Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper in Texas
August 28, 2020
Volume 17, Issue 1
Bass on the borders
Cautious optimism
Tactics vary from north to south to east By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News
A sky filled with dove is the hope of thousands of hunters beginning Sept. 1. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Dove hunters watching the radar By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Hunters are like most Texans — they welcome rain whenever it comes. Except for the first 10 days or so of dove season, that is, when most of them do all of their hunting. Then, they hope it stays warm and dry. Rains and cool fronts tend to scatter the birds, especially mourning dove, and the one-two punch of Tropical Storms Marco and Laura are bearing down just before the season opener in the North and Central zones. Marco fizzled, bringing rains mostly to states to the east, but Laura is expected to grow to hurricane status and impact the greater Houston, Galveston and Beaumont areas, making hunters worry their hunting plans may be interrupted. The Texas Panhandle isn’t expected to get rainfall from any projections of the storms, and Jeremy Zint of Final Descent Guide Service in Wolfforth said the hunting should be good. “Our whitewings are coming in, but they haven’t showed up in big numbers yet,” he said. “Last year they showed up a few days before the opener. There are mourning dove and lots of Eurasians around, too.” Zint said one banded Eurasian-collared dove was shot there two seasons ago, as part of Texas
Todd Baker landed this almost 10-pound bass while fishing on Amistad Reservoir. Photo from Olin Jensen.
Bass in lakes located along our Texas borders are providing plenty of action. Anglers are using a variety of strategies, depending on which one of these bodies of water that they are fishing, in order to keep their rods bent. Lake Texoma guide Marty Zamora said the largemouth bass bite has been pretty spotty. He’s been focusing most of his efforts on chasing stripers and white bass that are schooling in open water. “The top-water bite has been fairly good lately, especially during the first couple of hours of the day,” Zamora said. “These fish are on the move and covering a lot of water, so it can be difficult to stay on them.” The slightly cooler weather that occurred during the middle of the month helped to keep the stripers and sand bass schooling along the surface later into the day. “The best way to catch them is to cover a bunch of water,” he said. “They are really hard to find suspended over structure right now, because they are almost constantly on the move. This can make keeping up with them a little inconsistent, but there are plenty of them to be caught.” On Falcon Lake, guide Robert Reissig said the bass are definitely in a late summer pattern. “We aren’t seeing any schooling activity from bass right now,” he said. “The most consistent bite is coming off of points in 18 to 25 feet of water, as well as near the edges of brush piles.”
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Trip bought at auction leads to new passion By Craig Nyhus
A few Octobers ago, Dustin LaBat stopped in Dallas on his way from his Houston home to the Panhandle to attend the Lone Star Outdoor News
Amber Haynes, who co-owns McKenna Quinn clothing line, told LaBat about the event benefiting the foundation. “I went with my two dogs, and knew a few folks,” LaBat said. “I ended up bidding on about every item on the auction. Mostly, though, I was spending other people’s money.”
Until it came time for the guided fly-fishing trip for redfish. “I had guided fishing trips out of Houma, Louisiana, where I’m from, for a few years but kind of got burned out by fishing,” LaBat said. “But fly-fishing excited me, it was something I hadn’t done before. I didn’t know Scott Sommerlatte, the guide, but Please turn to page 11
CONTENTS
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Lone Star Outdoor News
Foundation Wild Game Supper at the Beretta Gallery. Now, after catching his first redfish on fly, the avid hunter and fisherman is hooked on fly-fishing the Texas coast. LaBat, called “Bigfoot” by his friends because of his size 17 shoe, was headed northwest to hunt pigeons.
Dustin LaBat landed his first redfish on a fly after winning a trip with Capt. Scott Sommerlatte. Photo by Scott Somerlatte, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10
HUNTING
FISHING
Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12
Must-have for deer hunters (P. 4)
Helping new boaters (P. 8)
Book on aging deer updated.
Guide offers navigation help.
HIP Certification to change? (P. 5)
Friends no more (P. 9)
Other states require online signup.
Spat over tournament winnings.
Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 16 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 20 Products . . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID PLANO, TX PERMIT 210
Getting that first red on fly
