Page 23 Big bucks … Club International. Page 7 NATIONAL Trematodes, a small parasite, are responsible for the death of 3,000 Minnesota waterfowl. Page 6 Big bucks bowing up …

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGE

PAIDPLANO, TX

PERMIT 210

INDEXClassifieds Page 18

Crossword Page 20

Game Warden Blotter Page 12

Fishing Report Page 24

Heroes Page 18

Hunting Season Dates Page 9

Outdoor Datebook Page 21

Products Page 23

Weather Page 20

Wild in the Kitchen Page 20

INSIDE

www.lonestaroutdoornews.com

Texas’ Premier Outdoor NewspaperNovember 23, 2007 �Volume 4, Issue 7�

FISHING

The Texas Clipper, a 473-foot, 7,000-ton vessel, isnow an artificial reef nearSouth Padre Island.

Page 10

Stickers, the breeder buckknown as Texas’ biggestdeer, upped his B&C scoreto 352 1/8.

Page 8

HUNTING

Gifts for theoutdoorsman

Ideas for him and her

Page 23

CONSERVATIONGameWardenJarrod Bryantwas namedTexasWildlifeOfficer of theYear byShikar-SafariClub International.

Page 7

NATIONALTrematodes, a small parasite,are responsible for the deathof 3,000 Minnesota waterfowl.

Page 6

Big bucks bowing up

EARS DOWN: Bucks are moving more, and aggresssive behavior is signaling the rut in much of the state. Photo by David J. Sams.

Acorns, pecanshurt some action

in first monthThe abundance of acorns, pecans

and other food on the ground andthick brush made the hunting diffi-cult during the Texas deer season’sfirst month.

Activity near feeders slowed to acrawl in most areas, and the thickbrush made deer hard to spot.

But a bright spot in many regionshas been increased deer activity asthe days shorten, especially in thenorthern part of the state.

“Our deer started moving threeweeks ago with the harvest moon,”said Mike Ford, who operates RioRojo Ranch in Red River County.“They are really moving now, and Ihave never seen the acorns so thick.They are falling in clusters.”

Farther south, the deer are juststarting to move. “It’s starting topick up,” said Kendall White withGolden Triangle Outfitters, whoguides hunters in Uvalde County.“This little cold spell is helping, andit’s also resulted in the deer startingto come to the corn.”

Ford also has hunted near Cotullafor the past 17 years. “The deer aren’tmoving at all down there,” he said.“The best day to hunt there isChristmas Day — if you can get awaywith it.”

In Coleman County, Amber

Pheasantson the

upswingHunters readyto head for the

Panhandle BY CRAIG NYHUS

The pheasant opener Dec. 2in the Texas Panhandle hashunter’s hopes flying high.

“It’s stupid,” said Rick Jonesof High Flying Outfitters inDumas of the number of birdsin the area. Jones hunts pheas-ants in Moore County.“There’s a lot of cover rightnow, so we need some weath-er.”

Jones isn’t worried aboutthe weather, though. “We stillhave a few weeks,” he said.“We could have two blizzardsby then up here.”

Jones hunts CRP fields,milo, corn and wheat stubble.

ROOSTER!: A good pheasant hatch hasTexas hunters primed for the seasonopener on Dec. 2.

Fresh water changesbay fishing tactics

Influx of nutrients brightens futureBY HAL BROWN

Fishing in the Coastal Bend has-n’t really been bad this year, it’sjust that an extra helping of waterin Corpus Christi and the AransasBay area rearranged the sportfish-ing terrain and fish weren’t to befound at the usual spots.

“We had high tides the wholeyear,” said Gary Einkauf, who hasguided in the area for 30 years andruns Shallow Water Charters in

Port Aransas. “For some reasonnow every September we get hightides that last six to eight weeks.That’s been going on this year. Itwas a foot to 2 feet above normalfrom Labor Day until that northerhit about Oct. 20. We caught fish,but it was a different kind of fish-ing. You couldn’t flats fish, youcouldn’t sight fish — the waterwas too high.”

There have been fish around,

Ray Murski’s grandsonHarrison was the good luckcharm needed for Murski totake a Bosque County buckhe had been watching for sixyears.

Page 8

See DEER, Page 17

See PHEASANTS, Page 25

See LEVELS, Page 25

Page 2 � November 23, 2007

November 23, 2007 � Page 3



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NATIONALPage 6 � November 23, 2007

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Trematodes, a small intestinal par-asite, are believed to have killed about3,000 waterfowl on LakeWinnibigoshish, according to theMinnesota Department of NaturalResources.

The parasites have a complex lifehistory and require two intermediatehosts, such as snails, for the parasitesto develop. Waterfowl then consumethe infected snails, and the adulttrematodes attack the internal organsor blood of the birds. Infected birdsappear lethargic and have difficultydiving and flying before eventuallydying.

Dead and sick birds were firstobserved on Oct. 28 on the westshore of the lake.

Staff from the Minnesota DNR andU.S. Department of Agriculture’sWildlife Services removed about1,000 dead scaup from Lake

Winnibigoshish on Nov. 3. In previous cases of waterfowl die-

off caused by trematodes, ducks usu-ally died three to eight days afteringesting a lethal dose of the trema-todes.

Avian predators and mammalianscavengers, particularly bald eaglesand raccoons, have been feeding onthe sick and dead birds. Thereappears to be no threat that they areat risk from feeding on carcasses,however.

Avian trematodes are not known tobe a health risk to humans, but theDNR recommends that hunters notconsume sick waterfowl and use stan-dard precautions, such as wearingrubber gloves and thoroughly wash-ing hands when cleaning waterfowl.

— Minnesota Department of NaturalResources report.

Wildlife officer injured in shootout with hunter

Matt Flowers, a five-year wildlifeofficer with the Arkansas Gameand Fish Commission, wasinjured during a shootout with aman suspected of illegal hunting.Flowers, of Maumelle, was shotonce in the chest during an alter-cation with a man suspected ofillegally hunting in North LittleRock’s Burns Park.

Flowers was checking Phillip

Kelly, 36, of North Little Rock, tosee if he had been hunting in thearea when the struggle broke out.Flowers returned fire and hit Kellywith several shots.

Flowers was taken to an areahospital where he was treated forhis injuries and released. He waswearing body armor that prevent-ed any serious injuries. Kelly wasable to get away from Flowers and

flee from the scene to a nearbyhouse.

Kelly has been charged withattempted capital murder in theshooting. He is presently in a LittleRock hospital where he is underguard and recovering from hisinjuries.

— Arkansas Game and FishCommission report.

A multi-state covert investigationinvolving the illegal buying, selling,possession and transportation offoxes and coyotes resulted in arrestsbeing made across the Southeastand Midwest.

Conservation Police Officers withthe Virginia Department of Gameand Inland Fisheries conducted astatewide inspection of 41 foxhoundtraining facilities, shutting down 36for violations of their permits.

The investigation began in 2006.Foxes and coyotes were trapped andsold in western states and illegallytransported to Alabama, Georgia,Kentucky, North Carolina, SouthCarolina and Virginia for use in fox-hound training facilities.

“From what I learned, this is aclosed society with access to thefacilities limited to a very few peo-ple,” said VDGIF Chairman JamesW. Hazel.

— Virginia Department of Gameand Inland Fisheries report.

Illegal trade in foxes,coyotes uncovered

Parasite likely cause of scaup, coot deaths


CONSERVATION

The population of the Amur tiger, alsoknown as the Siberian tiger, is showingsigns of recovery.

During the past 100 years, the Amur tigerpopulation was decimated in the RussianFar East by forest destruction, trophy hunt-ing and poaching for tiger body parts foruse in traditional Chinese medicine. By the1940s the number surviving had dwindledto an estimated 50.

Contributions of more than $1 million,including more than $600,000 in U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service grants along withpartner donations and in-kind contribu-tions, spurred the recovery.

Service grants have helped pay for vehi-cles, uniforms, fuel and even salaries forRussian game wardens who have had suc-cess in deterring poachers.

Recent surveys indicate that between 331and 370 adult tigers and 100 young —about 450 tigers in all — are living in theRussian Far East, representing 95 percent ofthe total population.

Amur tigers, which can weigh up to 600pounds at maturity, are loners that travelenormous distances in search of prey, suchas elk and wild boar.

— U.S. Fish and Wildlife report.

Game Warden JarrodE. Bryant of Marshallhas been named “TexasWildlife Officer of theYear” for 2007 by thewildlife conservationand hunting organiza-tion Shikar-Safari ClubInternational.

Bryant continues hisgame warden careerwhere it began in Harrison County.

Bryant’s career has emphasized youthoutreach and community involvement.He has mentored local college studentsinterested in wildlife law enforcementand cultivated positive attitudes aboutwildlife conservation enforcementthrough community policing.

As a certified Hunter Education instruc-tor, Bryant assists other local hunter edu-

cation instructors and presents programsto many schools, civic groups and agricul-tural meetings.

Bryant apprehended a number of sus-pected illegal deer hunters who had hunt-ed deer without landowner consent in acoal-producing part of Harrison County.This private land has long been the sceneof state jail felonies involving deer huntedwithout consent, deer hunted at night,conspiracy, death threats to witnesses andillegal drug sales and drug abuse. For 12months, Bryant investigated suspecteddeer poachers, with his work yielding 10criminal cases. The largest mounted deerseized from this illegal operation was a 32-point whitetail buck scoring 208 5/8inches.

— Texas Parks and Wildlife report.

Group out to restore waterfowling heritageDelta Waterfowl is seeking to restore

Canada’s waterfowl hunting heritage. “Canada had more than 500,000 water-

fowl hunters back in the 1970s,” PresidentRob Olson said. “In recent years that num-ber has shrunk to less than 170,000.”

Delta teamed with the Manitoba WildlifeFederation and Manitoba Conservation to

hold the country’s first-ever mentoredyouth duck hunt.

Working with several partners, DeltaBiologist Carly Michie recently heldCanada’s first women’s duck hunt, as well asa hunt for university students.

— Delta Waterfowl report.

Shikar-Safari recognizesBryant as officer of year

Service grants, donations aid in recovery of Siberian tiger

JARROD E. BRYANT


HUNTING

On the growStickers’ B&C score climbs

BY BILL MILLER

tickers, the Medina Countybreeder buck widely known asthe biggest deer in Texas, is anewsmaker once again.

His antlers recently earned aBoone and Crockett score of 352 1/8,up from his score last year of 335 1/8.

Stickers’ steady diet of a new feedcalled Record Rack and a life’s work ofbreeding might sound like deerNirvana.

But Sammy Nooner of Hondo, whoowns Stickers, said the big headlineought to be that this 6-year-old buck isstill standing.

That’s because he has survived thestress of having changed homes twicein the past year, the new diet, and therigors of creating baby monarchs — allfactors that should have shrunk hisscore.

“He’s just a laid-back deer,” Noonersaid. “If he was a stressed deer, hecouldn’t have endured.”

Stickers’ name has been associatedwith some of the top deer breeders inTexas.

He was born in 2001 on the GlenMorgan ranch at Uvalde, the offspringof a doe impregnated by artificialinsemination from an Ohio legendnamed Redoy Ben.

Tommy Dugger of Three Rivers, oneof the state’s top breeders, owned him

briefly, but then sold him to Nooner inFebruary for a price that’s being keptbetween them.

Meanwhile the buck’s reputationhas percolated on the Internet.

Gene Naquin, Nooner’s ranch man-ager, said Stickers has sired a 2-year-oldbuck whose rack carries an estimatedBoone and Crockett score between 250and 260.

He also has a yearling son that’sreported to be close to 185, Naquinsaid.

Stickers’ growth spurt is remarkable,he explained, because breeding can bedangerously stressful on a buck.

A breeding operation doesn’t justinvolve mating does. Semen is collect-ed and sold for artificial insemination.To do that, a buck must be anes-thetized.

That brings more stress, said BobZaiglin, a wildlife consultant who alsochairs the wildlife biology departmentat Southwest Texas Junior College inUvalde.

Zaiglin, an official scorer for theBoone and Crockett Club, certified thelatest score on Stickers by measuringhis antlers, which were removed fromthe deer as part of the breedingprocess, while some of his studentsobserved.

“It’s very hard on them,” Zaiglinsaid. “Not only are they drugged, but B&C BOOST: Stickers, known as Texas’ biggest buck, was moved twice and had his diet changed this year. Despite

the changes, he upped his B&C score to 352 1/8. Photo by David J. Sams.

IF THE GUNFITS SHOOT IT

Big shotguns often ruin youth’s formBY CHUCK UZZLE

Texas hunters do everything big —including purchasing their firearms.

The bigger is better theory has somemerit, but not when it comes to smallerhunters, namely women or children.

When the first dove, duck or even aCanada goose comes in to range and it’stime to take the shot, the smaller hunter’spull of the trigger may be followed by ahowl of agony and an “Oh, no,” from thehunting companion.

An improperly fitted rifle or shotgun

will do more damage to a novice hunterthan just about anything.

Guns that are too big or heavy causeany hunter to compromise his or her formto compensate for the pain when theweapon is fired.

And flinching before the trigger ispulled is the most common result of a badrecoil experience. Gunsmiths and shoot-ers say that fitting the right gun to eachhunter is the best prevention of flinching.

Overzealous dads are the worst, and,“He’ll grow into this one,” is not what you

SIZING UP: Hunter Uzzle of Orange gets fitted for his new shotgun. Photo by Chuck Uzzle.

LONG-AWAITED: After pursuing him for four weeks, Ray Murski finally located Ear and aHalf, the buck he had been watching for six years. Photo by Amanda Murski.

‘Daddy Ray that’s him’At Ray Murski’s 1,850-acre ranch in Bosque

County, he had been watching the buck he named“Ear and a Half” for six years.

When the big buck turned 6-1/2 years old, hedecided it was time to seriously pursue the big buckwith a short ear.

Spending 30 hours over four weeks, he felt like theyhad the buck patterned. Then things changed and hecompletely left the area where he had been living.

On Nov. 3, Murski’s luck changed.“My 9-year-old grandson, Harrison Murski came

up to me just before we were leaving to do ourevening hunt,” Murski said. He said, “Granddad, Ifeel lucky tonight. I feel like I am your good luckcharm.”

Murski agreed and invited Harrison to go along onthe evening hunt.

The pair got into the blind named Blind No. 1about 5 p.m. “I had hunted that blind several timespreviously without ever seeing him,” Murski said.“We had put out Acorn Rage and Buck Bran in six dif-ferent locations around the food plot and aRemington corn feeder that we hoped would give us

a glimpse of him.”At 6 p.m., the corn feeder went off. A few does and

fawns came to the food plot. And 10 minutes laterthings really started to happen.

“A good, mature buck came out around the AcornRage pile,” Murski said. “Then came another andanother and then a really big deer. Harrison said“Daddy Ray, that’s him.”

Harrison was right.“We had the video camera going and Harrison and

I were trying to keep each other calm,” Murski said.“He kept telling me, ‘Daddy Ray, it only takes oneshot.’”

They waited and waited until the shot was right.Then Murski’s Remington BDL 7 Mag fired the 175grain Core-Lokt round and it was all over. “I have toadmit it was an unbelievable feeling I have neverexperienced,” Murski said.

Murski credits the ranch’s management programfor the big buck. “These are all native deer,” he said.“We started our program in 1991, and we keep ourbuck-to-doe ratio at about 125 bucks to 60 to 70 does.

S

See STICKERS, Page 17

See FITS, Page 16

See MURSKI, Page 17

Hunter downs big buck ‘Ear and a Half’


2007-08 TEXAS HUNTING SEASONSWHITE-TAILED DEER General

YOUTH SEASON Jan. 19-20NORTH TEXAS (200 counties) Nov. 3-Jan. 6 PANHANDLE (6 counties) Nov. 17-Dec. 2 SOUTH TEXAS (30 counties) Nov. 3-Jan. 20

Late Antlerless and Spike

EDWARDS PLATEAU (39 counties) Jan. 7-20SOUTH TEXAS (30 counties) Jan. 21-Feb. 3

Muzzleloader (23 counties)Antlerless and Spike Only Jan.12-20

MULE DEER

General

PANHANDLE (36 counties) Nov. 17-Dec. 2SOUTHWESTERN PANHANDLE Nov. 17-25(7 counties)TRANS-PECOS (19 counties) Nov. 24-Dec. 9

RIO GRANDE TURKEY

Fall SeasonYOUTH SEASON Jan. 19-20NORTH TEXAS (122 counties) Nov. 3-Jan. 6SOUTH TEXAS (26 counties) Nov. 3-Jan. 20

Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg and Willacy counties Nov. 3-Feb. 24

DOVE

North Zone CLOSED

Central Zone Dec. 26-Jan. 4

Bag limit 12 birds per day, 24 in possession

South Zone Dec. 26-Jan. 12

Bag limit 12 birds per day, 24 in possession

Special South Texas Zone Dec. 26-Jan. 8Bag limit 12 birds per day, 24 in possession

QUAILStatewide Oct. 27-Feb. 24Bag limit: 15 birds per day, 45 in possession.

PHEASANTPanhandle (37 counties) Dec. 1-30 Bag limit: 3 roosters per day, 6 in possession.Chambers, Jefferson, Liberty counties Nov. 3-Feb. 24

DUCK

High Plains Mallard Management Unit

REGULAR Oct. 26-Jan. 27

North Zone

REGULAR Nov. 3-25; Dec. 8-Jan. 27

South Zone

REGULAR GUN Nov. 3-25; Dec. 8-Jan. 27

Duck Bag Limit:

The daily bag limit shall be 5 ducks with the following

species and sex restrictions — scaup, redhead and wood

duck — 2 ducks; only 1 from the following aggregate

bag: 1 hen mallard, or 1 pintail, or 1 canvasback, or 1

"dusky duck" (includes mottled duck, Mexican-like duck,

black duck, and their hybrids); all other ducks not listed

— 5 ducks.

Possession limit: Twice the daily bag limit.

GOOSE

West

LIGHT AND DARK GEESE Nov. 3-Feb. 5

Bag Limit:

Light Geese — 20 in the aggregate;

Dark Geese — 3 Canada and 1 white-fronted goose.

CONSERVATION ORDER Feb. 6-March 30

East

LIGHT GEESE Nov. 3-Jan. 27

WHITE-FRONTED GEESE Nov. 3-Jan. 13

CANADA GEESE Nov. 3-Jan. 27

Bag Limit:

Light Geese — 20 in the aggregate;

Dark Geese — 3 Canada and 2 white-fronted.

Possession Limit: Twice the daily bag limit for dark

geese, no possession limit for light geese.

CONSERVATION ORDER Jan. 28-March 30

SANDHILL CRANEZone A: Nov. 3-Feb. 3

Zone B: Nov. 23-Feb. 3

Zone C: Dec. 22-Jan.27

(Seasons on other species may be found on the TPW Web site — tpwd.state.tx.us/)

LONE�STAROUTDOOR NEWS�Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper�

Reports from Avery Pro staffers to the northindicate the waterfowl migration is on its way.

Mike Hungle in Regina, Saskatchewan saidthe snows are mostly gone, and lesser Canadashave arrived. Cold mornings have the small andmedium-sized potholes ice-covered. Hungle saidit has been the strangest and most delayedmigration ever.

John Traiforos said the snows are migratingout of the Saskatoon, Saskatchewan area.Mallards and Canada geese are still around,though.

On the Bighorn River near Billings, Mont.,new mallards and geese are arriving daily, withlittle hunting pressure since deer, elk and pheas-ant seasons are open.

Rick Frisch in Devils Lake, N.D., said birds aremostly gone from the area. But in South Dakota,Martin Hesby near Brookings and Brad Fontainenear Watertown report rising duck numbers andgood snow and Canada goose numbers.

Kirk Steffensen near Lincoln, Neb., reports lit-tle or no migration and slow hunting, and nearEmporia, Kan., Nick Lisec said they are stillhunting local birds.

TPW Weekly Migratory BirdHunting Report

High Plains Mallard Management Unit:Unseasonably warm temperatures have prompt-ed geese to remain on roost ponds longer,reported several outfitters. Hunters nearAmarillo, Spearman and Dumas have seen con-centrations of geese, including an estimated40,000-50,000 on Lake Etter, but the flight hasbeen somewhat limited. When the birds do fly,Canadas have readily decoyed over corn andplowed ground. Snow geese have been decoy

shy. The region needs rain to recharge playalakes. Duck hunting has been good for teal, gad-walls, pintails and a few mallards. Sandhill cranehunting has been good over decoys. Prospectsare fair to good.

North Zone Waterfowl: Despite warmconditions, hunters in Northeast Texas havefared well on lakes and reservoirs. The regionneeds rain to fill sloughs and creeks littered withacorns. Gadwalls, teal and spoonies have madeup the brunt of the bag. Those hunting woodedareas have taken their limit of wood ducks early.Lake Tawakoni was solid for limit shoots. ToledoBend, Lake Fork and Lake Palestine have beengood for greenwings and gadwalls. Closer to thecoast along the IH-10 corridor, teal, gadwalls,pintails and shovelers have been good for half-limits near Nome, China, Hamshire, Winnie,Seally and Brookshire. Prospects are fair to good.

South Zone Waterfowl: The coastalprairies and marshes continue to be the hot bedfor waterfowl hunters in Texas. Prairie pondsnear El Campo, Eagle Lake, Wharton, EastBernard, Lissie, Chesterville and Seally have pro-duced steady limits of greenwings, bluewings,gadwalls, pintails and shovelers. The High Islandmarsh has been good for teal, gadwalls andspoonies. Hunts in Trinity Bay have been fair atbest. Port O’Connor has been solid for gadwallsand wigeons for those able to scout and willingto move. Rockport has been good for redheads,pintails and wigeons on the bay, and teal,wigeons, pintails and spoonies in the freshwatermarsh. Goose numbers are good on the riceprairies, but high skies and light winds have hurtdecoying action. The bright spot is the numberof specklebellies willing to decoy in hot feedingfields. Prospects are good.

Waterfowl Migration Reports

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East Texas 903.692.2725

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FISHING

Tree cutter dives right in

WET AT WORK: Colin Irons exits the water in a Northeast Texas pond with his sealed hydraulic chainsaw.

Underwater worker clears

way for boatersBY MARK ENGLAND

Colin Irons builds roads for anglers andboaters.

Armed with a sealed hydraulic chainsaw anda diving suit, he topples underwater trees tocreate lanes for them to access docks or ventureout on lakes.

The process is similar to cutting timber ondry land — but more dangerous.

“The visibility is usually so poor I can’t seemy hand in front of my face,” said Irons, whosecompany is based in Aubrey. “I put my fore-head on the tree, take my alignment stance andstart cutting. You have to be aware the tree canfall on you even though you’re underwater.Fortunately, I can usually make it fall the direc-tion I want by applying pressure with my fore-head.

“Every now and then you get the odd treethat just floats to the surface. That can be

TEXAS CLIPPER SUNK AS ARTIFICIAL REEF

DOWN SHE GOES: The Texas Clipper made its final journey Friday, Nov. 16. Spectators watched as the Texas Clipper went under in a controlled sinking near South Padre Island on Saturday, Nov. 17 —creating

A ship with three lives — WorldWar II troop transport, New YorkCity luxury liner and sea cadettraining vessel — made her finaljourney Saturday Nov. 17, whenthe Texas Clipper was sent to thebottom of the Gulf of Mexico tobecome an artificial reef.

“It would make a good movie,the twists and turns in this story,”said TPW Artificial Reef ProgramCoordinator J. Dale Shively.“There were times when wethought for sure the project wasdead.”

But nearly a decade after thestate first applied for the transfer ofthe Texas Clipper as part of theartificial reef program, the goalwas accomplished. The U.S.Environmental Protection Agencycertified on Oct. 1 that the shipwas free of hazardous materials.

On Nov. 16, she was towed to asite 17 nautical miles from SouthPadre Island. The next morning,

workers opened valves to flood theship and allow her to settle 134 feetto the hard sand bottom. Two dayslater the site was open to the pub-lic for diving and fishing.

The 473-foot, 7,000-ton vesselwas launched on Sept. 12, 1944 asthe USS Queens, a WWII transportand attack ship. She carried troopsand wounded from Pacific battle-fields and was the first attack

transport arriving at Iwo Jima.After the war until 1958, she was

recommissioned as the SSExcambion, one of the post-warFour Aces for American ExportLines. She carried cargo and pas-sengers in grand style betweenNew York City and Mediterraneanports.

From 1965-1994, she sailed asthe USTS Texas Clipper, a Texas

A&M University-Galveston mar-itime training vessel. Formercadets who once sailed on theClipper were present when shewent out for the last time.

As an artificial reef off SouthPadre Island, the ship could gener-ate up to $30 million annually infishing and scuba diving tourismfor local economies more than 50years. The structure is expected toform the foundation of a vibrantcommunity of corals and fish.

— Texas Parks and Wildlife report.

NOT POPULAR, BUT FUN: The freshwater drum isusually caught on baits near the bottom.

Lowly drum excellent light tackle sport

BY JOHN N. FELSHER

bout 12 feet down, thebig fish grabbed thelive shad and startedrunning for deep

water, making the drag scream.The angler envisioned break-

ing the state bass record as ahuge fish appeared in thegreenish waters. Indeed, itweighed more than the statechampion bass, but it didn’tmake the record books. In fact,it didn’t even make thelivewell.

Large, abundant and barely

tolerated, freshwater drumoffer outstanding sport onlight tackle, but few peopleintentionally fish for them.Most anglers catch them byaccident, and then utter a fewchoice words. Drum, though,can offer anglers opportunitiesto catch really big fish with rel-ative ease.

“Freshwater drum are anoverlooked and underappreci-ated species,” said fishing guideJerry Crook. “Often, whenpeople catch drum, they arepleasantly surprised by howmuch fun it is. A 15- to 25-

pound drum doesn’t even raisean eyebrow. Sometimes, wecatch more than 300 poundsof drum a day.It’s fun fight-ing big fish.”

Benny Hulllanded theworld record,a 54.5-poundfish inTennessee. InTexas, BillyWalker pulledthe staterecord, a 34-pound, 11.2-ounce tackle-buster from LakeTexoma in 1995.

Close relatives of redfish andblack drum of estuary fame,freshwater drum closely resem-ble their marine cousins with

large silvery to bronze orbrownish bodies. Color largelydepends on the habitat.

Freshwaterdrum inhabitalmost everybody of waterin the state,except parts ofthe Panhandleand extremeWest Texas.They preferlarge riverswith little tomoderate cur-rent, but also

thrive in deep reservoirs. Freshwater drum spend most

of their time rummaging likeaquatic pigs near hard bottomstructure. Opportunistic feed-

Few anglers intentionally

fish for them

Ship sent to bottom of the Gulf

‘Freshwater drum arean overlooked andunderappreciated

species.’— JERRY CROOK

A

See CUTTER, Page 14

See DRUM, Page 14


A group of avid kayak anglers andveterans of the U.S. armed forceshave formed the Kayak AnglersSociety of America.

Based in San Antonio, KASA willbe devoted to increasing access toand participation in kayak anglingthroughout the United States.

The notion of forming a new“umbrella” organization to promotekayak fishing and advocate forgreater access and resource conserva-tion grew after KASA ExecutiveDirector Brad Newman talked withthe founder of one of the nation’slargest competitive fishing organiza-tions.

“He told me how concerned hewas about the declining number ofanglers in his organization across thecountry,” Newman said. “He attrib-uted the decline to the cost of fuel,insurance and the increasing costsassociated with buying and main-taining a power boat. His words: ‘Iwant to get folks back to the basics,’and he thought kayaks were the wayto do that.”

Newman and fellow board mem-bers Kendal Larson and Jim Dolansay they plan to develop intercolle-

giate kayak fishing clubs on collegecampuses.

“We want to get these men andwomen hooked young,” said Larson,a professional photographer based inthe Houston area. “If we can helpthem get connected with our inlandand coastal public waters, they aregoing to become champions of theresources that make kayak fishingand paddling in general such a spe-cial experience.”

An early meeting withArmyBassAnglers.com’s Maj. CodyRoberson led to a second emphasisfor KASA: wounded warriors in rehabat Brooke Army Medical Center inSan Antonio. Larson and Dolan bothare United States Air Force vets andsaid it was a natural fit.

As part of its outreach to disabledveterans, KASA organizers said, theorganization will be working to pro-vide adaptive paddling instruction aswell as sponsored trips. The kayakangling trips will operate under aprogram called “Heroes on theWater.”

— Kayak Anglers Society ofAmerica report.

New kayak anglers organization has big plans for collegians, veterans

David Curtis of Trinity finishedthird with a two-day total of 16 poundsin the Stren Series Championship onthe Mobile Delta. As the highest fin-isher from the Texas Division of theStren Series, Curtis qualified for theForrest Wood Cup in Columbia, S.C.,next August.

Curtis made a 110-mile run up theAlabama River where he was fishing anoutlet pipe from a paper mill.

“That pipe is constantly flushingout current, so fish live around it allthe time,” he said. “And I was justthrowing a green-pumpkin ZoomTrick on a Gigi-Head on 8-pound testline.”

Mike Jackson of San Mateo, Fla.,won the event. Jackson topped GregBohannan of Rogers, Ark., by 2pounds.

Keith Honeycutt of Temple won theCo-angler Division with a five-basslimit weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces onthe third and final day. On day two,Honeycutt sat in 47th place with onlytwo fish in the livewell. Then his for-tunes changed.

“My pro, Ott Defoe, pulled up to thisone log, and then the most unrealthing happened,” he said. “We startedcatching one fish after another; wecaught 14 bass in the next 30 minutes.”

— FLW report.

PAIR OF WINNERS: David Curtis holds fishthat helped him qualify for the ForrestWood Cup. Photo by FLW.

Curtis qualifies for Forrest Wood Cup

PROMOTING PADDLING: Kayak anglers have a new organization promoting theirfavorite sport.

MAN GETS DOUBLE WHAMMYFROM GAME WARDEN, POLICE

•Freestone County Game WardenJohn Thorne and Lt. TreyShewmake stopped a man head-ing to his deer lease and issued acitation for displaying fictitiouslicense plates on his 4-wheelertrailer. Two days later, the manwas stopped by the Fairfield PoliceDepartment and found to be inpossession of a deer with no proofof sex. The deer turned out to be adoe for which he did not have avalid permit. The deer was seizedand charges filed.

MAN DETAINED WITH LIST OF STOLEN ITEMS

•Wise County Game WardenChris Dowdy received a call froma local rancher stating he was inpursuit of two men on an ATV.When Dowdy arrived on thescene, the rancher had the pairdetained. A set of bolt cutters anda magnet were found on the ATV.When Dowdy searched one of themen, he found a letter in theman’s pocket stating that the ATVwas stolen along with a list ofother items the men intended tosteal that night. Cases pending.

MAN LEASED PROPERTYTHAT IS NOT HIS

•Leon County Game WardenDanny Flores was called regardinga possible trespass incident. Theinvestigation revealed that a manwas found to be leasing out prop-erty he did not own to hunters.The man had to repay thehunters. Case pending.

STOLEN ITEMS FOUNDIN BED OF TRUCK

•Angelina County Game WardenJames Barge received a call thatsomeone was spotlighting on thecaller’s property. Barge located avehicle occupied by two men inpossession of two guns and a spot-

light. The bed of the truck was fullof items stolen from the caller’sproperty. Charges of huntingwithout landowner consent andtheft were filed. Cases pending.

INTOXICATED POACHERSFACE FELONY CHARGES

•Van Zandt County GameWardens Steve Stapleton andAdam Clark were notified ofpoachers at a local ranch. A retiredcounty deputy heard shots fromhis house and drove to the loca-tion to see a truck parked sidewaysshining its headlights into a field.The occupants of the truck wereso intoxicated that the witnesswas able to approach the vehicleand get a complete description ofall three men and the truck’slicense plate number. The war-dens recovered a rifle, spotlight,night vision scope and two deer.Felony and Class A misdemeanorcharges were filed.

HUNTER SHOOTS DECOY,DAMAGES MOTOR

•Robertson County GameWardens Russell Murden andJason Bussey worked a decoy deeroff of a county road where a deercarcass had been found the previ-ous week with its head cut off.The decoy was no more than 50yards from where the previousdeer had been found. At approxi-mately 9:45 p.m., a truck stoppedabruptly, and the driver got outand fired a shot at the deer. Theshooter hit the decoy in the neckand destroyed the motor. The

vehicle, with three occupants,was stopped. A .22-caliber Marlinrifle was seized. Cases and restitu-tion for damage done to thedecoy are pending. Investigationof the previous deer killed at thelocation is still pending.

WARDEN STOPS JUVENILESFROM BURNING DOWN SCHOOL

•Denton County Game WardenRon VanderRoest was returninghome after checking hunterswhen a call was sent out regardingthree juveniles attempting to setthe local school on fireVanderRoest was nearby and wasable to apprehend the three juve-niles and put out the fire withoutdamage.

ANTLER RESTRICTIONCHARGES FILED

•Leon County Game WardensDwight Myers and Danny Flores,and Henderson County GameWarden Audie Hamm discovereda quartered buck in an ice chest,and the antler spread measuredonly 11 inches. Charges of violat-ing the antler restriction and civilrestitution are pending.

STOLEN ITEMS RECOVERED FROM DEER CAMP

•Freestone County Game WardenJohn Thorne and Lt. TreyShewmake, from one deer camp,recovered a stolen Polaris Ranger,a Yamaha 4-wheeler, a John Deeretractor with front-end loader, a30-foot travel trailer, and seized asawed off shotgun.

MAN CAUGHT LATER AT HOME AFTER WIFE’S CALL TO WARDEN

•Borden County Game WardenBrent Tucker observed a vehicleexit a private road, stop on thepublic road and then drive away.Upon stopping the vehicle, it wasdetermined that the man was try-ing to pick up his friend who hadspotted a deer on the neighbor’sproperty, jumped the fence andtold him to come back later topick him up. The man in the pas-ture refused to come out evenwhen family members tried tocoax him out. Two hours later, theman’s wife called Tucker and toldhim her husband had arrivedback at their house two milesaway. The man was arrested forhunting without landowner con-sent.

MAN SAID HE HAD BETTER THINGS TO DO THAN CLEAN HIS DEER

•Game Warden Justin Valcharand Lt. Lewis Rather werepatrolling deer camps inStonewall County. At one deercamp, the occupants were asked ifthey had done any good. Oneman said he had harvested a doeearly the previous morning.When asked what he had donewith the deer, he mentioned thathe had done nothing because hehad other things to do. An inves-tigation of the camp found thedeer behind a wood shed on topof a hog trap where it had been fortwo days. The man was advisedthat he had failed to keep the deer

in edible condition. Charges werefiled.

SIX APPREHENDED HUNTING ON MAN’S LAND

•Travis County Game WardensJosh Koenig and Cody Jonesresponded to a call from alandowner who was on his proper-ty with his son when they saw atruck with occupants carryingrifles riding in his pasture. Jonesblocked the gate, and Koenig wentonto the property to find thetruck. Six men were apprehendedand each had a rifle or shotgunwith slugs, including a Browning 9mm that was stolen. The menadmitted to shooting a hog butwere unable to find it. Several ofthem also had no hunting licens-es. Cases pending.

LANDOWNER REPORTS FINDINGDEER FEEDER ON HIS PROPERTY

•Montgomery County GameWarden Ernie Garcia received acall from a local landowner whohad located a deer feeder on hisproperty. Garcia located a deerstand on the adjacent property.He observed the feeder on open-ing morning with no activity.The property owner called laterthat evening when he saw twopeople walking on his propertynear the feeder. Garcia arrivedand located a man and womanwho tried to evade, but were cap-tured. The couple had a .22 caland .30-30 rifle. Cases pending.

DEER DECOYS ATTRACTONLOOKERS, NO SHOOTERS

•Val Verde County GameWardens JC Flores, JasonHuebner, Marcus Vela andMichael Vela conducted a two-day decoy deer operation. Theyused the decoy each day and atnight. They had plenty of lookersbut no shooters. One individualeven got out to take pictures.


Harris County Game WardenDerek Spitzer checked a groupof duck hunters with a blacklab. As Spitzer was talking tothe hunters, the dog was run-

ning around and disap-peared. After a few minutes,the dog returned with a henpintail and delivered it toSpitzer's hand, which made

the group over the limit ofpintails. One of the huntersadmitted to hiding the pintailas Spitzer drove up. Casepending.

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alarming since I don’t know where thetree’s gone.”

Irons has 10 years of experience as acommercial diver. He’s certified inadvanced technical diving and is also ascuba instructor.

He learned his trade performingpotable water tank inspections.

“Basically, I was diving into your drink-ing water,” he said.

Irons migrated into cutting boatinglanes after hearing at a dive shop about anEast Texas man who was spending hisweekends trying to clear a path to hisboathouse.

It took Irons a day to finish the job.“Most people think their only option is

to cut off the tops of trees or, if they havea pond, drain it and go out and cut thetrees with a conventional saw,” Irons said.

Irons uses a chainsaw with two hoses:One sends hydraulic fluid to the chain-saw, and the other takes it away. Afterdonning a diving suit, full-face mask,weights and harness, he dives into hiswork.

“I cut most trees as far down as I wouldon dry land,” he said. “I produce a similarstump. Usually I’m touching bottom. It’smuch harder trying to cut a tree whilefloating. I’ve done it. I wrapped my legsaround the tree and reached up and cut itwith the chainsaw. I was concentratingtoo much to be unnerved.”

Although cutting boat lanes can bedangerous, not doing so can be evenmore hazardous.

“If you’re going slow and bump astump, it’s probably not going to hurt youor your boat,” said Mike Carr, facilitymanager at Toledo Bend Reservoir for theSabine River Authority. “If you’re goingfast, though, it can tear up your boat ortoss you out.”

Carr said Toledo Bend has built 185miles of boat lanes since 1990. They leadonto the lake and even crisscross it.Before, people had to trailer to most

places on the lake, he said.“Now you can go almost anywhere,”

Carr said. “It was like building an inter-state.”

Irons cuts boat lanes mostly for ownersof private lakes or ponds — though he hasworked on lakes owned by water districts.Many public Texas lakes, including thoseowned by the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, don’t permit property ownersto build boat lanes.

“You have to remember ours are publiclakes,” said Mike McInnis, chief of naturalresources, recreation section, for theCorps’ Fort Worth office. “We don’t usu-ally approve projects that are for theexclusive benefit of someone.”

Many of his clients are victims of cir-cumstance, Irons said.

“Sometimes they don’t realize wherethe water level is going to end up, saidIrons [(940) 367-5621]. “Or their pondwill get filled up before they get around tocutting down the trees and, then, it’s toolate.”

He works year-round, Irons said —including winter.

“As long as the ice isn’t too thick, and Ican break through, I can go to work,” hesaid. “I wear a lot more insulation undermy suit, and it makes my time spent theremore miserable. If I plan right, I can pret-ty much work all day.”

He adds a caveat, though.“Just don’t go encouraging people to

only call me when their lake or pond isiced over,” he said.

ers, they slurp crawfish, snails, cut fish, variousinvertebrates and many other natural baits. Theyalso eat shad, minnows and other baitfish.

“Drum can be caught in droves by drifting a liveminnow, shad or shiner on just a hook and a splitshot,” Crook said. “We also catch drum catfishingwith cut bait or stinkbait.”

In sandy or muddy areas with isolated rocks orshell beds, they overturn rocks to search formorsels. With crushing plates in their throats,freshwater drum can smash snails or mussel shells.Anglers sometimes “bait” an area with crackedclams to attract drum.

“If anglers know where to find good clam beds,they can probably find plenty of drum,” said long-time angler Chris Berzas. “Ledges near sandbarsprovide the major thoroughfare for drum to findforage. Fishing the downstream side of a bar andcasting near the drop-off as the sandbar tapers intothe depths can be a successful tactic.”

In the days before electronic wonders, anglers

found drum by listening.Although people call them gaspergou, grunts,

grinders, thunder pumpers or bubblers, biologistscall them “Aplodinotus grunniens.”

In Latin, “grunniens” means “grunting.” Adrum makes sounds by vibrating muscles againstits swim bladder. They also croak like bullfrogswhen taken from the water.

Occasionally, drum feed near the surface.Anglers seeing water boil might think they foundstripers or largemouths chasing shad. When feed-ing on shad, drum may hit silver, blue or grayishcrankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, white spinnerbaits or achrome jigging spoons. Infrequently, they hitsmall jerkbaits or topwaters.

“Drum get up on the top and suck shad down,”Crook said. “We can hear drum slurping shad inaround dams. It’s like bluegills eating mayflies.We either use live shad or put several frozen shadon one hook and drop them next to the dam.”

On the bottom, drum often hit plastic worms,jigs, grubs or creature baits.

They relish soft plastic minnows, tubes or craw-fish, especially baits with built-in scent.

Scientists at Texas Parks andWildlife’s Heart of the HillsFisheries Science Center nearKerrville determined thatSplash, the former worldrecord 121.5-pound blue cat-fish caught from Lake Texomain 2004, was at least 23 yearsold when she died inDecember 2005.

Fish are aged by countingannual growth rings in smallear-bones, called otoliths, thatfish use for balance and hear-ing.

The official age estimate of23+ years indicated that thebig fish may have been as oldas 25. Heart of the Hills

researcher Dave Buckmeiersaid the two years Splashspent in captivity at the TexasFreshwater Fisheries Center inAthens may have beenresponsible for “fuzzy”growth rings on the outeredges of her otoliths.

Splash’s memory will liveon in an exhibit at the TexasFreshwater Fisheries Center,where her skeleton will be dis-played along with the story ofher life. During the two yearsshe was at the center, Splashwas the main attraction.

—Texas Parks and Wildlifereport.

Age of former world record blue catfish Splash revealed

DrumContinued from Page 10

CutterContinued from Page 10

‘I cut most trees as fardown as I would on dryland. I produce a similar

stump. Usually I’mtouching bottom.’

— COLIN IRONS

TPW passes ‘Party Boat’ license rules for inland waters

The Texas Parks andWildlife Commissionapproved regulations thatwould require party boatoperators to be licensed andtheir boats inspected andinsured.

According to the regula-tions approved by the com-mission, party boat means “avessel rented or leased for agroup recreational event formore than six passengers thatoperates on inland waters ofthis state.”

Not included in the defini-tion are boats less than 30 feetin length, sailboats, livery ves-

sels or any vessel used fortraining purposes.

According to the rules, aparty boat is subject to anannual inspection; requiresthe operator to be at least 21years of age, licensed and tohave completed a boater safe-ty course; imposes limits onthe number of passengers;and requires a minimumamount of liability insurance.

Enforcement of the regula-tions will begin by June 2008.

— Texas Parks and Wildlifereport.



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www.dillonmanuf.comwant to say or think when buying a gun. “Isee it all the time,” said longtime gunsmithRay Perry of Bridge City. “A guy gets a gun forhis wife or child, and it doesn’t fit properly sothey aren’t comfortable shooting.

“These guys try to make the person fit thegun instead of the other way around. Whatdo you think happens when your wife orchild bruises her shoulder or breaks her noseon a scope when she shoots?” he asked.“They don’t shoot any more.”

The prospective gun buyer has a world ofdifferent youth model shotguns to choosefrom, and every major brand of gun manu-facturer has a youth model shotgun from a.410 to a 12 gauge.

An overlooked factor regarding youthmodel shotguns is weight, as some weighnearly as much as the regular models. Theweight of the guns compared with the size ofthe shooter can become disproportionate.“If the youngster is carrying the same weightas the man is carrying, it can be really toughon the kid,” said Ron Rutledge ofMcClelland’s Gun Shop in Dallas.

Youth model shotguns fall into threegroups: single shot, pump action, and semi-automatic. The safest of the three is the sin-gle shot where you cock the hammer andpull the trigger.

The pump shotgun is the most popularmodel for smaller hunters, and the youthmodel Remington 870 is the standard. Othercompanies like Mossberg also make good

pump shotguns for smaller shooters, withinterchangeable stocks. As the younghunters grow, they can change out the smallstock for a standard size model.

The single-shot and pump shotguns havea drawback, though, in the felt recoil. “Theyare about the same,” Rutledge said. “Those,as well as over/unders and side-by-sides,have direct recoil. If the length of pull of thegun is too short or too long, it will slide onthe shoulder and kick pretty hard.”

The semi-automatic models are moreexpensive but offer added benefits. The feltrecoil on the semi auto is much less thanksto the gas being channeled into service as ithelps to eject the spent shell and load thenext round.

A popular model for a young shootercomes from Charles Daly; the youth model20 gauge weighs in at just more than 5pounds. The youth model comes in fullcamo or black synthetic with three screw-inchokes and is chambered for 3-inch shells tohandle heavy waterfowl loads. The lightweight makes the gun easy for smallerhunters to swing leading to better shots.

Another option for smaller hunters is tohave a regular-sized shotgun cut down to fitby a gunsmith. Gunsmiths advise that if youdo have a gun cut down, to be sure to pur-chase another full-sized stock to replace itlater.

Gunsmiths recommend keeping thesethings in mind when you decide to buy ashotgun for your child or spouse. It may bethe determining factor that either keepsthem hunting with you or sends them insearch of a new hobby.

FitsContinued from Page 8

Texas shooters clinchNSCA national championships

Dan Carlisle of Austin won the 19th NSCANational Championships at the NationalShooting Complex in San Antonio. The com-petition was the largest in NSCA history withmore than 1350 competitors shooting for thetitle.

A former world champion and Olympicmedalist, Carlisle, using his Beretta DT10,

topped the entire Main Event field with a finalscore of 283/300. World F.I.T.A.S.C. Woman’sChampion Diane Sorantino topped the ladiesfield in the Main Event with a 245/300. JanetMcDougall of San Antonio fired a 75/100 totake the ladies Five-Stand title.

— Beretta USA report.

r


their antlers are cut off.“And any time you move a deer into a

different area, I don’t care how laid back heis, it’s tough.

“If he can grow a little bigger after all ofthat, I have to tip my hat to him. Thatmeans a lot.”

Deer industry observers have said theremay be one or two other bucks in thenation larger than Stickers, but not in Texas.

“I doubt there’s one bigger,” Zaiglin saidof the Texas bucks. “I promise you, if therewas one, you’d have heard of him.”

“We’re very selective. We don’t kill anytrophies until they are six and one-half,” hesaid. “And we don’t shoot any managementdeer until they are at least three. Some of the

deer that looked small when they were youngturned out much differently. Our manage-ment deer pull at least 150.”

Ear and a Half’s score that night was 220 2/8B&C. The buck was rescored later at 226 1/8.“He had two drop tines broken off from previ-ous game camera shots. I know he lost aboutnine or 10 inches,” Murski said. “I’ll bet theygrow back by the time he gets on the wall.”

MurskiContinued from Page 8

StickersContinued from Page 8

Waska of Houston saw tons of nuts on theground, but most werepecans. “It makes thedeer hunting prettydifficult,” she said.“The deer stayed closeto the river where allthe pecans were. Wetried to get into thethick brush, but wereally could use afreeze.”

Waska said the deerhave been unusuallyactive. “We saw quite afew active deer,” shesaid. “At first, wethought it was a falserut, but there were sev-eral good-sized deer moving, and only onebuck was still hanging back in the brush. Thebucks moving did appear to be younger,though.”

Not all Texas hunters are seeing a bumpercrop of acorns.

Hunters in areas of Blanco County report-ed much different conditions, with very fewacorns on the ground and the deer readilycoming to feeders.

Billy Higginbotham, wildlife specialist

with the Texas Cooperative ExtensionService in Gilmer, said the presence of oaktrees doesn’t necessarily guarantee an acorncrop; it depends on the species of oak.

But, he said, “I haven’t heard from anyonefrom any region in the state with oak trees

that aren’t pretty con-sistent with acorns.

“And some species(of oak trees) are justhitting their stride,” hesaid. “Some peoplehave been saying thatlive oak acorns in theHill Country havealready fallen, but it’snot true. I was in theHill County last week-end — high winds puta lot of acorns on theground but there werestill a lot in the trees.”

Increased activity,cooler temperatures

and the coming rut have deer hunters hop-ing for more deer making their presenceknown.

Higginbotham said the rut is bound tospur bucks out from under the trees; alterna-tively, he added, hunters can get out theirblinds and go in after them.

“Get out from behind the plexiglass andplywood and get into the woods and seewhat’s going on,” he said.

— Staff reports.

‘This little cold spell ishelping, and it’s also resulted in the deer

starting to come to thecorn.’

— KENDALL WHITE

DeerContinued from Page 1

GOOD LUCK CHARM: Ray Murski’s grandson Harrison predicted success just before the eveninghunt. Photo by Amanda Murski.


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Forest Lane, Suite 114South, Dallas, TX, 75243.

STEVE KLEPFER of The Colony shot this Black Buck on the Lammert Ranchsoutheast of Menard. It measured 18.5 inches.

JILL FIELDER, left, and COLLEEN HOLDEN show two reddrum they caught while fishing near Rockport.

GARY GIUDICE shows his largest bass of the day. He caught it at Lake Mateosin Mexico.

MIKE WILSON of Pflugerville took this 180-class buck on opening day at a leasenear Ozona.

KONNER SMITH of Floydada shot his first deer, an antlerlessyearling buck, in Coke County.


Lone Star Outdoor News

ACROSS

1. Term for an in-hole fireplace5. Discarded antlers8. Type of practice arrowhead9. A species of duck

10. A type of bowhunting sight11. Deer uses tail as this against

danger14. A shooting sport16. A good wood for arrow shafts18. Perch are classed as this21. A type of bowhunter target22. Deer venison23. A type of tent24. The grommet on a fly rod25. A bear scent lure26. A diving bird near lakes28. A bow scope protector29. A lane marker in rivers33. A male bighorn34. A very large deer35. Keep handy and in a dry

pouch38. A fish strike39. A game runway41. A hunter’s quarry in Hawaii43. Propels the canoe44. To construct a fly lure46. A buck’s collection of does48. A species of duck49. Name for a chinook salmon50. A species of quail

DOWN

1. Consider this when after certain fish

2. A species of salmon3. To stalk game4. Shotgun shells that fail to fire5. A large caribou

6. A species of wild sheep7. Term for a cold weather tent8. A species of large catfish

12. The most elk populated state13. Known as the BB gun14. A turkey’s feet15. A method of fishing from a

boat17. Hunter’s rifle-carrying strap19. Cloth used to sharpen hooks20. A keen sense most game

have23. The _____ Walton League27. A fly-fishing bait

30. Swimmer snared for the fur31. A wildlife’s frequented area32. Shells and arrows34. The slippery swimmer36. To snag a fish37. A species of grouse40. Laker or brookie41. Prevents easy removal of an

arrow42. A hunter’s firepower45. The loop in a bowstring47. Code for a type bullet

WILD IN THE KITCHENFor crossword puzzle solution, see Page 22

OUTDOOR PUZZLERShrimp Enchiladas Verde

Serves 8Ingredients

1 Pound peeled cooked shrimp (21-25 per pound; thawed if frozen), tails removed, diced

1 Cup frozen corn, thawed2 Four-ounce cans chopped green

chilis, undrained2 Cups canned green enchilada

sauce or green salsa, divided12 Corn tortillas1 15-ounce can nonfat refried

beans1 Cup shredded cheese, such as

Mexican-style, Monterey Jack or cheddar

1/2 Cup chopped fresh cilantro1 Lime, cut into wedges

Combine shrimp, corn, chilis and1/2 cup enchilada sauce in amicrowave-safe medium bowl.Cover and microwave on highuntil heated through, 2 1/2 min-utes.

Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce in aglass 9x13 baking dish coated with

cooking spray. Top with an over-lapping layer of 6 tortillas. Spreadrefried beans evenly over the tor-tillas. Top the beans with theshrimp mixture, followed by theremaining 6 tortillas. Pour theremaining sauce (or salsa) over thetortillas. Cover with foil.

Bake the enchiladas at 425 degreesuntil they begin to bubble on thesides, about 20 minutes. Removethe foil; sprinkle cheese on top.Continue baking until the cheese ismelted, about 5 minutes more. Topwith cilantro and serve with limewedges.

Recipe from EatingWell.com

Deer Sausage Breakfast Muffins12 oz. Cooked venison sausage1 1/2 Cups biscuit mix

1/2 Cup cornbread mix (substitute jalapeño for spicy mix)

1 Cup grated cheddar cheese1 Tablespoon dry minced onions3/4 Cup milk1 Egg

Put biscuit and cornbread mix in

bowl. Add egg, milk and onion andbeat until batter is smooth. Chopcooked sausage into 1/4-inch piecesand add with cheese. Stir into bat-ter. Drop mix into sprayed muffinpan. Bake for 25 minutes at 400degrees. Makes about 18 muffins.

Recipe from Meyer’s Elgin Sausage,www.cuetopiatexas.com

Outdoor Puzzler, Wilbur "Wib" Lundeen


WEATHER

Michael and Susan Yuras, own-ers of Poco Loco Lodge in PortO’Connor, are prepared to give thehunter or angler an experiencethey won’t forget.

Maybe that’s why people comefrom all across Texas and suchstates as North Carolina, SouthCarolina and Utah to take advan-tage of what Poco Loco Lodge hasto offer.

“One of our big draws is ourunique and surprising accommo-dations,” Michael Yuras said. “Therooms are the nicest and cleanestin this area and the amenities arespecial and unusual. Once you stayhere it’s hard not to come back.”

The lodge has eight individualrooms with cable TV and cookingutensils are provided in roomswith a full kitchen. “And theycome loaded with complimentaryStarbucks coffee, snacks anddrinks. And you hear them say,‘We don’t have to pay for all thisstuff?’”

A unique Spanish dish is alsooffered. “We cook a paella forgroups of six or more,” Yuras said.

Other amenities offered includea boat wash-down area includingmotor flush, two outdoor gas grills,three outdoor picnic tables, out-door gas fish cooker, outdoor gaspots for crawfish boils, basketballhoop, ping pong table and plentyof security lighting for parking.

Duck season is in full swing aftera slow start, Yuras said, “it’s startingto improve. They’re coming off the

prairie right now.“We have lots of pintails, red-

heads and some flocks of green-wing teal all on the bay area flats.And duck hunting in this area isreal well-known.”

The lodge has 12 of the finest andmost comfortable blinds in strate-gic areas, and hunters can chooseguided or non-guided hunts.

There is transportation by flat-bottom boats and a custom-builtairboat. It’s safe, fast and will carryeight hunters comfortably.

“It’s kind of a treat,” Yuras said.“We can put you right in the blindeven with your slippers on.”

For the angler, fishing is excel-lent. The lodge offers guided tripsor customers are welcome to bring

their own boats. “We have lots ofredfish,” Yuras said, adding “andthe flounder run has begun andwill continue to improve the cold-er it gets. Most people going outnow are getting their limit.”

The lodge also offers a specialopportunity for companies to puton a recognition event. Ideal whenstaying two nights, the event

includes drinks and snacks uponarrival. The next morning the fish-ing starts around 6:30 a.m. andgoes until 2 or 3 p.m., followed byshish-ka-bobs, a crawfish boil or ashrimp broil.

So when it comes time for thatspecial adventure, put the Poco LocoLodge on your calendar and enjoyhunting and fishing in luxury.

Nov. 29-Dec. 2: The ChallengedOutdoorsmen of America will host its 7thAnnual Deer Hunt at Wright PatmanLake, open to all persons with disabilitiesat no charge. Contact Inez Jackson at(903) 671-2437 for information.

Nov. 29: TheSweetwater DU dinnerwill be held at the ElksLodge. Call JackieRose at (325) 338-4681 for information.

Dec. 1: The Rita BlacaQuail Unlimited chapter dinner will beheld in Dalhart. Call Derek Lepke at(806) 377-6234 for information.

Dec. 1: Orvis endorsed fly-fishing guidesRob Woodruff and Doc Thompson willpresent a program on the basics of flyselection at the Dallas store at 10 a.m.and at the Arlington store at 3 p.m. Forinformation, call (214) 265-1600(Dallas) or (817) 465-5800 (Arlington).

Dec. 1: The Caddo Lake “ChristmasDinner” DU event will be held at theRecreation Hall at Caddo Lake State Parkin Karnack. Call Michael Turner at (903)930-0092 for information.

Dec. 1-2: Abasic huntereducation classwill be offered atGander Mountainin Houston. Callinstructor CaseyStawicki at (713) 569-6791 forinformation and registration.

Dec. 6: The Amarillo DU dinner will beheld at the Amarillo Civic Center. ContactScott Mitchell at (806) 674-1839 [email protected] for

information.

Dec. 6: The Metrocrest DU Sponsordinner will be held at Chamberlain’sSteak House in Dallas. Contact RobGokey at (972) 234-3933 [email protected] for information andreservations.

Dec. 6: The Woodlands DU WaterfowlGala will be held at The WoodlandsMarriott Waterway. For information,contact Kyle Cronan at (281) 381-3562or [email protected].

Dec. 7-9: The Texas Hill Country RiverRegion will host its “Trout Days” programwith stocking of rainbow trout in theSabinal, Frio and Nueces rivers. Forinformation, call Ken Cave at (800) 210-0380 or visit www.thcrr.com.

Dec. 8 and 10: ATexas boatereducation coursewill be offered atCabela’s in FortWorth. Reservations

are required. Call (972) 263-6989 toregister.

Dec. 8-9, 15-16: Cabela’s in Buda willhost Santa for photos with children. Call(512) 295-1100 for information.

Dec. 11: The Rusk County DU DuckHunter Information Evening will be heldat Lupes Mexican Restaurant inHenderson. Call Matt Ellis at (903) 658-7285 for information.

Dec. 11-13: A hunter’s safety educationclass will be held at the CorsicanaGander Mountain store. Call (903) 874-2500 for information and registration.

Dec. 13: The DallasSafari Club holidayparty will be held atthe Dallas WorldAquarium. Call (972)980-9800 forinformation andreservations.

Dec. 13: The Dallas Woods and WatersClub meeting will be held at the

Wyndham North Dallas Hotel, featuringGary Roberson of Burnham BrothersGame Calls. Call (214) 570-8700 forinformation and reservations.

Dec. 15: Fishing Tackle Unlimited inHouston will hold a Fly Fishing Expofeaturing fly-fishing guides andmanufacturer representatives. Forinformation, call Camille Null at (281)481-6838, ext, 209.

Dec. 15: Cabela’s in Fort Worth will holda Boy Scouts Archery Fun Shoot for allfirst- through fifth-grade students at LoneStar Lake in front of the store. Prizesinclude holiday turkeys for each gradelevel. For information, contact StephaniePerry at (817) 337-2400 [email protected].

Dec. 15-16: A Spanish hunter educationclass will be offered at Cabela’s in Buda.To register, call Texas Parks and Wildlifeat (512) 389-4999.


OUTDOOR DATEBOOK

HAVE AN EVENT? E-mail it to

[email protected]

Offshore and Bay fishing30' Stamas21' Shallowsport

South TexasDeer and TurkeyHunting10,000 Acres

Duck, Goose andDove Hunting

40,000 Acres

Capt. Scott Hickman3218 Coral Ridge Ct.

League City, TX 77573(281) 535-1930

Fax: (281) 535-1935www.circleh.org

PheasantsQuailDeerExcellent

season-longpheasant and quail

huntingJOHN GASPER

OSBORNE, KS785-346-2697

785-346-6342

You-make-the-call hunting lodge • You decide what happens when!www.gasperfarmshunting.com

Guided Duck HuntsLess than 2 hours from DFW and

Austin areas!• Great Rates • Custom Packages• Leasing • Lakeside Lodging

OpportunitiesScheduling: 817-307-0065Hunt Info: 817-219-0237

[email protected], TX

WWW.HuntCDO.COM

Now taking duck hunting reservations,airboat transportation packages available.

It’s easy to advertise on this page — just send us your business card, and let usknow how many weeks you want your ad to run. Purchase 12 issues ofadvertising and your business will be profiled with a photo in this section.Outfitter Listings: $40 each issue. Please include either a check or credit cardbilling information with your order. Mail to: Lone Star Outdoor News, 9304Forest Lane, Suite 114 South, Dallas, TX 75243 or call (214) 361-2276.

PROFILE YOUR BUSINESS Seven Bar Ranch Archer City, Texas

Guided Varmint Hunts Hunting 10,000+ acres in Archer County for 45

years. The guided varmint hunt is a thrill to remember.Calling bobcats and coyotes day and night. Two man

max. 5 hour $125/man. 7 hour $175/man. Lodging available @ $50/man. ( 940) 574 2239

OUTFITTERS

Poco Loco Lodge an outdoors adventure in luxury

ADVENTUROUS PARADISE: The amenities at Poco Loco Lodge in Port O’Conor are special and unusual and they are on the “house.” And the duck hunting and redfish angling is top-notch.

Advertisement


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PRODUCTS

Gifts For The OutdoorsmanIdeas for him and for her

WHAT THEY REALLY WANT THIS CHRISTMAS? Many would just rather pick out their own stuff! So, find out what where your favorite hunter or angler shops and swing on by for that giftcard. Retailers who have Web sites make it easy. Here are three of the biggies: www.academy.com; www.cabelas.com; and www.gandermountain.com. Just click on to the “giftcard/certificate" category, pick the amount, pay, and the gift card will be mailed right out.

FORM & FUNCTION: Whethershe’s stalking lions inZambia or huntingfor bargains in theMetroplex, she willbe comfortable inthis elegant safarishirt from SHESafari Madeof Frenchtwill, thisshort-sleeve shirtwith the pleatedbodice is designedfor ease ofmovement andshaped to flatter thefemale form. Availablein khaki (shown), lightolive and dark olive, itcosts $55. To order, visitwww.SHESafari.com or call(281) 448-4860.

SILVER & SLEEK: While mamasmight be merelycontent withtheir low-techdome tents,they’d much rather setup camp in this. The17-foot Safari Sportby Airstream boaststhat classic curvydesign and is justbig enough to houseall those things atent can’t: such asan air-conditioner,stove, shower andtoilet. Plus its interioris more comfortable.It costs around $30,000,depending on amenities. Forinformation and dealers, visit www.airstream.com.

PRETTY & PINK: She might beyour fisher girl, but she’s

foremost agirl. So,give yourlittleprincess aprettyfishing rodthat she’llhappilytote onyour nextouting.From Fisher

Girl, theMinnow Rod

(about $20) isa 2.5-foot pole

perfect for thelittlest angler. The

freshwater one-piece fishing rod has

an ABS spool withmetal ball bearings. The

company also makes the 5-footTadpole (about $25; shown) and the 6-footMermaid two-piece combo (about $40). Toorder, visit www.fishergirl.com.

FAST & FUN: Looking fora first rifle for

the chip offthe old block?Consider

Cabelas’ Outfitter SeriesAir Rifle. The .177-caliber air gun has a cocking effort of 28 pounds and

is capable of producing speeds up to 1,200 fps using PBA ammo. Features include ahardwood stock, ventilated rubber recoil pad, muzzle brake and scope. The 44.5-inch gun

weighs a little more than 8 pounds and comes with 100 rounds of ammo. It costs about $180. Forinformation, visit www.cabelas.com.

PERFORMANCE & FLASH: Coming inDecember is the Yamaha Rhino 700 FIAuto 4x4 SE in Midnight Armor. It hasall the features consumers havecome to appreciatein this ATV line, plusadjustablepiggyback shocks,one-piece castaluminumwheels,injection-moldedsuntop, andblow-moldeddoors. Thismodel alsoboasts aspecial blackwater-dippedbody with flames andspecial graphics treatment. Its MSRP is $11,999. For dealers or to view all of its specs,visit www.yamaha-motor.com.

NO FLASH, NOPROBLEM:Moultrie’s GameSpy I-40 DigitalTrail Camera isinfrared sothere’s novisible whiteflash tostartleskittishgame.The 4MP scoutingcamera isequipped with arapid trigger timeand its infrared fieldextends to 50 feet. It hasa battery life of 150 days. Featuresinclude an easy-to-read photo strip, dayor night video clips, plus more. It costsabout $240. For retailers, visitwww.moultriefeeders.com or call (800)653-3334.

BOLD &GLITTERY:Anglersandnon-anglersalike willlove thisbeautiful lurewith pinksapphires fromMacDaddy’sFishing Lures.And while itcan be fished,most womenwill opt to wearthis as a pendant. Part of thecompany’s Pink Ribbon Collection, thependant is available in platinum andpink sapphires ($4,995), 14-karatwhite gold and sapphires ($995,shown), sterling silver with cubiczirconia stones (about $60), andmore. Ten percent of sales from thePink Ribbon collection will be donatedto Casting for Recovery, a non-profitgroup that uses fly-fishing camps toprovide therapy to breast cancersurvivors. To view the entire collection,visit www.macdaddysfishinglures.comor call (805) 473-9282.

EASY TO GRIP & EASY ON THE EYES: Nikon Sports Optics’ new Trailblazer 10x50 binocularsoffer a slim profile with a full-size view. The company

incorporates its Eco-Glass (made without the useof arsenic or lead) for the lens and

prism elements; its multi-coatedlenses offer maximum lighttransmission and image quality.The full-size roof prism binoculars

boast a 294-foot field of view at1,000 yards. The waterproof and

fogproof binoculars feature generous eyerelief. They are ergonomically designed

and have a rubber-armored exterior for aneasier grip. The 30.3-ounce binoculars cost

about $180. For retailers, visitwww.nikonsportoptics.com or call (800) 645-6687.


AMISTAD: Black bass are good on top-waters, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, andsoft plastics. ATHENS: Black bass are good on top-waters, Texas rigs and Rat-L-Traps. CALAVERAS: Black bass are very goodon dark soft plastic worms, spinner-baits, and crankbaits around reedbeds. STILLHOUSE: Black bass are verygood on watermelon green, watermelonred and green pumpkin soft plasticworms.

COLEMAN: Hybrid striper are good onlive minnows and chartreuse Rat-L-Traps. CADDO: White bass are good in themain channels on small spinners,spoons and slabs.GREENBELT: White bass are good onlive baits and chrome/black jerkbaitsalong dam and riprap. TOLEDO BEND: Striped bass are goodon silver spoons and striper jigs. Whitebass are good on minnows and silverspoons.

ARROWHEAD: Blue Catfish are goodon punchbait around flooded brush inthe mid-lake.BOB SANDLIN: Catfish are good onPunch Bait in 2-8 feet close to deeperchannels.FALCON: Channel and blue catfish areexcellent on cut bait and stinkbait upthe river. FORK: Catfish are good on chartreusenightcrawlers, punchbait and liveshad.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Crappie are verygood on live minnows near creek chan-nels in 15-20 feet. O.H. IVIE: Crappie are good on min-nows and jigs. SOMERVILLE: Crappie are very goodon minnows and green/black jigs. TAWAKONI: Catfish are good on liveshad and nightcrawlers.

CATFISH

HOT BITESALAN HENRY: Water lightly stained; 62 degrees; 0.86' low. Black bassare fair on topwater lures briefly at daybreak, then shad-coloredcrankbaits and black neon soft tubes or jigs suspended among timber. AMISTAD: Water clear; 74 degrees; 7.76' low. Catfish are good oncheesebait, shrimp, and nightcrawlers over baited holes in 40-100 feet.Yellow catfish are good on trotlines, drop lines, and throwlines baitedwith live perch.ARROWHEAD: Water lightly stained; 60 degrees; 1.56' low. Crappie aregood on minnows off the derricks and state park docks, with some offrocky points and flooded brush 5-10 feet deep. ATHENS: Water lightly stained, 63-69 degrees; 0.17' low. Crappie aregood on live minnows in 12-15 feet around man-made brush piles.Catfish are good on fresh shad and punchbait in 2-12 feet.BASTROP: Water clear. Crappie are good on live minnows. Channel andblue catfish are good on hot dogs, nightcrawlers, and stinkbait. BELTON: Water stained; 77 degrees; 0.06' high. Black bass are good onRat-L-Traps. Hybrid striper are good on minnows at night under lights.White bass are good on minnows at night under lights. Crappie are goodon minnows in 15 feet just after dark. Channel and blue catfish are verygood on hot dogs, frozen shad andlive perch. BOB SANDLIN: Water clear; 62-68 degrees; 0.77' low. Black bassare good on Ribbit Frogs, Texasrigs and jigs fished in and on theedges of hydrilla. Crappie are goodon live minnows under the bridgesand around brush in 12-15 feet. BRAUNIG: Water stained; 70degrees. Black bass are good oncrankbaits and dark soft plasticworms. Striped bass are good onliver and shad. Redfish are goodon crawfish, shad, shrimp, tilapia,and silver spoons. Channel catfishare good on liver, shrimp, cut bait,and cheesebait near the dam andthe intake. Blue catfish are goodon cut bait.BRIDGEPORT: Water lightlystained; 63-69 degrees; 2.63' low.Black bass are fair to good onTexas rigs, crankbaits and jigs.Channel catfish are good onpunchbait over baited holes.BUCHANAN: Water clear; 70degrees; 2.51' low. Black bass aregood on Shad Rat-L-Traps, topwa-ters, and Texas rigged weightlesssilver flake Whacky Sticks at day-light in 8-15 feet. CADDO: Water stained; 64-71degrees; 0.02' high. Black bassare good on Texas rigged wormsand Senkos. Channel catfish are good on nightcrawlers and preparedbait.CALAVERAS: Water stained; 70 degrees. Channel and blue catfish aregood on liver, shrimp, cheesebait, and shad near the railroad bridge and181 Cove. Yellow catfish are slow.CANYON LAKE: Water clear; 72 degrees; 0.09' high. Smallmouth bassare good on Smokin' Greenin Devil's Tongues on drop shots, smoke curltail grubs on jigheads, and 3/16 oz. pumpkin jigs with matching dropshot worms under cloud cover along ledges and over rock piles in 10-20feet early. Crappie are fair on minnows and crappie jigs upriver.CEDAR CREEK: Water lightly stained; 63-69 degrees; 0.98' low. Blackbass are good on finesse worms, Carolina rigs and jigs. Catfish are fair togood on prepared bait and chartreuse nightcrawlers.CHOKE CANYON: Water lightly stained; 71 degrees; 0.37' low. Blackbass are good on watermelon red and tequila sunrise soft plastics in 15-25 feet. Crappie are good on minnows and blue tube jigs. Channel andblue catfish are good on nightcrawlers and stinkbait. COLEMAN: Water clear; 70 degrees. Black bass are good on watermelonspinnerbaits and crankbaits. Crappie are good on live minnows. COLETO CREEK: Water clear; 81 degrees (88 degrees at discharge);0.24' low. Channel and blue catfish to 26 pounds are good on trotlinesbaited with live perch and stinkbait. Yellow catfish to 5 pounds are goodon trotlines baited with liver and perch.CONROE: Water clear; 1.01' low. Striped bass are good on live minnowsand silver striper jigs. COOPER: Water lightly stained; 62-69 degrees; 0.18' low. White bass aregood on Humdingers and slabs. Hybrid striper are fair to good on slabsand live shad. FAIRFIELD: Water fairly clear; 66-81 degrees. Black bass are fair to goodon crankbaits, Senkos, Texas rigs and jigs in the warmer water. FALCON: Water clear; 78 degrees. Black bass are fair on watermelonspinnerbaits and Brush Hogs in 5-12 feet. FAYETTE: Water clear; 71 degrees. Black bass are good on watermelongold, watermelon red, and plum Carolina rigged Finesse worms, and ontopwaters over grass. FORK: Water fairly clear; 63-69 degrees; 0.33' low. Black bass are goodon Carolina rigs, heavy jigs and Lake Fork Tackle Flutter Spoons (BarFish pattern). Crappie are good on live minnows and jigs over brush pilesand around bridge columns. GRANBURY: Water clear; 1.10' low. Striped bass are good on live min-nows. White bass are good on minnows, hellbenders, and pet spoons.Crappie are good on minnows and pink tube jigs. Catfish are good onshrimp and live minnows.GRANGER: Water murky; 64 degrees; 0.17' high. Black bass are goodbut small on soft plastics and crankbaits. Crappie are good on chartreuseand orange tube jigs in 12-20 feet. Blue catfish are good on shad andprepared baits in shallow water. GRAPEVINE: Water fairly clear; 62-69 degrees; 0.65' low. Black bass aregood on Texas rigs, shaky head rigs and topwaters (lots of small fish ontopwaters in the backs of the coves with creeks). GREENBELT: Water lightly stained; 56 degrees; 24.30' low. Crappie are

good on jigs and minnows. Catfish are good on minnows and preparedbait.HOUSTON COUNTY: Water clear; 69 degrees; 0.11' low. Black bass to 5pounds are good on watermelon/red flake craw worms between theislands and near Golden Acres subdivision in 8-14 feet. Channel andblue catfish to 9 pounds are very good on stinkbait near the marina.JOE POOL: Water off color; 62-69 degrees; 1.39' low. Black bass are fairto good on Texas rigs, crankbaits and jigs. LAKE O' THE PINES: Water lightly stained; 63-69 degrees; 0.23' high.Catfish are good on chartreuse nightcrawlers and live baits.LAVON: Water lightly stained; 62-69 degrees; 2.82' low. Crappie aregood on minnows and jigs. LBJ: Water stained; 70 degrees; 0.07' low. Black bass are good on 1/8oz. buzzbaits, watermelon topwaters, and wacky rigged green pumpkinWhacky Sticks. Crappie to 16" are good on crappie jigs and live minnowsover brush piles in 12-15 feet.LEWISVILLE: Water off color; 63-69 degrees; 0.35' low. Black bass aregood on shaky head rigs, jigs, drop shot rigs and crankbaits — numbersof smaller fish feeding on shad in the shallows. White bass are fair to

good on slabs. Catfish are good onshiners and chartreuse night-crawlers.LIVINGSTON: Water fairly clear;72 degrees; 0.01' high. Blackbass to 3.5 pounds are good onspinnerbaits and crankbaits.Crappie are good on minnows.Blue catfish are good on cut baitand shad.MACKENZIE: Water lightlystained; 57 degrees; 72.86' low.Crappie are good on minnows andjigs. NAVARRO MILLS: Water murky;65 degrees; 0.71' low. Black bassare good but small on minnows.Channel and blue catfish are goodon minnows and stinkbait on thebottom. O.H. IVIE: Water lightly stained;64 degrees; 10.74' low. Whitebass are good on live baits andcrankbaits along rocks. Channelcatfish are good on prepared andlive baits.PALESTINE: Water lightly stained;62-68 degrees; 0.38' low. Catfishare fair to good on prepared baitand chartreuse nightcrawlers.POSSUM KINGDOM: Waterstained; 66 degrees; 1.50' low.White bass are fair in the lateafternoon on small crankbaits in

the upper end. Catfish are good on set lines baited with shad along theriver channel.PROCTOR: Water clear; 70 degrees; 0.10' low. Black bass are good onpurple, black/yellow, and black/chartreuse soft plastic worms. White bassare good but small on jigging spoons. Crappie are good on minnows in12-15 feet. Channel and blue catfish are good on cut shad and shrimp.RAY HUBBARD: Water lightly stained; 62-69 degrees; 0.45' low. Blackbass are fair to good on Carolina rigs, crankbaits and drop shot rigs.White bass are fair on slabs. Catfish are fair to good on nightcrawlers andprepared bait.RAY ROBERTS: Water lightly stained; 62-67 degrees; 0.08' low. Blackbass to 9.5 pounds are good on 7" worms, 5" Yum Dingers and shad pat-tern crankbaits. Crappie are good on minnows and jigs around bridge pil-ings. White bass are good on Jigging Spoons. Catfish are good on liveand prepared bait.RICHLAND CHAMBERS: Water off color; 62-68 degrees; 1.17' low.White bass are good on slabs and live minnows. Hybrid striper are fair onlarge slabs and live shad. SAM RAYBURN: Water stained; 68 degrees; 5.30' low. Black bass aregood on pumpkinseed soft plastic worms, crankbaits, and watermelontopwaters in 20-35 feet. White bass are good on minnows and silverspoons. Catfish are good on stinkbait, shrimp, and minnows.SOMERVILLE: Water murky; 0.62' low. Channel and blue catfish are verygood on stinkbait, liver, and cheesebait. STILLHOUSE: Water clear; 76 degrees; 0.30' high. Crappie are excellenton minnows early and late. TAWAKONI: Water lightly stained; 62-69 degrees; 1.6' low. Black bassare good on shad pattern crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps and Texas rigs. Whitebass are fair on slabs. TEXOMA: Water fairly clear; 62-69 degrees; 1.69' low. Black bass arefair to good on Texas and Carolina rigs, medium to deep diving shad pat-tern crankbaits and drop shot rigs. Striped bass are fair on slow-rolledSassy Shad, with occasional larger fish on topwaters. TOLEDO BEND: Water clear; 65 degrees; 4.39' low. Black bass are fairon watermelon red and chartreuse soft plastic worms and crankbaits in20-30 feet. Channel and blue catfish are good on minnows and stinkbait. TRAVIS: Water clear; 73 degrees; 0.77' low. Black bass to 6 pounds aregood on white spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, and watermelon worms in 8-22feet. WEATHERFORD: Water stained; 62-68 degrees; 2' low. Crappie are fairto good on minnows and jigs in the crappie house. WHITE RIVER: Water lightly stained; 60 degrees; 28.19' low. Crappie aregood on jigs and minnows. Channel catfish are good on live baits.WHITNEY: Water stained; 4.92' low. Crappie are good on minnows andblue tube jigs. Catfish are good on bait shrimp and stinkbait.WICHITA: Water turbid; 62 degrees; 1.10' low. Channel catfish are gooddrift fishing with punchbait and on trotlines baited with shad.WRIGHT PATMAN: Water lightly stained; 62-69 degrees; 4.01' high.Black bass are good on Rat-L-Traps, pearl crankbaits and Carolina rigs.Catfish are good on prepared baits and chartreuse (use Worm-Glo) night-crawlers.

CRAPPIE

WHITE/HYBRID/STRIPER

LARGEMOUTHBASS

Water clear; 67 degrees. Black bass are good on minnows and dark softplastic worms near the dam at night. Hybrid striper are good on min-nows at night. White bass are good on cut shad and minnows near thepower plant. Crappie are good on red wigglers. Channel and blue catfishare very good on shad and cut bait at the gravel pit.

Walter E. Long

NORTH SABINE: Trout are fair to good inthe middle of thelake under thebirds on strawber-ry and chartreusetouts, and on thebottom on liveshad. Flounder aregood on the Louisiana shoreline on mudminnows and grubs.SOUTH SABINE: Trout and redfish are fairto good under the birds when the windallows on shrimptails. Flounder are fair togood near North Levee Road and inLighthouse Cove on mud minnows andshrimp.BOLIVAR: Redfish and flounder are fair togood in the Pass and on the beachfront oncut-bait. TRINITY BAY: Trout are fair to good whiledrifting four to six feet of shell on glowBass Assassins, Trout Killers and SandEels.EAST GALVESTON BAY: Trout are goodunder the birds on pumpkinseed andpearl/chartreuse Bass Assassins, TroutKillers, Sand Eels and Hogies.WEST GALVESTON BAY: Trout and redfishare fair under thebirds on the northshoreline on goldspoons. Flounderare fair to goodaround Confederate Cut and the railroadbridge on mud minnows and shrimp.TEXAS CITY: Trout are fair to good atnight under the lights on live shrimp, DOAShrimp and tandem-rigged beetles.Croakers and sand trout are fair on deadshrimp.FREEPORT: Trout are fair to good at nightfrom the piers on shrimp and tandem-rigged DOA Shrimp. Flounder are fair togood in the cuts in Christmas Bay on liveshrimp and mud minnows.EAST MATAGORDA: Trout are good whiledrifting three to five feet of water overscattered shell on live shrimp and glowand boneBassAssassins,Trout Killersand SandEels.MATAGORDA: Redfish are fair to good inCrab Lake and Oyster Lake on live shrimpand black/chartreuse She Dogs. Trout arefair to good at Green's, Shell Island andCotton's on black, glow and red shad plas-tics.PORT O'CONNOR: Trout are fair to good inSan Antonio Bay on She Dogs, Top Dogs,Super Spooks and glow plastics. Redfishare good at the jetty on mullet andcracked crabs.ROCKPORT: Trout and redfish are fair togood on the Estes Flats on live shrimp andShe Dogs. Flounder and black drum arefair to good on the edges of the Lydia AnnChannel on mullet and shrimp.PORT ARANSAS: Trout and redfish arefair off the North Jetty on live shrimp andmullet. Redfish are fair on She Dogs,Super Spooks and live shrimp on the EastFlats. CORPUS CHRISTI: Redfish and blackdrum are fair to good on the shell inNueces Bay on live shrimp under a pop-ping cork.BAFFIN BAY: Black drum and redfish arefair on shrimp and mullet in the Land Cut.PORT MANSFIELD: Trout and flounder arefair to good under lights on glow beetles,DOA Shrimp and live shrimp. Redfish arefair to good while drifting the flats on TopDogs and She Dogs. SOUTH PADRE: Trout and redfish are fairto good at the Gas-Well Flats on glowHogies, Sand Eels, Bass Assassins andTrout Killers. Redfish and flounder are fairto good at the jetty on jigs tipped withshrimp.PORT ISABEL: Bull redfish are fair togood at the jetty on mullet and shrimp.Trout and redfish are fair to good atAirport Cove on She Dogs, Top Dogs andSuper Spooks. Redfish and flounder arefair to good on shrimp in the channels.

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“Wheat stubble can be great,” hesaid. “Not many people like towalk it.”

Danny Swepston, district leaderfor Texas Parks and Wildlife, saidthe biologists completed 44 routesof 20 miles each, and pheasantsare definitely on an upward trend.“The conditions improved con-siderably this year,” he said. “Theearly rains and more fields withmilo, corn and wheat providedconditions for a good hatch.”

Bo Adkins, TPW biologist inPampa, said the birds in thenorthwestern side of thePanhandle are near record-levels.“In 2005, we had a year that wehad to look back to the ’80s tomatch,” he said. “Then, in 2006,we had no spring rains and thebirds tanked. We’re not back to2005 numbers, but we’re close.”

Adkins just completed a countin Dallam County. “I saw 108birds in one corner of a section,”he said. “It’s dry, but we got rainsthis spring and that’s all the birdsneeded.”

Adkins plans to walk CRP withhis father from North Carolinaopening week. “The birds arethick in the CRP in the after-noons,” he said. His father is usedto hunting preserve birds with his20 gauge. “I told him he mightwant to bring the 870,” Adkinssaid. “When the wind blows uphere the shots can get prettytough.”

Dane Swinborn operates TuleCreek Outfitters in Tulia, andexpects a banner season. “It looksreally good,” he said. “It’s one ofthe better bird crops we’ve had inthe past four to five years.”

Swinborn hunts CRP, milo andcorn stalks and playa lake bot-toms in Swisher and Castro coun-ties. “The playa lake bottoms areoften the best,” he said. “There isa lot of pink smartweed andkochia that hold a lot of birds. Wekicked up a lot of birds along akochia fence row as well.”

Swinborn also is hoping for aweather change. “It’s been windyand dry, and many of the playalakes have dried up,” he said. “Alittle snow at the end ofNovember would be great forpheasant hunting, although thecotton pickers might not like itmuch.”

Jeff Bonner, TPW biologist inPampa, said the bird numbers inthe northeastern part of thePanhandle are also real high. “Goget your license, buy some shells,and come up here,” he said. “I likenumber 4 lead.”

Jones can’t wait for the opener.“It’ll be one for the books,” hesaid.

PheasantsContinued from Page 1

Einkauf said, but the volume ofwater in the bays changes things.

“If you want to go out and gofly-fishing or if you want to see afine tail of redfish, it’s hard to dowhen the water is 3-feet deepinstead of being a foot or a footand a half. That’s been the mainchange over the last several years.

‘There’s still plenty of fisharound, you have to fish different-ly,’ he said.

Joan Holt, director of theFisheries and Mariculture labora-tory at the University of TexasMarine Science Institute in PortAransas agreed.

“I guess I’ve not heard that(fishing) was bad, just that peoplehave had trouble finding them,”she said. “When the water was upwe had a lot of easterly winds thatjust kept pouring the water intothe bay. We had lots of high water

and when you have high waterfish are scattered all over the darnplace.”

“You go to the same place. Youknow it’s a really great place tocatch fish, but when you go therethere’s no fish,” she said. “Myguess is that it doesn’t look thatgood to the fish right now becauseit’s too deep or too brown or tooshallow.

“They’ve moved around a lotbut I don’t think there’s any ques-tion that they’re here and they’redoing well.”

Rains and flooding earlier in theyear didn’t have much effect inthe area, Holt said.

“Maybe in Matagorda (Bay), orsomeplace where the water getsreally fresh, then the fish mightmove out. It wouldn’t happenaround Port Aransas. I think itwould be good for us, get thesalinity down and get a lot ofnutrients in here.”

There’s plenty of hope for nextyear, she said.

“I can tell you there are going tobe oodles of fish in the futurebecause we are catching many,many small redfish in the nurseryright now. This is the biggestcatch we’ve ever seen, at least inthe last 10 years or so. The salinityor the nutrients or whatever hascertainly supplied a lot of food forthem.

Young speckled trout are inabundance, too, Holt said.

“They were spawning late, Ithink, because it’s been warm,”she said. “There were a lot of littlespecks in there too, in the seagrassbeds, so there are a lot coming upin the future.”

Einkauf said the biggest changehe saw this year was that “it was amiserable year for black drum.

“A lot of the places we catchthem, you catch them on a lowtide. We didn’t have any low tides.There was decent fishing downthe Kennedy Causeway andBaffin Bay. They caught a lot ofdrum, but that was over there.”

LevelsContinued from Page 1




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