November 10, 2023
Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
Volume 20, Issue 6
Boat loads of fish By Nate Skinner
Lone Star Outdoor News
Anglers aboard Smith & Sons Charters, out of Galveston, show one of the yellowfin tuna they landed. Photo by Capt. Matt Smith.
Anglers fishing aboard party boats from Galveston to Port Aransas have been bringing home big numbers of fish, with vermilion snapper, yellowfin and blackfin tuna leading the way. Capt. Matt Smith, of Smith & Sons Charters out of Galveston, said the offshore action has been pretty consistent during windows with optimal weather
conditions. Smith has been targeting vermilion snapper on their 12-hour trips. During the 36-hour trips, anglers have been catching plenty of blackfin tuna and some yellowfin tuna, in addition to the beeliners. They target vermilion snapper during the daytime hours and tuna at night. “There’s been some good concentrations of blackfin behind shrimp boats about 70 to 75 miles out,” Smith said. “The shrimp boats have been becoming
few and far between lately, but when we can find them, the waters around them have been loaded with tuna. Most of the shrimp boats have been south of Galveston and Freeport.” Smith also has been targeting stretches in the Gulf of Mexico in about 200 feet of water between the Stetson bank and the clay piles for blackfin tuna. “The yellowfin bite has been pretty decent,” Smith said. “We’ve been catching them along the floater rigs at night Please turn to page 9
Deer season dawns By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Opening weekend of the general rifle deer season, for many Texas hunters, is more about watching and less about shooting, unless of course that certain deer comes around. With the benefit of a long season, the sense of urgency isn’t usually the focus of the weekend. Deer camps are full, often with one member designated as the camp chef, and getting back together with hunting friends takes center stage. In North Texas, most hunters reported deer being mostly nocturnal with little to no signs of rutting behavior. In Throckmorton County, DQ Kid posted on the Texas Hunting Forum that two older bucks were cruising through, seemingly looking for love, but most other hunters saw no similar signs. One exception to the lack of urgency is when that one particular buck, having been seen on trail camera images,
reaches the desired age. The Texas Buck Registry posted details from several successful hunters, most who had been watching a particular buck. In Bastrop County, Allen Lastovica took a 6.5-year-old, 13-pointer on the low-fenced ranch he hunts. “Blessed to have harvested the buck I have watched for the past few years,” he said. “Management pays off.” Trevor Wagley took an old buck, estimated at 9.5 years, with 15 points in Hopkins County after a long, patient wait. “Years of history with this buck, and after watching him go downhill two years in a row, finally decided to take him,” he said. In Moore County in the Panhandle, Braxton Blandford took a 7.5-year, 9-point buck. “I have hunted my wife’s family ranch for four years now, and this is one of the first bucks I ever got on camera,”
The general rifle season opened Nov. 4, with hunters hoping to see a mature buck from their stand. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
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By Nate Skinner
Limits may have been harvested by some West Texas crane hunters during the opening weekend of the Zone A sandhill crane season, but they didn’t come easily. The birds didn’t start working into decoy spreads well until after a cold front pushed through and weather conditions stabilized. Most outfitters concluded there was really no rhyme or reason to their movements or behavior dur-
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CONTENTS
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ing the first two days of the season. However, since opening weekend, crane numbers have continued to build, and good shoots have become more frequent. Colton Gibbons spent opening weekend filming on hunts near Lubbock with Full Throttle Outdoors, and said changing weather seemed to have the birds in a funk. “It was super foggy on opening morning, ahead of a strong cold front that was rapidly approaching, and the cranes left the roost later than normal,” Gibbons said.
Freshwater Fishing Report . . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . . Page 20 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 26 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . Page 28 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 30
INSIDE
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Panhandle crane numbers building
Sandhill crane numbers have been building since opening weekend in the Texas Panhandle. Better shoots have occurred as more birds arrive in the area. Photo by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
HUNTING
FISHING
From Pancho Villa to Tom Selleck (P. 4)
Catfish on the bite (P. 8)
Auction includes famous firearms
Fish hitting from large to small.
Ancient to modern dog collars (P. 4)
Changes coming (p. 8)
Book celebrates all things dogs.
Speckled trout limits, slot up for revision.