September 2014

September 2014 | VOL. 31 • NO. 5 | $3.95

Lesson Plan forSchoolingBass

String Sting:

Decoys forBowhunts

Wild in Texas:Jaguars, Giant Snakes, Albino Deer

Early Teal:First toMigrate

Games or Gear?Video vs.

Reality

XXTrout FilesThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out ThereThe Truth is Out There

for Big Fish Seekers

www.FishGame.comTHE Texas Outdoor Authority

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http://www.FishGame.com

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2 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ®

www.FishGame.comPublished by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC.

TEXAS FISH & GAME is the largest independent,family-owned outdoor publication in America.

Owned by Ron & Stephanie Ward and Roy & Ardia Neves.

ROY NEVESPUBLISHER

CHESTER MOOREEDITOR IN CHIEF

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

JOE DOGGETT • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

DOUG PIKE • SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

TED NUGENT • EDITOR AT LARGE

LOU MARULLO • HUNTING EDITOR

MATT WILLIAMS • FRESHWATER EDITOR

CALIXTO GONZALES • SALTWATER EDITOR

LENNY RUDOW • BOATING EDITOR

STEVE LAMASCUS • FIREARMS EDITOR

DUSTIN ELLERMANN • SHOOTING EDITOR

KENDAL HEMPHILL • POLITICAL COMMENTATOR

WILL LESCHPER • CONSERVATION EDITOR

REAVIS WORTHAM • HUMOR EDITOR

TOM BEHRENS • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

GREG BERLOCHER • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

PAUL BRADSHAW • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CAPT. MIKE HOLMES • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

DUSTIN WARNCKE • CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

STAN SKINNER • COPY EDITOR

LISA MOORE • CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR

JOHN GISEL • STRATEGIC ADVISOR

A D V E R T I S I N G

ARDIA NEVESVICE PRESIDENT/ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

DAVID BECKLER • NATIONAL ADVERTISING SALES

TONISHA SHIELDS • ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

1745 GREENS ROAD HOUSTON, TX 77032PHONE: 281/227-3001 • FAX 281/227-3002

C R E A T I V E

ELLIOTT DONNELLYDIGITAL PUBLISHER

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MELINDA BUSS • GRAPHIC DESIGNER

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

1745 GREENS ROAD, HOUSTON, TX 77032

PHONE 800/725-1134

ACTION SUBSCRIPTION FULFILLMENT

DUANE HRUZEKPRESIDENT

TEXAS FISH & GAME (ISSN 0887-4174) is published monthly by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC., 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. ©Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. All rights reserved. Content is not to be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission. The publication assumes no responsibility for unsolicited photographs and manuscripts. Subscription rates: 1 year $19.00: 2 years $34.75; 3 years $48.50. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for response. Give old and new address and enclose latest mail-ing address label when writing about your subscription. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Email change of address to: [email protected] Email new orders to: [email protected] Email subscription questions to: [email protected].

Periodical postage paid at Houston, TX 77267-9946 and at additional mailing offices.

Paid Distribution of over 90,000Verified by Independent Audit



mailto:[email protected]



SEPTEMBER 2014Volume 31 • NO. 5

COVER:Trout ‘X’ Files

Despite being the most sought-after species on the Texas coast,

many of the facts about the life cycle of speckled trout and the tactics that work best for catch-ing trophy-sized specimens remain enshrouded in mystery.

Story by Chester MoorePhoto by George Knighten

www.FishGame.com

STORY:

24

Features


FIRST TO MIGRATEBlue-winged teal migrate through Texas in September, giving hunters an early crack at waterfowl action.

by Chester Moore

STRING STINGBowhunters and crossbow hunters have a lot of challenges stacked up against them in the field. One thing they can do to level that field is to use decoys.

by Chester Moore

GAMES VS. GEARShould you get your children and grandchildren hunting and fishing video games, or real gear? The answer may surprise you.

by Calixto Gonzales

28

40

44

LESSON PLAN FOR SCHOOL BASSTournament pro and legendary Sam Rayburn fishing guide Tommy Martin never gets tired of sharing his enthusi-asm—and vast library of knowledge—on chasing schooling bass.

by Matt Williams

20

Table ofContents

ALSO IN SEPTEMBER:

Wild in TexasWe are intrigued by questions surrounding a legendary giant

rattlesnake, the presence of jaguars in Texas, and “ghost” whitetail deer.

by Chester Moore

STORY:

48




InsideFish&Game

by Roy & Ardia Neves | TF&G Owners

Contents (continued)Columns

10 Editor’s Notes BY CHESTER MOORE TF&G Editor in Chief

14 Doggett at Largeby JOE DOGGETT

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

16 Pike on the Edgeby DOUG PIKE

TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

18 TexasWildby TED NUGENT

TF&G Editor At Large

19 Commentaryby KENDAL HEMPHILL

TF&G Politcal Commentator

35 Bare Bones Huntingby LOU MARULLO

TF&G Hunting Editor

50 Open Seasonby MATT WILLIAMS

TF&G Freshwater Editor

54 Texas Boatingby LENNY RUDOW

TF&G Boating Editor

58 Texas Guns by Steve LaMascus TF&G Firearms Editor

60 Texas Freshwaterby MATT WILLIAMS

TF&G Freshwater Editor

62 Texas Saltwaterby CALIXTO GONZALES

TF&G Saltwater Editor

92 Texas Tastedby BRYAN SLAVEN

The Texas Gourmet

Bare Bones Hunting

8 LETTERS

12 TF&G REPORT

12 BIG BAGS & CATCHES

32 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

36 TRUE GREEN

63 TEXAS TESTED

51 SPORTING TALES

64 FISH AND GAME GEAR

66 HOTSPOT FOCUS

74 TEXAS HOTSPOTS

86 TIDES & PRIME TIMES

93 OUTDOOR CLASSIFIEDS

94 FISH & GAME PHOTOS

Departments

6 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® www.FishGame.com

Thieving S.O.B.s

NO, THIS IS NOT A SCREED AGAINST VENAL scoundrels in Washington, or Austin, or your shifty neigh-bor who runs the property owner’s association. This is a tirade—and an Alert—about an outfi t in Oregon that is stealing from subscribers to Texas Fish & Game and hun-dreds of other legitimate magazines, and apparently doing

it with the full blessing of the attorney general of that loopy West Coast state.

Here’s how the scam works: They obtain mailing lists of magazine sub-scribers through illegitimate means, and then send fraudulent renewal notic-es to the subscribers on those lists. They are counting on busy subscribers responding without looking too closely at the actual order forms.

They collect the payments and then—unlike the legitimate subscription agencies we work with—they don’t forward the orders to us. If they did, they would have to pay for them. Instead of making an honest commission on

these subscriptions, they’re just pocketing all of the money.

Since we don’t know whose names they’re targeting, we can only help one subscriber at a time who has been mugged by these crooks—if they call us

after failing to get their issues or if they happen to smell a rat in the suspi-cious renewal notices these criminals have sent them.

We’ve tried to get the Oregon Attorney General to investigate, but that offi ce either doesn’t care or is comfortable with the idea that this crooked operation is based in their state.

After getting the brush-off from Oregon’s AG, we called in the FBI and U.S. Postal inspectors, since this is the very defi nition of mail and wire fraud. The swindlers even set up a bogus telemarketing center, complete with snotty little operators. Maybe that’s why the AG in Oregon won’t do anything: this is their idea of “jobs creation.” Because they have defrauded subscribers in Texas and other states, it is a case for the feds.

Until we shut these thieving S.O.B.s down, if you get a renewal offer from Publishers Payment Service or any renewal notice with a return address in White City, Oregon, give us a call at 800-725-1134. We will, of course, honor any subscriptions purchsed from these lowlifes. We’ll take the hit, but we need you to let us know you’ve been scammed.

E-mail Roy or Ardia Neves atContactUs@fi shgame.com

Watch for bogus renewal notices like this one (for Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine).



8 LETTERS

12 TF&G REPORT

12 BIG BAGS & CATCHES

32 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

36 TRUE GREEN

63 TEXAS TESTED

51 SPORTING TALES

64 FISH AND GAME GEAR

66 HOTSPOT FOCUS

74 TEXAS HOTSPOTS

86 TIDES & PRIME TIMES

93 OUTDOOR CLASSIFIEDS

94 FISH & GAME PHOTOS

Departments


Dockside TroublesWE RECENTLY HAD AN ENCOUNTER at Lake Fork where a dock owner came out and was mad that we were fishing around his dock. He didn’t have any fishing lines out nor was anyone on the dock when we started fishing around it.

He proceeded to try and intimidate us verbally but we just ignored him. My question is, at what point does his behavior fall under the category of “harassment” as defined by Texas Parks and Wildlife Code - Section 62.0125. Harassment Of Hunters, Trappers, And Fishermen? Does he have to make a threat or physically threaten us for his actions to be considered harassment?

Thanks for your publication, we enjoy the way you present your information-packed pages in a format that’s easy to absorb.

Paul Miles

Honestly Paul, that question is better asked of a game warden. I would call 800-792-1112 and ask for someone in law enforcement to get that question answered with specifics to your case. Thanks for your question and thanks so much for reading Texas Fish & Game.

—CM

State Park FishingIS IT POSSIBLE TO DO AN ARTICLE on how the seasons affect certain areas of Texas coast, like the State Parks. I like to fish out of the state parks since I don’t have to worry as much about people breaking into my vehicle and it’s a cleaner safer environ-ment to bring the family.

Mark Clark

We will certainly looking into putting something like that together for 2015. Our stories are planned ahead far in advance.

—CM

Seaweed, EverywhereI REALLY ENJOY SURF FISHING but do not like getting tangled up in the seaweed. Is there any type of rig to use when fishing the surf with record sargassum in the cuts?

Dan Damon

Dan, I wish I could help you! I have can-celed a trip recently due to the seaweed but as far as I know there is no way around it.

—CM

Prescribed BurnsWHO CAN I CONTACT TO HELP DO A prescribed burn on my property in Red River County? I’ve heard that this can dra-matically improve the natural habit for the deer and turkey.

W. T. Cooper

I would contact your Texas Agrilife office. www.redriver.agrilife.org. Type in that URL to get contact info.

—CM

FlounderLAST YEAR YOU WROTE ABOUT something called a “first push” for flounder when they first begin to stage for migration. I misplaced the article and was wondering what signs I should look for.

James Vincent

Look very closely for small cool fronts coming in the month of September. Around the middle of the month during the peak of the bluewing teal migration, we typically have cool fronts that drop the temperatures 10-15 degrees. These fronts tend to get some of the flounders in the depths of the marsh to move toward the front.

—CM

Minimum AcreageSEEMS LIKE I ONCE READ SOME-thing in the Texas public laws related to firearm practice (or possibly, hunting) hav-ing to do with a minimum 50-acre-sized tract of land. Can you explain or clarify what that’s about?

Larry Farris

The only thing I could find on a similar law is Sec. 229.002, REGULATION OF DISCHARGE OF WEAPON from a 2005 law that passed in Texas, which basically states that a municipality may not restrict firearm discharges in its extraterrito-rial jurisdiction or in areas annexed by the municipality after September 1, 1981 if the firearm is:

“(1) a shotgun, air rifle or pistol, BB gun or bow and arrow discharged (A) on a tract of land 10 acres or more and more than 150 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and (B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract; or

(2) a center fire or rim fire rifle or pisol of any caliber discharged: (A) on a tract of land of 50 acres or more and more than 300 feet from a residence or occupied building located on another property; and (B) in a manner not reasonably expected to cause a projectile to cross the boundary of the tract.”

This law does not address restrictions that would cover a 50-acre tract within the cor-porate boundaries of a municipality, so keep that in mind if your land is in town.

—CM


Letters to the Editor

Send your Comments to:Mail:Editor, Texas Fish & Game1745 Greens RdHouston TX 77032

Email:[email protected]

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http://www.redriver.agrilife.org


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Editor’s Notes

Border Crisis

THIS IS A COLUMN I DID NOT WANT TO write.

In fact, I still do not want to write it but feel compelled because it is such

an important issue for Texas outdoor lovers and our nation.

There is no political favor to be gained and in fact this will probably anger some of you, but what is going on at the Texas/Mexico border needs to be addressed.

Back in 2005, I wrote a feature story about human/coyote interactions and will never for-get speaking with a Jim Hogg County land-owner who told me he was finding an increas-ing number of dead illegal immigrants on his property. Apparently they were unprepared for the harsh environment during the hot sum-mer and perished on their way through thick cactus and thorns.

It broke my heart to think of people perish-ing in the quest for better lives (many of them at least) despite the fact I believed (and still do) that we should secure our border and have a thorough immigration and naturaliza-tion process like every other country in the free world.

Fast forward nine years and a headline on the Drudge Report reads “Hundreds of Dead Illegal Immigrants found in one South Texas County.”

It linked to a story from the UK Daily Mail featuring ranchers in Brooks County who are finding terrible things on their prop-erties.

Then there are the “rape trees”, where smugglers allegedly mark a tree with the pant-ies of illegal immigrant women and young girls they rape on their way in.

And then there’s perhaps the true horror of it all-the mainstream media coverage.

Hovering over the death, confusion and anger about the issue like vultures, they are helping turn our border area into a gross

political circus with no regard for the citizens of this state or the horrors they are reporting on the other side of the border. In the 24/7 media culture, anything that results in a spike in web traffic or viewers goes online, whether it’s good, bad, ugly or downright untruthful.

The reason we are addressing this issue is not to tackle the political ramifications or motives or even to debate enforcement of cur-rent laws. It is to make you aware that things are simply not as they used to be along our border, and you should be aware of certain things when hunting, fishing, and visiting the remote areas along its corridor.

Apparently, even federal agencies are posting warnings. The following is from the National Park Service’s Big Bend National Park website on a page entitled, “Visiting a Border Area”.

• Know where you are at all times, follow good safety procedures, and use common sense. Remember, cell phone service is lim-ited in many areas of the park.

• Keep valuables, including spare change, out of sight and lock your vehicle.

• Avoid travel on well-used but unofficial “trails”.

• Do not pick up hitchhikers.•People in distress may ask for food,

water, or other assistance. It is recommended that you do not make contact with them, but note the location, and immediately notify park rangers. Lack of water is a life-threatening emergency in the desert.

There are more safety tips that involve crossing, smuggling and other activities that could spoil a wonderful trip to one of the most beautiful parts of the Lone Star State.

On the other hand there are statistics showing the border areas are “safer” than the largest cities in Texas.

Whom are you to believe?This is a time to let common sense and

cool heads prevail.Should we be afraid to go hunting or fish-

ing in South or West Texas?Absolutely not.In fact, I hope to go deer hunting southeast

of Freer this year and have no fear at all. However, I will exercise caution and keep a

closer on eye on things than maybe I have in the past.

The truth is any time you go into a remote area, you put yourself at risk of running into dangerous people looking to do harm. Ditto for the city but the difference is remoteness. When you’re five miles off a paved road on a ranch with no cell service and someone attacks, you’re in a different situation than in the middle of a city. That is one of the things that makes a game warden’s job so dangerous.

I am constantly in remote locations on assignment for TF&G or filming my God’s Outdoors with Chester Moore television pro-grams for GETV. One of my cameramen was out with me on private property we had access to deep in the Sabine River bottoms late one night when all of a sudden a light cut through the swamp onto the trail we were on.

We shut off our lights, kept quiet and then eased back toward the main road to my truck. “What got you so shook up out there?” my cameraman asked.

“Most people in the middle of the river bottoms on a hot summer night aren’t trying to film cottonmouth water moccasins for a television show. No one else is supposed to be out there. The most dangerous thing in the wild is the people, not the wildlife,” I replied.

That’s what is really going on here. There are people crossing our border undocument-ed. Although many of them are simply super poor people wanting a better life, we know there is a dangerous criminal element involved as well.

That’s not a political statement. It’s a fact.Don’t let the headlines scare you but don’t

let them fool you either. There’s a real story going on out there, and the landowners and leaseholders along the border continue to see it play out first hand.

Proceed with caution, use wisdom and if you’re so inclined, pray for the people on both sides of the border who are in a situation that looks to get worse before it gets better.

E-mail Chester Moore [email protected].

by Chester Moore | TF&G Editor in Chief


Editor’s Notes

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Survey Digs Deep into Dove HuntingA FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND SURVEY OF 12,000 of the nation’s mourning dove hunt-ers was released in July by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (AFWA), National Flyway Council and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Hunters’ opinions and preferences are an important consideration in how state fish and wildlife agencies, the Service, the Flyway Councils and our conserva-tion and sportsmen group partners sustain resources and continue to provide quality hunting opportunities,” said Dan Forster, AFWA President and Georgia Wildlife Resources Division Director.

The survey provides

demographic data and information on hunt-er behavior and attitudes on a variety of topics, including where and how often they hunt, hindrances to them engaging in their sport, and where they get their trusted infor-mation on this and related issues.

The survey also explored dove hunters’ opinions and attitudes towards lead ammu-nition and the perceived impact of spent lead on wildlife. The survey questions and collection of responses on this issue does not mean that non-toxic shot will be required to hunt doves in the future.

“Since doves are managed at both the regional and national levels, we now can look to this survey to provide us with hunter attitudes and opinions on the issues manag-ers must consider,” said Ron Anglin, Chair of the National Flyway Council.

“For generations, hunters, recreational shooters and anglers have been and continue to be the primary funders of wildlife and sportfish conservation in the U.S. through their purchases of specially taxed gear and hunting and fishing licenses. Understanding their perspectives on the many facets of their sport is critical, and I am grateful to all who voluntarily took part in this survey to help us in that regard,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.

Hunting has an $86.9 billion impact on the national economy and generates approxi-mately $11.8 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.

Mourning doves are one of the most abundant and widely distributed game birds in the country, with hunting seasons estab-lished in 40 of the lower 48 states. Doves

can be poisoned by consuming spent lead shot, but despite anecdotal evi-

dence, research-

PHOTO CREDIT

The TF G Report&

Big Bags Catches&


Visit FishGame.com to upload your Big Bags & Catches Photos and Vote for our next Winners

LOGAN NICHOLSON caught a bull red that was bigger than he was, fishing with guide Steve Hoyland in Galveston Bay.

CARLEY HAGAR, 17, shot her first buck on a Duval County ranch with a 170-yard shot from a suppressed .308 Remington Tactical rifle. After working her way up from doe to spike, she took this 8-point cull buck that was aged at 8-1/2 years from a prone posi-tion in the brush instead of sitting in a blind.

WHITETAIL

Duval County

REDFISH

Galveston Bay

1409 TFGRep.indd 12 8/7/14 4:28 PM

ers do not yet know if there is a population-level effect.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE NATIONAL Dove Hunter Survey: • Dove hunters are typically white males, 45 years of age and older and are well-educated with higher-than-average incomes

• Dove hunters responding to the survey said that the top hindrances to their partici-pation in dove hunting are financial ‒ the cost of gasoline, the cost of shotshells, the cost of other dove hunting gear and the cost of hunting permits.

• Most dove hunters harvest fewer than 30 birds per season and hunt on private land. They typically travel 50 miles or more to get to their hunting spots.

• Dove hunters responding to the survey aren’t sure about the impact of spent lead shot on dove health and believe they don’t have enough scientific information about its potential effects.

• They are concerned that hunter par-ticipation could be impacted if non-lead shot were to be required at some point in the future.

The full survey results, along with further information about dove hunting, can be found at http://bit.ly/DoveHunterSurvey.

TPWD Asks for Help on Snapper SurveyTHE RED SNAPPER ARE A FAVORITE among anglers for its tenacious fight and, arguably, is the tastiest fish in the Gulf. But management of the species over the years has been challenging and controversial.

In light of those challenges, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Coastal Fisheries Division staff is asking recre-

ational anglers for assistance to help manage the red snapper.

Texas anglers (with the exception of party boat anglers) are asked to report their red snapper landings with a short

online survey that can be accessed here: www.tpwd.texas.gov/snapper.

At the end of each day’s trip or soon afterwards, parties that land red snappers are asked to submit basic information about the trip’s total red snapper catch, the date it occurred, number of fish landed, etc. Only

one person needs to report for the entire angling party.

Anglers fishing from party boats are exempt from reporting as the captain reports for them. Party boats are generally larger boats where people pay per person, as opposed to paying a single fee (for one or more persons) for a guided trip.

These data will be used in conjunction with current harvest monitoring programs, and will be useful in designing future harvest monitoring programs. It will also serve as an indicator of the health of the red snapper fishery off Texas shores.

Texas and the other four Gulf states, cooperatively with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), manage red snapper in federal waters. One of the key pieces of information in the management of the red snapper fishery is the total rec-reational harvest, that is, how many red snapper are landed by recreational anglers in a given year.

Texas state waters (less than 9 nauti-cal miles from shore) are open year-round for red snapper with a four fish bag limit

and a minimum size limit of 15 inches. Regulations in federal waters (greater than 9 nautical miles from shore) may differ from state regulations.

This year, the recreational season in federal waters was June 1-9 with a two fish daily bag limit and 16-inch minimum length limit. For more information on federal fisher-ies regulations go to www.gulfcouncil.org or call toll-free 888-833-1844.

While TPWD currently performs rou-tine dockside creel surveys to monitor the landings and fishing effort for a variety of species along the Texas coast, this pilot program will utilize angler reported data to compliment these routine surveys allowing for better estimation of the recreational red snapper landings in the state.

If you have further questions regarding red snapper management and/or the report-ing program, contact the TPWD Coastal Fisheries office at 361-825-3356.

—Staff Report

T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | 13

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http://bit.ly/DoveHunterSurvey

http://www.tpwd.texas.gov/snapper

http://www.gulfcouncil.org

The All-Around Angler

THE ALL-AROUND ANGLER IS PROFICIENT with all types of light tackle. This is a goal I have struggled to achieve during more than 50 years of fishing.

The All-Around Angler might not be the best among a given group on a given day, but he can reach with authority for any rig and deliver a solid performance. This is not as easy as it might seem. Many anglers who are highly skilled in one or two specialized disciplines fall woefully short when faced with other options.

The three basic light-tackle schools are, of course, plug casting, spin casting and fly casting. Sounds fairly simple, but things quickly become complicated.

With fly casting, for example, you have classic close work with light rods and dry flies on small streams, powerful double hauls with heavier sticks across saltwater flats, even the booming bombs of 14- and 15-foot, two-handed rods on big salmon and steelhead rivers. Each by definition is fly casting, but one game does not cover all the water.

Some fly anglers have the unfortunate habit of looking down at their plug-casting brethren. Frankly, some of these long-rod devotees are virtually useless over a free-spool reel. Conversely, many polished plug-gers are disdainful of fly-fishing. Spin cast-ing often is regarded by both camps as O.K. for beginners and weekenders but nothing a serious angler would employ.

This, to me, is a remarkably narrow-minded outlook when you consider the incredible scope of fresh and saltwater fish-ing available. Circumstances often favor one approach over the other, and the tuned angler knows better than to try push a rod, any rod, where it really doesn’t want to go.

Now, having said that, I must concede that the veteran angler might stay with a spe-cific technique simply because he gets great pleasure from the mechanics and aesthetics. That’s great; even on the best days we do much more casting than catching. But, if you want to maximize potential, single-minded dedication should not be confused with the advantages of using a full playbook.

Fly-casting has visual appeal. A proper loop is smooth and graceful, but the casting looks more difficult than it is. Armed with a balanced rod and line along with a few instructions, the average angler soon can slap a fishable cast across the water. And, to be successful, you don’t always have to reach “way over there.”

Many fish of many species are fly-caught inside 50 feet and the basic false casting drill is easy enough to grasp. This is because you are working almost in slow motion. You can hold a short line in the air and correct mistakes in speed and timing.

I believe basic plug casting is harder to learn than basic fly-casting ‒ at least fly cast-ing with a typical single-handed rod.

When you rip for the fences with a cast-ing reel the revolving spool blurs with blind-ing speed. You are a mere fraction ahead of a national disaster. This is no place for

a rookie. An “educated thumb” is the best hope of restoring some semblance of order amid the boiling coils. And a poised thumb with post-graduate degrees in physics, rocket propulsion and ichthyology requires some training.

In summation, the price for failure over a freewheeling casting reel can be a deal-killing backlash, while the price for failure under a weight-forward fly line is, well, nothing. You just pick up and go again. I’m not saying that polished fly-casting is easy; I simply offer that tuned plug casting maybe doesn’t get the credit it deserves.

Tournament-level bass pros probably are among the best instinctive casters. These guys usually use casting tackle, although open-faced spinning rigs are popular on many of the clear-water reservoirs where light line/small lure finesse is required. Don’t tell them spinning is kid’s stuff, not when thousands of dollars can hang on each cast.

The top professionals excel at all presen-tations ‒ overhead, sidearm, and underhand. They can pitch, flip, and jig with killing accuracy. And they don’t fiddle-futz around. They are fishing machines.

Most bass pros don’t mess with fly cast-ing mainly because it doesn’t figure into the typical tournament format ‒ and their

14 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTO: JOE DOGGETT

Doggett at Large

by Joe Doggett | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Doggett used a 14-foot two-handed Spey rod to catch this steelhead on British Columbia’s Kispiox River.

1409 Doggett.indd 14 8/7/14 5:01 PM

paychecks depend on catching weigh-in bass not matching the Pale Morning Dun hatch on the nearest spring creek. Or reaching tail-ing bonefish at Andros Island.

But I suspect many of them would be excellent fly casters if they spent a bit of time to learn the basics. To borrow from a profes-sional golfing slogan: These guys are good.

But it’s all good. And, to repeat, each technique can be superior under certain conditions:

If you’re “free shrimping” with a live shrimp and a tiny split shot, or skipping a small crappie jig under docks ‒ spinning rod. If you’re working a topwater plug for bass along a brushy shoreline, or bouncing a Texas-rigged soft plastic along the bot-tom ‒ casting rod. If you’re sight casting to tailing reds in shin-deep water, or drifting a hopper imitation along a grassy stream bank — fly rod.

The list of specialized situations goes on and on. Keeping an open mind and being able to command many types of tackle expands your potential. Being an All-Around Angler allows you to appreciate new places and fresh techniques.

For example, last fall I spent a week fly-fishing for wild steelheads on the Kispiox River in British Columbia. This is a special place; the river has never seen a dam and the huge sea-run rainbow trout have never seen a hatchery. Mature Kispiox fish weigh 15 to 25 pounds but the fishing is difficult. You fish all day for maybe two or three pulls. Or no pulls.

The Kispiox is a fly-only, catch-and-release fishery. I used a two-handed 14-foot (“Spey”) rod the entire trip. I could have worked with a standard one-handed, nine-foot rod but wanted to expand my horizons. Most of the heavy locals wield the Spey rods; indeed, they helped refine and popu-larize the old two-handed Atlantic salmon casting technique.

The dynamics of the Spey are incredibly different, but the casts are incredibly beauti-ful. With three basic motions (Double Spey or Snap T, depending on current direction) the skilled caster can shoot 120 or 130 feet across the flow ‒ a great way to use an econ-omy of effort to cover a tremendous amount of water when swinging a wet fly. Plus, with no backcast, the Spey keeps the line and fly from snagging streamside brush.

My considerable experience with double hauling wasn’t much help; in fact, the rote

programming was a handicap. The one-handed caster must re-compute all sorts of notions regarding timing strokes and power loads.

I was terrible then lousy, finally medio-cre. By the third or fourth day I could launch 80 or 90 feet smoothly, maybe nudge past 100 when it all clicked. And this is plenty of line to swing correctly. I landed several small fish and was starting to enjoy the casting almost as much as the fishing.

The final day I caught two gorgeous steelheads. Using the Spey rod made them all the more special. I was wading and cast-ing in the footsteps of the Kispiox masters.

I did it their way, which is now my way, which is the point of this article.

Email Joe Doggettl at

[email protected]

1409 Doggett.indd 15 8/7/14 5:01 PM


Give Me Twenty

TWENTY SOMETHING YEARS AGO, A MAN in my profession and whose opinion I respected wrote a column that predicted a grim, bleak future for outdoor recre-

ation. I strongly disagreed then and am thrilled to report that he was completely, utterly wrong.

In his future, there wasn’t enough wildlife left to bother chasing it. He saw barren sky, soiled water, and countless empty hearts among those of us who even could remember when.

In his future, hunting and fishing were memories. Even the wealthy had abandoned the

outdoors for lack, at any price, of game to shoot or fish to catch.

When his column appeared – it doesn’t matter where – many folks in my line of work questioned the man’s motivation. He wasn’t an especially upbeat person, but neither did he walk with a dark cloud always overhead. He loved fishing and did some hunting when invit-ed. And he was an outdoor writer, for goodness sakes, a man whose financial future depended on a vital, lasting enthusiasm for sportfishing and recreational hunting.

But enough about him, except that he was wrong, which I mentioned earlier, but which bears repeating.

My predictions then, in print and among friends, were of improvement and abundance. Of continued good fortune for healthy species and of rebound for those that had lost ground.

I refused to believe that people who genuinely treasured the outdoors would allow its pieces to be violated into extinction.

Conservationists and environmentalists would rally, I was confident, recognizing com-mon ground and working together to ensure that future sunrises broke over healthier and even more amazing water and landscapes.

There would be ducks and geese and doves and trout and bass and redfish and deer aplenty ‒ and pigs. I didn’t actually foresee the state and half the nation being overrun with feral hogs, but what nice little cherries they’ve proved to be on hunters’ sundaes.

Texas today is as fine a state in which to hunt or fish (or just wander a park, if that’s your preference) as any in the nation. If we had more snook and smallmouths, I might never leave. And if elk could handle our summers, there’s

by Doug Pike | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Pike on the Edge

1409 Pike.indd 16 8/7/14 5:03 PM

not much in North America we couldn’t offer. Another few warm winters, and we’ll have

more snook along more of the coast. We might never get elk and huntable numbers of bears, but there’s no harm in an occasional trip to Florida or the Rocky Mountains, or Alaska, which would appeal more if we could move it 1,500 miles or so south.

Despite Danny Downer’s (not his real name) predictions back then, we Texans today enjoy solid freshwater and saltwater fisheries. Our lakes – some still quite low but productive nonetheless – support a wide variety of fish that are hard-fighting, tasty or both. Some lakes’ populations of specific species may be in a tem-porary downward cycle, but they’ll be back once the pendulum swings back in their favor.

My only beef with Texas’s freshwater fishing is that we have yet to put a 20-pound large-mouth in the books. Even I believed back then that we’d have reached that milestone by now. We will.

Our bays are coughing up quality speckled trout, and you can’t throw a weedless gold spoon without hitting a redfish. And – what do you know – snook have been caught as far north as Freeport recently. And this past July, my friend Richard Richardson set the new state record for blue marlin at 972.7 pounds. (And the fish’s stomach was empty.)

Texas’s hunting, overall, has few if any equals. The whitetail herd numbers in the millions, and we’ve managed to keep it quite healthy through droughts and floods and minor outbreaks of disease.

Dove numbers are up an estimated five million birds from the past year. Some days, it seems as though half of them live in my Sugar Land neighborhood.

Quail, sadly, are down. Way down. They’re in dire need of a conference room full of bright minds with nothing else to study, but I’m not sure contemporary land-use practices can coex-ist with a large wild-quail population. Sadly, we cannot win them all.

Waterfowl are doing well; we’ll give a little credit to federal managers there – but take it right back in consideration of how they’ve mis-managed the red snapper.

My prediction for the next 20 years? More growth in outdoor recreation and more interest in its future. Both are easy calls since numbers of hunters and fishermen – especially young people and women – are on the rise and have been for a while.

Our nation (although we were somewhat insulated here in Texas) is emerging slowly from

a time-wasting phase of political correctness during which, among other things, outdoorsmen cowered before a whiny, tambourine-banging minority of people who don’t like what we like do. We let them push us around.

Turns out, they were wrong, too. Hunting and fishing connect us to the world in a primal way, in a way no vegetable platter or foreign film or ever will. That’s not a guess. There’s science, and plenty of it now, that proves the benefits of outdoor recreation.

Here’s to my next 20-plus years of outdoor adventures. In exchange for being a faithful and generous steward, I ask only enough medium-rare red meat to keep me happy but healthy, and enough blue crabs to keep my red snapper fillets smothered in lumpy meat. And some snook.

Email Doug Pike at [email protected]

1409 Pike.indd 17 8/7/14 5:03 PM


Perlitz Ranch Dream Hunt

ANYONE OF THE 50,000,000 OR SO viewers that watch our Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild TV show on Outdoor Channel (thank you very

much for making it #1 viewer choice award winner all these years!) can figure out real quick that I am a terminal homebody. I pretty much do 90% of my 250-300 days a year hunting either at home in Texas on our wonderful SpiritWild Ranch or at my old stomping grounds in the Michigan swamps and forests.

With this gravity-defying runaway rock-n-roll freight train running off the tracks for 50 odd years, my travel quota was violated long ago.

If you ponder the fact that each concert is in a different city 6 nights a week, an honest review of my travel schedule would place me square in the unusual and cruel punishment column of life! Now I am certainly not attempting to garner any pity from all my hunting buddies out there, for I engineer, orchestrate, crave, celebrate and thoroughly enjoy every abusive minute of my incredible musical adventure. I thank God everyday for this amazing gift.

Again I quote the greatest philosopher of all-times, Dirty Harry, with his life saving mantra, “A good man must know his limitations.”

So it was interesting and out of the ordinary this past season that I allowed myself to gra-ciously accept some very generous invites to hunt some BloodBrothers’ sacred family hunting grounds, and SpiritWild VidCamDude Kris Helms and I loaded up the TundraOffRoad.com truck and headed to South Texas for a swing through some of the best deerhunting destinations a guy could ever dream of.

We had a phenomenal hunt with Greg Genitempo on his gorgeous Eslabon Ranch and another incredible hunt with old friend Jack Brittingham at the famous Rancho Encantado,

collecting a stunning trophy whitetail at each of these ultra-generous gentlemen’s family hunting operations.

It was over a killer midday BBQ with Jimmy Perlitz and a Perlitz Ranch full of gungho deerhunters, just down the road from Eslabon Ranch, that another dream hunt unfolded.

Jimmy Perlitz had welcomed us to this famous old South Texas game paradise and took us for a drive to look over his operation when a sounder of javelina materialized a few hundred yards ahead in the African like scrub of South Texas. With Jimmy’s blessing, Kris and I meandered within the scant cover to cut the distance to just under 100 yards when the biggest boar in the group jerked his head up and looked our way.

It was now or never as I filled my hand with my 10mm Glock, and with Kris running a cellphone vidcam, the moment of truth was here and now. I practice all the time with my daily carry handguns, including daily 100 yard sniper training. And that’s a big “yes”; daily 100 yard sniper training with my carry handguns, and I knew exactly what the mighty 10mm Glock was capable of as long as I did my very best “aim small miss small” focus.

Longrange pistol accomplishments are always very gratifying, but even more so when on film and or with witnesses. It being my first introduction to Jimmy Perlitz and his buddy, I knew damn well they were seriously questioning just what the hell the MotorCity Madman gui-tarboy was up to with a pistol pointed at a little javelina somewhere beyond 75 yards.

Well, I guess when you are good boy, mind your “Ps” and “Qs”, do your chores and conduct yourself in a loving, positive way, God rewards you with special moments like this, for in the flash that the Glock came to my eye and I recognized my mental/muscle memory sight picture, with Jimmy and his buddy watching intently through the binoculars, and with the vidcam rolling, God increased the pressure of my right triggerfinger on the Glock trigger, the gun went off, and my 165 grain Ted Nugent 10mm slug found its way deadcenter on the point of that little cactus hog’s right shoulder, and he tipped over like a steel plate in a shooting competition.

Somebody please shout out a big resounding HALLELUJAH! And let the dancing ensue!

Now I’m not out to try to impress anybody, for quite honestly, when I’m hunting or shoot-ing, even with a camera over my shoulder which it is all the time for our Spirit of the Wild TV, every shot from every bow and every firearm is an out of body moment. I am oblivious to the camera or the cameraman behind me. And on this wonderfully lucky shot, when we were stalk-ing these critters, I was virtually void of Jimmy and his buddy back in the truck watching the whole thing unfold.

That being said, once the little pig hit the ground, I was very aware that the shot was witnessed and I immediately sent a Cheshire grin and a thumbs up back toward the truck, knowing for sure that they never expected me to hit the javelin much less blow him over with a sniper shoulder hit.

Now, mind you, by no means am I brag-ging, though anybody who shoots knows how gratifying it is to make a good shot, but I must admit I am extremely happy and proud to have solidified my shootists capabilities with guys that live to hunt and shoot.

And though javelina’s are not that hard to kill, I am also confident I just performed a killer promotional maneuver for my favorite handgun caliber and the performance of my brand name Ted Nugent 10mm ammo.

God that was fun! I think the YouTube of that shot has been hit a few hundred thousand times and I am rather proud of it.

The next evening I was able to fill my 2nd javelina tag with my Mathews bow from a Double Bull blind, and my Perlitz hunt was one for the books.

I will be writing more about my amazing hunts and stunning bucks at the Perlitz Ranch and the good friends I have been blessed with the Perlitz family. Meanwhile I sure am glad I film all my hunts to promote this wonderful hunting lifestyle. For if it were not on film, even I wouldn’t believe some of the shots I’ve pulled off. Practice makes perfect and sure helps in the luck department.

Contact Ted Nugent at [email protected]


Ted’s TexasWild

by Ted Nugent | TF&G Editor-at-Large

1409 Nugent.indd 18 8/7/14 5:02 PM



Authority

POPULAR ON SOCIAL MEDIA THESE DAYS are memes that state, one way or another, “the Second Amendment to the constitution is my gun permit.”

Those who post this sentiment are attempt-ing to make the statement that, because of our constitution, Americans should not have to obtain any type of license to carry fire-arms, anywhere and everywhere they choose to do so. Their message is that, because our forefathers recognized gun ownership as a key factor in maintaining freedom, and in protection of life and property, citizens of America have a right to own guns, a right not enjoyed by those in other countries.

The problem is that none of that is true.The folks who post those pictures mean

well. They’re making an attempt, in a small way, to stand up to a tyrannical government that has overstepped its boundaries and poked its collective nose in many places where it doesn’t belong. They’re trying to let others know they support the ideals that made America free to begin with. But they’re missing the point, because they haven’t thought their beliefs all the way through.

Those who claim the Second Amendment as their “gun permit” are granting de facto authority to the United States government that our forefathers never intended it to have. They’re saying the U.S. Constitution gives them the right to bear arms. It doesn’t do that. It never did.

No government has the authority to grant rights to its citizens. Rights don’t come from government. Any government that could grant rights could also rescind them. If we say that our right to self-protection comes from our Constitution, we must, by default, agree that our government gave us that right, and that we didn’t have it before it was given to us by said government.

That’s not how it happened.This may seem like a small point, on the

surface, but it is crucial to the future of our

freedom as a country and as U.S. citizens. We need to realize that the only author-ity our federal government has is what we “the people,” have given it. We created the government. It is ours. If the government can grant us rights, then the tail is wagging the dog.

Privileges are a different matter. Governments can grant privileges, and take them away. A case in point is that our gov-ernment, representing the people, grants the right to live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., to the family of whoever has been elected president of the United

States. That privilege can, and should, be taken away if the president fails to execute that office according to the law.

Rights come only from God. Our forefa-thers recognized this fact, and made it clear in their writings that our government was founded on the principles found in the Holy Bible. The Second Amendment is carefully worded to reflect the fact that our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, signifying that the right existed before the government did, and therefore could not have been a gift of that government.

Almost as important as the fact that our rights come from God is the corollary that

police officers, as agents of the state, are only authorized to carry out the duties of their office as an extension of our personal right to self-protection. In other words, if we, as individuals, did not have the right to protect ourselves, then we would not have the right to grant law enforcement authority to others and have them protect us by proxy.

Few seem to understand this point, as evidenced by those who commented on a recent story in the news concerning the Maryland police chief who was asked to leave an Ikea store because he was carrying his service gun. The chief was in uniform, and was shopping with his daughter, when he was approached and informed that Ikea has a “no guns” policy, and he would have to either leave or put his gun in his vehicle.

There was outrage, and Ikea made a statement that the employee who spoke with the chief was mistaken, because Ikea’s no guns policy does not apply to police officers. Those who had complained were mostly mollified. And they should not have been.

Any rule that applies to citizens should also apply to police officers in such a situa-tion. If the chief had been in Ikea in his offi-cial capacity, engaging in cop-type activities, then, of course, he should not have had to comply with the no-gun rule. But he was off duty. If other citizens could not carry guns in the store while shopping, neither should the chief be allowed to do so.

Some of my best friends are cops, but their authority as law enforcement officers is an extension of my right to protect myself. If I can’t legally protect myself, then I can’t legally be protected by cops.

Government can exercise no more author-ity than we allow it. We allow it far too much already. It’s time for the dog to wag the tail again, instead of the other way around.

Email Kendal Hemphill at [email protected]

Commentary

by Kendal Hemphill | TF&G Political Commentator

“We created the

government.If the government

can grant us rights, then the tail is

waggin the dog.“

1409 Commentary.indd 19 8/7/14 5:00 PM


20 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® BASS PHOTO: JACK BISSELL; COMPOSITE LAYOUT, TF&F

STORY

BY

MATT

WILLIAMS

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Fea 5-Bass.indd 20 8/24/14 1:16 PM

TOMMY MARTIN IS A VETERAN TEXAS BASS pro who has been chasing bass on lakes across Texas and beyond for decades. Longer, perhaps, the most guys reading this magazine have been casting a level wind fishing reel.

Martin turns 74 his year, but he is far from being over the hill. Not only is he still recognized as fierce competitor on big league tournament trails, but he continues to operate a successful guide business on Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn in eastern Texas.

Amazingly, Martin still gets just as excited about catching bass has he ever did. He also likes to talk about it. When I asked him to

share a little input about fishing for school bass, you could sense his adrenaline rush right through the telephone receiver.

“It’s usually not something I’ll put a lot of confidence in during a tournament,” he said, “but as far as fun fishing goes, it is hard to beat going after school bass. They are blast to catch.”

Martin doesn’t put much faith in surface


forSCHOOL

BASSstory

by

matt

williams

Fea 5-Bass.indd 21 8/7/14 4:55 PM

schoolies during a tournament for the same reason most anglers don’t. As a rule the fish won’t be big enough to do you much good at the weigh-in. From a recreational stand-point, however, they can turn an otherwise slow day into a good one.

“When bass are schooling on the surface, they are aggressively feeding on shad,” Martin said. “There is a lot of competition out there. If you can get a bait in among the action something is usually going to bust it.”

Although school bass are apt to get active any time of year on reputable bass water, late summer through fall is when the fish are most prone to show themselves. The guide thinks the timing of schooling activity has a lot to do with dwindling oxygen in deeper water.

“Oxygen levels always decline in deeper water during hot weather and that moves the shad closer to the surface,” Martin said. “The bass move right along with the shad.”

On a still day you might see balls of shad dimpling the surface in the mouths of creeks or even on the main lake. Sometimes the bass will actually herd the succulent baitfish

to the surface and feed on them at will.

Martin says the surface acts as a border, and the shad are very vulnerable in that position because there is no place for them to go. When a feeding frenzy gets underway the commotion can sometimes be heard from 100 yards away on a windless summer day.

Learning to score on school bass isn’t rocket science, but it does require a little skill and patience to capitalize. Here are 10 tips to help anglers fool more schoolies:

1. KEEP YOUR DISTANCE: The worst thing you can do when you spot a group of fish schooling on the surface is to barrel in on top of them with the big outboard. It is best to move to within 75-100 yards, kill the big engine and use the trolling motor to posi-tion the boat within casting distance ‒ about 25-30 yards or so.

“The big engine usually won’t spook the bass, but it will spook the shad if you get too close,” Martin said. “Try to keep the boat positioned off to the side, preferably in

the direction the school is moving so you can move right along with

them.”

2. LURES FOR THE TASK: The best lures for school bass are those that closely resemble the forage that the fish are feeding on. It also helps if the baits can be cast a long way. Martin’s favorites include a Rico popper, 1/2-ounce spoon, Rat-L-Trap or a small swim bait or albino shad Zoom Fluke Jr. rigged on a 1/4-ounce jig head.

“A Texas rig worm also can be very effective,” he said.”Sometimes you can let a spoon, Texas rig or Fluke fall through the school and pick up the bigger fish that are hanging out below.”

Big topwater baits like a Zara Spook will sometimes produce larger fish, as well.

3. WHEN THEY GO DOWN: When sur-face activity ceases Martin will cast a Texas rig worm or a jig in the vicinity of where he last saw the fish. “They usually won’t go far, especially if they are schooling over 12 to15 feet of water,” he said. “They’ll just go to

22 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTO: COURTESY TOMMY MARTIN

TommyMartin has spent

decades in the upper echelons of pro angling, but he still gets a kick

out of chasingschooling bass.

q

PHOTOS: MATT WILLIAMS

Fea 5-Bass.indd 22 8/7/14 4:55 PM

bottom in the same general area. A lot of times you can catch eight to ten more on a Texas rig, jigging spoon or jig before they get cranked up on the surface again.”

4. HANG TIGHT: When schooling activ-ity subsides, the dead spell will often be short-lived. Martin says the fish will usually come back up if you will be patient, stay quiet and wait them out. Keep casting.

5. WATCH THE BLUE HERONS: Blue herons fish for a living. If you see one of the birds perched on a stump this time of year it is a good hint that school fish might be in the area. If you notice a few dead or dying shad on the surface you can pretty much bet on it.

6. SET YOUR WATCH: School bass can be fairly reliable about when and where they school so long as weather patterns remain fairly stable. If you find fish schooling the mouth of Six Mile Creek on Toledo Bend at 2 p.m. one day it is a safe bet they will be in the general vicinity the next day, so long as weather patterns don’t change.

7. GO WHERE THE ACTION IS: You don’t need to spend a lot of time on a specific lake to locate where the fish are schooling from one day to the next. Oftentimes you can pinpoint pro-ductive areas by watching other boats. Although

it is never a good idea to hedge in on somebody else’s sweet spot, you can sometimes set up in the general vicinity and wait for the fish to come to you.

8. RIGGED AND READY: Keep at least two to three rigged rods easily accessible when fishing for school bass. If you break off a bait, pick up another rod and toss another bait into the schooling commo-tion quickly while the fish are still fired up.

9. SIZE MATTERS: Surface feeding school bass dine predominantly on shad. I’ve seen times they will get so keyed in on a specific size of bait fish that they might refuse to hit lures designed to imitate larger bait fish.

A good trick to try when the fish are feeding on tiny shad is to trail a topwater like Pop R or Yellow Magic with a smoke or white crappie jig

using a 12- to 14-inch piece of leader line tied to the rear treble hook.

10. SCHOOLIES YOU CAN’T SEE: Sub-surface schoolies are much more myste-rious than fish you can see schooling on the surface. Think of them like a covey of land mines lurking beneath a liquid blanket, just sitting there waiting to explode.

Though more challenging to find, sub-surface school bass

can be equally aggres-sive once their fuse is

lit. They also tend to be more reliable from one day to the next than surface schoolies, and they will often group up according to size. Good electron-ics and a working knowledge of how

to use them are a must for locating

groups of fish beneath the surface.


Bigtopwater baitswill sometimes

produce larger fishfrom a school

of bass.

q

School bassgo for lures that

resemble familiarforage, such as this

chug-styletopwater.

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24 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® TROUT PHOTO: CHESTER MOORE

S T O R Y B Y C H E S T E R M O O R E

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DESPITE BEING THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER SPECIES ON THE

Texas coast, many of the facts about the lives of speckled trout

and the tactics that work best for catching trophy-sized specimens

remain mysterious.Enshrouded in mystery, covered in specu-

lation and often steeped in tradition, the real

facts on Texas’s trout, are fascinating.

For years a popular myth about speckled

trout has persisted particularly along the

Upper Coast of Texas. It says that during

winter most of the trout migrate into the

Gulf. That is just not so.

According to officials with the Texas

Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD),

speckled trout spend most of their lives

within five miles of where they were born.

Nearly 90 percent of all fish recovered in a

tagging program came from the same bay in

which they were tagged.

Although many trout move into deeper

water during cold weather, there is no sci-

entific evidence of a winter migration to the

Gulf. Research shows that some fish may

move to the Gulf to escape blowing northers,

but this is temporary and the fish return once

weather abates.

A study by the Gulf States Marine

Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) report

shows that one researcher tagged more than

2,600 trout and received 50 returns.

Of these, 20 came from the release

point. Similar findings were reported by

researcher Rogillio with 98 percent of the

returns coming within 1.5 kilometers of the

release point. Another noted that two spot-

ted sea trout tagged in Calcasieu Lake were

recaptured more than 160 kilometers away

in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana.

As noted in my book, Texas Trout

Tactics, the report details that in Texas,

of 20,912 tagged trout released in Texas

marine waters, 1,367 were recaptured.

About 84 percent were caught in the same

bay where released; eight percent were

caught in another bay; and five were recap-

tured in the Gulf. Of 588 spotted sea trout

tagged in the Gulf surf, 14 were recaptured,

12 in the Gulf and two in Texas bays.

Although there is no evidence to sug-

gest mass migration, Salinity can be a

factor in locating trophy trout. Researchers

with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries

Commission have found that big trout tend

to prefer water that is close in salinity to sea-

water over more brackish water. For anglers

wanting to fish the Sabine and Galveston

areas this is extremely important as it often

experiences incredible fluctuations in salinity

due to massive river systems feeding into

these bays.

Salinity is an important factor as the

closer an area is to the Gulf, the higher the

salinity, however some other factors come

into play with trout here.



Big, incoming tides bring warmer Gulf waters onto trout friendly areas such as shallow flats along channels, and with them come baitfish. When you have the combi-nation of water that is more saline, a few degrees warmer than that in the upper reaches of the system on top of a high pres-ence of mullet and other baitfish you have serious trophy trout potential.

A study conducted by Louisiana State University (LSU) biologists in Barataria Bay involved setting gillnets at three sites: low, mid and high salinity.

“More and larger speckled trout were caught at temperatures 75 degrees and above. Average size was somewhat larger at the high-salinity site and smaller at the low-salinity site. They were also more abundant at the high and mid-salinity sites than at the low-salinity site.”

Looking at this research alone helps you eliminate hundreds of square miles of habitat and focus more intensely on the areas where the big trout you seek are more abundant.

Some anglers find a disconnect between lures first used in freshwater and the pursuit of trophy trout but the fact is this could make them miss out on fine fishing opportunities.

Swimbaits are essentially soft plastic crankbaits that allow anglers to cover lots of water and fish with a simple retrieve to target big fish. Most major tackle companies have some sort of swimbait on the market now ranging from the foot-long $40 trout mimicking behemoths to much more affordable fare.

“Swimbaits have been invaluable for me fishing on Lake Falcon,” said 2008 Bassmaster Classic winner Alton Jones. “They will get big fish when other baits don’t seem to get the job done. I have seen big fish get up and

follow a big swimbait when they seemingly get lockjaw in clear water.”

The Jones quote might seem out of place, but when largemouth bass and speck-led trout, both, reach a certain size, they switch to eating large fish almost exclusively. Numerous anglers have reported similar reactions to using swimbaits for specks by producing big fish when other lures do not.

This could be a product of “newness” as most trout have never seen a swimbait, the aforementioned attribute of water coverage, or both.

Many anglers know the importance of oyster reefs in the life cycles, but miss the fact you need to get violent with the shell to catch the most and biggest fish.

As noted in my book, Texas Trout Tactics, the most important thing to keep in mind about reef fishing is to use sand eel imitations and fish them on the right sized jighead. Fishing with 1/8-ounce jig heads is great for shallow reefs with light currents, but you need something heavier that will get down to the bottom and be able to fight heavier current.

Drift with the current and let the lure bounce, bump and crash into the oyster reef. Yes, you will lose jigheads, but anglers who can discipline themselves to fish this way typically score on bigger trout. Make sure you have enough line out to where you are not fishing vertically. The lure will not be able to work properly that way. In addition, it is important to keep contact with the lure.

When I use this method, I slowly raise and lower my rod tip to give the rig a slight hopping action. If you feel the line get heavy or a light tap, set the hook. Chances are you just scored on a speckled trout.


Big trouttend to favorwater tempsover 75° and

highersalinity.

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The Pursuitof Early TealBY CHESTER MOORE

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The Pursuitof Early Tealby chester moore

Fea 4-Teal.indd 29 8/7/14 4:39 PM

AS A SWOLLEN SUN PEEKED OVER THE HORIZON, A FAMILIAR whistle tickled my eardrums. Seconds later, a flock of blue-winged teal buzzed our boat at breakneck speed. It was a sight my hunting partner and I had seen hundreds of times, but this one caught us by surprise.

The shock came not from the birds’ incredible swiftness or daredevil navigation, but from the fact, we were on Lake Guri, in a remote corner of the Venezuelan rainfor-est. Six weeks earlier, we had hunted these birds on the upper Texas coast and now they were among parrots, howler monkeys and anacondas in South America.

Bluewings migrate in September, giving hunters an early crack at waterfowl hunting action. The season follows their southward movement, which can be intense. At the first hint of a cold front, bluewings quickly exit our borders and head toward the tropics.

Fortunately, Texas hunters have plenty of opportunities to hunt them on public land while they are here. The key to success is learning what makes these pint-sized ducks tick and applying that knowledge to scouting their habitat.

The most important factor in having a successful teal hunt is finding an area with the right water supply. Dry marshes and

fields send teal south quickly, while too much water spreads them out so much that hunters have a difficult time luring them into shotgun range.

The 2002-2003 season was prime exam-ple. Jacob Virdine, who works at the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area near Port Arthur, said 49 hunters showed up there for opening day. Those hunters shot only 48 teal. The next day 35 hunters took two dozen birds.

“The problem was our water level was too deep for teal,” Virdine said.

”It was just right a couple of days before the opener, but then it rained really hard.” The same storm system dropped only a couple of inches of rain in the rice fields to the west and produced limits of teal for hunt-ers during opening weekend.

That’s typical of teal-here today, gone later today which is why scouting, even as the season opens is so important.

Teal are dabbling ducks and tend to

prefer shallow mud flats and grass beds in marshes where they eat milfoil, seeds of pond weeds and tiny mollusks. High water can cover areas that would normally be productive, but knowing the topography of the land and locating higher ground that might hold only a few inches of water can yield results.

In the Lower Neches Wildlife Management Area near Bridge City, I go to an island that has a shallow pond in the middle of it. Tropical storm-level tides make it about six inches deep, and a magnet for teal during periods of high and low water. It seems to be better during high tides because the birds can see the vegetation more easily than in the foot-deep water around it.

With the advent of the Internet, scouting is no longer confined to physically exploring hunting areas. Web sites such as topozone.com provide detailed topographical maps of any location in the United States and can help you pick out spots that would hold

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water and be potential ambush spots for teal.I had passed by the island described

above dozens of times, but after studying the area on the Internet, I found the little pond and a true teal-hunting hot spot.

Teal are small and offer a challenging target, but they are easy to hunt during the September season.

They are creatures of habit, so you can generally count on them to feed both early and late.

The first thing to consider is setting up a blind. In the case of teal, this does not require a lot of effort.

Teal are certainly not blind-shy during the early season, so hunting out of a boat draped in camouflage netting or covered by Roseau cane is more than adequate. Or you can simply wear plenty of camouflage and sit still.

For years, hunters brought dozens of decoys for the early season, but that is becoming outdated. A dozen decoys of any kind of duck set out in the marsh will give these sociable birds an inviting place to land and you a place to shoot.

I usually bring only half a dozen teal decoys, a few shoveler imitations and a “robo duck,” and have no problem scoring limits of teal. Sometimes I use a “confidence” decoy such as a great blue heron, a common sight on the Texas coast in September.

Calling teal is rather simple, although many hunters on public lands tend to overdo it. Simple teal whistles sounded a few times at the sight of birds is enough to lure them. Too much calling spooks them. I have been in areas where hunters a few ponds away called too much and pushed birds right to me.

Part of a successful hunt on public land is using the mistakes of other hunters to your advantage. It seems there is always someone who calls too much, shoots when the birds are too high or arrives in the field late and pushes birds to you. This may be frustrating, but if you keep your cool, you should get a shot at some of “their” birds.

When you do get a shot, make sure not to use a heavy load, which can destroy the meat in their tiny breasts. I use number six, but sevens will work as well.

Improved cylinder or modified chokes work great for teal, especially in close quar-ters. These are incredibly fast birds that can fly at 60 miles an hour. Make sure to lead them by at least five feet when they are 20 yards away and double that when they are

out past 30 yards.

Making a paper-cutting sound as they move, teal seem to come out of nowhere. I do not know how many times I have thought nothing was going to happen and then a flock of bluewings lands right in the decoys. Once a small flock buzzed right over me and landed less than 10 feet from my blind. The encounter excited me so much, I never thought to shoot until my partner’s hyperac-tive dog alerted them and sent them packing.

Some hunters might consider that a failure, but I consider it the ultimate suc-cess. The day I quit being in awe of God’s Creation is the day I put away my decoys for good. With their super-fast flight and rapid migration, blue-winged teal remind us that good things come and go quickly, but their memory stays with us forever.

To learn more about duck hunting,, by Chester’s book “Texas Waterfowl” at fis-handgamegear.com.

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When Do You Shoot?

THERE IS NO EASY ANSWER TO THE QUES-tion of when do you shoot in a self-defense situation. There are too many variables involved for there to be a set

answer like, shoot at 10 feet, or shoot when you see a gun.

First, the person you are facing has to have the ability to do you grievous bodily harm; not kill you, but the ability to do possibly irrepa-rable harm. This does not mean he has to have a gun. He, or she, could have a butcher knife, a baseball bat, an ax, or any number of other tools or weapons. In addition to that, there could be several of them when you are alone. Or, there could be just one great big

person that you are certain you cannot handle in a physical altercation.

While he has been vilified by the media, when George Zimmerman went to trial for using deadly force on an unarmed black man, he was found not guilty by way of self-defense. I will make no claims about his guilt or inno-cence, I just note that he was not convicted. The jury felt that he was in danger of death or grievous bodily injury. So, that is the first element that needs to be fulfilled before you can legally use deadly force.

Next is opportunity. If a person has an ax, is threatening you, but you are separated by a raging river, he obviously has no opportunity to do you harm. The same applies to most of the implements I mentioned above. On the other hand, if he has a handgun and you are separated by a ten-foot tall fence, he has both ability and opportunity to shoot you, but has he actually threatened you with the gun?

If you are driving along in your car and

a man comes running at you with a baseball bat, just leave, don’t pull your handgun and start firing. There are any number of situa-tions where a person has the ability, but does not have the opportunity, and you must con-sider that before you use deadly force. I have mentioned before that a man within 21 feet of you with a knife can almost certainly use it on you before you can draw and shoot him. This 21-foot rule is used in courts.

Last in this triumvirate is jeopardy. The first two do not constitute what a reasonable person would consider to be a reason to shoot. The threat must also demonstrate a willful intent to attack you. If you are standing ten feet from a man with an ax and he has shown no desire to attack you, he has both ability

The Ultimate Home Defense PistolRECENTLY I WROTE ABOUT THE ideal home defense firearm, and in the end your choice all depends on prefer-ence, budget and training. But a few months ago I set out to build my ulti-mate defensive pistol and the following is what I came up with.

The base platform is an FNX Tactical .45 ACP that I acquired from Superior Pawn and Gun in Tyler. I had been eye-balling the FNX for a while as the per-fect .45 suppressor platform, and once I considered the optic-ready FNX slide the

choice was easy. The stock FNX is a large pistol, but

what else would you expect from a gun that holds 15 rounds of .45 ACP? With an MSRP of $1,399 it isn’t a cheap gun. But it comes with so many extras it’s easy to justify the price tag.

I was pleased with the trigger. I nor-mally prefer striker-fired, but this tradi-tional double action is smooth enough to manage, and the single action has only a little creep and breaks at 4.5 pounds.

The night sights are pleasantly bright with yellow dots in the rear and green

in the front. These fixed sights are also raised in order to give the extra height to work with any suppressor. Of course it comes with an industry standard

TexasDepartmentof Defense

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Continued on page 34 u

| Self Defense |

| Concealed Carry |

| Tactical |

by Steve LaMascus& Dustin Ellermann

The FNX Tactical is ready to mount all the shown accessories right out of the box. This one is equipped with the Trijicon RMR optic, Stream-light TLR-1s mounted light, Silencer Co Osprey suppressor and tack driv-ing Sig Sauer ammunition.

q

1409 Dept of Defense.indd 32 8/7/14 4:27 PM


and opportunity, but has shown no intent, so you have no reason to shoot him. If, however, he says, “I’m gonna kill you, you SOB!” and starts toward you, you should consider taking action.

Let’s say you are walking down the street and see a man standing by a window. He glances your way, and reaches into his pocket. When he brushes back his jacket you notice a gun in a holster on his hip. Do you draw and fire? What if you do and later look at him as he is lying there and notice the badge clipped to his belt? See what I mean when I say it is not an easy question to answer? It is always better to avoid a threat than to neutralize it, but sometimes you have no other option.

When it comes time to shoot, what do you do? Do you fire a warning shot and run?

No, almost never. It is almost never proper to fire a warning

shot. I will not say it is never right to do so, because I cannot possibly conceive of all the possible scenarios. If I were faced with a man holding an ax, he was fifty yards from me and started running at me with his weapon raised, I might, if surroundings allowed it,

fire a warning. Then again, I would probably yell at him, warning him that I was armed and prepared to shoot, draw my gun, and get ready to shoot if he failed to stop. In all my career in law enforcement I never fired a warning shot, and probably never will. Most times all you have done is waste a round you might need later.

When faced with a situation where you must shoot, what do you do? You shoot to neutralize the threat. You do not shoot to wound; you do not shoot to kill; you shoot to stop the antagonist from maiming you. You shoot for the center of mass, that area where the solar plexus, the heart, lungs, and blood vessels occupy the center of the torso. And you shoot until the threat is stopped.

If that takes one shot, fine. However, if it takes five shots, that is fine, also. An effective shot, with an effective cartridge, will cause the nervous system to begin to shut down. This may not happen immediately. It may take a second, or several seconds. It does not matter. At that moment, you shoot until he stops coming. If at the first shot he drops his weapon and runs, you have no more reason to

shoot. If the threat has not stopped after the first couple of shots, and is closing on you, you might consider a head shot. That depends on your skill level.

What do you do when the threat is stopped, or has run off? At that time you reload, make your gun safe, find a safe place where you can watch to see if the scumbag returns, call 911, report the incident, and do what the operator tells you to do.

However, do not stand there with your gun in your hand, waiting for the police to show up. They do not know what a fine, upstanding citizen you are, and if you are standing there with a weapon in your hand, they will act just like they would if they were approaching any other armed stranger. When approached by the police, sit or stand where they can see both your hands, open. Immediately obey any orders you are given. When the police ask where your weapon is, tell them it is in the holster on your right hip, or wherever it is. Do not reach for it. Let the officer take it from the holster.

—Steve LaMascus

Texas Department of Defense

suppressor-ready 5/8 x 28 threaded bar-rel. But most attractive is the modular milled slide so the shooter can drop in the micro red dot optic of choice. This option alone would run nearly $200 to have cut by a professional gunsmith.

So to complete the project I decided I needed a light, optic, and suppres-sor. The light chosen is the Streamlight TLR-1s. Boasting of 300 lumens and 2.5 hour run time its paddle switch is easily activated with either the shooter’s trigger finger or support hand thumb. It has a momentary, strobe or constant function. All perfect for scanning a dark house or lighting up an area outside. While having a light on your firearm is a convenience, it is also a liability. Always remember that the light is on a firearm and must

always be pointed in a safe direction. In scanning a house with friendly occupants always bounce the beam off of the floor or ceiling so you aren’t dangerously sweeping them with your muzzle.

Next I mounted a Trijicon RMR 08G as my optic. I’ve loved having the RMR01 on my ATEi S&W M&P and the RMR 08G is just as good and a little easier on the wallet. Although the 01 is an adjustable red dot, the 08 model is actually a dual-illuminated, electronics-free fiber optic and tritium combination sight. This model has a 12.9 MOA green triangle reticle that lends to speed acqui-sition on close range targets, yet allows the user to use the tip of the triangle for more precise shots.

Once assembled to my liking I found the FNX wonderful to shoot. Being a larger framed pistol loaded down with accessories recoil is just a soft shove. At 15 yards I was shooting a one-inch group with the new Sig Sauer ammunition. At

25 yards a headshot on a silhouette tar-get was a breeze. At 50 yards eight-inch plates were not a problem at all when I just put the tip of the Trijicon triangle at the top. Reliability was 100 percent.

The only downside to this rig as my home defensive pistol is the inability to holster it with the suppressor attached. If you shoot it with the suppressor on, you had better be wearing eye protection. I wouldn’t dream of shooting it without my Wiley Xs on because the suppres-sor throws so much powder debris back through the action it’s very likely to hit you in the eye.

But when the guard dogs alert to noc-turnal threats on the property, it’s just easy to grab this package and have 15 rounds of white-light-illuminated, silent .45 ACP in the palm of your hand. And it looks awesome too.

—Dustin Ellermann


t Continued from page 32

Ultimate Pistol



Let the Games Begin

THE WAIT IS FINALLY OVER. THE TIME HAS finally come. Let the games begin. Bow season for the mighty, elusive whitetail deer begins this month; and

I for one, cannot wait a minute longer.All those hours of practice that you have

been logging in will, hopefully, pay off with a freezer full of venison. Final preparations are the priority now. Your tree stands should already be in place. Trimming the brush for your shooting lanes should be a memory by now.

This is the time of year when we all should be thinking about how to keep our human scent down to a minimum. Washing your hunting clothes in a scent-free detergent and letting them dry outside free from all foreign odors is important.

I like to place my dried clothes in either a plastic bin with an earth-scented wafer taped to the lid of the bin. Or I grab a plastic gar-bage bag and keep them there until it is time to wear them hunting.

The time for scouting is done. You really do not want to venture out in the woods you plan to hunt in and walk around alarming every deer in the county. All of your scouting should have been done a few months before the season and again after the season closes.

Not many hunters get out after the season to scout, but you can learn a lot if you take the time to do it. Whitetail habits in the late season will be different from the first month of bow hunting. Food sources have changed obviously, but more important, you can find where the deer like to hide when pressured by hunters. The information you pick up while walking the woods after the hunting season will be vast and very helpful when it comes time to hunt the following year.

Hunter Specialties has a great product called Scent Killer Gold. I spoke about this in a previous column, but I do believe in the product and it bears enough importance to mention it again. Not only does this company offer a scent-free laundry detergent, but they also include a body wash and a Scent Killer Gold spray in their product line. They call it their “hunt dry” technology, and they claim that the spray (when applied correctly) will last up to ten days without the need to refresh your hunting clothes. I believe them because I think it does work and it works well. The trick here is that after your hunting clothes have been washed and dried, you apply a generous amount of this spray on your clothes and after that dries, you can hunt for ten days without re-applying it. Pretty cool especially because it works.

It is also the time to give our hunting gear a final check. Bring your bow to a pro shop one last time before the season. Have the professionals give it a once over to make sure your bow is tuned to perfection and ready for action. Do you have enough arrows? You would be surprised at how many bow hunters go after their game with only a few arrows for the whole season. Unless they go by the name of Robin Hood, chances are that every once in a while they might miss the target and the arrow is lost forever in the thick brush.

An extra dozen arrows is always a good move to keep at home just in case you need a few now and then. With all the practice you should have done, you probably have a bent arrow around somewhere. I like to make sure I have a quiver of brand new arrows for the

season. I shoot them just a few times to make sure they fly well out of my bow and then they are considered the “best” and are used only for the actual hunting season.

I have gotten in the habit of keeping three arrows in my quiver equipped with a Luminok. These are nocks that light up when they leave your bow and head toward the target. If you have never tried these, then what are you waiting for? There are so many benefits to using these lighted nocks. Imagine for a moment you are hunting pigs and it’s getting near sunset. A nice boar comes in range and you need to make the decision to shoot or not. With a Luminok on the end of your arrow, you will be able to watch as the arrow strikes the target. More importantly, you will be able to determine exactly where the arrow hit and how long you should wait before following a blood trail.

While trying to locate your downed ani-mal, you might be able to see the light from a distance before closing in any further possibly spooking that animal into another zip code. Also, if the arrow you used breaks someplace along the blood trail, you will be able to locate it with ease and determine what to do next.

For the novice bow hunter out there, try practicing with the Luminoks. When, and I do mean when, you miss your 3 D target in your yard or wherever you practice, you will have no trouble at all finding the arrow at night. Another great advantage is the fact that they stay lit for many hours. I sure wish they had something like this when I started out. Back then I used aluminum arrows and lost so many of them that if someone found them all, they could buy a brand new bow from the money they would make at the scrape yard.

So the season is here. You are ready. The deer have no idea they are about to have a bad day. Now let’s hope it does not rain every chance we can go hunt. Other than that, there is nothing to hold you back and I predict a great bow hunting season.

Email Lou Marullo at [email protected]

Bare Bones Hunting

by Lou Marullo | TF&G Hunting Editor

“The time for

scouting is done.“

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Invasive InfestationTEXAS IS UNRIVALED IN LANDS and waterways filled with game birds and game animals, offering a wealth of outdoors opportunities.

However, with the good also comes the bad – and even the ugly.

We’re infested with invasives of all shapes, sizes, demeanors and hues, some of them much closer than you may realize – possibly even on your property right now.

Here’s a glimpse at five invasives, including an animal, mollusk, fish, tree and fungus that have the potential to produce negative long-term impacts in different regions of the state.

FERAL HOG: This is the face of the invasive issue in Texas, and for good rea-son: a Texas A&M University shed light on just how prolific these omnivores have become. If left unchecked, the state’s feral hog tally ‒ which was averaged at roughly 2.6 million animals, but is probably much higher.

The most glaring figure from the report is the reduction rate necessary to keep the

population in check. Roughly 66 percent of the animals must be taken off the range annually to keep their ranks from growing.

Early Spanish explorers probably were the first to introduce the feral pig, hoping for a regular source of cured meat and lard for settlers. Russian boars were later introduced in the 1930s for sport hunting, paving the path for destruction when they escaped and bred with feral pigs. The rest, as they say, is history.

ZEBRA MUSSEL: This nasty critter has wreaked havoc across the Great Lakes, and millions of dollars are spent each year

controlling, cleaning and monitoring zebra mussels in other states. Texas has become a new breeding ground for the mussel, so much so that a new law went into effect July 1, requiring that all freshwater boat-ers drain all water from their craft and onboard receptacles before leaving or approaching a lake. It applies to all types and sizes of boats whether powered or not.

They can expand their range by hitch-ing a ride on trailered boats that have been immersed or moored in waters where they have established populations. The rapidly reproducing mussels, originally from Eurasia, can have serious economic and recreational impact to reservoirs. They can clog public-water intake pipes, harm boats and motors left in infested waters by covering boat hulls, clog water-cooling sys-tems, annoy boat-dock owners by covering anything left underwater and make water recreation hazardous because of their sharp edges.

LIONFISH: The lionfish’s expansion includes the Gulf of Mexico. A specimen was even caught at the Packery Channel jetties in Corpus Christi. The fish also has been found at the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the northern most coral reef bank in North America, about 100 miles south of Galveston.

Lionfish have been found to have eaten almost any other marine life they can snag. Those other critters include shrimp, crabs and more than 100 other species. They’ve even been found to eat other lionfish and have been detrimental to a number of prized game fish including snapper, chok-ing out food sources for other species as well.

Although lionfish have been linked to warm habitats, they have shown that they can survive in a range of conditions and depths – even freshwater – and can repro-duce quickly. A lionfish is able to breed roughly a year after being born. Predators in their native habitats in the western Pacif-ic Ocean feed on their eggs and parasites there also help control those populations, but in new areas without these control fac-tors, the lionfish has thrived.

TRUE GREEN

Continued on page 42 u

Zebra mussels can clog pipes and almost anything left in the water in infested lakes.

1409 TrueGreen.indd 36 8/7/14 4:34 PM

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DU Submits Three Grants for Texas WetlandsDUCKS UNLIMITED TEXAS CON-servation staff submitted three North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) grant applications in July for wetland enhancement and restoration along the Texas coast. If funded, these grants will collectively improve approximately 13,000acres of wetland enhancements across the Texas Gulf Coast.

If approved and funded, the Gulf Coast 12 NAWCA grant will provide the Texas Prairie Wetlands Project funding in Fis-cal Year 2016. A total of 2,800 acres of wetland restoration and enhancement is proposed with this grant. Ducks Unlimited, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service partnered to create the Texas Prairie Wet-lands Project in 1991. The partnership was established to help deliver the habitat

objectives set forth by the Gulf Coast Joint Venture, with the primary goal of providing habitat for wintering waterfowl that would improve survival rates and body conditions before spring migration. DU works with private landowners to restore, enhance and create an average of 3,000 acres per year of shallow-water wetlands through a 30-county focus area along the Gulf.

A second NAWCA grant, Texas Water Delivery 1, was submitted to secure funding for construction of water wells and activities to improve water delivery and efficiency. Specifically, the grant targets landowners interested in installing water well projects. Anticipated delivery is just under 3,400 acres. Due to an ongoing drought in Texas, irrigation providers in the Lower Colo-rado and Brazos River basins have greatly restricted and reduced private landowners’ ability to provide seasonal water for breed-

ing, migrating, and wintering habitat for wetland-dependant wildlife. This proposal will assist landowners by developing under-ground water resources as well as more efficient delivery of this precious resource to habitats through underground pipelines.

The third grant, Jefferson County Wet-land Improvements, will provide funding for approximately 6,800 acres of wetland enhancement on private lands and the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area near Port Arthur. In addition to wetland enhancements to Blind Lake Marsh, the project will also alleviate flooding concerns in lower Jefferson County. Ducks Unlimited is providing technical guidance and implemen-tation of the project for Jefferson County, in coordination with Jefferson County Drainage District #6 and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Support and approval of DU’s assistance was gained unanimously from County Judge Branick and Jefferson County Commissioners.

—Andi Cooper «TG

TRUE GREEN CONTINUED...

SALT CEDAR: This invader has taken over a number of areas, including in the Rolling Plains and Panhandle, choking out native veg-etation that can’t compete for water. This is a fire-adapted species with long tap roots that allow it to lurk deep into the water table and inter-fere with natural aquatic systems.

Salt cedar disrupts the struc-ture and stability of native plants and degrades wildlife habitat by outcompeting and replacing native plant species, monopolizing limited sources of moisture, and increasing

the frequency, intensity and effect of fires and floods. Although it provides some shelter, the foliage and flow-ers provide no food value for native wildlife. The salt cedar grows best in saline soils but is adaptable and tolerant of a variety of environmental conditions, mak-ing it a dangerous invasive requiring extensive and costly control mea-sures.

OAK WILT: This fungus was discovered in Dallas in the 1960s and has spread to a number of areas, including the Rolling Plains and numerous counties in Central Texas, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Live oaks and red oaks are most severely affected by the fungus, and red oaks appear to play a key

role in the establishment of new infection centers.

The Texas live oak, which is responsible for producing some of the oldest trees in the state, is suscep-tible to the disease, but because of its tendency to form large root con-nections through which the disease can spread, it is considered to be an important host. The fungus also may be spread by insects and through movement of wood from infected oaks to other locations. Reports of widespread tree deaths that resemble oak wilt date to the 1930s.

For more information on invasives, visit www.texasinvasives.org.

—Will Leschper «TG

t Continued from page 40

Invasives


http://www.texasinvasives.org

TRUE GREEN CONTINUED...


40 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® BUCK PHOTO: TONY CAMPBELL, CANSTOCK;DECOY INSET, TINKS; COMPOSITE LAYOUT, TF&G

UsingDecoysforBowhuntingBY CHESTER MOORE

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Fea 6-Bowhunt.indd 40 8/24/14 1:18 PM

IF THERE IS ONE THING bowhunters and cross-bow hunters know, it is that they have a lot stacked against them.

Combating a deer’s nose, which is far more sensitive than ours, is problem enough ‒ much less hunting pressure, general human awkward-ness and little time to spend in the field.

With many Texas hunters having to deal with antler restrictions that require a lengthy look at a buck before releasing an arrow, difficulty is taken to a new level.

Using a deer decoy is one way to work around this problem. I was first introduced to seri-ous deer decoying while hunting with TF&G Bowhunting Editor Lou Marullo some 12 years ago. He is a master at using decoys to score on deer and got me to start employing them in my own hunting ventures.



Decoys tend to work best in the rut when they can spark a buck’s sexual and territo-rial instincts. Bucks will come out and fight buck decoys, and they will mount a doe just like she was the real thing. For hunters, that means you have the buck distracted and can make your move without it noticing. With big, mature bucks that is usually difficult, but with a decoy, it is quite easy.

The proper use of a decoy begins with scent elimination. Use gloves while you carry and set up the decoy and spray it with a good cover scent or sexual attractant. The nose is a deer’s first line of defense so you have to get past that to get into the visual realm.

The rest pretty much has to do with location.

For one thing, if you are using one of the bedded decoys, do not set it up near a trail. Deer do not bed up on trails, so they should not be set up there. I like to use standing decoys and always place them upwind from where I expect the deer to come.

Remember that bucks most of the time are going to be approaching with the wind in their faces. If they catch a whiff of doe in estrus and then see what they think is a doe, you have a good chance of getting a shot.

Decoys are best employed in high use areas such as food plots, fields nearby woods, scrapes and travel funnels.

Set up a doe decoy with its tail end toward you because bucks approach does from the side or the rear and this will give a good shot. For a buck decoy try the opposite approach with the head toward you, because a buck will usually approach cautiously from the front vantage point

Make sure not to set up the decoy in a direct path to you. You do not want to give them a chance to see or smell you if they cross your line of scent. Set it up off to the side of your stand position to focus their attention on the decoy, not on you.

Elevation is also

important as it definitely keeps you out of the line of sight if you’re up above 15 feet or so. It is a safety factor as well. If someone creeps up and ends up shooting your decoy for a real deer, your chance of getting shot decreases the farther up you get.

To increase your chance of getting a buck to look at your decoy, use a piece of white tape on the tail to blow in the wind and give it some motion. Some hunters use monofila-ment fishing line to pull the tail when there is no wind. Others use the new decoys with battery-operated tails.

Also, a bit of rattling or a grunt call adds to the effect.

What you’re trying to do, is mimic nature. Particularly during the rut, bucks fight and grunt and does smell of estrus. If you can present those elements in a decoy you have successfully mimicked nature to the extent it seems real to the deer. That is the key.

Marullo has had the most success by using grunt calls.

“ G r u n t calls are finally getting their due as the deer-luring tool they are, he said. “Using a grunt with a decoy h a s helped me bag a few nice bucks. The key is not to overdo it. By this, I mean you don’t hear deer grunting out there like you do ducks quacking. The key is keeping it all natural and once again, true to nature.” Television host Keith Warren has used decoys extensively and said the key thing for hunters to be wary of is that anything can happen.

“Deer, especially bucks, can do some funny, exciting and downright interesting things around a decoy. Be ready for any-thing and enjoy the thrilling experience,” he said.

“For safety, I recommend using a decoy outlined with blaze orange or have it covered in that color while you place it by foot or by four-wheeler.

If you exercise proper caution, a decoy can open up a lot of opportu-

nity for you. Perhaps you’ll get that super shy buck to drop its guard and check out

your decoy long enough to get a shot.

PH

OT

O:

TIN

KS

Tinkshas come up with

easy-to-deployinflatable decoys such as “Miss November,” above, and “Mr. October,” on the

opening spread.

Using agrunt call in

combination witha decoy can be very

productive. Justdon’t overdo

it.q

42 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTO: BOWGRUNTER

q



44 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTO COMPOSITE: TF&G

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Should you get your children and grandchildren hunting

and fishing VIDEO games or REAL gear? The answer may

surprise you.

by calixto gonzales

vs.


“CAREFUL, BOY, THAT IS ONE BIG GRIZ,” I CAUTIONED CALITO,

my son. n He looked over at me with that practiced 17-year-old, “I

know what I’m doing” glare that he’s hit me with time and again.

Then he looked back at the crosshairs he’d settled onto the ursine

goliath’s shoulders. The bear lifted its nose and sniffed the wind,

seeming to sense that something just wasn’t right. “Shoot now!” I hissed, and my son sent

a round downwind.The bear howled and collapsed.“One shot!” Calito chortled. “Sweet!”My wife walked into the television room

in her robe. “Will you two PLEASE go to bed? It’s after 3 a.m. and you’re still playing that game!”

That’s how one of those hunting games can be: downright engaging to the point of being addictive.

Hunting from Home

There are all kinds of video games to accommo-date every taste ‒ shoot ‘em up games with nazis, zombies, hostile space invaders and mutated post-apocalyptic humanoids. There are sports games

that would make you forget about Tecmo Bowl. There are Xtreme Games, Super Mario Kart, and even games where you cre-ate civilizations and advance through historic epochs. There are games for every age, taste, and interest.

It should come as no surprise that video

games have found a niche for the hunting crowd as well. Such respected names as Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops have partnered with game designers to create and distribute games that revolve around hunting.

The games, which are sold through big box stores and online, are available for all game consoles including X-Box, Wii, NES, and others. They have a hardcore and enthusiastic following among many outdoorsmen who are also fans of gaming.

“It’s the best of both worlds for me,” said Craig Toombs, a devotee of the

Cabela’s Dangerous Hunt series of games. “I’ve been playing video games since my first Atari console back in 1983.

I had all the adventure games, Pitfall, Spelunker, and Jungle Hunt. Later on it was Wolfenstein, Doom, Beastbusters, and Doom II. I love those games as much as

I love hunting. I get to combine both with these games.

Toombs added that the games are more challenging than just shooting pixelated wild game while sitting on the couch of his man cave. Levels of difficulty ranging from novice

46 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTOS: CABELA’S; BASS PRO SHOPS

pPopular video hunting games include Cabela’s Big Game Hunting (above, left), Cabela’s Big Game Hunter, Cabela’s Pro Hunts, Cabela’s Dangerous hunts, Bass Pro Shops’ The Hunt (above, right) and Bass Pro Shops’ Dangerous Hunts.


to expert increase the challenge in stalking your quarry, getting a shot, and even the danger involved. The aforementioned bear that my son “shot,” for example, might be stalking you as well. It isn’t impossible for a dangerous animal such as ta bear, a croco-dile, or Cape buffalo to charge and get you before you get it.

“It can make for some pretty crazy gam-ing,” Toombs said.

Not Your Kid’s Game

Unlike a typical blood and thunder game such as The Last of Us or some other zom-bie first person shooter game, the hunting games do require the ability to “read sign.”

You aren’t being chased by the evil undead through dilapidated , abandoned skyscrap-ers, and depopulated towns. The game set-tings are placed in the quarry’s natural habi-tat, whether it is a jungle, alpine forest, or a grass plain. The gamer chooses his weapon, selected from a variety of practical and rec-ognizable weapons ranging from crossbow or bow and arrow, to an array of rifle and handgun calibers (you will not find a BFG 5000 or minigun in the selection). The com-bination of the weapon, quarry, and habitat create a level of difficulty that is the charm of the game, according to Toombs.

“Believe me, this game can be really tough,” he said. “When you have to stalk up the side of a mountain to get into shoot-ing range to put an arrow in a bighorn sheep, it can be a real challenge.”

“With a challenge like that, who needs zombies?”

Parental Guidance Suggested

The biggest concern someone may have over these games is whether to allow their children to play them. There is violence insofar as animals are “killed” in the game when the trigger is pulled (or in this case, a button is pushed). However, the violence isn’t the Sam Peckinpah-esque, over-the

top violence of many of the first person shooter games that are very popular among younger audiences.

“I don’t have a problem playing this game with my kids,” said schoolteacher Salvador Benavidez. “My son is my hunt-ing and fishing partner, so he understands that hunting involves killing your target. It isn’t the ridiculous bloody violence of some games like Deadlight or House of the Dead. I wouldn’t let him play any of those games.”

Toombs added that he’d rather have his son play Dangerous Hunt than any of the Grand Theft Auto series.

“You wanna talk about games that are inappro-priate for young people? Those games fit the bill,” Toombs said. “There are adults who shouldn’t play those games. They’re crazy.”

Benavides and Toombs both emphasized that the key to allowing children of any age to play hunting games (which, by the way have ratings from T to MA) is parental supervi-sion.

“A good parent knows what games his kid is play-ing,” Benavidez said. “If

he wants to play something more mature than Mario Kart, then I’d better be in the room, too, or he’s losing his Gameboy privileges.”

The games can be addictive. I got my hands on a copy of Dangerous Hunts 2013. The first night, I was up until 2:30 a.m. playing. I still haven’t gotten that darn croc.

My son has, and my wife too. She stayed up until 4 a.m. to do it, too.



ABOUT 25 years ago, someone gave me this photo of a monster rattle-snake allegedly in Texas. Although the length of the

snake is hard to tell, the girth is defi nitely impressive. It almost looks like an eastern diamondback, a snake quite a bit thicker

than our western diamondback.In other words, the snake could be

from Florida or somewhere else along the eastern seaboard. The man is holding the snake away from his body which makes it appear larger than it is but this is without question an extra big rattlesnake.

I am trying to fi nd out two things about this photo.

1. Does anyone have any verifi able

history on it-old magazine articles, news clippings, etc?

2. Has anyone seen this attributed to a specifi c area?

Tracking down the origin of some of these photos is fun and this has been one that has interested me for years.

I AM ALSO SEEKING OUT ANY game camera photos or detailed accounts

48 | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® PHOTOS: CHESTER MOORE; STEVE MEESE, BIGSTOCK

PHOTO ESSAY BYCHESTER MOORE

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Fea 1-Wild.indd 48 8/24/14 1:19 PM

of jaguars in Texas. I believe these cats could be present in small numbers, at least in the Trans-Pecos region and have col-lected a few reliable reports over the last few years.

I have been intrigued by these cats since I got to work with them in captivity in the mid-1990s. They have been verified mov-ing into New Mexico and Arizona.

Could this be possible in Texas? I

believe there’s a good chance.

LAST YEAR WE RAN A STORY about “ghost deer” or white whitetails in the state and got super feedback.

If anyone has game camera photos of white whitetails in Texas, please email us and share so we can share with the TF&G Community.

This pic is me with “Rusty” at the

Swenson Whitetail Ranch. He’s a beauti-ful, huge and friendly albino.

Please contact us at [email protected]. We want to do more connecting with our community on wildlife issues and look forward to sharing photos and reports.


Fea 1-Wild.indd 49 8/7/14 4:41 PM

Louisiana Surprise

CRICKETS ROBBED THEIR LEGS TOGETH-er on the moonlit shore. It served as a backbeat to the cicadas, which I hate. The chorus combined to set my

teeth on edge, reminding me that it was still summer and would be for another couple of months.

Delbert P. Axelrod, a prime example of the need for birth control, and I scanned the dark shoreline for feeding bass. Our guide, Gator, had assured us that we’d hook a big ‘un less than a hundred yards from where we launched the boat.

He pointed toward a dark wet, log. I cast and waited until the rings subsided before beginning my retrieve. The line tightened in an explosion of water. I reared back, set the hook, and fought the six pound largemouth to the boat.

Gagor lipped the big bass out of the water. Delbert’s eyes were the size of sau-cers in the darkness. “Man! He knew right where that fish was. Gator, it’s my turn, point me out a fish.”

We trolled along in the darkness, fol-lowing the bed in the river. Swamp sounds continued to fill the night air. I made another cast. “Gator, where’d you get that nickname?

He sifted his chew and spat over the side. “Well, when I was a kid…gator there.” He pointed toward the bank. “I liked to ‘rassle ‘em big ‘uns down close to Baton Rouge at a gator park.”

Delbert saw the pointing finger, and not paying any attention to the conversation, cast toward a floating log. The plug bounced off the dark log and into the water. The log ate his bait.

“I got one!”“You sho’ do,” Gator said. “Now, what

you gon’ to do wit’ it?”Delbert was busy with his battle, and

once again, didn’t pay any attention to Life going on around him. The front of the boat dipped and vibrated as his line stripped out so fast that smoke curled from the reel.

Gator turned to me. “He lucky ‘dat’s a small one.”

“I wish it were bigger,” I said, thinking of pleasant possibilities.

I’m not sure why the line didn’t break. He must have been using one of those new miracle lines that are as strong as steel.

Finally, Delbert gained on the reptile and pulled the gator to the boat. “I think he’s tired now. This bass must be a record.

Quick, Gator, lip him in when he comes back up.”

Gator looked at me. “He crazy?”“Yes.”Water churned beside the boat. “Never

mind!” Delbert leaned over the side. “I want to do it myself. This is a trophy bass, and I want to say I brought him in myself.”

I tapped Gator on the shoulder. He turned his good ear in my direction. “Did he say bass?”

“Yep. Better get a light up here.”“This isn’t a bass!” Delbert shouted like

we were two miles away. “It’s the biggest gar I’ve ever seen.”

The flashlight illuminated the scene just seconds before Delbert slipped our dip net over the furious alligator. Teeth flashed, and Delbert recoiled from his catch. “Teeth!

Y’all see them teeth?”In his retreat, Delbert pulled the net close

to the edge of the boat. That was just what the gator needed. Aided by a taunt line and the dip net, he hooked a prehensile toe on the gunnel and flipped into the boat.

Gator and I stood on the Evinrude and watched the fun. I kept the flashlight on the tangled combatants in the floor of the vee-hull boat.

“Yaaahhhh!!!” Delbert shrieked, holding up his right foot, upon which the gator hat latched. “This is an alligator. Help!”

We watched the wrestling match in the jerking flashlight beam. A scaly tail or a chewed sneaker occasionally slapped the side of the boat.

“Dang it, Delbert, hurry up and quit playin’ wit’ th’t little ol’ alligator.” Delbert reached for help and Gator low-fived him. “You’re gonna scare off all the fish.”

Delbert came up from the tangle with an oar and proceeded to whomp the living tar out of the gator. After a good five minutes, he flopped back against the side of the boat. “That wasn’t a gar! It was an alligator!”

“Yup,” said Gator. “You know, dey out of season. Why’d you try and catch him for?”

“I didn’t!” Delbert screeched. He was so pumped that he couldn’t talk in a normal tone of voice for two weeks. “You pointed out a spot for me to cast.”

Gator snored and picked his way to Delbert’s end of the boat. “Son, if you can’t tell an alligator from a log, then you don’t need to be fishing here.”

The alligator woke up. Gator grabbed him by the snout with one hand and the tail with the other. With an expert flip, he dropped the startled reptile over the side.

“Gator, can you do that with Delbert?” I suggested, hopefully.

He laughed. “Enough playing around. Let’s see if we can find some more action.”

“I’m all actioned out,” Delbert wheezed, and we waved goodbye to the reptile.

Email Reavis Wortham at [email protected]


Open Season

by Reavis Wortham | TF&G Humor Editor

“He must have been using one of those new miracle lines that are as strong

as steel.“

1409 Humor-Wortham.indd 50 8/7/14 5:02 PM



STORY AND PHOTOS BY DEAN HEFFNER

standin the

RangerMountains

standtaking a

Sep ALMANAC-Digital.indd 51 8/22/14 10:47 AM

THE WALKING CANE RANCH IS NESTLED IN THE RANGER MOUNTAIN

Escarpment in north central Texas, with jagged rocky cliffs, awe-

some views, creek draws with cedar breaks and mesquite fl ats. It is

just east of Breckenridge at Caddo, Texas, the gateway to Possum

Kingdom Lake in east-central Stephens County.Within this 7,300 acre working cattle

ranch, which is not surrounded by high game fencing, wildlife is abundant and thriving

On my fi rst trip there, I saw at least 100 whitetails on just one green fi eld, so I knew

I was in for a treat. Jacob Boyd, the ranch guide, set me up on a stand against one of the many Texas mountain hillsides in a clearing beside a creek with a feeder and box blind and told me the times the feeder would go off, which way they would come from, and what to look for.

I was enjoying the view and songbirds singing for only about 15 minutes before the animals started funneling in. There were a number of does at fi rst, then bucks, and

before I knew it I was covered up with about 20 deer around me.

They all came in just like Jacob said they would. He wanted me to take a cull buck and he knew I could judge the age of bucks well and trusted me to do so.

After about an hour of pure delight watching the family groups of does and the bucks working out who was in charge, an old, mature cull buck snuck in, and the hunt began.

I had to switch gears and after carefully judging his age, determined he was the buck Jacob wanted culled from this area so I quickly dispatched the wily buck from about 150 yards. It was a quick death, and once I gave my respects to the majestic old buck, we

tagged, loaded and began scoring him. To my surprise he scored 124 B&C. Very nice for a cull buck.

A WEEK LATER JACOB INVITED me to fi sh the many stock tanks on the ranch.

As we drove through the ranch between tanks, we spied deer, turkey, hogs and many doves. At the end of the evening, I had caught more than 50 largemouth bass, the largest weighing nine pounds � and losing a sure 10-pounder.

I fi shed a plastic worm and Jacob had a, well we will just say he really put it to me and caught a lot more fi sh than I.

Jacob rounded the trip out by putting me on the tank where he thought we could catch


Sporting Tales

I was in for a treat. Jacob Boyd, the ranch

A trail camera photo shows a young 14-point Walking Cane Ranch buck in velvet.

After about an hour of pure delight As we drove through the ranch between

Jacob Boyd with a solid 8-pound bass from one of the Walking Cane’s stock tanks.


some nice crappies. As soon as we settled in the boat after using the trolling motor to get to the far end of the pond, we began catch-ing 1-1/2 to 2-pound crappies right and left. They fought as hard as a 4 to 5 pound bass, and I personally caught about two dozen barn doors. It was a stellar fi shing trip for sure � another memory for the noggin.

There also are many catfi sh in the ponds, but our evening trip was geared to the black bass and crappie and I didn’t have enough arm left to reel in one more fi sh.

I ASKED IF JACOB EVER SAW ANY hogs, so he suggested we drive to the back of the property to an area that he called

the Thompson, with a big pond on it and situated on a hill overlooking part of Caddo Creek that runs into Lake Possum King-dom. We parked on a high rocky bluff and he told me to be ready when we peeked over the edge, because below us was a feeder and there should be hogs there. It was now late in the evening, and I readied myself as we snuck up and over.

Sure enough, there were huge hogs in and around the feeder. He quickly pointed out the best one, which I already had in my sights, and I quickly dropped it. I followed up and got another on the run and barely missed the third as it hit the mesquite fl at.

Wow, what a hog hunt. My adrenaline

was fl owing as we crept up on the two downed hogs, which were both right at 200 pounds as we weighed them back at the barn. We snapped some quick photos and began the arduous task of loading them up.

I showed Jacob an easy way to remove the back straps and tenderloins, which taste just like store-bought pork. And with that, I had another great Walking Cane Ranch experience.

IN JUNE, JACOB ONCE AGAIN called to offer me a chance at thinning some hogs out on the ranch for him, and invited my wife and me for a hog hunt. He settled us into a nice box blind on the southeast corner of the huge ranch and told us what to expect and when the feeders would go off

As I got my wife, Leanne, settled in and accustomed to her set-up, and just as she lowered her gun from sighting in at the feeder, along came two does. I realized that Leanne was shaking as if she had buck fever and I softly whispered, “It`s okay to breathe, dear.”

She looked over with an appreciative smile and said, “Thanks. I got so excited I

forgot to breathe.” We both had a chuckle, and then the hunt was on.

Right at dark, a bunch of small pigs came running to the feeder and behind them was a big feral sow hog. Leanne took a deep breath, let half out and before I was ready, she shot. I got rocked out of my chair as I had forgotten she was shooting my .270 Remington with a muzzle brake, and I had


CONTINUED ON PAGE 54

Trevor Wheat, right, enjoyed a successful Walking Cane hunt with his brother Tristan.

Kirby Boyd with a 120-pound boar and two sows he and son Jacob killed.

Kelsey Pringle caught this barn-door crappie in one of the stock tanks.

A big feral sow with a brood of 10 piglets visits one of the Walking Cane’s feeders.


Guns and Boats

GUNS DO NOT BELONG ON BOATS.

Deep breath, people, deep breath...but they don’t. And not because of any of the arguments

you probably think I’m about to spew out into the toxic wasteland of fi rearm rights arguments. Nope, this has nothing to do with people shooting people whether it’s on purpose, by accident, or otherwise. Nor does it have anything to do with shooting your own boat, which I’ll assume only happens by accident. No, the reason that I maintain that guns don’t belong on boats is because it’s bad for your guns.

As any waterfowl hunter already knows, when you mix water with guns you have a bad scenario for the guns. Especially if it happens to be saltwater. Case in point: after a duck hunting trip last winter, one of my sons missed a bead of moisture run-ning along the bolt in his Mossberg Youth 20-guage, during the cleaning process. It

created those nasty, awful, jam-creating crusty bits of corrosion, which yes, jammed the gun on our very next trip. Unfortunately, in attempting to clear the jam he broke the gun.

Sure, a bit of carelessness could be blamed. But a 14 year-old has to learn to take care of his guns on his own, and my son is usually quite conscientious and thorough. When you boil it down to the basics, a few drops of water resulted in the gun’s (at least temporary) demise. The bottom line? Yes, how you clean and care for your fi rearm ultimately dictates its condition, but if you take it onto a boat, you greatly increase the chance of problems resulting from water intrusion. There are, of course, certain precautions you can take to prevent water intrusion in the fi rst place. So if boating and gunning are two things you enjoy together, make sure you take them.

1. CASES AND ONBOARD STORAGE – Most hunters use fl oating gun cases that either zipper shut or are secured with a Velcro fl ap. These shouldn’t be depended on for much beyond protec-tion from a bit of spray, while the boat is in motion. You’ll notice when shopping for

them that they don’t claim to be “water-proof,” but are almost always advertised as “water-resistant.”

Any time you plan on going for extended runs, overnighters that may include camp-ing aboard, or similar trips that extend the gun’s potential exposure to moisture, you should instead use a rigid case that’s certifi ed watertight. These are a bit more expensive than soft-sided cases, and they’re a real pain-in-the-butt to stow, but they offer a lot more protection. Note, however, that put-ting a gun into one of these cases when it’s still even the least little bit wet is the worst thing you can possibly do. That will seal the moisture in, just as effectively as the case can seal it out. Add a few packets of moisture-absorbing silicon, to go the extra mile.

If your boat has a dedicated gun-box (or a rod-box you can use for the same purpose) it can help, as well. None that I’ve ever seen is 100-percent as good as a high-quality rigid case, because integrated compartments simply don’t seal as well. That said, how-

Texas Boating

by Lenny Rudow | TF&G Boating Editor

no follow-up shot.I was grinning ear to ear when she looked

my way and asked “Did I get it?”She got her answer from the expression

on my face. We high-fi ved and excitedly celebrated her fi rst hog. There’s nothing like watching a person when they make their fi rst kill or catch their fi rst fi sh. My bride now has a fresh memory for her own noggin thanks to the Walking Cane Ranch.

JACOB AND HIS GRANDMOTHER, Josie Kelley, have had a management plan in place for the ranch for over eight years

now, and in the very near future the ranch will be offering package hunts, fi shing and lodging with meals for a full Texas wildlife experience. So whether you`re an avid hunter, fi sherman or just want to take in the scenery, hunt or photograph the wildlife, it will be available.

For more information, call Jacob Boyd at 1-682-429-5761. Visit the ranch website at walking-canehunts.com or send an email to walkingcane [email protected].

now, and in the very near future the ranch

SPORTING TALES

no follow-up shot.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 53


The author‘s 8-point “cull” buck scored 124 B&C.



SPORTING TALES


ever, they can maintain a relatively dry environment aboard. But they have to be truly watertight. Some features to check for include a gasketed lid, which seals under tension from a latch. The hatch should also have a raised lip and a gutter, to sluice away any water that enters the boat and washes across the hatch. If the compartment locks so much the better, since that simplifi es things when you’re in transit and you stop at a restaurant or store.

2. INSTANT DRYING – Here’s some-thing every hunter’s boat should have, yet few do: a large zipper-lock bag, with a dry towel inside. Keep one onboard, and the moment your gun gets wet you can give it a wipe-down. No matter how careful you may be, everything on a boat does eventually get wet. Maybe the dog just climbed back into the boat after a retrieve and it shakes off, maybe a careless buddy handles your gun

with wet gloves, or maybe it starts raining unexpectedly. Whatever the reason, the best thing you can do is dry the gun off as soon as possible. And if you don’t always carry a dry towel in a sealed environment, you may not have any way to wipe away that water.

3. KEEP SHELLS CONTAINED – Naturally, shoving a wet shell into a dry chamber can get water where you least want it. And it kills me how many hunters will open a box of shells, and set it on a bench seat or shelf. News fl ash: boats rock. Things fall over. And after falling over, shotgun shells have a nasty habit of rolling down to the lowest point in a boat—where there’s usually some water, waiting for them. If you notice they got wet you can dry them off, but that’s only if you notice. And in the frantic effort to reload when a really dumb duck (my favorite kind) circles back after rest of his fl ock unexpectedly dropped from the

sky, I’ve seen plenty of hunters drop a shell onto a wet deck, grab it back up, and slam it home in the chamber.

4. CLEAN IN THE TRUCK –Sometimes, it’s simply impossible to keep your gun dry without ending a hunt. In these cases, don’t wait until you get home to clean your gun. Instead, keep a basic cleaning kit in the cab of your truck, and give the gun a precursory cleaning as soon as you’ve pulled your boat. This shouldn’t take the place of a full-blown effort back at your house, but corrosion can begin in an amazingly short period of time. An hour-long drive can be enough to have a visible effect.

Another important note in this situation: don’t case your gun wet, remove it for that quick cleaning, then put it back into the same case. Again, that will hold the moisture directly against the metal.

5. CHOOSE QUALITY, IN THE FIRST PLACE – Choosing a good quality gun isn’t just a matter of weight, accuracy, action, and fi t. It’s also a matter of longevity after exposure to a moist environment. At least, it is if you ever plan on leaving the dock with it aboard. Many relatively low-cost shotguns will show surface rust in a matter of minutes, because they don’t have high-quality metals and/or fi nishes.

To get back to the bottom line, again, how you care for your gun has the biggest impact on how it survives an encounter with water. And when it comes to gun care, the expert advice you’ll fi nd from the TF&G gunning editors is bound to be a lot better than anything the boating guy can share with you. But on a boat, preventative measures will help. That’s important to remember because even though guns really don’t belong on boats, you and I both know that’s not going to stop us from bringing them aboard.

Email Lenny Rudow at ContactUs@fi shgame.com


Get more boating tips in LENNY RUDOW’sTexas Boating Blog atwww.Fishgame.com/blogs

Get more boating tips in LENNY RUDOW’sTexas Boating Blog atwww.Fishgame.com/blogs

Texas Boating


http://www.Fishgame.com/blogs


Do You Believe in Magic?

SOMETIMES WE MAKE SHOTS THAT we are not capable of. Or do we? I found out a long time ago that if I carried my rifl e or handgun every

day and shot it at every opportunity, miracles would happen.

When the time came to make one of those

miraculous shots, my subconscious kicked in and did what my pure skill could never do if it were being driven by conscious thought.

The little gray fox was coming for all he was worth. Strangely enough it was high noon on a blazing hot South Texas day just outside the city of Eagle Pass, Texas. Any of you who have been to Eagle Pass in August know what that means. Those of you who haven’t, think of hell with all the air conditioners on the blink and a big bonfi re raging.

It was HOT!This was the fi rst gray fox I had ever seen.

I had called lots of coyotes and bobcats, but never a fox. I wanted it very badly. The prob-lem was that it was coming straight into the wind. There was no way the fox was going to

get within reasonable range of the old 1917 Enfi eld’s peep sight before it caught the scent of our sweat-covered bodies and skedaddled.

At about 200 yards the fox jammed on the brakes, did a sliding U-turn, and headed back toward the safety of the brush from which he had come. Not thinking, at all, I swung the big .30-06 up, found the fox in the sights, and � well � the gun went off. At the shot the fox rolled to a stop in a cloud of caliche dust.

I could not have made that shot again if I had been offered a million dollars and my choice of Hollywood starlets. I was 17, and the money and the starlet were about the same value in my usually hormone-addled brain. (By the way, I would probably have chosen Ann-Margaret.)

I don’t know how far the shot was. It was down a small bluff, across a wide opening, beyond a wooded creek, and across another opening. I would guess that it was well over 300 yards, but I could be far wrong. The 150-grain bullet had hit the little fox square in the middle, almost dissecting it.

My brother, David, and I were hunt-ing rabbits on a place just outside of Eagle Pass. We had only one rifl e, a single-shot Remington .22 that David had gotten for a previous birthday by the expedient of Mom trading a huge wad of S&H Green Stamps for it at the redemption center in Vernon, Texas, when we lived in Benjamin. It was my shot. We were walking through an area that had once been cultivated, but which had been allowed to return to brush. There were still, however, large openings and the terraces were still visible in places.

As we were walking along I noticed a big jackrabbit take off from under one of the mesquite trees that provided thin shade in the heat of the summer. The jackrabbit ran until it was confi dent it was out of range and then stopped on top of one of the old terraces to survey the situation.

We had not managed to take any rabbits in a rather long morning, so out of sheer boredom and desperation I raised up the little


by Steve LaMascus | TF&G Shooting Editor

Texas Guns


.22, lined up the sights, raised them what seem a ludicrous amount over the rabbit, and touched one off. I had lowered the rifl e and thought I had missed when the jackrabbit fell over and the sound of the hollow point bullet striking fl esh came drifting to us over the pasture.

I don’t know which of us was more surprised, me, David, or the jackrabbit. I stepped the shot off at either 152 or 153 yards. I scratched the distance in the stock of the rifl e, but David has since refi nished the gun, so I do not know for sure which it was. The rabbit didn’t care.

David and I were hunting deer on a ranch between Uvalde and Brackettville. It was one of those rare days when the temperature was below freezing, there was no wind, and the sun was shining. We were very slowly still-hunting the side of a small mountain. At the top of the mountain were a number of old rock quarries, which now held water. One of them was spring-fed and was always full of cool, clear water. We were about halfway up the mountain when we stopped by a small rivulet that carried rainwater down to the

creek in the canyon below.We stood there by the little draw for

several minutes, whispering, deciding how to cover the rest of the mountain. We were about ready to start moving again when the buck that had been hiding in the brush in the bottom of the draw about ten yards from us couldn’t stand it any longer and burst from his hiding place.

I had the rifl e on the buck before it got more than 20 yards, but it was going straight away and I would not risk a shot at its rump. Then, at about 75 yards, the buck suddenly turned to the left, giving me a shoulder to shoot at. Without thinking I swung the cross-hairs of my .270 past the deer’s nose and the gun fi red. The buck rolled into the brush at the far edge of the clearing in a cloud of dust, with a hole in the exact center of its shoulder. Once more my refl exes had taken over and made a shot I probably could never have made had I been thinking about it. If the buck’s nerves had held out, we would have walked on, and I doubt we would have ever known it was hiding in the brush ten steps from us.

I do not violate game laws, ever. However, in my youth I was not quite so observant of the regulations. Since the statute of limitations has undoubtedly run out on this minor viola-tion, and since I did once admit my crime to a game warden friend, I will share it with you.

My brother, David, loves to eat duck, but since we live in a desert, ducks are a rare delicacy. One day, about 30-odd years ago, David and I were on a ranch near Uvalde calling bobcats. We had stopped at the rock tanks described in the previous paragraph. On the tank was a fl ock of ducks. We set up our stand and began calling. I do not remem-ber if we called up a bobcat or not, but when we were fi nished calling, David decided he wanted one of the ducks that were swimming happily on the tank. We decided that David would sneak around the tank to a place where he could get a good shot at a duck with his .222. I would stay where I was and when David shot; I would try to get a second duck with my .17 Remington, if the ducks would sit for just a second. Like all good plans this




TPWD Up to Their Necks in Gar Guts

IT’S A DIRTY, NASTY JOB, BUT SOME-body’s gotta do it.”

That’s the mantra Randy Myers his crew have been singing among them-

selves for much of 2014. Understandably so. Since April, they’ve been up to their necks in gar guts.

Myers is a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fi sheries biologist from San Antonio who is ram-rodding an intensive study on the alligator gar at Lake Falcon along the Texas/Mexico border. The scien-tists are hoping to learn all they can about gar population dynamics and spawning hab-its of the toothy predators fi nning around in the fabled South Texas reservoir. More important, they are hoping to fi nd out if the fi erce-looking prehistoric throwbacks have a preference when the dinner bell rings, and whether or not they are to blame for the sig-

nifi cant decline witnessed in Falcon’s world class bass fi shery over the last few years.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Falcon in 2012 was ranked as the No. 1 bass fi shing lake in America by Bassmaster. The lake was on fi re for several years prior, as refl ected by countless tournament reports that read like something out of a fairy tale book. The most widely publicized was the 2008 Elite Series event won by Mississippi pro Paul Elias with a four-day weight record of 132 pounds, 8 ounces. Elias was joined in the Top 12 by 11 other anglers who cracked the fabled century mark.

But the good ol’ days at Falcon didn’t last for long. Since that time, the bass fi shery has been in a downward spiral right along with the declining water levels that are so common in a drought-prone part of the world where water supplies are often double

stressed by irrigation demands across the Rio Grande valley southward into Mexico.

We’re not talking about 3-4 foot fl uctua-tions, here. At Falcon, dramatic fl uctuations of 20-40 feet have been recorded multiple times dating back to 1954, the year the lake was built.

Low water robs bass of shallow habitat critical to spawning and recruitment of young bass and forage fi sh. During extended periods of low water it is possible to lose multiple year classes of bass, resulting in poor fi shing.

Big rain events have a history of reversing the process. When water levels rise, it fl oods new growth vegetation that provides opti-mum cover for spawning and recruitment. Eventually, everything is rosy again.

According to TPWD surveys, the bass population at Falcon is down about 65 percent from what it was in 2011. It seems likely that the most recent low water cycle (the lake was 28 feet low July 2014 and nearly 36 1/2 feet low in July 2013) has contributed to the decrease, in addition to angler harvest and angling-induced mortality among released fi sh.

by Matt Williams | TF&G Freshwater Editor

Texas Freshwater

one failed.David got into place, lay down and got

into a solid prone position, and touched one off. I was looking through the 6X Redfi eld scope on my .17 Remington when the ducks burst from the water. Suddenly one of the ducks appeared in the crosshairs of my rifl e, his wings beating in desperation. Just as suddenly my gun fi red. I was surprised by the sound of the shot, but not as surprised as I was by the result. The duck was now a mass of disheveled feathers, volplaning in the breeze, to plop back onto the water like a B17 hit by fl ak over Dusseldorf. By pure refl ex I had hit the fl ying duck with a

varmint rifl e wearing a 6X scope, shooting a 25-grain bullet at 4,000 feet per second. Needless to say there wasn’t enough of the duck left to eat. Sadly, David had missed his shot at the sitting ducks, so there was no duck for supper that evening.

I could go on, but you should have the idea by now. For many years I shot nearly every day, and certainly every week. My brothers and I hunted deer in season, var-mints and jackrabbits at other times. We did enough shooting that David and I both wore the barrels out on several rifl es over a period of not many years. When we were not hunting, we were at the gun club working up loads or shooting in the matches that were held there almost every weekend. Our rifl es

were at that time extensions of our arms and we were as accurate and as fast as we ever have been.

The shots I have described were certainly lucky shots, but they were made because of our familiarity with our rifl es and our sharp-ened refl exes, honed by many thousands of rounds we fi red. As the old golf pro said when one of his opponents watched him make a miraculous shot and said: “You’re about the luckiest man I ever saw.” The pro replied: “Yep, and the more I practice, the luckier I get.”

Email Steve LaMascus at ContactUs@fi shgame.com

varmint rifl e wearing a 6X scope, shooting were at that time extensions of our arms and

TEXAS GUNS

one failed.




But many locals believe the lake’s booming population of alligator gars may be partly to blame, as well. They are so adamant about the belief that they are begging TPWD to remove Falcon from blanket regulation intended to protect alligator gar populations statewide by limiting anglers to taking one fi sh per day. Implemented in 2009, the regulation was made even more restrictive last summer when the TPWD Executive Director was given authority to temporarily close gar fi shing on portions of rivers when water levels are best for spawning.

“There is no doubt in my mind gars are eating our bass,” says James Bendele, a local guide and owner of Falcon Lake Tackle. “I’ve been working tournament weigh-ins for a long time, and a few years ago I started see-ing a lot bass brought to the scales that had escaped from a gar. They have big gashes and puncture marks. If you’ve ever looked in the

mouth of a gar, you’ll know why.”Bendele, a former member of the TPWD’s

Freshwater Advisory Board, says he believes other species of fi sh are suffering at the jaws of alligator gars, too.

“A couple of years ago you could pull up to bushes, rock banks and bridge pillars and catch huge bream by the bucketful,” he said. “You can’t do that anymore. The crappies are gone, too. These fi sh (alligator gar) are indiscriminate. They eat whatever is available in abundance. There’s no telling how many bass they were eating back when this lake was full of fi sh.”

Adding to the worry is the fact alligator gars are at the top of the food chain. Fish weighing more than 300 pounds have been documented in Texas waters and 200 pound-ers are fairly common.

Bendele says he voiced his concerns early

on to TPWD upper management but met with resistance. More public outcry followed, which eventually led to the current study, which will conclude sometime in October or November.

The study involves capturing gars in gill nets and cutting them open to evaluate their stomach contents. Biologists also are aging individual fi sh by examining their otoliths.

Scientists have made some interesting discoveries about Falcon’s alligator gars thus far. For starters, they know the population is signifi cantly higher than it was fi ve years ago. Another fi nding contradicts growth rate data collected in previous Louisiana studies that indicate it takes 10-14 years for the fi sh to reach maturity.

“That’s not even close to what is going on at Falcon,” said Myers. “We’ve caught 120-pound gars at Falcon that were only fi ve years old and we’ve found some females carrying much as 30 pounds of eggs. Falcon is a differ-ent animal from a lot of lakes in Texas. The bass grow extremely fast there and, obviously, so do the gars. They are eating a lot of fi sh to grow over 100 pounds in only fi ve years.”

Myers said stomach analysis performed on dozens of big gars indicate they are opportunistic feeders. While some of the fi sh collected had empty stomachs, others did not. Biologists have thus far found the remains of carp, catfi sh, drum, gizzard shad and, yes, a few largemouth bass in the gar bellies. “We’ve found some pretty good size bass, too -- 4-5 pounders,” Myers said.

The biologist pointed out it still too early in the study to pass judgment on the alligator gar and label it as a major factor in the decline in Falcon’s bass population. But he feels certain that time will tell the tale of the teeth.

“Right now we’re still gathering our data to better understand the Falcon gar popula-tion and to help us quantify what it is the anglers want,” Myers said. “If the informa-tion we end up with supports it, I would make recommendation for a rule change on alligator gar that is specifi c to Lake Falcon.”

Email Matt Williams at ContactUs@fi shgame.com


TEXAS GUNS

“There is no doubt in my mind the gar

are eating our bass.“



Nothing Worth Watching

WIFE IS IN BED AND RECOVERING from a tonsillectomy, so I’m at home playing nurse. I never realized how barren television

is during the day. There is little to nothing on television worth watching. How many episodes of “Criminal Minds” can a body watch? Anyway, here are some of the thoughts passing through my stimulation-starved brain.

I’ve heard a great deal of doom and gloom about the Lower Laguna Madre of late because of the dredging of the Intercoastal Waterway and the amount of dredge spoil dumped back into the Laguna. The concerns are with the damage it causes to the sea grasses native to the bay system and to water clarity, and thus to the food chain in general. However, creel surveys that Texas Parks and Wildlife has conducted show that catches of speckled trout and redfi sh are only slightly lower than last year, and still higher than in previous years.

Studies have also shown an increase in the population of brown shrimp and pinfi sh, which are two primary forage species for both predators. There has also been a noticeable increase in the number of black drum in the Laguna (so much so that some guides are offering trips that focus almost exclusively on the noisy fi sh).

The fact is, the Laguna is in very good shape. As for the sea grasses and silt: eventu-ally, the silt will settle to the bottom, as it has in past dredgings. Sea grasses have taken a battering from recent freezes and a huge slug of fresh water that drained into the Lower Laguna Madre via the Rio Grande Valley

Floodway and lingered for four months in 2010

The grasses will grow back and have already started to do so. From my sources in Texas Parks and Wildlife, there isn’t any worry about the Lower Laguna Madre, but they are monitoring the situation and will respond if conditions warrant it. Yes, the water clarity goes to pot when the wind really starts cranking, but the fi sh are still there, and in good numbers. Time heals all, and the Laguna will rebound, and perhaps very quickly.

I am more concerned with the plan to build another causeway between the main-land and South Padre Island’s south side. The claim is that another artery needs to be created to help with evacuation in the event of a major tropical cyclone.

I am calling bull on that, not so much because of the risk of a hurricane making landfall at South Padre Island because some-day it will happen. I’m calling it on the intent of the causeway. It is to try and get more tourists on the Island. That it would affect the ecosystem of the Lower Laguna Madre is a secondary concern. In fact, I can say that my past dealing with the South Padre Island Visitors and Convention Bureau, the interest is more on tourist dollars and much, much less on the sportsman’s dollars.

A man I’ve known since I was 11, and whom I respect deeply, once told me, “Boats are very much like horses. Anybody can buy one and try to use it, but very few actually know how.”

My nephew, Javi, has suddenly become a fi shing nut. He comes over from my parents’ house at least twice daily to ask me a fi shing question. My son can take or leave fi shing � how did that happen?

Mr. Albert Rutledge passed away back in July. My longtime readers will remember him as the subject of a feature entitled “Mother in Her Younger Days,” which looked at the Lower Laguna Madre through the eyes of men who fi shed the area for more than 60 years. I am heartbroken because a dear man

from whom I learned a great deal is gone.These grand old men and women who

blazed trails and fi shed waters before anyone else are slowly moving on to fi nd different waters. They’re in every town, but many younger people forget about them when they should be treasure the learning trees they nur-ture. The panorama of a fi shing community grows a little more faded each time we lose one of these people. Cherish them as long as they are around.

A lot of readers ask me how I come up with the material I write about. Writers have the ability to observe everything around them. The same external stimuli that other people tend to fi lter out, we pick up. It gives us a wide palette to work from. Strangely enough, some people say the same thing about the insane.

Here is a cool fact about the huge number of black drum that have been residing in the Lower Laguna Madre: These fi sh moved down the Land Cut into the LLM looking for new feeding grounds. Fisheries biologists tell me that these fi sh will pretty much stay as long as the food supply is available. That would essentially mean that these dudes are here to stay. Anglers should rejoice at the new fi shing opportunities this creates.

I am currently watching an episode of the FLW Tour and the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championships while I write this. I can’t help but wonder about a bureaucracy like the NCAA, which couldn’t fi nd a lake if they were standing knee-deep in it.

Imagine the vapors the Compliance Offi ce would go into when they see the number of corporate sponsors the typical competitive bass fi sherman relies upon. The Title IX question is irrelevant, because women can fi sh as well, and usually out-fi sh, guys, but could you imagine the ridiculous rules the NCAA would impose?

Wait a minute � there’s a Texas Longhorn team � this I gotta watch.

Contact Calixto Gonzales at CGonzalez@fi shgame.com

by Calixto Gonzales | TF&G Saltwater Editor

Texas Saltwater


Go to X-tremeIF HIGH-PERFORMANCE ISN’T enough, you must need “hyper perfor-mance”. And that’s what St. Croix says it delivers, in the new for 2014 LegendX-treme series. Whatever you call it, one thing is for sure � these rods are unlike any others on the market.

You can’t walk down the isle of a tackle shop without the LegendXtreme catching your eye. The fi rst reason is its grip and butt shape, which is almost hour-glass in nature. It looked a bit odd to me at fi rst, but I warmed up to it after holding one in my hands for a while; the contours are easy to grip, and when you need to plant the butt in your gut to pump on a big fi sh, this one’s right for the job.

What you really care about, of course, is not so much looks but how these rods per-form under the strain of a head-shaking bull red. First off, sensitivity is excellent. This is in no small part due to St. Croix’s SCvi graphite, but also the IPC (integrated poly curve) tooling technology, which eliminates the usual transition points in a rod blank. According to St. Croix, IPC also increases the rod’s overall strength.

Guides are titanium-framed with zirconia rings, and the reel seat is the Fuji SK2 variety. These have smaller fore-grips than I like, but I also realize I’m in the minor-ity; most anglers prefer them, as evidence by their popularity. And, they’re light—really light—which helps the InshoreXtreme maintain its extremely svelte nature; rod weight ranges from 4.4 to 5.5 ounces, depending on the specifi c model.

Three spinners are available and all are seven feet long, one-piece, fast-action rods, but you can get them in medium-light, medium, or medium-heavy power. There’s also one casting model available, which is medium-heavy.

Now, are you ready for the bad news? Hyper performance doesn’t come cheap. These models MSRP range is between

$380 and $390. Of course, when it comes to fi shing rods—and just about everything else—you get what you pay for. And in this case, you’re paying for the latest and greatest in inshore saltwater fi shing rods.

For more info, check out their website, www.stcroixrods.com.

Next-Gen OutboardTHE FIRST LOOK AT BRPS’ EVIN-rude E-TEC G2 outboard is likely to leave you speechless. The real question is, will the fi rst ride leave you breathless?

G2 is, as you might guess from the name, the next generation E-TEC outboard from Evinrude. And it has that wild look because Evinrude did away with the standard cowl design and instead moved to a composite exoskeleton. The good news for do-it-your-selfers is that when you pull the side panel off, you have great access to items like the water separator/fuel fi lter, but even better, you can slap your eyeballs on a gearcase lube reservoir. That means you can check your lube oil for both level and contamination at a glance, instead of having to pull plugs and drip messy gear lube all over the place.

These side panels, which come in fi ve different colors with 14 different accent stripes to match your boat or tow vehicle, are secured with six screws. I don’t like the thought of needing a tool to get inside, but BRP kept the hassle to a minimum by using quarter-turn screws. Besides, they don’t think you’ll need to go in there very often. The G2 boasts a fi ve year/500 hour no-maintenance

plan. Although the weight of these 200- to

300-HP models differs little from existing E-TECs, little else about them is similar. The gear case is all-new and incorporates the shift actuator, eliminating the need for a (troublesome) shift linkage. Steering is con-trolled with a helix screw integrated into the mounting bracket. And when you steer, the rigging tube doesn’t move.

I’ll bet what you’re really wondering about, however, is the powerhead. It’s also all new, a 3.4 liter 74-degree V6, and yes, it is a two-stroke. Some major design changes include re-designed transfer and exhaust ports, pistons, and cylinder heads, which have been changed to improve effi ciency and reduce the amount of fuel escaping through the exhaust port. I haven’t been able to perform any on-the-water comparison tests confi rming this yet, but

Evinrude is claiming that the redesign gains the G2 20-percent more torque, 15-percent better fuel economy, and 75-percent less emissions.

The G2 E-TECs are going into produc-tion now, and BRP hopes to have them

at the fall boat shows. Keep an eye out for

them there—and prepare yourself to be left breathless.For more information, visit

www.evinrude.com.

—Lenny Rudow

Texas Tested


off, you have great access to items like the water separator/fuel fi lter, but even

means you can check your lube oil for both level and contamination at a glance, instead of having to pull plugs and drip messy gear lube all

to get inside, but BRP kept the hassle to a minimum by using quarter-turn screws. Besides, they don’t think you’ll need to go in there very often. The G2 boasts a fi ve year/500 hour no-maintenance

the redesign gains the G2 20-percent more torque, 15-percent better fuel economy, and 75-percent less emissions.

The G2 E-TECs are going into produc-tion now, and BRP hopes to have them

at the fall boat shows. Keep an eye out for

them there—and prepare yourself to be left breathless.For more information, visit

www.evinrude.com.

T E X A S F I S H & G A M E ® | S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4


http://www.stcroixrods.com

http://www.evinrude.com

Hobie Mirage Pro Angler 17T INTRODUCING HOBIE MIRAGE Pro Angler 17T Fishing Boat: A human-powered 17-foot fi shing machine. No gas needed, no-motor-zone compliant and made in the U.S.A.

The new 17T integrates all the features of the Pro Anglers including Hobie’s iconic patented MirageDrive pedal system with adjustable Turbo Fins for propulsion, leav-ing hands free for casting and catching fi sh. Three different confi gurations for the new, three-inch higher Vantage XT seats include traditional in-line tandem seating, face-to-face social tandem or solo, all with enough room for man’s best four-legged friend. It also has plenty of space for standing, casting and fl y fi shing in comfort.

Another key new feature is the patent-pending 12-sided H-Rail System for mount-ing accessories. The rail runs along each side of the boat and provides a quick and easy way to secure a variety of accessories. Two-each, H-Rail Mounting Plates; Rod Racks; and Cup Holders come stock with the boat. An infi nite number of optional accessories can then be added to the H-Rail such as a trolling engine mount, tackle bins, fi sh fi nders, camera mount or rod holders.

A large rudder provides steerage and maneuverability, and the new drop-down tracking skeg can be deployed when cover-ing long distances in challenging conditions. The battery platform can also hold a crate or small cooler. Storage for up to 12 rods, ten horizontally and two vertically, keeps them handy but out of the way. A large front hatch and liner offer easy access for storing fi sh, ice, food, clothing or extra tackle. The built-in Lowrance Ready transducer mount-ing plate and pre-installed wire plugs make it quick and easy to install electronics. Three large rectangular hatches provide easy access to pivoting Tackle Management Systems

and in-hull storage.The Pro Angler 17T boat weighs 185

pounds fi tted and 230 pounds fully rigged with standard features and has a 900-pound capacity.

MealSpec Ultimate Cooking BagMEALSPEC A LEADING MANUFAC-turer of fl ameless meal heaters, now unveils their new MealSpec Gen 2 Cooking Bag. MealSpec’s extensive passion for military and emergency food heating supplies have

led them to create the most reliable fl ame-less meal cooker available.

MealSpec has pushed portable outdoor cooking to a new limit with their GEN 2 Cooking Bag that can cook an entire meal in one container. They applied the same technology as the MealSpec GEN 1 Heater bag but improved the maximum temperature duration and designed a larger bag that could accommodate increase cook-ing space. GEN 2 sets the standard in the world of conventional cooking equip-ment. The GEN 2 quickly rises to an 220 degrees Fahrenheit in just under a few minutes and remains at a safe cooking tem-perature lasting up to 45 minutes, ensur-ing a meal is cooked and not just heated. GEN 2 is perfect for disaster preparedness, camping, hunting, and more. The Meal-Spec cooker bag is simple, fi rst tear the top of the bag and remove the packaging. Next, insert the provided cooking device, add food packaged in a Ziploc bag or plastic container. Then, add water to the fi ll line to activate the cooker. Quickly secure the top of the bag and wait 15 to 45 minutes for a hot, cooked meal.

FlounderPro 5000FISHING LIGHTS ETC., ONE OF the countries’ leading producers of LED lighting products introduces the brightest


Fish and Game Gear

MealSpec GEN 2 Cooking Bag

led them to create the most reliable fl ame-

Hobie Mirage Pro Angler 17T Boat


LED Flounder Gigging and Bully Netting light to hit the sporting goods market!

The new “FlounderPro-50000” High Intensity LED light was made using cutting edge LED technology. The high intensity light uses 30 three-watt LEDs and puts out an amazing 5,000 lumens of white light. The light has a specially designed acrylic dome that fl oods the bottom in every direc-tion with high intensity light.

Our new high tech aluminum heat sink

allows the high intensity light to be used above water or below water. This makes the FlounderPro 5000 a perfect light for fl oun-der gigging and bully netting.

The FlounderPro 5000 can be used with any 12VDC battery and it comes with a center mounted 1.25-inch Schedule 40 mounting bracket. 25 foot power-cord with battery clips, 50-watts, 4.1 amps and a one year limited warranty.

For more information on this light as well as other lights, contact Fishing Lights Etc., at 785-621-2646 or visit our website at www.fi shinglightsetc.com.


allows the high intensity light to be used

mounting bracket. 25 foot power-cord with battery clips, 50-watts, 4.1 amps and a one year limited warranty.

as other lights, contact Fishing Lights Etc.,

FlounderPro 5000


http://www.fi

What’s Not to Love About September?

THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER IS AT OR near the top of many, if not most outdoorsmen’s list of favorites for lots of obvious reasons.

What’s not to love about September? Most avid anglers, down in these parts anyway, are also avid hunters and also avid sportsmen in general. What’s not to love about a month in which you can hunt doves, catch a box of fi sh and take the family to a football game all in the same weekend?

September gives us a taste of fall in its most primary stage and is a reminder to us that a much welcomed cool change is within our reach. The average highs are slowly but surely descending down the thermom-eter and anglers are beginning to entertain

thoughts of switching gears and going to patterns and techniques more suitable for fall fi shing. With that being said, it is still hot and we are still on our summer patterns as we anxiously await the fi rst signifi cant cool front of the year.

The topwater bite in the Sabine Neches Waterway and the Intracoastal Canal is still going strong on nice calm mornings, and the jetties will continue to produce nice stringers of trout and slot reds for the next few weeks. In the lake you should have little problem locating reds along the eastern bank from Blue Buck Point all the way to East Pass. Troll down the shoreline in about 2 to 5 feet of water and tempt them with topwaters, soft plastics or gold spoons.

Some excellent choices for plastics are Flounder Pounder CT Shad, Norton Bull Minnow and GULP Swimming Mullet. Good colors are glow, chartreuse and limetreuse. For topwaters, pearl or pink/silver skitterwalks and black with chartreuse She Dogs are hard to beat.

If you prefer using the real deal, anchor on the points on either side of the mouths of the bayous. Use a fi sh fi nder rig with a 3/0 Kahle hook. Live or cut mullet, fresh dead shrimp and cracked crab fi shed either on the bottom or under a popping cork will work well.

Also on calm afternoons expect to fi nd big schools of reds roaming the mid lake area from Madame Johnson Bayou to East Pass. These massive schools shouldn’t be hard to fi nd or stay on when the wind is calm and the lake is smooth. Keep an eye out also for the giant clouds of shad that that you’ll encounter in the late summer months. Fish the perimeters with Hoginars, gold spoons or shad and mullet under a popping cork.

September is a great time to get out and enjoy the tail end of some fantastic late sum-mer action before the fronts begin to roll in and we switch gears into fall fi shing mode.

THE BANK BITE

LOCATION: South Revetment (Pleasure Island).SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfi sh and Flounder.BAITS/LURES: Live Shrimp, Mud Minnows and Topwaters.BEST TIMES: Moving Tides, especially early and late.

Contact Eddie Hernandez at ContactUs@fi shgame.com


by Capt. Eddie Hernandez | TF&G Contributor

Hotspots Focus:Upper Coast


Falling Into Place

SEPTEMBER HAS ALWAYS BEEN A favorite month of mine for fi shing the upper Texas coast.

Normally, the chance of serious storms has passed and so has the most traffi c on waterways and beaches. Some cooler air should be coming to pay us back for enduring August, although water temperatures can still be too warm for optimal fi shing with some species.

Speckled trout, redfi sh, and fl ounder are caught in every month of the year here in some numbers, but September is as good or better than any other time for these species.

Bay and surf, both, will have fi sh in residence, and since in the Galveston area there is not much land separating the two it is possible to try both in a single day’s session.

Wading a calm green surf in early morn-ing is often magical just for being there, and the fi shing with live bait or artifi cial lures can be both challenging and productive when a school of good fi sh are found.

Bay fl ats near a pass or a deep channel such as the Intracoastal Canal are also good early morning/late evening spots, where fi sh are close to deeper water to escape the heat of the day, and return to feed when temperatures cool off again.

“Bull” redfi sh still roam the surf in September, as well as hard fi ghting jacks and some tarpon. Casting from or near the beach or fi shing from a small boat just beyond the swells of the deepest near-shore sandbar is both productive and pleasant, depending of the temperature of the day.

Galveston Island has always had a con-tingent of guys who prefer to battle big fi sh – and not all of them use boats to go offshore for their sport. I’ve known anglers who hunt for large rays in deeper holes, and others who

know of a fresh or brackish water spot on the Island where big alligator gars can be found. Better known are the shark hunters, who are usually just as happy sitting on a pier or jetty as on the deck of a boat.

This is not to say that offshore fi shing in September isn’t good, in fact it can be excellent. King mackerels are still around, and might be closer to the beach than in mid- summer. Dolphins might be a little farther out, but working available weed lines and other fl oating “structure” can turn up good catches – with no bag or size limits, either. Bluefi sh will be more common around rigs in the cooler water, although I have seen then murdering mullet in the surf at times.

These fi sh that are not subject to season closures and bag and possession limits are more precious than ever. The red snapper “season” in federally controlled waters more than nine miles from shore (as it stands right now) is projected to only last nine days. On top of that, catching triggerfi sh has been again shut down for the summer.

Looking back on my September column of 2013, it seems we were looking at the same situation then, except just not quite as short as nine days – which is a new record.

Last year the states of Texas and Louisiana sued the NMFS over unneces-sarily short seasons without valid data to back up their reasoning –and won. Congress had required them to develop this data. As a result, NOAA/NMFS was required to re-open the recreational season.

This year commercial fi shermen and some environmental groups sued claiming recreational fi shermen had consistently gone over their quota of snapper, and should, in essence, be forced to “re-pay” those fi sh with a shorter season this year.

Of course, the new methods of data collec-tion still do not exist. These methods would give some sort of an accurate assessment of the amount of fi sh caught by recreational anglers (which includes charter boat customers).



by Capt. Mike Holmes | TF&G Contributor

Hotspots Focus:Galveston


Wish for Nameless Winds

SEPTEMBER IS PEAK SEASON FOR hurricanes, but if the big blow is not heading for Texas’ shores, Septem-ber can be a time of very calm winds,

which creates fi shing opportunities.The surf is teeming with mullet, menha-

den, sardines, and shrimp. Consequently, predators of all sizes and shapes turn up to feast.

You will probably have to deal with sargasso weed, as this summer we have had an extraordinary amount of sargasso weed piling up on the beach and fouling fi shing lines in the surf. If you are using live or

dead shrimp and a popping cork, you will get seaweed when your popping cork and baited line move.

The best thing to do is to leave your bait in one place after the cast and just “pop” the cork a bit. If you are using artifi cial lures, rig a weed-less, weight-less bait. I have found that a fi ve-inch Stanley Wedgetail Mullet on a 5/0 TTF Texas Weedkiller swimbait hook collects the least amount of weed.

One fi sh in the surf that will take either an artifi cial lure or natural bait is the gafftop sail fi sh. To avoid being stuck by the long venomous spines on their dorsal and pec-toral fi ns, use a Fish Grip made by United Plastics.

Grasp the fi sh in the mouth with the Fish Grip, then use your needle nose pliers to extract the hook. If you do not want to carry a net, a Fish Grip will help you control the fi sh so you don’t get hooked. I carry a net and a Fish Grip to control of the fi sh.

In September, fi sh key on shorter days and cooling water, and begin aggressively

feeding to prepare for fall migrations and winter. One September, my son and I spent the night on my boat in Cotton’s Bayou in West Matagorda Bay so we could enjoy fi sh-ing just before the sun rose and set.

Just after the sun dropped below the horizon, I paddled my kayak over foot-deep grass fl ats and came upon a dozen redfi sh with tails and backs out of the water. The water was exploding with baitfi sh fl ee-ing from the reds. My gold spoon barely touched the water before a 16-inch redfi sh dashed off with it.

In the morning we enjoyed watching the sun bathe the bay with color while we worked Rapala gold skitter walk topwaters over shallow fl ats and into deeper water. When the lure twitched over the point where the fl ats met the drop off, a 20-plus-inch trout would swim up from below and bash the topwater.

Trout and fl ounders get just as excited about fi nding food in late September as redfi sh. Flounders tend to move along the shorelines. Flounders tend to travel and feed in schools, so if you get a hit, stay in the same area and work it hard. Also look for a big, loner trout over fl ats or along shorelines.

The offshore waters in September are clear, blue, and on most days, calm. Red snappers are not in season, but offshore anglers can fi nd plenty of non-red-snapper action behind shrimp boats.

Shrimpers drag their nets at night and anchor at dawn. They dump their catch onto the deck, sort out the shrimp, and shovel the bycatch, which includes small snappers, croakers, and pinfi sh into the sea.

The volume of small fi sh pushed off the boat is about seven times the amount of shrimp caught. Birds, bottlenose dolphins, and sharks are joined by some choice game fi sh to feed on this line of fresh dead fi sh (chum), which can be up to a half-mile long. Ling, dorados, and kingfi sh often show up behind the shrimp boats.

I was fi shing with Henry Dong behind a shrimp boat when we saw a large ling


by Mike Price | TF&G Contributor

Hotspots Focus:Matagorda


through the clear water, checking out Henry’s bait. This is very common; a ling will swim up to and around bait, sometimes even taking the bait into its mouth, then spit-ting it out before actually eating it.

Henry dropped his bait a little deeper, just out of our visibility, and waited. Soon, the big ling was running with the bait and Henry set the hook. Henry’s ling weighed 65 pounds.

Light winds in September allow the surf

to be clear and calm, making fi shing the surf a real pleasure. In late September, trout, redfi sh, and fl ounders start feeding aggres-sively in the bays. In offshore waters, you will fi nd exciting action catching ling, dorados, and kingfi sh under weedlines, and behind shrimpboats.

THE BANK BITE

TRES PALACIOS BAY SHORELINEWade fi shing on the Tres Palacios Bay shoreline offers sand bottom for easy wading, oyster reefs and variable bottom contour for fi sh habitat, and protection from a north wind. On a northeast wind, leeward protected wade fi shing will be on the east side of the bay between Collegeport and Oyster Lake. On a northwest or north wind, you can get in the water in Palacios and wade south toward Turtle Bay.

Contact Mike Price atContactUs@fi shgame.com

NMFS was required by law to develop these new methods, but there is no valid method to arrive at such numbers. The message to recreational snapper fi shermen, for-hire fi shermen, and all the various busi-nesses who depend on the snapper fi shery is: “We been had – again!”

THE BANK BITE

LOCATION: Galveston surf – piers and jettiesSPECIES: Croaker to Bull redfi sh – they might all be there!BEST BAITS: Live or cut dead mullet, croak-er, skipjack, or shadBEST TIMES: Early and late, and at night. Watch tidal movement, and should a cooling rain cloud appear – watch for signs of lightening, but fi sh the welcome temperature drop.

Contact Mike Holmes atContactUs@fi shgame.com.

GALVESTON

NMFS was required by law to develop


PHOT

O: E

GRET

Weedless Egret Wedgetail Mullet


Fall Into Coastal Fishing

AUGUST WASN’T ONLY A MONTH OF hot temperatures. For a lot of us, it also proved to be a hot month for landing red fi sh with artifi cial baits.

Now that September is here, we can anticipate what is generally some of the best fi shing weather that the year has to offer � except any unforeseen hurricane action along our western Gulf coast region.

Calm and moderate winds should once again start to fl atten both bay and beachfront waters. Historically, September catches under these conditions have produced some rather impressive results. This is due, in part, to the fact that air temperatures typi-cally begin to cool a bit toward the latter part of September, thereby turning “On” both the top water and the suspended-bait bites as a direct result.

Mother Nature often begins lowering the settings on the thermostat each year right around the occurrence of the autumnal equinox (happening this year on September 22nd), which usually marks our welcoming of some of fall’s initial cooling temperatures.

We can’t honestly say that this will hap-pen for sure in the month of September this year, but in the past we have often experi-enced a cool front at least the last week of this month. All I can truly say is that we all will certainly keep our fi ngers crossed and hope for the best.

In the event the Texas coastline is lucky enough to sidestep any major tropical weath-er this month, the September fi shing forecast looks rather favorable. However, our ability to locate the trout and the red fi sh right now will still depend upon us fi rst locating active

baitfi sh, especially mullet.Historically, the fi rst part of September

provides a pattern of lower tides accom-panied by incoming currents that typically allow us to locate some rather large schools of feeding red fi sh. Most of these fi sh will be found in knee and thigh-deep waters along many of the leeward shorelines in area bays, and in the past it has not been unheard of to fi nd some really nice trout mixed-in with the reds.

There is more than one way to go about chasing these fi sh during this “hot” time of the year. One proven strategy is to follow the fi sh out to deeper water during a period of low tide that happens to be accompanied by an out-going current.

A second successful strategy is to fi sh tight against the shoreline grass on a high tide that happens to be accompanied by incoming water currents.

Most of our recent red fi sh action is com-ing from area grass beds in knee and thigh-deep water real early in the morning or late in the evening before sunset. Our latest trout landings have occurred while fi shing in waist to chest-deep water over sand fl ats or places

consisting of occasional shell.Some of my archived fi shing logs refl ect

me wading in September anywhere from East Matagorda Bay all the way down to Copano Bay near Rockport. We sometimes cover great deal of water on any one day.

A favorite ritual for this time each year is chasing the reds in Guadalupe Bay near the town of Seadrift. We’ll typically begin wit-nessing the undisputable telltale signs of red fi sh including mud boils, sand pockets, and pushes (wakes) on the surface of the water.

As weather conditions permit, this is also another time in the year when we routinely will begin looking for what can often become an active trout bite atop many of the open-water shell reefs that pepper the local waters of San Antonio Bay.

Late September tides often begin a slow increase. This is when coastal anglers should shift their trout focus to secluded back lake areas all along Matagorda Island just off of Espiritu Santo Bay and San Antonio Bay.

Regardless of looking for trout over shell out in the middle of the bay, or wading in knee-deep mud in the lakes, you should maintain an early morning regimen. Start the day in very skinny water chunking junior-sized top water baits, baits like the Super Spook Junior or Skitter Walk Junior.

Once the morning sun is high in the sky and the bite on top turns off, anglers should then throw suspending baits and plastic tails out into deeper water, primarily relying on the lower water column for both the trout and the reds.

Have fun, have a great fall season, and keep grindin’.

Contact Capt. Chris Martin at bayfl [email protected]

or visit bayfl atslodge.com


by Capt. Chris Martin | TF&G Contributor

Hotspots Focus:Upper Mid Coast

“Our ability to locate

trout and redfi sh will depend upon

fi rst locating active baitfi sh.“




by Capt. Mac Gable | TF&G Contributor

Hotspots Focus:Rockport

A Bayou Reborn

I WAS STANDING ON THE SOUTHERN-most tip of Matagorda Island with Aran-sas County Commissioner Betty Stiles. What lay in front of us was the now

dredged channel of Cedar Bayou.I had been asked to participate in a photo

documentary of rocket launches that occurred on the island back in the 1980s. My job was to transport the team to and from the island.

Little did I realize the launch sites for the rockets were just over a stone’s throw from Cedar Bayou. Being a “save Cedar Bayou” ardent fan, I was thrilled to see the dredged channel in front of me. I wanted to jump and click my heels in joy and get a group hug.

As I focused on the bayou, the fact that the dredges and the crew were working on the end closest to the Gulf of Mexico told me they were indeed making good progress. I stared at this phenomenon for what seemed like hours just to take it all in. This event has been over a decade in the making with hard work from many high level and connected people, orga-nizations and just us everyday anglers who chipped in a little dinero when we could.

Several years ago I wrote an article on Cedar Bayou, its history and the causes of its fl owing water demise. It seemed back then no matter how hard we pushed the powers-that-be just didn’t have it as a priority. I mean life was still good; fi sh were being caught, so why bother about what amounted to a small creek-like ditch that fed its trickle of water into the bay systems?

Then things changed.The fi shing slowed, decapod crustaceans

such as crabs and shrimp of any color were but nonexistent, whooping cranes were found dead in the area attributed to starvation and bing! bang! bong!, this little trickle of water (or the lack thereof) was a suspect.

Could it be the sanding in or silting in of Cedar Bayou was to blame? We as humans like simple single answers so now the little known ditch once called Santo Inlet, Santos Pass (i.e. Cedar Bayou) now was on every-one’s lips and suddenly became a political item which attracted attention and managed to hit the right people’s agenda.

Suddenly those who had pushed so hard were put on the back burner and the new forces were in play. As I stood looking at what to me was a grand site it wasn’t the CCA that came to mind � or the judges, the hydrolo-gist, the Coast & Harbor Engineering, the General Land Offi ce, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the many millions of dollars donated, or the self-professed local experts on this now hot topic.

Even though I know this wouldn’t have happened without them, much like the Sherpa who took the fi rst step up Mount Everest, my mind said a heartfelt thank you to Lynn Edwards. Ms. Edwards and her family were the ones who started the climb

over the tons of sand and political BS and had the vision to see what we all didn’t,close to twenty years ago.

The fi rst shovel of sand removed should be gold-encased and given to her because she stayed the course and fought the uphill fi ght. Taking data from my article years ago, we did not create the need of a sand berm at the mouth of Cedar Bayou (which in my mind was the beginning of the latest major clog) – it was created to protect our bays from the IXTOC (a nonUSA-owned company) spill.

However, one of our own Rockport area citizens, Ms. Edwards, was the catalyst / reason why I was seeing the dredges and the progress that day. That’s not to say the other people and organizations are not much appreciated because they truly are, I like to look back and not forget those who started this much-needed project and NOT let those people get lost in the now-popular hoopla.

Let me play devil’s advocate. Please keep in mind you know where I stand - the dredging is great, it’s what we all need here


in the coastal bend area, BUT as I left the Cedar Bayou area that day I recalled some of the plans I had seen for the dredging. Although the crew is not complete, what I didn’t see was any concrete revetment or jetty-type system being constructed. It seems, if I understand it correctly, the attempt this time to open Cedar Bayou is to return it to � and I quote “its original historical confi guration,” which entails Cedar Bayou working hydro-logically with Vincent Slough/Bayou.

It is believed based on the $400K study, the fl ow through CBY will have to be increased and the resistance decreased. All these working together in theory will increase the water velocity at the mouth of CBY and have a washing out effect that will help keep CBY open. I will try to dock my boat on the cautiously optimistic side and hope and pray it works ... for a very long time. But, to be rounded/fair, there are some pretty smart folks who do not agree. To keep these people from fi nding themselves in front of the progress truck I will not use their names but rather offer a pessimistic side. The theory, in their mind, is all wet, for without a jettie system and proper erosion control along at least part of the shorelines the outlook for CBY remain-ing open is low. The current dredging study hangs a lot of the washout effect on Vincent Slough but some experts believe Vincent Slough is mostly a wash-over type fan system which means in their mind it exchanges very little water except on unusually high tides. Therefore, some feel it is not likely it will help CBY remain open.

This year no one can recall when the fi sh-ing has been so slow. Many believe opening CBY will heal all our these woes. Some have even said that all will get better within a few weeks or a month (this is just ridiculous). Of course the opening will help, but we didn’t get here overnight, and our bays will not rebound overnight. Further, any fi shing woes have multiple reasons once studied in depth; Cedar Bayou is just one ingredient that will help our fi sheries rebound if for no other reason but to help refurbish an all but stagnant Mesquite Bay, which, in turn, over time should help surrounding bays as well.

OUR CURRENT FISHERIES ARE where they are today because we are over-

fi shing them, we are ruining habitat faster than it can replenish itself, we are not getting the exchange we need from the Gulf water (which the opening of CBY will help). We are not getting enough fresh water infl ow down our rivers and into our bays mostly because people want to water their St. Augustine grass upstream and are not fresh water conservation minded. It really bothers me to see sprinklers going, sucking millions of gallons of water onto nonproductive yard grass, when your tongue is stuck to the roof of your mouth because you have no water to drink. Go suck on your grass is what I want to say. Enough is enough. It is my prayerful hope that our Cedar Bayou opening was done correctly for it is too important to com-promise and deserves the best we can give it.

• • •

SEPTEMBER IS SHOT GUN MONTH for fi shing. No, I don’t mean go shoot the fi sh. Hunting is just around the corner so just hold on. Rather, bring any and all baits and give’em a try. The fi sh this time of year had every type of bait chunked at them dur-ing the summer months, and the angler that will put several different type of bait on his/her boat and diversify fi shing presentations will have a much better chance of bringing home supper.

COPANO BAY: Cut mullet at the mouth of Mission Bay is still productive for reds either free lined or on a Carolina rig. The pilings on the old LBJ fi shing pier are a good place for sheepshead. Use small hooks. Small pieces of fresh, dead shrimp work best here. You need a fi shing rig that can horse them away from the pilings quickly. Live shrimp still works well for keeper trout on the deeper edges of Lap Reef. My favorite method is free lining, but a rattle cork will work as well.

ST. CHARLES BAY: Drifting Cow Chip has been productive for reds using Berkley Jerk Shad in anchovy and blue pepper neon colors. Small white grubs have been good for fl ounder along the grass lines in Cavasso Creek. Slow retrieves are the key here. Salt Creek still has some black drum

using peeled shrimp on a light Carolina rig.

ARANSAS BAY: You’ll fi nd a few keeper trout on Spalding Reef using croaker or live shrimp free lined. There are some keeper reds feeding close to the new spoil area at the mouth of Dunham Bay. Cut menhaden or mullet is the ticket on the light-est Carolina rig you can use. Jaybird Reef has some black drum and a few fl ounder with live shrimp the preferred bait under a rattle cork.

CARLOS BAY: The west shoreline is good for reds using fi nger mullet or mud minnows free lined. Cedar Reef is still hold-ing a few trout with free lined croaker or piggy perch being the ticket.

MESQUITE BAY: The south edges of Ayers Reef are good for reds using cut menhaden on a light Carolina rig. The new spoil area next to Roddy Island is good for some fl ounder and sheepshead. Use white grubs tipped with squid or shrimp for fl oun-der and #2 kahle hooks and peeled shrimp for the sheepies. When the wind permits, Rattlesnake Reef is good for trout using chartreuse and camo-colored jerk shad.

AYERS BAY: Some big black drum on the shell on the north side of the bay. Free lined live shrimp works well here as well as fresh, dead, peeled shrimp. The shoreline of Roddy Island is good for some reds using mud minnows or fi nger mullet either free lined or on a light Carolina rig.

Here’s wishing you tight lines, bent poles, and plenty of bait.

THE BANK BITE

Wades between the piers on Fulton Beach Rd are productive for some nice trout using live shrimp. A lot of the shoreline is private so get ready for some long wades for access and exit points. Many of the piers have shell reefs just off of them so fi sh slow and watch for soft muddy bottoms here.

Contact Capt. Mac Gable at Mac Attack Guide Service,

512-809-2681, 361-790-9601


Rockport Focus



Picking up the Doormat

FLOUNDER CAN BE A TOUGH GET ON THE Lower Laguna Madre, but they are there in decent numbers. It takes some know-how, a little patience, but the

stalwart angler can fi nd some nice fl atties to take home for a nice stuffed fl ounder dinner.

Anglers who pick up their mail in Port Mansfi eld won’t burn too much gas looking for fl ounders. There are plenty of spots a short run across Lower Laguna Madre in the East Cut. The side channels that feed into the back bays attract fl ounders on both the incoming and outgoing tides. The fi sh settle on thin drop-offs along the pass on an outgoing tide, then work their way into the inside edges on an incoming tide. The easi-est way to for Mansfi eld fl atties is to work live bait or a soft plastic along the edges. A live shrimp or mullet is an ideal bait. Fish them on a split-shot or fi shfi nder rig and a 1/0 short-shanked or Khale hook.

If you are going to hop a shrimp or shad tail (the venerable Norton Bull Minnow is a great standard), use a ¼ ounce football-style jighead and hop the bait. This is akin to fi sh-ing for bass with a jig/pig combo. Hop with the rod tip up until you feel the resistance of a pick-up. Lower the rod tip, reel in the slack, and set the hook. Hard. If you miss, start over. Nothing to it, right?

Once, on a wade-fi shing trip to the East Cut channels, I saw an older gentleman with a very nice string of heavy fl ounders. He was more than happy to show me what he was using, a Paul Brown’s Original Corky. The lure was chewed up and being held together by only good thoughts, but it was obvious that it had been strong medicine on

the doormats he had strung. The trick was to work the lure slowly and allow it to hang just above the bottom where a fl ounder is likely to lurk. With the bait sitting just over the fi sh’s nose, it’s only a matter of time before a fl ounder will ambush it and clamp down.

The channels that lead into the back of Cullen Bay hold fl ounders around the edges in through the fall until the fi rst major cold front of the year. Fishing for them is very straightforward. Use a fi sh-fi nder (Carolina) rig with a ¼ ounce sinker and a live shrimp or fi nger mullet on a #1/0 short-shanked single hook (the Owner SSW in blood red, for example). If you’d rather fi sh with lures, then try a three inch Gulp! Shrimp in New Penny or Pearl pinned to the same ¼ ounce football jighead and bounced along the bot-tom. If the fl ounders are there—and they should be—they’ll nail it with gusto.

Moving south, an underutilized fl ounder area is the channel into South Bay. Most ignore the gateway for the riches on the other side, but they miss out on the treasure that abounds. On a fl ood tide, the narrow fl ats on either side (especially the ones on the south side) hold plenty of fl ounders to keep you happy. This is an especially effective area to fi sh at night under a full moon. The only problem is to pay attention to the tides, or you may be stuck for a while on the ebb.

The same outgoing tide that could leave you high and dry also provides an excellent fi shing opportunity. During a full moon, the strong falling tide drains the fl ats into the channels, and fl ounders join other gamefi sh along the fl ats/channel edges to feed on the bait that is dumped into the channel. Swim your bait off the edges and into the drop-offs and let it sink below other feeding fi sh.

The mainland shoreline on the island at the intersection of the Brownesville Ship Channel and the Port Isabel Channel (also known as the Y) is another good fl ounder hole. A trolling motor allows you to fi sh this area the most effectively. Work parallel to the drop-off and cast your bait or lure towards shore and work back to the boat

slowly. Again, either live baits on a Carolina rig or soft plastics are the trick. Don’t be surprised to latch onto some trout and the occasional redfi sh. These fi sh tend to share space with the fl ounders.

A classic, but unused technique for work-ing these shoreline edges is an eel-stew jerk-bait such as the MirrOlure Lil John. The icicle-shaped lure has a much more subtle action than some of the larger, more popular eel-style tails on the market, and fl ounders seem to respond to them quite aggressively. You can swim the baits on a 1/8th ounce round head or, if the fi sh are being a touch fi nicky, a bottom-bouncing head. Cast the rig up to the shallows, and bounce it back to you. When you feel the heavy “thump!” set the hook hard. I’ve also been experimenting with the Kelly Wiggler Ball Shad in Pink Flamingo, and I’ve been encouraged by the results.

If live shrimp are hard to come by, try a three-inch Gulp! Shrimp or Kelly Wigglers Shrimp as alternatives to real meat. Flounders don’t seem to be very discriminat-ing when they’re on the feed. Adherents to the DOA brand will fi nd that the CAL Minnow is a deadly weapon during fl ounder missions.

Don’t overlook fl ounders when you are on Lower Laguna Madre. They make a welcome addition to the autumn get together that you usually invite specks and redfi sh to.

THE BANK BITE

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOT SPOT: Mansfi eld North JettiesSPECIES: Redfi sh, shark.TECHNIQUES: Use live or cut mullet fi shed on the bottom near the rocks.

Contact Calixto Gonzales atContactUs@fi shgame.com

by Calixto Gonzales | TF&G Saltwater Editor

Hotspots Focus:Lower Coast


Sabine Flats and Galveston Reefs

UPPER GULF COAST

by TOM BEHRENS

LOCATION: Sabine LakeHOTSPOT: Neches River FlatsGPS: N 29 58.1167

W 93 51.3333 (29.9688, -93.8557)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: TopwatersCONTACT: Capt. Bill [email protected] shsabinelake.comTIPS: Shrimp will start coming out of the River, migrating into Sabine Lake and the trout will be there to feast.

LOCATION: Sabine LakeHOTSPOT: Sabine River FlatsGPS: N 29 59.1167

W 93 47.3200 (29.9855, -93.7904)

SPECIES: Redfi sh and Speckled troutBEST BAITS: MirrOLure Lil John and 5 inch Provoker in Opening Night, Salt & Pepper or Motor Oil/red fl akesCONTACT: Capt. Bill [email protected] shsabinelake.comTIPS: Watkins likes to throw the Motor Oil Red Flake when the sun is bright.

LOCATION: Sabine LakeHOTSPOT: Coffee Ground CoveGPS: N 29 58.1667

W 93 46.1500 (29.9697, -93.7693)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: MirrOLure Lil John and 5 inch Provoker in Opening Night, Salt & Pepper or Motor Oil/red fl akes

CONTACT: Capt. Bill [email protected] shsabinelake.comTIPS: Working the lure: “I’ll use little short fl ips with the rod tip. I don’t work my bait with reel that much.” Capt. Bill Watson

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Trinity Bay WellsGPS: N 29 41.6667

W 94 47.3167 (29.6945, -94.7888)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig head with wide gap hook; soft plastics in plum/chartreuse colorCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: At the beginning of September, concentrate fi shing efforts in the middle of the bay, working deep water.

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Sun Gas WellsGPS: N 29 38.9167

W 94 48.4333 (29.6489, -94.8072)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig head with a wide gap hook; soft plastics in Pumpkin Seed/chartreuse colorCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West

[email protected]: While fi shing the gas well structure, keep a lookout for birds working slicks.

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Exxon C Lease WellsGPS: N 29 40.4333

W 94 45.5667 (29.6741, -94.7597)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig heads with wide gap hooks. If water is dirty, go to a char-treuse or Limetreuse color. In clear water switch to a clear/metal fl ake soft plasticCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: It it’s windy or the tide is running fast, change to a 1/4 oz. jig head.

LOCATION: Galveston East BayHOTSPOT: Hanna’s ReefGPS: N 29 28.9167

W 94 43.6500 (29.4820, -94.7276)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig heads with wide gap hooks. If water is dirty, go to a char-treuse or Limetreuse color. In clear water switch to a clear/metal fl ake soft plasticCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: “If you can use the lightest jig head pos-sible, you are going to catch more fi sh. Slow your bait down.” Capt. Jimmy West

LOCATION: Galveston East BayHOTSPOT: Hanna’s ReefGPS: N 29 28.7000

W 94 45.7000 (29.4784, -94.7617)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig heads with wide gap hooks. If water is dirty, go to a char-treuse or Limetreuse color. In clear water switch to a clear/metal fl ake soft plastic


GPS COORDINATES are provided in two for-mats: “Decimal Degrees” (degrees.degrees) and “Degrees and Minutes” some-times called “GPS Format” (degrees minutes.minutes). Examples (for Downtown Austin): Decimal Degrees: N30.2777, W97.7379; Degrees and Minutes: N30 16.6662, W97 44.2739. Consult your manual for information specifi c to your GPS device.

DIGITAL EXTRA:

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CONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: “Trout are opportunist feeders rather than a preference feeder. They feed when the bites on; whatever you have on will catch fi sh. If the water is clear, they will get fi nicky a little bit.” Capt. Jimmy West

LOCATION: Galveston East BayHOTSPOT: Deep ReefGPS: N 29 30.8000

W 94 40.5667 (29.5134, -94.6764)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: 1/8 oz. screw shank jig heads with wide gap hooks; if water is dirty, go to a char-treuse or Limetreuse color. In clear water switch to a clear/metal fl ake soft plastic.CONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: “I honestly don’t think one soft plastic outshines another. Some anglers prefer a softer plastic, but I don’t think it makes much difference.” Capt. Jimmy West

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Tin Can ReefsGPS: N 29 40.2667

W 94 56.1000 (29.6712, -94.9352)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Super Spook, She Dog, or Skitter Walk topwatersCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: Once we start getting some fronts coming in, the trout and reds will start moving to shallow water, probably around the end of September.

LOCATION: Galveston Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Jack’s PocketGPS: N 29 44.0667

W 94 45.8500 (29.7346, -94.7642)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Super Spook, She Dog, or Skitter Walk topwatersCONTACT: Capt. Jimmy West409-996-3054CaptJimWest@yahoo.comwww.bolivarguideservice.comTIPS: “If it’s calm and clear I like using the small-er topwaters. If it gets a little choppy, I will throw a bigger topwater.” Capt. Jimmy West

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay

HOTSPOT: Oyster LakeGPS: N 28 36.8833

W 96 10.9833 (28.6147, -96.1831)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Pink Skitter Walk topwaterCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “I fi sh pink Skitter Walks in Baffi n, Port Mansfi eld…anywhere I go. In the last 4-5 years it has been the best producing topwater that I have thrown.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Crab LakeGPS: N 28 40.1833

W 96 3.0000 (28.6697, -96.0500)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Pink Skitter Walk topwaterCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “In September I enjoy fi shing the back lakes off the inter coastal canal. Redfi sh start schooling, and I spend a lot of time working shorelines with topwaters.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: West Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Boggy LakeGPS: N 28 44.8833

W 95 49.9167 (28.7483, -95.8322)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Pink Skitter Walk topwaterCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “A lot of times the shrimp are up in the grass and you can see the redfi sh boiling them up. Kind of ease over into them and start throwing topwaters.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Lake AustinGPS: N 28 47.5667

W 95 47.5500 (28.7930, -95.7927)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Chrome, Clown or chartreuse colored Super Spook JuniorCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: If the pink Skitter Walk isn’t producing redfi sh bites, try the Super Spook Junior. “They are good trout baits too.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Three Mile LakeGPS: N 28 37.2000

W 95 56.9833 (28.6201, -95.9499)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: TopwatersCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “If you can fi nd redfi sh schooling, any topwater bait thrown in or near will draw a strike.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Chinquapin ReefGPS: N 28 44.5500

W 95 46.7667 (28.7427, -95.7796)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Soft plastic tails or live shrimp under a popping corkCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “If the winds are calm, September is a great time to wade some of the bay reefs in East Bay.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: West Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Cotton BayouGPS: N 28 30.4500

W 96 12.3667 (28.5075, -96.2064)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Skitter Walk topwaterCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “If I’m targeting redfi sh, sometime I will throw a little Spook. The chrome colored Spook, or a Clown colored Spook Junior, are all pretty good redfi sh baits. They are good trout baits too.” Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Raymond ShoalsGPS: N 28 33.0167

W 96 18.0667 (28.5505, -96.3014)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Live shrimp under a popping corkCONTACT: Capt. Tommy [email protected] shing.comTIPS: “If the winds are calm, September is a great time to wade some of the bay reefs in East Bay.”








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Capt. Tommy Countz

LOCATION: Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Colorado RiverGPS: N 28 39.0167 W 95 59.3000

(28.6503, -95.9884)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Spook Junior in boneCONTACT: Capt. Dwayne Newbern361-652-7346fi [email protected]: Fish the shoreline looking for pockets of grassgrass

Prowl Panthers for SA Redfi sh

MIDDLE GULF COAST

by TOM BEHRENS

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Panther ReefGPS: N 28 15.2667 W 96 42.9333

(28.2545, -96.7158)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: She Dogs in either a chrome or blueCONTACT: Capt. Mike Bohac281-313-3474fi [email protected] shintalesgjuideservice.comTIPS: “The redfi sh are roaming the shoreline at this time of the year.” Capt. Mike Bohac

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: North Panther ReefGPS: N 28 17.800 W 96 43.6167

(28.2968, -96.7272)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: 1/4 oz. copper spoonCONTACT: Capt. Mike Bohac281-313-3474fi [email protected] shintalesgjuideservice.comTIPS: “I keep my rod tip high and keep twitching it so it looks like it’s (spoon) is coming to the top and then it fl oats down a few inches. It looks like it’s rising in the water, and then fl oating back down.” Capt. Mike Bohac

LOCATION: Lavaca BayHOTSPOT: Lavaca RiverGPS: N 28 41.8167 W 96 34.5167

(28.6972, -96.5755)SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: DOA Terror Eyz soft plastics in pearl or chartreuse on 1/4 oz. jig headCONTACT: Capt. Dwayne Newbern361-652-7346fi [email protected]: Drift the mouth of the Lavaca River

LOCATION: Upper Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Emmords HoleGPS: N 27 30.1833 W 97 19.7167

(27.5031, -97.3289)SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Gambler Flappn Shad in Key Lime Pie or Texas ShrimpCONTACT: Capt. Levi [email protected] shtx.comTIPS: Vary the retrieve…”usually slow and low” best. Capt. Levi Price

LOCATION: Upper Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Pita IslandGPS: N 27 36.1667 W 97 17.1833

(27.6028, -97.2867)SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Super Spook towaters with a pink back/silver bottomCONTACT: Capt. Levi [email protected] shtx.comTIPS: “Walk-the-dog and vary the speed of retrieve…stop, make it twitch in place, and start walking it again.” Capt. Levi Price

LOCATION: Baffi n BayHOTSPOT: Alazan BayGPS: N 27 19.6833 W 97 31.2333

(27.3281, -97.5208)SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Super Spooks with a pink back/silver bottomCONTACT: Capt. Levi [email protected] shtx.comTIPS: “Wade fi sh for bigger trout. Wading allows you to fi sh slower through an area.” Capt. Price

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Big Devil BayouGPS: N 28 12.7333 W 96 55.1833

(28.2122, -96.9200)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: She Dog in blue or chromeCONTACT: Capt. Mike Bohac281-313-3474fi [email protected] shintalesguideservice.comTIPS: Key on oyster pods

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Dagger Point ReefGPS: N 28 16.9167 W 96 16.9166

(28.2821, -96.7923)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Soft plastics with a 1/8 or 1/16 oz. jig head; favorite colors are Morning Glory, Mardi Gras or plum/chartreuseCONTACT: Capt. Mike Bohac281-313-3474fi [email protected] shintalesguideservice.comTIPS: “I wade off to the side of the reef, getting as deep as I can away from the reef.” Capt. Mike Bohac

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Chicken Foot ReefGPS: N 28 16.200 W 96 46.800

(28.2701, -96.7802)SPECIES: Redfi sh & speckled troutBEST BAITS: Topwaters early; soft plastics later in the dayCONTACT: Capt. Mike Bohac281-313-3474fi [email protected] shintalesgjuideservice.comTIPS: “I fi sh a She Dog early in the morning for redfi sh. In the afternoon I move out to the reefs for trout.” Capt. Mike Bohac

LOCATION: Corpus Christi BayHOTSPOT: Corpus Christi Ship ChannelGPS: N 27 48.600 W 97 22.3333

(27.8101, -97.3724)SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Free lining piggy perchCONTACT: Capt. Levi [email protected] shtx.comTIPS: Price uses a 5/0 Kahle hook, 25 lb. leader,

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no rattles…”important the bait stay alive.”

LOCATION: Lavaca BayHOTSPOT: Lavaca ReefsGPS: N 28 36.2667

W 96 36.6667 (28.6046, -96.6114)

SPECIES: Speckled trout & redfi shBEST BAITS: Spook Juniors topwaters CONTACT: Capt. Dwayne Newbern361-652-7346fi [email protected]: Fish the Spook Jrs. In either bone or chrome colors.chrome colors.

Holly, Holly Specks and Reds

LOWER GULF COAST

by CALIXTO GONZALES

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Holly BeachGPS: N 26 8.392

W 97 17.297 (26.1399, -97.2883)

SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Cut Ballyhoo, cut mullet, live bait, gold spoons, topwaters.CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez956-551-9581TIPS: Focus on the fl ats nearest to the channel edges close to shoreline. Fish with cut bait on the bottom. Topwaters work early and late, as do gold spoons.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Holly BeachGPS: N 26 8.392

W 97 17.257 (26.1399, -97.2876)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Live bait, soft plastics in root beer/chartreuse, Purple/chartreuse.CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez956-551-9581TIPS: Fish the deeper water. Live shrimp or small pinfi sh work under a popping cork, but you can also do well with shrimp tails or Cocahoe Minnows under the same fl oat.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Parallel BarsGPS: N 26 8.372

W 97 13.122 (26.1395, -97.2187)

SPECIES: Redfi sh

BEST BAITS: Cut bait, gold spoons, soft plas-tics in Red/White, Tequila Gold/white tail, Root Beer Gold GlitterCONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez956-551-9581TIPS: Fish the gut that forms in between the bars. Watch for fi sh working in the shallower water. Drifting with bait on the bottom is the best bet.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Bridgepoint CannelGPS: N 26 5.306

W 97 10.14 (26.0884, -97.1690)

SPECIES: FlounderBEST BAITS: Live fi nger mullet, soft plastics in New Penny, Watermelon/red.CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez956-551-9581TIPS: Work the edges of the channel and let the bait or lure drop into the deeper water. Work your offering slowly and methodically.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Mexequita FlatsGPS: N 26 3.914

W 97 11.773(26.0652, -97.1962)

SPECIES: SnookBEST BAITS: Live shrimp, live fi nfi sh, topwaters in Bone, Redhead/white body, Plastic Shad tails.CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez956-551-9581TIPS: Snook will along the mangroves near the shorelines and along the edge of the ICW. Use a topwater early in the morning to get their attention. A big white shrimp is tough to beat, too.

LOCATION: Arroyo ColoradoHOTSPOT: Three IslandGPS: N 26 19.828

W 97 19.155 (26.3305, -97.3193)

SPECIES: Speckled troutBEST BAITS: Live bait, soft plastics in dark colors.CONTACT: LG Outfi tters956-371-0220lgonzales@lgoutfitters.comwww.lgoutfitters.comTIPS: Fish the potholes on the fl ats with live bait or with your favorite soft plastic. You can anchor near the guts between the islands and use live bait to intercept fi sh using the gut as a transit point.

LOCATION: Arroyo Colorado




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HOTSPOT: Green IslandGPS: N 26 23.168 W 97 19.725

(26.3861, -97.3288)SPECIES: Redfi shBEST BAITS: Live bait, cut bait, gold spoons, soft plastics in dark colorsCONTACT: LG Outfi tters956-371-0220lgonzales@lgoutfi tters.comlgoutfi tters.comTIPS: Watch for mudboils to tip off where redfi sh are working. Drift with live bait or cut bait fi shed on the bottom. Gold spoons are effective on sunny days.

LOCATION: Baffi n BayHOTSPOT: Yarborough FlatsGPS: N 27 10.681 W 97 24.272

(27.1780, -97.4045)SPECIES: Speckled TroutBEST BAITS: Live bait, topwaters early.CONTACT: Captain Joey Farah361-442-8145TIPS: Try topwaters early in the morning. If those don’t draw some crashing strikes, break out the meat and temp trout with a live pinfi ish or shrimp.meat and temp trout with a live pinfi ish or shrimp.

Don’t Pass the Buck for Sam Bass

PINEY WOODS

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

LOCATION: Lake Sam RayburnHOTSPOT: Buck Bay GPS: N 31.189901 W 94.060878

(31.189901, -94.060878)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: Stanley Top Toad, Pop-Rs, Deep Driving Crank Baits, Texas rig big worms, Carolina Rigs,Stanley Jigs 3/4 to 1 oz. CONTACT: Lynn [email protected]: Start on the points and work your way back along the grass and drops. Work the grass with topwater baits early and late.

The grass will move as summer gets hotter and the water drops. Stay with the grass lines and deep ledges for the big ones.

LOCATION: Caddo LakeHOTSPOT: Alligator BayouGPS: N 32.714135 W 94.095969

(32.714135, -94.095969)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: Most any dark colored Texas rigged worm using a 1/4 oz. weight, fl ukes or sen-kos, heavy cover punch baits using a 1 oz. weight.CONTACT: Caddo Lake Guide Service/Paul [email protected] shing.comTIPS: Fish the edges of the grass and pads with the worms, senkos, and fl ukes, also fi sh any creek intersections. Change over to the punch rig once the sun gets overhead and pitch into the hydrilla and alligator grass in 2-4 feet of water. (Hint: 30-60 lb. braid and a heavy action rod is a must when punching).

LOCATION: Lake LivingstonHOTSPOT: Ben Shot LakeGPS: N 30.704148 W 95.154690

(30.704148, -95.15469)SPECIES: Striped BassBEST BAITS: Live shad, slabs, spoons, Tsunami Slim Wade 1 oz. chrome w/ green prism. CONTACT: David S Cox - Palmetto Guide Service936-291-9602dave@palmettoguideservice,comwww.palmettoguideservice.comTIPS: Bounce baits off the bottom. Best times, early morning and late evening. Watch for school-ing fi sh. Best with a north wind less than 10 mph or no wind. BANK ACCESS: Governor’s Point

LOCATION: Toledo Bend NorthHOTSPOT: Matinez (East Hamilton area)GPS: N 31.591868 W 93.840451

(31.591868, -93.840451)SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Rat-L-Traps, topwater plugs, spin-ner baits, frogs & buzz baits, deep diving crank baits, Texas & Carolina rigged plastics, 10” or 11” Mr. Twister Red Bug ribbon tail wormCONTACT: Greg Crafts, Toledo Bend Guide Service and Lake [email protected]

www.toledobendguide.com, TIPS: Early morning and late evening work the shallows close to deep water with Rat-L-Traps, Top water plugs, Spinner baits, Frogs & Buzz baits; Mid Day work deep diving crank baits, Texas & Carolina rigged plastics. A ten or eleven inch Mr. Twister Red Bug ribbon tail worm is the go to bait for big bass on Toledo Bend. We’re fi shing a typical summer pattern. Early and late work the shallow water that has vegetation that is close to deep- water drop offs. As the day heats up back out into deeper water off the points, creek and river channel ledges. Keep an eye out for schooling fi sh and keep a Rat-L-Trap handy.

Joe Pool Crappie Under the Bridge

PRAIRIES & LAKES

by DUSTIN WARNCKEand DEAN HEFFNER

LOCATION: Joe Pool LakeHOTSPOT: Lake Ridge Parkway BridgesGPS: N 32 37.355 W 97 02.334

(32.622591, -97.038895)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: 1/8 to 1/4 ounce jigsCONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: The lake is virtually overrun with crappie. The only drawback is that they tend to run small. Either of the bridges on the Lake Ridge causeway will hold crappie. The drawback is in locating the exact depth that they will be on a given day. I like to start out on the south end of either of these bridges and work my way north. Since the lake has stratifi ed, the papermouths will likely not be deeper than twenty-two feet. Begin checking the depths at around sixteen feet and then slowly progress to about twenty feet. For some reason the crappie will usually suspend about two feet off this thermocline. My clients use two ultra small jigs tied one foot apart with a half-ounce sinker two feet below the bottom jig. This rig will get the 1/8 to ¼ ounce jigs down to the bottom quickly and will allow one to fi sh above the thermocline.

LOCATION: Lake AquillaHOTSPOT: Rip Rap at Dam and Humps

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GPS: N 31.900116 W 97.210292

(31.900116, -97.210292)SPECIES: White BassBEST BAITS: RAT-L-TRAPS and slabs from rsrslures.comCONTACT: Randy Routh817-822-5539teamredneck01@hotmail.comwww.teamredneck.netTIPS: Whites are schooling up early on along the dam. Use Rat-L-Traps and make long casts. Tie on a slab with a small jig above it and catch two whites at a time! After the sun comes up and surface action slows down, bounce slabs off the bottom on humps out from the dam. Remember, the bite usually occurs on the fall of the slab so watch your line closely.

LOCATION: Cedar Creek LakeHOTSPOT: Hwy 198 and 334 bridgesGPS: N 32.327993 W 96.182496

(32.327993, -96.182496)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: Jigs and minnowsCONTACT: Jason Barber903-603-2047kingscreekadventures@yahoo.comwww.kingscreekadventures.comTips; Fish with light tackle 6-8 lb. test and vary your depth as fi sh suspend. Brush is a plus when you fi nd it. Fish 12- 24’ and fi sh all deep pillars.

LOCATION: Cooper Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake HumpsGPS: N 33.318106 W 95.653522

(33.318106, -95.653522)SPECIES: White Bass/Hybrid StriperBEST BAITS: 4” Sassy Shad or a 1 1/2 oz. slab spoon in chartreuse colorCONTACT: Tony Parker’s Guide Service903.348.1619tawakonifi [email protected] shing.com/TIPS: September will fi nd me and my clients fi shing main lake humps with a 4” sassy shad or a 1-1/2 oz. slab spoon. I like any color as long as its chartreuse. I will be using my electronics to fi nd schools of white bass and hybrids. I will be looking also for schooling fi sh early and late. Once I locate a school of fi sh I will either drift over them or hold on top of them with my trolling motor. I will make a long cast with the sassy shad letting it sink to the bottom. I will work it back to the boat with a stop and go retrieve. Reel a few turns and let it sink back to the bottom. With the slab I will burn it up off the bottom push the button on your reel and let it go back to the bottom. Give each school you fi nd a few minutes. If no bites move to the next one until you fi nd an active school.

LOCATION: Lake FayetteHOTSPOT: Pekema Creek ChannelSPECIES: Catfi shGPS: N 29.934885 W 96.71717

(29.934885, -96.71717)BEST BAITS: Punch bait, wormsCONTACT: Weldon Kirk979-229-3103weldon_edna@hotmail.comwww.FishTales-GuideService.com TIPS: Water is 15 feet here, with some sub-merged structure. Fish are deeper now as water is very warm from summer sun. Fish close to the bottom whether using cork or tight line. With the water warm chum will still be a very good tool to use. Use a very small treble hook in the size #6 or even #8 due to the very light bite that can come this time of year. Increase hook size only if the fi sh are swallowing the hook. LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir Month: SeptemberHOTSPOT: Eagle Point South SideSPECIES: Catfi shGPS: N 30.631938 W 96.046471

(30.631938, -96.046471)BEST BAITS: Shad, shrimp, worms, stink baitCONTACT: Weldon Kirk979-229-3103weldon_edna@hotmail.comwww.FishTales-GuideService.comTIPS: Timber in this area at varying depths is holding fi sh early in the morning and after dark. Fish are feeding out of Sulphur Creek into the tim-ber in shallower water this time of year. Tie up to a tree and put out chum around the boat. It should not take long for fi sh to show up. Use a #6 treble hook on punch bait with either a tight line or under cork with depth set so the hook is close to the bot-tom. Be sure to use very little chum and put out small amounts of chum if the bite slows.

LOCATION: Lake GranburyHOTSPOT: MidlakeGPS: N 32.4329 W 97.7915

(32.4329, -97.7915)SPECIES: Channel catfi shBEST BAITS: Hotdogs, worms and prepared baits fi shed near deeper docks.CONTACT:Michael Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters817-578-0023www.unfairadvantagecharters.comTIPS: Down-line live bait on Carolina live-bait rig. Baiting the fi shing spot with some soured maize may bring on the bite.Granbury rose 7.5 feet due to a heavy rain in July, but is still about 4.5 feet low as of this publication. Access is available at most locations, however not

many docks are accessible to tie off your boat after launching. You may have to beach the boat to move your trailer if you are by yourself. Water tem-peratures are in the 80’s and any welcomed rain gives the lake a boost for catching as opposed to fi shing. Good reports continue to be small stripers and sand bass schooling on the surface early and late. If they are not schooling, look for suspended fi sh near drop off near channel ledges. Best baits for sand bass and stripers are RatLTraps and spin-ners when on top and slabs when they are deeper.Crappie reports continue to be mixed, but some good reports are being reported around Indian Harbor to the old plant discharge canal. Black bass action continues to be good to 7lbs on crank baits and soft plastics fi shed near fl ooded grasses mid lake. The shad are everywhere and the predators are being caught all over the lake. Some good top water action for black bass early and on overcast days is being reported on a consistent basis.

LOCATION: Joe Pool LakeHOTSPOT: Lakeside MarinaGPS: N 32.627651 W 97.039088

(32.627651, -97.039088)SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Carolina rigged worms, Texas rig with a six inch red metal fl ake worm or Watermelon red or Pumpkin Seed color, crankbaits, H2O baits in bream color.CONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: The lake at fi rst glance may not look to be as deep as it is but some of the inundated creek channels and gravel pits run to depth of over fi fty feet. My choice for fi shing deep structure is to leave out of Lakeside Marina and follow Lake Ridge Parkway south until one reaches the bridge. Follow the bridge until the deep creek channel is shown on your chart and then go under the bridge and head west. This creek meanders all over the lake bed here so it is important to either have a topo map that you can refer to or that the electron-ics has the map capability built into the unit. As I go west, I fi sh every bend that goes from north to south. These bends will be on your left side as you progress to the west. Carolina rigged worms will work best but I prefer the Texas rig with a six inch red metal fl ake worm. Sometimes the fi sh prefer a watermelon red or a pumpkin seed color. My clients and I will usually give each spot about fi ve or six casts before we move on to the next bend unless we get a strike. Fish in this lake tend to school in tight groups, so if you catch one in a spot it is likely that you can catch eight or ten more from the same area. If crankbaits happen to be your forte then try the dam area east of the spillway. I like the H2O baits in some form of bream color.

Sep ALMANAC-Digital.indd 79 8/22/14 1:47 PM


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LOCATION: Lake LewisvilleHOTSPOT: Main Lake Points GPS: N 33.110965 W 96.965304

(33.110965, -96.965304)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: Jigs and live minnowsCONTACT: Tommy Gravley – Lewisville Catfi sh Guide Service214-534-9330www.lewisvillecatfi sh.comTIPS: Look for crappie to be scattered on brush piles, bridge pilings and sunken timber. Move on if fi shing slows down to prospect for more productive spots.

LOCATION: Lake LewisvilleHOTSPOT: Main Lake Points and HumpsGPS: N 33.110965 W 96.965304

(33.110965, -96.965304)SPECIES: White Bass and HybridsBEST BAITS: Live shadCONTACT: Tommy Gravley – Lewisville Catfi sh Guide Service214-534-9330www.lewisvillecatfi sh.comTIPS: Sand bass and hybrid fi shing is good right now. Look for schools of fi sh that are scattered on humps and main lake points.

LOCATION: Lake LewisvilleHOTSPOT: Main Lake Points and HumpsGPS: N 33.110965 W 96.965304

(33.110965, -96.965304)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: Punch bait, cut shad, live shad, and perchCONTACT: Tommy Gravley – Lewisville Catfi sh Guide Service214-534-9330www.lewisvillecatfi sh.comTIPS: Channel catfi sh are good shallow on wind-blown gravel and clay shorelines on punch bait. Fishing is also decent in deeper timber. Blue Cats are fair on main lake humps and points on cut shad and perch. Blues and channels are good at creek mouths when we get a little rain.

LOCATION: Lake PalestineHOTSPOT: Kickapoo CreekGPS: N 32.296834 W 95.503931

(32.296834, -95.503931)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: Shimmy shakers , spinner baits, and frogs

CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff903-561-7299 or [email protected]. rickysguideservice.COM TIPS: Fishing is good for Largemouth Bass. Fish pockets around the islands of Kickapoo Creek and Kickapoo Cove. Use Shimmy shakers , spinner baits, and frogs along weed lines.

LOCATION: Lake Ray HubbardHOTSPOT: I-30 corridor/Harbor Bay MarinaGPS: N 32.900150 W 96.483721

(32.90015, -96.483721)SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Lipless crankbaits, small double bladed spinnerbaits in white with a few blue strands in the skirt, Four inch red Whacky Worm on a drop shot rigCONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: Thankfully the “dog days” of August are a mere memory and better fi shing is in store for all of us during this month. September can be brutally hot or it can be quite mild. Either way though, the fi shing will begin to improve. First, there will be less pressure due to the opening of dove season and the many anglers that will be pulled from the lake in that pursuit. And even though the fi rst part of the month can be as dreadfully hot as last month, it will begin to cool towards the middle of the month. It is these cooler morning that I await, knowing that “Ma Nature” is about to unleash a feeding frenzy in all species of fi nny creatures. With that in mind these are my predictions for catching fi sh this month.Black Bass can be caught on any of the rip-rap along the I-30 corridor or near the levee that separates the hot water discharge from the lake water on the west side of the lake. My hot spot would be the inundated railroad track that is just north of the Harbor Bay Marina. It is quite easy to see as on travels north from this location. The old track travels from east to west and cuts a swath through the timber that is easily seen. There are two old iron bridges on this railroad bed that were blown up and the remains settled, fi rst into the East Fork of the Trinity and farther west three hundred yards, into an old creek channel. Carolina rigged four inch worms will be the ticket in these locations. The water on top of the old trestle is about ten feet and drops to about twenty feet in the channels.

LOCATION: Lake Ray HubbardHOTSPOT: East Side of Robinson Park

GPS: N 32.875361 W 96.510132

(32.875361, -96.510132)SPECIES: White Bass and Hybrid Striper BEST BAITS: White or silver one ounce slabs for White Bass, Small top water plugs, Rooster Tail spinners, and Zara Spooks.CONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: White Bass and Hybrid Striped Bass will begin to move towards the middle of the lake and will stage near the east side of Robinson Park. This area is marked by buoys and is extremely shallow. Due caution most be exercised here because the shallow water extends over one hundred yard east of the marker buoys. It is at the eastern end of the shallow water where anglers can wear themselves out catching large white bass and the occasional fi ve to ten pound hybrid. From the tip of this shallow shoal, motor east until the water drops very rapidly to the twenty-foot range. Continue east until a hump appears on the elec-tronics. This is an old levee and should be about ten feet deep on the top side with twenty feet of water on either side. Follow the contours of this levee and use white or silver one-ounce slabs to bounce off the bottom. The fi sh, both white bass and hybrids, will be on the top during early morn-ings but will move to the deeper sides later in the day. My clients usually burn the lure up of the bot-tom for two or three turn and then allow the slab to settle. The strike will almost always come as the lure falls! If this technique fails then try just mov-ing the slab a couple of inches off the bottom in a “dead stick” manner. Both species will at times force shad to the surface and feed for a brief time on top. Small top water plugs and Rooster Tail spinners will get a fi sh on virtually every cast. If it is the bigger hybrids one chooses to target then try a Zara Spook.

LOCATION: Lake Ray HubbardHOTSPOT: I-30 BridgeGPS: N 32.890766 W 96.486486

(32.890766, -96.486486)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: Small minnows, various ¼ to 1/8-ounce colored curly tailed jigsCONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: Crappie will be under all the bridges and will hold near the bridge supports. As a general rule they will be about two feet from the bottom


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and will be located in the deepest water. A good spot to try is on the eastern most I-30 bridge. From the east, count three bridge supports and fi sh this area, both under the expressway bridge and the railroad bridge, which is immediately north of this location. This spot is where the East Fork ran under the bridges as it travelled south. Small minnows will work but by far the best attractant will be various in one quarter to one eighth ounce colored curly tailed jigs.

LOCATION: Lake Ray HubbardHOTSPOT: Dam AreaGPS: N 32.804162 W 96.494818

(32.804162, -96.494818)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: Punch bait, cut bait, soapCONTACT: The Cajun Guide, Johnny [email protected]: Catfi sh are best caught by using jug lines in the deeper water near the dam. Any of the pop-ular “punch baits” will work as will cut bait. Also, try a bait that I used as a commercial fi sherman many years ago: soap. Either Ivory or P&G will work. Soften the soap by placing it in a shallow dish with water and then pinch off a large hunk to put on the hook. This bait will catch whisker fi sh and your hands and the boat will smell just great!

LOCATION: Lake Ray RobertsHOTSPOT: Marina FlatsGPS: N 33 21.938 W 97 04.927

(33.365628, -97.082119)SPECIES: White bassBEST BAITS: Clear Heddon Baby TorpedoCONTACT:Dannie Golden, Get Bit Guide Service817-228-5999www.get-bit.comTIPS: Schooling sand (white) bass will be still be on the fl ats South of the Marina. I like a Clear Baby Torpedo. When not on top, check your graph for fi sh hanging on the drop-offs of the fl ats in 20-25 feet of water. The slab bite will be picking up more in the middle of the month. I like a 1-oz. chartreuse/white slab, bounced off the bottom in 25-30 feet of water.

LOCATION: Lake Ray RobertsHOTSPOT: Main LakeGPS: N 33 25.698 W 97 00.758

(33.428294, -97.012628)BEST BAITS: Swimbaits, chatterbaitsCONTACT:Dannie Golden, Get Bit Guide Service817-228-5999www.get-bit.com

TIPS: September can be a good time to get on some numbers of bass on Ray Roberts. The bass will be starting to school more on main lake rocky points. Main lake shallow grass will also be holding some fi sh. Swimbaits and chatterbaits are a great option around grass. I like Reaction Innovations Vixen and chrome/blue traps for the schooling fi sh.

LOCATION: Richland Chambers LakeHOTSPOT: Hwy 309 FlatsGPS: N 31.917999 W 96.343279

(31.917999, -96.343279)SPECIES: White BassBEST BAITS: Tiny Torpedos, Rat-L-Traps, small shiny luresCONTACT: Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin’ Guide Service903-389-4117www.gonefi shin.bizTIPS: Check out the Hwy 309 Flats in the early AM for Top Water Schooling White Bass. These “easy to catch” fi sh can be caught on Tiny Torpedos, Rat-L-Traps and just about any small, shiny lure you can fi nd in your tackle box.

LOCATION: Richland Chambers LakeHOTSPOT: Hwy 309 FlatsGPS: N 31.917999 W 96.343279

(31.917999, -96.343279)SPECIES: Hybrid StripersBEST BAITS: DD22 Crankbait CONTACT: Royce Simmons, Gone Fishin’ Guide Service903-389-4117www.gonefi shin.bizTIPS: Hybrid Stripers can be caught by trolling the 20-25 feet of water off the levy just East of the Flats. Hang on cause you could tie into some really large bruisers!

LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Right of SpillwaySPECIES: Catfi shGPS: N 30.313235 W 96.522231

(30.313235, -96.522231)BEST BAITS: Shad, worms, Stink Bait, Chicken LiversCONTACT: Weldon Kirk979-229-3103weldon_edna@hotmail.comwww.FishTales-GuideService.comTIPS: Water drops off quickly from shore here. Use chum around this drop off, chumming close to the boat side. Fish straight down starting with bait close to the bottom where the chum is located. Cork or tight line works here and corks are easier for young anglers. Fish do not have to jerk hard to get the hook, so with the least bite noticed, set the hook.

LOCATION: Lake TexomaHOTSPOT: Texas Flats and Mill Creek FlatsGPS: N 33.822037 W 96.768752

(33.822037, -96.768752)SPECIES: Striped bassBest Striper Baits: Slabs and Coho Minnow JigsCONTACT: CONTACT: Bill Carey903-660-5989bigfi [email protected] TIPS: Stripers are moving out of the deep water





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and roaming the fl ats in September.The lures of choice are slabs and jigs. Vertically jig one-ounce chrome, white and chartreuse slabs along the bottom in ten to thirty foot depths. Coho minnow jigs in white glow color with a ¾ ounce jighead and a four-inch tail are perfect for these hungry stripers. Cast the jigs and use a medium retrieve. If you fi nd surfacing or swirling fi sh, cast the jig, hold your rod high and keep the jig subsur-face. Bank Access: Mill Creek Campsites

LOCATION: Lake WhitneyHOTSPOT: Whitney HumpGPS: N 31.911167 W 97.347879

(31.911167, -97.347879)SPECIES: Striped bassBEST BAITS: Cut or live shad, Jigs and trailersCONTACT: Randy [email protected], www.teamredneck.netTIPS: Use cut gizzard shad on a Carolina rig and make long cast up on Whitney Hump. Big Stripers are moving up on the hump early. After the sun comes up good, back out and use live Shad, fi sh-ing about 22 feet down along the edge of the hump in 32 feet of water. Mid-Day down-rigging, trolling with white striper jigs and white or chartreuse worm trailers is producing good stringers of fi sh.

LOCATION: Lake WhitneyHOTSPOT: McCowan FlatsGPS: N 31.923673 W 97.410449

(31.923673, -97.410449)SPECIES: Striped bassBEST BAITS: Jigs and trailersCONTACT: Randy Routh817-822-5539

[email protected], www.teamredneck.netTIPS: Mid-Day down-rigging, trolling with white striper jigs and white or chartreuse worm trailers at areas like McCowan Flats is producing good stringers of fi sh. stringers of fi sh.

Lake Leon Full, and Filled with Bass

PANHANDLE

by DUSTIN WARNCKEand DEAN HEFFNER

LOCATION: Lake LeonHOTSPOT: Mountain Branch PointGPS: N 32 21.264 W 98 41.424

(32.3544, -98.6904)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: Crankbaits, minnowsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Bass like hanging around those shady boat houses too or around the bends of the lake by the grasses and stumps. Throw out your favorite crank bait or big bass minnow and see what you can catch. Lake Leon is full, and just south of I-20 at Ranger, makes a perfect late-summer vacation. If you come, be sure to pick up your bait at the Barn Too.Remember if you get live bait, keep them in an aerated minnow bucket. If you throw your minnow

bucket over the side, they cannot get any oxygen off the top of the water, due to the heat. So sink it a few feet below the surface.

LOCATION: Lake Alan HenryHOTSPOT: Various Main Lake PointsGPS: N 33.031576 W 101.107130

(33.031576, -101.10713)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: 10” Blue Fleck Power Worms Texas rigged, jigging spoons, Little George’s, fl ukes on a drop shot, or troll deep diving crank baits such as Fat Free Shad’s or Strike King 5XD’sCONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services806-792-9220nclayton42@sbcglobal.netwww.lakealanhenry.com/norman_clayton.htm TIPS: During September, the bass will still be very deep. During and around the full moon is a good time to try night fi shing with big plastic worms. I use 10” Blue Fleck Power Worms Texas rigged. At night, any of the main lake points at the clear end of the lake will be the area to hit for a trophy bass. Area 3, Indian Point, is a great night time fi sh place all the way from the point to down the entire side going west. The points to hit at night is area 24, area 2, all of the steep sided area directly across for the dam. Any steep clear water point or bank could produce a bass of a life time. The bass could be 5 to 25 feet deep. So start your worm close to the bank and work to worm down to the 25 to 30 foot depth.

During the day, the bass will be very deep chasing the schools of shad the ball up around 20 to 40 feet deep. Use your electronics to fi nd the schools of shad and you will fi nd bass. Use jigging spoons, Little George’s, fl ukes worked on a drop shot, or troll deep diving crank baits, such as Fat Free Shad’s, or Strike King 5XD’s. These should be in a shad color. The Fat Free Shad is the one that dives 8 to 14 feet, and the Strike King 5XD dives to 15 feet.

The water temperature will still be around 80 degrees. Shad can be found anywhere in the dam area. You idle around until you fi nd a school of shad, drop out a buoy, then work a spoon or drop shot fl uke through the schools of shad and this should produce bass. Schools of shad can always be found from the launch ramp to Rocky Creek. Idle along until you fi nd the schools of shad, and you will fi nd bass. While you are idling looking for the schools of shad, you might as well troll with one of the above mentioned lures.

LOCATION: Lake Graham/EddlemanHOTSPOT: East ShorelineGPS: N 33 08.760

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W 98 37.302 (33.1460, -98.6217)

SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: minnows, crappie jigsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Crappie like the shade of the stumps and logs varying your depth, might try presenting your bait slow then fast. Make them want to come out and snatch it up.

LOCATION: Lake Graham/EddlemanHOTSPOT: Lower LakeGPS: N 33 08.310 W 98 37.446

(33.1385, -98.6241)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: Minnows, shadCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Catfi sh are biting good on large bass min-nows and large whole shad. Seems like the night bite is the strongest right now.

LOCATION: Lake Graham/EddlemanHOTSPOT: Upper EddlemanGPS: N 33 09.072 W 98 36.300

(33.1512, -98.605)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: CrankbaitsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Bass fi nd it a challenge to make you work for it so get crankin! Use your favorite crank bait and see what happens. Early to mid morning seems the best. September is still producing some great catches here at Graham. This time of year, go out early or go out after dark to try to beat the heat. The fi shermen are still going strong and the recent small rains have helped keep it going. Remember that it is hot and your live bait needs an aerator to keep them alive now. Use a minnow net if you have on sunscreen or bug spray, as this also harms the bait.

LOCATION: Hubbard Creek Res.HOTSPOT: IslandsGPS: N 32 49.032 W 99 00.045

(32.8172, -99.00075)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: bass minnows, stink baitCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Catfi sh are lurking in deep holes around 12-20’ and the big hogs are even deeper than that. They are hitting on large bass minnows and CJ’s stink bait. Both are sold out at Brush Creek. If you want to try your hand at noodling some catfi sh, this seems to be the place to do that they are hand fi shing some big hogs in the 40-50 pound ranges.

LOCATION: Hubbard Creek Res.HOTSPOT: Sink CreekGPS: N 32 49.812 W 99 00.018

(32.8302, -99.0003)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: jigs, minnowsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Crappie are going good along timber and deep stumps. They like chartreuse or black/silver slab buster jigs. Also a medium minnow will get them mad and thumping.

LOCATION: Hubbard Creek Res.HOTSPOT: Dam LineGPS: N 32 49.944 W 98 58.440

(32.8324, -98.974)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: RatLTrapsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Bass like it cool, so get out early along the dam and around the points throwing your favorite crank baits. You will surely get them if you through a mad cow or a white RatLTrap. The lake has had some work done on the main boat ramp at the dam for the low water level. The fi sh are still bit-ing strong and fi sherman are still reeling in strong catches.

LOCATION: Lake LeonHOTSPOT: Mountain BranchGPS: N 32 20.502 W 98 42.150

(32.3417, -98.7025)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: minnowsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Catfi sh are biting good on large minnows and close to the creek due to the recent rains we were fortunate to receive.

LOCATION: Lake LeonHOTSPOT: Boat HousesGPS: N 32 21.786, W 98 41.142

(32.3631, -98.6857)SPECIES: CrappieBEST BAITS: jigs, minnowsCONTACT:Lorie and Jason Rohloff, Brush Creek Bait and Tackle6882 US Hwy 180 W, Breckenridge254-559-1155texasfi [email protected]: Crappie are liking being under cover











around stumps and logs and some very nice boat houses. Seems like the bite is best very early or right before and after dusk.

LOCATION: Possum KingdomHOTSPOT: BroadwayGPS: N 32 52.724 W 98 31.809

(32.8787, -98.5301)SPECIES: Sand bass, Hybrids and StripersBEST BAITS: Live shad, swim baits, slabs, jigsCONTACT: Dean Heffner940-329-0036fav7734/[email protected]: This month, the early bird gets the worm. Fall is coming with cooler temperatures, so stick to the mid-lake area, called Broadway. Watch for schooling action on the surface or birds moving around over the water. Sand (white) bass, hybrids and stripers will all be mixed together. Live shad is best, but if unavailable go with baits that mimic their action and colors. Down-rigging is still work-ing, and so is trolling and slabbing. As the morning wears on, troll or jig-and-slab the break lines for fast action. Broadway is the hotspot, but fi sh are biting from one end of PK to the other!biting from one end of PK to the other!

Hit the Highways for Amistad Bass

BIG BEND

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

LOCATION: AmistadHOTSPOT: Highways 277-377 AreaGPS: N29 30.32178, W100 54.9906

(29.505363, -100.91651)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Zara spooks, Odom football jigs, plastic lizardsCONTACT:James [email protected]: The hydrilla is scattered in this area but thickening. Use Zara Spooks early, especially on cloudy days, and fi sh the points below the high-ways. At mid-morning, move out to the hydrilla where it drops off into deep water and work Odom football jigs in green-pumpkin or Falcon Craw

colors. Texas-rigged plastic lizards also work good in the hydrilla.in the hydrilla.

Dam Stripers Go Deep on Canyon

HILL COUNTRY

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

LOCATION: Canyon LakeHOTSPOT: DamGPS: N 29.863133 W 98.199319

(29.863133, -98.199319)SPECIES: Striped BassBEST BAITS: Striper JigsCONTACT: Capt. Steve Nixon-Fishhooks Adventures210-573-1230steve@sanantoniofi shingguides.comwww.sanantoniofi shingguides.comTIPS: Look for the Striped Bass to be deep (50-80 feet). They will be suspending over the river channel and close to the dam. Trolling the jigs on downriggers around this area produces fi sh.

LOCATION: Lake AustinHOTSPOT: Highway 360 BridgeGPS: N 30.350588 W 97.797101

(30.350588, -97.797101)SPECIES: Largemouth BassBEST BAITS: Pacemaker jigs, Picasso Shakey Heads, Picasso Spinnerbaits, and V&M plastics CONTACT: Brian Parker - Lake Austin Fishing817-808-2227lakeaustinfi [email protected],www.LakeAustinFishing.comTIPS: September, October, and November are months of transition for many of the fi sheries in Texas because of the weather changes and feed-ing cycles. The water temperatures are usually the highest in September, which has the fi sh, stationed for deeper feeding or feeding around cover. With this in mind, be prepared by throwing the right baits. My success has been with Pacemaker jigs, Picasso Shakey Heads, Picasso Spinnerbaits, and V&M plastics around deep docks and other cover close to deep water. Persistence will reward the patient in September. Tightlines Premium Fishing Tackle and Fisherman’s Corner (aka www.texas-basstackle.com) carry an extensive line of Picasso

Lures and V&M baits that have brought me suc-cess at Lake Austin.

LOCATION: Lake BuchananHOTSPOT: Lower Half of Main LakeGPS: N 30.754292 W 98.436470

(30.754292, -98.43647)SPECIES: Striped Bass, White Bass, Catfi shBEST BAITS: Live shad, jigs in chartreuse or white, cut shadCONTACT: Clancy Terrill512-633-6742centraltexasfi [email protected] shing.com TIPS: Stripers can be found on ridges early in the morning in 35 to 50 feet of water drifting live bait near trees. Live shad preferred. White Bass can be found on ridges or humps most of the day in 20 to 25 ft. jigging with chartreuse or white jigs. Just jig 1 or 2 feet off the bottom. Catfi sh can be found in 15 to 20 feet of water early and late as well as at night. Use cut shad but any quality bait should work. Use small hooks with small chunks of bait and you will be keeping busy with fi shing action.

LOCATION: Lake BuchananHOTSPOT: Main Lake Humps and RidgesGPS: N 30.754951 W 98.428766

(30.754951, -98.428766)SPECIES: Hybrids and StripersBEST BAITS: Live shad, 1 to 1 ½ oz. chrome slab spoons,CONTACT: Ken [email protected] www.striperfever.comTIPS: Hybrids and Striper are holding along the sides of the ridge sloping towards the river channel and along the tree lines on the lower end of the lake, just a few miles north of the dam. Use you fi sh fi nder to locate the ridges. Then check out the sides especially along the tree lines. In anywhere from 35 to 56 feet of water, you should fi nd fi sh. Concentrate on fi shing the tops of the trees. You can use live shad but 1 to 1 ½ oz. chrome slab will work just fi ne! Yo-Yo them and do a fast retrieve!

LOCATION: Lake BuchananHOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30.754951 W 98.428766

(30.754951, -98.428766)SPECIES: Catfi shBEST BAITS: Cut shad, cut carp, or live perchCONTACT: Ken Milam

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[email protected] www.striperfever.comTIPS: Catfi sh fi shing reports are good along the slopes of the ridges in 20 to 28 feet of water. Fish on the bottom or a few feet off the bottom for best results.

LOCATION: Lake BuchananHOTSPOT: Shaw Island GPS: N 30.821015 W 98.427477

(30.821015, -98.427477)SPECIES: White BassBEST BAITS: Top water lures like the Tiny TorpedoCONTACT: Ken [email protected] www.striperfever.comTIPS: White bass are around the Shaw Island area. Watch for some top water action!

LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Canyon Lake Marina GPS: N 29.909503 W 98.238244

(29.909503, -98.238244)SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: ¼ oz. Shakey Head, Carolina rigged Watermelon fl ukes (1/2 oz. or ¾ oz. Picasso Tungsten weights), Senko type baits Texas rigged or weightless, use fl ukes weightless as well. CONTACT: KC’S Bassin’ Guide [email protected] TIPS: Be sure and fi sh the point near the drop off slowly. Work the shallows early and then move into the deeper depths. Bass are in their later summer homes and, with the weather being warm, are not opt to be aggressive in nature. Use a good rod like KC’s Rodz in Heavy Wt. 7’ for Carolina rigging. This rod can handle anything you get into and then some. Good summer colors include, water-melon red, blue fl eck, June bug. If really sunny), try watermelon candy and dip it in chartreuse. Go early and remember to hydrate regularly with water, wear a hat, sunglasses, and sun screen.

LOCATION: Granger LakeHOTSPOT: Main LakeGPS: N 30.6976 W 97.3688

(30.6976, -97.3688)SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Jigs and minnowsCONTACT: Tommy [email protected]: September is without a doubt the best month for fi shing at Granger Lake. The weather is

stable, the fi sh are fat from feeding all summer on the abundant shad population, and you will have the lake all to yourself. This is the one time of year that a person could limit out on white bass and crappie in one afternoon of fi shing. For crappie, fi sh the main lake brush piles and plastic trees. Use a 1/32 oz. jig tipped with a Berkley Crappie Nibble. Lower the jig and hold it still right at the top of the structure. If you don’t get bit, raise or lower the bait to fi nd the biting depth. Work minnows the exact same way. The only difference in fi shing minnows is that you lift your rod in slow motion when you get a bite. When you feel the weight of the fi sh, then set the hook with a smooth upward sweep. With the jig, you set the hook fast with a smooth upward sweep.

LOCATION: Granger LakeHOTSPOT: Main LakeGPS: N 30.6976 W 97.3688

(30.6976, -97.3688)SPECIES: White BassBEST BAITS: Slab spoons for white bassCONTACT: Tommy [email protected]: Look for surface feeding activity. This usu-ally occurs around main lake humps and ridges. Position your boat right over the hump and bounce a slab spoon off the bottom. A dragging action often gets the larger whites. Just cast out and drag it back as you would work a Carolina rigged worm.

Topwaters Tame Big Tiger Bass

SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS

by DUSTIN WARNCKE

LOCATION: Falcon LakeHOTSPOT: Big TigerGPS: N26 43.10676, W99 9.29274

(26.718446, -99.154879)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Zara Spooks, 3/8-ounce jigs, spinnerbaitsCONTACT:Robert Amaya956-765-1442robertsfi [email protected] shntackle.comTIPS: The best action in the brush close to the shore will come early unless there is cloud cover, which will extend the action longer into the morn-ing. Fish Zara Spooks or similar lures close to the bank in the pockets between the brush and stickups. Once the sun begins to rise, pitch black-brown or black-blue jigs into the brush and work them slowly. Texas-rigged soft plastics also will work well in and around the brush and stickups.







http://www.kcbassinguide.com


http://www.gotcrappie.com


http://www.gotcrappie.com


Sportsman’s Daybook


Tides and Prime Times SEPTEMBER 2014

USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Chan-nel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).TIDE PREDICTIONS are located in the upper white boxes on the Calendar Pages. Use the Correction Table below, which is keyed to 23 other tide stations, to adjust low and high tide times.

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

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

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

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

AM & PM MAJOR phases occur when the moon reaches its highest point overhead as well as when it is “underfoot” or at its highest point on the exact opposite side of the earth from your positoin (or literally under your feet). Most days have two Major Feeding Phases, each lasting about 2 hours.

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

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

T1T2

T3T4

T5T6

T7

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T9T10

T11T12

T13

T14T15T16

T17

T18

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T20

T21

T22T23

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to

determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW Sabine Bank Lighthouse -1:46 -1:31 Sabine Pass Jetty -1:26 -1:31 Sabine Pass -1:00 -1:15 Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass -0:04 -0:25 Galveston Bay, S. Jetty -0:39 -1:05 Port Bolivar +0:14 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH LOWGalveston Channel/Bays Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +0:41 Eagle Point +3:54 +4:15 Clear Lake +6:05 +6:40 Morgans Point +10:21 +5:19 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39 +5:15

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay +5:48 +4:43 Gilchrist, East Bay +3:16 +4:18 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay +2:38 +3:31 Alligator Point, W. Bay +2:39 +2:33 Christmas Pt +2:32 +2:31 Galveston Pleasure Pier -1:06 -1:06

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW San Luis Pass -0.09 -0.09 Freeport Harbor -0:44 -1:02 Pass Cavallo 0:00 -1:20 Aransas Pass -0:03 -1:31 Padre Island (So. End) -0:24 -1:45 Port Isabel +1:02 -0:42

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T7T8T9T10T11

T12T13T14T15T16T17

T18T19T20T21T22T23

TAP HEREFor

CUSTOMIZEDTIDE CHARTS

from theTF&G TIDE

FORECASTER




Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

2ndBest

= Peak FishingPeriod

BEST:7:45-9:40 AM

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

Sep 1

Low Tide: 1:55 AM 1.27ft.High Tide: 6:45 AM 1.43ft.Low Tide: 3:38 PM 0.30ft.

2

High Tide: 12:53 AM 1.42ft.Low Tide: 2:41 AM 1.41ft.High Tide: 6:44 AM 1.49ft.Low Tide: 4:44 PM 0.20ft.

3


4

High Tide: 2:51 AM 1.60ft.Low Tide: 6:56 PM 0.03ft.

5


6

High Tide: 3:49 AM 1.63ft.Low Tide: 8:45 AM 1.30ft.High Tide: 1:24 PM 1.54ft.Low Tide: 8:50 PM 0.04ft.

7


AM Minor: 11:14a

AM Major: 5:02a

PM Minor: 11:40p

PM Major: 5:27p

AM Minor: -----

AM Major: 5:55a

PM Minor: 12:09p

PM Major: 6:22p

AM Minor: 12:35a

AM Major: 6:49a

PM Minor: 1:03p

PM Major: 7:17p

AM Minor: 1:27a

AM Major: 7:42a

PM Minor: 1:56p

PM Major: 8:11p

AM Minor: 2:20a

AM Major: 8:34a

PM Minor: 2:49p

PM Major: 9:03p

AM Minor: 3:11a

AM Major: 9:26a

PM Minor: 3:40p

PM Major: 9:55p

AM Minor: 4:03a

AM Major: 10:17a

PM Minor: 4:32p

PM Major: 10:46p

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

FEET FEET

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:4:00 — 6:00 PM

BEST:5:00 — 7:00 PM

BEST:5:30 — 7:30 PM

BEST:3:00 — 5:00 PM

BEST:2:00 — 4:00 PM

BEST:1:00 — 3:00 PM

BEST:12:00 — 2:00 PM

Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2014MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

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12a 12a6a 12p 6p 12a6a 12p 6p 12a6a 12p 6p 12a6a 12p 6p 12a6a 12p 6p 6a 12p 6p 12a 12a6a 12p 6p

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 7:35pMoonrise: 6:30p Set: 5:19a






Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 7:42pMoonrise: 1:12p Set: None

= New Moon

= First Quarter = Full Moon = Last Quarter = Good Day = Best Day

SYMBOL KEY

Moon Underfoot: 6:18a

Moon Overhead: 7:38p

Moon Underfoot: 7:11a Moon Underfoot: 8:06a

Moon Overhead: 9:33p Moon Overhead: 10:31p Moon Overhead: 11:29p


Moon Overhead: NoneMoon Overhead: 8:35p


Moon Overhead: 6:44p

Moon Underfoot: 10:02aMoon Underfoot: 9:04a

Tap forCustomizedTide Charts


Sportsman’s DaybookNOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

2ndBest


BEST:7:45-9:40 AM


8


9


10

High Tide: 5:33 AM 1.52ft.Low Tide: 11:37 AM 0.47ft.High Tide: 6:17 PM 1.62ft.

11

Low Tide: 12:06 AM 0.78ft.High Tide: 5:59 AM 1.50ft.Low Tide: 12:27 PM 0.32ft.High Tide: 7:30 PM 1.59ft.

12


13


14


AM Minor: 4:56a

AM Major: 11:10a

PM Minor: 5:24p

PM Major: 11:38p

AM Minor: 5:51a

AM Major: -----

PM Minor: 6:19p

PM Major: 12:05p

AM Minor: 6:49a

AM Major: 12:35a

PM Minor: 7:16p

PM Major: 1:02p

AM Minor: 7:48a

AM Major: 1:34a

PM Minor: 8:15p

PM Major: 2:01p

AM Minor: 8:48a

AM Major: 2:35a

PM Minor: 9:15p

PM Major: 3:01p

AM Minor: 9:47a

AM Major: 3:34a

PM Minor: 10:14p

PM Major: 4:01p

AM Minor: 10:45a

AM Major: 4:32a

PM Minor: 11:11p

PM Major: 4:58p

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

FEET FEET

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:3:00 — 5:00 AM

BEST:3:30 — 5:30 AM

BEST:4:30 — 6:30 AM

BEST:2:00 — 4:00 AM

BEST:1:30 — 3:30 AM

BEST:12:30 — 2:30 AM

BEST:6:00 — 8:00 PM


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Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 7:26pMoonrise: 11:46p Set: 12:45p







= New Moon


SYMBOL KEY

Moon Overhead: 1:21aMoon Overhead: 12:26a Moon Overhead: 2:16a Moon Overhead: 3:10a Moon Overhead: 4:04a

Moon Underfoot: 1:49p Moon Underfoot: 2:43p Moon Underfoot: 4:31p Moon Underfoot: 5:24p Moon Underfoot: 6:16pMoon Underfoot: 3:37pMoon Underfoot: 12:53p

Moon Overhead: 4:57a Moon Overhead: 5:50a




Sportsman’s DaybookNOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION

Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

2ndBest


BEST:7:45-9:40 AM



15


16


17


18


19


20


21


AM Minor: 11:39a

AM Major: 5:26a

PM Minor: -----

PM Major: 5:51p

AM Minor: 12:05a

AM Major: 6:17a

PM Minor: 12:29p

PM Major: 6:41p

AM Minor: 12:52a

AM Major: 7:04a

PM Minor: 1:16p

PM Major: 7:28p

AM Minor: 1:36a

AM Major: 7:47a

PM Minor: 1:59p

PM Major: 8:11p

AM Minor: 2:17a

AM Major: 8:29a

PM Minor: 2:40p

PM Major: 8:51p

AM Minor: 2:57a

AM Major: 9:08a

PM Minor: 3:19p

PM Major: 9:30p

AM Minor: 3:36a

AM Major: 9:47a

PM Minor: 3:58p

PM Major: 10:08p

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

FEET FEET

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:3:30 — 5:30 PM

BEST:12:00 — 2:00 AM

BEST:11:00A — 1:00P

BEST:11:00P — 1:00A

BEST:9:30 — 11:30 PM

BEST:12:30 — 2:30 PM

BEST:7:30 — 9:30 PM


SO

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Sunrise: 7:06a Set: 7:18pMoonrise: 4:50a Set: 5:46p






Sunrise: 7:03a Set: 7:25pMoonrise: None Set: 1:39p

TI

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Moon Underfoot: 7:07p Moon Underfoot: 7:56p Moon Underfoot: 8:44p

Moon Overhead: 9:07a Moon Overhead: 9:53a Moon Overhead: 10:37a

Moon Underfoot: 11:42p

Moon Overhead: 11:20aMoon Overhead: 8:20a

Moon Underfoot: 10:59p

Moon Overhead: 6:42a

Moon Underfoot: 10:15pMoon Underfoot: 9:30p

Moon Overhead: 7:32a

22


23


24


25


26

High Tide: 5:18 AM 1.55ft.Low Tide: 11:49 AM 0.58ft.High Tide: 7:11 PM 1.62ft.

27


28


AM Minor: 4:15a

AM Major: 10:26a

PM Minor: 4:37p

PM Major: 10:47p

AM Minor: 4:56a

AM Major: 11:06a

PM Minor: 5:17p

PM Major: 11:28p

AM Minor: 5:39a

AM Major: 11:50a

PM Minor: 6:00p

PM Major: 12:11p

AM Minor: 6:24a

AM Major: 12:13a

PM Minor: 6:47p

PM Major: 12:36p

AM Minor: 7:13a

AM Major: 1:02a

PM Minor: 7:37p

PM Major: 1:25p

AM Minor: 8:06a

AM Major: 1:54a

PM Minor: 8:30p

PM Major: 2:18p

AM Minor: 9:01a

AM Major: 2:48a

PM Minor: 9:27p

PM Major: 3:14p

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

FEET FEET

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:2:00 — 4:00 PM

BEST:2:30 — 4:30 PM

BEST:3:30 — 5:30 PM

BEST:1:00 — 3:00 PM

BEST:12:30 — 2:30 PM

BEST:12:00 — 2:00 PM

BEST:11:30A — 1:30P

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

TI

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TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVES-

TON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW

Sabine Bank Lighthouse -1:46 -1:31 Sabine Pass Jetty -1:26 -1:31 Sabine Pass -1:00 -1:15 Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass -0:04 -0:25 Galveston Bay, S. Jetty -0:39 -1:05 Port Bolivar +0:14 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW

Galveston Channel/Bays Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +0:41 Eagle Point +3:54 +4:15 Clear Lake +6:05 +6:40 Morgans Point +10:21 +5:19 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39 +5:15

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW

Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay +5:48 +4:43 Gilchrist, East Bay +3:16 +4:18 Jamaica Beach, W. Bay +2:38 +3:31 Alligator Point, W. Bay +2:39 +2:33 Christmas Pt +2:32 +2:31 Galveston Pleasure Pier -1:06 -1:06

KEY PLACE HIGH LOW

San Luis Pass -0.09 -0.09 Freeport Harbor -0:44 -1:02 Pass Cavallo 0:00 -1:20 Aransas Pass -0:03 -1:31 Padre Island (So. End) -0:24 -1:45 Port Isabel +1:02 -0:42

T1T2T3T4T5T6

T7T8T9T10T11

T12T13T14T15T16T17

T18T19T20T21T22T23

Moon Underfoot: None Moon Underfoot: 12:25a

Moon Overhead: 12:47p Moon Overhead: 1:30p Moon Overhead: 2:15p Moon Overhead: 3:02p Moon Overhead: 3:50p Moon Overhead: 4:41pMoon Overhead: 12:03p

Moon Underfoot: 4:15aMoon Underfoot: 2:38aMoon Underfoot: 1:52a Moon Underfoot: 3:26aMoon Underfoot: 1:08a



Tides and Prime Times for SEPTEMBER 2014

29


30


Oct 1


2


3


4


5


AM Minor: 9:58a

AM Major: 3:45a

PM Minor: 10:25p

PM Major: 4:11p

AM Minor: 10:56a

AM Major: 4:42a

PM Minor: 11:23p

PM Major: 5:10p

AM Minor: 11:54a

AM Major: 5:40a

PM Minor: -----

PM Major: 6:08p

AM Minor: 12:21a

AM Major: 6:35a

PM Minor: 12:49p

PM Major: 7:03p

AM Minor: 1:14a

AM Major: 7:28a

PM Minor: 1:42p

PM Major: 7:56p

AM Minor: 2:05a

AM Major: 8:19a

PM Minor: 2:33p

PM Major: 8:47p

AM Minor: 2:54a

AM Major: 9:08a

PM Minor: 3:21p

PM Major: 9:35p

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

FEET FEET

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:2:00 — 4:00 PM

BEST:3:00 — 5:00 PM

BEST:4:00 — 6:00 PM

BEST:12:00 — 2:00 PM

BEST:11:00A — 1:00P

BEST:10:00A — 12:00P

BEST:9:00 — 11:00 AM

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

SO

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Sunrise: 7:11a Set: 7:05pMoonrise: 1:55p Set: None




= New Moon


SYMBOL KEY

Moon Underfoot: 5:07a Moon Underfoot: 6:01a

Moon Overhead: 6:28p Moon Overhead: 7:24p Moon Overhead: 8:20p Moon Overhead: 9:16p Moon Overhead: 10:12p Moon Overhead: 11:06pMoon Overhead: 5:34p

Moon Underfoot: 10:39aMoon Underfoot: 8:48aMoon Underfoot: 7:52a Moon Underfoot: 9:44aMoon Underfoot: 6:56a

T I D E L E V E L S




Mesquite Grilled Dove Wraps

WOULD YOU EVER TAKE A FISH after being caught, and allow it to sit out in the heat for a couple of hours? I didn’t think

so, but when dove hunting, most of the time, harvested doves are placed in the “game pocket” on the back of the hunting vest sometimes for hours resulting in a concentra-tion of enzymes and bacteria that settles into the meat. A plan should be made to have a cooler bag handy with ice and a few gallon size freezer zip lock bags. Personalize each bag if 2 or more are sharing a cooler, and try to place your harvested doves in the cooler every 45 minutes or so. This is to preserve the doves until proper cleaning can be done. The brine, which I describe in this recipe will aid in removing these undesir- able enzymes and fl avors from the meat, so you can begin the preparation with the clean and natural fl avor of the dove.

Serves 12-16 You will need: 24 dove breasts24 Jalapenos (halved and seeded to make

48 halves)2 purple onions peeled and cut into 1”

thick wedges2 cakes of cream cheese (allow to sit out

to soften for 1-2 hours)

For the Brine:Fillet the breast meat from the breast-

plate. Place the fi llet halves into a large bowl of ice water. They should be fully sub-mersed. Add ½ cup sea salt to ½ gallon of

ice water. Allow meat to sit for 1-2 hours. Pour off water and rinse the meat again with cold water.

PreparationIn a mixing bowl add the following to the

cream cheese: 1 tablespoon each of black pepper, garlic salt and basil leaves

Stuff a Jalapeno half with ¾ tsp cream cheese mixture- place the breast on top of the cream cheese and place the purple onion on top of the breast. Wrap the pepper and breast with a half slice of bacon. Hold the bacon in place with a moist round toothpick. (Be sure to wrap tightly to hold in cheese)

For the Baste:(The baste will help to cook the bacon

faster and keep the meat from over- cooking and drying out.)

1 whole bottle of Syrah or Merlot wine¾ jar Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly 3 T Soy Sauce 3 T Olive Oil1 T Dijon Mustard 3 tsp. Beef Bullion

1 T Butter1 T Black Pepper2 T Rosemary leaves-chopped coarsely 2

cloves of fresh minced garlicPlace all of above ingredients in a sauce

pan, over medium heat and reduce by ½ of volume. Remove from heat.

Grilling:

Because they are small & delicate,

and prone to fl are ups on the fi re, place the dove wraps indirectly over medium high heat on the grill, and keep it covered when not basting them. Turn the wraps every 4- 5 minutes and baste them every time you turn them until bacon is browned. Re- move from the grill to a platter, and cover loosely with a piece of foil for approx. 7-8 minutes to rest the meat. Then remove the toothpicks and enjoy.

Email Bryan Slaven,“The Texas Gourmet,” at

[email protected]

OTO:

BRY

AN S

LAVE

N

by Bryan Slaven | The Texas Gourmet

Texas Tasted

Pour off water and rinse the meat again with small & delicate,

and prone to fl are ups on the fi re, place

Mesquite grilled dove wraps.

CHECK OUT OUR ONLINE STORE for many of the seasonings and other ingrdients used in TEXAS

TASTED recipes.

VisitFishandGameGear.com

[email protected]




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BLACK DRUM

Corpus ChristiJessica Garza caught this 30-inch black drum on shrimp at

Corpus Christi. She released it

right after this photo.

REDFISH

Port O’ConnorRon Gunn caught and released this 43-inch redfi sh at Port O’Conner.

DOLPHIN (DORADO)

MatagordaAngel Rodriguez and Taylor Holland caught these two dolphin offshore out of Matagorda with Captain Mark Holland, Matagorda Sport Fishing.

CROAKER

SurfsideFour-year-old Hunter Mauldin’s fi rst fi sh was a croaker he caught at the Surfside jetties. Hunter is on the right with his uncle Mitchell.

REDFISH

Mitchell.

RED SNAPPER

FreeportIke Bartley caught this red snapper at the Tequila Rig out of Freeport

BLACK DRUM

Corpus ChristiJessica Garza caught

Port O’ConnorRon Gunn caught and released this 43-inch redfi sh at Port O’Conner.

RED SNAPPER

FreeportIke Bartley caught this red snapper at the Tequila Rig out of Freeport

Jessica Garza caught this 30-inch black drum on shrimp at

Corpus Christi. She released it

right after this photo.

SPECKLED TROUT

BolivarCheryl Noack of Dayton caught these trout in the Bolivar surf. Her largest trout (so far!) was 26-inches long.

two dolphin offshore out of Matagorda with Captain Mark Holland, Matagorda Sport Fishing.

RED SNAPPER

FreeportIke Bartley caught this red snapper at the Tequila Rig out of

SPECKLED TROUT

BolivarCheryl Noack of Dayton caught these trout in the Bolivar surf. Her largest trout (so far!) was 26-inches long.



No guaran-tee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

REDFISH

GalvestonNeal Helgerson of Round Rock caught this 28-inch redfi sh in Galveston Bay while on family vacation.

REDFISH

Baffi n BayEric Briones, left, and Jeff Neves caught these reds in Baffi n Bay while fi shing the Fourth Annual Corpus Christi Geological Saltwater Tournament. They were fi shing with Chad Verburgt, Rockport Red Runner guide service.

STRIPED BASS

Lake LivingstonFive-year-old Laine Socias caught his fi rst keeper striped bass while slabbing in Lake Livingston.

photo will be published.

REDFISH

GalvestonNeal Helgerson of Round Rock caught this 28-inch redfi sh in Galveston Bay while on family vacation.

MAIL TO: TFG PHOTOS1745 Greens Rd, Houston TX 77032NOTE: Print photos can not be returned.

EMAIL: [email protected] best results, send MED to HIGH quality JPEG digital fi les only, please.

Tournament. They were fi shing with Chad Verburgt, Rockport Red

FLOUNDER

Texas CityNathan Abbott, 6, of Texas City with his Personal Best (for now) fl ounder: 21 inches; 4 pounds, 2 oz. He was fi shing with “Hey Dude” in Moses Lake, Texas City.

SPECKLED TROUT

EAST GALVESTON BAYScotty Moseley caught 14 specks, including these two 24-inchers, while fi shing with his grandfather Rick Voigt on East Galveston Bay.

FLOUNDER

Texas City




C3_ALL.indd 3 8/7/14 4:21 PM

C4_ALL.indd 4 8/7/14 4:23 PM

September 2014

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