part of a trap45. Trapped for the fur47. The pelt48. Outdoor all-weather wear

49. Act of carrying canoe overland

50. Wild packs of these kill many deer

DOWN1. Some bullets have a

_____ jacket 2. A lion's hair 3. A game bird 4. Appendage on a tur-

key's feet 6. A very valuable fur

bearer 7. Anything that attracts

game, fi sh, wildfowl 8. The main fi n on a fi sh 9. Common name for the

brook trout11. The cost to fi sh, hunt15. The _____ crappie16. Fish eggs18. Some prefer this type

hunting20. The wild sheep21. T erm for a tree root underwater23. A fi sh species, black _____fi sh25. Said to be best color for

fi sh lure28. Large appendage on the

muley29. A deer food source30. A trapper's catch for the fur32. A small game predator33. Hunters call him a varmint35. A bowmen's organization38. All have their own _____

of fi shing39. Bucks do this to warn of

danger40. Should do this to hunting

routes42. Food source for wildfowl43. The hunting domain44. A freshwater fi sh46. Need this to pack the

day's catch

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| |

20-30 dove1 1/2 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. pepper1/2 tsp. paprika6 tbsp. butter15 oz. can artichokes (optional)1/4 lb. mushrooms2 tbsp. fl our2/3 cup chicken consomme3-4 tbsp. sherry (cream or cooking)

Add salt, pepper, and paprika to dove and fry in 4 tbsp. but-ter. Place in casserole. Place artichokes between dove. Sauté mushrooms in 2 tbsp. butter. Add 2 tbsp. fl our. Stir in consomme and sherry. Cook 5 minutes. Pour over dove. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

— wildgamerecipes.org

3 tbsp. soy sauceJuice of one lemon1/4 cup Marsala wine1/2 tsp. salt1 tsp. dry ginger4 cloves garlic, diced4 redfi sh fi llets (or other white fi sh)2 scallions, cut into 2-inch slivers

Combine fi rst six ingredients and marinate fi sh in the refrigera-tor for two hours. Remove fi sh from marinade and place on hot grill. Thickness of fi sh determines length of cooking time, but generally will be about 10 minutes. Top with scallions and serve.

— nssf.org

Marinated and grilled redfi sh

FullNov 12Last

Oct 20First

Nov 4New

Oct 27

Texas Coast TidesSabine Pass, jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 2:46 a.m. 2.9 H 10:19 a.m. 0.7 L 6:30 p.m. 3.2 H 10:41 p.m. 2.7 L Oct 15 2:45 a.m. 2.9 H 10:55 a.m. 0.5 L 7:27 p.m. 3.0 H 11:08 p.m. 2.9 L Oct 16 2:39 a.m. 3.0 H 11:34 a.m. 0.5 L 8:35 p.m. 3.0 H 11:35 p.m. 2.9 L Oct 17 2:38 a.m. 3.0 H 12:20 p.m. 0.7 L 9:55 p.m. 3.0 H Oct 18 12:07 a.m. 2.9 L 2:45 a.m. 3.0 H 1:12 p.m. 0.7 L 11:13 p.m. 3.0 H Oct 19 1:10 a.m. 2.9 L 2:43 a.m. 3.0 H 2:12 p.m. 0.7 L 11:53 p.m. 3.0 H Oct 20 3:20 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 21 12:13 a.m. 3.0 H 4:30 p.m. 1.1 L Oct 22 12:28 a.m. 2.9 H 6:07 a.m. 2.3 L 11:04 a.m. 2.7 H 5:40 p.m. 1.3 L Oct 23 12:42 a.m. 2.9 H 6:28 a.m. 1.8 L 12:43 p.m. 2.9 H 6:45 p.m. 1.6 L Oct 24 12:55 a.m. 2.9 H 7:03 a.m. 1.3 L 2:02 p.m. 3.2 H 7:46 p.m. 2.0 L Oct 25 1:11 a.m. 2.9 H 7:44 a.m. 0.7 L 3:11 p.m. 3.4 H 8:44 p.m. 2.3 L Oct 26 1:29 a.m. 2.9 H 8:28 a.m. 0.2 L 4:16 p.m. 3.6 H 9:38 p.m. 2.7 L Oct 27 1:49 a.m. 3.0 H 9:15 a.m. -0.2 L 5:20 p.m. 3.8 H 10:31 p.m. 2.9 L Oct 28 2:13 a.m. 3.0 H 10:04 a.m. -0.4 L 6:24 p.m. 3.8 H 11:22 p.m. 3.0 L

Galveston Bay entrance, south jettyDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 3:33 a.m. 2.3 H 10:45 a.m. 0.6 L 7:17 p.m. 2.6 H 11:07 p.m. 2.1 L Oct 15 3:32 a.m. 2.3 H 11:21 a.m. 0.4 L 8:14 p.m. 2.4 H 11:34 p.m. 2.3 L Oct 16 3:26 a.m. 2.4 H 12:00 p.m. 0.4 L 9:22 p.m. 2.4 H Oct 17 12:01 a.m. 2.3 L 3:25 a.m. 2.4 H 12:46 p.m. 0.6 L 10:42 p.m. 2.4 H Oct 18 12:33 a.m. 2.3 L 3:32 a.m. 2.4 H 1:38 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 19 12:00 a.m. 2.4 H 1:42 a.m. 2.3 L 3:30 a.m. 2.4 H 2:38 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 20 12:40 a.m. 2.4 H 3:46 p.m. 0.7 L Oct 21 1:00 a.m. 2.4 H 4:56 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 22 1:15 a.m. 2.3 H 6:33 a.m. 1.9 L 11:51 a.m. 2.1 H 6:06 p.m. 1.0 L Oct 23 1:29 a.m. 2.3 H 6:54 a.m. 1.4 L 1:30 p.m. 2.3 H 7:11 p.m. 1.3 L Oct 24 1:42 a.m. 2.3 H 7:29 a.m. 1.0 L 2:49 p.m. 2.6 H 8:12 p.m. 1.6 L Oct 25 1:58 a.m. 2.3 H 8:10 a.m. 0.6 L 3:58 p.m. 2.7 H 9:10 p.m. 1.9 L Oct 26 2:16 a.m. 2.3 H 8:54 a.m. 0.1 L 5:03 p.m. 2.9 H 10:04 p.m. 2.1 L Oct 27 2:36 a.m. 2.4 H 9:41 a.m. -0.1 L 6:07 p.m. 3.0 H 10:57 p.m. 2.3 L Oct 28 3:00 a.m. 2.4 H 10:30 a.m. -0.3 L 7:11 p.m. 3.0 H 11:48 p.m. 2.4 L

San Luis PassDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time Height Oct 14 4:03 a.m. 1.4 H 11:41 a.m. 0.3 L 7:47 p.m. 1.5 H Oct 15 12:03 a.m. 1.3 L 4:02 a.m. 1.4 H 12:17 p.m. 0.3 L 8:44 p.m. 1.5 H Oct 16 12:30 a.m. 1.4 L 3:56 a.m. 1.5 H 12:56 p.m. 0.3 L 9:52 p.m. 1.5 H Oct 17 12:57 a.m. 1.4 L 3:55 a.m. 1.5 H 1:42 p.m. 0.3 L 11:12 p.m. 1.5 H Oct 18 1:29 a.m. 1.4 L 4:02 a.m. 1.5 H 2:34 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 19 12:30 a.m. 1.5 H 2:38 a.m. 1.4 L 4:00 a.m. 1.5 H 3:34 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 20 1:10 a.m. 1.5 H 4:42 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 21 1:30 a.m. 1.5 H 5:52 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 22 1:45 a.m. 1.4 H 7:29 a.m. 1.1 L 12:21 p.m. 1.3 H 7:02 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 23 1:59 a.m. 1.4 H 7:50 a.m. 0.9 L 2:00 p.m. 1.4 H 8:07 p.m. 0.8 L Oct 24 2:12 a.m. 1.4 H 8:25 a.m. 0.6 L 3:19 p.m. 1.5 H 9:08 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 25 2:28 a.m. 1.4 H 9:06 a.m. 0.3 L 4:28 p.m. 1.6 H 10:06 p.m. 1.1 L Oct 26 2:46 a.m. 1.4 H 9:50 a.m. 0.1 L 5:33 p.m. 1.7 H 11:00 p.m. 1.3 L Oct 27 3:06 a.m. 1.5 H 10:37 a.m. -0.1 L 6:37 p.m. 1.8 H 11:53 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 28 3:30 a.m. 1.5 H 11:26 a.m. -0.2 L 7:41 p.m. 1.8 H

Freeport HarborDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 2:55 a.m. 2.0 H 10:42 a.m. 0.4 L 6:39 p.m. 2.2 H 11:04 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 15 2:54 a.m. 2.0 H 11:18 a.m. 0.3 L 7:36 p.m. 2.1 H 11:31 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 16 2:48 a.m. 2.1 H 11:57 a.m. 0.3 L 8:44 p.m. 2.1 H 11:58 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 17 2:47 a.m. 2.1 H 12:43 p.m. 0.4 L 10:04 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 18 12:30 a.m. 1.4 L 2:54 a.m. 2.1 H 1:35 p.m. 0.4 L 11:22 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 19 1:39 a.m. 1.4 L 2:52 a.m. 2.1 H 2:35 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 20 12:02 a.m. 2.1 H 3:43 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 21 2:22 a.m. 2.1 H 4:53 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 22 12:37 a.m. 2.0 H 6:30 a.m. 1.2 L 11:13 a.m. 1.8 H 6:03 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 23 12:51 a.m. 2.0 H 6:51 a.m. 0.9 L 12:52 p.m. 2.0 H 7:08 p.m. 0.8 L Oct 24 1:04 a.m. 2.0 H 7:26 a.m. 0.6 L 2:11 p.m. 2.2 H 8:09 p.m. 1.0 L Oct 25 1:20 a.m. 2.0 H 8:07 a.m. 0.4 L 3:20 p.m. 2.3 H 9:07 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 26 1:38 a.m. 2.0 H 8:51 a.m. 0.1 L 4:25 p.m. 2.5 H 10:01 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 27 1:58 a.m. 2.1 H 9:38 a.m. -0.1 L 5:29 p.m. 2.6 H 10:54 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 28 2:22 a.m. 2.1 H 10:27 a.m. -0.2 L 6:33 p.m. 2.6 H 11:45 p.m. 1.5 L

South Padre IslandDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 10:17 a.m. 0.5 L 7:31 p.m. 2.0 H Oct 15 10:50 a.m. 0.4 L 8:34 p.m. 2.0 H Oct 16 11:29 a.m. 0.4 L 9:43 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 17 12:14 p.m. 0.4 L 10:48 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 18 1:07 p.m. 0.5 L 11:37 p.m. 2.2 H Oct 19 2:08 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 20 12:10 a.m. 2.2 H 3:17 p.m. 0.7 L Oct 21 12:31 a.m. 2.1 H 4:32 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 22 12:41 a.m. 2.0 H 6:53 a.m. 1.6 L 10:51 a.m. 1.7 H 5:51 p.m. 1.0 L Oct 23 12:44 a.m. 1.8 H 6:53 a.m. 1.2 L 1:01 p.m. 1.8 H 7:13 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 24 12:40 a.m. 1.7 H 7:17 a.m. 0.8 L 2:36 p.m. 2.0 H 8:40 p.m. 1.4 L Oct 25 12:28 a.m. 1.6 H 7:51 a.m. 0.4 L 3:56 p.m. 2.1 H Oct 26 8:32 a.m. 0.1 L 5:10 p.m. 2.2 H Oct 27 9:17 a.m. -0.2 L 6:22 p.m. 2.3 H Oct 28 10:06 a.m. -0.4 L 7:34 p.m. 2.3 H

Port O’ConnorDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 1:29 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 15 12:59 a.m. 1.4 H 02:05 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 16 2:49 a.m. 1.4 H 02:46 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 17 4:00 a.m. 1.4 H 03:34 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 18 4:55 a.m. 1.5 H 04:29 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 19 5:42 a.m. 1.5 H 05:31 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 20 6:24 a.m. 1.4 H 06:41 p.m. 0.6 L Oct 21 6:59 a.m. 1.3 H 07:58 p.m. 0.7 L Oct 22 7:07 a.m. 1.2 H 09:21 p.m. 0.8 L Oct 23 5:17 a.m. 1.0 H 10:14 a.m. 0.9 L 4:31 p.m. 1.1 H 10:56 p.m. 0.9 L Oct 24 2:52 a.m. 1.0 H 10:16 a.m. 0.8 L 7:06 p.m. 1.2 H Oct 25 10:52 a.m. 0.6 L 09:02 p.m. 1.3 H Oct 26 11:36 a.m. 0.4 L 11:10 p.m. 1.4 H Oct 27 12:24 p.m. 0.2 L Oct 28 1:23 a.m. 1.5 H 01:14 p.m. 0.1 L

RockportDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 4:23 a.m. 0.74 H 2:45 p.m. 0.44 LOct 15 4:56 a.m. 0.75 H 3:32 p.m. 0.43 LOct 16 5:37 a.m. 0.75 H 4:21 p.m. 0.43 LOct 17 6:24 a.m. 0.75 H 5:12 p.m. 0.43 LOct 18 7:14 a.m. 0.76 H 6:01 p.m. 0.43 LOct 19 8:02 a.m. 0.75 H 6:48 p.m. 0.44 LOct 20 8:52 a.m. 0.74 H 7:31 p.m. 0.46 LOct 21 9:50 a.m. 0.71 H 8:08 p.m. 0.49 LOct 22 5:56 a.m. 0.66 H 8:03 a.m. 0.66 L 11:37 a.m. 0.67 H 8:33 p.m. 0.54 LOct 23 4:05 a.m. 0.65 H 10:04 a.m. 0.60 L 3:03 p.m. 0.62 H 8:29 p.m. 0.59 LOct 24 3:06 a.m. 0.66 H 11:02 a.m. 0.53 LOct 25 2:28 a.m. 0.70 H 11:53 a.m. 0.46 LOct 26 2:19 a.m. 0.75 H 12:44 p.m. 0.41 LOct 27 2:41 a.m. 0.79 H 1:36 p.m. 0.36 LOct 28 3:22 a.m. 0.81 H 2:30 p.m. 0.34 L

Houston2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONOct-Nov Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets14 Fri > 7:12 1:01 7:36 1:24 07:20 06:52 8:22p 9:36a 15 Sat 8:05 1:53 8:29 2:17 07:21 06:51 9:06p 10:30a 16 Sun 8:59 2:47 9:24 3:12 07:22 06:50 9:55p 11:23a 17 Mon 9:55 3:42 10:20 4:07 07:22 06:49 10:47p 12:13p 18 Tue 10:50 4:37 11:15 5:02 07:23 06:48 11:43p 1:01p 19 Wed Q 11:43 5:31 ----- 5:56 07:24 06:47 NoMoon 1:45p 20 Thu 12:11 6:22 12:35 6:48 07:24 06:46 12:42a 2:27p 21 Fri 12:58 7:11 1:24 7:36 07:25 06:45 1:44a 3:06p 22 Sat 1:45 7:57 2:10 8:22 07:26 06:44 2:46a 3:44p 23 Sun 2:29 8:42 2:55 9:08 07:26 06:43 3:50a 4:22p 24 Mon 3:14 9:27 3:41 9:54 07:27 06:42 4:56a 5:00p25 Tue > 4:02 10:16 4:30 10:43 07:28 06:41 6:04a 5:42p 26 Wed N 4:55 11:09 5:24 11:38 07:28 06:40 7:14a 6:27p 27 Thu N 5:54 ----- 6:24 12:40 07:29 06:39 8:25a 7:18p 28 Fri > 6:59 12:43 7:30 1:14 07:30 06:38 9:35a 8:15p 29 Sat > 8:06 1:51 8:37 2:22 07:31 06:37 10:41a 9:15p 30 Sun 9:14 2:59 9:44 3:29 07:31 06:37 11:40a 10:18p 31 Mon 10:18 4:04 10:46 4:32 07:32 06:36 12:33p 11:20p 01 Tue 11:17 5:04 11:43 5:30 07:33 06:35 1:18p NoMoon 02 Wed ----- 5:57 12:09 6:21 07:34 06:34 1:57p 12:20a

Port Aransas, H. Caldwell PierDate Time Height Time Height Time Height Time HeightOct 14 3:26 a.m. 1.8 H 10:24 a.m. 0.3 L 7:10 p.m. 2.1 H 10:46 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 15 3:25 a.m. 1.8 H 11:00 a.m. 0.2 L 8:07 p.m. 2.0 H 11:13 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 16 3:19 a.m. 2.0 H 11:39 a.m. 0.2 L 9:15 p.m. 2.0 H 11:40 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 17 3:18 a.m. 2.0 H 12:25 p.m. 0.3 L 10:35 p.m. 2.0 H Oct 18 12:12 a.m. 1.2 L 3:25 a.m. 2.0 H 1:17 p.m. 0.3 L 11:53 p.m. 2.0 H Oct 19 1:21 a.m. 1.2 L 3:23 a.m. 2.0 H 2:17 p.m. 0.3 L Oct 20 12:33 a.m. 2.0 H 3:25 p.m. 0.4 L Oct 21 12:53 a.m. 2.0 H 4:35 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 22 1:08 a.m. 1.8 H 6:12 a.m. 1.0 L 11:44 a.m. 1.7 H 5:45 p.m. 0.5 L Oct 23 1:22 a.m. 1.8 H 6:33 a.m. 0.8 L 1:23 p.m. 1.8 H 6:50 p.m. 0.7 L Oct 24 1:35 a.m. 1.8 H 7:08 a.m. 0.5 L 2:42 p.m. 2.1 H 7:51 p.m. 0.8 L Oct 25 1:51 a.m. 1.8 H 7:49 a.m. 0.3 L 3:51 p.m. 2.2 H 8:49 p.m. 1.0 L Oct 26 2:09 a.m. 1.8 H 8:33 a.m. 0.1 L 4:56 p.m. 2.3 H 9:43 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 27 2:29 a.m. 2.0 H 9:20 a.m. -0.1 L 6:00 p.m. 2.4 H 10:36 p.m. 1.2 L Oct 28 2:53 a.m. 2.0 H 10:09 a.m. -0.2 L 7:04 p.m. 2.4 H 11:27 p.m. 1.3 L

San Antonio2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONOct-Nov Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets14 Fri > 7:25 1:13 7:48 1:37 07:33 07:05 8:35p 9:49a 15 Sat 8:17 2:05 8:42 2:29 07:33 07:04 9:20p 10:42a 16 Sun 9:12 2:59 9:37 3:24 07:34 07:03 10:08p 11:35a 17 Mon 10:07 3:54 10:32 4:20 07:34 07:02 11:01p 12:25p 18 Tue 11:02 4:49 11:28 5:15 07:35 07:01 11:57p 1:13p 19 Wed Q 11:56 5:43 ----- 6:09 07:36 07:00 NoMoon 1:58p 20 Thu 12:23 6:35 12:47 7:00 07:36 06:59 12:56a 2:40p 21 Fri 1:11 7:24 1:36 7:49 07:37 06:58 1:57a 3:19p 22 Sat 1:57 8:10 2:22 8:35 07:38 06:57 3:00a 3:57p23 Sun 2:42 8:55 3:07 9:20 07:38 06:56 4:04a 4:34p 24 Mon 3:27 9:40 3:53 10:06 07:39 06:55 5:09a 5:13p 25 Tue > 4:14 10:28 4:42 10:56 07:40 06:54 6:17a 5:55p 26 Wed N 5:07 11:22 5:36 11:51 07:41 06:53 7:27a 6:41p 27 Thu N 6:06 ----- 6:37 12:52 07:41 06:52 8:38a 7:32p 28 Fri > 7:11 12:55 7:42 1:27 07:42 06:51 9:48a 8:29p 29 Sat > 8:19 2:03 8:50 2:34 07:43 06:50 10:53a 9:29p 30 Sun 9:26 3:12 9:56 3:41 07:44 06:49 11:53a 10:31p 31 Mon 10:31 4:17 10:59 4:45 07:44 06:49 12:45p 11:34p 01 Tue 11:29 5:16 11:55 5:42 07:45 06:48 1:30p NoMoon 02 Wed ----- 6:09 12:21 6:33 07:46 06:47 2:09p 12:34a

Amarillo2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONOct-Nov Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets14 Fri > 7:38 1:27 8:02 1:50 07:50 07:14 8:36p 10:15a 15 Sat 8:31 2:18 8:55 2:43 07:51 07:13 9:20p 11:10a 16 Sun 9:25 3:13 9:50 3:38 07:52 07:11 10:08p 12:03p 17 Mon 10:20 4:08 10:46 4:33 07:53 07:10 11:01p 12:53p 18 Tue 11:16 5:03 11:41 5:28 07:54 07:09 NoMoon 1:40p 19 Wed Q ----- 5:57 12:09 6:22 07:55 07:08 NoMoon 2:23p 20 Thu 12:37 6:48 1:01 7:14 07:56 07:06 12:59a 3:02p 21 Fri 1:24 7:37 1:50 8:02 07:56 07:05 2:03a 3:39p 22 Sat 2:11 8:23 2:36 8:48 07:57 07:04 3:09a 4:14p 23 Sun 2:55 9:08 3:21 9:34 07:58 07:03 4:16a 4:48p 24 Mon 3:40 9:53 4:06 10:20 07:59 07:02 5:25a 5:24p 25 Tue > 4:28 10:42 4:55 11:09 08:00 07:00 6:36a 6:02p 26 Wed N 5:21 11:35 5:50 12:04 08:01 06:59 7:50a 6:45p 27 Thu N 6:20 ----- 6:50 13:05 08:02 06:58 9:04a 7:33p 28 Fri > 7:24 1:09 7:56 1:40 08:03 06:57 10:16a 8:28p 29 Sat > 8:32 2:17 9:03 2:48 08:04 06:56 11:22a 9:28p 30 Sun 9:40 3:25 10:10 3:55 08:05 06:55 12:21p 10:31p 31 Mon 10:44 4:30 11:12 4:58 08:06 06:54 1:11p 11:35p 01 Tue 11:43 5:29 ----- 5:56 08:07 06:53 1:54p NoMoon02 Wed 12:10 6:22 12:34 6:46 08:08 06:52 2:31p 12:38a

Dallas2011 A.M. P.M. SUN MOONOct-Nov Minor Major Minor Major Rises Sets Rises Sets14 Fri > 7:18 1:06 7:41 1:30 07:28 06:56 8:21p 9:49a 15 Sat 8:10 1:58 8:35 2:22 07:29 06:54 9:04p 10:43a 16 Sun 9:05 2:52 9:30 3:17 07:30 06:53 9:53p 11:36a 17 Mon 10:00 3:47 10:25 4:13 07:30 06:52 10:45p 12:26p 18 Tue 10:55 4:42 11:21 5:08 07:31 06:51 11:42p 1:14p 19 Wed Q 11:49 5:36 ----- 6:02 07:32 06:50 NoMoon 1:57p 20 Thu 12:16 6:28 12:40 6:53 07:33 06:48 12:42a 2:38p 21 Fri 1:04 7:17 1:29 7:42 07:34 06:47 1:45a 3:15p 22 Sat 1:50 8:03 2:15 8:28 07:34 06:46 2:50a 3:52p 23 Sun 2:35 8:48 3:00 9:13 07:35 06:45 3:55a 4:27p 24 Mon 3:20 9:33 3:46 9:59 07:36 06:44 5:03a 5:04p 25 Tue > 4:07 10:21 4:35 10:49 07:37 06:43 6:13a 5:44p 26 Wed N 5:00 11:15 5:29 11:44 07:38 06:42 7:25a 6:28p 27 Thu N 5:59 ----- 6:30 12:45 07:39 06:41 8:37a 7:17p 28 Fri > 7:04 12:48 7:35 1:20 07:39 06:40 9:48a 8:13p 29 Sat > 8:12 1:56 8:43 2:27 07:40 06:39 10:55a 9:13p 30 Sun 9:19 3:05 9:49 3:34 07:41 06:38 11:54a 10:16p 31 Mon 10:24 4:10 10:52 4:38 07:42 06:37 12:45p 11:19p01 Tue 11:22 5:09 11:48 5:35 07:43 06:36 1:29p NoMoon 02 Wed ----- 6:02 12:14 6:26 07:44 06:35 2:07p 12:21a

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