december 2012

Light Goose SeasonRULES OF THE GAME

WHAT’S BITING INThe WinterSurf

HOT ACTION, COLD WATER:Bass fromthe Fridge

A BIG FISH OPERATOR’S MANUALTarget: Trophy Trout

WINTER FISHING

BASICS

Digital Edition

BrushBucking

DECEMBER 2012 | VOL. XXIX • NO. 8 | $3.95

CHRISTMAS GIFTS FOROutdoor Kids

THE

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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].

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THE WINTER SURF The dead of winter provides some of the liveliest angling opportunities for anglers willing to spend a day at the beach. Here’s a look at what’s biting from Sabine to South Padre, and how best to hook up.

by Will Leschper

RULES OF THE GAME In the final installment of our year-long series on Texas hunting and fishing regulations, we look at the light goose conservation season.

by Chester Moore

BASS FROM THE FRIDGE Texas anglers may find the hottest winter bass fishing action is in the coldest waters.

by John N. Felsher

TARGET: TROPHY TROUT Our Executive Editor has spent years developing a system of fishing that can help anglers target bigger specks and other trophy fish, and he is offering the “operator’s manual” to this system here, free.

by Chester Moore

DECEMBER 2012 • Volume XXIX • NO. 8

CONTENTScOVer stOry:Bucking the Brush

One day a big buck is as regular as clockwork at your feeder, the

next (opening day) he’s disap-peared like a Flying Dutchman ghost. How do they do this, and how do you track them down?

story by steve LaMascus

Cover Photo:This magnificent buck, “Diesel King,” is on the Swenson Ranch in Orangefield, owned by Ken Swenson and Lone Hollow Whitetails, of Mountain Home.

Photo by Chester Moore

ALSO IN DECEMBER:

christmas for Outdoor Kids

Here’s a list of gift ideas for kids who would rather get rods, shotguns or

hunting knives instead of sweat-ers, toys, or even video games.

by Paul Bradshaw

STORY:

42

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FEATURES

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38

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CONTENTSCOLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS

COLUMNS DEPARTMENTS

10 Editor’s Notes The Fruits of Giving by DON ZaiDLe TF&G Editor-in-Chief

11 Chester’s Wild Life Hogzilla by CheSTeR mOORe TF&G Executive Editor

14 Doggett at Large Hunting Rifle Roulette by JOe DOGGeTT TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

16 Pike on the Edge Science or Fiction by DOuG Pike TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

17 TexasWild Crossbow Double Straps by TeD NuGeNT TF&G Editor At Large

18 Commentary No Greater Gift by keNDaL hemPhiLL TF&G Politcal Commentator

19 Hunt Texas Hunters Are the Future by bOb hOOD TF&G Hunting Editor

27 Texas Freshwater Why I Will Fish Until the Day I Die by maTT WiLLiamS TF&G Freshwater Editor

35 Texas Bow Hunting I Have a Name by LOu maRuLLO TF&G Bow Hunting Edito

41 Texas Saltwater Out of the Deep Freeze by CaLixTO GONZaLeS TF&G Saltwater Editor

48 Open Season Fresh Tracks by ReaviS WORTham TF&G Humor Editor

8 LETTERS

14 TF&G REPORT

14 BIG BAGS & CATCHES

32 TExAS DEPT. OF DEFENSE

36 TRUE GREEN

DECEMBER 2012 • Volume XXIX • NO. 8

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Biggest Danger in the WoodsI certaInly agree WIth the general empha-sis of Steve LaMascus’ “Biggest Danger in the Woods” article. However, as the owner of a Remington 700 that “had” a defective trigger/safety, now repaired by a professional gunsmith, I take exception to Mr. LaMascus’s statement, “I was not a witness to any of these incidents, but I doubt them.”

My well-maintained .22-250 discharged when I closed the bolt. Fortunately, I was pointing the rifle in a safe direction and there was no danger, although I had to change my shorts.

Subsequent evaluation with an empty rifle revealed that if the trigger was pulled while the rifle was on safety (no firing pin release at that time), the pin was released when the safety was disengaged. This was a serious problem with my Remington 700 that could have led to a fatal accident, for as you know in order to remove a round from the chamber, the safety must be disengaged.

This was a problem from the factory that revealed itself in a fortuitous manner—good gun handling practices prevented a serious accident.

Jim BoswellVia email

You state that your “well maintained” rifle discharged when you closed the bolt.

This has absolutely no bearing on the statement I made in the article, although you state you discovered the problem after the accidental discharge.

The older Remington triggers could be adjusted after they left the factory. In my experience, the problem you describe is almost invariably caused by someone without the knowledge and skills required, trying to adjust the trigger and allowing either too little sear engagement or too little spring tension. I have never known the problem to happen with a Remington trigger that had not been tampered with post-factory.

I commend you on your gun handling, as

that was obviously the reason there were no injuries from your incident.

All this being said, I stand by my state-ment that I have never personally seen such a thing happen and very much doubt that they do, except in the circumstances described above. —Steve LaMascus

Shotguns & Spring turkeyIn the novemBer 2012 ISSue, an artIcle By Steve LaMascus states, and I quote from page 25, “During the special spring season it is illegal to hunt any turkey with anything except a shot-gun, bow, or crossbow.”

Is this a correct statement for hunting Rio Grande turkeys in central Texas? If this is correct, please direct me to the regulation in the 2012-2013 hunting rules.

Just want to be legal.

Ken DacusDenison, Texas

Good catch! The regulation stated applies only to the eastern species. It is legal to hunt Rio Grande turkey with any legal firearm or archery equipment. —Steve LaMascus

Bird Dog memoriesI juSt fInISheD reaDIng BoB hooD’S November Texas Hunting column, “How to Ruin a Good Dog.” It engulfed me in nostalgia and sent me back 60 years in time.

My dad had exactly the same philosophy as Hood about how to train a bird dog. He also used that method on boys. He was known to have the best dogs in Harrison County; I am not sure about sons.

He was an avid quail hunter and always took his two-week vacation during bird season. He passed this love of quail hunting to me by giving me the opportunity to enjoy this seminal sport. How times have changed.

My dad allowed me to use his work truck during bird season, so that as a newly licensed 14-year-old driver, I would load my

bird dog in the dog box before dawn and hunt until time to go to school. I would feed the dog my lunch and then we would hit the fields after school to hunt until dark.

A 12-gauge shotgun on the gun rack at school and a dog in the box in the back. Poor kids today can’t even take a pocket-knife to school.

We were 45-day bird hunters. We even hunted on Sunday afternoon after church. My mom didn’t like it one bit, but she lived over it.

We had a young setter named April and she was a crackerjack single’s dog. One morning after a covey rise, she pointed at a brush pile. My dad went over and kicked on the pile and there was no bird. He called April to move on, but she wouldn’t budge. We walked off and she stayed there, even as we called for her.

We went back and my dad picked her up and tossed her away from the brush pile. She turned her head and landed with her head pointed back toward the pile. We went back and stomped on the pile, and then heard a bobwhite coming up through the sticks. It seemed like an eternity before the bird broke the surface of the pile.

My dad had always taught me to let the birds get off a piece before shooting so that you wouldn’t tear them up. This time, I couldn’t wait and I shot that bird about 10 feet away. My dad just shook his head as I retrieved a glob of feathers.

I have been reliving East Texas bird hunting for the last couple of hours after reading Hood’s article. Thanks for the memories.

Clifton DanielsBloomburg, TX

Send your comments to:

Editor, Texas Fish & Game1745 Greens RdHouston TX 77032Email: [email protected]


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The Fruits of Giving

PhilosoPher Jacques DerriDa PosiTeD that there are no selfless acts; that even actions of seeming altruism in fact “stroke” and thus reward the actor. If

true, I am one selfish s.o.b.I love giving, and always have, to fam-

ily, friend, and stranger alike; sometimes tangible, sometimes intangible, sometimes indefinable. Whatever the circumstances, whatever the gift, whoever the recipient, it always brings joy and satisfaction.

I am the guy who holds you up at the intersection, handing out money to the pan-handler bearing a “Will Work for Food” sign. I know he won’t buy food, and tell him so with the admonishment, “just promise to buy the good stuff, not some rot-gut,” as I hand over a $20 bill.

I get a kick out of secretly repairing a neighbor’s sagging fence or long-broken gate, leaving him scratching his head and pondering the existence of fence-fairies and gate-gnomes.

An afternoon spent exploring the woods with my great-granddaughter, on the surface might seem self-sacrificial—accountable to innumerable briar scratches on my legs and arms, embedded thorns and barbed-wire gouges in places I’d rather not discuss, and seeming gallons of sweat lost in carrying her on my back across obstacles or when her tiny legs grow tired—but the truth is, I get more from it than she does.

There is no metric for the satisfaction reaped when helping save a family’s home from fire, or treating the injuries of someone’s loved one as a volunteer first responder.

It is therefore axiomatic that the Christmas season leaves me a simpering puddle of over-wrought emotions. It is a rare time when one

can give to heart’s content without garnering askance looks and suspicion. Sad that we live in a time when such suspicions are com-mon and justified, but such is the lot of the would-be altruist and proverbial Samaritan.

Giving anonymously provides special rewards. I once crafted elaborately to leave anonymous gifts for the wife and children of a man who passed away just before Christmas. I self-indulgently watched from hiding after secreting the gifts on the front porch, knocking at the door, and scurrying away. The joy and wonderment I witnessed paled under the glow I felt.

Finding that special gift thought unob-tainable by the recipient is among the most gratifying of gratifications. No small sense of pride comes from finding what others could not, or acquiring to pass on what others would not.

I once had the opportunity to visit the Western knife company in Boulder, Colorado, and there to obtain an out-of-production pocketknife as a gift for a friend. His father had owned and carried that knife model for many years, and my friend dearly wished to follow suit. When I handed it to him on a chill December evening beside the living room fireplace, firelight reflected in misted eyes surmounting a broad smile. He sat down heavily in a high-backed chair, turning the knife this way and that, examin-ing every minute detail like a merchant grad-ing a precious gem.

Thus we sat silently for several minutes, I loathe to intrude on the secret places he was visiting as betrayed by his expression. When at last he spoke, the look of earnest gratitude, powerful though it was, fell impotent under the greater meaning of a half-whispered, “thank you.”

Unlike most men—especially of my age—I actually enjoy shopping. Ferreting around in the shelves and alcoves of obscure shops and stores for the esoteric and anach-ronistic is a delightful way to spend a nigh-on Christmas afternoon. Browsing catalogs of special or broad interest is a vicarious Easter egg hunt for the thing that revives to memory that forgotten subtle hint dropped

by spouse or progeny.Although somewhat tarnished by the

taint of technology, a certain je ne sais quoi comes with browsing eBay and finding the long-forgotten or unexpected.

Though I love to give, I am not so disposed to receiving. Don’t ask me why, because I have no answer. Those who feel disposed to give find me hard to buy for. What do you give someone generally regarded as a short-tempered curmudgeon of caustic tongue?

If hard-pressed, I suppose I could say my tastes do not run to the ordinary or even the definable. The things I want, the things I need, the things I cherish cannot be bought with blood or money.

So, for the sake of those who quail at the notion of anyone going giftless, I prof-fer assurances that I selfishly indulged in gifts for myself: a bag of marbles; a jacks set like the one my sister received so many Christmases ago; a glassine package of plastic cowboys and Indians; a checkerboard and checkers; a simple rubber ball; a cowboy cap pistol; a cheap pocketknife.

No one but me is ever likely to see them, and I daren’t “play” with them lest their magical “newness” be lost. Most of the time, they will remain ensconced beneath socks and woolen sundries in a dresser drawer, waiting to be handled and turned over in admiring hands as the beholder travels in mind to secret times and places known only to him.

And standing alone on the back porch, having a pipe in the crisp night air and listening to the revelry of those gathered around the gilded tree inside, the old cur-mudgeon will smile to himself without regret for being the selfish bastard that he is.


Email Don Zaidle [email protected]

editor’s Notes

by Don Zaidle | TF&G Editor-in-Chief

EdNotes.indd 10 11/13/12 8:57 AM


Chester’s Wild Life

Hogzilla

THaT is THe name besToWed upon a huge hog killed in 2004 by Chris Griffin on Ken Holyoak’s hunting preserve. As the story goes, the hog

was 12 feet long and weighed 1,000 pounds. This sensational story circulated on the

Internet and become a media sensation with about half of the interested parties screaming “hoax” and the others amazed that a “wild” boar would get so big.

As noted in my latest book “Hog Wild,” this story became such a sensation the National Geographic Society filmed an investigative documentary about it and exhumed the body. Their verdict was the hog actually weighed 800 pounds and was between 7.5 and 8 feet long, which is still humongous by wild hog standards. However, they also found through DNA testing the animal was a hybrid of wild and domestic hogs, most likely a Hampshire.

This got me to thinking about the largest hogs I have seen on open range. The first was a huge sow crossing a dry creek bed in Burnet County between Austin and Llano. My father and I were headed toward our deer lease in Menard and spotted the animal just off Highway 71. We turned around to get a better look and spied the huge pig about 100 yards out climbing the creek banks then disappearing into the brush. We both agreed the hog was in the neighbor-hood of 500 pounds.

The second gigantic hog I saw was many years later on my old deer lease in Newton County down a highline where I had been finding absolutely huge hog tracks. While scouting one day I glassed an acquaintance’s deer feeder on the edge of the highline and saw a bunch of small hogs, which were prob-ably in the 50-pound range that at that range looked like ants. Then came what looked like a jeep only it was a hog. The little ones scattered and this behemoth began feeding, which allowed me to watch him for a few minutes. Again, I would say the hog was

somewhere in the 500-pound range, which among truly wild hogs is a giant.

But those hogs don’t match up to Hogzilla do they?

“Monster Pig” did though. That is the name the media gave to an alleged 1,051-pound hog killed by 11-year-old Jamison Stone at Lost Creek Plantation near Anniston, Alabama. He killed the hog with a .50 caliber handgun shooting the animal eight times causing a Hogzilla-like media sensation.

As noted in detail in the chapter on giant hogs in “Hog Wild,” there were holes in the story from the beginning. The scale used to weigh the animal goes in 10-pound incre-ments so a weight of 1,051-pounds would be impossible. The fatal blow to the story came a few days later when an Associated Press story revealed the hog was not only domestic but was named, “Fred.”

“Phil Blissitt said he purchased the 6-week-old pig in December 2004 as a Christmas gift for his wife, Rhonda, and they sold it to the owner of Lost Creek Plantation after deciding to get rid of all the pigs at their farm.”

“He told The Anniston Star in a story Friday that the sale was four days before the hog was killed in a 150-acre fenced area of the plantation.”

That “Monster Pig” was a purely domes-tic hog was not a surprise to me in any way. I suspected it. Hogzilla and most of the other giant hog photos circulating on the Internet hail from domestic stock. While truly pure wild hogs rarely grow larger than 500 pounds, the domestic ones can get huge if fed constantly and they are put out onto hunting ranches in Texas on occasion.

Tales of Hogzilla and other gigantic hogs are now urban legends here in Texas and beyond.

When you have a situation with giant hogs which look basically the same rather wild or domestic from the general public’s standpoint and create a sensation story to go with it, you have a situation where someone’s pet like “Fred” aka “Monster Pig” becomes a legend.

Despite the fact this hog was verified to be purely domestic there are still (years later) chain e-mails going around about it touting it as the world’s largest wild hog. Some of this has to do with how urban leg-ends grow, which are really the source of the stories themselves. Since they typically come in the form of an e-mail from a friend or a conversational anecdote they seem believe-able. After all, your friends would not lie, would they? Maybe it is not that they are lying but the whole thing was a lie or at least an exaggeration from the beginning.

With that said, there is a chance there are some legitimate, wild monster-sized hogs roaming parts of the country due to what I call the “X-factor”. Put simply, it means in nature virtually anything is possible and some hogs of Hogzilla size and larger could spring up from wild stocks.

For years scientists thought that reports of giant peccaries roaming the rainforests of Brazil were bogus but in 2007, researchers confirmed a separate subspecies that grows much larger than the collared and white-lipped variety.

Science has been wrong time and again about the size, range, life habits and even existence of certain wild creatures. All I have to say is if there is a legitimate, wild succes-sor to Hogzilla in my future, I hope I meet it well-armed and see it before it sees me.

Chester Moore’s “Hog Wild: Hog Hunting Strategies, Tactics & Facts” is available for only $14.95 by calling 800-750-4678 or online at fishandgamegear.com.

by Chester Moore | TF&G Executive Editor

Catch Chester on the radio Fridays, 6pmon 560 KLVI Beaumont, (www.klvi.com)

Email him at [email protected]

Chester’s Wild Life

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Deadly Deer Disease Reported in LouisianaLouisiana wiLDLife bioLogists have reported a major outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD)—a virus common to white-tailed deer that has killed tens of thousands of deer in several Midwestern and Southeastern states and wiped out 90 percent or more of the white-tail population along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River in Montana.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) has received numer-ous reports from all over the state of dead and dying white-tailed deer attributed to hemorrhagic disease (HD).

According to LDWF, mortality ranging from 25 to 50 percent of a deer herd can occur from HD. Some areas in Louisiana

could experience this level of mortality this year.

According to Kenny Ribbeck with LDWF, the viral disease shows up in some deer every year, but this outbreak is “a lot worse than we have seen it in some time.”

Although there were no confirmed reports of the disease in Texas deer at press time, Texas Fish & Game is monitoring the situation and will provide updates as infor-mation becomes available. Visit our website news pages at fishgame.com/webnews.php

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J.D. Quintanilla of New Braunfels caught his first bull red, this 42-incher, fishing at Port O’Connor with his wife and his friend Mario Gallardo. The group caught 7 bulls. This was the biggest.

Kevin Baker of Burnet caught these two bass withing an hour of each other on Inks Lake. One weighed 9 pounds, 6 oz. and the other weighed 10 pounds even.

Epizootic hemorrhagic Disease.

ReDFiSh

Port O’Connor

LaRGemOuTh

inks Lake

David Rozacky (left) and his son Trent Rozacky (right) of Taylor, caught this 70-pound yellow cat on a trot line while fishing Lake Granger. It is the largest catfish they have caught to date. The fish was 4 feet long and almost 3 feet around.

YeLLOw CaTFiSh

Lake Granger

TFGReport.indd 12 11/12/12 5:16 PM

for the latest updates.According to information provided by

LDWF:Hemorrhagic disease (HD) is a viral

disease syndrome caused by either epizo-otic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) or bluetongue virus (BTV). These orbi-viruses are related but are genetically dif-ferent. They are spread by biting gnats of the genus Culicoides, resulting in seasonal occurrence of HD. Typically, factors that favor the vectors are a rainy spring followed by a dry June. Events such as flooding that congregate deer also seem to worsen disease outbreaks. HD is not contagious to people and consumption of meat from HD-infected animals poses no threat to humans.

Some deer are protected by local immu-nity and may exhibit very mild or no disease. These affected deer may recover and devel-op antibodies to the disease. Many if not most Louisiana deer will likely be exposed to HD at some point in their lives.

Clinical HD in deer presents itself in three ways:

1) Peracute form: These deer may exhibit no signs and simply be found dead or may be lethargic with swelling of the tongue, head, or neck.

2) Acute form: Typically, these deer live somewhat longer than those with the peracute form and may exhibit the same swelling as listed above, as well as some erosions or ulcers in the mouth. They may also exhibit hemorrhages in the eyes and internal organs.

3) Chronic form: Deer that survive the original viral insult will often exhibit hoof sloughing and weight loss. Some deer may survive this stage. The original infection kills the lining of the rumen (first stomach chamber) and these deer are unable to gain nutrients from the food that they consume. They typically become progressively more emaciated throughout the fall and severely

affected deer succumb to the elements during the winter.

Many of the sick or dead deer reports are coming from areas flooded during and after Hurricane Isaac. Fawn mortality was high in some of these areas. The additional mor-tality from HD is not unexpected and was one of the reasons for the season reductions around Lake Maurepas, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes. Hunters in the river parishes, other hurricane-flooded portions of the state, and who have observed additional

adult deer mortality may want to be more conservative and limited in their deer har-vests this season.

White-tailed deer are one of nature’s most resilient and productive big game animals. Louisiana native white-tailed deer are especially adapted to withstand seasonal HD and other southern diseases. Deer that survive disease outbreaks develop resistance and therefore can pass on the genetic traits that helped them survive to their offspring.

Pen-raised and imported deer do not have the disease resistance that native wild deer have to local virus strains and may harbor strains that are not normally found locally and may therefore be a threat to the native wild populations.

Hunters in Louisiana and Texas are encouraged to report sick and dying deer to their local game warden or biologist.


TFGReport.indd 13 11/12/12 3:18 PM

Hunting Rifle Roulette

So-called “dry firing” over an empty chamber is good practice for the hunter using a bolt-action rifle. The snap does not hurt the firing pin in

a quality rifle, and the repetitive hand-eye exercise helps train shooting skills. Best of all, you can do this at home.

Of course, it helps if the rifle is, indeed, unloaded.

Many years ago, several days before a deer hunt, I pulled a .30-06 from the gun case for a short dry-firing session. I was liv-ing in an apartment in Houston. The front room had a sliding glass door overlooking a residential street.

Down the street about 100 yards was a fire plug — a favorite “target” for the off-hand drill. I hefted the pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 and took a comfortable stance.

To cock the rifle, I lifted the bolt with my right hand and ran it back. Try to com-prehend my shock as the motion extracted a live cartridge from the chamber. The golden Federal Premium flashed through the air and landed on the carpet.

I stared in disbelief. I do not intentionally leave random loaded guns in racks or cabi-nets or safes; yet, somehow, the old Model 70 went to bed hot.

I keep a loaded shotgun in my home and a handgun in my vehicle. These are maintained in a ready status for personal protection. But I know exactly what they are and where they are.

A gun you know is loaded is one thing; a gun that you forget is loaded is quiet another.

Point is, you can grow up around guns but get careless. In fact, the more you are around them, the more you feel comfortable

with them, maybe the easier it is to take things for granted. That can be a terrible lapse.

I was confident the Model 70 was empty. Thank goodness (maybe subconscious train-ing) I ran the bolt all the way back rather than simply raising and lowering the handle to cock the action before settling the cross-hairs and pressing the trigger.

Here’s another one:I once was a guest on a South Texas

lease. We were quail hunting. The trailer on the lease was a typical hunting camp, several lumpy sofas and chairs, a few dusty wall mounts and tilted wildlife prints, a grainy television, and a clattering refrigerator and a humming window-unit air conditioner. If you’ve done much hunting in Texas, you can picture the set-up.

The unusual appointment in this particu-lar trailer was located in the front bedroom — a ragged hole approximately six inches

in diameter in the ceiling above one of the bunk beds. It was not cut for ventilation, nor was it chewed by resident rats. It was blown open by an accidental charge of 7 1/2 pellets from a 20-gauge shotgun from a distance of approximately six feet.

Most hunting leases have — or should have — a firm rule: No loaded guns in camp. It just isn’t done. You open the action and clear the gun in the field before you reach camp.

Such was the stance on this lease but somebody forgot and toted a shotgun with a loaded chamber into the bedroom. Worse, the perpetrator proceeded to fiddle with the gun, preparing to clean it, maybe, and trig-gered the ceiling modification.

I don’t know who the shooter was, or when the incident happened. I honestly don’t even remember the particular lease. But I vividly recall that ragged hole.

You look at such a hole and take a deep breath, similar to the one I took when the

14 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Photo: Bigstock

Doggett at Large

by Joe Doggett | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Doggett.indd 14 11/8/12 7:51 PM


long-ago Federal Premium bounced onto the shag carpet.

Another one:I almost got shot once. I mean, really

shot. Being peppered by falling pellets in a dove field, although alarming and potentially eye-threatening, is a different deal.

This was a point-blank blast from an Ithaca 10-gauge Magnum auto-loading shot-gun. And, if you’re going gamble on getting shot, that’s really not the gun you want to place in fickle Lady Luck’s hands. The typi-cal 3 1/2-inch shell looks like a relative of a Roman candle.

Two friends and I were goose hunting. We were on a lease on the rice prairies west of Houston. We parked on the edge of the blacktop in the pre-dawn darkness and donned chest waders and foul-weather parkas.

I piled my tote bag and soft-cased shotgun in the decoy-laden bed of the lease member’s four-wheel-drive pickup. An impatient black Lab was huffing and chuffing in a dog box, leaving white puffs of steam in the chill air.

The driver opened the left door and slid in behind the wheel. I prepared to climb in from the right, to sit in the center. The third hunter followed (smart move, I though smugly; being on the outside, he would have to screw with the gates).

The driver had the Ithaca 10-gauge Magnum propped on the bench seat beside him, along the right side of the floor shifter. The muzzle was against the floor board carpet.

I scrunched to the left to make room for the third guy stepping in from the right. The driver casually reached over to reposition the big shotgun a bit close to him. As the stock moved, I felt the fore-end of the cannon press against the thigh of my bulky waders.

KA—BOOM!!!!!!!!!!The world slipped its axis and a bright

yellow flash erupted against the edge of my left wader boot.

I felt no pain but was afraid to move. A weak toe-twiggle revealed I still had a left foot. In fact, the whole foot and ankle remained unscathed. When the gun was shifted, the muzzle remained pressed against

the carpet. The heavy goose load blew straight through the steel floor board, leav-ing a hole, well, about the size of a 10-gauge bore.

The horrified driver, who often carried his pride-and-joy big gun in that manner, simply had forgotten to unload it following the previous trip. And, for whatever reasons, the safety was off. Those were two terrible mistakes, one on top of the other, and that’s how a few Texas hunters get maimed or killed each year.

The common denominator in these three incidents was taking things for granted. And I cannot stress enough how easily this can happen; we must strive to check and double-check, and never take the status of any gun for granted.

And there are no exemptions for age or experience.

Email Joe Doggett [email protected]

Doggett.indd 15 11/8/12 7:51 PM


www.winchesterguns.com

Pike on the Edge

by Doug Pike | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Science or Fiction

HoPE you’rE not tirEd oF columnS about relying on science, not fiction, for wildlife management, because I’ll never tire of writing them.

If we are going to enjoy hunting and fish-ing deep into the future, we ultimately have to embrace facts and the people who gather them.

Sensible and timeless as that principle may seem, it remains foreign to a staggering number of consumptive outdoors enthusi-asts. Among us still walk far too many folks who can ignore and dismiss 20, 40 or more years of work performed by unbiased profes-sionals. Instead, they are comfortable siding blindly and perpetually with dreamers and fools.

“It” should be this way, they’ll say, because that’s how the guys at the bait camp or the barber shop said it was when they were growing up in the Rolling Stone ages. Or it’s that way, because that’s the way it is every time MeeMaw’s bursitis acts up.

Truth is, bait-camp bull sessions have nothing to do with sound wildlife or fisheries management. They’re great places to tell sto-ries and get mud minnows, even to express displeasure in the status quo, but cleaning-table judgment sometimes is clouded by long days of heavy sun and light beer.

Your results or mine over the past 20 years can be quite accurately indicative of how we’ve done and what we’ve observed as hunters or fishermen, but they’re not reflec-tions of an entire, statewide resource or its general health. Our records are snapshots, single entries in an enormous album of data. They’re pieces of a puzzle – and deserve rec-ognition as such – but they’re small pieces.

It isn’t until you put all those pieces together, then replace them annually for decades and study all those new pieces and their relationships to the old ones, that you

can begin to craft any sort of valid manage-ment strategy.

The validity of that strategy has to be measured also against the manager’s stake in the game. As recreational anglers, each of us has done our share of finger pointing at commercial fishermen over the years.

They get too many, goes the timeworn hew and cry, and we get too few. Give us more, and take some from them. Trouble

with that line of thinking is that it never addresses the correct total of a particular fish that can be taken sustainably. It’s greed-driven, and that’s a natural byproduct of letting emotion get in the way of fact.

I prefer my rules and regulations to be generated by people who study natural resources professionally and without care for where that study leads. If they’re fishermen and hunters, as well, all the better. And if they’ll listen to fishermen and hunters, if they’ll allow data collected by hunters and fishermen be legitimate parts of the equation, better still.

The trouble with trusting scientists is they’re not all working at the same level of dedication or expertise. I like good science collected without prejudice. I abhor sloppy and incomplete science, which shouldn’t form the foundation for so much as a single line in any management plan.

And, dare I say it, some of the biologists entering wildlife- management careers these days quietly intend to reduce or eliminate consumptive outdoor recreation. That ugly truth is tucked away for another time and

space. Carefully collected and generated sci-

ence is the only legitimate path to successful wildlife management. When it’s otherwise, science becomes a hopeless pit of a mess that leaves all sides angry and frustrated and swapping fantastic stories about the shortcomings of the other side. (See: red snapper.)

The cure for bad science isn’t to gather up the catch logs of 10 or 20 salty captains, or to look at the numbers of ducks or deer taken by a couple dozen guides on as many ranches. Neither is it to do as has been done in the past and count empty slips in coastal marina and them extrapolate that informa-tion somehow into angler success. That’s like counting bugs on the windshield and using that number to determine statewide insect populations.

Texas is a big state, and the Gulf of Mexico is a big water body. We need big information to set management criteria for their big resources.

If any of us contends that the science behind a rule is bad – and it has been in several cases over the years – the first step toward a better plan or policy is to respect the process flaws and all. Call the program a total wreck if you like, but don’t auto-matically condemn the people who made the counts or submitted the management plans.

Better wildlife and fisheries management starts with our continued vigilance over the sometimes downright silly methodol-ogy applied to the task. But it isn’t enough anymore to simply declare something broken and demand that someone else fix it. It’s time we, as primary stakeholders, bring more than pounding fists to the table.

Step back, recognize this as a long process with no overnight solutions. Think, independently, then offer logical, fact-based solutions of your own. Good scientists seek-ing good science will welcome the help.


Email Doug Pike [email protected]

Pike on the Edge

by Doug Pike | TF&G Senior Contributing Editor

Texas is a big state and the Gulf of mexico is a big

water body.

“

“

Pike.indd 16 11/8/12 7:52 PM


Crossbow Double Straps

I kIlleD my fIrSt CroSSbow bIg game animal way back in 1969 with a big, bulky Shakespeare crossbow. It was a fantastic, billowy snowstorm day in the

rolling hills of central Michigan on a buddies big game preserve not far from Ann Arbor when I decided to try my hand at this rare, old world, arrow flinging weapon.

Crossbow hunting was looked upon as mostly a stunt back then, somewhere between the ever-increasing fascination with archery hunting and traditional firearms hunting.

Visions of William Tell sending the little arrow through the apple on his son’s head were what came to mind when this primi-tive weapon was displayed, and everybody was at least interested in, if not downright fascinated by its history.

I had fun sighting in this old wooden crossbow and felt very confident in its accu-racy out to maybe thirty yards or so. My 4-inch groups were at least as consistent as my recurve bow could shoot, so I was ready to give it a go.

The heavy snow and howling wind would provide a killer stalking advantage for me, but it sure didn’t help with visibility in find-ing game. Moreover, it was so cold that the critters were surely hunkered down in the lee side of the thickest, nastiest swamp tangles they could find. With drifts as high as four feet, we had our work cut out for us.

The morning was a bust, and hot cocoa and steaming chili was like a gift from heaven back at Louie’s warm lodge. With leggings and gloves dried out over the hot wood stove and bellies full of heated fortifi-cation, I headed out for the afternoon hunt.

I was young and indefatigable at the

tender age of 20, so nothing could keep this rock-n-roll Iron Man down. I sloughed and tromped through the walls of blowing snow, trying my best to remain alert for a critter encounter.

After a long day, as I ascended a slight rise in the terrain, my eyes crested a mound of blowing snow and immediately zeroed in on a huge, wooly Moreno ram slowly walk-ing out of a huge blowdown of tangled trees, trunks, and limbs.

Figuring thirty yards, I centered the open sight on his shoulder and touched off the shot

in an instant. The wooden bolt slammed hard into the pocket, the Bear Razorhead penetrating clean through the 200-pound beast. The huge horned ram bolted through the drifting snow like it was nothing, but only made it about fifty yards before it performed its last valiant pirouette and fell to the frozen ground in a wooly bully heap.

That was sure fun, and I still have that ancient old ram mounted on the barn wall to bring back those early hunting memories every time I glance at my first wild sheep.

Now forty three years later, I am still crossbow hunting, and though my state of the art Excalibur recurve crossbow is light-years ahead of that old Shakespeare con-traption, I still have to be as stealthy, aware, dedicated and patient a reasoning predator as I can be no matter how advanced my equipment may be.

My Excalibur is incredibly accurate out to fifty, even sixty yards if I do my part, but the thrill of crossbow hunting, like all bowhunting, is not how far we can shoot, but rather how close we can get.

This morning, like many mornings in a row, I was perched in a favorite oak tree on SpiritWild Ranch in central Texas, Excalibur cocked, locked and very ready to rock, doc.

With a pocket full of extra MLDP doe tags, I was hankering for some straps and a few more haunches, slabs, shanks and meat shards to share with my fellow Texans at the local soup kitchen and food bank.

And here come my girls, right on cue. It had been a few days since I had a shot at deer, so I was really thrilled to have this trio wander in to my kill zone.

The Excalibur was raised into position, resting my fist on my knees, as the lead doe paused at twenty-five yards. I am no dilly dallier, and my Lumen-Bolt was in and out of her chest before you could say Backstrap Ballet.

My doe catapulted straight up about ten feet and slammed to the ground for a three-second bulldozer earth plowing to her death.

Amazingly, the other two does bolted backwards, and as all this brief commotion was going on, I stepped into the cocking stirrup, cocked my bow and loaded bolt #2 into the groove.

As my dead doe flopped her last, one of the other does nosed forward for a look-see, and bolt #2 slammed her the same way bolt #1 slammed doe #1.

The same exciting death dance boogie unfolded in my little arena, and within sec-onds, white belly #2 lay in the Texas scrub before me, like a gift from the meat gods. Thank you meat gods, I love you very much.

Crossbows and backstraps go together like loud guitars and gyrating skinny women. Get ya some. It’s all good.

Email Ted Nugent [email protected]

ted’s texaswild

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


Visions of William Tell sending the

arrow through the apple on his son’s

head came to mind.

““

Nugent.indd 17 11/8/12 7:52 PM


No Greater Gift

As A kid, my fAvorite toy wAs A G.i. Joe I received for Christmas one year. I had only one G.I. Joe the whole time I was growing up, and he was what

would be known today as a victim of govern-ment cutbacks. He had very little in the way of equipment or uniforms, but he made the most of what he had, and never lost a battle, as I recall. He lost a foot during one deploy-ment, and an arm from the elbow down on another. Still, he never complained, and he was never AWOL.

That G.I. Joe was like a lot of our sol-diers, Marines, sailors, airmen, coastguards-men, and national guardsmen today. As a kid, I owed my G.I. Joe a huge debt for the endless hours of freedom he gave me from the real world. We owe our real military a huge debt for the real freedom they provide us. It’s a debt we can never repay.

My G.I. Joe was sometimes Audie Murphy, shooting Germans from the turret of a burning tank; or Greg Boyington, flying his Corsair against Japanese Zeros in the South Pacific; or John Basilone, repelling waves of Banzai attacks on Guadalcanal with his 1911 .45 pistol.

I don’t remember idolizing a singer, actor, or pro sports figure during my youth, but I remember hearing the stories of people who defied the odds, disregarded the dan-ger, and refused to quit. Real heroes.

That’s what my G.I. Joe represented to me. A real hero, a man who kept going no matter what he was up against; a man who was brave, selfless, and determined, despite adversity.

Roy Benevides was such a man, although I never heard of him until I was too old to play with G.I. Joe anymore. Roy volun-teered to go with three others and try to rescue a dozen American soldiers pinned down by a North Vietnamese battalion in

1968. He didn’t have to do that, but he did.Jumping from a helicopter 75 yards from

the besieged position, Roy was shot and hit by grenade fragments immediately. He kept going. Four of the Americans were already dead, the rest wounded.

Roy treated the wounded and managed to drag them, along with the dead, onto the chopper, and then went back for some clas-sified documents. He was shot again, and hit by a grenade again, but managed to get back to the helicopter, which took off but was shot down.

Roy set up a defensive perimeter and called in air strikes, and kept fighting while waiting for another helicopter to arrive. He was shot several more times, but managed to load the wounded on the new chopper before being charged by an NVA soldier, who clubbed him with his rifle and stabbed him with his bayonet. Roy had a broken jaw and both arms were holed, but he managed to kill his attacker with his knife.

As the helicopter took off, he shot two more NVA as he was pulled aboard, where he held his intestines in his hands on the 20 minute ride back to base. Blood poured from the door of the chopper, but all eight of the Americans Roy rescued survived. Thirteen years later Roy was awarded the Medal of Honor.

That’s what my G.I. Joe represented to me, as a kid.

Now, retroactively, that toy also repre-sents Taylor Morris.

I had never heard of Taylor until a friend sent me an email in early October, which contained no text; only a series of pictures. A picture, it is said, is worth a thousand words. These pictures were more valuable than that.

The first showed a handsome young man in Navy whites. The next two shots showed the same young man with a beautiful young woman, obviously his girlfriend.

Pics four and five showed the same young man and a friend, both wearing camo clothes and military gear, in country characterized by dirt, scrubby plants, and poorly con-structed buildings.

The sixth and seventh pictures were of the young man in a hospital bed, with the young woman beside him. In the eighth, a cute little boy about a year old sat in the young man’s lap in the hospital bed.

The rest of the pictures showed that the young man had lost both legs above the knee, his right hand, and his left arm above the elbow. In those pics, he and the young woman were shown on a beach, on stairs, and at parties. In some, the young woman carried the young man on her back. In most, they were both smiling.

Taylor Morris joined the U.S. Navy in 2007, right out of high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and became an Explosive Ordinance technician. He began his first deployment to Afghanistan in January 2012, and in May, while leading a group of Army Special Forces on a patrol, he stepped on an Improvised Explosive Device.

Taylor watched his legs fly away while being blown through the air. His first act after the explosion was to tell medics not to come get him, though he was bleeding to death. He was worried they would also step on mines.

Taylor was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center, and became the fifth per-son to survive quadruple amputation. His recovery since has been phenomenal. He returned home four months after the explo-sion, walking on prosthetic legs.

Taylor and his girlfriend, Danielle Kelly, have dreamed for years of having a cabin in the woods near a lake. They still plan to realize that dream. Danielle, as much as Taylor, is a hero to me, for the attitude and strength they have exhibited through their adversity.

We can never repay the debt we owe our veterans. We can only acknowledge it, and let them know we appreciate their sacrifice.

If there is a kid on your Christmas list, you would have a hard time finding a better gift than a G.I. Joe.

Email Kendal Hemphill [email protected]

Commentary

by Kendal Hemphill | TF&G Political Commentator

18 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S H & G a m e ®

Commentary.indd 18 11/8/12 7:54 PM



Hunters are the Future

Many people tHrougHout today’s world never will have the privilege to go hunting because their gov-erning bodies and their societies

simply don’t allow it. In fact, when many people in numerous countries awake in the mornings and reach for their guns, they do so to kill other humans, not wild game.

In some countries where hunting is allowed, several species of animals have been so over-hunted or poached that they now are virtually extinct or are listed as endangered.

Preserving our hunting privileges and opportunities here in America is something that largely is up to us as hunters; how we conduct ourselves, how we care for wildlife both before and after the kill, and how dili-gently we implement sound wildlife manage-ment practices that maintain and enhance wildlife practices.

Anti-hunters often call for hunting to be stopped in the U.S. because of what they perceive as normal hunting behavior, which makes it so important for us to always remember that the future of hunting depends on how the majority of people view hunters.

Our wildlife belongs to all of the people, but don’t expect to see any wildlife conserva-tion programs or projects being supported by any of the so-called “animal rights activists.” No, you aren’t likely to see any members of PETA or similar groups helping build or set up wood duck nesting boxes or building water-gathering sources for desert big horn sheep.

One of the best ways hunters can protect the future of hunting is to look in the mirror and ask how they view themselves as hunt-ers. After all, the most important measure of hunting is how you feel about yourself when

you are planning a hunt, how you feel while you are hunting, how you feel when you have made a kill, and how you feel when you tell about it.

Think about the things about hunting that you value and think about how you conduct yourself on the way to hunt and while around others at a camp or lodge. Do you fully understand your role as a hunter?

More than a million years ago, hunters were socially organized and hunted primar-ily for food, clothing materials, and raw material for tools. Several thousands of years ago, hunters on this continent hunted long-horned bison, beaver as large as bears, and other unusual animals and birds. Yes, a lot has changed.

We are the children of the generations of hunters before us and have great respon-sibilities not only to protect our rights and privileges to hunt but also to manage a broad range of wildlife species for today and the future.

It is important for all us to remember that many of the animals we hunt today are the result of conservation efforts that have included, in more recent years, the elimination of market hunting and the set-ting of hunting regulations to prevent over-harvesting of wildlife. As hunters, we all are

in it together. Even if you have hunted only one day this year, the money you spent for that single hunting license has been added to the license cost of another hunter who has

hunted 50 times or longer with both license fees used for wildlife conservation.

See yourself and wildlife as part of the same community.

While you are looking into the mirror, ask yourself what you have learned from the animals you have hunted. The ethical hunting decisions you make when afield will grow as your knowledge and appreciation of the animal grows.

Hone your hunting skills not only to be a good shot with a rifle, shotgun, handgun, or archery equipment, but also to be a safe hunter. Practice to gain confidence and to learn the capabilities of your weapons, and learn the hunting regulations, especially any changes that may have been made since last season.

Show respect to other hunters with a realization that all hunters are not strictly “trophy” hunters no more than all are “meat” hunters. Hunting is a privilege for all of us to enjoy.

Photo: Clay Connor

Email Bob Hood [email protected]

Hunt texas

by Bob hood | TF&G Hunting Editor

Hunting-Hood.indd 19 11/12/12 3:22 PM


20 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Graphic Layout: texas Fish & Game

Fea 2-Surf.indd 20 11/6/12 10:31 AM

Bull Reds: The redfish run is among the most amazing sights in saltwater angling, and they are in full force along Gulf beaches during fall and winter. The state record was plucked from the Gulf in January 2000 and weighed right at 59½ pounds.

As these fish mature, they move out into the Gulf where they spend most of their lives. That’s a great thing for surf, jetty and pier anglers, and these brawny battlers will take a number of offerings, including

cracked crabs, shrimp and bait fish of all sizes. They’ll readily slam both live and dead bait, but anglers toting artificial lures should always remember to pack heavy spoons, swim baits and other variations that mimic mullet or croakers. Surf rods that are heavy and stiff are standard tackle for anglers who pitch out multiple baits as far as they can and drop them into a holder punched into the sand.

The daily bag on redfish is three fish in

The dead of winTer provides some of the liveliest angling opportunities for anglers willing to spend a day at the beach.

from sabine pass to south padre island, the Texas coast spans hundreds of miles and fea-tures myriad surf fishing options.

here’s a look at what’s biting this time of year and how best to hook up.


by WillLeschper

Fea 2-Surf.indd 21 11/6/12 10:31 AM

a slot limit of 20 to 28 inches, though you may keep one over 28 as long as it’s affixed with the oversized red drum tag from your saltwater fishing license.

Black Drum: The state record is an 81-pound fish caught in summer 1988 from the Gulf of Mexico, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still brutes skulking around in the winter. These fish will gang up before the spawn that occurs into the spring and it’s not uncommon to see scores of anglers frequenting beach areas near passes and

other manmade flows targeting fish with a variety of natural baits.

Dead shrimp and cracked crabs are among the notable lures and cut bait that always will produce for anglers looking to take home some great-eating fillets. The best surf tactic is to pin the offering to the bot-tom using heavier weights than most inshore anglers will ever try. Even a “butterfly” drum, one that’s within the slot, can peel drag with the best of the saltwater species, and having heavier tackle can be handy, especially if the bull drum are in.

Because of their strength, many anglers utilize a stout leader, which can aid in sub-duing especially large fish.

Anglers may keep five fish per day in a slot limit between 14 and 30 inches, and drum that exceed that limit quickly become less desirable as their flesh gets more coarse and less edible, and can feature small worms, which look scary, but aren’t harmful to humans. One drum over 52 inches may be kept as part of the daily bag. Winter drum typically are in better shape and their meat is in improved condition over those fish that are harvested after the spawn or in the heat of summer.

PomPano: This specimen, also known as cobblerfish, is a common find along Gulf beaches and pass areas. They frequent sandy areas where they pick off sand fleas and other critters that find them-selves unlucky enough to be near the bottom. Pompano don’t get large – the average fish is anywhere from 2 to 4 pounds – but the state record is 6.25 pounds and even small ones are superb at the dinner table. There’s also no size or bag limit on pompano.

Anglers targeting “pomps” typically use rigs fished near the bottom featuring small hooks baited with bits of shrimp, which are easier for them to take. Live bait also will produce when you’ve located a school of hungry pompano, and the fish also will hit small spoons, jigs and mullet-looking artificials.

Beginning south of Corpus Christi on the beaches of the Padre Island National

Gearing Up for the SurfVeteran surf anglers rely on gear

suited for the task and which may not resemble what most saltwater anglers picture.

A standard “surf” rod generally is 10 feet or longer, featuring a limber end section with plenty of backbone to get the job done with hefty fish. Anglers seeking to keep their natural bait offer-ings in the same spot employ sinkers that typically weigh about a quarter-pound. These chunks of lead may or may not be classified as “spider” weights, which feature small arms that can be folded out to dig into the sandy bottom when they take root. These typically aren’t neces-sary unless the current is ripping.

When you’re hurling that much lead,

it’s easy to snap a regular line, so plan on utilizing a shock leader, one that’s longer than the length of your rod, and which helps cut down on the stress placed on your tackle. Without that added “oomph,” you’re likely to snap off your hooks and weights with relative ease, especially if you’re trying to hit the second gut or farther. When casting that type of rig you typically should focus on a long, looping motion that’s smoother than the quick jerking that you may asso-ciate to using a bait-casting reel along shallow inshore flats.

Circle hooks are key to most surf fishing excursions not only because they’re stouter than other varieties but also because fish that may mouth a bait

that’s sitting there are more apt to hook themselves with that type of barb. It also makes them easier to unhook since they’re also less likely to suck the barb all the way down into their innards.

If you’re new to the pursuit, the one sure way to find fish is to find other wild-life. “Working the birds” always pays dividends along the beach since they will frequent any area with bait fish. And wherever there are bait fish there also are game fish not far. One bait to always include in your tackle box is any number of topwater lures. When you’ve got hun-gry fish near the surface there’s nothing like taking them on plugs designed spe-cifically for the job.

—Will Leschper


Black drum within the slot limit of 14 to 30 inches always are a welcome sight.

Photos: Will leschPer; canstock

Fea 2-Surf.indd 22 11/6/12 10:31 AM

Seashore, there are miles of suitable fishing locales for anglers targeting pompano, and the farther south you head toward South Padre Island the better the fishing typically gets when it’s colder.

Whiting/Jacks: Whiting don’t grow to the same size as other surf dwell-ers, but they nonetheless put up a good fight when weighing upward of 2 pounds, especially on light tackle. The ticket to fill-ing a cooler with fillets – there’s also no bag or length limit on whiting – is using natural baits including shrimp and cut bait. They usually are found in schools cruising near the bottom and using enough weight to keep your presentation there is key, especially if the current picks up.

Many surf anglers will use whiting as cut bait for other species, including sharks.

Jack crevalles aren’t fit for eating but can reach 20 or 30 pounds with ease and a fish that size has almost no equal when it comes to a fight. They also run in schools, targeting bait fish such as mullet, and if you find them, hang on. Cut bait is among your best options for jacks since they always are opportunistic

feeders.

sharks: There’s an old saying that if you saw what was past the second gut in the Gulf you may never go swimming again. Numerous varieties of sharks are much closer than you may think, and they almost always are prowling beaches up and down the coast looking for an easy meal.

Many notable surf anglers will target jacks specifically to use as solid shark bait, but other species work as well, including large mullet. Stout tackle is a necessity if you’re targeting razor-toothed critters, including wire leaders and a full complement of heavy

line. Many anglers who target sharks will employ a kayak to drop their baits out farther than they can cast and then paddle in and put their rods in a holder.

A number of shark species may not be retained. Consult the Outdoor Annual wherever licenses are sold for more on salt-water fishing regulations.

Most outdoorsmen are targeting white-tails right now, but if you’re seeking new big game to hunt, look no further than the surf.

It’s the perfect time to head to the beach.


Jack crevalle aren’t fit to eat, but they will give you a memorable fight.

Fea 2-Surf.indd 23 11/12/12 3:33 PM


www.andemono.com

www.facebook.com/andemono

24 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Layout: bass photo, grady aLLen; refrigerator art, CanstoCk; graphiC design, tf&g

When temperatures drop, bass often do the same. In the winter, the depths may hold slightly warmer water than near the surface. Not as subject to daily weather fluctuations, deep water remains relatively stable all year long so anglers who find bass in holes today can usually land a bunch of fish from the same spot for weeks. The challenge comes

in finding bass in deep, open water, but modern electronics can greatly help pinpoint honey holes.

“With structure scanning technology, I can pick out humps, sunken objects, rock piles, all kinds of stuff, even while running,” said Shaw Grigsby, a professional bass angler and long-time host of the long-running

One More Cast televi-sion show. “With the sonar unit I use, I can see cracks in rocks, not just rock piles. I can pick out underwater grass beds. In some places, grass comes up just a few inches off the bottom. Bass love it and I can see it on the sonar.”

Biting north winds whipped the surface of toledo Bend after a cold front passed through the area. under brilliant blue skies and high pressure, we waited for the ice to melt before heading out in mid-morning. idling a few hundred yards down indian creek, we stopped at a sunny spot in the channel bend. about 37 feet below us, several old stumps and fallen trees lined the channel drop, providing excellent bass cover.

Texas Anglers may find

in the coldest Watersthe Hottest Winter Action

byjoHn n.felsHer

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Fea 6-Bass.indd 25 11/6/12 4:05 PM


Spotting baitfish hovering just off the bot-tom with the sonar unit, we vertically jigged 1/2-ounce chrome spoons. Small, heavy and compact, a jigging spoon sinks quickly and flutters down like a dying shad. After the spoons hit bottom, we cranked them up a few feet because even deep bass frequently look up to spot baitfish silhouetted by surface glare. Without moving from this spot, we caught bass until we couldn’t stand the cold any longer and headed back to the camp for lunch and hot coffee.

On the coldest days, anglers often find the hottest fishing of the year and may enjoy solitude at their favorite spots while so many other sportsmen pursue deer, ducks and other game. Between November and March, anglers caught 36 of the top 50 and seven of the top 10 Texas bass. Fishing Lake Fork on Jan. 24, 1992, Barry St. Clair set the Lone Star standard with an 18.18-pounder.

“Winter is one of my favorite times to fish,” said Randall Tharp, a professional bass angler. “No matter how cold it gets, bass still need to feed. I like the fact that so many people are hunting because I get the bass lakes to myself when it’s really cold.”

In cold water, anglers can usually catch bass if they can find them. Cold water slows a fish’s metabolism. It doesn’t want to expend too much energy hunting. Non-aggressive bass might not chase lures very far, but they may slurp temptations passing within easy striking range. Fish lowly and methodically, probing every piece of cover.

“Winter is perhaps the easiest time to search for bass,” said Mark Menendez,

a professional bass angler. “The primary search is limited to the main lake. Riprap, natural rock points and ends of bluffs are likely areas to find wintertime bass.”

Besides dangling a jigging spoon in a fish’s face, dragging Texas-rigged worms or jigs slowly along the bottom could produce results. Working swimbaits just off the bot-tom could also entice strikes. Another verti-cal presentation, rig a drop shot with a small grub and shake the line so that the offering vibrates in the strike zone.

In cold water, the challenge comes in locating bass. Bass stay where they can find suitable temperatures and food. Working deep-running crankbaits parallel to drop-off edges or other structure can cover consider-able tracts of water. Level on both sides with thin profiles, flat-sided crankbaits look more like baitfish than rounded crankbaits. In addition, a flat-sided crankbait mimics the movement of a threadfin shad with a very tight wobbling action, making an excellent presentation for cold-water bassing.

“A flat-sided crankbait works in a num-ber of different situations, but I especially like to use them when the bite gets tough,” said Alton Jones, a former Bassmaster Classic champion from Waco, Texas. “In the winter, shad begin to die in many lakes. Bass take advantage of that. A shad has nothing rounded on it. It’s a flat fish.”

Not all bass go deep when temperatures drop. Hard objects sitting in the sun can create pockets of slightly warmer water by absorbing solar energy and radiating it into the adjacent water column. Just a one- or

two-degree temperature change could con-centrate fish tight on structure. Rocks, metal and concrete retain more heat than soggy wood, making steep riprap shorelines great places to fish on cold days.

“In winter, I look for riprap with access to both shallow and deep water,” Jones said. “I put my boat right up against the rocks and make long casts parallel to the rocks. I run a flat crankbait as close to the rocks as I can.”

Combining the motion of a deep-running crankbait with the snagless attributes of a Texas-rigged worm, a football head jig can also work great when fished along a riprap shoreline. Instead of a sliding sinker, it incorporates a weight attached directly to the hook. Anglers can rig it with the hook exposed or weedless with the hook inserted into a soft-plastic trailer.

In weedy lakes like Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn, matted grass can also retain heat on a sunny winter day. With the sun beating down on grass all day, bass often suspend just beneath the vegetation. To get at these fish, punch through the mats with heavy jigs tipped with craw worms. If that doesn’t work, try banging the jig against the underside of the mat to dislodge any min-nows, crawfish or other morsels hiding there.

On cold days, solitary anglers can fre-quently fish in peace with little interference from other boaters. If they bundle up, they just might land the lunker of the year – or a lifetime!

Photos: John n. Felsher

Pro angler Debra hengst caught this cold water bass on a spinnerbait.

Pro mike iaconneli used a plastic worm on this chilly Texas lunker.

Kevin VanDam put a swimbait to work on this South Texas catch.

Fea 6-Bass.indd 26 11/6/12 4:05 PM

Texas Freshwater

by Matt Williams | TF&G Freshwater Editor

Why I Will Fish Until the Day I Die

FIshIng Is a pasTIme For some anD a passion for others. For me, it’s a com-bination deal that often allows for the mixing of business with pleasure amid

a wide variety of settings ranging from lakes and bays to rivers, streams, and stock tanks.

Through the years, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to fish in freshwaters all over the United States, South America, and Mexico. True. I haven’t caught one of every sporting species that swims in these waters (not even close to it), but I have put my hands on a bunch of them and logged a passel of fond memories in the process.

People often ask me what is my favorite type of fish to catch, but I can honestly say I don’t really have a “favorite” in the context of the word. While I am sometimes perceived as a hardcore bass guy, my closest friends will tell you I’m a swinger at heart who will try just about anything once.

In my book, the most fun fish to catch are those that are biting the best at time. Make no mistake about it. As much I enjoy the challenge of cracking the code with burly largemouths, I still get just as excited at the sight of a tiny cork disappearing under the hard pull of a feisty bluegill as I ever did.

Bottom line: Fishing is dear to my heart. So close, in fact, that when my final number comes up I hope they find me at the base of a boat ramp on the heels of another banner fishing day. Here are a few reasons why I hope I’ll be fishing until the day I die:

n a rIsIng sUn: One of my favorite times as a fisherman is first light, when the eastern horizon glows with a brilliant pastel of pink, gold, and orange hues to signal the dawn of a brand new day.

n ToUgh To Top: There is nothing like witnessing the explosion of thick-shouldered largemouth hammering topwater plug. Sometimes the strikes are so violent they can

be heard from 100 yards away on a windless summer day.

n TroTlIne BrUTes: I like to eat catfish, and there is not a better way to stock a freez-er than running trotlines on a reputable cat-fish lake like Toledo Bend when the water level is on a slow rise. Running trotlines is hard work, but the mushy feel of a big fish you cannot see makes it all seem worthwhile.

n ‘Trap Fever: During the dead of winter the Rat-L-Trap bite heats up on grass lakes across eastern Texas. This is fast-paced fish-ing that completely contradicts the old adage that you have to fish deep and slow when water temperatures are cold. The faster you wind the ‘Trap, the better the bass seem to like it.

n rap-Tap CrappIe: Soaking shiners for crappie is fun, but catching them on tiny jigs and ultra-light gear is a blast. The jig really shines when the fish are aggressive and sus-pended in big numbers around outside grass lines, brush piles, and bridge pilings.

n FIshIng For a lIvIng: The great blue heron makes its living on the water and it is a master when it comes to picking off unsus-pecting shad or perch. Pay attention to these guys and they will often times tell you exactly where the fish are.

n The smell oF FIsh: If there is one thing I like more than catching fish it is the smell of a dirty johnboat. A boat that reeks of fish is reliable sign that somebody had a pretty good day on the water.

n geTTIng In a sCrape: “Scrape” is a bass fishing term used to describe what can happen when you get a school of big fish fired up along an isolated stretch of deep grass or bushes that may be no larger than office desk. Two guys who play their cards right and can put 30-plus-pounds of bass in the boat in short order when a scrape bite goes in progress.

n BanTamWeIghT Bream: Just call it a boyish rite of summer. When bream move shallow to spawn in late spring, I always make a point to go there with them at least once with a long pole and bobber in hand. Ounce for ounce, the bantamweight bruis-ers are the hardest fighters swimming in freshwater, bar none. They also are among the tastiest.

I could think of dozens of other reasons why I hope to fish until the day I die, but none would carry more meaning than the root of it all.

I fish because I love it.

T e x a S F i S h & G a M e ® | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | 27

Email Matt Williams [email protected]

Photo Bigstock

Freshwater-Williams.indd 27 11/12/12 5:24 PM


28 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Photo: CANStoCK

Fea 1-Geese.indd 28 11/6/12 10:18 AM

“Even anecdotal historical records do not indicate that the population has ever been higher. The unprecedented num-bers are not only a problem for the snow geese themselves but also for other wild-life and plants that share their habitats.”

Service officials said these high popu-lation levels, parts of the fragile tundra

habitats where snow geese traditionally nest were being seriously degraded and/or destroyed. In addition, complaints about geese damaging agricultural crops are on the rise in states and provinces that lie between the nesting grounds and the wintering grounds.

That year they implemented the first-

ever “Light Goose Conservation Order” season that liberalized regulations in hopes of reducing snow goose numbers and stabilizing habitat. This order has been renewed annually with this season’s running Jan. 24-March 24, 2013 in the eastern zone and Feb. 4-March 24, 2013 in the western zone.

In 1999, the lIght goose (snow and Ross’) populatIon had skyrocketed to more than five million birds according to offi-cials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service).

“Snow goose population indices are higher than they have been since population records have been kept and evidence suggests that large breeding populations are spreading to previously untouched sections of the Hudson Bay coastline.”


Final Installment of Our Year-Long Series

The Laws and RegulationsGoverning Hunting and Fishing in Texas

Fea 1-Geese.indd 29 11/12/12 3:47 PM


During the Light Goose Conservation Order special season, the following rules shall be effect for the taking of light geese:

• The use of electronic calls is legal.• Unplugged shotguns holding more

than three shells are legal.• No daily bag or possession limits.• Shooting hours are one half-hour

before sunrise to one half-hour after sunset.• Light Geese shall include only Snow

(including blue phase) and Ross’ geese.

In addition since March 5, 2012, it has been unlawful to take light geese in Refugio, Calhoun, and Aransas counties on the seaward side of a line beginning at the Gulf of Mexico at Port O’Conner (including Pelican Island), thence northwest along State Highway 185, thence southwest along State Highway 35 to

Aransas Pass, thence sou theas t along State Highway 361 to the Port Aransas Channel, thence east along the Corpus Christi Channel, thence southeast along the Aransas Channel to the Gulf of Mexico. This closure does not apply to the Guadalupe Delta Wildlife Management Area according to officials with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Despite the misinformation spread by some individuals, the same regulations to all waterfowl hunting apply for the conservation order except where noted above.

For example, you cannot put or leave

snow geese or any other waterfowl at any place or in the custody of another person unless you tag the birds with your signature, address, number of birds identified by spe-cies, and the date you killed them. Even if you have the birds separated, you must have the birds properly documented if they are in your possession.

Baiting is also off limits.The following is directly from the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

“You cannot hunt waterfowl by the aid of baiting or on or over any baited area where you know or reason-ably should know that the area is or has been baited. Baiting is the direct or indirect placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scat-

tering of salt, grain, or other feed that could lure or attract waterfowl to, on, or over any areas where hunters are attempting to take them.”

“A baited area is any area on which salt, grain, or other feed has been placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, or scattered, if that salt, grain, or feed could serve as a lure or attraction for waterfowl. A baited area remains off limits to hunting for 10 days after all salt, grain, or other feed has been completely removed. This rule recognizes that waterfowl will still be attracted to the same area even after the bait is gone.”

Service officials say you can hunt water-

fowl in fields

of unharvest-ed standing crops.

You can also hunt over standing crops that have been flooded. You can flood fields after crops are harvested and use these areas for waterfowl hunt-ing.

“The presence of seed or grain in an agricultural

area rules out waterfowl hunting unless the seed or grain is scattered solely

Photos: Above, cAnstock; Right, chesteR MooRe

While conservation measures have not diminished overpopulation of light geese, numbers in Texas have dropped due to habitat and hunting preasure factors.

Fea 1-Geese.indd 30 11/6/12 10:18 AM

as the result of a normal agricultural plant-ing, normal agricultural harvesting, normal agricultural post-harvest manipulation, or normal soil stabilization practice.”

“These activities must be conducted in accordance with recommendations of the State Extension Specialists of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Cooperative Extension Service).”

“The Fish and Wildlife Service does not make a distinction between agricultural fields planted with the intent to harvest a crop and those planted without such intent so long as the planting is in accordance with recom-mendations from the Cooperative Extension Service.”

“Normal agricultural plantings do not involve the placement of seeds in piles or other heavy concentrations. Relevant factors include recommended planting dates, proper seed distribution, seed bed preparation, application rate, and seed viability.”

This is important to keep in mind because some hunters are prone to think anything goes in the conservation order while nothing

could be farther from the truth.So, has this “conservation measure”

worked?It seems to have stalled any catastrophic

die-off but the numbers have not dipped very much. Last year’s count according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials was 4,021,200 which was 27 percent higher than the 2011 index.

Last year Texas biologists counted just over 250,000 light geese in Texas, which is shockingly low in comparison to the million plus birds that used the Lone Star State as a wintering ground in the 1970s.

The birds are wintering in other states where there is more suitable habitat (rice, etc.) and less hunting pressure. Times are changing for goose hunters in Texas and we will do our best to keep you informed not only on the regulations but also the population.

As with all waterfowl in Texas, hunting baited ground is a no-no.

Fea 1-Geese.indd 31 11/6/12 10:18 AM

www.savagearms.com

| Self Defense |

| Concealed Carry |

| Tactical |

by Steve LaMascus& Dustin Ellermann

Lady’s Handguns

During tHe 19tH Century tHere were numbers of tiny, underpowered handguns made. One of the first was the Smith & Wesson Model One, a 7-shot revolver

chambered for the .22 Short, the original .22 rimfire cartridge. Often they were marketed as guns for the well-dressed lady. For the most part

they were pretty useless. Today we have a much better selection for the lady wanting a handgun for concealed carry.

Due to the c lothes

that society demands the modern well-dressed lady wear, the type and size of handgun she can carry

concealed on her person is pretty limited. It has to be smaller than those carried by the

average man. Also, the aver-age lady is not going to go to

the range to practice as often as the average male, so the gun must be simpler to use, and it probably needs to

tactical Optics OffsetDefensive carbines like the AR-15 are excellent platforms for mount-ing tactical optics such as Trijicons, Aimpoints, EOTech and the like. These optics provide bright dependable aiming reticles that serve well for fast acquisi-tions as well as being precise enough for long range engagements.

Most shooters zero their rifles at 100 yards because that’s the standard dis-tance found at the local shooting range. There is nothing wrong with doing so, but you need to train and experiment with your rifle at all practical distances to see how offset effects your shot place-ment.

Offset is simply the result of the optic being mounted a couple of inches above

your barrel and not looking directly down the bore of the rifle. Because of this you must know how your point of impact differs from your optic’s zero at different ranges as the line of sight crosses the path of the bullet.

With most AR style rifles your optic will be two or more inches over the bore. If you stay at relatively the same distance as your zero, offset will never be an issue. But if you need to use your rifle in a close quarter situation, you must know

where offset will move your point of impact for precise shooting.

This is most evident at extremely close distances for a rifle, like perhaps a hostage situation where a precise shot is needed to neutralize a threat. For myself it was recently on a hog hunt when we discovered a boar at close range dug into a creek bed. The shot was placed in perfect trajectory underneath the eye

dustin’s field test

texasDepartmentof Defense

Photo credit32 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | t e x a s f i s h & G a m e ®

Illu

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n:

Can

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Continued on page 34 u

| Self Defense |

| Concealed Carry |

| Tactical |

by steve lamascus& dustin ellermann

Photo: dustin ellermann

this meopta scope on a laRue mount has an offset of 2.5” over the center of the bore. this will affect the point of impact in both extreme-ly near and far engagements.

DoD.indd 32 11/8/12 7:28 PM


produce less recoil. This limits the selection, but there are still a number of good choices.

First, I believe that the average lady should not carry a semi-auto handgun. If she so desires, she needs to make the effort to go to the range and do the practice it takes to learn the various reloading and jam-clearing drills that are required of those who carry such weapons. Lessons from a good, profes-sional instructor is a very good idea. If she is not willing to do this she should limit herself to revolvers, which are generally easier to shoot and safer to use.

Revolvers have fallen out of favor with the public as concealed carry weapons for the reason that they carry less ammunition than most modern semi-autos. This is true, but I believe that while this is a valid obser-vation, it may not be as necessary as we have been lead to believe by the various maga-zines. If we are to believe the available sta-tistics, the average gunfight involves about 3 rounds fired. The smallest revolvers suitable for the purpose hold 5 rounds, and many hold 6. While carrying a gun that holds 7 or more rounds in the magazine lends a feel-

ing of added safety, it may be a false feeling of security. I will not make a statement on this issue as I believe that the more ammo you carry the better, but I will admit that I sometimes carry a little 5-shot revolver, and have for the last 35 years. A speedloader in my pocket gives me 10 quick shots.

Revolvers have no manual safety device, at least most of them do not. They also, usu-ally, allow for firing the gun by simply pull-ing the trigger (double-action), or by pulling back the hammer (single-action) for a much shorter and easier trigger pull.

Before I entered law enforcement in the late 1970s I almost always fired my handguns single-action. When I became a police officer I learned that I could, after a bit of practice, shoot the gun just as well double-action. In fact, I may have been a better shot double-action than single-action. Most certainly a revolver can be shot very well double-action. Anyone who does not believe this is welcome to come by and watch me prove it.

There are small semi-autos that are certainly suitable for a lady to carry. I have

a couple of them and have seen a number of others. They also will shoot cartridges that are sufficiently powerful for self-defense. However, they are more susceptible to mal-functions. In truth, they are even more sus-ceptible to such malfunctions in the hands of a lady than in the hands of a man. The reason is that most ladies have smaller hands and weaker wrists. A semi-auto requires a certain amount of resistance for it to cycle properly. A lady who holds a handgun loosely, as a great many do, will not offer the necessary resistance and the handgun will not cycle completely, causing a failure to eject the fired cartridge and chamber to next round in the magazine. My little wife is a prime example of this, and therefore carries a revolver. I have tried a few times to get her to shoot a semi-auto, but have given up. Either “it kicks too much,” or it fails to function. If the revolver fails to fire, all that is needed is to pull the trigger again. I find this a very real advantage for anyone who is not very familiar with handguns, semi-autos in particular.

One option is for the lady to carry her

DoD.indd 33 11/8/12 7:28 PM

www.streamlight.com

t Continued from page xx

Story Jump

gun in a handbag of some kind. I believe that this is a mistake, or at the least a last resort. It is almost impossible to quickly draw a gun from a bag hanging over the shoulder and is impossible to do so with one hand. The gun should be carried in a holster that is comfort-able, secure, and easy to access. This is, gen-erally, some kind of waist holster. We will not discuss that topic here as we have gone into it in detail in other editions of TDOD.

The best guns for the lady are the small revolvers like the Smith & Wesson Model 36 Chief’s Special or something similar but with a shrouded hammer. These guns and other very similar guns are made by several companies including Taurus and Charter Arms. They are small, often using some type of aluminum alloy frame to save on weight, have 2- or 3-inch barrels, and shoot .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .32 S&W Long, or one of the new .32 magnums, like the .327 Ruger Magnum. Of these, any will suffice, but those shooting the antiquated .32 S&W Long cartridge are very underpowered and should be avoided by all who can handle a more powerful cartridge. The best of the lot are probably those shooting the .38 Special. If carried loaded with one of the +P hollow point rounds they are sufficiently powerful

for self-defense, and the owner can practice with the low-recoil wadcutter loads. In fact, wadcutters are surprisingly good self-defense rounds, due to the flat face of the bullet,

especially if handloaded, with the velocity bumped up a bit. Some of these little guns are currently made to shoot the more power-ful .357 Magnum cartridge, but the recoil

of that round in the small-frame, lightweight guns can be pretty brutal.

Here are a few facts for you ladies to contemplate.

As I tell my own two daugh-ters: Any gun is better than no gun; a gun at home is no gun at all; a gun is a much better defen-sive tool than a nail file; five shots are better than none at all; a bit of discomfort is a small price to pay for your life. For your home protection, get a shotgun.

This is an evil world. Buy a handgun, learn how to use it, carry it all the time. My best wishes to the fairest sex. May you all be safe.

—Steve LaMascus

Texas Department of Defense

into the brain by placing my Meopta reticle at the top of the hog’s head while I was about 5 yards away. It also is vital to good performance in shooting com-petitions. In the Fallen Brethren match in Jacksboro you were shooting a 2”x6” target 1 yard away surrounded by “no shoot” targets and then 400 yards with the same rifle with the next round. Most shooters usually practice at close ranges with our pistols and the point of impact isn’t much different, but we also should train with our rifles at this range so we will know how to use them if necessary.

For most AR-15 rifles with a tactical optic the holdover will be roughly the same height as the optic is over the bore at point blank range. But the main idea is to train at different distances until

your holdover is instinctual at every practical defense range.

You might find that some scopes or red dots with ballistic reticles, you may be able to use the 300 yard mark for close range. This could speed up your shots and take out the mental estimation step in your aiming. I have also seen iron sights for AR15 rifles that compensate for offset by the shooter aiming over the

top of the peep sight rather than through it for close range shots.

Lasers are also great fire-arm accessories, but they have the same technical offset. The further away they are mounted from the bore the greater the point of impact will be from the laser beam. The holdover in this case will be on whichev-er side your laser is mounted. If it is mounted 3 inches below,

then your dot will be 3 inches lower than your intended point of impact.

The main way to overcome offset dif-ficulties is to train at various distances in different scenarios with a variety of targets. It will take a little work, but soon you will be ready for any target, at any range.

—Dustin Ellermann

34 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Photo: Dustin EllErmann

t Continued from page 32

Tactical Optics

The scope is obviously over the center of the bore on this rifle, but the Crimson Trace laser foregrip shines from 7 o’clock which will stay at that position closer than the zeroed range and then cross over to 1 o’clock further than the zero.

DoD.indd 34 11/12/12 3:51 PM


Texas Bowhunting

I Have A Name

MeMorIes of ANoTHer HuNTINg seA-son will soon be stored in the vault in my brain. I cannot believe that it is almost over!

The familiar woodlot is calling me again to roam from one end to the other in search of any new clues. Clues that might just tell me when someone walked through my woods. Is a hunter here now? I will know soon enough. I know these woods. I practically grew up here. As I pondered over the many things I have seen throughout the years, I thought I should share a few with you.

Once I took a hike about a week before the bow season started. I could not believe what I saw! Trees that were there for years were no longer. Branches that I would use as trail markers were now gone or worse; just cut and left for me to trip on. How different this part of the woods is now.

After some investigation, I can see why things are as they are. Tree stands are everywhere. The stands used to be kept to the other side of these woods, but now they are in the thick woodlot. What used to be a sanctuary for whitetails to hang and feel safe has now been invaded by bow hunters with no regard for the deer herd at all. What is wrong with these hunters? I guess they just do not know that by cutting down trees and branches just before the season opener, they will alert all the deer in the area of their presence. It would have been much wiser if the hunters cleared smaller pathways for an arrow to fit through and left very little dis-turbance in the woods. It would have been smarter to set your stands up months ago so the whitetails could get used to seeing them and regard them as non-threatening.

This is all bad enough, but to leave cigarette butts near the stand does nothing except leave more human scent and foreign odors in the area they want to hunt.

What’s this? Four empty beer cans? Tell me I am seeing things.Who in their right mind would drink beer while they are hunting? The strange thing is that I found beer cans in another hot spot in the woods last year too. Not only is that extremely dangerous, but more human and foreign scent is saturating the hot spot. Did they forget how sensitive the nose of a white-tail is? Oh well, an empty freezer might convince them.

While I am on the subject of bow hunter mistakes, why is it that some hunters feel it necessary to slam the truck doors shut when they arrive at their hunting haven? I swear sometimes it is so loud that they can wake the dead and send every deer in the area to a different county. I am sure that if they were more careful about making so much noise, they would have a little more success in the woodlot this hunting season.

Earlier this year I watched as three hunt-ers made their way from the vehicles to the tree stands. They had absolutely no regard at all as to the wind direction. I am sure they were told about approaching your tree stand with the wind in your favor or choose a dif-ferent stand location. Every hunter who ever took a safety class or even spent a few hours in the woods would know that golden rule. If you cannot walk to your stand with the wind in your face, at the very least it should be blowing on your side. It should NEVER be at your back sending your human scent in the direction you are walking and directly to the nose of a waiting whitetail.

One of the funniest things I saw this year was when a group of hunters walked through the woods trying to spook up a deer during the bow season. Driving deer works, but they were making such a racket that the deer would end up bolting out of their hiding spot with a speed that would even make “Flash” envious! If they used their heads just a little, they would understand that during the bow season, you should quietly zig zag through

the spot you want to move deer. The object is to just bump them along

not scare their tails off. If the drive were done correctly,

the whitetails would walk ahead of the hunters that are driving and

right into the watchers.The nose of a deer is so

sensitive that the bow hunters should take extra precautions to

keep their scent down to a minimum if they want to see any deer at all. Here

again, there are some hunters that assume that they do not have to adhere to that train of thought. Score one for the deer. And we all know what happens when we “assume” something! I cannot print that here. The fact of the matter is that humans stink, period.There are plenty of products available to help hide human scent. The best one to use might be Scent Killer Gold. A hunter I know swears by it. He uses it all the time and he never has a problem scoring during the season. As a matter of fact, he uses all of the scent eliminating products by Wildlife Research Center.

Finally, I heard of a hunter that wounded an animal and had ten of his friends out there looking for his deer. That did nothing but disturb the blood trail until it was lost in the woods forever. Fortunately, that particu-lar deer survived and lived to fool the bow hunters for seasons to come.

I have learned a lot through the years about hunters and how they ruin their hunts. I hope you have a better understanding as well now that you have finished this column. I have a name and it is “Rudolph.” Looks like I survived another hunting season and I plan on being in your neighborhood this Christmas Eve. Oh, and Lou wanted me to remind you to hunt safe and have fun out there and have a wonderful Holiday season.

Email Lou Marullo [email protected]

by Lou marullo | TF&G Bowhunting Editor

IllustratIon: BIgstock

Bowhunting.indd 35 11/13/12 9:07 AM


Scent Control Polution?A Sweden-bASed reSeArCher ClAimS silver nanoparticles can have a severe environmental impact if their utilization in clothing continues to increase.

The Chalmers University of Technology study declares if every-one buys one silver nanoparticle-treated sock a year, the silver con-centration in wastewater treatment plant sludge can double. If the sludge is subsequently used as fertil-izer, the silver can cause long-term damage to agricultural land.

Chalmers researcher Rickard Arvidsson defended his doctoral thesis, which addressed the risks associated with nanomaterials such as silver.

Silver nanoparticles have an antibacterial effect, and are used in a variety of consumer products such as workout and hunting clothing to prevent the smell of sweat. Arvids-son claims when the clothes are washed, nanoparticles are released and enter wastewater treatment plants. The particles release silver ions that cannot be broken down at wastewater treatment plants or in nature, and are toxic to many organisms.

“Using silver in clothing is a new technology, and it is still dif-ficult to ascertain patterns for how much is being used,” Arvidsson said. “However, if the negative envi-ronmental impact is to be avoided, either the silver concentration in clothing or consumption of silver nanoparticle-treated clothing must be limited.”

TRUE GREEN

Angler lands ‘Camouflage’ bassnew York Angler niCk giAmei CAught and released an interesting-looking, 18-inch largemouth bass with “camouflage” color-ing in early October.

“It looked really healthy,” Giamei told the Syracuse Post-Standard. “It definitely had some unique markings. I caught a couple of others that day with tags, but no others had markings.”

He said he has caught bass before that

had black spots on their tails or lips, “but nothing like this guy.”

photo: Courtesy NiCk Giamei

TRUE GREEN

—Staff Report «tg

—Staff Report «tg

Camo-patterned largemouth bass.

tPwd Stocks more grass Carp in lake AustinTEXAS PARKS & WILDLIFE DEPARTment planted more than 11,000 Asian grass carp into Lake Austin over the summer, and this autumn dumped another 6000

into the lake to reduce hydrilla.The autumn stocking was to replace fish that

died in order to maintain a target population of 50 fish per acre of hydrilla, a rate that has controlled hydrilla in the past.

With the added number of fish, the lake should now have around 40,000 Asian carp.

36 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T E X A S F I S h & G A m E ®

—Staff Report «tgphot

o: W

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edia

Com

moNs

TrueGreen.indd 36 11/8/12 7:24 PM


TRUE GREEN TRUE GREENCamp Spawns Young ConservationistsTwenTY “CadeTS,” aged 13-17, reCeived a five-day crash course in hands-on water-fowl and wetland ecology and manage-ment during the inaugural Texas Brigades Waterfowl Brigade. The youth were hosted by long-time Ducks Unlimited Major Sponsor Dr. MacFarlane at his Big Woods on The Trinity, July 22-26.

Top resource professionals in the state covered a variety of subjects, from wetland habitat management to hunter education and dog training.

The intense program started as early as 6:00 a.m. and ended as late as midnight. From early morning “wildlife sits,” where cadets rise in the pre-dawn to observe and record wildlife observations at a wetland to

late night group team building activities, the days can be an 18-hour blur of activities that rivals that of many college level wildlife courses.

“You would think that getting teenagers out of bed that early in the summer time would be difficult, but the intensity and learning is mixed with fun and camaraderie that motivates the cadets to push them-selves and each other,” said DU Manger of Conservation Programs Todd Meren-dino. “Texas Brigades is motivating and developing the next generation of natural resource ambassadors and providing them

with the necessary skills to become the con-servation leaders of tomorrow.”

The Texas Brigades mission is to edu-cate and empower youths with leadership skills and knowledge in wildlife, fisheries, and land stewardship to become conserva-tion ambassadors. Although this was the first Waterfowl Brigade, the Texas Bri-gades program has been going strong for 20 years.

Four different camps – Bobwhite Bri-gade, Buckskin Brigade, Bass Brigade, and Waterfowl Brigade – present youth the opportunity to advance their knowledge related to specific popular game species and their individual habitats.

The Texas Brigades is a 501c3 orga-nization supported by a diverse group of partners, including state and federal agencies, individual resource profession-als, private landowners, businesses, and other conservation groups, such as Ducks Unlimited.

—Staff Report «Tg

TrueGreen.indd 37 11/8/12 7:24 PM

www.pathfinderboats.com

38 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® GRAPHIC LAYOUT: TEXAS FISH & GAME

Target:

Fea 5-Trout.indd 38 11/8/12 7:42 PM

Big fish fascinate me.Over the last four years i

have embarked on a journey of studying the very larg-est specimens of our most popular sportfish including flounder, largemouth bass, crappie, redfish and yes, speckled trout.

this allowed me to formulate the f.L.e.X.

fishing® system which helps anglers create

a game plan that will allow them to catch the fish of their dreams.


by Chester Moore

AN OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR BIGGER FISH

Fea 5-Trout.indd 39 11/8/12 7:42 PM


The following are some of the notes from my F.L.E.X. Fishing® speckled trout cheat sheets where I gathered the most detailed information available on giant trout. What you are about to see is truly fascinating and are observations about big trout seldom if rarely mentioned in print.

larger they begin to eat larger prey. The largest trout eat the largest prey. Researchers in Texas and Mississippi have found mullet to be the preferred food of the biggest trout. Frequently the mullet is half or two-thirds the size of the trout.

trout feed heavily on ribbonfish (cutlassfish) when they move into bays from the Gulf. Find ribbonfish scurrying to the surface in panic and you will find BIG trout. At a distance ribbbon fish can be spotted by their silver flashes as they breach.

big on migra-tion but there is some movement between the near-shore Gulf and southern tier of bay and channel systems. Researchers at Louisiana State University say the biggest trout are found in the Gulf, particularly during summer and fall. Nearshore oil and gas platforms as well as boat wrecks can house true monsters.

be a factor in locating trophy trout. Researchers with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission have found that adult trout tend to prefer water that is close in salinity to seawater over more brackish water.

Barataria Bay in Louisiana concluded larger trout are most likely to be found over shell or soft (mud) bottom when the water temperature is 75 degrees or higher.

a layer of tissue that allows them to see in low light conditions and be superior night feeders. Fishing the pre-dawn hours and using lures or baits with a luminescent quality or that create a stark silhouette can help you exploit this quality and score on big trout.

sound receptors called sagittae and trout have large ones. They are very keen to sounds made by humans

and other fish. Throwing lures delicately and working lures and popping corks in a fashion mimicking natural sounds can go a long way to helping anglers catch more big, wary trout.

are sensitive to both sound and visual cues, the ability to make long, delicate casts is absolutely cru-cial in the pursuit of big trout.

color vision and are super line-shy in clear water. The use of fluorocarbon can help eliminate loss of potential big trout catches.

a keen sense of smell and taste which work together simultaneously. Being able to make the right connection when a big trout takes a lure is important, as the big fish can be sen-sitive to non-organic material like plastic.

have observed a symbiotic type relationship between big trout and alligator garfish dur-ing the winter in deep, isolated canals. Gar and trout are seen right next to each other seemingly hanging together like a shark and remora. Could it be the trout are eating the gar’s scraps? Are they simply sharing a similar habitat when their metabolism is low (and the gar won’t eat them)? Be mind-ful of gar in the backwaters during winter months.

Louisiana have found that manmade reefs attract trout because of the fact they concentrate bait

fish and help them conserve energy by not having to move much to feed. All big fish prefer not to move more than they have to.

make a “croaking” noise. If you catch a bunch of males in an area return there in the evening and prepare to fish late. Males will gather in a spawning aggregation and croak en masse to attract females. This is a highly overlooked time to find big trout at their peak weight.

often suck topwaters under the surface instead of “blowing up” on it. If this happens to you, wait a second before setting the hook to give the trout a chance to take it in.

spotted seatrout tagged in a migration study in Alabama, 58 returns were received, and 53 percent exhibited no movement. If you missed a big sow in a particular spot , chances are she is still very nearby.

metabolism slows greatly in winter and this is a proven fact as their growth rates rate slows to a crawl. This is even more pronounced in big trout which are by their nature slower moving and more selective.

trout almost never school. A study conducted by researcher D.C. Tabb found that trout in excess of six years of age are nearly all large semi-solitary females. These are the giants we dream of.

Big trout are truly elusive, strange fish that do not fit into a particular mold. They are much like giant largemouth bass in that once they reach a certain size their habits change dramatically. The angler who takes the time to study them and realize they will have to trade catching lots of trout for the chance to get one big trout will score on their personally fish of a lifetime.

I am offering my F.L.E.X. Fishing® manual for free as a Christmas gift to Texas Fish & Game readers to celebrate my 20th year in the outdoors communication busi-ness. You can download it by going to www.godsoutdoors.com and clicking on the F.L.E.X. Fishing® link.

Enjoy the pursuit of big trout!

COVER ILLUSTRATION: CHESTER MOORE

• As Trout Grow

• Since Trout

• Male Trout

• Trout Have Clear,

• Trout Have Both

• Numerous Anglers

• Researchers in

• Big Speckled

• Big Trout

• Of the 477

• A Trout’s

• The Biggest

• Trout Are Not

• Salinity Can

• A Study in

• Trout Have

• Fish Have

Get Chester Moore’s F.L.E.X. Fishing Manual FREE atwww.godsoutdoors.com

Fea 5-Trout.indd 40 11/12/12 5:46 PM

http://www.godsoutdoors.com

http://www.godsoutdoors.com


Out of the Deep Freeze

TO This Day, The Only Thing i remember is how cold it got and how quickly it happened.

It was a nice afternoon that late December day in 1983. It was the first day of Christmas Break and I was walking the half-mile home from Edinburg Junior High after the student council Christmas party. Dawn Stapleton was my Secret Santa, and she had gotten me a Bomber Mud Bug as a present (actually, Dawn could have gotten me a pound of fried liver and I would have been glad for it, she was that pretty). The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I would have two glorious weeks without school. I was pretty sure I could talk my Tio Mike into a fishing trip or two to the coast in that time. Life was going to be really grand.

The wind was starting to blow out of the north as I was leaving school, but I didn’t really notice. What 13 year old does? By the time I had cleared the parking lot and crossed 2nd Street, a little over 100 yards (I’ve measured it), it started getting cold. By the time I reached my neighborhood, it was really cold. When I finally reached my house, I never thought I’d be warm again. Thirty minutes and the temperature had fallen from 70 degrees to close to below 40.

Temperatures kept dropping, too, until they dipped way below freezing and stayed there for 8 days. The entire state of Texas was throttled by a blast of Arctic air that stamped-ed as far south as Tampico and malingered for close to two weeks through Christmas and into the New Year. It wreaked havoc throughout the bays and ports in Texas.

Port Lavaca recorded freezing tempera-tures for 77 straight hours. Bays systems up and down the Texas Coast iced up. There

was even ice in the mouth of the Rio Grande, the southernmost body of water in the state. The Freeze of ’83 was what meteorologists called a “100-year freeze.” It was the single most ecologically catastrophic event to strike Texas in its totality in a century (hurricanes such as Allen, Beulah, and Carla were equally devastating, but more limited in scope).

The Freeze’s greatest effects were on coast-al fish populations. Texas Parks and Wildlife marine biologists figure the total marine life mortality for the entire Lone Star Coast at 20 million, including 14,392,700 fish. Redfish and trout stocks, already struggling through historic low numbers over the past decade, were decimated. State figures provided by Lower Laguna Madre Ecosystem leader Mark Lingo, peg the losses at 103,800 red drum and 623,900 spotted seatrout. Other species such as snook and gray (mangrove) snapper, who are especially vulnerable to cold water suffered particularly badly. Even the lowly hardhead took a whack from the cold weather. Beaches from Beaumont to Boca Chica were littered with the usually hardy critters.

Consequently, the fishing was pretty bad on the coast following the freeze. I caught my first speckled trout when I was 12. I didn’t catch another one until I was 14, and not from a lack of trying. Summertime trips with my Uncle Bob Renaud along the Humble Channel and Cole Park in Corpus Christi didn’t produce much of anything either, and we usually caught a few fish on every trip. Reports up and down the coast weren’t much different. TPWD gill net surveys from the spring and summer of 1984 revealed a drastic decline in catch rates, down to almost no fish per hour of effort.

Redfish were simply gone.If there was a silver lining that came from

the ice and wind of the Freeze of ’83, it was the dramatic, wholesale changes to manage-ment and regulation that came from the mas-sive fish kill. The first steps were the imposi-tion of bag and size limits for both species that have been revisited and adjusted as necessary, ultimately leading to the set of management regulations we currently have. The regulations

encourage anglers to retain fish for a fish fry or two, but underscore the need to maintain a viable biomass to ensure that both trout and redfish stocks remain healthy.

As important as the bag limits was the boost in the then-fledgling coastal stocking program that Parks and Wildlife had devel-oped in conjunction with the Gulf Coast Conservation Association (now Coastal Conservation Association). The program, which started in 1982 on a modest scale, developed a new urgency after the fish wipeout of 1984. Stocks not only needed help recover-ing from the freeze, but a contingency plan needed to be in place in anticipation of the next major cold snap (which came in 1989, again in 1997, once more in 2005, and as recently as 2010). Millions of trout and red-fish fingerlings have been stocked into the bays and estuaries of the Texas Coast over the past 30 years, and millions more will be stocked in the future.

Looking back to where the state of Texas saltwater fishing was after the Great Freeze and comparing it to now, the recovery is remarkable. Redfish are at historic levels, and a capable fisherman with the right tackle in the right place at the right time has a reasonable shot at not only getting his limit of specks and/or redfish, but also hanging a truly memorable fish. As noted earlier, other major freezes have waffled the our coastal water—the 2005 Christmas Freeze even dropped 6 inches of snow on the Rio Grande Valley for the first time in 80 years—but the team effort of anglers, TPW, and interest groups such as CCA have helped fish stocks absorb the cold blows.

It’s no surprise that there are still anglers who still kvetch how fishing for trout and red-fish is nowhere near where it was in the Good Old Days. I can safely say that, compared to my Good Old Days, the fishing is more than pretty good.

Then again, what I remember about back then is how cold the wind was.

Email Cal Gonzales [email protected]

Texas saltwater

by Calixto Gonzales | TF&G Saltwater Editor

Saltwater.indd 41 11/12/12 4:13 PM


42 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Photos: Main, canstock; shotgun, Mossberg; rod & reel, Mitchell; Flashlight, streaMlight

by PaulBradshaw

Fea 4-Christmas.indd 42 11/8/12 8:04 PM

It’s the same way today. Even with all the electronic gadgets on the market today there are still a lot of outdoor kids that want noth-ing more for Christmas than something to use while hunting or fishing. If you’re a parent of one of these kids then you might be at a loss for what to get them this year, but really pick-ing a gift for an outdoor kid is not nearly as hard as you might think.

Big Items I get this question all the time, “I want

to get my kid a new shotgun/rifle but don’t know what to get him/her.” This is a big issue because of the expense involved but don’t worry, you can get a good firearm at a reason-able price with just a little shop-ping.

There are more options than

ever before when it comes to youth sized shotguns.

Remington offers the Model 870 Express Youth, Mossberg has a

Youth 500 Bantam pump and Harrington & Richardson (also marked New England Firearms, NEF) produces the Pardner Pump Compact. Any of these three pump shotguns are reliable and can be had for $300 or less. My son has shot a NEF 20 gauge pump the past five years with no issues and he consistently shoots as well as the adults around him.

If you’re in the market for a youth rifle then your options are just as wide open. Rossi makes a single shot youth rifle that you can get with a scope for $250. Harrington and Richardson has the youth Handi-Rifle scoped for around $300. If you want a bolt action

then Mossberg offers a youth version of the 100 ATR

for around $300, without a scope. If your kid would rather spend time on

the water than in the woods then I’ve got something for them as well. The Pelican Apex is an eight-foot sit on top kayak that fits small kids very well. It is short enough to turn quickly but stable enough to be used to play in the surf at the beach. Add to it a Carlisle Day Tripper paddle and you have a nice inexpensive combination that the kids can use for a few years before they want to upgrade to a larger ride.

I’m not forgetting about your little angler either. There are plenty of

rods and reels to choose from this time of year but

it’s hard to beat a tried and true Zebco 33 Rod & Reel Combo. If

your fishing buddy is a little bit older and prefers a spinning rig, then move them up to the Mitchell 300Xe Rod & Reel Combo. I have one of these and use it for everything from crappie to bass to catfish. It is a very versatile rig that they can use for a long time. If you buy them a rod and reel be sure to throw some line and lures in their stocking so they can rig it up and go fishing immediately because you know they’ll want to.

Stocking StuffersOutdoorsmen are gadget freaks. Now

combine this preference for gadgets with the enthusiasm of an eleven-year-old boy and you’ll soon figure out that little outdoorsmen love gadgets even more than we do. This makes stocking stuffers for younger hunters and anglers some of the easiest gifts to buy because they will love just about anything, but here are a few suggestions.

Does the little hunter in your house like to chase ducks? Then they will love a duck

call in their stocking, even if you won’t. However, instead of giving them a regular call,

the best compromise to keep them busy in the blind (and you from

pulling your hair out while they use it around the house) is to give them a Primos Shaker Mallard Call. This call takes little skill to work, meaning you could train a monkey to do it, and won’t sound like a herd of third graders blowing trumpets when your kid uses it. Plus you can get one for under $20. If they like to hunt deer instead of ducks then switch this over to a grunt call, either way the kids will play with it all day long.

I have more knives than I need but I still want more. You’re little outdoorsman is the same way. You can’t go wrong with a pocket knife or multi-tool in the stocking. Years ago, my son received a small multi-tool for Christmas. A few days later I found screws on the floor all over the house from where he had used the small Phillips head screwdriver on the tool to remove all the striker plates from the doors to every room. You can spend a lot on a multi-tool, but you really don’t have to. Gerber has a few offerings (Dime Pocket Multi-Tool, Bear Gryll’s Compact Multi-Tool) that are compact or kid sized but have plenty of functional tools for under $20.

If you aren’t comfortable with knives and really don’t want to subject yourself to the nonstop noise of a duck or deer call then you cannot go wrong with putting a flashlight in their stocking. Kids love flashlights and if you get them one of their own it might keep them from borrowing, and losing, yours. Head lamps are always a good choice due to the novelty of wearing something on their head. Or, for around $15 you can get them the Streamlight Stylus Penlight. The good part is that it can take a beating without whimper-ing and the green light won’t spook deer so they can play with it in the deer stand without worries.

Buying gifts for outdoor kids really isn’t all that hard. Just think about something

you would like and then down-size it a little bit. If all else fails, you

can always get them a Red Ryder BB gun. Every kid should own one of those in their lifetime.

You remember how it was to be a kid around Christmas don’t you? You didn’t really want socks or pants, even if you had out-grown all your old ones and really needed them. You didn’t even want the latest toy that all your friends were talking about. what you really wanted was a new BB gun, fishing pole, or tackle box.


mossberg 500 Bantam

mitchell Combo

Streamlight Stylus

Fea 4-Christmas.indd 43 11/8/12 8:04 PM

44 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® Photo: CanstoCk

by Steve LaMascus

Fea 3-Deer.indd 44 11/8/12 7:47 PM

Have you ever noticed How tHe big buck you have been seeing at your feeder every evening suddenly disappears as soon as the season starts? well, you aren’t the only one. Such an occurrence has happened at one time or another to almost everyone who has much deer hunting experience. one day the big guy is grazing in your feed plot as content-edly as elsie the pet cow, and the next he has disappeared as completely as if he were a ghost from the Flying dutchman. there is a very good reason that this happens, and there is a way to find him again. But, you are not going to get the big one except by pure accident, unless you put away the usual tactics and wear out a bit of boot leather.

People often wonder at how deer seem to know when deer season is about to kick off. well, let’s be realistic here. deer do not know when the season starts. they have no concep-tion of time and do not realize or understand anything in the manner that we do. they are, however, naturally secretive, shy, and paranoid (you would be paranoid, too, if everything in the woods thought you were number one on


Fea 3-Deer.indd 45 11/8/12 7:48 PM


the menu), so they do take notice any sudden increase of traffic on the lease.

A month or so before the season, most hunters spend as much time at the lease as they can. They are fixing old blinds, fill-ing feeders, scouting for big bucks, sighting in rifles, and the myriad of things that we hunters find both necessary and enjoyable. Unfortunately the deer equate all this noise and traffic with eminent danger and begin to get skittish. The big bucks will often head for the densest, nastiest piece of thorny brush they can find and come out only at night.

Another odd thing is that so many hunters seem to think that 4-wheelers are necessary (Another miracle of modern advertising). During the year the rancher spends all his time on the ranch driving around in a pickup – usually a diesel truck, these days. Then, suddenly, the woods are filled with 4-wheel-ers whizzing to and fro. This is strange to the deer and they become nervous and disappear. If you really want to be more surreptitious, then find out what kind of truck the rancher drives and buy one like it, instead of that fancy 4-wheeler the TV commercials tell you can’t live without.

Now for the real secrets: When the really old mossy-horned bucks vanish, where do you look for them, and how do you hunt them? Well, I’ll tell you....

First, you can’t – generally – hunt that old monster from a blind, watching a corn feeder. If he is as smart and antisocial as most of his big-horned cousins, he will not come to a feeder with all the does, kiddies, and smaller bucks. Some will, of course, and a few are killed that way each season, but if you count on it you are bucking the tiger.

Instead get a topo map, even if you know the ranch like the back of your hairy knuck-les, and lay out a ground campaign. If you know where he lived during the off-season, the chances are that he hasn’t gone all that far. Most bucks will not travel more than a half-mile from home, except during the rut, so look for obvious hiding places. Understand that his nest does not need to be large. A little mott of brush and thorn 50 feet across is big enough to serve as his hiding place. He will lie there during the day, hidden from the world, and come out only at night.

I once had an opportunity to observe just such a situation from a unique perspective. I worked at a Border Patrol checkpoint between Laredo and Freer. Across the road from the checkpoint was a grass pasture, really an open field, that covered roughly a

section, one-mile square. It ran up a big hill from the highway to a fence-line a mile away. It was all buffel grass except for a little thicket of mesquite and thorn that grew in the bottom of a shallow draw in the middle of the field, in plain view of the checkpoint. During the day that field was as barren of life as a concrete parking lot. Then, just at dusk, when all the ranch hands had gone home, a herd of deer seemed to materialize out of thin air. One of the group of about 10 deer was a nice buck. They all lived quite peacefully in that little thicket that couldn’t have been over 25 yards across. I worked at that checkpoint for 6 years and never once saw a hunter in that field.

Another such situation occurred on a lease near Quemado, Texas, a few years ago. I was hunting along a rare, tree-lined, flow-ing creek. The brush along the creek was as thick as boilerplate. The only way through it was along the trails left by cattle, hogs, and deer. Near the boundary, where the creek ran under a high fence from the ranch to the north of ours, I began to see an occasional scrape or rub. At one spot I found a deer’s bed and at another its footprints in the soft mud at the edge of the water. It was obvious a buck had taken up residence in the heavy brush along the creek.

There were feeders at several locations above the creek and they brought in plenty of mediocre bucks and does. Then one day I was walking along the bluff above the creek when I flushed the maker of all those tracks and rubs and scrapes. It was a monstrous old buck with antlers that looked like a young elk’s. I only got a momentary glimpse of him and then he was swallowed up by the brush.

I hunted that buck for 3 years. Once I got within 50 yards of him before a stray zephyr betrayed me. I did not kill him. He was finally shot by a hunter from New York who saw him with some does, bedded in a draw, protected from a 40 mile per hour north wind. The wind spoiled his nose and deadened the sounds the hunters made as they stalked the buck. The hunter shot the buck at about 200 yards with a .300 Weatherby Magnum. I still think of the act as cheating, but the hunter was immensely proud of his Texas buck, and I guess I can’t blame him. However, that buck would never have been killed at a feeder. It took physical effort, shooting skill, and a good dose of luck to kill him.

Another such buck lived in a brushy can-yon above a waterhole. In its nest was a tiny spring that trickled clear water. The spring ran a few yards into a muddy mineral lick

and then disappeared. The buck didn’t have to travel more than a hundred yards for food or water. It only left its little nest during the rut. I would never have known it was there if my brother and I hadn’t flushed it one day before the season opened, while we were call-ing varmints.

This demonstrates one of the most effec-tive tools in the hunter’s kit – pre-season scouting. Just walking the country looking for sign. Tracks and dropped antlers are sure signs that a buck is living in the area.

Post-season scouting is also productive, sometimes more so that the pre-season. Going out in the month just after the season ends is a great way to find the fresh sheds and get a line on old Bullwinkle for next year. Starting your scouting as soon as the season ends will give you an opportunity to discover where the big bucks are living at a time when they are fresh from being hunted, still living under combat conditions. Sometimes pre-season scouting is less effective because the bucks change addresses as soon as the shooting starts. Wouldn’t you? Wandering the brush in February will give you a completely differ-ent perspective and may allow you to get a solid lead on where a trophy buck will be next November or December.

Well, there you have the nuts and bolts. The biggest secret is really no secret at all; just look in the places that are the hardest to get to and that have the least human traffic. Add a little browse and a bit of easy-to-get-to water and you have a made-to-order buck nest. After you have found the nest, leave it alone. Too much traffic will drive the buck away. Put up no blind, no feeder, and cut no brush. If you want a blind, find a pile of brush and use it as a ground blind. I have killed several deer using nothing more than a piece of camouflage netting stretched between two thorn bushes. Better still is to still-hunt the edges of the thicket in the early morning and late evening, when the buck will be most likely to move around.

If the buck turns nocturnal there is only one thing to do, hunt it in its nest. This will require stealth and patience. You may get only one chance at it. If you flush the buck and miss, it will probably find another place to live.

I could go on for pages, but this is a maga-zine article and not a book. Above are the basics. The rest is for you to discover – and discovery is half the fun. Good hunting.

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Fea 3-Deer.indd 47 11/8/12 8:09 PM

www.fishandgamegear.com

Fresh Tracks

“I’m goIng To Track a bIg buck deer this morning,” I told Cousin as we both stared in awe at the falling snow.

“You’re gonna eat breakfast first,” Granny said from beside the stove. “And go get some clothes on, you’re gonna freeze.”

We ran back through the living room in our Fruit-of-the-Looms to dress. When you’re ten and twelve years old, snow is more important than mod-esty. Once covered, we hurried back in to the kitchen table.

I opened the new-est Field & Stream. “Look here. It says that tracking deer is easier in the snow.”

“Makes sense,” Cousin said through a mouthful of eggs and biscuits. “But what makes you think a deer is in the pasture this morning. We’ve never seen a deer out here in our lives.”

“That’s because we can’t track them,” I said, obviously speaking to a moron. “Deer don’t leave tracks in the grass.”

“Oh.”“You boys dress warm,” Granny said.

“And don’t go around the pool today. It’s icy and you could slip and fall in. You’d freeze to death before you got back to the house, if you came up at all.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said. “We’ll stay away.”An hour later I stared at my wet shoe.

“She told you to stay away from the water,” Cousin reminded me.

“I did stay away,” I answered. “She didn’t say it was possible to slip for five whole yards.”

“Yeah, that gravity is something else. Is your foot cold?”

“Naw. It’s already numb. Hey! Look! There’s a deer track!” I shouted. “See, I told you we’d find one today.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be quiet?”“Obviously, if we were waiting for the

deer to walk up on us. But we’re tracking, so he’ll be facing away from us with his nose into the wind. He’ll never hear us.”

Cousin pondered my amazing knowledge of deer behavior. “Are you sure that’s a deer track?”

I pulled a magazine from my coat and opened it to the examples of buck and doe tracks. “See, how the points of his hooves splay out and those little dots are behind them? Those are called spurs. This is a huge deer. I bet it weighs four or five hun-dred pounds.”

“How can you tell?”“When they’re this heavy, the weight

forces their hooves apart. Look, the tracks lead through the plum thicket.

Let’s go.”Like professionals,

we followed the mean-dering tracks along the snow-covered cattle trail around the sassafras tree and stopped just at

the thicket’s edge.I point-ed at

o n e o f the

plum trees. “This must be a rub.”

“That’s when they rub their antlers against a tree,” Cousin stated with authority.

“I knew that,” I said. “I called it a rub first.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “I already knew.”

I glared at him. “Come on, it’s going to

the oak tree.”We followed the tracks to the enormous

oak tree sitting on the highest point in the pasture. Above, our tree house was three inches deep in snow. Of course we had to climb up for a while, and from the vantage point, tried to find our deer.

Nothing.Undaunted, we climbed back down and

followed the trail through the open pasture, and then back along the fence line until they led to the barn.

“I’ve got it,” I said. “Because the weather was so bad, I bet this deer bedded down somewhere behind the barn to get out of the wind.”

“Maybe it got inside to sleep in the hay. That’s where I’d go if I was a deer.”

Careful now, lest the bedded deer be looking in our direction, we crouched and went into our version of the Phantom Sneak. We approached the barn.

“What’s wrong with you boys?” Grandpa asked from inside. “Y’all hurt yourselves or something?”

“We’re sneaking up on a deer,” I said, annoyed that he was talking so loudly. “We’ve been following this big buck’s tracks for half an hour. Look, they go right past you and into the hay.”

Grandpa looked at the tracks at his feet. “Where? All I see are the tracks made by the new calf I bought yesterday.”

Cousin snorted. “Calf. And you said they were deer tracks.”

“You went along with it,” I said, frus-trated that my deer was gone.

“You’re the one that got all this started, and I’m freezing,” Cousin said. “And by the way, Grandpa, he fell in the pool.”

We all stared at my icy foot for a long time before Grandpa sighed. “I have a long way to go with you boys,” he said, and led us back for a quick thaw and a lesson in calf tracks.

48 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® IllustratIon: BIgstock

Email Reavis Wortham [email protected]

open Season

by Reavis Wortham | TF&G Humor Editor

Humor-Wortham.indd 48 11/8/12 8:11 PM


We only get a few months each year to hunt so we take advantage of them. However, even when winter rolls around and temperatures dip, there are still fish to be caught and an angler willing to braze the cold can put plenty of fish in the boat.

For those of you that haven’t tried your hand at winter fish-ing, it really isn’t as hard as you might think but I’m going to lead this article off with a tip that really isn’t related to fishing,

because I think you have to take care of this before you can enjoy the fishing trip. Wear plenty of clothes. You have to bundle up because it gets cold on the lake in the winter mainly due to the fact that there is nothing to buffer the wind, so the wind chill is always colder than the air temperature. Whatever amount of clothing you thought was going to be enough, won’t be. Double up on clothing, wear gloves, and take hand warm-ers. Now, onto the fishing.

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There is liTTle doubT ThaT The majoriTy of ouTdoors-men are more concerned with chasing deer and ducks this time of year than they are bass or crappie. i fall squarely into that category. really, who can blame us?

T F & G A L M A N A C T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | 49

by paul bradshaw

Winter FishingBasics

Coastal Edition

ALMANAC Digital.indd 49 11/16/12 9:11 AM

The first rule of winter fishing is to think deep (I’m going to contradict myself in a minute on this but you’ll have to wait to see why) not just for bass but for all fish in gen-eral. I’m sure you’re asking why and that’s an easy one to answer. All fish hang out in a specific location for one of two reasons, food or to make more little fish. In winter, the fish aren’t thinking about spawning so they follow their stomachs.

In winter, the main food source for pred-atory fish is shad. Shad are very susceptible to sudden drops in water temperature, so if they stay shallow in the winter and a cold front hits, the shallow water will get really cold really quick and they will not survive. So beginning in late fall they start migrating to deep water and stay there throughout the winter. Bass, crappie, and most other big fish follow them.

To consistently catch these deep water fish, you’ll need to have some decent elec-tronics, meaning you need a depth finder and the ability to use it. Even though the fish are at the bottom of the lake they are still relating to cover and structure, just like when they are shallow, and since you cannot see either of these you’ll need to locate them via sonar.

Since all depth finders are different, I

won’t even try to tell you how to use yours but just assume you know how, so let’s discuss what to look for. All the reservoirs you fish in Texas were created by the dam-ming of a river. Before it was dammed, this river cut a channel through the earth that, even though it is now under 30+ feet of water, still exists. Go to the deepest part of the lake (usually by the dam) and use your depth finder to locate this channel (structure) and you will find fish. Now, this channel will not be straight. Think of the way a river bends and curves as it snakes through the terrain and you can get a good idea of how the channel under the lake meanders around. These bends will hold more fish than the straighter sections of the channel. Find a bend with brush (cover) on it and there will be crappie and bass stacked all over it.

For lakes where there is not distinguish-able creek channel or cover, you can still find fish in the deeper section of the lake but instead of looking for structure on your depth finder, you need to look for schools of shad. Bass and crappie will be right around these balls of bait, picking off stragglers for an easy meal.

If you happen to fish on lakes that have bridges spanning deeper water them, then

your job of finding fish in the winter just got easier. The legs of the bridge allow the fish to move vertically along them all the way from the bottom of the lake to the surface and never leave cover while searching for the optimum water temperature. Also, the sun warms the bridge pilings which in turn slightly warm the water around them and in the dead of winter even a slightly higher water temperature can attract fish.

When fishing deeper water cover or bridge pilings in the winter, you need to think two things, slow and realistic. Fish are cold blooded, meaning they cannot self-regulate their body temperature, so when the water gets cold, they get lethargic. Enticing a reaction bite is next to impossible this time of year. If you want a fish to hit, you have to use a vertical presentation to put a bait in their face and keep it there for a long time so they think it’s easy prey. Drop a jig down to where you think the fish are holding and leave it there. Don’t jerk it up and down in a spastic rhythm, just leave it sitting still. Since the bait will be right in front of the fish for a long time, it will be closely examined so it needs to look realistic.

It’s just a personal preference but this time of year I use small baits as well. Many big bass have been caught on small baits

50 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 T e x a S F i S h & G a m e ® T F & G A L M A N A C

hOW-TO SeCTiON

52 TexaS bOaTiNG • Expecting Unexpected Problems | by lenny rudow

55 TexaS kayakiNG • Dear Santa: | by greg berlocher

56 paul’S TipS • Homemade Scup-per Plugs | by paul bradshaw

57 TexaS GuNS & Gear • Mini Guns | by steve lamascus

GeariNG up SeCTiON

58 TexaS TeSTed • Penn Reels, Aimpoint, Suzuki | by tF&g staFF

60 iNduSTry iNSider • CCA | by tF&g staFF

62 FiSh aNd Game Gear• Hot New Outdoor Gear | by tF&g staFF

89 SpeCial SeCTiON • Outdoors for the Holidays | by tF&g staFF

111 FiShiNG FuNdameNTalS• Passing on the Gift by | gary Zoch

112 SpOrTiNG TaleS• Winter Hunt-ing Basics by | tF&g staFF

FiShiNG FOreCaSTSeCTiON

64 hOTSpOTS FOCuS: upper COaST • December Reds in the Bayou | by capt. eddie hernandeZ

65 hOTSpOTS FOCuS: GalveS-TON • Sincerest form of Flattery? | by capt. mike holmes

66 hOTSpOTS FOCuS: maTaGO-rda • Merry Matagorda | by mike price

68 hOTSpOTS FOCuS: rOCkpOrT • The China Syndrome | by capt. mac gable

70 hOTSpOTS FOCuS: lOWer COaST • Different Ways to Beat a Drum | by calixto gonZales

71 TexaS hOTSpOTS • Texas’ Hot-test Fishing Spots | by calixto gonZales, bob hood & george knighten

78 SpOrTSmaN’S daybOOk • Tides & Prime Times | by tF&g staFF

OuTdOOr liFeSTyle SeCTiON

88 TexaS TaSTed • Bay Flats Lodge Duck Soup | by bryan slaven

114 OuTdOOr ClaSSiFied direCTOry • Guides, Gear and More | by tF&g staFF

116 TF&G phOTOS • Your Action Photos | by tF&g readers

TF&G ALMANAC Table of Contents

49 COver STOry • Winter Fishing Basics | by paul bradshaw

www.FishGame.com



TF&G ALMANAC Table of Contents


www.xpressboats.com

Expecting Unexpected Problems

Boating takEs Us into a comPlEtE-ly different atmosphere. Maybe even a different universe. The rewards and costs are completely unlike those

we deal with on dry land, and as a result, the unexpected often pops up. We’ve touched on how to head off many potential problems in the past; outboard troubleshooting, hypo-thermia preparedness, rough sea conditions, and the like. But there are different types of issues which may seem smaller in perspec-tive, but are vitally important nonetheless. Are you ready to face these five challenges?

ProBlEm: UnintEnDED PiErcings – When you have fish hooks swinging through the air, sooner or later, someone’s going to get one in an unexpected place—like their hand, leg, foot, or who knows where. It may be funny to think about a crankbait hanging from someone else’s forehead, but yikes, it hurts!

solUtion: tHE PortUgUEsE mEtHoD – Standard practice is to force the point of the hook out through the skin, and clip if off in front of the barb so the rest of the hook can slide back out. But there’s a better method, one which has been used by Portuguese fishermen for eons. First, cut off a 10-inch

length of strong (20 pound test or better) line. Then wrap it around the center of the bend in the hook several times, down low, close to the skin. Hold both ends in your right hand, while you push down on the eye of the hook with your left hand. Pull the line with a quick jerk, and the point will pop out.

EXtra tiP: Yes, it’s hard to envision this process; go to Youtube and search “remove a fish hook from skin” and you’ll find several videos documenting the procedure, which make it quite clear.

ProBlEm: Boat HUngEr – Once you shove off the dock, you’re stuck with the provisions you’ve packed and unless your boat has a built-in grill, not one crumb more. You already know this, of course, but how many times has this fact caught you off guard? One thing we often forget is how quickly many foods go stale at sea. The moist air will take the crunch out of a bag of chips in hours, and will help turn a sandwich to mush in no time—if, that is, the sandwich didn’t get creamed while bouncing around in a cooler full of ice and drinks.

solUtion: air-tigHt/rigiD Packaging – Dump that bag of chips into a gallon-sized

Zipper-lock baggie, and you can re-seal it every time you munch. That’ll keep those chips or pretzels fresh until the sun goes down. Put sandwiches and other perish-ables into Tupperwear-style containers, to keep them from getting mushy or getting smashed in the cooler.

EXtra tiP: One of the best boat foods ever invented is Raman noodles. Just fill a thermos container with boiling water when you leave home, and when you feel the need for a hot meal, drop in the noodles and sea-soning. Let it percolate for a few minutes, and it’s almost as if you cooked on your center console.

ProBlEm: motion sicknEss – No, you’re not going to die, but it might feel like you will. Seasickness strikes many people, because the inner ear (your center of balance) is telling the brain one thing, while your eyes are telling the brain some-thing completely different. Net result? That bacon and egg breakfast sandwich gets re-exposed to daylight.

solUtion: DrUgs – US Navy studies show that drugs are usually the best way to fight seasickness. Dramamine is the old stand-by, but it makes you very drowsy. Bonine is a good alternative, though it also has this effect on many people. Scopolamine (the patch) also proves helpful for many folks, and the biggest complaint is merely dry-mouth. But, this alternative does require a prescription.

while crappie fishing and I think it’s because a bass’ metabolism is so slow that it doesn’t need huge baitfish to fill it up. Use a small jig and you can catch crappie, bass, even white bass all in the same spot on the same bait.

Remember where I said that I would

contradict myself about deep water fishing, well this is it. There are times in the late winter when going shallow can pay off. One of my largest bass was caught in just a few feet of water in January. I was pitching a jig onto rocks near a concrete dam. The sun had warmed the rocks and concrete, which warmed the water, which attracted the fish. So don’t overlook areas like this after a few

days of moderate temperatures.When the weather gets cold, you don’t

have to put the rods up and just dream about fishing. Go with the basics of head-ing to deep water, fishing slowly, and using realistic baits and you’ll catch fish while the rest of us are hanging Christmas lights.

Cover story: winter fishing

t ContinUeD froM PAge 50

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Cover story: winter fishing

T F & G A L M A N A C t e x a s f i s h & g a m e ® D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 | 53


www.thirdstonesoft.com

EXTRA TIP: Many people find that simply taking off their shoes and going barefoot helps quite a bit. The ultimate solution to seasickness? Get to a tree, and hug it.

PRoblEm: WET FEET – Anyone who’s

been fishing on a boat knows the tragic nature of wearing leaky shoes while standing on a wet deck. Yech. And the worst part is, once your feet get wet they’ll stay that way for the rest of the day.

SoluTIon: booTS – But not just any old

boots. Wear the cheap rubber ones, and you’ll find that half the time your feet sweat so much that they get wet, anyway. And that’s an even grosser wet than sea water wet. Instead, you need a pair of boots that are watertight, yet breathe at the same time. Gore-Tex is the best bet. Boots that are made with a combination of Gore-Tex and leather are usually the top choice. Another option is to wear sock “liners” which wick moisture away from your feet. Some folks also prefer rubber and leather combination boots.

EXTRA TIP: If you don’t have the proper boots and your shoes get wet, to dry them out, tie the laces together and hang them from the T-top. That’ll leave them exposed to both the sun and the breeze, and dry ‘em out fast.

PRoblEm: GETTInG bEAT uP bY RouGH SEAS – After a long day on a small boat in open waters, you know what it feels like to be a Rock ‘em Sock ‘em robot.

SoluTIon: bEAn bAGS – Toss one of these on the deck, plop down on it, and you’ll be 100-percent insulated from the blows. In fact, sitting in a beanie is usually far more comfortable than sitting in any regular seat on the boat. And after a half-hour or so of resting in one, you’ll be ready to stand back up, grab your rods, and out-fish the rest of the crew.

EXTRA TIP: Get one made with marine vinyl. Regular materials may allow the beanie to become saturated if it gets hit by spray or rain. Marine vinyl also stands up better to the sharp things found on boats, like fish hooks and bait knives.

DoublE EXTRA TIP: The biggest problem with beanies is that they’re bulky and they get in the way; if your boat has a T-top, bring along a couple extra bungee cords. When the beanie isn’t in use, toss it on top of the T-top and bungee it in place.

E-mail Lenny Rudow at [email protected]


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



http://www.Fishgame.com/blogs

www.reelhookedgear.com

Dear Santa:

I have been a very gooD boy thIS year and I wanted to suggest a few gifts, in case you haven’t had a chance to give it much thought. You know, Santa, new

socks and underwear are great presents, and all, but I really love to fish from my kayak and nothing beats a gift I can use on the water.

Santa, all my friends make these cool videos while they are fishing and then post them on different web sites. I want to do that too, but I need a special camera. The Hero 3 by GoPro would be the perfect gift Santa. A GoPro camera can be mounted on my kayak and I can capture the moment when I land that fish of a lifetime. I might even be able to take a video of my friend Kendall wade fishing with me. In case the elves are a bit behind, I have it on good authority that the waterproof model, which is the one I want, costs $399.00.

Santa, I would love to have a new personal floatation device. Some people call them life vests but I prefer to call them paddle vests. Mine has been used hard and it getting kind of worn and ratty looking. A good paddle vest has large openings so your arms don’t chafe and small shoulder straps for comfort. I really like the new Stohlquist paddle vests because they have more adjust-ments to keep the vest from pushing up into your chin when you sit down in your kayak. In addition, I love the specialty pockets and holders for pliers and hemostats. Santa, I really have my heart set on this vest and at $124.94, it is a great value.

You know Santa, a good paddle is just as important as a good hull, and I am hoping you can bring me a new one. The Aqua-Bound Eagle Ray Hybrid Paddle sure would look good tucked under the

Christmas tree. The Eagle Ray Hybrid combines a carbon shaft and fiberglass blades, resulting in a good balance of weight and performance. The Eagle Ray Hybrid costs around $200.00 depending on where your elves go to shop.

Did you know that making your kayak more visible reduces the chance of being hit by a powerboat, Santa? To keep me safe while I am on the water, I would really like you to bring me a VISI Carbon Pro, which is made by YakAttack. The VISI Carbon Pro is a collapsible mast that incorporates a high visibility flag and a super bright LED light. The ultra-thin mast creates negligible wind load but it elevates the flag and light well over my head so approaching boats can see me. The mast has a small bungee cord inside and breaks down like a fancy tent pole and the pieces stow inside the flag – a very cool design. Best of all, Mrs. Clause can pick one up for $85.00.

Santa, you know outdoor writers seem to pack a lot more gear on fishing trips than the other guys – duffels filled with new gear to evaluate, camera bags etc. My friends are

getting older and are complaining about the weight of my loaded hull when they help me lug it down to the water. To remedy this, I am hoping you can bring me one of Malone Racks’ kayak carts. They make several models for kayaks and canoes that cost just $99.95. These are no-nonsense kayak carts, Santa, and are equipped with “never go flat” pneumatic tires. Best of all, the tires pop off and the collapsible alumi-num frame packs down small enough that everything can be loaded into my hatch or strapped onto the top of my hull while I am on the water. No need for extra trips to and from the truck.

If there is room on the sleigh, I am hop-ing you will bring me several of the RAIL-BLAZA rod holder kits from Yak Gear. The rod holders use the StarPort base, which has a very low and smooth profile. The rod holder will hold a casting, spin-ning, fly, or offshore rod. Yak Gear’s kit includes all the fasteners needed. The elves should be able to pick up one of Yak Gear’s RAILBLAZA rod holder kits for $36.99.

As long as we are talking about rod holders, Santa, could you also add a couple of Yak Gear’s rod holder extenders to my Christmas list? The extenders slip into a flush mount rod holder and elevate your rod’s height so it easier to reach. As I have gotten older Santa, and my, er, girth has increased, I find it a bit more tricky to twist and grab the rods which are stowed behind my seat back. The Yak Gear extenders really make it easier to stow one rod and grab another.

I hear my wife calling Santa. She is say-ing something about cleaning up the garage so I better wrap this up. Safe travels on Christmas Eve. Love Greg.

Greg Berlocher can be reached for question or comment at

[email protected].


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Homemade Scupper Plugs

NeceSSity iS tHe motHer of iNveN-tion, so is a wet rear end. That’s what led to this month’s column.

I’m a fan of small non-motorized watercraft. Come by my house and you’ll see four kayaks and a canoe sitting outside, loaded on a trailer and ready to go. There is nothing better than tossing the plastic armada into the lake and fishing in places that bass boats can’t get to. Even as much fun as it is to fish from these small vessels, they do have an issue (well the kayaks do anyway). They have scupper holes.

If you’re not familiar with scuppers, they are holes in the cockpit of sit-on-top kayaks that are designed to let water out when it comes over the bow. They also let water in. This isn’t an issue in August when a little bit of water actually feels nice and refresh-ing. In December, well, I should not have to say this, but it’s a huge problem. Kayak manufacturers understand that there are idiots out there like me that want to use their boats in the winter and make plugs for the scuppers so that you can keep the water out, but buying scupper plugs isn’t fun now is it? Plus, I couldn’t find any locally that fit my boat so I took it upon myself to make my own. Now I have a dry bottom and saved a few bucks. Here’s how I made mine.

The list of supplies for this project is very small. All you need is a piece of

cardboard, a pool noodle (preferably the kind that is solid, not one with a hole in the middle), some small diameter rope, and a few washers.

If you are lucky, your scupper holes are round which makes building your own plugs much easier (more on this in a minute). If you’re me, then your scuppers holes are not round but more like rectan-gles with rounded corners, which means that

f i n d -ing something

that will fit in isn’t easy. So to start

the plug build-ing process I made a small template of the holes out of the piece of cardboard.

The next step is to take

the pool noodle and cut about a four-

inch section off the end. Using the cardboard template

as the form, and a fillet knife as your cut-ting tool, trim the piece of pool noodle to the shape of the scupper hole. It is a good idea to trim it a little larger than the scupper hole. The noodle will compress when you push it into the scupper making a tight seal. Plus if you trim it too small, you’ll have to start over.

After the plug is formed to your liking, poke a hole in the middle of it. That’s right, we just poked a hole in the plug you spent all that time building. Take the rope from

the supply list (I used paracord since I had some sitting around, but an old shoelace will work too) and push it through the hole in the plug. After running it through the plug then pass it through the center of one of the washers and tie a knot in it so it cannot slip back through. Leave about six inches of the rope hanging out of the top of the plug. Tie another knot in this end of the rope. The rope is used to pull the plug out anytime you want to use the scupper holes for their intended purpose.

If your kayak has round scupper holes then you’re in luck. You don’t

have to do any cutting to make plugs, just go to the golf section of your

local sporting goods store and buy some of the foam practice golf balls. Take one of these balls and poke a hole in the middle of it, run the rope through the hole, and attach the washer with a knot just like the previous example. Now all you have to do to use these is push the foam golf ball down into the round scupper holes. This is probably one of the best uses for a foam golf ball (just my opinion).

Kayak fishing is becoming more and more popular as more anglers become inter-ested in the sport of chasing fish from pad-dle-powered watercraft. With a few quick homemade plugs, they can enjoy their kayak year round and not put it in the garage when the temperature drops and sitting in a pool of water all day could lead to frostbite in odd places.

E-mail Paul Bradshaw at [email protected]


Get more tips fromPaUL BRaDShaW’sOutdoor Blog atwww.Fishgame.com/blogs

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Mini Guns

I love MInI-skIrts – at least on the right frame. I even like some mini cars. However, in most cases I have found that mini guns, that is very small hand-

guns intended for concealed carry, are better for carrying than they are for shooting. Not all of them, though. There are a few very small handguns that are worth looking at, and carrying, and shooting.

I have been playing with a Kimber Solo for the last few weeks. At first I wasn’t certain what I thought. It shot well, was certainly concealable, and best of all, came in 9mm Luger rather than the more anemic .380 ACP that is more common in the little guns. Now, after considerable testing, I have decided that the Solo is a great idea. I recommend it for those with enough experi-ence to use it well. It is not easy to shoot, which is a commonality among the smaller guns. Generally, the smaller the gun the more difficult it is to shoot. That is why most folks think that snub-nosed revolvers are inaccurate. Many of the snub-noses are very accurate; they are just hard to shoot well.

The main reason is that there is very little distance between the front and rear sights, so any little bit of movement causes the gun to shoot off by a lot. With a long barrel this is not as evident, thus long-barreled guns are easier to shoot.

One of the first of the micro-guns was the tiny series of revolvers by North American Arms. The first, if memory serves, came in .22 short, then later in .22 long rifle. Now you can get one in .22 WMR. North Amer-ican Arms also makes a little semi-auto that is available in .25, .32, and .382 ACP.

The problem with the little revolvers, at least at first, was that they were almost impossible to shoot accurately. I played

with one for a while and discovered that I had to be within 4 or 5 steps to guarantee hitting my aiming point. At that distance I could keep the shots in a group 8 or 10 inches across. Farther than that and the shots strayed until some of them would miss a full-sized silhouette target. Another problem, or should I say deficiency, was that they were rather slow to shoot, caused by the difficulty of cocking the mini guns quickly. Instead of 2 shots in 2 seconds, it was more likely to take 2 seconds for each shot. These things, combined the fact that they shot only .22 caliber cartridges, I decided to pass on them.

Kel-Tec brought out an ultra-small handgun a few years ago. Sadly, in the beginning they were not usually very durable and functioning was less than perfect. The basic idea had to have some merit, however, because now several companies are copying it. Both Ruger and Taurus have brought out guns that for all outward appearances are almost identical to the original Kel-Tec. I bought a Taurus at Oasis Outback in Uvalde a few months ago, not expecting much except that it would shoot and be concealable. It does all that, and in addition, the little micro-gun is very accurate.

I shot it first at about 5 steps, thinking that I should be able to keep all the shots on the target at that range. Surprisingly, I not only kept them all on the target, I put them all in the X-ring. Then I moved back to 10 yards and after pulling the first shot low, I again put the rest in the original group. Finally at 15 yards I shot the last few rounds I had with me and found that if I held and squeezed, the gun would still put them in the middle. I like it. It is a .380 ACP, and therefore somewhat underpowered, but if concealability is of paramount importance, this little gun is a winner. With the right ammo, such as the new Hornady Z-Max, it rises into the lower ranks of the manstopper cartridges.

The Kimber Solo in 9mm Parabellum is more powerful, which is a great advantage

when the time comes that it is needed, but any increase in power has to be paid for by increased recoil. The Solo kicks -- quite a bit. The Taurus in .380 is a smaller and lighter gun than the Solo, therefore more concealable, but it is pretty anemic when it comes to stopping power.

Back in my active duty days the small-est gun on the market that was considered dependable was the Walther PPK, or PPKs. These guns are pretty much identi-cal except that the sights on the PPKs were changed a bit to make it meet the sport-ing definition that was then in place and required for import. Since the Walther is now made in the USA, that is no longer a problem. The PPK is still a very good choice for a hideout gun, but it is in .380, so again, you are losing some power.

Kahr makes several small guns that shoot powerful cartridges. I have a Kahr P-9 that I carry a good bit. It is in 9mm. This same gun is available in .40 S&W, which brings it up into the major power category. How-ever, a small gun in a large caliber is very hard to control in rapid fire. In this instance I believe the 9mm Kahr is superior to the more powerful version in .40 cal., for the very good reason that it is easier to place the bullets in the right place. With ammo like the 124-grain Speer Gold Dot, 124-grain Federal Hydra-Shok, the new Federal 105-grain Guard Dog, or one of the 115-grain +P loads, it is a fine self-defense choice.

I received a nasty-gram recently from a reader who thought I was far off base by rec-ommending the more powerful handguns. He said he could draw his little Kel-Tec .380 from his pocket and put three shots on a target before I could draw my big, power-ful .45 and hit it once. There are a couple of misfires in his logic. First, unless he is a lot better than I suspect, that dog won’t hunt. I have practiced for too many years to believe that kind of baseless brag. However, if he so desires, I will be glad to let him come to my


CONTiNUeD ON PaGe 58 u


In To BattleYou’re achIng To geT InTo a Brawl with those fish, and you need a new reel? One new option I’ve been testing this sea-son is Penn’s Battle, a spinning reel that’s designed to stand up to heavy-duty conflict.

The Battle is made with an all-metal body, to maintain its shape and keep perfect gear alignment no mat-ter how much stress it’s under. The main shaft is stainless-steel, the spool is machined anodized aluminum, ball-bearings are stainless-steel, the handle is machined and anodized aluminum, and the drag washers are Penn’s HT-100. In other words this reel is made to be as rugged as any on the market.

Battle reels are available in a wide range of sizes, from the BTL1000 (which is an ultra-light that holds 115 yards of four pound test mono and weight a mere 7.9 ounces, yet can put out up to seven pounds of drag), to the BTL8000 (a heavy-weight spinner which weighs 29.2 ounces and holds 260 yards of 30-pound mono or 550 yards of 50-pound braid, and

can put out up to 25 pounds of drag). All of the reels in this model line also feature fast retrieves, with gear ratios of between 5.2:1 and 6.2:1, and—of course—infinite

anti-reverse systems.The model I’ve been testing is

the BTL2000, which I spooled up with 260 yards of eight pound braid,

for casting light lures to redfish in the one to four pound class.

They’ve been lurking around many of the rip-rapped shorelines nearby this season, but since they’ve been feeding on small crabs and minnow, they didn’t want large baits. In order to offer them the 1/8th ounce

jigs and spinners that were most effective, it required the light-weight touch that a small rig like this provided. And the BTL2000 proved perfect for the job. Retrieving 29 inches of line with every rotation of the handle, this reel was fast enough to “bloop” spinners across the sur-face, and once I hooked up, the drag was as smooth as they come. And since this model weighs in at 9.6 ounces, it didn’t tire out my casting arm no matter how much time I put in at the rip-rap—nor how many battles the fish provided.

Battle prices range from $99 to $119. For more information, check out www.pen-nreels.com.

—Lenny Rudow

Streamlined Micro red DotreD DoT SIghTS have BecoMe exTreMelY popular in the shooting, hunting and tacti-cal world. Their acquisition speed and low light use are unmatched among all tra-ditional iron sights and scopes. Aimpoint has become the most trusted name in red dot sights and they have stepped up the bar again with their new Micro models. True to Aimpoint’s roots, the Micro series has adjustable brightness settings, is parallax free, and has over 50,000 hours of battery life. That’s over five years of use powered with an inexpensive watch battery. The Micro series is a streamlined and advanced model of the battle proven CompM2, and even though smaller and lighter, the Micro H1 and T1 series have five times the bat-tery life of the older models. For the past few months I’ve been testing the Micro H1 and found this lightweight 3 ounce version of Aimpoint extremely reliable and accurate. Smaller optics are the future and the older, larger, heavier models now seem ancient. One might think a smaller optic

range and to prove his boast. He can even bring the witnesses. Second, if he is using hardball ammo in his .380, and the target is a hostile human, he is probably going to need all three of his shots, and then some.

All kidding aside, the larger the caliber, within reason, the better it is as a manstop-per. There are too many cases on record that prove that point for there to be any

argument, at all. On the other hand, a .380 in the pocket is better than a .45 in the closet. If a .380 is as large a gun as you can comfortably handle, or if the circumstances dictate that you carry a micro-gun, please, carry it instead of a larger gun you are afraid of, or that you won’t carry because it pulls your pants down. It is a proven fact that in a gunfight a man with a gun will kill an unarmed man nearly 100% of the time. It is never wise to bring a knife or a stick to

a gunfight, so you be the one with the gun.

E-mail Steve LaMascus at [email protected]

Texas guns

t COnTInueD FROM Page 57

Find more shooting tipsin sTeVe LaMasCus’sTexas guns Blog atwww.Fishgame.com/blogs

58 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 T e x a s F I s h & g a M e ® T F & G A L M A N A C

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limits your field of view, but the technology has advanced enough that your vision is hardly blocked at all. There is only a thin black ring with a dot inside on your target and you still have full awareness of every-thing downrange. The Micro is available for a variety of mounting options from rifle, pistol, shotguns to even piggybacking on a full size scope. I was able to test it with the low factory Picatinny rail mount as well as LaRue Tactical’s high quick disconnect mount for my AR. The sight is easily adjusted for windage and elevation by removing the small knob caps and turning the dials using the tops of the caps as tools. Since the Micro is so compact, it is ideal for a mounting on anything from a light-weight rifle, bow, or even hunting pistol. The T-Series is setup for night vision use with 4 NV settings and 8 daylight settings, even up to an extra bright function for desert sunlight. The H series has a slightly different coating with a lower price point and 12 brightness settings from low light to bright sunlight. The Micro is available with 2 moa or 4 moa reticles with the H1 series retailing around $600 and the T1 at $650. You can find out more at www.aimpoint.com.

—Dustin Ellermann

EFI SurpriseWhy arE many oF today’S Small out-boards tough to start? EPA regs have forced manufacturers to lean-down the fuel on carbureted four-strokes, so much so that they don’t always run right. And unfortu-nately, to put EFI on an engine as small as, say 15 or 20 horses, wouldn’t make

sense, right? Enter, the Suzuki DF20A and DF15A. With these little powerhous-es, Suzuki has found a way to provide EFI without needing the traditional electrical supply and without sending cost through the roof.

Forget about a battery; the engine feeds the EFI system and the engine’s computer a consistent supply of all the juice it needs from the moment you pull the cord, via a magneto and an ignition timing indexing system. Fuel efficiency is further boosted by Suzuki’s Lean Burn Control Sys-tem, which leans out the mix to a peak of 18:1. That gives it an economy boost of up to 14-percent.

Of course, motors this small don’t burn all that much fuel in the first place. What I find a lot more attractive is the easy and reliable starting—after living with a multi-yank outboard on my duck boat for many years, I feel the single pull starting is a big, big

deal. And this isn’t just the result of EFI. The DF15A and DF20A also feature a decompression system that reduces the force needed to turn the motor by about 20-percent. And if you’d rather not pull-start in the first place, they’re also available with an electric starting system.

The DF15A and DF20A come in both 15 and 20 inch lengths, and if you want to permanently mount them on a

boat, you can also get a remote control kit. Surprise Bonus: These motors

tip the scales at 97 pounds, which is about 10 to 15 percent less than some competing engines of this size.

Wait a sec – what about cost? Didn’t we note that EFI could drive

up the price substantially on such a small motor? The lowest MSRP for one of these powerplants is a hair over three grand, which lands it in the upper-middle

price range, not at the top, for engines of this size. For more information, go to www.suzukimarine.com.

—LR


TexaS GunS

The aimpoint micro h1 mounted on the Ruger 10/22 Takedown.

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CCA Honors 2012 STAR Tournament Winners

The CCA Star Tournament officially honored all the winners of its 2012 edi-tion at a special awards banquet in early October.

More than 40,000 anglers fished this year’s tournament, which ran from Memo-rial Day through Labor Day.

Below is a full list of the winners:

Regular DivisionTAggeD ReDfiSH—In this division, 6

of the tagged reds were caught. Of those, 3 were winners and 3 did not qualify. All winners are in order of the date of catch.

First Truck/Boat Package Winner: David Matula, caught TA364, on June 17, weighed in at Caney Creek Marina.

Second Truck/Boat Package Winner:Tony Gonzalez, caught TA424, also

on June 17, weighed in at Roy’s Bait & Tackle.

Third Truck/Boat Package Winner:Ralph McGrew, caught TA413,

on July 21, weighed in at Roy’s Bait &

Tackle flounDeR (18-inch min. length)—Win-

ner: 7 pounds, 8 ozs. Holland Dekeyzer; First Runner Up: 7 pounds 7 ozs. Maria Garcia; Second Runner Up: 6 pounds 12 ozs. James Combs; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 9 ozs. Julian Lopez; Fourth Run-ner Up: 6 pounds 8 ozs. John Gill.

SHeepSHeAD—Winner: 8 pounds 6 ozs. Jonathon Garay; First Runner Up: 8 pounds 1 oz. Lorenzo Alba; Second Runner Up: 6 pounds 14 ozs. Rene J Garcia; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 13 ozs. Ana Lisa Garza; Fourth Runner Up: 6 pounds 11 ozs. Robert Ibarra

gAffTop—Winner: 7 pounds 11 ozs. Chris Brown; First Runner Up: 7 pounds 1 ozs. Sean McGuire; Second Runner Up: 7 pounds 1 oz. Michael Darder*; Third Runner Up: 7 pounds 1 oz. Jessica Darder*; Fourth Runner Up: 7 pounds 0

ozs. Dan Chilek Jr.

SpeCkleD TRouT (Upper Coast)—Winner: 8 pounds 10 ozs. Michael Fesco; First Runner Up: 8 pounds 6 ozs. Buddy Schaub; Second Runner Up: 8 pounds 3 ozs. Christopher Schwartz; Third Run-ner Up: 8 pounds 0 ozs. Seth Martinez; Fourth Runner Up: 8 pounds 0 ozs. Brandon Rochner.

SpeCkleD TRouT (Mid Coast)—Win-ner: 9 pounds 8 ozs J Santos Ramirez III; FirstRunner Up: 8 pounds 4 ozs. Raymond Gann; SecondRunner Up: 8 pounds 2 ozs. Ronald Gaylor; ThirdRun-ner Up: 8 pounds 1 oz. Chad Novack; FourthRunner Up: 8 pounds 0 ozs. Laura Alaniz.

SpeCkleD TRouT (Lower Coast)—Win-ner: 9 pounds 7 ozs. Weldon West; First Runner Up: 9 pounds 6 ozs. David Smith; Second Runner Up: 9 pounds 1 oz. Abundio Garza; Third Runner Up: 8 pounds14 ozs. Richard Gidrey; Fourth Runner Up: 8 pounds 11 ozs. Neal Brod-beck.

kingfiSH (30 pounds min.)—Winner: 52 pounds 0 ozs. William Hendrix; First Runner Up: 50 pounds 2 ozs. Nicole


Forrest Karl—StarTeens $20,000 schol-arship, flounder.

Caden Dicks—StarTeens $20,000 schol-arship, speckled trout (Lower Coast).

Tatiana Ybarra—StarKids $50,000 scholarship winner, sheepshead.

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Stockton; Second Runner Up: 49 pounds 4 ozs. Michael Weide; Third Runner Up: 45 pounds 0 ozs. Neal Nygaard; Fourth Runner Up: 37 pounds 8 ozs. Tanner White.

DoraDo (20 pounds min.)—Winner: 41 pound 4 ozs. Stephen Filtsch; First Runner Up: 40 pounds 10 ozs. Miguel Prida; Second Runner Up: 40 pounds 0 ozs. Peggy Hughes; Third Runner Up: 39 pounds 10 ozs. Kurt Roedel; Fourth Runner Up: 38 pounds 8 ozs. Michael Hoffman.

Ling (cobia)—Winner: 81 pound 0 ozs. John F. Shults; First Runner Up: 71 pound 12 ozs. James L. Chide; Second Runner Up: 64 pounds 10 ozs. Joshua Cotter; Third Runner Up: 62 pounds 6 ozs. Matt McCauley; Fourth Runner Up: 59 pounds 14 ozs. James Manning.

StarKids DivisionFLounDer (18-inch min. length)—Win-

ner: 6 pounds 12 ozs. Briley Eason; First Runner Up: 6 pounds 4 ozs. Dylan Gill; Second Runner Up: 6 pounds 2 ozs. Con-stantine Malouf*; Third Runner Up: 5 pounds 4 ozs. Hunter Wernecke; Fourth Runner Up: 5 pounds 2 ozs. Layton Stary

SheepSheaD—Winner: 8 pounds 3 ozs. Tatiana Ybarra; First Runner Up: 7 pounds 4 ozs. Cameron Lucas; Second Runner Up:5 pounds 15 ozs. Nicholas Bell; Third Runner Up: 5 pounds 1 ozs. Connor Junot; Fourth Runner Up: 4 pounds 9 ozs. Churchman Howell.

gaFFtop—Winner: 7 pounds 14 ozs. Dylan Collazo; First Runner Up: 6 pounds 11 oz. Anthony Bellanger; Sec-ond Runner Up: 6 pounds 10 ozs. Tristan Brown; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 2 ozs. Joshua Nguyen; Fourth Runner Up: 6 pounds 2 ozs. Caden R ozacky.

Starteens DivisionSpecKLeD trout (Upper Coast)—

Winner: 7 pounds 10 ozs.Thomas Shel-ton; First Runner Up: 7 pounds 9 ozs. Dalton Vrana; Second Runner Up: 7 pounds 0 ozs. Colton Carner; Third Run-ner Up: 6 pounds 13 ozs. Emily Ibarra; Fourth Runner Up: 6 pounds 11 ozs. Austin Sobieski.

SpecKLeD trout (Mid Coast)—Win-ner: 7 pounds 1 oz. Hunter Rutkoski; First Runner Up: 6 pounds 14 ozs. Meg Schomburg; Second Runner Up: 6 pounds 10 ozs. Garrett Rutkowski; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 7 ozs. Brooke Otto; Fourth Runner Up: None.

SpecKLeD trout (Lower Coast)—Win-ner: 8 pounds 1 ozs. Caden Dicks; First Runner Up: 6 pounds 14 ozs. Cole Gentle; Second Runner Up: 6 pounds13 ozs. Cole McKnight; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 12 ozs. Kristina Anderson; Fourth Runner Up: 6 pounds 8 ozs. Cameron Curry.

FLounDer—Winner: 6 pounds 0 oz. Forrest Karl; First Runner Up: 5 pounds 3 oz. Brandon Gill; Second Runner Up: 5 pounds 3 ozs. Blake Huitt; Third Runner Up: 4 pounds 14 ozs. Dawson O’Neal; Fourth Runner Up: 4 pounds 7 ozs. Camren Davis.

SheepSheaD—Winner: 8 pounds 13

ozs. Chance Davis; First Runner Up: 8 pounds 2 ozs. Christian Zapata; Second Runner Up: 7 pounds 13 ozs. John Ser-rano; Third Runner Up: 6 pounds 6 ozs. Hannah Soper; Fourth Runner Up: 5 pounds 9 ozs. Austin Ryan Bell.

gaFFtop—Winner: 6 pounds 9 ozs. Ky Terrell; First Runner Up: 6 pounds 7 ozs. Braden Quebedeaux; Second Runner Up: 5 pounds 14 ozs. Chance Pearson; Third Runner Up: 5 pounds 7 ozs. Lauren Parrish; Fourth Runner Up: 5 pounds 5 ozs. Colt Pearson.


See video of the CCa Texas Star awards presentation online at:www.Fishgame.com/videoblog.php


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T-Reign Tethers: a Hunter’s FriendHunTeRs all Have aT leasT one FavoRiTe accessory – from game calls to electronic devices – they need to have always ready and available. T-REIGN retractable gear tethers are the accessory that keeps these necessities safe, secure and ready for imme-diate action.

T-REIGN offers a range of sizes and attachment options to meet any require-ment. With a carabiner, they connect easily

to a D-ring, a belt loop or a vertical strap. A stainless steel clip makes it slide easily on belts and straps but doesn’t slide off, and it has 360º rotation. With a hook-and-loop strap it secures to D-rings, horizontal straps and bars.

“With appreciation for the hunter‘s essentials we provide protection for their necessities and peace of mind.” said Randy Martin, sales director for the T-REIGN Outdoor Market. “Our goal for the hunter: never lose your gear again!”

There are three models in the Hunting Series, to meet the various sizes and appli-cations of gear. All have a rugged Kevlar® cord for quiet, smooth extension, assuring you won’t garner your game’s attention. The Large model has a 48-inch cord with 10-ounce retraction force, with a cord-lock to take tension off the cord. The Medium gear tether has a 36-inch cord with 6-ounce retraction force, and the Small model has a

24-inch cord with 4-ounce retraction force. (The Small

has only clip and strap attachment options.) MSRPs range from $15.95 to $24.95. For more information please visit www.t-reignoutdoor.com or call (909) 923-7800.

The Perfect Gift for anglersTHe Red Tuna sHiRT Club miGHT be THe perfect holiday gift for the fisherman who has (almost) everything. Anglers love fishing shirts, and with a Red Tuna gift membership the fisherman in your life will receive an authentic new t-shirt each month from one of the world’s great saltwater des-tinations. It’s the gift that keeps on giving for anyone who loves unique fishing shirts.

Each month, Red Tuna unveils a new t-shirt featuring a top-rated saltwater char-ter business or fishing lodge. Recent shirts have featured Wound Up Charters from Bermuda, Oceanic Sportfishing Adven-tures from Samoa, Canyon Runner Sport Fishing from New Jersey, and Quepos Fish Adventures from Costa Rica.

Around the first of each month, a new shirt is revealed and shipped exclusively to Red Tuna members, along with some information telling the featured captain’s unique story. That shirt then becomes a collector’s item – once a charter service

gets the Red Tuna treatment, the t-shirt is retired forever. Red Tuna Shirt Club shirts are not available for individual sale and are only available through a Red Tuna membership.

Red Tuna memberships are $20 a month including shipping, with the only additional charges being for international shipping or XXL/XXXL sizes. Pre-paid memberships are available with bonus shirts for the 6 and 12 month options, or members can choose to pay month-to-month with no long term obligation required.

For the Holidays, Red Tuna offers a high quality gift card to go along with the membership. The gift giver also has the option to have the first shirt shipped to them so they can present it to their favorite fisherman on Christmas morning.

For more information, visit: www.redtu-nashirtclub.com.

led light for HunterslaRson eleCTRoniCs’ maGnaliGHT.Com announces a handheld, green LED pistol grip light for hunters. The HL-85-3W1-Green projects a strong green light beam while only drawing ¼-amp on 12 volts DC. Equipped with a detachable coil cord with cigarette plug, the 13 ounce handheld hunting light enables hog hunt-ers to illuminate the area without spooking game. The HL-85-3W1 family of hunting lights includes red, green and infrared light output and is available with a variety of cord options for 12 and 24 volt applications. The RL-85-3W1 fam-ily of hunting lights includes a recharge-

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able lithium ion battery for increased por-tability.

For more information, email [email protected], call 1-800-369-6671, or visit www.magnalight.com.

Limited Edition Zombie Ammo CanSinCE 1968, MTM hAS ConTinuEd To design and produce products for the shoot-ing enthusiast. From ammo boxes to gun rests to clay target throwers, MTM offers a huge variety of products essential to the sportsman and now for the survivors of the apocalypse with their Zombie Limited

Edition AC50 Ammo Can.

The Zom-bie Limited Edition AC50 Ammo Can will hold all of your zombie rounds so you can protect your safe house from the walking dead. The Zombie Ammo Can

features a rugged polypropylene construc-tion with a reinforced bottom and thick sidewalls to ensure that the case will not be broken by the hordes of undead. The heavy-duty latching system is for superior water resistance when zombies come in inclement weather conditions or their ooze gets on the case, your ammo and acces-sories will be safely stored until needed. The padlock tabs can be secured to detour all those scavengers looking for good free ammo. The Zombie Limited Edition AC50 Ammo Can sports the typical black and green zombie colors with an exclusive zombie ammo can sticker.

MTM Case-Gard is family owned and operated since 1968. MTM strives to be innovative in their approach to the shooting sports. For more information and availabil-ity, check with your local sporting goods dealer or contact MTM Molded Products at (937) 890-7461. See the full line of MTM products at www.mtmcase-gard.com

Texas Mobile Shrink WrapBoATS ArE An invESTMEnT.

With the world economy currently in recession, the purchase of a boat warrants more care and preventive maintenance than perhaps at any point in recent history.

That is where Texas Mobile Shrink Wrap comes in.

They offer a unique shrink-wrapping

service that provides an affordable option for complete weatherization and protection.

Their premium shrink-wrap is made of 100 percent virgin resin materials with maximum UV inhibitors for long term outside usage and safe transportation over the open road. It protects against wind, rain, snow, ultraviolet rays, pollution and road grime, animal droppings and nesting, vandalism and much more.

Their shrink-wrap provides a tight form-fitting thermo sealed plastic film secured around your boat that will prevent water from collecting in the hull and soaking into the upholstery and protects gel-coat finish.

This process also goes a long way in protecting the paint and trim on your vehicle by first covering critical areas with a protective anti chaff tape layer just like the automotive industry uses on new vehicles during transport on the open road.

Texas Mobile Shrink Wrap provides truly professional shrink wrap service with excellent customer service and satisfaction guaranteed and the best part is they are truly mobile.

They come to your location to wrap and protect your most valued assets for storage and transport including autos, boats, recre-ational vehicles, industrial equipment, and virtually anything else.

Tarps just cannot compare. Call 713-292-3238 for a free quote or visit www.texasshrinkwrap.com.

hold-A-hawg WiTh ThE fErAL hog proBLEM gETTing worse each year, the Hold-A-Hawg folks have figured out an effective means of catching hogs while avoiding non-target species. Their ingenious “snare-trap” system incorporates a food-hold trap as a delivery device for a spring-loaded snare. The snare is unique in that it also has a deer stop to prevent the loop from closing all the way shut on an animal’s leg.

The Hold-A-Hawg snare runs through a plastic tube that fits between the deer stop and snare lock to further reduce any chance of cutting into an animal’s leg. It uses a strong Adam’s lock to hold he hog on the cable. They offer a 3/16’ (7x19) aircraft cable, for any hogs over 250 pounds and also a big bear lock comes on it. This rig works from underground like a land mine. Unlike box traps or fence snare, the hog can’t see it, and he can’t smell it until it’s too late. Nothing has ever broken this until – not even the 600 pound mule that was accidentally caught. Yes… he was released unharmed, making this snare one of the best on the market.

If you’re serious about trapping hogs, you’ve got to keep the deer away from trap locations. In additional to ruining a good set, a trapped deer can become badly injured or die in a box trap. By placing a small amount of Dry Carrion Hawg Bait near the traps entrance, hog trappers can deter deer from entering while attracting unwitting hogs. Attract the hogs, repeal the deer.

Visit www.holdahawg.com, or call 713-851-6907

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December Reds in the Bayou

Will someone please tell me where this year has gone? As hard as it is for me to believe, December really is already here.

It is not going to be easy for me to let go of the banner year we’ve had, and I’m sure that is why it has seemed to pass so quickly.

Trout, redfish and flounder have cooper-ated fully for the past several months, but winter and reality are beginning to settle in now. The truth is the redfish bite will keep going strong this month and should even become a little more consistent as we get closer to Christmas.

“The December redfish bite is some-thing we’ve always been able to count on. The east bank of Sabine Lake will produce a lot of reds this month, but if it’s anything like it’s been in recent years, it won’t even be close to the action in the bayous,” said longtime Sabine Lake guide Capt. Steve Davis. He hit the nail squarely on the head

with that. Yes, redfish will be cruising the shorelines of Sabine Lake looking for an easy meal, but the real rod bending will take place deep in the bayous.

The difference between casting and catching is going to boil down to whether or not you’ve got bait present. On mild days, it shouldn’t be hard at all to find mullet cruis-ing long stretches of shoreline in Black and Madame Johnson Bayous. If you’ve located the bait, you’ve located the fish, especially if there’s a little tidal movement thrown into the mix.

Dead giveaways like mud boils and wakes are not uncommon, as these fish will aggressively feed in just inches of water. As usual, drains and small cuts leading to back lakes in the marsh will usually hold the majority of the bait and fish.

Dark or natural colored topwaters will get good results but straight or paddle tailed soft plastics on 1/8 oz. jig heads should do the most damage.

Good color choices are Morning Glory, Red Shad and Texas Roach. Good luck and don’t forget your Louisiana fishing license if you plan on fishing either of these bayous.

location: Walter Umphrey State Park fishing pier

species: Redfish, black drum, whiting

Baits/luRes: Fresh dead shrimp / finger mullet

Best times: Moving Tides

Contact Eddie Hernandez at, [email protected]


The Decemberredfish bite is

something we’ve always been able

to count on.

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Sincerest Form Of Flattery?

LaSt mOnth thiS cOLumn addreSSed natural baits, and the fact that some in that category might not seem to be all that “natural” at first glance. Artificial

lures can present the same apparent con-flicts. The most common and popular lures for inshore saltwater species are undoubt-edly the soft plastic shrimp imitations, which only seems logical. Some of these actually look enough like a live shrimp to fool human eyes at first glance, others have only the vague shape of a shrimp, but we assume the soft plastic will not only impart a life-like action to the lure, but will feel “natural” enough to a fish to allow the angler more time to set the hook. While there are some soft “plugs” made, most are of hard plastic these days, and have to depend on two or more sets of sharp treble hooks to “stick” a fish before it realizes it is trying to eat an imi-tation of a baitfish. Metal spoons certainly don’t feel like anything but a piece of metal, so they also require a rather quick hook set, or hard strike from the fish.

In the case of the hard lures, they obvi-ously attract a fish’s attention by the way they look. Color is one aspect, although it is not always a straight-forward reproduc-tion. The afore-mentioned spoon reflects light and creates flashes as it moves through the water, resembling the flashing of a mul-let or shad. Other hard lures may be very popular with fishermen but in colors that do not seem to resemble those of natural prey. Some colors can be puzzling as to what they might look like to a fish, but splashes of red would likely seem to imitate bleeding, there-fore simulating a wounded baitfish. The

movement of a hard lure also attracts the attention of predator fish. Spoons “wobble”, causing them to flash more. Popping lures, well, they “pop” — probably fooling a fish into thinking another of his kind is feeding in that spot. Other lures either imitate the movements of a wounded or fleeing baitfish, or can be manipulated to look that way by the angler. While they must look edible to a fish, it is sometimes hard to look at the old favorites like the BINGO lures once so popular on the Texas coast and see the resemblance to a shrimp.

Some very successful “lures” have been very simple. Trot-liners once commonly used pieces of red ribbon on their hooks to take large numbers of speckled trout, and the “buck-tail” type of jig uses bundled fibers to give a hook body and movement. Offshore fishermen have used even simpler tools, as pieces of drinking straw threaded on the line above a hook that move jerk-ily enough to drive chicken dolphin crazy. Skirts of billfish lures have been made

from the unraveled strands of lawn chair webbing. The ancient “Hootie” lure was basically small pieces of unraveled nylon rope with a hook hidden inside. The Russell Lure, a proven killer for king mackerel, is shaped like a curved piece of an aluminum pipe half section. It has such a violent action when trolled at even slow speeds it takes a strong rod to hold it. Certainly nothing in the Gulf moves that strongly and erratically – yet this lure drives kings and jacks wild, and has taken most other Gulf species. Joe Pennick, of Freeport, who made a success-ful variation of the Russell Lure known as the King Getter, also made a curious little “spoon” that was a section of twisted metal which would spin going through the water (with a good swivel in front), and undoubt-edly caught fish.

The lures used for trolling for marlin and tuna in deep water, while certainly much larger than lures for smaller quarry,


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Merry Matagorda

Fish are cold blooded, so their metabolism slows as the water cools; therefore, in December you usually want to fish in the afternoon when the

water is at its warmest, and the fish are most active. Typically Matagorda Bay waters are from 57 to 60°F in the morning and warm up about 75°F in the afternoon. Another water temperature consideration is timing your fish-ing trip to take place after a norther blows through. In December north winds blow water out of the bays and then the wind shifts to the south and calms down. This shift along with incoming tides, bring warmer water from the Gulf of Mexico into the bays.

I went to the south shore of West Matago-rda Bay, near Cotton’s Bayou in early

December. The wind was out of the south. It was two days after a front had come through, and the tide was incoming. Redfish had moved onto the sand flats in the afternoon, and could be seen cutting wakes through the shallow water. They were so eager to take a lure that when my fishing friend, Gordon Bradeen, left his red and white top dog topwater lure floating on the surface as he ate a sandwich, a big redfish took the lure and swam off. Fortunately Gordon grabbed the rod, but his sandwich went into the water.

When the water temperature drops to 60°F or less, some fish head for deeper water because it is slightly warmer. This makes the Colorado River a favorite winter fishing spot for trout. Depending on the amount of fresh water in the river, you can fish many miles north of the locks. Or you can go south of the locks in the Diversion Channel. Even if there is fresh water in the river and Diversion Channel, you may catch trout because salt water is heavier than fresh water, so there will be a layer of fresh water on the surface with

saltwater close to the bottom. In addition, the Colorado River offers boaters protection from strong winds. Another popular way to fish the river in December is to use lights. Night fisherman put lights in or over the water to attract bait, and of course trout are attracted to the bait fish. The trout will hit artificial lures, live bait, or dead bait in this situation. There are many houses along the river that are available for rent, and have docks which work well for this kind of fishing. You can find Colorado River houses for rent at www.matagordabay.com .

Patient fishermen work the south shore of east Matagorda Bay in December with a Heddon Super Spook top water or a slow sinking Corky from MirrOlure, lures that simulate mullet. They realize that big trout eat large bait fish, but they know that you have to be prepared to do a lot of casting and wading in order to get a few hits.

Drift fishing East Matagorda Bay in December may pay off. On December 17th I returned from fishing in West Matagorda Bay, and went to the cleaning table at the harbor with a couple of redfish. Another fisherman was putting a near limit of 17-22-inch trout onto the cleaning table. He caught the fish drifting in East Matagorda Bay early in the morning on a high, incoming tide.

Regardless of the type of fishing that you choose, swim your lure slowly when fishing the cold water. And be prepared for a subtle bite, quite the opposite of aggressive hits when the water is warm.

location: LCRA Park at the Mouth of

the Colorado River

species: flounder

baits: finger mullet or jigs tipped with

shrimp

Contact Mike Price [email protected]


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http://www.matagordabay.com

http://www.matagordabay.com


www.rockport-fulton.org


certainly do not approach the size of the tuna and dolphin big blue marlin normally feed on. These lures are usually designed to bubble and splash the surface, and leave “smoke trails” when pulled at fairly high speed. My opinion, for what its worth, is that all the commotion simulates a feeding or fleeing prey fish, and the hunter strikes at the “head” of the commotion, instead of at the lure itself. Early in the development of this type of lure in the Gulf, captains from Texas and Louisiana would often modify lures they purchased to improve the results. The “Hacksaw Yap” was one of Hawai-ian lure maker Henry Yap’s resin heads sawed off to 3 inches or less – and with a blunt “face”, which made it create more splashing, and a much more aggressive smoke trail. I used to mold my own heads by pouring resin in a 35 mm film canister, with a piece of soda straw down the middle for running the leader through. With skirts of either lawn chair material or commercial

rubber or plastic, I had success with these on dolphin and tuna.

An even more dramatic example of a productive lure that does not look like it should work was the old Arobogast Jit-terbug, which used a sort of double dish lip to cause it to wobble dramatically. I never caught anything on one when I was a fresh-water bass fisherman, but always heard that others did.

So it seems that an artificial lure can pretend to be a species of baitfish or shrimp by it’s shape, color, and/or movement. Of course, now we also have lures that even smell like bait. There is an old saying that fishing lures are mostly designed to catch fishermen, rather than fish, and there is no doubt there is some truth to this. There are also some who think a good enough fisher-man can make catches with pretty much anything on the end of his line. Myself, I think the appearance and action of a lure are important, but maybe no more than where, when, and how it is worked. As a friend of mine often said about fishing,

“You have to fish where they live, and you MUST be present to win!

Location: Deep holes along the jetties, in marinas, and occasionally in the bays. With at least the possibility of cold water, fish will seek the relative warmth of these spots.

SpecieS: Speckled trout and redfish are the top prizes, but croakers and sand trout can fill a frying pan satisfactorily.

BeSt BaitS: Natural baits – dead or alive – that can be trusted to give off a good scent trail. Soft plastics can work, as well as “glowing” jigs under lights at night, but they should be worked slower than in warm water.

BeSt timeS: Moving water is always best, but a full high tide pays off best in the deep spots.

Contact Mike Holmes [email protected].

GalveSTon FocuS

t conTinueD FRom PaGe 65

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www.visitmatagordacounty.com

The China Syndrome

I’m TIred of junk ThaT breakS and doesn’t last. Sure, some of it has a lifetime warranty, but what good is that if you have to spend the time and

gas or money to mail the junk back to the manufacturer? If I bust one more knuckle on bolts that twist in two, nuts that strip out or wrenches that can’t stand the simple strain of maintenance tightening, I think I might just have a meltdown. What does this have to do with fishing? Plenty!

As most people who know me are aware, I am in the process of replacing most of my tools and fishing gear after having much of it stolen several months ago. I went to the same manufacturer of the stolen tools and fishing gear but the replacement items I have purchased are, for the most part, not up to working on tinker toys much less real-world fix-it items. I had to change to three different manufacturers of reels before I found one that will hold up for my fishing guide busi-ness; broken handles, stripped gears, reels that self-destruct with anything larger than a 20 inch red fish on the hook, Swivels that pull apart, hooks that break in two (break in two!), and yes, I am hollering.

I have been shopping for gear in slow-inventory turnover stores and garage sales just to find older fishing gear that will hold up. This is sad.

After throwing new tools, reels, hooks, and swivels into the trash, it was time to find out what the devil was going on here (Research time).

This is what I found and is only repre-sentative of my gear and my tools but I do think it’s a trend that you will find across the product structure in our nation. Three-fourths of the items broken were from a foreign manufacturer, mostly China. When

I questioned the manufacturer on their qual-ity guidelines, all I got was marketing spin eerily similar to the political spin we’ve been getting in this year’s elections. It’s simply cheaper and puts more profits in the pockets of the manufacturer to build our products in foreign lands, all the while selling 100 years of American Quality down the drain.

Try to explain to a client why the fish of a lifetime just got off the hook because the spool on the reel he was using just popped off and rolled, oh so elegantly, into the water or, better yet, broke off altogether right at the reel handle.

This is not limited to just my tools and gear, folks; it is across the board when you talk to consumers who buy this junk.

Are we complaining? YES. Are we fed up? Yes, but nothing seems to change.

Why? Because one of two things is happening, either the people making these products don’t care (and why should they when we are paying them regardless), or we the consumers are just not “good” users (which is what I was told by one manufac-turer).

Let me paint a picture with words that I can understand to explain what’s at the heart of this.

We—you, I, Americans—owe $5.1 tril-lion to foreign countries (Debt). Our Debt looks like this: $5,100,000,000,000.00 (just to illustrate what 5.1 trillion looks like). Of that we owe China 1.15 trillion, Japan 1.12 trillion and at least eight other countries the balance.

If you believe the bean counters, 6 to 8% of durable/non-durable goods are made in China; 1 to 3% in Japan. Included in these foreign-produced products is a whole lot of sporting equipment. Big picture: So I owe you $5.1 trillion and you make 12% of my products and I’m gonna tell you that I’m pulling those jobs away from you and will build them in my own back yard to create jobs and improve quality? Yeah right, that’s really gonna happen, NOT!

It’s called throw weight, and in this case,

what we owe carries a lot more weight than the jobs we exported. In a nut shell, if you owe, it’s hard to press the issue on quality. It’s probably not a far stretch to say in the “I OWE” scenario one doesn’t own the keys to the destiny of your own products, which includes quality.

Ask yourself this question: How many times have you had to take products back to the store that were defective and how many of these returned products were produced here as opposed to a foreign land? I have always tried to buy American-made prod-ucts, although sometimes there is no other option, which is scary if you ponder it for a while.

Many foreign manufacturers have used a grey zone that controls the labeling of where products are manufactured.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) documents have some terms that you might find interesting:

1. Made in the USA2. All or virtually All3. Assembled in the USAHere is my view on what these terms

mean. 1. Made in the USA. To carry a

“Made In USA” label, the product must be “all or virtually all” made in the U.S. The term “United States,” as referred to in the Enforcement Policy Statement, includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories and possessions.

2. All or Virtually All is where the devil LIES in the details. This means all “signifi-cant” parts and processing that go into the product must be of U.S. origin. That is, the product should contain no or negligible foreign content. “Or Negligible” hmmmm!

3. Assembled in the USA works like this: A product that includes foreign compo-nents may be called “Assembled in USA” without qualification when its principal assembly takes place in the U.S. and the assembly is substantial. For the “assembly” claim to be valid, the product’s last “sub-stantial transformation” also should have



occurred in the U.S. Can you see how ambiguous it reads? Foreign manufacturers hire legal minds to navigate these regula-tions to their benefit, which is usually not in the consumers favor. If you are concerned about “Made in America” or the lack thereof, please remember these terms and how they are defined by the FTC as you purchase products.

So just where am I headed with this article? First, we have given/lost jobs to foreign manufacturers without counting the cost. Second, the quality of our sporting products, like fishing gear and hunting gear, have suffered and guess who’s paying the price, American sportsmen. Third, a nation that does not produce will, in the long run, lose jobs for its citizens, and its citizens will most likely find that the quality of their jobs and their standard of living will deteriorate in comparison to nations that do produce well. Manufacturing matters, because it is a significant component of a healthy economy.

Made in the USA may cost more at the register but it just might be cheaper in the long run when you total the time and money it takes to return that cheaper version because it doesn’t work as advertised. Is foreign manufacturing the Antichrist? No, but we as anglers and hunters have a right to quality products and should flex our vocal chords to improve that quality.

Have a Made in America Merry Christ-mas!

• • •Copano Bay – Mission Bay is a good

spot for some silent wade fishing. On low tide the reds school up in the deeper pockets and can be a captured audience for those willing to brave the cold water. Jerk Shad in new penny colors or on darker cold front days DOA Shrimp in glow is the ticket. Stealth wades casting into the deeper pockets and slow, slow, slow retrieves will produce keeper reds. The deep water reefs close to FM 136 bridge are good for trout using free lined live shrimp. A shallow draft boat is best to navigate this area in the win-ter months. Bass Assassins in electric grape and glow / pink work well here.

St CharleS Bay – Slow drifts across Egg Point are good for reds using red/bone colored Super Spooks. For those that are patient, some big trout frequent the north-west shoreline close to twin creeks. This is

wade country and Bass Assassins in electric grape and glow / pink work well here. Move slow and cast often suspending the lure just above the bottom with frequent hops on the mud and shell.

aranSaS Bay – Halfmoon Reef is a good place for trout and some keeper reds. Live shrimp on a free line works well as well as cut mullet on a light Carolina rig. Blackjack Point is the place for some cold water wade fishing. Anchor away from the shoreline and salt grass and wade into the shallow water casting into the grass lines. Berkley Gulp crabs work well here as well as Silver and Blue Super Spooks.

CarloS Bay – Think deep water here and focus on areas that hold 6 or more feet of water as that offers fish protection from the colder, shallower water. Rattle Traps work well here in a moving current letting the deep runners work the shell reef edges. On high tide drifts across Carols Lake using Bass Assassins in electric chanteuse on a 1/8 ounce jig head.

MeSquite Bay – Belden Dugout is good for reds using cut mullet or menhaden on a light Carolina rig. Get the wind at your back, cast into the deeper water and be patient for the bite as it can take a while.

The cut at the end of Roddy Island is good for trout and reds using finger mullet or as fresh as you can get cut mullet. Using a heavy Carolina rig, throw from the cut into the edge of the ICW. The current here is swift and will move the bait along the bot-tom. A light weight Carolina rig using live shrimp is the ticket for trout. Target the deep water with your casts.

ayerS Bay – Catch some reds on the north side shell on high tide using cut men-haden on a fish finder rig. Find school trout on Mid Bay Reef using live shrimp under a silent cork.

live oak point is a good but long wade using new penny Jerk shads and gold / red highlighted spoons. The best approach is wading 50 to 75 yards off the bank and casting 360 degrees on a slow wade. Live shrimp work well here but the bigger trout and reds come on artificial.

Contact Capt. Mac Gable at Mac Attack Guide Service,

512-809-2681, 361-790-9601


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www.huffmarine1955.com

Different Ways to Beat a Drum

Plenty of anglers Don’t just con-sider December a time for bragging-sized trout on Lower Laguna Madre. Granted, there are quite a few out

there who are on the hunt for Ol’ Mustard-mouth, but plenty of rank and file anglers shift their focus from spots to whiskers. The color of favor for these fishermen isn’t the yellow of a big trout’s mouth, but the silver and black of a black drum.

Lower Laguna Madre from Brazos San-tiago to Port Mansfield is loaded with black drum that are grubbing around flats and thumping along in channels and are rela-tively available to anglers who don’t want to spend hours casting Corkies and Catch 5’s waiting for that single mouse-tap that could be a wall-hanging trout. These anglers are usually looking for steady action and some fillets for the table and the black drum is an accommodating sort of critter.

Shorebound anglers can get access to some decent fishing for drum along both the South and North Jetties that bracket Brazos Santiago Pass on the southernmost end of South Padre Island. The deep water chan-nel is a major thoroughfare for various sizes of drum. A calm day and an incoming tide are ideal conditions for the December angler to have a shot of latching into the noisy cous-ins of the redfish. Most of these fish are in the upper end of the 14 to 30-inch slot, and many are beasts that can push north of 40 inches (a neat little fact about black drum is that after they surpass 26 inches or so, you can figure their weight at about a pound an inch. These brutes can be a real handful to land, even on some of the heavier surf cast-ing combos and 20 pound line that many rock hoppers use this time of year.

Whether you are using a coffee-grinder

spinning reel, Penn 309, or lighter tackle, the best bet is to not try and burn a cast to the middle of the channel, but actually fish-ing closer to the rocks. The deep holes that are formed by currents and eddies create slackwater that drum aggregate in to feed or stay out of the current. Most anglers like pinning fresh dead shrimp or crab chunks on a dropper rig with the sinker at the bot-tom and one or two hooks hanging about the sinker. The problem is that the sinker is prone to snagging up in the crevices and crags of rock outcroppings. A better rig is a slip-sinker rig using a sliding leger com-posed of a doubled length of line looped over the main line above a red bead and swivel and several 2 or 3 split shot pinched onto it. If the split shot get snagged in the rocks, they will pull off the loop with a little steady pressure and you can reel in and re-rig. The same fresh shrimp or crab chunks on a 3/0 or 4/0 Khale hook will suffice.

Fishermen who are looking for a mess of eating-sized drum should look further inshore to South Bay. The boat channels that allow egress in and out of the shal-low bay are also drum magnets. Look to points and where two channels intersect as potential spots to fish, especially during an outgoing tide. Again, fresh shrimp and live shrimp are great choices for bait. Use a free line rig with a split shot to take the bait down into the deep water.

Another excellent choice for feeding black drum is a 3-inch Gulp! Shrimp on the same rig or on a 3/8 ounce football head jig (such as the ones bass fishermen use on plastics). If you use the jig/Gulp! Combo, hop it along the bottom. The shape of the head allows the tail to stand straight up, which will get a drum’s attention. Good

colors are Glow and Pearl. The rig is easy to use, and the use of artificial tails mitigates the difficulty in finding shrimp, which can be a bit problematic.

Further north is the Texaco channel, which is located just off of Holly Beach. This is a little-known, but productive, drum spot. On warm days, pods of drum will spread out over the flats that are on either side of the channel to forage and get a little sun and warmth. If you watch, you will spot the mud boils and disturbed water pushed by feeding drum. Use the same football jig, but you can choose between the Gulp! or a headed shrimp threaded onto the hook. When hooked on trout tackle in this man-ner, even a 4 pound drum can prove to be a challenge. They tear off into long, line peeling runs and will give you a dogged fight similar to a redfish.

On cloudier, cooler days, fish in the deeper part of the channel itself. You can use the same jighead setup, or you can actually fish with a popping cork setup, especially if you are using live shrimp. Set the line below the cork a little deeper to take into account the 4 foot depths of the chan-nel. If the drum are there, it won’t take long to dial them in.

These black drum may not be as glamor-ous as a monster trout, but they are earnest fighters, and a good day cold means a box full of the delicious noise-makers. It isn’t a bad way to spend a December day.

Hot sPot: North JettiessPecies: Black Drum, pompano.tiPs: Use fresh shrimp on the surf side

on an incoming tide, the channel on an outgoing.

Contact Calixto Gonzales [email protected]


The bank biTe




LOCATION: East GalvestonHOTSPOT: Anahuac Wildlife RefugeGPS: N29 34.04904, W94 33.39474

(29.567484, -94.556579)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Top Dogs, Corkys,CONTACT: Capt. George Knighten832-310-9146www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.netTIPS: Great wade-fishing spot for large

trout. Protected from the north winds you get this time of year. topwaters or slow sink-ers like the Corky will work well.

LOCATION: East GalvestonHOTSPOT: BlacksGPS: N29 31.15254, W94 31.67982

(29.519209, -94.527997)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Top Dogs, Corkys,CONTACT: Capt. George Knighten832-310-9146www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.netTIPS: This is another good wade-fishing

spot for this time of year. Slow sinkers like the Corky or work soft plastic lures like Mirro-lures Provoker or Bass Assassins.

LOCATION: East GalvestonHOTSPOT: BlacksGPS: N29 31.15254, W94 31.67982

(29.519209, -94.527997)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Top Dogs, Corkys,CONTACT: Capt. George Knighten832-310-9146

www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.netTIPS: This is another good wade-fishing

spot for this time of year. Slow sinkers like the Corky or work soft plastic lures like Mirro-lures Provoker or Bass Assassins.

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Chinquapin ReefsGPS: N28 44.38182, W95 47.83134

(28.739697, -95.797189)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Norton sand eels, soft plas-

ticCONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz, 281-450-4037TIPS: Wade or drift the shell islands and

humps. Corkys can be very good also soft plastic.

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: East TripodGPS: N28 40.48644, W95 55.7922

(28.674774, -95.929870)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: live shrimp, soft plasticsCONTACT: Capt. Mike Kubecka

979)240-9490 ReelRushChartes.comTIPS: Fish under corks with soft plastics

or live shrimp. Fish slicks and make long drifts.

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: West TripodGPS: N28 40.48644, W95 55.7922

(28.674774, -95.929870)SPECIES: speckled trout

BEST BAITS: live shrimp, soft plasticsCONTACT: Capt. Mike Kubecka

979)240-9490 ReelRushChartes.comTIPS: Fish under corks with soft plastics

or live shrimp. Fish slicks and make long drifts.(Correct)

LOCATION: East Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Live Oak ReefsGPS: N28 44.63964, W95 45.6753

(28.743994, -95.761255)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Popping corks with shrimp

tails or shrimp gulps; Rapala Broken BackCONTACT: Capt. Mike Kubecka

979)240-9490 ReelRushCharters.comTIPS: Wade or drift reefs. Corks work

good soft plastics.

LOCATION: Trinity BayHOTSPOT: Jacks PocketGPS: N29 45.37974, W94 46.71216

(29.756329, -94.778536)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Top dogs, Bass Assassins,

mirro-lure Provoker, live shrimp under a cork

CONTACT: Capt. George Knighten832-310-9146www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.netTIPS: Great bird action in this area. Also

wade the shorelines for large trout. topwa-ters work well this time of year.

LOCATION: Trinity BayHOTSPOT: C Lease WellsGPS: N29 42.20022, W94 46.81776

(29.703337, -94.780296)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Soft plastic lures like mirro-

lures provoker or Bass AssassinsCONTACT: Capt. George Knighten832-310-9146www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.netTIPS: Work the shell pads at the base of

the rigs. Work the entire water column, they may be suspended or on the bottom.

East Bay Specks on the Wild Side

UPPeR GULF COaST

by GeORGe [email protected]

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 specific to your GPS device.



http://www.GalvestonBayGuideservice.net






LOCATION: West Galveston BayHOTSPOT: Greens LakeGPS: N29 16.1349, W95 0.01158

(29.268915, -95.000193)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS:, Provokers, or live shrimp

under a corkCONTACT: Capt. Thomas Barlow,[email protected]: Work the grass along the shore-

lines, watch for mullet and bait activity. The birds will also be working the lake this time of year.

LOCATION: West Galveston BayHOTSPOT: Greens CutGPS: N29 15.82272, W94 58.86066

(29.263712, -94.981011)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Bass Assassins, live shrimp,

mirro-lure provokerCONTACT: Capt. Greg [email protected]: Drift the area out in front of

Greens using soft plastic. Slow down your retrieve and use lighter leadheads. Also look for muddy streaks that will hold bait and in turn game fish.

LOCATION: West Galveston BayHOTSPOT: Chocolate BayGPS: N29 10.74402, W95 8.5218

(29.179067, -95.142030)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS:, live shrimpCONTACT: Capt. Greg [email protected]: Watch for bird action, also drift-

ing around the shell humps can be very productive.

LOCATION: West Matagorda BayHOTSPOT: Diversion ChannelGPS: N28 39.46524, W95 58.9851

(28.657754, -95.983085)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Popping corks with live

shrimp, shrimp tails or gulpsCONTACT: 979)240-9490TIPS: Fish ledges and drop-offs. Corks

work good and soft plastics.

LOCATION: RockportHOTSPOT: Ransome 1GPS: N27 52.60104, W97 8.6661

(27.876684, -97.144435)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: Cut mullet and dead shrimpCONTACT: Charles Newton 361-729-

8220TIPS: Cut mullet is wonderful in this area

and also shrimp is wonderful also.

LOCATION: Corpus Christi BayHOTSPOT: Packery ChannelGPS: N27 37.48602, W97 12.88302

(27.624767, -97.214717)SPECIES: flounderBEST BAITS: Mud minnowsCONTACT: Capt. Bill Sheka, 361-991-

7191TIPS: Key on small side channels.

LOCATION: Corpus Christi BayHOTSPOT: Intracoastal WaterwayGPS: N27 41.388, W97 13.73298

(27.689800, -97.228883)SPECIES: flounderBEST BAITS: Mud MinnowsCONTACT: Capt. Bill Sheka, 361-991-

7191TIPS: Key on deep drop-offs.

LOCATION: Corpus Christi BayHOTSPOT: JFK CausewayGPS: N27 38.07102, W97 14.46102

(27.634517, -97.241017)SPECIES: flounderBEST BAITS: Mud minnowsCONTACT: Capt. Bill Sheka, 361-991-

7191TIPS: Pre-front fishing can be excellent,

or 2-3 days after frontal passage.

LOCATION: RockportHOTSPOT: Bubba’s HoleGPS: N27 55.97562, W97 6.04992

(27.932927, -97.100832)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: Stanley Wedgetail Mul-

let 5” Thumpin White Diamond or Gold Spoon

CONTACT: Capt. Charles Newton 361 729-8220

TIPS: Great place to wade-fish; you can catch several species of fish, redfish, trout and flounder all hang out here.

LOCATION: RockportHOTSPOT: In Front of City by the SeaGPS: N27 57.02436, W97 5.92902

(27.950406, -97.098817)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: Cut pieces of larger mulletCONTACT: Capt. Charles Newton 361

729-8220TIPS: Cast your bait into the white

sandy areas and let it lay, don’t move the bait or it will drag it into the weeds.

LOCATION: RockportHOTSPOT: The HumpsGPS: N27 56.59212, W97 6.17106

(27.943202, -97.102851)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: Cut pieces of larger mulletCONTACT: Capt. Charles Newton 361

729-8220TIPS: Cast sandy areas and let it lay.

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Steamboat Pass ReefsGPS: N28 18.91998, W96 37.23996

(28.315333, -96.620666)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Plum/chartreuse tails under

a popping corkCONTACT: Capt. Chris Martin, 361-

785-2686TIPS: Key on stained water over deep

shell pads.

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Chain ReefsGPS: N28 10.77996, W96 49.08

Rockport Reds Demand Ransome

miDDLe GULF COaST

by GeORGe [email protected]







(28.179666, -96.818000)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: Bone or Baby Trout Little

Dummy topwater luresCONTACT: Capt. Chris Martin, 361-

785-2686TIPS: wade-fishing; look for flipping

mullet or exploding bait near crown of reef.

LOCATION: San Antonio BayHOTSPOT: Long LakeGPS: N28 16.76994, W96 36.68994

(28.279499, -96.611499)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Texas Red Killers in

Roach/chartreuse under a popping corkCONTACT: Capt. Chris Martin, 361-

785-2686TIPS: Wade leeward grass shorelines on

windy days for trout.

LOCATION: Arroyo ColoradoHOTSPOT: The SaucerGPS: N26 28.149, W97 23.874

(26.469150, -97.397900)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: live shrimp; live bait, topwa-

ters, soft plastics in red/white, New Penny, Rootbeer; Gold spoons

CONTACT: Captain Cesar Anguiano, 956-456-1363

TIPS: Redfish will be pushing bulges of water in front of them as they cruise around and scaring up small fish and crabs. Watch for disturbed water. You can sight fish on sunnier days.

LOCATION: Baffin BayHOTSPOT: Alazan BayGPS: N27 18.46698, W97 31.03002

(27.307783, -97.517167)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Soft plastics in strawberry/

black back plum/chartreuse, rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/char-treuse

CONTACT: Captain Mike Hart, 361-449-7441

TIPS: Fish the 3-5” drop with suspending lures. On milder days, trout will be cruising the shallower water. You can spot some big fish in pairs and singles holding over mud bottoms, which retain heat better. Fish slowly and carefully

LOCATION: Baffin BayHOTSPOT: Penescal PointGPS: N27 15.672, W97 25.29

(27.261200, -97.421500)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: live croaker; Soft plastics

in strawberry/black back plum/chartreuse, rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pump-kinseed/chartreuse


TIPS: Live croaker is the ticket on hot still days. If there is a little wind to make the trout active, try using a soft plastic on a 1/8-ounce Rockport Rattler. Trout like the noise and accommodate with hard strikes. Fish deeper water.

LOCATION: Baffin BayHOTSPOT: The MeadowsGPS: N27 17.83002, W97 23.43

(27.297167, -97.390500)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: live croaker; Soft plastics

in strawberry/black back plum/chartreuse, rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pump-kinseed/chartreuse


TIPS: Fish live bait near the grasslines. If you are drifting the length of the flats, then you may try swimming a soft plastic along the boundary between the grass and sand pockets.

LOCATION: Baffin BayHOTSPOT: Penescal PointGPS: N27 16.908, W97 32.604


black back plum/chartreuse, rootbeer/red flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/char-treuse


TIPS: Suspending lures such as a Catch 5 or a Catch 200-Series III should be work

slower than slow, and then slower than that. Eel-imitating soft plastics on a 1/16th-ounce jighead is also effective.

LOCATION: Baffin BayHOTSPOT: Starvation PointGPS: N27 16.908, W97 32.604


black back plum/chartreuse, rootbeer/red

Baffin Specks Near Starvation

LOWeR GULF COaST

by CaLixTO [email protected]



www.palmerpower.com


flake, Morning Glory, Pumpkinseed/char-treuse


TIPS: Suspending lures such as a Catch 5 or a Catch 200-Series III should be work slower than slow, and then slower than that. Eel-imitating soft plastics on a 1/16th-ounce jighead is also effective.

LOCATION: Brazos-Santiago PassHOTSPOT: North JettiesGPS: N26 4.04178, W97 9.20772

(26.067363, -97.153462)SPECIES: black drumBEST BAITS: live or fresh shrimp; cracked

crab, sea liceCONTACT: Quick Stop, 956-943-1159TIPS: Fish the deeper holes on the chan-

nel side of the jetties with fresh bait on the bottom for the big uglies that hang out around them. A solid rod, 20-pound line, some Lindy No-Snag sinkers, and strong 3/0 hooks are the trick.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Gaswell FlatsGPS: N26 16.30902, W97 16.22202

(26.271817, -97.270367)SPECIES: redfishBEST BAITS: live bait, cut bait; Logic

Lures in mullet, Tequila Gold, gold spoons/red teasers

CONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez, 956-551-9581

TIPS: Flutter a gold spoon past one of these redfish or trout, and you will be

amazed at how swiftly a seemingly lethargic fish will drill it. If you want to fish more slowly, use a cork/tail combo.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Bird IslandGPS: N26 16.47, W97 16.5

(26.274500, -97.275000)SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: live shrimp; Gulp! shrimp;

soft plastics in Fire Tiger, Morning GloryCONTACT: Captain Cesar Anguiano,

956-456-1363TIPS: Let the wind dictate which side of

the island to drift. If there is a North wind, fish between the eastern tip and Padre Island and drift towards the shallows. If you can get a southeast wind, work between the island and the ICW

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Dunkin SpoilsGPS: N26 20.17002, W97 17.27298

(26.336167, -97.287883)SPECIES: flounderBEST BAITS: live bait, bottom bouncing

jigs in glow, Smoke, Pearl, red/whiteCONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez,

956-551-9581TIPS: Free-line a shrimp or a live finger

mullet along the drop-offs of the channel. If the tide is ripping out, fish the outer eddies and add a splitshot. Flounder will be lurk-ing along the dropoff. Bounce a 3/8-ounce jighead along the edges.

LOCATION: Lower Laguna MadreHOTSPOT: Three IslandsGPS: N26 16.64298, W97 15.102

(26.277383, -97.251700)SPECIES: black drumBEST BAITS: live shrimp, fresh shrimp,

Gulp! shrimpCONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez,

956-551-9581TIPS: Watch for both pods of fish and

mud boils and sharpshoot around them as well. Live shrimp or fresh dead shrimp under a popping cork work. Try fishing fresh bait or on a 1/4-ounce jighead.

LOCATION: Port MansfieldHOTSPOT: Land Cut

GPS: N26 48.52506, W97 28.11858 (26.808751, -97.468643)

SPECIES: speckled troutBEST BAITS: Topwaters, Catch 5”s in

Smoke, pinfish patterns; Soft plastics in red/white, Bone-chartreuse, gold or chrome spoons

CONTACT: Captain Danny Neu, 979-942-0165

TIPS: Watch for nervous bait along the shoreline of spoil banks. Use a small topwater such as a Spook, Jr. Spoons are good search baits if fish aren’t popping the surface.

LOCATION: South Padre IslandHOTSPOT: Causeway FlatsGPS: N26 4.96998, W97 12.06

(26.082833, -97.201000)SPECIES: black drumBEST BAITS: live shrimp, fresh shrimp,

crab chunksCONTACT: Captain Jimmy Martinez,

956-551-9581TIPS: this broad flat can be reached by

anglers fishing Pirate’s Landing Fishing Pier. Fish the edges of the Intra-coastal Waterway with either live shrimp, or fresh crab, shrimp, or sea lice on a dropper or Carolina Rig works.

LOCATION: Fayette CountyHOTSPOT: Discharge PondGPS: N29 55.632, W96 45.054

(29.927200, -96.750900)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: Punch bait, wormsCONTACT: Weldon Kirk, weldon_edna@

hotmail.com, 979-229-3103, FishTales-GuideService.com

TIPS: The pond offers deep water close to the bank. The fish feed there this time of

Fayette Cats Favor the Pond

PRaiRieS & LaKeS

by BOB [email protected]



www.texastackle.com


the year. Look for them shallow at night and then around 10 feet during the day. Rocks and a sandy bottom pull feeding fish into the area. Move left and right of rocks.

LOCATION: AquillaHOTSPOT: Deep HumpsGPS: N31 54.25848, W97 11.9526

(31.904308, -97.199210)SPECIES: white bassBEST BAITS: SlabsCONTACT: Randy Routh, teamred-

[email protected], 817-822-5539, teamredneck.net

TIPS: Use chartreuse slabs and watch your graph as you cross over the humps. White bass should be along the edges. Watch for occasional birds diving down to pick up injured baitfish. A pair of binoculars will help locate schools of fish under the birds.

LOCATION: CooperHOTSPOT: Main Lake BrushpilesGPS: N33 19.76904, W95 40.68018

(33.329484, -95.678003)SPECIES: crappieBEST BAITS: Crappie jigsCONTACT: Tony Parker, tawakonifish-

[email protected],903-348-1619, tawakoni-fishing.com

TIPS: Look for brush piles and deep humps with stumps. Fish black-chartreuse jigs vertically. Many lake maps show the locations of the brush piles.

LOCATION: LavonHOTSPOT: Face of the DamGPS: N33 2.07828, W96 27.99558

(33.034638, -96.466593)SPECIES: crappieBEST BAITS: live minnowsCONTACT: Billy Kilpatrick, straight-

[email protected], 214-232-7847, straightlineguide.com

TIPS: December is a tough time to catch fish here. The fish will be suspended off the face of the dam and may be to feet off the bottom or 10 feet deep. Use several rods at different depths or slow troll to locate them. Also try the power plant discharge.

LOCATION: PalestineHOTSPOT: Saline CreekGPS: N32 10.30536, W95 26.72616

(32.171756, -95.445436)SPECIES: largemouth bass

BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, Shimmy Shakers

CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, [email protected], 903-561-7299, rickysguideservice.com

TIPS: Cast spinnerbaits and Shimmy Shakers around the weed beds and stick-ups in three to six feet of water, especially around the boat docks. Blue-chartreuse is a good color to use. Also occasionally try small crankbaits.

LOCATION: PalestineHOTSPOT: Henderson PointGPS: N32 3.71034, W95 26.40678

(32.061839, -95.440113)SPECIES: white bassBEST BAITS: Spoons, Rat-L-Traps,

swimbaitsCONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, ricky@

rickysguideservice.com, 903-561-7299, rickysguideservice.com

TIPS: Fish this point as well as other main lake points early and late for the best white bass action. Use chrome, chartreuse or shad-colored lures, fishing shallow early and then moving out to deeper water off the points on the brighter days.

LOCATION: PalestineHOTSPOT: Hwy.155 Bridge BrushpilesGPS: N32 8.80566, W95 28.3278

(32.146761, -95.472130)SPECIES: crappieBEST BAITS: Small minnnows, jigsCONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff, ricky@

rickysguideservice.com, 903-561-7299, rickysguideservice.com

TIPS: Live minnows usually work the best at this time of the year with the water temperatures much colder. Search for the brushpiles next to the bridge pilings in 20-24 feet of water and dead stick the min-nows for the best results.

LOCATION: SomervilleHOTSPOT: Rocky Creek RoadbedGPS: N30 18.522, W96 33.39

(30.308700, -96.556500)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: Shad, worms, stinkbait,

chicken liversCONTACT: Weldon Kirk, weldon_edna@

hotmail.com, 979-229-3103, FishTales-Guide Service.com

TIPS: Use a Carolina rig, 3/4-ounce egg sinker, 1-0 Kahle hook with shad, or a No.

4 treble hook with other baits. Fish a tight line. Fish the northeast side of the buoy marker here with two rods. Fish stack up here after shad at 15-18 feet.

LOCATION: TawakoniHOTSPOT: Cedar Cove HumpGPS: N32 51.22398, W95 55.06998

(32.853733, -95.917833)SPECIES: white bassBEST BAITS: Slabs, Sassy Shads, FlukesCONTACT: Michael Littlejohn, michael-

[email protected], tawakoniguideser-vice.com

TIPS: Rig Flukes with 3/4-ounce jig-heads, all chartreuse. Approach the hump slowly with your trolling motor and scan with your sonar. This is a very small hump,

LOCATION: TawakoniHOTSPOT: Two RiversGPS: N32 53.97198, W95 58.89696

(32.899533, -95.981616)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: Cut shad, buffalo, drumCONTACT: Michael Littlejohn, 903-441-

3937, [email protected], tawa-koniguideservice.com

TIPS: The colder the water the better, especially on windy days for blue catfish. Fish on anchor with several rods.

LOCATION: TawakoniHOTSPOT: Open WatersGPS: N32 50.4132, W95 56.08572

(32.840220, -95.934762)SPECIES: hybrid striperBEST BAITS: Flukes, Bass AssinsCONTACT: Tony Parker, tawakonifish-

[email protected], 903-348-1619, tawakoni-fishing.com

TIPS: Cruise the open waters and look for big schools of fish on your sonar or by locating feeding birds. Once over a school drop your lure into them and dead-stick the lure while waiting for a hard thump.

LOCATION: TawakoniHOTSPOT: Two RiversGPS: N32 53.97198, W95 58.89696

(32.899533, -95.981616)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: Cut shad, buffalo, drumCONTACT: Michael Littlejohn, 903-441-

3937, [email protected], tawa-koniguideservice.com

TIPS: The colder the water the better,















especially on windy days for blue catfish. Fish on anchor with several rods.

LOCATION: TexomaHOTSPOT: Soldier’s Creek AreaGPS: N33 54.69066, W96 40.46382

(33.911511, -96.674397)SPECIES: striperBEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs, SlabsCONTACT: Bill Carey, bigfish@striperex-

press.com, 877-786-4477, striperexpress.com

TIPS: Look for stripers moving along the river channel in search of shad. Jig chartreuse lures just off the bottom on the edge of the channel. Windy days provide the best action.

LOCATION: Tyler WestHOTSPOT: Boat DocksGPS: N32 13.97892, W95 9.78348

(32.232982, -95.163058)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Chatter Baits, Carolina-

rigged plastic wormsCONTACT: Sonny Kopech, 903-592-

8221, [email protected]: As the water temperatures con-

tinue to fall, the bass will be around the boat docks early and then as the sun gets up will move out to 10-15 feet off the main lake points where they can be caught best on Carolina-rigged soft plastic lures.

LOCATION: WhitneyHOTSPOT: Nolan RiverGPS: N32 5.21904, W97 28.08774

(32.086984, -97.468129)SPECIES: striperBEST BAITS: Bass AssassinsCONTACT: Randy Routh, teamredneck@

hotmail.com, 817-822-5539, teamredneck.net

TIPS: Stripers and white bass have start-ed their winter migration up the Brazos River. The coldest days are best. Fish into the current and drop your lures to the bot-tom, lifting them slowly. Fish very slowly.

LOCATION: Richland ChambersHOTSPOT: Windsock PointGPS: N31 56.42784, W96 7.1991

(31.940464, -96.119985)

SPECIES: white bassBEST BAITS: Silver Glitter RSR Shad

Slabs, blue-chrome Rat-L-TrapsCONTACT: Royce and Adam Simmons,

[email protected], 903-389-4117, www.gonefishing.biz

TIPS: The fish will relate to the deeper sides (30-35 feet) of the point. Most fish will be in that area but you may find some out as deep as 50 feet. Jig the Slabs off the bottom unless you find suspended fish on your sonar. Set your drag lightly.

LOCATION: ConroeHOTSPOT: Main LakeGPS: N30 22.79892, W95 35.40384

(30.379982, -95.590064)SPECIES: hybrid striperBEST BAITS: Storm Swim Shads, live

shadCONTACT: Richard Tatsch, admin@

fishdudetx.com, 936-291-1277, fishdudetx.com

TIPS: Hybrids are schooling around ledges near the river channel. Find the shad and you will find hybrids, often at 30-40 feet. Low water levels demand caution.

LOCATION: CaddoHOTSPOT: Big Cypress ChannelGPS: N32 42.48204, W94 7.03602

(32.708034, -94.117267)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Flukes, Senkos, Swim jigsCONTACT: Paul Keith, caddoguide1@

att.net, 318-455-3437, caddolakefishing.com

TIPS: Concentrate on the lotus pads and hydrilla beds in this area. Work Texas-rigged soft plastic lures around the pad stems and in the openings of the beds of hydrilla.

LOCATION: CaddoHOTSPOT: Big Cypress ChannelGPS: N32 42.48204, W94 7.03602

(32.708034, -94.117267)SPECIES: crappieBEST BAITS: Tube jigsCONTACT: Paul Keith, caddoguide1@

att.net, 318-455-3437, caddolakefishing.com

TIPS: Use long poles and light line to drop the tube jigs into the openings and along the outside edges of the hydrilla and amid the lotus pads. Fish the tube jigs very slowly and expect very light bites. A slip cork also may assist in detecting strikes.

LOCATION: LivingstonHOTSPOT: Deep Water AreaGPS: N30 45.38646, W95 6

(30.756441, -95.100000)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: Fresh dead shad, live perchCONTACT: David S. Cox, dave@palmet-

toguideservice.com, 936-291-9602, palmet-toguideservice.com

TIPS: Use a Carolina rig and fish the shad or perch off the bottom along the drop-offs of the old river channel or along the edges of the old highway road, especially near the old bridge. Bank access is available at Governor’s Point.

LOCATION: Lake O the PinesHOTSPOT: Alley CreekGPS: N32 47.89698, W94 35.03238

(32.798283, -94.583873)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: crankbaits, soft plasticsCONTACT: Sonny Kopech, 903-592-

8221, [email protected]: The cold water temperatures have

put the fish on the main-lake points and around rockpiles such as those at the mouth of Alley Creek and Johnson Creek to the south. Fish soft plastics on a small Carolina rig, targeting the rocks and bridge ripraps.

LOCATION: Toledo BendHOTSPOT: McDonald Bayou SandbarGPS: N31 45.822, W93 48.99996

(31.763700, -93.816666)SPECIES: white bass

Conroe Hybrids Cruise the Main

PiNeY WOODS








http://www.gonefishing.biz







BEST BAITS: Slabs, tail spinners, Rat-L-Traps, medium-diving crankbaits

CONTACT: Greg Crafts, [email protected], 936-368-7151, toledobend-guide.com

TIPS: The white bass are moving up the lake and holding on the north end channels and sand bars before heading further up to spawn. Expect less boat traffic and fast action with fish up to three-pounds.

LOCATION: Possum KingdomHOTSPOT: Upper Lake RegionGPS: N32 56.77842, W98 25.58016

(32.946307, -98.426336)SPECIES: striperBEST BAITS: Slabs, spoonsCONTACT: Dean Heffner, fav7734@

aceweb.com, 940-329-0036TIPS: Concentrate on the areas along the

river channel from Costello Island north to Bird Island and even into Rock Creek. Live shad is best but difficult to get this time of the year. Use a 3/8-ounce slab with a 1/8-ounce curly tail grub around stumps.

LOCATION: AmistadHOTSPOT: Rough CanyonGPS: N29 36.31098, W100 58.377

(29.605183, -100.972950)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Plastic worms, lizardsCONTACT: Stan Gerzsenyl, stan@amis-

tadbass.com, 830-768-3648, amistadbass.com

TIPS: Use a Carolina rig and work the rocky ledges and points at 15-25 feet all the way to the backs of the fingers of each cut. Fish the lures slowly and expect light strikes.

LOCATION: Canyon LakeHOTSPOT: Potter’s CreekGPS: N29 54.23256, W98 14.58

(29.903876, -98.243000)SPECIES: striperBEST BAITS: Jigging spoonsCONTACT: Steve Nixon, steve@sananto-

niofishingguides.com, 210-573-1230, san-antoniofishingguides.com

TIPS: Look for striped bass and white bass close to the river channel. They will be suspending over the channel and feeding on the flats east of Potteries Creek Point. Use your electronics to find the fish and vertically jig 20-35 feet off the bottom.

LOCATION: Canyon LakeHOTSPOT: North ParkGPS: N29 52.41894, W98 11.994

(29.873649, -98.199900)SPECIES: smallmouth bassBEST BAITS: Small crankbaits, Bass Kan-

die, Picasso spider rigsCONTACT: Kandie Candelaria, kandie@

gvtc.com, 210-823-2153TIPS: Fish the flats near the breaklines at

two to ten feet. Also fish the bluffs inside the secondary points with drop-shots. There are lots of smallmouths in this area.

LOCATION: GrangerHOTSPOT: South ShorelineGPS: N30 41.06082, W97 21.2691

(30.684347, -97.354485)SPECIES: catfishBEST BAITS: live perch, shad or cut shadCONTACT: Tommy Tidwell, crappie1@

hotmail.com, 512-365-7761, www.gotcrap-pie.com

TIPS: The cold weather increases the blue catfish bite. Jug lines are the best way

to catch bluecats 10-20-pounds. Try various depths along the windy shores with perch, shad or cut bait along the south shoreline.

LOCATION: Falcon LakeHOTSPOT: FM 3074 RoadbedGPS: N26 51.81414, W99 16.80036

(26.863569, -99.280006)SPECIES: largemouth bassBEST BAITS: Plastic worms, spinnerbaits,

buzzbaits, topwatersCONTACT: Robert Amaya, robertsf-

[email protected], 956-765-1442, robertsfishntackle.com

TIPS: The bass are in deep water but soon will be moving to the shallower creeks and coves. Use deep-diving crankbaits, jigs and plastic worms and fish them off the drop-offs or edges of the road bed close to deeper water. dark colors will work best.

Hit the Road for Falcon Bass

SOUTh TexaS PLaiNS


Spoon Feed Canyon Stripers

hiLL COUNTRY


Rough It for Amistad Bass

BiG BeND


Stripers Move Up on P. Kingdom

PaNhaNDLe


Find Thousands of Texas Fish-ing Hotspots with our HOTSPOT FINDER app:www.FishGame.com/hotspots










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Tides and Prime Times DECEMBER 2012

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 influence 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 influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce 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

T8

T9T10

T11T12

T13

T14T15T16

T17

T18

T19

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

KEYS TO USING THE TIDE AND SOLUNAR GRAPHS

12a12a 6a 12p 6p

12a12a 6a 12p 6p

AM Minor: 1:20a

AM Major: 7:32a

PM Minor: 1:45p

PM Major: 7:57p

Moon Underfoot: 9:15p

Moon Overhead: 8:50aTime Moonis at its highest Point in the Sky

SOLUNaR aCTiViTY:

Time Moon is DirectlyUnderfoot (atits peak on opposite sideof the earth)

AM/PM Timeline

MAJORFeedingPeriods(+/- 2 hrs.)

MINORFeedingPeriods(+/- 1.5 hrs.)

TiDe GRaPh:

BeST:5:30 — 7:30 AM

Yellow: Daylight

Light Blue:Nighttime

AM/PMTimeline

Blue:Rising Tide

Gold Fish:Best Time

Blue Fish:Good Time

Red Graph:Fishing Score

Green: Falling Tide

Tab: PeakFishing Period


www.fishingtackleunlimited.com



Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

GoodScore

= Peak FishingPeriod

BeST:7:45-9:40 AM

= FALLING TIDE= RISING TIDE= DAYLIGHT HOURS= NIGHTTIME HOURS

26

High Tide: 12:43 am 1.28 ft.Low Tide: 8:33 am -0.05 ft.High Tide: 4:35 pm 1.45 ft.Low Tide: 9:53 pm 1.24 ft.

«27


«28


¡ 29


«30


«Dec 1

High Tide: 1:52 am 1.31 ft.Low Tide: 11:16 am -0.11 ft.High Tide: 7:54 pm 1.40 ft.

2

Low Tide: 12:11 am 1.26 ft.High Tide: 1:56 am 1.27 ft.Low Tide: 11:51 am -0.05 ft.High Tide: 8:32 pm 1.38 ft.

AM Minor: 2:51a

AM Major: 9:03a

PM Minor: 3:14p

PM Major: 9:26p

AM Minor: 3:35a

AM Major: 9:47a

PM Minor: 3:59p

PM Major: 10:10p

AM Minor: 4:21a

AM Major: 10:33a

PM Minor: 4:45p

PM Major: 10:57p

AM Minor: 5:10a

AM Major: ——-

PM Minor: 5:35p

PM Major: 11:22a

AM Minor: 6:01a

AM Major: 11:49a

PM Minor: 6:25p

PM Major: 12:13p

AM Minor: 6:53a

AM Major: 12:42a

PM Minor: 7:17p

PM Major: 1:05p

AM Minor: 7:46a

AM Major: 1:34a

PM Minor: 8:09p

PM Major: 1:57p

Moon Underfoot: 10:40a

Moon Overhead:11:31

Moon Underfoot: 11:27a Moon Underfoot: 12:15p

Moon Overhead: 12:39a Moon Overhead: 1:28a Moon Overhead: 2:16a


Moon Overhead: 3:03a

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

feet feet

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

Moon Overhead: None


Moon Overhead: 10:56p

Moon Underfoot: 1:52pBeST:

6:30 — 8:30 AMBeST:

7:00 — 9:00 AMBeST:

7:30 — 9:30 AMBeST:

6:00 — 8:00 AMBeST:

5:00 — 7:00 AMBeST:

4:30 — 6:30 AMBeST:

4:00 — 6:00 AM


MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

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Sunrise: 6:56a Set: 5:20pMoonrise: 9:02p Set: None


Sunrise: 6:55a Set: 5:20pMoonrise: 7:16p Set: 11:02p





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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

Tides and Prime Times for DECEMBER 2012


www.rinkersboatworld.com


Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

GoodScore


BEST:7:45-9:40 AM


80 | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2 T E x a S F i S h & G a m E ® T F & G A L M A N A C

3

Low Tide: 12:27 pm 0.03 ft.High Tide: 9:06 pm 1.34 ft.

4


5


» 6

Low Tide: 4:40 am 0.75 ft.High Tide: 9:12 am 0.84 ft.Low Tide: 2:41 pm 0.48 ft.High Tide: 10:14 pm 1.19 ft.

7


8

Low Tide: 5:37 am 0.21 ft.High Tide: 12:57 pm 1.05 ft.Low Tide: 4:56 pm 0.88 ft.High Tide: 10:45 pm 1.18 ft.

9

Low Tide: 6:19 am -0.10 ft.High Tide: 2:15 pm 1.23 ft.Low Tide: 6:18 pm 1.05 ft.High Tide: 11:04 pm 1.23 ft.

AM Minor: 8:37a

AM Major: 2:26a

PM Minor: 9:00p

PM Major: 2:49p

AM Minor: 9:28a

AM Major: 3:16a

PM Minor: 9:50p

PM Major: 3:39p

AM Minor: 10:16a

AM Major: 4:05a

PM Minor: 10:39p

PM Major: 4:28p

AM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 4:52a

PM Minor: 11:04a

PM Major: 5:15p

AM Minor: 11:26a

AM Major: 5:38a

PM Minor: 11:50a

PM Major: 6:02p

AM Minor: 12:11a

AM Major: 6:24a

PM Minor: 12:36p

PM Major: 6:49p

AM Minor: 12:57a

AM Major: 7:11a

PM Minor: 1:24p

PM Major: 7:38p

Moon Overhead: 4:35aMoon Overhead: 3:50a Moon Overhead: 5:20a Moon Overhead: 6:06a Moon Overhead: 6:53a

Moon Underfoot: 4:58p Moon Underfoot: 5:43p Moon Underfoot: 7:17p Moon Underfoot: 8:08p Moon Underfoot: 9:03p+2.0

+1.0

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+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:12:00 — 2:00 AM

BEST:12:30 — 2:30 AM

Moon Underfoot: 6:29pBEST:

1:30 — 3:30 AMBEST:

11:00A — 1:00PBEST:

10:30A — 12:30PBEST:

9:00 — 11:00 AMBEST:

8:00 — 10:00 AM



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Sunrise: 7:02a Set: 5:20pMoonrise: 2:49a Set: 6:09a



Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 5:20pMoonrise: 11:47p Set: 3:27a

Sunrise: 6:59a Set: 5:20pMoonrise: None Set: 2:34a



Moon Overhead: 7:42a Moon Overhead: 8:35a



www.berinesboats.com


Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

GoodScore


BEST:7:45-9:40 AM



10


« 11

Low Tide: 7:54 am -0.62 ft.High Tide: 4:16 pm 1.47 ft.Low Tide: 8:38 pm 1.25 ft.

« 12


l 13


« 14


« 15


16

Low Tide: 12:15 am 1.05 ft.High Tide: 4:09 am 1.18 ft.Low Tide: 12:09 pm -0.53 ft.High Tide: 8:08 pm 1.24 ft.

AM Minor: 1:45a

AM Major: 8:00a

PM Minor: 2:15p

PM Major: 8:29p

AM Minor: 2:38a

AM Major: 8:54a

PM Minor: 3:09p

PM Major: 9:24p

AM Minor: 3:36a

AM Major: 9:52a

PM Minor: 4:08p

PM Major: 10:23p

AM Minor: 4:38a

AM Major: 10:54a

PM Minor: 5:10p

PM Major: 11:26a

AM Minor: 5:43a

AM Major: 11:27a

PM Minor: 6:14p

PM Major: 11:58a

AM Minor: 6:48a

AM Major: 12:33a

PM Minor: 7:17p

PM Major: 1:03p

AM Minor: 7:51a

AM Major: 1:38a

PM Minor: 8:19p

PM Major: 2:05p

Moon Underfoot: 10:02p Moon Underfoot: 10:56p Moon Underfoot: None

Moon Overhead: 12:40p Moon Overhead: 1:42p Moon Overhead: 2:41p



+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

feet feet

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0




Moon Underfoot: 1:11aBEST:

7:00 — 9:00 AMBEST:

2:00 — 4:00 PMBEST:

3:00 — 5:00 PMBEST:

6:00 — 8:00 AMBEST:

5:00 — 7:00 AMBEST:

3:30 — 5:30 AMBEST:

2:30 — 4:30 AM



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www.htmknives.com

l = New Moon º = First Quarterl = Full Moon » = Last Quarter« = Best Day


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25

Low Tide: 8:17 am -0.43 ft.High Tide: 4:50 pm 1.12 ft.Low Tide: 10:02 pm 1.00 ft.

« 26


« 27


¡ 28


« 29


« 30


AM Minor: 1:44a

AM Major: 7:55a

PM Minor: 2:07p

PM Major: 8:19p

AM Minor: 2:26a

AM Major: 8:38a

PM Minor: 2:50p

PM Major: 9:02p

AM Minor: 3:10a

AM Major: 9:22a

PM Minor: 3:34p

PM Major: 9:46p

AM Minor: 3:55a

AM Major: 10:07a

PM Minor: 4:20p

PM Major: 10:32p

AM Minor: 4:43a

AM Major: 10:55a

PM Minor: 5:07p

PM Major: ——-

AM Minor: 5:32a

AM Major: 11:20a

PM Minor: 5:56p

PM Major: 11:44a

AM Minor: 6:22a

AM Major: 12:11a

PM Minor: 6:45p

PM Major: 12:34p



Moon Underfoot: 10:12a Moon Underfoot: 11:00a

Moon Overhead: None Moon Overhead: 12:13a Moon Overhead: 1:01a



+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

feet feet

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0




Moon Underfoot: 12:37pBeST:

6:00 — 8:00 AMBeST:

6:30 — 8:30 AMBeST:

7:30 — 9:30 AMBeST:

5:00 — 7:00 AMBeST:

4:30 — 5:30 AMBeST:

3:30 — 5:30 AMBeST:

3:00 — 5:00 AM












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www.americanairboats.com


Fishing Score Graph

Day’s BestScore

GoodScore


BEST:7:45-9:40 AM




17


18


19


º 20


21

Low Tide: 5:43 am 0.03 ft.High Tide: 12:54 pm 0.84 ft.Low Tide: 5:31 pm 0.74 ft.High Tide: 10:30 pm 0.94 ft.

22


23


AM Minor: 8:51a

AM Major: 2:38a

PM Minor: 9:16p

PM Major: 3:04p

AM Minor: 9:45a

AM Major: 3:33a

PM Minor: 10:09p

PM Major: 3:57p

AM Minor: 10:35a

AM Major: 4:24a

PM Minor: 10:58p

PM Major: 4:47p

AM Minor: ——-

AM Major: 5:10a

PM Minor: 11:21a

PM Major: 5:32p

AM Minor: 11:42a

AM Major: 5:53a

PM Minor: 12:04p

PM Major: 6:15p

AM Minor: 12:23a

AM Major: 6:34a

PM Minor: 12:45p

PM Major: 6:56p

AM Minor: 1:03a

AM Major: 7:14a

PM Minor: 1:26p

PM Major: 7:37p

Moon Underfoot: 4:02a Moon Underfoot: 4:52a

Moon Overhead: 5:15p Moon Overhead: 6:01p Moon Overhead: 6:46p Moon Overhead: 7:30p Moon Overhead: 8:15p Moon Overhead: 9:01pMoon Overhead: 4:27p

Moon Underfoot: 8:38aMoon Underfoot: 7:08aMoon Underfoot: 6:23a+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

feet feet

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BEST:7:00 — 9:00 PM

BEST:9:00 — 11:00 AM

BEST:1:30 — 3:30 AM

BEST:6:00 — 8:00 PM

BEST:10:30A — 12:30P

BEST:9:30 — 11:30 AM

BEST:3:30 — 5:30 PM



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Sunrise: 7:08a Set: 5:24pMoonrise: 11:48a Set: 1:09p



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www.thezancudolodge.com


www.nraguncare.com



l = New Moon º = First Quarterl = Full Moon » = Last Quarter« = Best Day

31


Jan 1, 2013


2


3


» 4


5

Low Tide: 4:04 am -0.03 ft.High Tide: 11:34 am 0.68 ft.Low Tide: 2:53 pm 0.58 ft.High Tide: 9:08 pm 0.89 ft.

6


AM Minor: 7:13a

AM Major: 1:01a

PM Minor: 7:36p

PM Major: 1:24p

AM Minor: 8:03a

AM Major: 1:52a

PM Minor: 8:26p

PM Major: 2:15p

AM Minor: 8:54a

AM Major: 2:43a

PM Minor: 9:16p

PM Major: 3:05p

AM Minor: 9:44a

AM Major: 3:32a

PM Minor: 10:07p

PM Major: 3:56p

AM Minor: 10:34a

AM Major: 4:22a

PM Minor: 10:58p

PM Major: 4:46p

AM Minor: 11:25a

AM Major: 5:12a

PM Minor: 11:50p

PM Major: 5:37p

AM Minor: -----

AM Major: 6:02a

PM Minor: 12:16p

PM Major: 6:29p

Moon Underfoot: 2:57p Moon Underfoot: 3:42p

Moon Overhead: 3:19a Moon Overhead: 4:04a Moon Overhead: 4:50a Moon Overhead: 5:37a Moon Overhead: 6:27a Moon Overhead: 7:20aMoon Overhead: 2:34a

Moon Underfoot: 7:48pMoon Underfoot: 6:01pMoon Underfoot: 5:13p+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

feet feet

+2.0

+1.0

0

-1.0

BeST:10:00A — 12:00P

BeST:12:00 — 2:00 AM

BeST:12:30 — 2:30 AM

BeST:10:00P — 12:00A

BeST:9:00 — 11:00 PM

BeST:8:30 — 10:30 AM

BeST:8:00 — 10:00 AM



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Sunrise: 7:13a Set: 5:33pMoonrise: None Set: 11:32a






www.fishandgamegear.com


Tides and Prime Times December 2012

Sunrise: 7:19a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 1:21p Set: 1:09aAM Minor: ----- AM Major: 6:03aPM Minor: 12:14p PM Major: 6:24pMoon Overhead: 7:38pMoon Underfoot: 7:18a

Sunrise: 7:19a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 1:51p Set: 2:02aAM Minor: 12:31a AM Major: 6:42aPM Minor: 12:52p PM Major: 7:02pMoon Overhead: 8:20pMoon Underfoot: 7:59a



3Low Tide: 12:27 pm 0.03 ft.High Tide: 9:06 pm 1.34 ft.



6 »Low Tide: 4:40 am 0.75 ft.High Tide: 9:12 am 0.84 ft.Low Tide: 2:41 pm 0.48 ft.High Tide: 10:14 pm 1.19 ft.

Sunrise: 7:24a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 5:53p Set: 7:25aAM Minor: 4:43a AM Major: 10:56aPM Minor: 5:08p PM Major: 11:21pMoon Overhead: 12:13aMoon Underfoot: 12:39p

Sunrise: 7:25a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 6:48p Set: 8:16aAM Minor: 5:35a AM Major: 11:48aPM Minor: 6:01p PM Major: -----Moon Overhead: 1:05aMoon Underfoot: 1:31p



10Low Tide: 7:05 am -0.38 ft.High Tide: 3:19 pm 1.37 ft.Low Tide: 7:34 pm 1.18 ft.High Tide: 11:32 pm 1.29 ft.

11 «Low Tide: 7:54 am -0.62 ft.High Tide: 4:16 pm 1.47 ft.Low Tide: 8:38 pm 1.25 ft.

12 «High Tide: 12:12 am 1.35 ft.Low Tide: 8:44 am -0.79 ft.High Tide: 5:09 pm 1.51 ft.Low Tide: 9:31 pm 1.28 ft.

13 lHigh Tide: 1:02 am 1.38 ft.Low Tide: 9:35 am -0.87 ft.High Tide: 5:59 pm 1.50 ft.Low Tide: 10:21 pm 1.25 ft.

Sunrise: 7:29a Set: 5:36pMoonrise: None Set: 12:11pAM Minor: 11:00a AM Major: 4:47aPM Minor: 11:24p PM Major: 5:12pMoon Overhead: 6:03aMoon Underfoot: 6:27p

Sunrise: 7:29a Set: 5:36pMoonrise: 12:51a Set: 12:47pAM Minor: 11:49a AM Major: 5:37aPM Minor: ----- PM Major: 6:02pMoon Overhead: 6:52aMoon Underfoot: 7:17p

Sunrise: 7:30a Set: 5:37pMoonrise: 1:55a Set: 1:26pAM Minor: 12:12a AM Major: 6:25aPM Minor: 12:38p PM Major: 6:51pMoon Overhead: 7:44aMoon Underfoot: 8:10p


17Low Tide: 1:27 am 0.88 ft.High Tide: 5:30 am 1.02 ft.Low Tide: 1:00 pm -0.27 ft.High Tide: 8:42 pm 1.15 ft.

18Low Tide: 2:43 am 0.67 ft.High Tide: 7:07 am 0.86 ft.Low Tide: 1:52 pm 0.01 ft.High Tide: 9:14 pm 1.06 ft.


20 ºLow Tide: 4:53 am 0.23 ft.High Tide: 10:56 am 0.75 ft.Low Tide: 3:53 pm 0.54 ft.High Tide: 10:07 pm 0.96 ft.

Sunrise: 7:32a Set: 5:39pMoonrise: 7:23a Set: 5:56pAM Minor: 4:38a AM Major: 10:53aPM Minor: 5:08p PM Major: 11:23pMoon Overhead: 12:39pMoon Underfoot: 12:09a

Sunrise: 7:33a Set: 5:40pMoonrise: 8:16a Set: 7:00pAM Minor: 5:38a AM Major: 11:19aPM Minor: 6:06p PM Major: -----Moon Overhead: 1:37pMoon Underfoot: 1:08a




25Low Tide: 8:17 am -0.43 ft.High Tide: 4:50 pm 1.12 ft.Low Tide: 10:02 pm 1.00 ft.



mONDAY TUeSDAY WeDNeSDAY THUrSDAY

8:00 —10:00 AM

PrIme TIme

9:00 —11:00 AM

PrIme TIme

10:30A —12:30P

PrIme TIme

11:00A —1:00P

PrIme TIme

2:30 —4:30 AM

PrIme TIme

3:30 —5:30 AM

PrIme TIme

5:00 —7:00 AM

PrIme TIme

6:00 —8:00 AM

PrIme TIme

3:30 —5:30 AM

PrIme TIme

4:30 —5:30 AM

PrIme TIme

5:00 —7:00 AM

PrIme TIme

3:30 —5:30 PM

PrIme TIme

9:30 —11:30 AM

PrIme TIme

10:30A —12:30P

PrIme TIme

6:00 —8:00 PM

PrIme TIme

3:00 —5:00 AM

PrIme TIme

SYmbOL KeY

l New

moon

º First

Quarter

¡Full

moon

» Last

Quarter

«

Good DaybeSTDAYS

PrIme TIme


www.texastackle.com


8:00 —10:00 AM

PRIME TIME

Sunrise: 7:17a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 12:20p Set: NoneAM Minor: 10:49a AM Major: 4:38aPM Minor: 11:11p PM Major: 5:00pMoon Overhead: 6:15pMoon Underfoot: 5:53a


Dec 1 «High Tide: 1:52 am 1.31 ft.Low Tide: 11:16 am -0.11 ft.High Tide: 7:54 pm 1.40 ft.

2Low Tide: 12:11 am 1.26 ft.High Tide: 1:56 am 1.27 ft.Low Tide: 11:51 am -0.05 ft.High Tide: 8:32 pm 1.38 ft.



Sunrise: 7:23a Set: 5:34pMoonrise: 5:02p Set: 6:33aAM Minor: 3:54a AM Major: 10:06aPM Minor: 4:19p PM Major: 10:31pMoon Overhead: NoneMoon Underfoot: 11:48a


8Low Tide: 5:37 am 0.21 ft.High Tide: 12:57 pm 1.05 ft.Low Tide: 4:56 pm 0.88 ft.High Tide: 10:45 pm 1.18 ft.






15 «High Tide: 3:00 am 1.30 ft.Low Tide: 11:18 am -0.73 ft.High Tide: 7:29 pm 1.35 ft.

16Low Tide: 12:15 am 1.05 ft.High Tide: 4:09 am 1.18 ft.Low Tide: 12:09 pm -0.53 ft.High Tide: 8:08 pm 1.24 ft.



Sunrise: 7:32a Set: 5:39pMoonrise: 6:24a Set: 4:53pAM Minor: 3:39a AM Major: 9:54aPM Minor: 4:10p PM Major: 10:25pMoon Overhead: 11:38aMoon Underfoot: None

21Low Tide: 5:43 am 0.03 ft.High Tide: 12:54 pm 0.84 ft.Low Tide: 5:31 pm 0.74 ft.High Tide: 10:30 pm 0.94 ft.






Sunrise: 7:35a Set: 5:43pMoonrise: 11:51a Set: NoneAM Minor: 10:52a AM Major: 4:41aPM Minor: 11:12p PM Major: 5:02pMoon Overhead: 6:16pMoon Underfoot: 5:55a

28 ¡High Tide: 1:25 am 1.03 ft.Low Tide: 9:53 am -0.49 ft.High Tide: 6:09 pm 1.11 ft.Low Tide: 10:27 pm 0.95 ft.



31High Tide: 3:17 am 0.90 ft.Low Tide: 11:26 am -0.34 ft.High Tide: 7:32 pm 1.04 ft.

FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY

7:00 —9:00 AM

PRIME TIME

7:30 —9:30 AM

PRIME TIME

12:00 —2:00 AM

PRIME TIME

12:30 —2:30 AM

PRIME TIME

1:30 —3:30 AM

PRIME TIME

7:00 —9:00 AM

PRIME TIME

2:00 —4:00 PM

PRIME TIME

3:00 —5:00 PM

PRIME TIME

6:00 —8:00 AM

PRIME TIME

6:30 —8:30 AM

PRIME TIME

7:30 —9:30 AM

PRIME TIME

7:00 —9:00 PM

PRIME TIME

9:00 —11:00 AM

PRIME TIME

1:30 —3:30 AM

PRIME TIME

Tides and Prime Times DEcEMbER 2012

PLACE HIGH LOWSAbiNe bANk LigHTHOUSe(29.47° N, 93.72° W) -1:46 -1:31SAbiNe PASS JeTTy(29.65° N, 93.83° W) -1:26 -1:31SAbiNe PASS(29.73° N, 93.87°W) -1:00 -1:15MeSqUiTe PT, SAbiNe PASS(29.77° N, 93.9° W) -0:04 -0:25gALv. bAy, SO. JeTTy(29.34° N, 94.7° W) -0:39 -1:05POrT bOLivAr(29.36° N, 94.77° W) +0:14 -0:06TX CiTy TUrNiNg bASiN(29.38° N, 94.88° W) +0:33 +0:41eAgLe POiNT(29.5° N, 94.91° W) +3:54 +4:15CLeAr LAke(29.56° N, 95.06° W) +6:05 +6:40MOrgANS POiNT(29.68° N, 94.98° W) +10:21 +5:19rOUNd PT, TriNiTy bAy(29.71° N, 94.69° W) +10:39 +5:15PT. bArrOw, TriN. bAy(29.74° N, 94.83° W) +5:48 +4:43giLCHriST, e. bAy(29.52° N, 94.48° W) +3:16 +4:18JAMAiCA bCH., w. bAy(29.2° N, 94.98° W) +2:38 +3:31ALLigATOr PT., w. bAy(29.17° N, 94.13° W) +2:39 +2:33CHriSTMAS PT, CHr. bAy(29.08° N, 94.17° W) +2:32 +2:31gALv. PLeASUre Pier(29.29° N, 94.79° W) -1:06 -1:06SAN LUiS PASS(29.08° N, 95.12° W) -0.09 -0.09FreePOrT HArbOr(28.95° N, 95.31° W) -0:44 -1:02PASS CAvALLO(28.37° N, 96.4° W) 0:00 -1:20ArANSAS PASS(27.84° N, 97.05° W) -0:03 -1:31PAdre iSL.(SO. eNd)(26.07° N, 97.16° W) -0:24 -1:45POrT iSAbeL(26.06° N, 97.22° W) +1:02 -0:42

Tide STaTion CorreCTion Table

(Adjust High & Low Tide times listed in the Calendar by the amounts below for each keyed location)

NOT FOR NAVIGATION


Bay Flats Lodge Duck Soup

This introduction is by a good friend and avid outdoorsman and conservationist, Troy Davis. —Bryan Slaven

The SuBTLe rippLe oF a Decoy’S splash, as it settles against the wid-geon grass. The sea smell of salt and sand, refreshes the lungs and steadies

the hand. Ol’ Bud’s a whining as the first flock appears, their banking and diving the spot that looks clear. As we raise our guns with bead on the bill, our muzzles burn hot for the season’s first kill. Four drop to the water the others fly past, thankful it’s finally duck season at last!

This recipe is on loan to us from my good friends Chris and Deb Martin at Bay Flats Lodge in Seadrift, Texas. Their loca-tion, the Guadalupe Delta, is home to some of the finest bay fishing and duck hunting on the Gulf Coast. If you have not had the good fortune of spending a day on the water with their awesome guides and a gourmet meal at their lodge you owe it to yourself and your family or good customers to experi-ence it firsthand.

(Serves 6 to 8 hungry duck hunters)This recipe calls for a crockpot, if you

don’t have one on hand, an 8 qt. dutch oven will work as well.

2 bowls of cubed duck breast1 bowl of cubed salt porkOlive oilDuck stock, 5 lbs duck parts (backs,

necks, carcasses, and giblets), 2 lg onions, coarsely chopped

2 med. carrots, peeled, trimmed coarsely chopped 2 lb celery, stalks with leaves trimmed, coarsely chopped 2 garlic, cloves, crushed

1 bunch pars-ley with stems removed

2 tsp Thyme, dried

1 bay leaf1/2 tsp salt,

coarseSliced jalapeno sausage4 Chopped green onions2Chopped white onions4 Bay leafs4 Sliced carrots4 to 5 med. Sliced new potatoes¼ tsp. Cayenne pepper½ tsp. Large course black pepper1- 6 oz. box of Uncooked Uncle

Ben’s long grain wild ricePackage of Zatarain’s gumbo mix w/

rice4 stalks Sliced Celery- ½” thick Heat extra-virgin olive oil to medium-

high setting. Add cubed duck and salt pork to olive oil. Braze duck until the meat turns brown. Drain off olive oil, move duck meat and salt pork to crock-pot. For duck stock, wash duck parts well and place them in a large stockpot. Add cold water to cover by about 2 inches and slowly bring to a boil,

skimming all of the froth from the surface as it forms. Lower the heat and add all of the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncov-ered, for 3 hours. Add water as needed to cover the ingredients and skim as neces-sary. Strain the “soup” into a large bowl through a colander lined with double layer of dampened cheesecloth. Gently press the solids to extract all of the liquid possible. Discard the solids. Start adding in all veg-etables and potatoes. Season to taste. Add uncooked wild rice to the crock-pot. Turn on high for 4 hours and switch to low or warm. (If using the Dutch oven use med. low heat to keep from sticking)

Serve with some warm bread , we hope you enjoy!

Email Bryan Slaven,“The Texas Gourmet,”

at [email protected]


Join The TexaS GourmeT Fanclub on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=152165096156. come and share your favorite recipes, restaurants, and hangouts. The Texas Gourmet is waiting on you!

Phot

o: B

ryan

Sla

ven

bay Flats lodge Duck Soup



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EvEry Christmas sEason, i gEt “thE 12

Days of Christmas” stuck in my head.

My family and I do our best to focus

on the true reason for the season, which

is the birth of Christ,

but there is certainly

nothing wrong with the

fun traditions we have

at Christmas here in

the United States. Whether it is the many

super catchy Christmas songs or the legend

of Santa Claus, it is truly a special time in

many ways.

Since I am bound to get that song stuck

in my head, I thought it would be fun to

give 12 outdoors encounters you can have

this Christmas season right here in our

great states.

Here we go…

south texas rut:The whitetail breeding season in South

Texas is just starting to kick off. The latest

in the nation, it can run into February and

offers Brush Country hunters the ultimate

By ChesterMoore


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opportunity at scoring on a mega buck,

which that region has in large numbers.

There is nothing in deer hunting like

watching a sendero in that area during the

rut as bucks chase does, fight one another

and exhibit truly awesome behavior.

Cool Crappie:Crappie fishing heats up when the

weather cools down on the East Texas res-

ervoirs like Toledo Bend where seemingly

endless numbers of these great fish stack up

in the old river channel. Check your local

reservoir’s deep holes and river beds for

crappie in the coming weeks and chances

are you will find some.

Cooler weather heats up crappie fishing in East Texas reservoirs.

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www.rockriverarms.com

Ridiculously Large Redfish:

The comeback of the redfish has been

truly tremendous. Catching breeding-sized

bull reds used to be a rarity but now it is

commonplace and the giant fish can be

caught in the surf and around our jetty sys-

tems year-round.

Natural bait is still the weapon of

choice for bull redfish anglers. Lower a live

croaker or cut mullet around a deep jetty

hole or chunk it out past the second sand-

bar in the surf and be prepared to do battle

with a brute.

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Capt. Joey Farah helps Nicole Becka land a bull red.



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Calling Bobcats:I love wildlife photography and while

predator hunting can be fun, I prefer hunt-

ing them with a camera as it is incredibly

challenging to get them into photo range.

Bobcats can be called into within a few

feet but it requires patience. Get you a

solid electronic game calling unit, set up a

ground blind on your deer lease or wood

lot near your home and start calling. Bird

calls and dying rabbits tend to work the

best. Cats come in slow but will come in

closer than you might like.

Bobcats can be called in close... but it takes time and patience.

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Lunker Hunt:The Texas’ Sharelunker season kicks

off Oct. 1 but very few entries of 13 pound

or larger bass start coming in until Decem-

ber. It is typically only a couple but I

believe that has more to do with the lack of

angler effort that the fish biting. Throwing

big jigs and swimbaits around deep cover

and structure can yield monster bass on

virtually any lake in the state but Falcon,

Sam Rayburn, Lake Austin, Fork, Choke

Canyon and Conroe are my top picks for

mega bass this month.

Woodies:If you can find something more fun

than shooting at wood ducks piling into a

hole in the timber let me know. I want to

experience it. Texas wood duck numbers

are larger and now with three in the bag

limit we have an extra incentive to hunt the

nation’s most beautiful fowl.

Bennett Cowan of San marcos caught Toyota ShareLunker 537 from Lake aus-tin October 16. The fish weighed 14.28 pounds.

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Rabbit Hunting:My first hunt was walking down a fence

line on my Aunt Ann’s property and spot-

lighting rabbits with a head lamp. And it

was (and still is) legal. Hunting rabbits at

night is loads of fun and is a great way to

introduce kiddos to hunting. Plus, rabbits

are super tasty and with the rain we had in

Wood ducks are the most beautiful of the country’s waterfowl.

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much of the state this year, the cottontail

and swamp rabbit crop is booming.

Heli-Hogs:If you read the story I wrote about

TF&G columnist Dustin Ellermann and

my helicopter hog hunting adventure you

know this is super fun stuff. We hunted

with the JB Hunting Ranch in Matagorda

County and had a blast. It is not for every-

one because the price is high but if you

have the means treat yourself to an incred-

ible hunting experience. The ride in the

helicopter alone is worth it.

Dustin Ellermann on a helicopter hog hunt in Matagorda County earlier this year.

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Geese for Christmas:

Want a great Thanksgiving dinner?

Then head out to the coastal prairie and

take you a couple of specklebellies. These

dark geese are delicious and super fun to

hunt. We rarely eat goose for Christmas in

Texas but new traditions can be made.

Cooked goose for Thanksgiving dinner, anyone?

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Winter Flounder:Of course I would mention flounder.

After all I am borderline obsessed with

them. Very few anglers realize the first two

weeks of December offers great flounder

fishing around the passes leading to the

Gulf. And not all flounder migrate out

so there will be flounder in various areas

in our bay systems throughout the winter.

Switching to light spinning rods with fluo-

rocarbon line and tiny curl-tailed grubs and

shad imitations can help you score on these

holdover fish.

Whiting:Very few fish taste better than whiting

and there are tons of them in the surf this

month. Look for clear calm days and fish

dead shrimp or small chunks of cut bait to

catch these odd-looking but delectable fish.

The first half of December offers great flounder fishing at Gulf passes.

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Hill Country Bighorns:

Our last Christmas outdoors treat is

truly unique and this is the first place you

will hear about it.

Thanks to rancher and exotic hunting

innovator Thompson Temple, a new breed

of exotic sheep is part of the diverse fauna

of the region. It is called the “Hill Country

Bighorn”.

Thirty years ago Temple attempted to

create a bighorn-mouflon hybrid that would

be able to live in the rocky regions of Cen-

tral Texas.

“The problem is bighorns have very

poor immune systems so when they get

close to domestic sheep they can die. The

first experiment did not work out but the

Lord blessed me with a unique opportunity

in recent years,” Temple said.

According to Temple, Milt Sanburg

of Montrose, Co. had a herd of mouflon

sheep. Rocky Mountain bighorn rams


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from the nearby national forest periodically

came over and bred a number of ewes. The

result was 10 to 15 rams and ewes that

were 1/2 bighorn and 1/2 mouflon.

“The rams were very impressive,”

Temple said.

“Alan Baier of Collbran, Co. and

myself met with the Colorado Fish and

Game. They were anxious to get the cross-

breeds out of Colorado. An agreement was

reached to transport the sheep to my ranch

in Texas.”

In recent years, Temple began replac-

ing the mouflon portion of the sheep with a

larger breed of sheep- Stumberg Sheep.

“I have also purchased Urial rams to do

the same thing. The results have been fan-

tastic. Heavy bodied rams with large thick

horns have been harvested,” Temple said.

True bighorns whether they are the des-

ert or Rocky Mountain variety are extreme-

ly expensive to hunt. Hunters pay upwards

of $20,000 (and in some instances much

more) or draw tags in a lottery system to

pursue these prized animals.

“I wanted to create a bighorn that is

affordable for anyone. We have had only a

limited number available because our herd

affordable bighorn sheep hunting has come to the Texas hill Country.

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is still growing but these cost a mere frac-

tion of what a typical bighorn would cost,”

Temple said.

I spent time at Temple’s Ranch in Real

County last summer and was amazed at

how wary these sheep are in comparison

to corsicans that were present for example.

Most ram species hunted in Texas range

from only semi wary to truly wild. These

Hill Country bighorns were extremely wild.

During my brief stay, it was impos-

sible to get photos of them on the main

ranch but even in the breeding pen, they

ran into their hiding area as soon as I

walked up. This trait will make them a

worthy quarry and give them the ability to

elude predators like cougars and coyotes.

Hunting opportunities for these animals

are limited at this point but Temple’s herd

is growing and within the next decade,

they will likely become one of Texas’ most

sought after exotics. Encountering them in

person was fascinating and I am excited

there is a bighorn available for the average

hunter.


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Parting Thoughts:We often talk about taking kids our

hunting or fishing to spark their interest in

the outdoors and that is important but sim-

ply allowing them to encounter wild things

is equally important.

You see I have never been just inter-

ested in the hook and bullet aspects of the

outdoors but have a deep fascination for

the outdoors. I crave wild encounters in a

powerful away and by having such a deep

love for wildlife, all of my outdoors experi-

ences are fuller and richer.

There are many times I have never

taken a shot or even seen a deer, hog or

other game animal I was pursuing but I


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always see something wild, beautiful and

untamed.

With Christmas upon us in a year with

a down economy, some of you might feel

guilty for the inability to buy expensive gifts

or any gifts at all.

Don’t.

If you are reading this column, you

obviously have an interest in the outdoors

and that alone allows you to give the gift of

encounters.

Take your children, grandchildren,

nieces, nephews and other children in your

life, fishing, hunting or simply on a hike

through woods. Approach it from the per-

spective that you are in a truly wild place

and anything you encounter is a blessing.

Whether it is a majestic red cardinal or a

coyote, you are getting a glimpse at Cre-

ation’s best and instilling a love for the

outdoors in a young person.

Sometimes the best opportunities for

encounters for young children come in

places like zoos and aquariums. They do

not always have the patience for long hikes


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but a place like a local zoo. Photograph

all of these excursions. You can get prints

made from digital photos for just a few

cents apiece and buy photo albums for a

couple of dollars.

A great way to top off an opportunity to

encounter wild things is giving them photos

of their trip. These will help build powerful

memories they will one-day share with their

own children. I hope you can give any gift

you see on these pages or in the store but if

you cannot do not despair.

Never discount the power of giving

those kinds that involve you investing your

time in their life because most of the time

they are the best of all.


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Passing on the GiftIn memory of the passing one of our former columnists, we are reproducing one of his favorite “Fishing Fundamentals” columns from our December 2002 Christmas issue. Tight lines, Gary. —Don Zaidle

FishinG has been an imPortant Part of my life for as long as I can remember. At Christmas time, my “wish list” always included new fishing gear. The

Christmas of my 11th year found me plead-ing for a replacement to my worn-out Shake-speare spin-cast combo. All of the gifts had been opened under the tree that Christmas Eve when my dad asked me to walk out to the garage with him. That’s where he presented me with my new Zebco 404 combo. I caught a bunch of fish that following year on my new rod and reel, but none sticks out in my mind like my first bass on an artificial lure.

It was early summer, and I was on a Boy Scout camp out at Lake Somerville. My favorite fishing partner in Troop 740 was Wayne Thompson. He was two years older, but saw the passion I had for fishing and helped me by sharing what he had learned. We were camped on the lakeshore, and I was wading the back end of the cove at high noon when the small keeper sucked the Snag Proof Weedless Frog off the surface. My fishing life was changed forever.

The “gift” of fishing is in the experiences and memories. These events occurred more than 30 years ago, and yet the images remain vivid. I cannot remember another present from that Christmas, and have forgotten the names of many of the scouts in my troop, but those events have not faded. There is some-thing about fishing that is almost magical. It does not matter how well my last trip went; I await the next one with special, indescribable

anticipation.Christmas is a time for celebrating our

Savior’s birth. Jesus was a gift from God and, it is my theory that gift-giving at Christmas time was originally a symbolic gesture, not a retail sales promotion. Christmas should be about family and giving. Fishing can also be about relationships and giving.

Over the years, our family of hiding gifts away from the Christmas tree. After all, there is not much suspense in a wrapped fishing rod. The gifts are always welcome because they support my passion (addiction?). How-ever, it was the time my parents and others shared fishing with me that became the true “gift.” If it was not for me, I doubt either of my parents would have spent much time fish-ing. They fished because they knew it was important to me, and they got joy from the smile on my face each time a fish was caught or an opportunity to fish came along.

My mom was my earliest fishing part-ner. Together we watched many a cork slip beneath the surface of the water. When I first learned to use a bait-casting reel, she was often my coach in picking out the nastiest of backlashes. Recently, I came to realize the significance of her gifts to me. I asked her if she wanted to go to a pond for a perch-jerking session, and she declined. It seems the fun she had fishing back then had a lot more to do with me than with fishing. Thanks, Mom.

My dad and I still fish regularly. My dad has always enjoyed fishing, but he is first to admit that he is not the best of fishermen. If I had experienced my dad’s limited success in fishing, I might have looked at golf more seriously. Nonetheless, Dad has always sup-ported my fishing efforts. At my urging, he subscribed to several magazines so we could learn together. Early on, he would take me on guided trips several times a year, and we went bank fishing whenever he could get away. When I was 14, we joined a bass club together, and at 16, we went in together to buy our first bass boat. There is not a doubt in my mind that the bond we share was strengthened by the good, bad, and ugly

times we shared on the water. Thanks, Dad.Fishing provides a common ground for

people from all walks of life. I am always happy when I find a stranger who likes to fish--I know we are no longer strangers. The best friends in my life have evolved from fish-ing. It was not always fishing that brought us together, but fishing keeps us together. My partner when I was fishing regional team bass tournaments was Mike Boriack. Mike and I went to school together from first grade through high school. Throughout the years, our interests have been widely different, with the exception of fishing. Mike would agree with me that our friendship would not be as close today if it were not for fishing.

My fishing with Mike was put on hold when he started raising his family. He is the most devoted father I know. Today, when we get together for lunch, Mike lives vicariously through my fishing stories. He is also giving the “gift” of fishing to his kids. Thanks, Mike.

My wife, Tammy, and I do not have kids due to a series of health problems. However, she is my biggest supporter when it comes to fishing. The best compliment I have ever received came from Tammy the first time we ever shared a boat. She admitted that she did not “get” what the big deal was about fishing, until she watched me fish that day 13 years ago on Fayette County Lake. She said that as she observed me from the back of the boat, she could see there was something to all this, almost like art. Thanks, Tammy.

Writing for Texas Fish & Game is my way of passing on the gift to you. I have been blessed to spend time on the water with many fine anglers over the past 30 years. The fisherman I am today is a composite of the things I have learned on the water and reading magazines like this one. Fishing has shaped my life, it has taught me patience, it has kindled my appreciation of nature, it has calmed my spirit in troubled times. Thanks, God, for the gifts of Jesus and fishing!


FishingFundamentals

by Gary Zoch | Former TF&G Columnist


There aren’T many things that will ruin a hunt during cold weather faster than for your body to be-come cold, your rifle, shot-gun or archery equipment to suddenly develop a problem, or to discover other parts of your gear have been adverse-ly affected by the cold tem-peratures.


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Sporting Tales

by bob hood

WinterHuntingBasics


Being prepared plays a big role in how you are going to enjoy any type of hunt and it all begins before you head out the door. A good place to start with that preparation is with your clothing.

We all know you can’t count 100 percent on weather forecasts but they can give you an idea of what to expect in daily temperatures, wind velocities, as well as chances of rain or snow. If you are going to be away from home and in the woods or on the water for several days, it is a good idea to check the extended weather forecast for the area you will be hunt-ing. That’s one thing the Internet makes so easy to obtain via a quick search inquiry and the click of the mouse.

Once you have learned what to expect, always remember not to expect it. Or at least, expect that things including weather forecasts can and often do change. If the forecast calls for relatively cool temperatures, pack along some extra heavier winter clothing just in case you need it. If you didn’t bring it along, you can’t wear it if extremely cold temperatures arrive suddenly.

LayersFor cold-weather hunting, I always carry

along extra clothing to use as layers, the best method I have found to adjust my body’s comfort to changing weather temperatures, which often occur throughout a single day.

In planning how to layer your clothing, start with the bottom layers, underwear, undershirt and socks. During hunting season a few years ago when the temperature was at freezing I watched a young hunter pull two pairs of heavy socks onto his feet and then struggle to get his hunting boots on over them. That is a definite no-no and he suf-fered with cold feet that morning because he hadn’t allowed any room for air between his socks and the inside of his insulated boots.

If the temperatures are going to be extremely cold, you may want to start with long underwear such as the thin, light-weight clothing made by Under Armor and other clothing manufacturers.

Air is the key to layering. Without it in your clothing from top to bottom, you are going to get cold during extreme cold weather conditions. Your socks should be thick enough to protect your feet from cold weather but not so thick as to disallow a pocket of air between them and the lining of your boots.

Next, add a cotton or knit shirt, but make

sure the shirt isn’t too baggy or too tight. The idea is to create a layer of air between each layer of clothing for insulation provided by the warm air that is trapped between each layer.

Denim or corduroy pants are good choic-es, especially for cold weather.

I always wear a light zippered fleece sweater over my shirt as an added layer. If the weather turns mild, I just remove it. A sweater with a “hood” is a good choice, too, because of its use versatility. If rain is pos-sible, clothing and boots that are waterproof such as Gore-Tex are wise choices.

Insulated coveralls, especially those with deep pockets and zippered lower leg areas that make it easy to get them over hunting boots are among the final layers many hunt-ers use. Other than wearing a good pair of boots that are resistant to water, (and wad-ers for hunting in or over water for water-fowl), a good pair of gloves, hat or cap and maybe even a face mask should conclude your clothing apparel.

Warm Your Trigger FingerIf you are going to wear a pair of gloves

while shooting, make sure they aren’t too large and impede your ability to safely place your finger on the trigger of your gun. An option many hunters use is choosing a pair of gloves that are specially made so the trig-

ger finger is exposed when a shot is about to be made.

Boot UpThere is a wide variety of boots on the

market that will keep your feet warm and dry. And, then, there are others that will do neither. Choose your choice of boots care-fully. After all, the first places your body will lose its warmth is at your head and at your feet. Make sure you choose a pair that fits comfortably and preferably is waterproof.

If you are going to hunt in water or near it for waterfowl, a pair of good waders is mandatory.

Gun CareIf you have oiled your rifle or shotgun

you may want to wipe it down or remove the oil and replace it with a powder silicone treatment for extremely cold conditions. If you have left too much oil on the working mechanisms, they might gum up in extreme conditions and either cause your firearm to work slowly or not work at all.

Some of the “extra” gear items you may want to acquire before going hunting are pocket hand-warmers, soft cloths and liquid cleaners to clean the lens of eyeglasses, bin-oculars and scopes, and a gun cleaning kit to use at the end of the day.



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ROCKPORT

UPPeR COasT (sabine LaKe)

LaKe aMisTaD

TeXas HUnTinG

MiDDLe COasT

nORTH easT TeXas

HUnTinG

sOUTH TeXas

TeXas FResHWaTeR

LaKe TeXOMa

WWW.FisHGaMe.COM

DFW MeTROPLeX

OHiO

TeXas saLTWaTeR

WesT TeXas


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RAW are my initials, Robert A. (Bob) Worsham. I have the privilege of managing the hunts for a family on five of their cattle and wildlife ranches in South Texas, West Texas and the Texas Hill Country. Our ranches vary in size-South Texas-3,000 ac., West Texas (Terrell County)-14,000 ac., Texas Hill Country 1,000 to 1,500 ac. A couple of our Hill Country ranches are being offered to hunters for the first time in the last 8 years. We are able to offer hunts to individuals or for corporate client’s entertainment. All of our ranches have comfortable homes for lodging and great meals are provided by our ranch cook, Mr. Tom Johanson. We have easy accessible ground blinds and tower blinds to choose from and during the rut rattling from a brush blind is good. Whitetail numbers are on the steady increase on our ranches due to careful controlled hunting so hunters have an opportunity to hunt some of the biggest Whitetails in North America. These large bucks are all native genetics, no imported or pen raised deer---just pure native Texas Whitetails. While our hunts are not guaranteed, I promise that you will have an opportunity to see quality bucks. Our hunts offer a mixed bag as you can hunt wild hogs, javelina, bobcats and possibly a mountain lion while you hunt for your deer. For your exciting RAW RANCH HUNT contact Bob Worsham (830)739-0256 (cell) or (830) 367- 7222 (office) or go to www.worsham-realestate.com and click on RAW RANCH HUNTs.

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RAW Ranch Hunts

Statement of ownership, management and circulation 1. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 2. Publication num-ber: 7577-70. 3. Filing Date: 10/01/2012. 4. Issue freq: Monthly. 5. No. Issues Annually: 12. 6. Annual subscr. price: $19.00. 7. Complete mailing address of known office of pub-lication (not printer): 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032; Contact Person, Duane Hruzek; Tel, 281-227-3001. 8. Com-plete mailing address of headquarters or general business office of publisher (not printer): Same. 9. Full names and complete mailing addresses of publisher, editor and manag-ing editor: Publisher, Roy Neves, 1745 Greens Road, Hous-ton, TX 77032; editor: n/a; managing editor: Don Zaidle, 1745 Greens Road, Houston, TX 77032. 10. Owner: Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co. LLC; Ron & Stephanie Ward; Roy and Ardia Neves. All addresses same as publisher. 11. Known bondholders, Mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages of other securities: none. 12. Tax status has not changed during preceding 12 months. 13. Publication title: Texas Fish & Game. 14. Issue date for circulation data below: October 2012. 15. Extent and nature of circulation: a. Total number of copies (net press run): Avg. no. copies each issue during preceding 12 mos., 51,260; No. copies of single Issue published nearest to filing date, 52,205. b. Paid/requested outside-county mail subscriptions stated on form 3541: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 43,867; single issue nearest filing, 45,450. Paid in-county, 0. Sales through dealers, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 5,206; single issue nearest filing, 5,387; Other classes mailed, 14. c. Total paid/requested circulation: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 49,073; single issue nearest filing, 50,837. d. Free distribution outside-county, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 77; single issue nearest filing, 81; In-county, 0; Other classes, 0. e. Total free dist, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 102; single issue nearest filing, 106. f. Total dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 49,175; single issue nearest filing, 50,933. g. Copies not dist: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 2,085; single issue nearest filing, 1,272. h. Total (sum 15f and g): Avg. preceding 12 mo., 51,260; single issue nearest filing, 50,933. Percent paid: Avg. preceding 12 mo. 99.79%; single issue nearest filing, 99.81%. a. Paid Electronic Copies, Avg. preceding 12 mo., 43,682, single issue nearest filing, 44,330. b. Total Paid Print Copies + Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 92,755, single issue nearest filing, 95,167. c. Total Print Distribution + Paid Electronic Copies: Avg. preceding 12 mo., 92,857m, single issue nearest filing, 95,263. d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies), Avg. preceding 12 mo., 99.89, single issue nearest filing, 99.90. 16. Publica-tion of statement of ownership required. Will be printed in December 2012 issue of this publication. 17. Signature and title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: Roy Neves, publisher, Date 10/01/2012

Rockport RedRunners

Diana LiskaRAW Ranch

Denmon GroupRAW Ranch


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RedFiSh

RockportKylie Woolridge of Grand Prairie with a 28-inch Redfish caught near Estes Flats near Rockport.

Speckled TRouT

Baffin BayLisa Cheney caught this 27-3/4-inch trout in Baffin Bay, using croaker, during the Majek Tourney.

caTFiSh

Brazos RiverCassidy Teykl, 13, of Needville with a 31-inch yellow cat she netted while checking throw lines she and her Daddy set in the Brazos River while spending 4th of July at the Poco Loco Ranch.

caTFiSh

Private PondDavid Wilganowski,Jr., 7, from Lexington Park, MD caught this 4.5-pound catfish in a friend’s stock pond while visiting his PawPa.

WhiTeTail

GanadoMatthew Cassell (left), J.D. Liles (center), and Mat-thew Cassell, Jr. shot these three bucks on a hunt at the Channel Shipyards lease in Ganado.

kinGFiSh

GalvestonOn their first off-shore trip, Cassie and Zoe Hall were fishing 12 miles out of Galveston with their dad, Ryan Hall. They both caught their first kingfish, among other fish.

WhiTeTail

private leaseLane Dahse, 6, helped his dad shoot this 8-point buck. Lane rattled the buck into approxi-mately 60 yards, and dad took the shot!

RedFiSh

Galveston BayDiego Speight, age 8, caught this 23-inch redfish with 9 spots while night fishing in Galveston Bay.



No guaran-tee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

Speckled TrouT

matagordaFive-year-old Sophie Marti-nez caught the first speckled trout of the day, as “she always does.” Caught in the Colorado River off Selkirk Island in Matagorda.

SalT STrinGer

rockportGrady King caught these fish while fish-ing with his Poppi and his house in Rockport.

redFiSh

arroyo citySandra Quiroga of Santa Rosa caught her very first slot Redfish measuring just over 20 inches, using artificial bait out of Arroyo City.

hybrid STriped baSS

lake Fort phantom hillJonathan Rogers with a 24-inch hybrid caught at Lake Fort Phantom Hill.

WhiTeTail

TrinityGavin Gregory, 10, of Tomball shot his first deer while hunting with his dad, Michael Gregory in Trinity, on youth weekend. He used a .243 Remington rifle at approximately 80 yards.

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 files only, please.

redFiSh

port nechesRiley Sellers, 8, caught her first redfish, 24 inches, while fishing in Bessie Heights in Port Neches.

black drum

crystal beachIva, better known as “MeMaw” or “Grandma” to some, caught this 30-pound black drum in Crystal Beach. She caught it and brought it in all by herself. Not bad for an 89-year-old.

larGemouTh

athensReagyn Pyfer, 9, of North Richland Hills shows off the big bass she caught with the help of her dad, Darren, in a pond near Athens.





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december 2012

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texas fish game publishing

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