Texas Fish & Game June 2016

Bravingthe BorderIs it Safe Yet?

TacklingTexas Tripletails

June 2016 | $3.95

Bite-Size Funin Gator

CountryVOICE OF THE TEXAS OUTDOOR NATION

Lone Star Exotics: Afro-TexTrophies

Spoon FeedingCrappie withDeep Temptations

www.FishGame.com

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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 LISA MOORE CONTRIBUTING PHOTO EDITOR STAN SKINNER COPY EDITOR

A D V E R T I S I N G

ARDIA NEVESVICE PRESIDENT/ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

DIRECT PHONE:(281) 869-5549

EMAIL: [email protected] DUSTIN WARNCKE ADVERTISING SALES

DIRECT PHONE:(512) 497-7674

EMAIL: [email protected] LARRY DALTON ADVERTISING COORDINATOR

1745 GREENS ROAD HOUSTON, TX 77032 PHONE: (281) 227-3001 FAX (281) 784-2962

C R E A T I V E

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S U B S C R I P T I O N S1745 GREENS ROAD, HOUSTON, TX 77032

PHONE

(800) 725-1134TEXAS 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 other-wise reproduced without written permission. The publication assumes no responsibil-ity for unsolicited photographs and manuscripts. Subscription rates: 1 year $19.00: 2 years $34.75; 3 years $48.50. Address all subscription inquiries to Texas Fish & Game, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, Texas 77032. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for response. Give old and new address and enclose latest mailing address label when writing about your subscription. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Address all subscription inquiries to TEXAS FISH & GAME, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. Email change of address to: [email protected] Email new orders to: [email protected] Email subscription questions to: [email protected].

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2 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E

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FEATURES

AFRO-TEX TROPHIESThe Texas-Africa connection has revi-talized a world of exotic game animals, and established the Lone Star State as the premiere destination for U.S. exotic hunting.

by Steve LaMascus

SPOON FEEDING CRAPPIEAs summer waters chase crappie into the cooler depths, one way to tempt them out of the shadows is deep jig-ging with spoons.

by John N. Felsher

26

30

Table ofContents

Table ofContents

Table ofJUNE 2016Volume 33 NO. 2

COVER STORY:Water Moccasins and Their Mockers

34u Is that big, black snake slithering your way from the creek a

water moccasin? Chances are, it is a harmless water snake, one of many that share the same habitat as the deadly cottonmouth. Knowing the difference is impor-tant for anyone venturing into the woodsor backyard.

Story and Cover Photo byChester Moore

FISH GAMEDIGITAL

Mobile Editions:u iPad u Android u Kindle

FREE to Subscribers. See yourDevices App Store, or visit:

www.FishGame.com

COVER STORY:


HIT A TRIPLEWith red snapper off the table for many offshore anglers heading into federal waters, tripletails make a fine substitute, both in the water and ON the table.

by John N. Felsher

22

BRAVING THE BORDERIs it safe yet to hunt and fish along the Rio Grande River where, in the past, Mexican outlaws have engaged in several high profile border skirmishes with individuals and law enforcement?

by Matt Williams

18


A Slap in the Facebook

THE TWENTIETH CENTURY GAVE US AIRPLANES, motion pictures, radio, air conditioning, penicillin, television, computers, organ transplants, and men on the moon. Almost two decades in, the Twenty-First Century has given us Facebook.

And already, millions of the kids responsible for de ning this glori ed bulletin board as a cultural phenomenon have moved on, ascending to other platforms more suited to their rapid- re changes in moods and tastes.

In this social media Rapture, many souls have been left behind... parents and (yikes!) grandparents whose crowding into the Facebook space was itself a factor in the exodus of the young. So, Facebook is still a primary means of interaction for members of these older generations, and since this large group includes many of our readers, we still take it seriously.

As of this writing, the Texas Fish & Game Facebook page has more than 51,000 followers. Not bad. Not William Shatner numbers, but not bad at all for a one-state regional magazine.

In theory, Facebook is a great way to reach out to our audience with instant updates and messages. And when we began attracting followers, it worked.

Our posts of news, blogs, articles, and photos would go out, get shared, and, for a while, would routinely achieve nearly a million shared views.

Then two things happened. First, and not surprisingly, when Facebooks nancial wizards realized that popular businesses were using the platform for quick and easy (and Free!) access to their followers, they decided to shut off the FREE- ow of information through their pipes. You could still reach more than a trickle of your fans, but you had to pay.

Thats ne. No free lunch, and all that.But then something else, more disturbing and political, began to happen.Texas Fish & Games posts with guns or hunting were not allowed to be

boosted (the term for paying to expand reach to more fans). Any Photo of the Day submission that had a gun or dead animal in it couldnt be boosted. A lot of proud parents, and excited kids, were deprived of having their accom-plishments shared throughout the digital community.

Then, at one point, ALL Texas Fish & Game posts were blocked from boosting, because the content was deemed offensive by Facebook censors. Meanwhile, Facebook was infamously being used by ISIS and other terrorists to promote their vile insanity and even to share information within their ranks.

We were nally able to restore our ability to boost non-hunting, non-gun content, but we are not sure how long that privilege will be tolerated. It is a shame how Facebooks political views have alienated so many of their users.

Were not going to abandon Facebook. Weve worked too hard to earn the interest and following of so many Facebook friends.

But... if you use Twitter, were building our presence over there, where they still appear to have respect for the Freedom of Speech.

Check us out at twitter.com/FishandGame.

Email Roy and Ardia Neves at ContactUs@ shgame.com

by ROY and ARDIA NEVESTF&G Owners

InsideFISH & GAME

InsideInsideFISH & GAME

InsideFISH & GAME

A Slap in the FacebookHE TWENTIETH CENTURY GAVE US AIRPLANES, motion pictures, radio, air conditioning, penicillin, television, computers, organ transplants, and men on the moon. Almost two decades in, the Twenty-First Century has given us Facebook.

ARDIA NEVES

FISH & GAMEFISH & GAME COLUMNS10 Editors Notes by Chester Moore TF&G Editor in Chief

12 Doggett at Large by Joe Doggett TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

14 Pike on the Edge by Doug Pike TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

16 Nugent in the Wild by Ted Nugent TF&G Editor At Large

17 Commentary by Kendal Hemphill TF&G Political Commentator

29 Bare Bones Hunting by Lou Marullo TF&G Hunting Editor

38 Texas Saltwater by Calixto Gonzales TF&G Saltwater Editor

40 Texas Freshwater by Matt Williams TF&G Freshwater Editor

78 Texas Boating by Lenny Rudow TF&G Boating Editor

82 Practical Angler by Paul Bradshaw TF&G Contributing Editor

83 Texas Guns by Steve LaMascus TF&G Firearms Editor

90 Texas Tasted by Bryan Slaven The Texas Gourmet

92 Open Season by Reavis Wortham TF&G Humor Editor

Contents (continued)


www.FishGame.com

8 LETTERS84 INDUSTRY INSIDER

86 FISH AND GAME GEAR

94 TF&G PHOTOS

DEPARTMENTS

42 GATOR COUNTRY46 TF&G REPORT46 TEXAS HOT SHOTS

48 TEXAS DEPT. OF DEFENSE

50 TEXAS DEPT. OF CONSERVATION

54 TEXAS COASTAL FOCUS

62 TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

72 PRIME TIMES

NEW SECTION

42

by Calixto Gonzales

Texas Freshwater

NEW SECTION

by Calixto Gonzales

Texas Freshwater


8 LETTERS84 INDUSTRY INSIDER86 FISH AND GAME GEAR

94 TF&G PHOTOS

DEPARTMENTS

NEW SECTION


LETTERS to the Editor

Texas Outdoor Nation KudosI JUST PICKED UP MY MAY ISSUE and was so excited to see the Texas Out-door Nation section. ere is de nitely something special about Texas and you at

Texas Fish & Game

have

tapped into it. e way you presented the Texas independent spirit was great, and I look forward to seeing more of what you have to bring to the table with this concept.

Rocky Drew

IM SECEDING WITH YOU! GREAT job on the Texas Outdoor Nation column and the new section of the magazine. Makes me proud to be a member.

Juan Gonzalez

Settle This ArgumentDEAR CHESTER, CAN YOU PLEASE help se le a long-standing argument I have had with a friend. He says there have never

been grizzly bears in Texas. I say there have been. Who is right?

Caleb Harris

EDITOR: Calebyou are correct. Griz-zlies have not been here for a long time but they once lived out in the Trans Pecos region of the state. e last grizzly known to live in Texas was killed in 1900. is was documented in a 1948 edition of Texas Game and Fish, not to be confused with Texas Fish & Game.

Thanks to TFGI WANT TO PERSONALLY THANK the Texas Fish & Game sta for all of the hard work they do pu ing out by far the best outdoor magazine I have come across. I can-

LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS LETTERS to the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editorto the Editor

tapped into it. e way you presented the

Texas Fish & Game

have

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not imagine someone picking up the maga-zine and not enjoying it. You have so much to o er for the complete sportsman from the expert to the novice. Whether I am laughing with Reavis Wortham, ge ing red up for the hunt with Ted Nugent or learning the deep things of the outdoors with Chester Moore I just cannot put the magazine down. It is obvious you love what you do and the fact that you keep doing it consistently is inspiring to us out there. Please keep up the great work.

Carol Lindsey

EDITOR: Wow! Would you like to become our PR representative? What a great endorse-ment. We do love ge ing the best information to you and appreciate the overwhelmingly posi-tive feedback we get. We are grateful for all of you who make what we do possible.

Texas-Sized ProblemsDEAR CHESTER, WHAT DO YOU think is the biggest problem facing the

outdoors lover in Texas today? I am mainly interested in the hunting side of things although I am an avid sherman. It just seems like there are so many things coming against hunting, it is hard not to question the future.

JR Reynolds

EDITOR: We covered this very topic last year in an article called e Demographics Bomb and a lot of it has to do with the grow-ing population of the state. We cant blame people for wanting to move here but it does change things.

I think the biggest problem is a combina-tion of two issues-a shrinking amount of avail-able hunting land and rising prices. We are not too far o om having a kings deer situation where only the rich will be able to hunt. South Texas is out of the price range for the average guy, and has been that way for 25 years. e Hill Country is ge ing there and even East Texas leases have risen dramatically.

For the average guy who works 40 hours a week and hunts a few times a year, access

to quality hunting land is a growing problem and this will be noticed more as development chews up forests and a continually devalued dollar and rising prices on lease fees go up, up and eventually away om most of us. I dont know the time window but for sure in 20 years, the Texas hunting landscape will be radically di erent.

Send YourComments to:

Texas Fish & Game1745 Greens RdHouston TX 77032

Email:editor@ shgame.com

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Dont Believe ThemA

S I SAT DOWN TO WRITE MY June column, I heard a political radio advertisement. It was in support of one of the Republican

candidates and to say it got me red up is an understatement.

I had planned to write something that com-plemented this issues feature on snakes but that will have to waitat least until this burr is removed from my saddle.

Over the next few months we will be hear-ing much in outdoors circles about how vari-ous politicans love hunters, shermen and sup-port the Second Amendment. Most of them are lying.

Some of them are truthful but they are few and far between.

e outdoors has always been used as a tool for politicians to reach voters in Texas and other states with a heavy hook and bullet crowd.

And it has worked.We like to have people in o ce we think

are one of us. For some reason we get excited about someone who gets in front of the camer-as, puts on some blaze orange and goes pheas-ant hunting while they talk about preserving outdoor traditions.

Yes, it is be er than someone who is out and out against everything we are about, but we should not keep se ling for the best poser of the bunch. For example, if anyone actu-ally thought President Clinton was a diehard duck hunter while he was in Arkansaswellmaybe you need to go quail hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney.

Weve already had Ted Cruz duck hunting with the Duck Dynasty crew. Maybe next well get Donald Trump hog hunting or Secretary Clinton shooting sporting clays.

It is all BS.I truly do not care if my candidate hunts or

shes. Sure it would be wonderful if we had a true sportsman up there but most of the politi-cal class rarely venture beyond the pavement unless it is to play golf.

I DO HOWEVER CARE THAT they sup-port the Second Amendment without any hesitations and believe in the soverginity of America.

Right now those are two issues that are hanging by a thread with the death of Antonin Scalia, the most powerful conservative on the Supreme Court and the deciding vote.

I have no doubt the next appointee will be anything but conservative and that we will see gun issues coming to the court in full force with a huge push to start banning certain kinds of weapons.

If we have learned anything from the deba-cle of this years political season it is that at the national level the elite class are on the same page whether they are republican or democrat.

e Democrat party le the Second Amendment believing, common sense America long ago and the Republicans are not far behind. ere truly is a one party system in Washington with only a few rogue conserva-tives willing to stand out. And of course the Republican party does everything it can to destroy them.

And they are destroying the very party they claim to love in the process. Di o for the Democrat Party.

When an avowed socialist makes a legiti-mate run for the partys nomination you can tell it is not the party of JFK anymore.

is election and this point in American history is very much about the Second Amendment. We are the closest to losing it that we have been ever in history and we must do whatever it takes to preserve it.

Whichever candidate lines up with it will get my vote. Period.

is is not political. is is Americas long-term survival.

But we cant just believe what these people say. We must hold their feet to the re. Write

in, call, begin social media campaigns and stay engaged in Second Amendment issues.

And we need to start doing this on a local level. is is the area we can see the most posi-tive change and gun issues usually start at the local level.

Can you imagine living in Chicago for example and not being able to own a gun?

e criminals have plenty of them but the average person there is crippled by insane gun laws.

Staying involved in the local and state levels is crucial to your gun rights. e ship may have very well sailed nationally but we live in Texas. is state is the last great hope for freedom loving people and we need to keep our Texas a itude, embrace our history and stand for the Second Amendment.

We have to be smart and ght it in the sys-tem. Our voices will drown out the elites if we are consistent, stay on track and dont let the looney tunes steal the show.

e last thing we need is violence from our side and inarticulate bu oons running around speaking for us. e media loves to pick them out of a crowd but we need to control the nar-rative, remain peaceful and never back down.

Freedom sells.We need to let those who are on the fence

on guns know this is a choice. We can own or not own a gun but we should not have anyone telling us that it is illegal to do so.

e political class and the fat cats will be blowing hot air like never before in the com-ing months to forward their agenda of staying fat cats.

Dont believe them unless you have good reason and dont let them gloss over the fact that Americas most unique and perhaps pro-found freedom, the right to keep and bear arms, hangs in the balance.

Email Chester Moore atcmoore@ shgame.com

by CHESTER MOORE :: TF&G Editor-in-Chief

EDITORS Notes


EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS EDITORS

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Loose Lips, Golden Tips

THE YOUNG BANK FISHER-man was pro cient. He carried proper tackle and used it well. He moved smoothly, hugging the shad-

ows of the pond bank while fan casting to cover each station.

I walked over and we started talking. We did not introduce ourselves. I told him I was new to that particular pond and asked several ques-tions. He provided sensible answers.

We were shing last winter for the put-and-take rainbow trout in one of the urban lakes in Houston. We both were rigged with light spin-ning rods. He was casting a 1/8-ounce in-line Mepps spinner; I was chunking a 1/8-ounce Super Duper spoon.

Both lures are proven winners on the small rainbows and our timing was goodabout a week a er the early-February stocking. But it wasnt happening. Neither of us had a strike.

He reeled up, hooked the spinner on his rod and prepared to leave. Just one of those days, he shrugged. Ill let you in on something, though. is li le pond may not look like much, but its got some really big crappie in it. Not many, but some huge ones.

I led that intel away and on a balmy a er-noon several weeks later decided to gamble a 45-minute drive on my con dants tip.

I walked the brushy banks, dabbling here and there around promising stickups. e spin-ning rod was rigged with a so twist-tail crap-pie jig suspended about two feet below a slim cork.

I worked the bank for about 30 minutes and red total blanks. A nagging doubt began to muster; I mean, why would the guy unveil an o -the-radar hot spot to a total stranger? Most likely, he was jacking with me, seeing if I (unlike the presumed white perch) would

take the bait. e chartreuse and white jig plopped along-

side a shy brush pile about ve feet o the steep pine-li ered bank. e cork disappeared in the determined slant that almost always means a good sh. e rod li ed smartly against startling weight and the surface ashed thickly of green and silvera good bass, no doubt.

en I got a be er look in the murky water. e sh was a world-class crappie. I almost fell o the bank. Crappies are not hard ghters but this one plowed in a tight circle near the tangle of stickups. Fearing a breako , I panicked and li ed harder, doubling the light rod and trying to derrick the protesting slab over the brush and onto the high bank.

e gleaming crappie suspended for a moment, apping and bucking in the sun, then the miserable li le hook pulled free. e sh fell back with a lusty splash. It would be an exaggeration to claim that my curses wilted the dogwoods along the far bank, but I severely scorched the spring air.

I glanced sheepishly around the park trails, grateful no young mothers and children were strolling nearby to su er my meltdown.

e slab was one of the largest Ive ever hookedif it took a deep breath it surely would have topped three pounds. e open mouth looked as wide as a beer can. I am of the opinion that a big white crappie with glar-ing eyes and aring ns and glowing scales is among the most striking of all sh. is jumbo did nothing to dispel that opinion.

I failed to draw another strike during the short session and le the urban pond before Houstons beltway tra c became a seriously major issue. But I know what I lost, and I will returnwith a sincere nod of thanks to my benefactor.

e purpose of this account is not to admit to ham-handing a career crappie; rather, it is to point out that, now and then and for no appar-ent gain, an angler youve never seen before and most likely never will meet again may give you a golden tip.

is is a remarkable contradiction to the typical hush-hush reaction. Secrecy, even jeal-

ousy, runs rampant on lakes and bays, streams and ponds, inshore and o shore. e crush of competition is a real problem on public water.

No doubt, some readers are thinking, whoa, you moron! Only a chump would spread the word to a stranger about a secret spot!

I get this. Let me back up: I served on active duty on an aircra carrier in the Navy and am well aware of the old expression, Loose lips sink ships.

And, closer to home, loose lips can french fry secret spots.

Most serious anglers tend to be reluctant, even evasive when discussing productive spots. Frankly, some salty guys deliberately mislead even with proven friends. For example, a big trout caught in upper East Galveston Bay somehow winds up in lower West Galveston Bay.

at sort of blatant misdirection is going too far. I wont outright lie, but on occasion I might be dodgy when pressed on speci cs. is is a fairly normal reaction in playing cards and catching sh.

So, to casually divulge privileged coor-dinates, or maybe a new technique, to an unknown person wielding a hungry shing rod is a rash gesture. Yet, it happens.

I do believe that a fraternity of shing exists. And, under the right circumstances, you can quickly size up another angler. Its not nec-essarily friendship. Perhaps its more an o er-ing of respect, an appreciation that the other person plays the game the right waythat maybe they deserve a break.

Granted, this can be a risky call. Either knowingly or accidentally, the recipient of the guarded information might muddy the water. So maybe I am a chump. But, giving or receiv-ing, the nod might make you feel pre y good about shing.

If nothing else, its an uncommon gesture that you tend to remember.

Email Joe Doggett atContactUs@ shgame.com

by JOE DOGGETT :: TF&G Contributing Editor

DOGGETT at Large


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Jordan FarmsI

N LATE APRIL, I GOT WORD through a good friend that Lyle Jordan had passed away. e name wont mean much to most of you, but the man meant

a great deal to Texas waterfowl huntingand to me.

Jordan Farms was a sprawling expanse of rice and soybean and open elds south of I-10 a li le closer to Katy than Brookshire. It was there, all over those acres, where I learned to hunt ducks and geese with some of the states earliest and best goose shooters.

Jordan was among Texass rst farmers, back in the late 1960s if memory serves, to recognize commercial value in the growing ocks of snow geese and swarms of ducks that took such keen interest in his crops. A few fel-lows from Houston, and then more and more, enjoyed shooting the big birds at dawn and still, if necessary, being able to muster for at least half an o ce day in the city.

Into the 1970s, what started as a handful of guided hunts on weekends turned into a steady, seven-day operation through winter, and that bloomed into addition of groups of hunters who paid for the right to hunt some-where each seasonal morning.

ats where I entered the picture, late in that decade, as a friend of a friend who plunked down a couple hundred bucks to be

part of a 10-person groupthree of whom had any clue how to do what we all so eagerly wanted to do.

Every winter morning, two hours before sunrise, most of us waited in the frigid park-ing lot outside Jordans storefront in town. G uides and group leaders met with our lessor inside the small room and huddled over a plywood map of the farm. Negotiation and discussion followed over who would hunt which numbered eld. Washers were plunked onto the board, one by one, until everyone had a spot.

ere were arguments some mornings, especially over prime pintail ats on sunny days. Ultimately, however, the decision always rested with the man whose hands had worked those elds since he was a child.

by DOUG PIKE :: TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

PIKE on the Edge

1606-Pike.indd 14 5/3/16 4:10 PM

is was long enough ago that there were no full-bodied goose decoys. Nor were there cones or wind socks or anything else that looked much like a goose. Most of us still were shu ling diapers and bedsheet squares into the elds, and a wet hundred of those in a bur-lap sack is every bit as heavy and cumbersome as you can imagine.

And, for the record, we did all this toting and dragging across sloppy ground without the aid of any ATV or even so much as a plastic sled. Just legs and backs, both of which were sore more than not during the season.

If you were standing here and wanted something in the eld over there, you li ed it up and carried it inand out again, includ-ing hulls, preferably with a dozen or two geese on the opposite shoulder.

We shot lead back then, too, and plenty of it, from modi ed barrels choked in the fac-tory. Most of us chose pump guns, because the auto-loaders couldnt take the grit and grime.

Somewhere along the way, Jordan came across some heavy plastic that he cut into squares and tested on the sharp eyes of the snow geese. e material was white on one

side and black on the reverse, which was about as ideal a coincidence as ever happened in outdoors gear. He had thousands of the rags sacked and ready, and he loaned them enthu-siastically to anyone who needed them. And man, did they work.

Occasionally, if the farm wasnt too busy, Jordan would join us on a hunt and show up with a few extra bags of plastic. e bigger the spread back then, the be er the snow geese, whitefronts and Canadas liked it.

We all had calls and whistles around our necks, and most of us at least were adequately skilled to fool gray-feathered young geese. A couple of guys were groundbreakers, how-ever. I wish I could positively identify the man who, somewhere on Jordan Farms, rst blew a specially-tuned Olt T-20 predator call at a specklebelly. e sound, when yodeled just so, was irresistible to those brown birds. Im not sure who blew those rst notes, but Im con dent the gullible bird that heard them never heard another sound.

At its peak, the Katy Prairie was winter home to more than a million waterfowl annu-allyalong with hawks, bald eagles and

dozens more migratory species. Our average goose hunt was nearly three times the national average for geese, and the duck hunting was nothing short of stellar.

Lyle Jordan may not have started it all, but he was there from those rst thunderous volleys through the sma ering of shots that occasionally are still red over a few remaining duck ponds out that way.

During the many years I hunted Jordan Farms, long before I guided anywhere for anyone, I learned a great deal from Lyle, his guides and my friends. If I were younger by a dozen or so years, Id try to name the men who shared so many cold, wet, absolutely glorious mornings on that ground.

Instead, Ill just consider each of us descen-dants of a man who saw the Katy Prairie change from nothing but farmland into one of the continents most outstanding waterfowl wintering groundsthen into the unrecog-nizable sea of homes and businesses it is today.

Ill miss Lyle Jordan the same way I miss the Katy Prairie.

1606-Pike.indd 15 5/3/16 4:10 PM

The Sportsmans Foodplot Phenomenon

NOTHING MAKES FOR MORE soulful, greasy, stimulating gui-tarlicks like adequate terra rma shrapnel twixt ones ten digits of

doom.Allow me to translate for the adventure

challenged linguistics amongst us- e more a guitarplayer works the Good Mother Earth, the more soulful his or her guitarplaying will be.

Let me tell you all about it! I love music, pre y much all music, as long as it has spunk, funk, spirit, shimmy, energy, a itude, pas-sion, groove and believability.

But my favorite music in the world is my music because I write, sing and play killer music of the earth, down and dirty, instinc-tual, premeditated sonic bombast celebra-tion of life, for Gods miraculous creation, His cri ers and wild places, e Great Spirit of the Wild, tooth, fang and claw, blood and guts, love and lust, no holds barred gut wrenching, gut piling, gut fondling, backstrap sizzling, snarling, sexy, physics of spiritual-ity animal breeding soundtrack dance music from the depth of creation itself.

Are you still with me here? Can you please bear with me as I call in an airstrike to all things status quo deerhunting? Now, mind you, nobody loves all things status quo deer-hunting.com more than I do. I actually look to all the various, and dare I say brilliant out-door publications and writings as my daily dose of SpiritWild bible-thump, as I, like most of you, am wonderfully addicted to the deerhunting lifestyle and dearly appreciate all the wisdom, opinions, ideas, thoughts, data, science and joys that glow from such pages and screens.

at being said, I am, a er all, the deer-hunting guitar-guy, and I do believe that

my channeling of our phenomenal outdoor lifestyle into my creative musical guitar life is not unlike everyones channeling their own outdoor joys into each individuals life, lifestyle and passions overall.

Joy in, joy out.So as we thro le headlong into anoth-

er wonderful springtime and summertime with excited peeks into future calendar pages identifying all the thrilling anticipation for our upcoming opening days 2016, nothing says deerhunting springtime like the plung-ing of our mi s into the Good Mother Earth as we participate in the new year ritual of foodplot partying.

And I do me partying!To me and all my hunting buddies, for

many years now foodplots for wildlife have become as integral to our deerhunting life-style as the hunt itself.

I remember way back in the roaring 1960s when I started planting handfuls of autumn olive seedlings in the national forests of northern Michigan where I did all my hunting. It seemed that whenever I had the best grouse, woodcock and rabbit action was when the best puckerbrush habitat was sur-rounded by red berry heavy autumn olives bushes.

And the deer were always there too.So I improvised, adapted and upgraded to

the best of my ability pursuing my own varia-tion of li le Johnny Appleseed of the forests.

en of course the foodplot craze explod-ed sometime in the early 1980s when land-owners, biologists, botanists and hunters literally went crazy developing and planting custom food sources to enhance habitat and wildlife health.

Not everybody can a ord land, tractors, discs, plows, fertilizer, seeds and the sub-

stantial time needed to groom expansive and expensive foodplots, but I literally created my original plots for many years with a borrowed 4 wheeler and a chain dragged old bedspring, hand sewing 19-19-19 fertilizer and feed mill bought bags of oats, wheat and rye on 1/4 acres of hand cleared openings in the woods.

ose of us that work the ground know how special that aroma and touch are. My nostrils are as I turn the ground, plowing, disking and broadcasting my various seeds every spring.

When those rst emerald green shoots begin to emerge, all that hard work is more than appreciated and celebrated knowing we are being good stewards and cri er manag-ers helping our beloved wildlife grow healthy and strong.

No need to go into seed choice detail here as the world is loaded with every imaginable plot mixture best suited for your individual regions.

All I know is that when I wrap up a dirty white boy farmer-Ted day and grab one of my amazing Gibson Byrdland guitars, dirty ngernails, sweaty brow and all, the scream-ing licks and pulsating, driving rhythms that erupt are a direct result of my down to earth deerhunting lifestyle.

We should all salute and thank all American landowners, conservationists, hunting families, ranchers and farmers for the incredible e ort and investment they make, dedicating millions of dollars and millions of acres across America just to bene t wildlife.

God knows we deserve the reward of sacred backstraps for all our hard work and sacri ce.

Happy springtime America! Now get out there and get dirty!

Email Ted Nugent attnugent@ shgame.com

by TED NUGENT :: TF&G Editor-at-Large

NUGENT in the WildNUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT NUGENT


1606-Nugent .indd 16 5/3/16 4:13 PM

Water the Stakes?L

AKE FALCON IS NOW ABOUT 22 feet below its conservation pool level. Choke Canyon Lake is more than 23 feet low. Lake Amistad,

although much higher than it was a couple of years ago, still laps about 25 feet low. Other Texas lakes are also far below pool level, although few are su ering as much as these. Recent rains have made a big di erence, but Texas lakes are still not out of the woodsand the lakes mentioned here continue to drop daily.

Of all the problems we have, and Texas has a few, water maintains a constant spot at the top of the charts. Although the drought seems to have abated somewhat in some areas, it would be a mistake to think our water problems are overfar from it.

No other natural resource is as contested, debated, and fought over. No other dilemma has as much impact on the entire popula-tion of the state. Few other commodities are taken for granted to the extent our water is. Few are as easily squandered. And no other asset is more essential to life.

e water issue is certainly not new. Everyone needs water, and always has. e rst towns in Texas, and most other places, for that ma er, grew up near springs and lakes, and along rivers and creeks. Population centers still hover around readily available water sources to a large extent, perhaps as much out of convenience as necessity.

Water has always played a major role in the lives of Texans, and although we still have fewer water-related issues than some states, the handwriting is on the wall. If we manage our water carefully Texas has a bright future. If we ignore the problem and expect it to solve itself we could be headed for disaster.

One of the problems is that there is confu-sion over who owns the water in some areas, especially the ground water. e Union of

Concerned Scientists issued a report in 2011 stating that more than half of Texass water comes from underground aquifers, and that there is debate over who can legally tap those sources, and how the water can be used. e laws are, as yet, not set in stone, and water districts have been formed in many areas in an a empt to regulate water capture and usage.

A main problem with the water districts, however, is a lack of understanding on the part of locals as to the purpose of the organi-zations. Many are opposed to such districts, thinking they might deny permission to drill water wells for agricultural use, new home-stead construction, and livestock consump-

tion. e districts, however, are made up of local residents, themselves, and their purpose is typically to protect the water for those who live, work, farm, and ranch in those same areas. In other words, their goal is to keep the water from being sold and either hauled or piped to other parts of the state.

The Hickory Underground Water Conservation District, for example, was formed during the 1990s for just such a pur-pose. e Hickory Underground Aquifer lies beneath McCulloch, Mason, and San Saba Counties, and spreads out slightly under Concho, Menard, and Kimble Counties. Were the Hickory Aquifer to dry up, it would

be di cult for the residents of the area, espe-cially the three primary counties, to continue to live and operate there.

e HUWCD was formed to help the local residents manage the aquifer, and to oppose the transfer of the water to munici-palities lying outside the area, some of which had already bought water rights in McCulloch and Mason Counties. At the time there was no state regulation to prevent the aquifer from being drained for use elsewhere.

Early on, the HUWCD was opposed by some local residents who were worried that, by joining the district, they were handing over their water rights to a government-type bureaucracy. ey saw it as a cure which could potentially be worse than the disease. In ts and starts, the district was formed, accepted, and now is a useful tool helping to manage the groundwater in the Hickory Aquifer.

As urban populations continue to grow, as new businesses are a racted from other states by the favorable political climate in Texas, and as, at times, the skies fail to pro-vide rain; the Lone Star State will continue to face problems. e good news is that the Texas Water Development Board is on the case. e bad news is that there is no easy, quick x for our water problems.

Treated, recycled wastewater is already being used in many places, and TWDB o -cials expect its consumption to grow in the future. Desalination is an option, although the prohibitive expense has curtailed its implementation in the past. e lower the water levels drop, however, the less we worry about money. You cant drink a hundred-dollar bill; no ma er how hard you try.

e water issue isnt going away, and a panacea isnt likely to emerge anytime soon. For now we should all work on being more conservative with our H2O.

And it never hurts to pray for rain.

Email Kendal Hemphill atContactUs@ shgame.com

T E X A S F I S H & G A M E | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | 17

by KENDAL HEMPHILL :: TF&G Political Editor

TF&G COMMENTARY

Few other

commodities are taken for granted to

the extent our water is.

1606-Commentary.indd 17 5/3/16 4:15 PM

I HAVE TO ADMIT, I CRINGED A

li le when I rst read this assignment.

It centers on a controversial topic

where the subject ma er sometimes

gets so badly twisted or blown out

of proportion by the media or misin-

formed individuals that things sound a

whole lot worse than they really are.

Indeed, some bad and unfortunate

things have gone down along the

Texas/Mexico border over the years.

It o en happens in hot areas located

in close proximity to small border

towns. In these areas warring drug

cartels sometimes square o in heated

turf ba les that usually end in blood-

shed.

Although it doesnt happen very

o en, American anglers and hunters

have go en into trouble on Mexican

soil or water more than once. I know

several of them personally.

Two were victims of on-the-water

robberies on the Mexico side of Falcon

Lake in 2010. e others were held at

gunpoint, beaten and antagonized for

several hours by men with guns and

knives. is happened in 2005 a er

they unknowingly walked into trouble

at a cantina in small town down the

road from Sugar Lake, a bass-rich res-

ervoir just 15 miles across border in

the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

None of these guys were actually

looking for trouble when it found

them. Instead, some of them admi ed-

ly let their guard down and ventured

into places they shouldnt have. Others

were simply victims of being in the

wrong place at the right time.

Ive heard it said that the chances of

falling into harms way in Mexico are

no greater than in a big metropolitan

city or suburb. Considering the esca-

lating crime rates in this country, cou-

pled with the ongoing threat of folks

strapping bombs to themselves, I cant

help but agree. ere are places in just

about every town in the US where you

just dont go, especially if youre alone.

18 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTO: CANSTOCK

Is it Safe to Hunt and Fish

on theRio Grande

Yet?story byMatt

Williams

Fea 1-BorderHuntFish.indd 18 5/3/16 4:18 PM

Ive made more than a dozen bass sh-ing trips to heavy-hi ing Mexico lakes like El Salto, Bacarrac, Guerrero, Comedero, Mateos, Huites, Sugar and Oviachic over the years. As a result, I am occasionally asked whether I think its safe to make the trip.

e answer is always the same. Its strictly a personal decision, I never have a problem making provided I am traveling with a group of well-mannered people. It needs to be under the direction of a reputable out er who knows the ropes. He also needs to be in good standing with locals and government o cials on the other side of the border.

Something else I always take into con-sideration when heading to border lakes is the mood on the opposite side of the line. Would I have taken a rod and reel to a border lake such as Sugar or El Cuchillo during the height of the 2010-11 border wars?prob-ably not.

Would I go now? probably yes, if I felt comfortable about the set-up.

Naturally, opinions di er depending on whom you talk to. Plenty of guys have way more experience shing and hunting in Mexico than I do. I recently caught up with a few of them and asked them to share some thoughts and safety tips on shing/hunting along the border.

Ray Hanselman, Amistad Fishing Guide

Ray Hanselman is a veteran shing/hunt-ing guide from Del Rio who guided deer and dove hunters in Mexico for 15 years. He has been guiding on Lake Amistad for 23 years, and he has no problem heading south of the border to sh or hunt.

Probably 80 percent of my time shing on Amistad has been spent in Mexico and Ive never had an issue or heard of anybody else having an issue, Hanselman said. Not one time have I seen anything that looked remotely suspicious.

Hanselman advises researching the area you plan to visit and checking government travel bulletins for any heightened alerts. If you see or hear something that makes you skeptical about going, it might be wise to stay home.

If you are worried about it all the time, he said, you arent going to have a good time anyway. If you do go, its always best to go with a group of people. Tend to your own business and stay at the lodge. Its also a good

idea to stay out of the bars and leave the night life to somebody else.

Charlie Haralson, Falcon/Amistad Fishing Guide

Like Hanselman, Charlie Haralson has lived along the in border his entire life and has crossed over to hunt and sh dozens of times. But not all of those trips have turned out rosy.

During the mid-2000s, Haralson was part of a group who went somewhere they shouldnt have near Sugar Lake and endured a bad experience that none of them will soon forget. He learned a valuable lesson that day that he always relates to anyone contemplat-ing a trip across the border.

Go sh and hunt, stay at the lodge and have a big time, he said. But whatever you do dont go to town. Ive been back to Sugar Lake several times and havent had any prob-lems. You should always go in a group with somebody who has a history down there, has a good relationship with the people and knows dos and donts. You should never a empt to go alone and always travel during the daytimenever at night.

Haralson added that its never a good idea to carry large sums of money. You should also make sure you have all the proper paper-work, including a passport and registration papers for your vehicle and boat.

You also want to make sure your vehicle and boat are clean, meaning no old bullets, brass or rearms, Haralson said. Its also a good idea to carry plenty of snacks, potato chips, bo led water and cases of soda to give to the local people or law enforcement o -cers should you get stopped along the way for some reason. Stu we take for granted they dont have over there. Being courteous goes a long way with those folks. If youve got a bad feeling about something, chances are you be er not do it.

James Bendele, Angler/Tackle Store Owner

Falcon Lake Tackle owner James Bendele has never been one to pull any punches when asked for his opinion on any topic. Not sur-prisingly, he got straight to the point when asked if he thinks it is safe to sh and hunt along the border.

Do I think is safe for me personallyabsolutely, Bendele said. Do I think it is safe for a guy traveling from Dallas with two kids who are scared of their own shadow? maybe not. Weve got thousands of man hours on Falcon the last few years and have never had a problem. I sh Sugar Lake all the time and Ive been to El Cuchillo and never had a problem.

Do I occasionally see things that I dont like or things that look suspicious, yes with-out a doubt. But it doesnt really bother me personally. Its a di erent country over there. Going into Mexico isnt for everybody. If somebody has got reservations about going, its probably best that they stay on the Texas side.

Col. Game Warden Craig Hunter, TPWD

Col. Game Warden Craig Hunter is the director of law enforcement with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He has extensive experience policing the border and plenty of inside information about what goes on down there.

As a law enforcement veteran of 42 years, Hunter currently sees no problem we ing a hook or hunting along the Texas/Mexico border so long as you stay on the Texas side and stay alert to your surroundings.

We have no immediate safety concerns over our citizens hunting and shing along the border, Hunter said in an April 2016 e-mail. I am referring to the US side of the border. We recommend using common sense and caution. Do not approach any per-son suspected of any illegal activity. If boat-ing or shing on border lakes, let someone know your plans.

Hunter was more apprehensive about giv-ing his blessing in regard to crossing the border to hunt or sh. We have had some concerns in the past, he said.

Ultimately, it will be up to the individual person to determine if its worth the risk. To me personally, its not. If a person chooses to go, I would get detailed logistics and speci -cally ask about personal safety.



WITH A LIMIT OF RED SNAPPERS

already cooling in he sh box, we decid-

ed to turn toward home.

Perched high in his ying bridge,

Captain Sammie Faulk watched with keen

eyes and years of experience for any shadows or activity near

buoys or oating debris in tide lines. In tide lines, where two

layers of water mix, dri wood, oating weed patches and other

otsam accumulates.

Bait sh a empt to hide around the only cover they can nd

in the barren sea. Surface feeders, such as tripletails, dolphin and

cobia, lurk under such oating cover to ambush any straggling

morsels they can catch.

Lets look over any buoys or oating structure we nd on

the way back, the captain said. Its pre y common for dolphins


Castingto Cunning Tripletails

Fea 3-Tripletail.indd 22 5/3/16 4:20 PM

(mahi mahi) and tripletails to hang around oating dri wood,

buoys or other debris.

Except for oil platforms and a few channel buoys, there isnt

much cover out here, he said. Platforms are shed pre y heav-

ily, so many sh hang around buoys or other structure. Bigger sh

hang below the bait sh and feed on them. Sometimes, you might

nd a piece of dri wood three feet long and see a couple of big

tripletails or a cobia around it.

e strategy worked. As the captain piloted the boat near a

channel buoy, he spo ed a shadow and some movement. With

polarized sunglasses cu ing the summer glare, the shadow turned

into a at sh lurking under the buoy. One of the anglers grabbed

a light rod, baited it with a cigar minnow chunk and tossed it

toward the buoy. It slowly sank. Beneath the buoy, the dark cir-

cular shadow darted out to inhale the morsel. e sh found itself

hooked, and the ght ensued.


story and photos byJohn N. Felsher

Fea 3-Tripletail.indd 23 5/3/16 4:20 PM

Looking something like a dark brown goggle-eye on bad steroids, the a ened six-pound sh sported one tail and two ns that closely simulated additional tail lobes, giving the sh its name.

Ranging throughout all the warm water of the world, tripletails can exceed 30 pounds, but most range in the 5- to 15-pound class. Mrs. Eddie Porter landed the Lone Star lunker at 33.50 pounds from Matagorda Bay in June 1984. e world record, a 42-pound, 5-ounce sh, came from o South Africa in 1989.

ey are relatively small sized compared to other Gulf of Mexico sh and have a soli-tary nature, so Texas tripletails dont o en a ract much a ention. Most of the time, anglers ignore them as they race out to the rigs for snappers or troll for king mackerel and cobia. However, they do provide exciting action on occasion.

In Texas, anglers can catch them all year long without limit or size restrictions, although the best shing occurs from late spring through fall.

Tripletails occur all along the Texas coast, said Paul Hammerschmidt, a marine biologist with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Ive seen them from Aransas Bay to the Galveston area. Only a few people in Texas speci cally target tripletails and know how to do it. Once people are hooked on tripletails, its a lot of fun. It just takes some skill to catch them.

Tripletails hide around pilings, je ies, buoys and oating debris. Occasionally, they hang around oil platform legs where they feed on crabs, shrimp and other crustaceans that hide among the barnacles. Snapper sh-ermen might catch a few of them around oil platforms, but most people hunt for them if they bother with them at all. Occasionally, they present unpredictable targets of oppor-tunity.

Tripletails are kind of a now you see them, now you dont, sh, explained Capt. Erik Rue, an o shore charter skipper. About 99 percent of the ones we catch are seen rst. en, we cast to them and watch them eat the bait. When Im targeting tripletails, I get in an area with a lot of oating debris and burn a lot of gasoline. Its sight- shing, almost like hunting. We have to see them before we can catch them.

Floating debris or ma ed grass pro-vides the best cover for hiding tripletails. Appearing sluggish, they dri with oat-ing cover up and down the coast.

Rivers and ship channels pro-vide excellent hunting grounds for nding tripletails. Fertile waters beyond river deltas spawn abundant plant growth, giving tripletails many places to hide in large mats of seaweed.

e mouths of rivers and ship channels o en carry oating debris out to sea, espe-cially just a er high water. Moreover, sailors on ships navigating a channel may toss objects overboard. Winds also blow material o ships. Boxes, crates, lumber and other

junk fall into the water. ese bits of otsam provide excellent cover for tripletails.

Tripletails dont necessarily need large objects,

that hide among the barnacles. Snapper sh-ermen might catch a few of them around oil platforms, but most people hunt for them if they bother with them at all. Occasionally, they present unpredictable targets of oppor-

Tripletails are kind of a now you see them, now you dont, sh, explained Capt. Erik Rue, an o shore charter skipper. About 99 percent of the ones we catch are seen rst. en, we cast to them and watch them eat the bait. When Im targeting tripletails, I get in an area with a lot of oating debris and burn a lot of gasoline. Its sight- shing, almost like hunting. We have to see them

Floating debris or ma ed grass pro-vides the best cover for hiding tripletails. Appearing sluggish, they dri with oat-

hide in large mats of seaweed. e mouths of rivers and ship channels

o en carry oating debris out to sea, espe-cially just a er high water. Moreover, sailors on ships navigating a channel may toss objects overboard. Winds also blow material o ships. Boxes, crates, lumber and other

junk fall into the water. ese bits of otsam provide excellent cover for tripletails.

Tripletails dont necessarily need large objects,

ABOVE: Tripletails, cobia and dolphin often feed near oating mats of sargassum grass, such as this one near an oil eld structure in the Gulf.

BELOW: Tripletails sport a tail and two ns that simulate additional tail lobes, giving the sh its name.

OPPOSITE: A popping cork is tossed near a crab trap buoy to target a tripletail lurking beneath it.

24 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTOS: JOHN N. FELSHER

Fea 3-Tripletail.indd 24 5/9/16 9:18 AM

such as huge grass lines or big buoys. Sometimes, they hide under even the small-est, most inconspicuous bits of otsam. Sometimes, anglers might even catch triple-tails hanging under something as small as a oating drink bo le.

When Im speci cally targeting triple-tails, I hit every buoy and some of the smaller platforms, Faulk explained. I look under oating debris. Sometimes, I might see one or two, possibly four or more tripletails. Sometimes, we cast and they seem to disap-pear, but they are still there. Around a buoy, they are usually down below eating barnacles o the chain or buoy anchor. Sometimes when they disappear, drop a bait to the bot-tom and theyll hit it.

Fortunately, tripletails dont spook eas-ily when people do see them. Not a heav-ily pressured sh, they tend to remain near cover. ey might disappear for a while, but o en re-emerge shortly in the same area. Polarized glasses enable anglers to see bet-ter past re ected glare. Having a spo er equipped with polarized glasses and perhaps binoculars high in a ying bridge helps put more tripletails on ice.

Along a oating weed line, look for them almost the way a bass angler would work a shoreline. Scout along one edge for a while and then come back on the other side. Pay particular a ention to anything unusual oating in the grass. Be ready to throw quick-ly at shadows.

Frequently, tripletails hang just beneath the edges. If people throw lures at tripletails in a weed line and miss, they can usually come back a while later from another direc-tion and catch them.

A er spo ing tripletails, approach from upwind. Stalk them almost like a hunter, only using the wind to carry the boat near structure instead of human scent away from an animal.

Watch tidal ow and wind direction. Dont shut down the motor in a place where the wake might bounce against structure hiding tripletails. at could spook them. Usually, an idling motor doesnt bother them, but watch how they react. If necessary and available, use a trolling motor to maneu-ver into position for a good cast.

In the spring and summer, when the sargassum dri s into the channels, people sight- ght for them around oating mats of vegetation, Hammerschmidt said. I like to use large shrimp on a free line shed under weed mats or oating debris. ey eat a lot of

invertebrates, like shrimp and crabs.Tripletails readily take many di erent

kinds of natural baits including shrimp, pogies, squid, minnows, crabs or cut bait. ey also smash several styles of arti cial lures. ey devour 1/4- to 1/2-ounce lead-heads tipped with jigs, grubs or other so plastics in a variety of colors. If they refuse to hit one bait or color, come back a while later and tempt them with a di erent bait or color.

In grassy areas, anglers might want to throw silver or gold spoons. If tripletails feed on the surface, you might tempt them with small topwater baits, such as Spitn Images, Zara Spook Juniors, Pop-Rs or small Chug Bugs. Tripletails also hit a variety of crank-baits, Rat-L-Traps and other o erings.

Bait placement ma ers more than selec-tion for catching big tripletails. You may o en enjoy several chances to bag a nicky sh, but make the rst cast count. row the lure or bait past the sh and bring it right past the shs nose. Dont throw right on top of it.

Tripletails hit just about anything when they are feeding, Rue said. I use a light leadhead to keep the bait close to the surface. A heavier bait might fall out of the strike zone too quickly. Occasionally, if they get nicky, I tip a jig with a piece of bait or even toss them a live bait. Tripletails are an excellent target for y shermen. ey readily eat a y tossed at them. ats a lot of fun.

O en, tripletails either suck in baits as

they cross their noses or start following them. If one starts following the bait, let it fall. Frequently, tripletails follow a bait down. Once out of sight, they might a ack it. Despite sluggish habits and a slothful appear-ance, a big tripletail can exhibit amazingly quick bursts of speed and lightning strikes. ey are a tough sh built like a weight-li ing pan sh, so they provide outstanding sport on light tackle.

ey are a lot of fun to catch, Rue said. In open water, they generally jump and thrash on the surface, dive and run. ey are a really wide sh and they use the leverage of their bodies to get away. ey can burn o some line. ey are tough sh to catch with hard mouths.

Many anglers cast for them with stan-dard bass, speckled trout or red sh tackle. A medium action rod with 14- to 20-pound test should su ce for most tripletails. When targeting larger sh or casting near barnacle-encrusted structure, anglers might opt for heavier tackle. A tripletail can easily ensnare tackle in line-slicing structure under a rig.

People dont need a huge boat to run 60 miles o shore to nd tripletails. Most anglers catch them within 10 miles of the coast, although some anglers report catching tripletails more than 100 miles o shore. At times, tripletails penetrate quite far up bays and estuaries, wherever they can nd deep, salty water. People can catch them from bay boats, even bass boats.

Ive seen juvenile tripletails right up against docks, Hammerschmidt said. Larger tripletails are usually out in deep-er water, not necessarily far o shore. ey could be in the deeper channels.

O en, people blast out to the rigs for snapper, cobia and king mackerel, but they might pass some of the best, most exciting sport shing available. Before heading home, try to put a few more sh on ice. Take a li le time to look for shadows under oat-ing debris or ns sticking out of the water. Look carefully around channel buoys, oat-ing trash, grass or tide lines and keep a few light lines ready just in case.

An excellent source of fresh llets, triple-tails add a delicious and abundant bonus to the catch of the day. Broiled, fried or grilled, the delicate white esh makes sumptuous eating. A er catching limits of snappers, cobia and king mackerel, spend the a er-noon trying to get a piece of tail!


Fea 3-Tripletail.indd 25 5/9/16 9:18 AM

I FIRST SAW THE BIG KUDU

while si ing in a blind, hunting other game. It was a huge old beast, though near its last days. It hobbled along like an old man with arthritis and bad feet.

I was later to discover that it had good reason to hobble. Its hooves, usually covered in hard shells of black keratin, were ta ered and so . e hard outer shell had broken away, leav-ing all four feet uncovered to the quick. Imagine trying to walk with the skin removed from the soles of your feet and you will begin to understand his plight. I cant imagine how the old ras-cal managed to walk, at all. Each step must have been agony.

It was obvious that he was on his last legs. His backbone was sticking up several inches, his anks were drawn, and his ribs were showing. He prob-ably didnt weigh 2/3 of what he had when he was in his prime. What had not su ered and shrunk were his beau-tiful, majestic, spiral-shaped horns. Just

the tips were rubbed and jagged, miss-ing a few inches of the ivory that had decorated his crown in his glory days.

My guide, the owner of the ranch, looked at the old kudu and said: We really should shoot that one. If we dont hes going to die in the brush somewhere, and well lose his horns. Do you want him? If you will take him and mount him, Ill let you have him for nothing.

I was shocked at the o er; Kudus are worth a lot of money. I thought about it, hard. e ri e I had with mean old, but very nice Remington Model 722 in .300 Savage, shooting fairly so 150-grain bulletswasnt really the medicine for such a large animal, even in such poor condition. But the range was short and I was con- dent that I could place the shot in the right spot. I nally decided to take the old animal, but by then the kudu had vanished back into the brush.

Well, said my guide, maybe well see him again in a day or two.


Fea 2-Exotics.indd 26 5/3/16 4:21 PM


The Texas-AfricaConnection has

revitalizeda world of exotic

game animalsPICTURED: The author with

an aged kudu hespared from a slow death

in the brush.

sto ry bySteve LaMascus

PHOTO: STEVE LAMASCUS

Fea 2-Exotics.indd 27 5/3/16 5:15 PM

ree days later I was back. is time I was armed with a custom-built Winchester Model 70 in the wildcat .30-338 Magnum, shooting 200-grain Nosler Partitions at nearly 3,000 feet per second. If the kudu showed up, I would have no doubts about my armament.

We sat and we waited, then we waited some more. e sun was just kissing the western horizon when I saw the tips of a pair of spiral horns above the brush. ey moved and they stopped and they waved and moved again. It was torture to sit there, hoping it was the big kudu and hoping it would come out of the brush before the day ended. Finally it did. e range was long for the light we had le , close to 200 yards, but through the bright Trijicon scope I could see the kudu clearly.

I held the crosshairs a bit above the cen-ter of its chest, took my shooting breath, and began my trigger squeeze. e crosshairs were jumping with each beat of my heart, but they were on the spot when the trigger broke. At the shot the big bull dropped like he had been brained with an ax. I quickly chambered another round and put the crosshairs back on the still body, but it never moved. e 200-grain Partition had broken his back and exited, headed in the general direction of the sunset. His royal crown now decorates the wall of my den.

We were driving around the ranch, look-ing for nothing in particular, just taking in the sights. It was hot, rough, rocky, cactus-cov-ered country, but with cool, blue mountains in the distance. I was si ing in the front seat while my buddy, Todd Tate, was riding in the higher shooting seat in the back of the Jeep.

We had just pulled up to a broken-down

barbed wire fence where the road ended and a foot trail began. We intended to climb down to a point that overlooked a particu-larly scenic view. I had one foot out of the Jeep when our guide yelled: Aoudad! Shoot it, shoot it!

I looked up to see a big aou-dad ram, running as hard as it could diagonally across the hill-side in front of us. Its shaggy mane was shaking with each motion, and it was leaving a con-trail of dust in its wake. It was a sight to remember.

I covered my ears just as Todd loosed the rst round. Behindnot enough lead. I heard him work the bolt for the

second shot.Blam! is time I heard the bullet strike and the

ram slowed to a shambling walk. Todd again worked the bolt and red. With the third shot the ram went down.

We sat there a moment, trying to take in the frantic few, previous seconds. From our guides yell to the last shot couldnt have been more than 10 seconds. Todd nally found his voice and quivering with excitement asked: Is he a good one?

I looked through my binoculars and said, Yeah. He looks like hell go 28 or 29 inches. Hes a good trophy.

We got out and headed over to the ram. e longer we walked, the bigger the ram looked. I had thought the shot was about 200 yards, but when we got 200 yards from the Jeep, the ram looked to be at least another hundred. e farther we walked, the calmer Todd became, but the more excited I got.

Instead of 28 inches, this was a grand old ram with long, massive horns. Todd had never been around aoudads and still thought my rst estimate was right. He was over his excitement of shooting the ram and was wondering why I was ge ing excited. When we nally got to the ram and I could put my shaking hands on his horns, I realized just how big he was.

Todd, hes a monster! I said. You have the trophy of a lifetime here.

Much later, a er it was measured by an o cial scorer, Todd got a le er telling him his ram was number nine in the records. Now Old Number Nine graces the wall of Todds

den. Not only was it a grand trophy, it was a fantastic shot. With the ram running at more than 300 yards, he hit the ram perfectly with two out of three shots from his .30-06.

Both of the above adventures took place in Texas. One in Southwest Texas not 30 miles from Del Rio, the other in West Texas on the blu s of the Rio Grande west of Sanderson. Both were trophies that a hunter would be hard pressed to match in their native Africa, much less be er.

My kudus horns measured 50 inches, with about four inches broomed o the tips. Of course, Todds aoudad was one of a thousand.

Today you can hunt animals in Texas that because of poaching, habitat encroach-ment, and poor game management are almost extinct in their native habitat. Blackbuck ante-lope, for instance, are scarce as hens teeth on the plains of India, but are a dime a dozen in Texas.

Axis deer are another good example of such a species, as are nilgai, or blue bulls, also from India. ere are also oryx, addax, sika deer, elk, red deer, fallow deer, ibex, and who knows what else.

In addition, I will bet you dollars to yen that trophy aoudads are much more plentiful in Texas than they are in their native habitat of the desert mountains of North Africa.

Some of these animals are terribly expen-sive to hunt. A trophy kudu, for example, will probably cost at least $15,000, but others are very reasonable.

In some places black bucks, aoudads, and axis deer are so numerous theyre a nuisance. I was recently invited to help cull some aou-dads on a Texas Hill Country ranch where

they had become so numerous the herd had to be reduced for their own protec-tion.

So the next time you start thinking you want a safari in Africa, a shikar in India, or an elk hunt in Montana, check out whats avail-able in Texas and you may change your mind.

Just one note: Be careful when you choose your out er. Most of these hunts are for wild animals in large pastures. e hunting is o en di cult but rewarding. However, there are a few places that hunt on put-and-take type a airs.

If you want a 50-inch kudu the owner buys a 50-inch kudu, puts it in a small escape-proof pasture, and takes you out to shoot the poor confused creature. Just be aware of this and check carefully before you book.

28 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTO: STEVE LAMASCUS

Todd Tate and his big aoudad, Old Number Nine. The Chihuahua desert of West Texas is home to a large, but spotty herd of aou-dad.

Fea 2-Exotics.indd 28 5/9/16 9:10 AM

Successful HuntI

KNOW THAT MOST OF THE READ-ers here, right now, have nothing but shing on their mind. A er all, it IS summer and in most states, that is the

primary outdoor activity this time of year. Fortunately, Texas is not one of those states.

Although while a lot of outdoors men and women have a shing pole in their hand in June, others have the urge to shoot their bow or ri e at any legal game they can hunt. I just happen to be one of the la er.

For me, shing is a pastime, and although I love to get out there and cast a line or two, I would rather be out there hunting something. I do not care if it is with my bow or ri e or a peashooter, if is open season on some game, then I am there.

I am not aloneOn a recent hunt with Chester Moore, he

and I decided to try our luck at some whitetails and hogs. I was introduced to his good friend Josh Sloan. Now, I realize that rst impressions are so very important, and a er meeting Josh in the wee hours of the morning, I was convinced that we were going to have a good day. I was not wrong.

Sunrise found us huddled in a blind that overlooked a re -break. A er Josh set me up with one of his ri es on a swivel stand, we sat back, and the three of us quietly waited for the action to begin.

Now, with three people in a deer blind, the quiet does not last too long. Soon, the whispers began. We started by telling each other white-tail stories of the ones we killed and the ones that got away. If I remember correctly, it seems that there were many more tales of the ones that got away!

We would tell a few lines and then look out the window of the blind to check on any deer movement. Convinced that nothing was moving, we continued the story. As any hunter knows, stories soon are accompanied with

laughter. Have you ever tried to hold in a belly laugh, or be very quiet while you are bursting inside and your eyes are tearing up? I must admit, for me, it is not an easy thing to do, especially when Josh told the story!

A er si ing for about three hours, we nally caught some deer movement. Five nice does walked across our clear-cut as we patiently waited for a buck to follow. Unfortunately, no buck was with this group of does, but it did not ma er at all to me.

I had so much fun with the guys I was with, that shooting a deer might have proved to be a distraction. Well maybe not! My point is that even though we did not have lady luck with us that morning, we still had a successful hunt.

Josh o ered to bring us to his house to meet his family and enjoy the best chili this side of the Rio Grande. Believe me, he was not kidding. It was absolutely delicious and as we enjoyed our lunch, we discussed our plan to try for some hogs later in the day.

at a ernoon, just before 4pm, Josh took us to his hunting ground in search for hogs. A er we walked through a wooded area, we nally arrived at our honey hole. However, our metal blind was si ing in a foot of water.

One by one, we waded through the water and climbed up the metal ladder to the blind. at is when I found out that my waterproof

snakeskin boots were no longer waterproof. Oh well looks like Academy is going to get my business again.

Once we were secured in our blind with ri es at the ready, we quietly continued our conversations about previous hunts. e feed-er was about 100 yards away, and I was con-vinced that this was hog heaven. It was only a ma er of time before the action would begin. Unfortunately, time was not a luxury for us.

As darkness blanketed our area, Josh would use a green night vision light every 10 minutes or so to see if any hogs came in to the feeder. We never did see a hog that night, although each of us at di erent times swore we heard one.

at must happen to every hunter I know. Your mind persuades you that you only need to stay a few more minutes. You know you heard something just in the bush.

Finally, we called it a night, shook hands and headed for a place to rest. My ight back home was the next a ernoon, and I still had to pack. e good news was that at least I did not have to pack a cooler full of meat and lug it home. e bad news was that I did not have to pack a cooler full of meat and lug it home.

I have said this before, but it is worth repeat-ing. Too many people feel that if you are not successful in taking the game you seek, then the whole hunt was unsuccessful.

I could not disagree more.A successful hunt doesnt mean you come

home with the game you sought, it simply means that you come homesafe. Bringing home some of the bounty is a bonus as far as I am concerned.

I hope to have many more years to be able to hunt whitetails and pigsand anything else that is in season, but the good company and the good memories may only happen once. I may never get the chance to hunt with Josh again, who knows? However, I hope I am wrong. He really was a blast to be around and I feel blessed to have met him and his family.

Email Lou Marullo atContactUs@ shgame.com


by LOU MARULLO :: TF&G Hunting Editor

Bare Bones HUNTING

I had so much fun

with the guys I was with, that shooting a deer might have

proved to be a distraction.

1606-Hunting.indd 29 5/3/16 4:22 PM

HEN CRAPPIE go deep to escape

temperature extremes, anglers sometimes need to spoon-feed finicky fish.

In deep water, crappie might not chase baits far or aggressively, but they may hit something dangling in front of their noses. In addition, deeper water makes crappie difficult to catch with traditional live bait rigs. Therefore, anglers need something to get down to the fish quickly. Enter the chrome jigging spoon!

Ive caught fish down to 40 feet, said Jerry Blake, a crappie guide. It takes a little bit of time to get bait down to that level and live bait becomes a little more difficult to use in really deep water. Vertical jigging with a small spoon is a great way to catch deep crappie.

Essentially, vertical jigging consists of positioning a boat over a likely spot and dropping a metal spoon into the water. Small, heavy and compact, a jig-ging spoon sinks to the bottom quick-ly. A spoon fluttering down resembles a dying shad or shiner, and a crappie likes nothing better than slurping shin-ers. Facets reflect sunlight and mimic the flash of baitfish scales, creating sparkles in clear water.

Let a spoon flutter all the way to the bottom. Most of the time, fish hit on the fall. After the spoon hits bot-tom, bounce it off the bottom a foot or two, keeping it fluttering in the strike zone. Even in deep water, fish often look skyward because they can see prey silhouetted against the bright surface better than they can see some-thing hiding near the dark bottom.

30 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTO:

Fea 4-Crappie.indd 30 5/3/16 4:24 PM

T E X A S F I S H & G A M E | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | 31PHOTO:

Tempt Deep Water Crappiewith Vertical Jigging

story by John N. Felsher

Fea 4-Crappie.indd 31 5/3/16 4:24 PM

Make a li le ash by li ing it up and le ing it drop, Blake said. Crappie look up and might come up two or three feet to ambush their prey. Ideally, we like to put baits right above their heads. Spoons are also good for casting.

When casting, a ach a split ring to a barrel swivel to keep the spoon from twisting the line too much. Just like in vertical jigging, let the spoon u er to the bo om a er casting it. Retrieve it with a series of jerks and pauses, le ing it drop a few feet with each pause. Sometimes, a sh follows a spoon, waiting for the time to strike. Spoons also make excellent tools for casting at schooling sh feeding on the surface.

Experiment with di er-ent retrieves and drops.

Sometimes, deep crappie become

very nicky and

dont want to see any movement at all. Just hold the rod as still as possible, only allowing the boat movement to make it twitch.

O en, it doesnt take a whole lot of movement to make a sh bite, said Darryl Morris, a crappie guide. Sometimes, I jerk it up and down two or three times and then stop. Sometimes, the spoon twists on the line, and I just stop it and let it unwind. You keep the rod still, but the spoon twists and unwinds at the end.

Fish dont always sit on the bo om. Although theyre usually found near brush piles, humps or other cover, crappie some-times suspend in open water. Frequently, they suspend under bait sh schools, waiting for the proper time to a ack or pick o wounded sh.

Knowledgeable anglers can detect bait sh schools on their depth nders. Some depth nders can actually detect a spoon jigging up and down in the water. You can watch as it descends to the proper depth and possibly watch as a sh approaches it.

Not nding any action on the bo om? Experiment with di erent depths. Crank the reel handle two or three times to li the spoon a few feet o the bo om and dangle it there. Keep moving up the water column, pausing every few feet.

Some anglers mark their lines in intervals and count the marks as the lure sinks. Others slowly let sinking line slip through their n-

gers. ey sh their spoons all the way down and count until

something bites. en, they drop the spoon back at the same rate and stop at the magic number.

Most anglers use 1/8- to 3/4-ounce fac-eted chrome spoons because of their highly re ective properties in

sunlight. Some anglers use gold, green or other colors. Try different sizes, colors retrieves and drops. When sh become extremely n-

icky, they might want a smaller bait that

sinks more slowly. Often, I

use 1/4-ounce spoons for crap-pie, Morris said.

Crappie feed with a very light bite in deep water so its very subtle. Sometimes, we use a 1/16-ounce jig, even down 25 or 30

feet when crappie are biting very subtly.A jigging spoon works

because it mimics a dying shin-er and creates ash. Besides crappie, a vertically jigged spoon might catch largemouths, bream, cat sh and just about anything that might eat a dying shad or shiner, and that includes just

about everything that swims.

line too much. Just like in vertical jigging, let the spoon u er to the bo om a er casting it. Retrieve it with a series of jerks and pauses, le ing it drop a few feet with each pause. Sometimes, a sh follows a spoon, waiting for the time to strike. Spoons also make excellent tools for casting at schooling sh feeding on the surface.

Experiment with di er-ent retrieves and drops.

Sometimes, deep crappie become

very nicky and

line, and I just stop it and let it unwind. You keep the rod still, but the spoon twists and unwinds at the end.

Fish dont always sit on the bo om. Although theyre usually found near brush piles, humps or other cover, crappie some-times suspend in open water. Frequently, they suspend under bait sh schools, waiting for the proper time to a ack or pick o wounded sh.

reel handle two or three times to li the spoon a few feet o the bo om and dangle it there. Keep moving up the water column, pausing every few feet.

Some anglers mark their lines in intervals and count the marks as the lure sinks. Others slowly let sinking line slip through their n-

gers. ey sh their spoons all the way down and count until

something bites. en, they drop the spoon back at the same rate and stop at the magic number.

Most anglers use 1/8- to 3/4-ounce fac-eted chrome spoons because of their highly re ective properties in

sunlight. Some anglers use gold, green or other colors. Try different sizes, colors retrieves and drops. When sh become extremely n-

icky, they might want a smaller bait that

sinks more slowly.

use 1/4-ounce spoons for crap-pie, Morris said.

Crappie feed with a very light bite in deep water so its very subtle. Sometimes, we use a 1/16-ounce jig, even down 25 or 30

feet when crappie are biting very subtly.A jigging spoon works

because it mimics a dying shin-er and creates ash. Besides crappie, a vertically jigged spoon might catch largemouths, bream, cat sh and just about anything that might eat a dying shad or shiner, and that includes just


er and creates ash. Besides crappie, a vertically jigged spoon might catch largemouths, bream, cat sh and just about anything that might eat a dying shad or shiner, and that includes just


32 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTO: JOHN N. FELSHER

Jigging spoons can help attract nicky crappie in the deep, such as these two that young Alex Cochran caught.

Fea 4-Crappie.indd 32 5/9/16 9:20 AM

Fea 4-Crappie.indd 33 5/10/16 9:40 AM


Fea 5-WaterMoccasin.indd 34 5/9/16 12:48 PM

THE SWAMPS, MARSHES AND WATERWAYS OF

Texas are loaded with snakes.

In most cases, every dark-colored snake encoun-

tered in these realms is labeled a water moccasin

or cottonmouth. In reality, the vast majority are

simply nonvenomous watersnakes or even other species such as

the hognose snake.

The water moccasin is the largest species of the genus

Agkistrodon. Agkistrodon piscivorus, the water mocca-

sin or cottonmouth, is a pit viper found in the south-

eastern United States. Adults are large and capable of

delivering a painful and potentially fatal bite. When

antagonized, they will stand their ground by coiling

their bodies and displaying their fangs. Although

their aggression has been exaggerated, individuals may

bite when feeling threatened or being handled. This is

the worlds only semiaquatic viper, usually found in or near

water, particularly in slow-moving and shallow lakes, streams,

and marshes. The snake is a strong swimmer and will even

enter saltwater. It has successfully colonized islands off both the

Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

The generic name is derived from the Greek words ancistro

(hooked) and odon (tooth), and the specific name comes from

the Latin piscis (fish) and voro (to eat); thus, the scientific name

translates into hooked-tooth fish-eater. The common names

water moccasin and cottonmouth refer to the threat display,

where this species will often stand its ground and gape at an

intruder, exposing the white lining of its mouth.



The broad head is distinct from the neck, and the snout is blunt in profile with the rim of the top of the head extending forward slightly further than the mouth.

Juvenile and subadult specimens gener-ally have a more contrasting color pattern, with dark crossbands on a lighter ground color. The ground color is then tan, brown or reddish brown. The tip of the tail is usu-ally yellowish, becoming greenish yellow or greenish in subadults, and then black in adults. On some juveniles, the banding pat-tern can also be seen on the tail.

This species is often confused with the copperhead, Agkistrodon contortrix. The

watersnakes of the genus Nerodia are also similar in appearance, being thick-bodied with large heads, but they have round pupils, no loreal pit, a single anal plate, and a distinc-tive overall color pattern.

The fact is there are only four types of ven-omous snakes in all of North America. These are cottonmouths, copperheads, rattlesnakes and coral snakes. There are numerous variet-ies of each, but those are the types. In other words, everything else is nonvenomous.

Included here are a few classic cotton-mouth photos along with a few of the mimics out there to help you tell the difference when

fishing on your favorite lake or squirrel hunt-ing in that deep, dark creek bottom.

1 A TRUE COTTONMOUTH is not

a snake to be toyed with. They can deliver a deadly bite of hemotoxic venom that destroys tissue. Unlike their reputation of being super dangerous, most cotton-mouths simply prefer to be left alone. If you encounter one giving you the cottonmouth, consider yourself lucky. That is a warning before biting.

2 THE YELLOWBELLY watersnake,

pictured here and with me on the

36 | J U N E 2 0 1 6 | T E X A S F I S H & G A M E PHOTOS: CHESTER MOORE

1 3

2 4


previous page, looks a lot like a co onmouth from the top view. As you can see its belly is yellow and has no pa ern, unlike the co on-mouth. ese snakes have extreme musking abilities and are usually the moccasin most people cla

Texas Fish & Game June 2016

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