Texas Fish & Game November 2019

November 2019 | $3.95

Bank Notes: Tech for Fishing from Shore

Shark Rise on the Texas Coast

Outsmarted by a Snow Goose

Can ‘Trophy Cooking’ Save Hunting?

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Inside FISH & GAME www.FishGame.com Published by Texas Fish & Game Publishing Co., LLC. TEXAS FISH & GAME is the largest independent, family-owned outdoor publication in America. Owned by Ron & Stephanie Ward and Roy & Ardia Neves.

by ROY and ARDIA NEVES TF&G Owners

ROY AND ARDIA NEVES

Observing Veteran’s Day

PUBLISHERS

CHESTER MOORE EDITOR IN CHIEF

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HE WORLD CHANGED, SEEMINGLY FOREVER, EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO, AFTER terrorists crashed passenger planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and a remote field in Pennsylvania. In stark contrast to the divisive, toxic mood of today’s public discourse, in the autumn of 2001 Americans came together in a demonstration that we were, indeed, The United States of America.

When we identified those responsible for planning and carrying out the heinous September Eleventh attacks, there was almost universal support from American citizens and most of the world for the military response our nation undertook in early 2002. That response became the war in Afghanistan, a war that still has not ended and which launched a global War on Terror. Very quickly, a second front was opened in Iraq. While the Iraq campaign had less support from within and from outside the country, it still required the full and unquestioning commitment of the service members of every branch of our Armed Forces. Hundreds of thousands of our brave men and women in the military shipped out for hostile lands and tours of duty with unknown end dates.

At the time, we wanted to do whatever we could to not just “support the troops,” but to provide a little taste of home for the Texas members of our forces that were serving.

What we came up with was an offer of free subscriptions for any active military personnel.

We contacted Base Exchanges, local USO offices and other support facilities to make the offer available to any interested active member of the military services. At the peak of the program we were sending thousands of copies of TF&G to service members in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As the numbers of troops deployed in both theaters of war declined, so did the numbers of active military subscriptions. We discontinued the program in 2007. But even though our troops are not engaged in huge numbers on desert and mountain battlefields, they remain on high alert, and many are still deployed in unfriendly regions. Plus, there are now millions of veterans of the nearly two-decade-old war, many of them Texans.

This Veterans Day, we have decided to revive our offer, and this time will include not just active service members but veterans as well.

We will provide free subscriptions to the first 1,500 active or veteran service members to submit the form below (free DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS will be provided to ALL interested active service or veterans).

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This is a small gesture on our part, given what these brave and selfless soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and members of the Coast Guard and National Guard have done for us. But we know from the experience of 2001-2007 that, if they are hunters or anglers, active members of the military on duty tours in far off, perhaps hostile areas, appreciate a glimpse of what’s going on in the outdoors back here in Texas. For them, and for those who have come home from such service, it is our way of saying “Thank You for your service.”

« E-mail Roy at rneves@fishgame.com and Ardia at aneves@fishgame.com

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Contents November 2019 | Vol. 36 • No. 6

FEATURE ARTICLES

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TROPHY COOKING Hunting for meat, as opposed to hunting just for trophy sport, might help offset some of the negative scrutiny currently on the rise.

by Chester Moore

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COVER STORY

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THE PUBLIC HUNT OPTION

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Hunting keeps getting more and more expensive. Luckily, our state has a public option that opens more than a million acres to Texas hunters.

photo by Grady Allen

by CHESTER MOORE

Doggett at Large

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Nugent in the Wild

Texas Saltwater

by CALIXTO GONZALES

Texas Whitetails

by LARRY WEISHUHN

Texas Guns

by CHESTER MOORE

A celebration of three things near and dear to the hearts of Texas sportsmen.

TF&G Report • 37 The News of the Nation

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GUNS, GEAR & GRUB

by Chester Moore

by Ted Nugent

by MATT WILLIAMS

SHARK RISE ON THE TEXAS COAST Fishing for sharks has become much more popular with Texas anglers.

OUTSMARTED BY A SNOW GOOSE Goose populations have continued to grow, despite efforts to make it easier for hunters to bag them. What’s going on?

TEXAS OUTDOOR NATION

by JOE DOGGETT

Texas Freshwater

by Chester Moore

by Chester Moore

COLUMNS Editor’s Notes

How high tech gadgets are levelling the playing field for bank-bound anglers.

by Chester Moore

story by Matt Williams

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BANK NOTES

Letters

by TFG Readers

Hotshots 37 Texas Action Photos Focus 38 Coastal Columns 48 Texas Hotspots 56 Sportsman’s Daybook Tides & Prime Fishing Times

DEPARTMENTS Outdoor Directory

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Texas Tasted

by Bryan Slaven

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COURTESY LAUREN BROOKER

LETTERS to the Editor Texas Brigades Shout out MY NAME IS LAUREN BROOKER. For the last two years, I have attended Texas Brigades camps as an assistant leader and cadet. Texas Brigades offers a range of summer programs, including Bobwhite Brigade, Buckskin Brigade, Bass Brigade, Waterfowl Brigade, Ranch Brigade, and Coastal Brigade. Texas Brigades is a collection of wildlife and natural resource-focused leadership development programs for youth.

The state’s leading wildlife and fisheries biologists and land managers have served as our instructors and mentors, developing our knowledge of habitat management, communication skills, and land ethic. Texas Brigades has challenged us to spread the word about this incredible program.

It would be an honor to have the opportunity for my fellow cadets and I to share our experience with other teens looking for an exciting learning experience. By representing Texas Brigades, we are given more college scholarship opportunities as we approach the end of high school. For more information on Texas Brigades camps, you can visit https://www.texasbrigades.org/. I hope to hear from you soon.

Casey Monaghan represents Texas Brigades at a recent event.

I am always in search of articles and tips on “boatless” saltwater fishing.

Casey Monaghan Editor: We love bringing you surf and bank fishing tips. The first thing I brought to the table when hired on in an editor position in 2007 was adding bank fishing tips to all of our coastal hot spots focuses. We will continue giving bank fishing information in every issue and online at fishgame.com. The pre-made drop shot rigs are great!

Thank you, Lauren Brooker

Surf Tip Kudos THANKS FOR THE TIPS. IT GETS really frustrating reading fishing magazines that only talk about fishing from a boat.

Beach and pier fishing is all we can do.

Now, the rig you describe (drop shot) is obviously a bottom rig, of which hundreds are available in the stores. I always wondered if these were a waste of money, or if it’s better to tie my own. I have arthritis and my knots are atrocious!

Plus, I always put out a popping cork rig, also store bought, so you are limited at to the length of the leader to the hook.

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Fishing MemoriesInspired by Doggett BORN AND RAISED NW HOUSTON, I graduated from S.P. Waltrip, (class of ‘84). I retired after 22yrs and 5 combat tours in the Army at Fort Hood.

I grew up fishing Galveston, Rollover and Quintana.

I remember Rooster Collins’s bait shop. I remember Swan’s BBQ in Hempstead.

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(my father retired from Gulf printing after 36yrs), and Star Engraving Company, (my grandfather retired in 1973-74 from there).

And yes, I remember sand trout and croaker saving a fishing trip or two or even a couple of big gafftops.

I’ll never forget flights of snows and honkers between Katy and Hempstead.

I remember your fishing forecasts and weekly reports in The Chronicle.

If you don’t remember fishing the flats of Galveston Bay, the “new” guys will bring back memories.

Some things change, (the gear, the electronics), some don’t. (Reds, Specks, Doormats, Croaker) Memories and the bay.

I hope it never goes away.

Eric Runfeldt

« Email your comments to: editor@fishgame.com

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EDITOR’S Notes

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

Storm Warning!

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HE MOST SIGNIFICANT threat hunting has ever faced is upon us right now.

Living in Texas has isolated us a bit from the furor growing against hunting globally, but it is here.

And what happens in the next five years, in my opinion, will decide the very future of the sport.

Just as the Archduke Ferdinand’s assassination was the catalyst for World War 1, the Cecil the Lion media-created controversy has begun a massive, united assault against hunting.

It didn’t help that photos of a young lady hunter posing with a ram and a sex toy along with various other hunter caused embarrassments followed suit. These incidents added fuel to a fire that has been smoldering for decades.

At the time of this writing, the Cecil The Lion Act, designed to ban certain trophy imports into the United States, moved out of the committee, and the U.K. is planning to ban trophy imports.

“Trophy Hunting” is the word animal rights groups, and their puppets in the media have fixated on with precision.

They have vilified it to the level of genocide amongst their followers, including influential politicians and wealthy anti-hunting crusaders.

They hate us.

I rarely write about political outdoors issues.

We run those stories in our State of the Nation news section, and some of our columnists address them, so my approach is different.

I believe the solution to problems is from within, and real change will come from the outward expression of inward positivity of the hunting community like conservation and community-based outreach.

With that said, we must be engaged politically, so I advise hunters to join several pro-hunting organizations.

Recommendations include Safari Club International, Houston Safari Club, Dallas Safari

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meal you cooked from the hog you killed? Maybe you can do like I did and share a picture of the turkey you shot alongside with a meal and a statement of how grateful you are for the opportunity to eat it.

I know as I type this, some hunters are fuming because they don’t give a damn about what the anti-hunters think.

Neither do I. This is about reaching nonhunters who have proven through statistical analysis they approve of meat hunting and building inroads to these people who will eventually vote and could be a deciding factor in the future of hunting.

This isn’t about apologizing but reforming how we not only are perceived but how we act.

I am sitting in a room with numerous trophies taken in the field. There are five whitetail shoulder mounts, a sheep skull displayed on a Skull Hooker, boar tusks, along with bass, rainbow trout, flounder, and two colossal crappie.

But looking back at each story written about taking these animals, it was evident the experience of the trip was the focus and then the healthy meal they provided, and then the souvenir of the hunt-which is the antlers, horns, and tusks.

I’m not saying that’s the perfect presentation, but which do you think will engage voting nonhunters better?

A social media post expressing thankfulness for an incredible experience and sustainably harvested, clean wild meat or a video of someone blowing hundreds of prairie dog’s heads of at 400 yards?

I love seeing excited hunters, using fun verbiage to describe their hunting experiences. We need enthusiasm. We need passion, but we also need common sense.

Let’s get real because if we don’t make some real reform in how we pursue hunting, the forces are at work to put us on the endangered list and years down the line push hunting toward extinction.

Club, The Sportsman’s Alliance, Exotic Wildlife Association, and Texas Wildlife Association, among others.

All of these groups are engaged in Austin and Washington and making a difference at levels you probably don’t realize.

They are our first line of defense.

We should also support conservation centered groups (who also defend hunting in their own way) like The Wild Sheep Foundation, Texas Bighorn Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, and others.

These groups represent my heart for wildlife and are crucial.

But what I am talking about in light of recent attacks is sheer political action committee type warfare in the hall of legislature that the former groups focus on.

At the personal level we are going to have to make some bold and possibly difficult choices.

In this issue is a story I wrote called “Trophy Cooking.” It is about how I believe we should be promoting eating what we kill more than selfies with what we kill on social media.

We have got to realize we live in a radically different world than we grew up in, and as much as we don’t like it, our culture looks at hunting differently.

A study entitled Perceptions of Hunting and Hunters by U.S. Respondents showed some exciting results concerning eating wild game.

An online survey of 825 U.S. residents was conducted to determine their views on hunting, hunters, and hunting practices within the United States.

“Overall, 87 percent of respondents agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for food. However, only 37 percent agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for a trophy.”

If there is a 50 percent disparity between the perception of trophy hunting versus meat hunting, then that means those people who support meat hunting are not animal rights activists.

They support hunting, just not what the media has fed them and not the ridiculous acts of a few hunters.

When is the last you shared a photo of the F I S H

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DOGGETT at Large

by JOE DOGGETT :: TF&G Contributing Editor

Dos Gobblers

and forth.

The vehicle stirred gravel dust as it banked around a corner and spooked a close flock amid the stubble. The doves flared low ahead and…

Thump! Thump One smacked the grill and one smacked the windshield.

“Wow,” I exclaimed, “if you can bag a double with a Suburban, this is bound to be a great shoot!”

And indeed it was—superior to even the best whitewing hunts I recall from decades ago in the San Fernando Valley region of Mexico.

Argentina truly provides amazing opportunities for doubles, but admittedly, most are achieved with shotguns.

But, closer to home, each fall offers legitimate chances for double dips on doves, quail, ducks and geese.

Frankly, I’m not as practiced at doubles as maybe I should be. This stems from doing a lot of shooting without benefit of a trained retriever. This especially was the case during my early years of dove and duck hunting near Houston.

I truly hate to lose a cripple. Therefore, when birds are within range, I tend to go for the confident shot and mark the fall all the way to ground. By then, a legitimate second target often is gone. But this is not altogether poor form—the old “bird in the hand” theory, with a high percentage of recoveries on downed birds.

I’ve never been impressed with blazing away for multiple hits at long range (increasing the chances of crippling) or over heavy ground cover (increasing the chances of lost falls). I’m concerned with disciplined doubles where both shots are within clean range and over reasonably open terrain.

Most “ice cream” setups occur on crossing flocks at maybe 20 to 35 yards. The idea is to start from behind, smacking a trailer then following through for the closest leading bird. It certainly is possible to take a leader first, then loop back around for a stab at a flaring trailer, but this a sloppy smoothbore work.

Left-to-right tends to favor the right-handed shooter because the swing remains fluid as the birds pass. Right-to-left encourages your swing to stutter or stop as the gun passes the off shoul-

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T IS POSSIBLE TO BAG TWO game birds in flight without firing a single shot. I have seen it happen twice.

The first occurred during deer season years ago. I was a guest on a Hill Country ranch near Kerrville. Following the morning stand session, we were driving the rough terrain of oaks and cedars back to the lodge.

Ahead, a bachelor group of four or five turkey gobblers scuttled across the trail and paused on the edge of a ravine. Then, in no particular hurry, they dipped over the rim and disappeared. The vehicle eased to a halt and an impromptu fall turkey hunt began.

I was toting a scoped .243 rifle, a legitimate choice for a poke at the big birds. I slipped slyly out of the truck and crept Davy Crockett style through the brush. With thumb poised on the safety, I approached the ravine, fully expecting to see the gullible gobblers waiting below.

One more step—and the grass exploded under my right boot. I had bumbled squarely into the middle of a large covey of bobwhite quail. Literally.

The step split the huddled bevy. Fifteen or 20 birds roared up around my ears, crisscrossing in frantic flight.

Two quail collided at full exit velocity and, amid a windswept bloom of feathers, both tumbled dead. I have no idea what happened to the turkeys.

I retrieved the cock and the hen and walked back to the waiting vehicle. “Nice double,” my friend said, “but I thought you were turkey hunting.”

The second double without assist from smokeless powder happened on a dove hunt in Argentina. Actually, it occurred before the hunt.

We were driving in a large SUV through tawny fields of grain to reach the palatial estancia on a prominent hill. The afternoon was swarming with flights of doves trading back

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der. But, again, it’s certainly doable.

Incoming birds might be easiest, especially if they are putting on the brakes to land. Decoying ducks and waterhole doves come to mind. The cool hand folds one of the farther birds then sweeps up to crumple a climbing leader.

But remember, the second shot often will be shorter than the first. The idea here is not to allow the flock to get too close. The temptation is great to keep watching ‘em come.

Low wads of zipping teal are especially bad about this. Allow the cluster to swoop too close, and the second shot might be at a frantic bird turning itself inside out at 10 or 15 yards.

The option on too-close incomers is to turn and taking a climbing, flaring bird going away, assuming safety is not an issue. But a bird that falls behind might land in rough cover (many duck blinds and dove stations are on the edges of brush or levees). Having one out front and one somewhere behind is a good way to get disoriented and lose one—or both.

The quail hunter over a point usually takes close birds going away, probably at a low angle.

The key is don’t rush things; take time to plant both feet properly and shoulder gun smoothly and pick a clean target. Roll one, then go for another.

But it’s a gross breach of etiquette to get caught up in the double-dip and swing into another gun’s airspace. Stay on the safe and courteous side of the covey.

Occasionally, two or more birds bunched together will fall with a single shot. This almost always is total luck but certainly worth a bit of gloating over the tailgate.

The shooter with a side-by-side or over/ under must make each barrel count, but the hunter with a magazine gun (plugged for migratory birds) has that third shot to regroup after a shameful miss—two out of three—but still some snappy gunplay from a single flock.

Come to think of it, if things go really right, there’s always the chance for a triple.

« Email Joe Doggett at jdoggett@fishgame.com

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NUGENT in the Wild

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

Venison: The Ultimate Sacred Flesh world’s finest eating establishments and served by world-class chefs and kitchen creationists.

With my reputation as a gung-ho American hunter, most chefs come out of the kitchen to meet me and say hello, always eager to discuss their basic worship of game meat as the foundation of the best meals possible.

Passionate dialog ensues about the joys of

“ Gamey is supposed to mean delicious in a tastebud stimulating way.

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AMEY! YOU’RE DARN tootin my venison is gamey!

That’s exactly why it is celebrated around the world as the most desirable, delicious, nutritious, natural, organic, healthy food on planet earth.

Let us all dedicate ourselves to destroy the bastardization of the once glowingly positive term gamey!

Gamey does not mean nasty, rancid or yucky! Originally when describing wild game meat, the term gamey was universally worldwide considered the ultimate positive compliment anyone could use to describe how special and delicious venison is.

Somewhere along the line as mankind migrated away from the independent hunting lifestyle of self-sufficiency and rugged individualism, some hunters became increasingly nonchalant and disconnected from the spiritual respect for the animals we hunt and became less considerate on how they handled the hardearned carcass.

That’s when they messed up and foolishly allowed urine, body fluids, bile, guts and all sorts of flavor destroying guck to infect the meat.

Somebody somewhere took a bite of irresponsibly mishandled venison and got a sucker punch of nastiness that turned them off from the flesh of game.

Knowing that they had a bad taste experience with game meat, they kneejerkingly pronounced they didn’t like the gamey punch of venison.

And it all went downhill from there.

Gamey is supposed to mean delicious in a tastebud stimulating way. Special, robust, unique and yummy!

In my lifetime of rock-n-roll globetrotting adventure, satisfying my extremely demanding pallet has brought me to some of the

hunting, killing, gutting, aging, butchering, preparing, grilling, serving and eating what we all know to be the best, most exciting meal there is; Venison in all its varied and exciting forms and species and presentations.

The worst crimes of flesh mishandling come in many sundry forms.

Bad hits on game can and will happen, but dedication to aim small miss small shot placement can make or break a quality meal.

If a bad hit is made, all the tainted flesh exposed to any body fluids must be carved away from the desirable cuts.

An inexcusable mistake is a sloppy gutting process. There is no hurry. Nobody gets an T E X A S

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award for the fastest gutting time.

Care and caution should always be the modus operandi for keeping undesirable fluids off the meat. Take your time and use a real sharp knife very carefully.

Another bizzarro failure I witness all too often is the horror of carting a dead deer in the back of a pickup truck exposed to sunlight and warm temperatures.

Getting the carcass cleaned and cooled as soon as possible is Job1 for us deerhunters.

Walk-in coolers are a Godsend but getting the quarters in the shade or cooled down any way possible will spell the difference between so-so venison and great venison.

Then of course the final cooking process is the end all deciding factor for killer table fare, and keeping it simple and rare to medium rare regardless of the preferred cooking process makes all the difference in the world.

I have unlimited killer ways to cook my sacred flesh but the easiest and still one of the best is aged backstrap with all the fat, muscle and silver removed, marinated for an hour or so in really good olive oil and melted duck fat, covered with a little herbs and seasonings of choice.

I stab small slices into the strap and insert shards of fresh garlic throughout.

I grill it relatively quickly over hot, glowing wood coals till singed on the outside, then roasted off heat for another ten to fifteen minutes.

Served with onions, peppers, garlic and small potatoes cooked in the drippings, and what you have is the most unbelievable tastebud exhilarating gamey meal you can imagine.

Venison is game meat. It’s supposed to be gamey delicious, and when handled with genuine loving care from field to table, nothing comes close.

Game on! Gamey on!

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SK ANYONE WHO HAS PLAYED the game and they will tell you deer leases aren’t cheap.

I’ve got several friends and acquaintances who routinely fork more than $7,000 or more in annual lease dues.

It would be nice if annual dues were the only expense involved with a lease, but it’s not. In fact, lease fees are just the tip of the iceberg in a long line of expenses associated with owning a key to a locked gate.

As the cost of deer hunting on private land continues to rise, more and more hunters are getting priced out of the game. Others, meanwhile, are looking to public land to get their fix.

Texas deer hunters are lucky, because well over one million acres of public land are available across the state. You can find affordable hunting there for deer and other game during legal seasons for a frac8

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tion of the cost of a hunting lease. In some cases it’ll cost you no more than the price of a hunting license and gas for the truck to get there.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department runs one of the best and most diverse public hunting programs in the nation. This program offers hunters a wide variety options to get afield and won’t break the bank.

One of the most popular is the state’s draw program. In this program, hunters can apply online for well-organized hunts for deer and other game. Most of the hunts take place on state-managed wildlife management areas, and a few are carried out on private ranches. Only a limited number of hunters are allowed on each hunt.

Applicants pay a nominal application fee. Drawn hunters are typically assessed a hunt fee that can range from $80 to $130. In some cases there’s no hunt fee at all.

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Every Hunter Needs a Hero TRUE OUTDOOR LOVERS encounter smells of many varieties.

From sweating it out scouting for deer season and working on blinds to the unmistakable aromas that come with cleaning fish, odor is an issue outdoor lovers encounter perhaps more than anyone.

When it comes to laundry it can be hard to get those smells out even with traditional washing.

For tough jobs check out Hero Clean Laundry Detergent.

It’s a formulated 2-in-1 Laundry Detergent to keep your gear fresh, no matter the mess you find

yourself in. Targets odors for immediate and long-term odor control, like no other product on the market.

• Superior Stain and Odor Control • Odor Defeater Technology for the Worst Sweat Caused Odors • Seven Enzymes for Stains, Color Brightening, Whitening and Fabric Protection • Great for Moisture Wicking Garments • Hero Clean JuniperBased Scent • No Animal Testing The detergent is available at Wal-Mart location and already has numerous testimonies of its effectiveness.

It works in all washing machines.

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DISH + HAND SOAP: Add three pumps to a sink of hot water then add dishes. Let it soak for the length of an overly witty sports highlight show segment, then rinse.

For use on anything else in need of a little soapy water, dishes, hands, countertops, appliances, bad attitudes, bathrooms, floors, bikes, and F-14s…

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out most of the better quality bucks.

Chaparral, Kerr and Matador, Gene Howe, Yoakam Dunes, Gus Engling and Alazan Bayou WMAs all come to mind.

“It’s hard to pick one on the WMA side,” Edmiston said. “You could say the same for some of our state parks. Sometimes looking at an area’s bag limit and antler restrictions can be a clue as to which area may have more mature deer.”

Another popular public hunting option is the Annual Public Permit. The permit costs $48 and provides access to dozens of public hunting areas across the state, but not all of them allow walk-in deer hunting.

The public hunting areas range in size from several hundred to several thousand acres where you can hunt a variety of game, fish, hike or camp. Included in the mix are more than 40,000 acres of privately owned land leased by TPWD exclusively for dove hunting.

As gun and archery deer hunting options go, the APH provides holders access to close to a dozen different parcels of property, mostly in eastern Texas. Some of the properties allow for walk-in archery hunting only. Others allow for archery and gun hunting both.

Determining which areas allow walk-in deer hunting with an APH is fairly simple, but

The bad news is you’re reading this now.

Application deadlines for the 2019-20 deer hunt drawings closed in October. However, “standby” permits are sometimes available for upcoming hunts on some really good areas.

Finding out whether standby permits are available requires a phone call or email to the designated hunt area a week before the scheduled hunt. Any standby permits are awarded by drawing on the first day of the scheduled hunt. There’s no application fee to enter a standby drawing, but successful adult hunters must pay the permit fee. You can learn about any upcoming hunt drawings at tpwd.texas. gov/huntwild/hunt/public/.

Some of the draw hunt areas consistently turn out better results than others: Last season’s report in the gun deer/either sex category showed 18 areas had success rates of 80 percent or higher. The top performers were Powderhorn WMA, Colorado Bend State Park, Mason Mountain WMA and Nannie Stringfellow WMA, according to Kelly Edmiston, TPWD public hunting lands coordinator.

Edmiston said he doesn’t receive qualitative info at his office, but pointed to larger research/demonstration areas where intense habitat management practices typically kick 10

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t-shirt. For use on counters, sinks, Stoves, Showers, Toilets, Dashboards, Hardwood, Harleys, Tools, Shops and Man Caves.

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you’ll need Internet access to do it.

Here’s how: Go to tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/hunt/ public/ and click on Annual Public Hunting Permit. Scroll to “Get Started” and click on “Search for Area or Game.”

Next, enter “Deer – Archery” or “Deer – General” to locate areas that are open for walk-in hunting.

The results will list the area name, county, unit number and region along with all the game animals legal to hunt.

You can also find maps that list designated camping areas, roads, boundaries, and creeks.

You’ll also find pertinent rules, regulations, special season dates and prohibited acts. It would be wise to read the “What You Need to Know” section and double check all open season dates and bag limits for the area before hunting.

Public hunting opportunities are also abundant in the Sabine, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Angelina national forests as well as the Caddo/LBJ National Grasslands.

Hunting is free on these properties, unless the area has been leased to TPWD as a wildlife management area. Free hunting also can be found on certain Corp of Engineers properties.

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10/9/19 4:58 PM

HIS IS THE MOST GRATIFYING MEAL I HAVE had in a long time. My wife Lisa cooked fried turkey breast strips from this incredible Eastern wild turkey I took in New York last Wednesday.”

That Facebook post with a photo of the fried turkey breast and me with the bird got a tremendous, positive response. To be honest, I expected some blowback. After all, some of my followers are wildlife lovers, not necessarily hunters or anglers.

Hunting for me has always been about connecting with nature and getting excellent meat for the table. Whether it is a wild turkey, wild boar, flounder, salmon or whitetail deer, the Moore household has always enjoyed wild game.

If we don’t eat it, we don’t kill it. Period.

There is no doubt hunter, and fisherman-based conservation works tremendously well, but hunters in the age of social media haven’t always done a good job putting forth that message. That’s why I think it’s time to start Trophy Cooking.

Yep, I said it.

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in my house too, but the beauty of the harvest is best expressed in the kitchen, not just in the taxidermist studio.

For the Moores it’s about celebrating a successful hunt and eating tasty meat that doesn’t come from a corporate farm. It blows me away that people are okay with someone buying something often brutally killed in a factory farm, but are not okay with someone killing their own meat.

Weird.

For some, like my friend Jennifer (@Savagetexan on Instagram), eating wild game is about health. After a horrendous health battle that left her in the hospital and nearly dead, she decided to start eating clean and saw quick results. Along that The author’s Facebook post with the journey, Jennifer decided she eastern turkey he bagged, then cooked. wanted to start killing her own The most prominent trophy should be game and eating the most organic meat what’s on the grill or in the pan instead of possible.

“I didn’t come from a hunting family, so what’s on the wall. I’ve got antlers hanging

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I had to learn on my own,” she said. “There were great challenges, especially being a woman, but I have found it to be extremely gratifying.”

Jennifer says she mourns the kill, but celebrates the harvest.

“I pray over each animal I kill and thank God that he allows me to be part of this circle of life. I appreciate every animal I have the opportunity to hunt, kill and eat, and I am grateful for what it does for my health,” she said.

A study entitled “Perceptions of Hunting and Hunters by U.S. Respondents” showed some exciting results concerning eating wild game.

An online survey of 825 U.S. residents was conducted to determine their views on hunting, hunters, and hunting practices within the United States. Overall, 87 percent of respondents agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for food. However, only 37 percent agreed that it was acceptable to hunt for a trophy.

For hunter-conservationists who wish to promote healthy, sustainable wildlife, maybe it’s time to focus on the meal instead of only the photo with a dead animal.

Demographics change and fewer people are growing up in hunting and fishing families. So, there has to be a way to get people interested in these pursuits and to accept sustainable hunting.

A recent survey from marketingcharts. com shows that nearly half of Americans watch cooking television shows regularly.

Only 21 percent say they never watch them.

Millennials, in particular, show a deep interest in this type of programming.

Venison recipes feature regularly on these programs, so maybe it’s time to reach out via the kitchen.

A big reason why I love wildlife and fisheries is that I grew up fishing and hunting.

I learned very early in life that if you take too many deer, they disappear. If a stream is polluted, it’s not good to eat the fish from it.

We need to build bridges into communities that support all means of keeping wildlife populations high, and keeping wild grounds and waterways healthy. Whether that’s hunting, fishing, birdwatching, or diving, we need to unite over habitat and things that get the job done for wildlife.

Over the coming year, I will gather and dispense numerous wild game recipes and other aspects of game and fish cooking. If

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COURTESY SAVAGETEXAN

you have any you would like to share, please email me at chester@chestermoore.com There’s an old saying that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Perhaps the way true hunter-conservationists can reach the hearts of America is in the kitchen through cooking. Maybe even more important, it can help win back the soul of hunting in America.

Posting only kill shots on YouTube and dead animals on Instagram shows an incomplete picture of what hunting is about to young people interested in pursuing this lifestyle.

Teaching that hunting is a sustainable way to provide healthful food for our families might begin the process of turning hearts toward conservation instead of social media status.

In my opinion, trophy cooking can be a big part of saving hunting from our enemies as well as ourselves.

The author’s friend, Jennifer, whose Instagram account @savagetexan highlights her healthy hunting lifestyle.

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Bank Fishing Technology Can Save the Day (or Night) story by Chester Moore

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BANK FISHERMEN OFTEN FEEL limited because of the constraint of only being able to fish as far as they can cast.

New technology is developing to help with this problem. It won’t help them cast farther, but it can give them a better chance to catch fish.

One of the unique products is the Deeper Smart Sonar.

To summarize, Deeper Smart Sonar products allow you to discover productive water with your smartphone or tablet. Using your rod and reel, you simply cast the Deeper Smart Sonar to the water you want to fish.

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Their “off the boat“ series of fishing lights are 12vdc, high output LED, virtually unbreakable and made to last. An underwa-

The device will give you immediate feedback transmitted straight to the screen of your smartphone or tablet. Deeper products are small and ultra-light,

which makes them suitable to cast using most standard lines. You can throw it to any spot on the water.

The device floats on the surface and transmits detailed bottom and water column information. It captures depth, bottom structure, temperature, vegetation, fish location, and other valuable data points that are essential for productive fishing.

A less technical, but definitely next-level product is the Berkley Glowstik.

The Glowstik has a fiberglass rod blank with an extended rubberized shrink-wrapped

ter fishing light is easy to use and very effective. Simply lower the light off the side of the boat.

When it submerges to the desired depth, just tie or clip the cord on a rail or cleat.

Baitfish will be attracted by the underwater lights.

Predator fish will usually be deep under the light and a short distance away, feeding on the baitfish around the perimeter of the underwater light’s glow.

Each light comes standard with a waterproof connector. This makes it easy to change between alligator clips, accessory plug or 120v to 12v power supply.

Bank fishing can be as simple or technical as you want it to be. I have fished everywhere from the jungles of South America to 10,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, and I have caught just about everything I want to find other than billfish.

However, there is something peaceful and exciting at the same time about sitting on the bank, casting out some cut or live bait to see what happens.

Modern technology can make this kind of fishing more productive than before and maybe a little more fun too.

Hydro Glow makes LED underwater fishing lights.

handle. A one-touch battery-operated red LED and fiber optic cable creates a fulllength glow all the way to the rod tip. The Glowstik comes in freshwater and saltwater models.

Although fishing lights have been around for years, bank fishermen often overlook them. Hydro Glow puts out some great fishing lights for various applications.

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Texas FRESHWATER

by MATT WILLIAMS :: TF&G Freshwater Editor

New Texas Fisheries

long earthen dam northwest of Honey Grove.

Sandwiched in between are about two dozen major and secondary creeks that feed coves, cuts and fingers along the lake’s jagged shorelines.

Bennett says the creeks are well defined by drop offs and distinctive bends that will help position fish. This will provide anglers with plenty of good spots to soak their baits. To provide critical habitat for fish, most of the timber and brush is left in coves and the lake’s upper half.

The lake also will inundate a complex of county roads, bridges, culverts and close to 250 stock tanks ranging from 1/4 acre to 10 acres. Bennett says the reservoir depth will be about 70 feet at its deepest point with an average depth of 20 to 25 feet at full pool.

“It’s got a pretty complex shoreline of about 67 miles, too,” he said. “I suspect the lake will fish pretty big for a 16,000-acre lake. Fishermen should be able to spread out pretty good.”

Another underwater feature of interest to anglers is a unique man-made channel that was cut through the Bois d’Arc creek bottom decades ago. Bennett said farmers cut the channel in a straight line to carry water faster than the winding creek channel. The idea was to curtail flooding.

“Initially the channel was narrow, probably about the width of a track hoe,” he said. “It has since eroded to about 40 to 50 feet wide. The main creek channel is still there, too. It carries water during periods of wet weather.”

In addition to the previous structures, Bennett says fish will benefit from several large brush piles that will be anchored to the bottom at the lower end. The piles will be 15 feet tall and 60 to 80 feet long. Construction crews also are working to consolidate scrap concrete barriers and rubble to create more valuable habitat.

“We’ve been working closely with the NTMWD regarding the habitat and they have been really cooperative about following our recommendations,” Bennett said. “They seem really interested in making the fishing good.”

The only bridge crossing the lake (1.3 miles) will be along FM 897 connecting US 82 to FM 1396. There will be three boat public ramps and a single boat lane about 100 yards wide. Bennett said the boat lane will run about two miles west of the bridge and stop about three miles short of

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HESE ARE EXCITING TIMES for lots of folks in Fannin County.

State fisheries managers are reeling over the possibilities at Texas’s newest bass fishery.

Heavy equipment operators are steadily pushing dirt and clearing brush as Texas’s newest fishing lake and water supply reservoir — Bois d’Arc Lake — slowly takes shape.

The new lake is named for the bois d’arc trees native to northeast Texas. This 16,600-acre reservoir is the first “major” impoundment built in Texas in nearly three decades. The last was 19,000-acre O.H. Ivie, which opened in 1990.

Plenty of progress has been made since construction crews broke ground last year. The North Texas Municipal Water District project began in May 2018. However, opening day is still a few years down the road.

In the meantime, Dan Bennett and his staff are dipping deep into their bag of tricks to make sure fishermen find something really special once that happens.

Bennett is the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Region 1 inland fisheries district supervisor and is based in Pottsboro. Bois d’Arc will bring the total number of lakes under his watch to 13, and he’s hoping it’s the Lucky 13 that becomes a gem of a bass fishery.

“Most of our biologists who hired on back in the 1980s have never had a chance like this,” Bennett said. “I am excited about this particular project, indeed.

“The only thing that might be more exciting is if they would turn me loose on a bulldozer for a few months to make all sorts of humps and channels in the basin. We are certainly trying to brainstorm and do all we can to improve fish habitat in the lake before construction is complete.”

Built on Bois d’Arc Creek northeast of Bonham, the long, narrow basin extends roughly 13 miles from the upper tip to a two-mile-

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the lake’s upper tip.

Only a handful of Texas reservoirs have been built since a storied bass lake called Lake Fork was impounded in 1980. Despite TPWD’s best efforts, none have come remotely close to becoming the fairy tale trophy bass fishery that Fork was during its heyday.

Will scientists finally discover the magical formula in Bois d’Arc Lake?

Bennett agrees that Fork was a really special place that might never be matched. Even so, he has high hopes for Bois d’Arc and says the department is using all the tools in the toolbox to make it the best it can possibly be.

“I think it’ll be a really good fishery, at least for the first 15 years or so,” Bennett said. “The lake is going to be used for water supply from the start, so the water level fluctuations we see there on a routine basis will ultimately determine how good the lake will be and for how long. The good thing is, it’s got a really big watershed. It may not be prone to fluctuate as much as some of our other lakes are.”

Bennett and his staff have been staying busy trying to get ahead of the game. For starters, they gained access to four, 2- to 10-acre stock tanks within the lakebed to use as rearing ponds for fish while construction is underway. Existing fish populations were removed from the ponds before they were restocked with bluegills, fathead minnows and threadfin shad last spring.

Bennett says about 2,000 advanced growth (six to eight inches ) Toyota ShareLunker offspring will be stocked in the ponds this fall with more Florida bass stockings to follow. TPWD also plans to stock blue and channel catfish along with adult crappie.

Bass can utilize these ponds once the lake begins to fill. The biologist also has secured funding for several man-made fish attractors that will be strategically placed around the lake.

“The GPS coordinates of the fish attractors and gravel spawning beds will be listed on the TPWD website,” Bennett said.

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Texas SALTWATER

by CALIXTO GONZALES :: TF&G Saltwater Editor

Into the Sun(block)

M

Y GRANDFATHER SAM had a large bandage on his chin.

Just like any curious nine year old, I walked up to him and pointed at it and asked, “What’s that, Papa Gane?”

“Oh, the doctor had to take a mole off my chin.”

“Why?” “It was cancer.”

I didn’t quite understand what this word, “cancer,” meant, although I’d heard it mentioned on television when John Wayne died, so I asked, “How did you get it?”

“I was out in the sun too much,” he answered.

I’ve been paranoid about sunlight ever since, and with good reason. With my fair skin, it wouldn’t take to many sunburns to set me up for the entire solar shop of horrors—skin cancer, sunburn, dehydration, heat prostration (hyperthermia), cataracts, macular degeneration.

Sport fishermen should be keenly aware of the sun’s harmful effects. It isn’t all that hard to end up as a victim of over-exposure to the sun.

The rush of a wide open bite, or the excitement of zipping around the bay running down birds diving over schools of bait can distract you from re-applying your sun block (or even applying it in the first place).

Your cap gets blown off en route to your honey hole. The final result is costly in the form of a nasty sunburn. It can leave your skin bright red and stinging, and later dry, itchy, and peeling. If a fisherman doesn’t take the correct precautions, a good day can turn lousy pretty quickly.

Sunlight causes its handiwork through ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet A (UVA) is considered the least dangerous form of UV radiation.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) is more dangerous, It can be responsible for a wide array of conditions involving the skin and eyes.

Ultraviolet C is considered the most dangerous form of UV radiation, but it is filtered by the

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can provide. Many people do in fact believe that a tan protects from sunburns, so they continue to expose themselves to solar radiation without protection.

At the very least, they eventually end up with skin that has the moisture and texture of beef jerky. At the worst, they end up visiting, in this order, a dermatologist and an oncologist.

The irony of all this is that it is actually very easy to protect yourself from sunburn. Sun protection is big business in the outdoor industry.

There are so many different brands of sun block that it makes your head spin.

The important thing is to find a sunblock that protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

These lotions contain compounds such as zinc oxide (the white stuff that lifeguards cover their noses with), titanium dioxide, octocrylene and Mexoryl (generically known as ecamsule) and avobenzone.

These ingredients are as important as the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of a lotion. According to Dr. Carruth, an SPF of about 30 is sufficient for most outdoor enthusiasts.

Once you’ve got your sunblock, don’t scrimp on application. You don’t need to use half the bottle, but two tablespoons of sunblock should be enough to cover your arms and legs to a thickness effective against UVA and UVB radiation.

Be sure to apply it at least 30 minutes before you step out (maybe when you’re gassing the truck and buying your breakfast taco). Re-apply it every three hours or so to replace any that has been rubbed or washed off.

Besides the obvious sun-blocking lotions available, sun-protective clothing is available for fishermen.

No bottle or tube can leak all over a tackle box or camera bag, and the clothing can be washed and reused. The important point is that sensitive skin is protected from the harmful rays of an unforgiving sun.

Choose sun protection wisely, then the only band-aids you’ll ever have on your face is because of a careless friend’s backcast.

Earth’s atmosphere, so it’s not generally considered a dangerous factor—unless you’re an astronaut and you left your SPF90 at Mission Control.

In general, ultraviolet radiation is considered an environmental carcinogen by members of the medical community, and “a major concern for human health” (see Toxic Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on the Skin; Toxicology and Pharmacology, 3/2004).

UVB irradiation causes sunburns, those painful reminders of not applying and reapplying sufficiently strong sunblock. Even something as banal as a suntan can be dangerous. Both are the body’s reaction to injury to the skin.

Moreover, UVB can distort DNA molecules, which can lead to cellular mutations that may, in turn, create cancerous growths.

It is important to note that tanning is not necessarily a precaution against sunburn. I’m dismayed at how many times I’ve heard someone make this mistake, especially a young person bound for Spring Break or summer vacation.

They’ll say that once they get a good sunburn, they’ll be safe from burning again. Few ideas are farther from the truth.

Sunburns are acute trauma to the skin. The may vary from a simple pinking of the skin, such as what can happen to your arm while resting it out an open truck window.

At the other end of the scale are the severe, almost crimson burns that most fair-skinned individuals suffer. It can happen after a very long day on the water with little or no sunblock. These sunburns can sometimes lead to blistering of the skin and the need for real medical attention.

I suffered a pretty nasty sunburn once at a concert in the Cotton Bowl. I was literally bedridden for two days.

The body releases melanin to protect the skin from further damage. This can also occur days after a sunburn. UVB stimulates the body to produce more melanin as a defensive reaction to prevent UV damage to the more vulnerable subcutaneous layers of skin.

“Ultraviolet light damages a skin’s DNA,” said Dr. Mark Carruth, a dermatologist affiliated with the Skin Cancer Foundation. “The (darkening of a tan) is a response to injury.”

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N 1992 WHEN I STARTED writing professionally during my freshman year in college, interest in sharks was minimal among fishermen.

Turn on the handful of television fishing programs, and it was all bass, trout, redfish and billfish. Shark fishing had a cult following of sorts, especially among surf anglers, but there was little widespread enthusiasm.

My, how that has changed.

The advent of the Internet has given the exciting sport of shark fishing seriously popular. More and more anglers are taking it up every year. I see two things driving this phenomenon.

Anglers who are tired of the same old pursuits see Youtube clips and blog postings with massive, hard fighting sharks and take the bait. We are also seeing those who really had little interest in fishing but who love sharks getting involved for the same reasons.

As someone who saw Jaws and wanted to get in to the water, I can relate to the desire to be close to these awe-inspiring creatures.

In Texas waters, the bull shark is the king of the near shore scene. With the ability to live in completely fresh waters, they are found everywhere from brackish bass country to the deep waters of the Gulf.

Recent television programming has created a renewed interest, especially since bull sharks are considered the world’s most statistically dangerous shark. With lengths of up to 10 feet and more testosterone than any known creature, they are indeed super intense.

Anglers who fish for tuna in the far reaches of the Texas Gulf Coast are surprised to find large mako sharks prowling the tuna grounds.

These magnificent creatures are known for their acrobatics. They can jump every bit as impressively as marlins and are a more streamlined version of their close cousin, the great white.

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which can be hard to tell apart. Both have similar acrobatic abilities. I have seen huge schools of these fish just out of Sabine Pass tearing into baitfish with great intensity.

Back in the early 2000s, local fishing guide, Capt. Robert Vail ran into a massive greater hammerhead while fishing the short rigs for king mackerel. He estimated the fish to be anywhere from 12 to 14 feet in length.

It was eyeing a pair of king mackerels he and his friend were fighting.

“It would be after one of the kings,” Vail said. “Then the other would splash and grab its attention, and it would swim over there.

This fish was absolutely huge and swam right by our boat.”

Such sightings are now a rarity and anyone who gets a look at any true hammerhead is fortunate.

One of my fondest outdoor memories involves battling a seven-foot-long scalloped hammerhead at a rig 50 miles out of Aransas Pass.

My goal was simply to get the fish close to the boat, snap a quick photo and release it to fight another day. This fish would make a long, determined run. Next, it would swim toward the boat and dive down deep. Then, it would repeat the process. This happened probably four times in the course of 45 minutes, and I was getting a bit tired.

Still, the thrill of battling a hammerhead was strong, especially for someone who grew up (well sort of) shark obsessed. I always thought hammerheads were super cool.

Finally, I thought, I had the fish beat as it surfaced alongside the boat. However, the shark simply spat out the big hunk of bait and swam off.

The big one got away, but we were going to release it anyway as most anglers do with sharks along the coast.

We are working on a photo essay of shark catches on the coast for our fishgame.com e-newsletter. If you have any shark photos you would like to share email them to cmoore@fishgame.com.

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OR NEARLY 20 YEARS, A SPECIAL CONSERVAtion order has been in place to allow hunters to use electronic calls to lure in snow geese.

The conservation order was intended to help reduce snow goose populations. The numbers had grown so large they threatened to literally eat themselves out of house and home on their northern nesting grounds. So, how good has the order done in that regard?

According to a paper titled “Harvest, Survival, and Abundance of Midcontinent Lesser Snow Geese Relative to Population Reduction Efforts,” the answer might just shock many hunters.

The researchers in this paper represented everyone from the Canadian Wildlife Service to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They wrote, “Overall, all three populations of light geese now exceed numbers present when the conservation order was initiated. We are confident that the abundance and population growth rate of midcontinent snow geese (as well as by Ross’s and greater snow geese) currently exceeds the ability of existing numbers of hunters to exert harvest pressure that is necessary to impose sufficient additive mortality and thus effectively influence population growth.

“We suggest that abundance of midcontinent snow geese was seriously underestimated in the past and that this underestimate may have contributed to overconfidence with which suggested harvest levels could achieve a goal of reduced survival and population reduction.

“We are confident that the abundance and population growth rate of midcontinent snow geese (as well as by Ross’s and greater snow geese) currently exceeds the ability of existing numbers of hunters to exert harvest pressure that is necessary to impose sufficient additive mortality and thus effectively influence population growth.”

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More geese should equal more goose hunting opportunities, right?

Wrong! (especially in Texas).

We first addressed the decline eight years ago where we detailed a unique testimony given by then TPWD Migratory Bird Program Leader Dave Morrison before the TPWD Commission where he detailed how Texas’s population is decreasing while other states like Kansas are on the rise. “…They (Kansas) had 350- to 400,000 birds in their state. They killed 15,000. They are not putting pressure on their birds as we do. We have a mid-winter estimate of around 350- to 400,000 year before last, and we shot about 250,000 birds.”

Texas hunters shot more than half of the light geese that wintered in Texas while Kansas only took a tiny portion.

“Now that’s a direct relationship. I understand that it’s just the indices compared to population estimates. But the decline—you can see the decline, what’s going on. Now, understand that the intent was to cause bird numbers to go down. That was the intent of the expanded and liberal seasons. But the

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continental population has not gone down.

It’s simply a Texas problem.”

The wisest waterfowler I have ever hunted with is William L. (Bill) Sherrill who operates in Wharton County. I’m not one to throw the word “guru” around, but if there’s a waterfowl guru in Texas, he is it.

For years, he has put a strict limit on the number of geese taken and has been vocal over his disapproval of the conservation order since its inception.

“There is such thing as putting too much pressure on the birds,” he said, “and with geese, it seems like that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“There’s scarcely a huntable field anywhere east or west of Houston that does not have hunters on it throughout the season.

If you look at the number of birds you see while driving the Interstate 10 corridor it’s obvious that pressure is having an effect on the birds,” said David Schmidt of Baytown.

Schmidt hunted near Anahuac and said he believes a decade ago, a breaking point occurred for waterfowl on the local prairies.

“You just do not have any large concen-

trations of geese here anything remotely comparable to even just a few years ago.”

Schmidt said. “Then the ducks were not on the prairie except for a few large reservoirs.

The marsh had ducks and even some geese, but the prairie was pitiful. Even though there has been some rice in areas that haven’t had it in many years it was scattered all over the place and not in any large contiguous tracts.”

So, what about those stories of hunters taking hundreds of snows on one hunt?

They happen every once in a while, but with far less frequency than in the past simply because there are not as many geese and the ones we are hunting have been shot at from November through March throughout the Central Flyway.

In short, snow geese are adapting to hunting pressure. It seems in large part, Texas is becoming a much less important part of their wintering plans. In 2017 the midwinter survey counted fewer than 200,000 snow geese, putting it less than half of the longterm average.

That’s not to say no huntable populations exist because some do. Those populations,

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however, are far lower than the “glory days” of the past and probably will not improve with time.

Snow geese are smart.

I have written they are altogether the wariest bird hunters pursue. Wild turkeys are a close second. However, in my opinion, a wary old goose that has been shot at from Canada to South Texas is the smartest thing with feathers.

While hunting with Bill Sherrill in 2007,

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I watched a young snow start coming indirectly toward our spread. The hundreds of decoys and the expert calling of Sherrill was irresistible.

That is until two older geese from the colossal flock flying well above shooting range started cackling and flew down to guide the young bird back up.

They knew danger lurked below and they saved one of their kind with their wild wisdom.

Snow geese are rarer in Texas than they have been in decades, so maybe we should appreciate the hunting opportunities we get.

Snow geese deserve our respect.

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TEXAS WHITETAILS

by LARRY WEISHUHN :: TF&G Contributing Editor

Finally, November!

eral dead bucks on the side of the road. Obviously the whitetail rut had begun in the Texas Hill Country.

I was eager to hunt the place where I had grown up. I now own part of that property just above UST LEFT THE HARGROVE the Gulf Coast Prairie, and I lease Ranch near Snyder,” I told my wife. adjoining acreage. For the past “Rattled in a few bucks, mostly two years I had passed bucks youngsters. Shot a really nice buck in hopes of seeing bigger, older just before dark this evening. Should be bucks in the future. home by four. Will take a quick shower then Hunting pressure around my head to our property for opening morning. property is fairly heavy. Years of I’ll cape and butcher my buck after I finish antler restrictions have allowed the morning hunt.” a few bucks to get into older age Before my wife could answer, I continued. classes.

“Talked to Lance and Greg today at noon.

My opening morning plan was Bucks at The Buck Scrape have started looking to be in my ground blind at least for does. They said too, the scrapes I set up in an hour before first light. With the July with Texas Raised Hunting Products were rut about to launch I hoped bucks As the whitetail rut approaches it’s really active right now. While gone, I had them would be checking and working a good idea to hunt all day long! bury Scrape King canisters in two of them.” scrapes.

“Whoaaaa!”

For all but a few days a year, I slammed on the brakes barely missing a I had kept cattle out of the immediate area whitetail hunts still to come in November, nice ten-point illuminated in my headlights. I hunted. This had encouraged tremendous December and in January. Some involved sitSince leaving the Hargrove I had seen sev- browse and cover growth. At least eight does ting in blinds, spot and stalk, and of course, now called the small pasture rattling horns.

During September and October, I had home.

I had further enhanced the spent considerable time shooting the three habitat by fertilizing selected Ruger No. 1 rifles and the .44 Mag Ruger oak trees. Their acorns had been revolver I planned on hunting with this fall. falling since late September, but Chambered for.275 Rigby, .280 Remington many were still on the tree—same and.300 PRC respectively, the rifles were each topped with a Trijicon variable and sighted-in with fertilized persimmon trees.

During summer, I also fertil- with appropriate Hornady ammo.

Shooting 240-grain Hornady XTP and ized selected yaupon bushes, selected stands of green briar and topped with a Trijicon SRO sight, my Ruger American Beautyberry, as well as a Blackhawk revolver is sighted in at 75 yards. small patch of honeysuckle. These I know if I do my part, my firearms would do “natural food plots” of highly pal- theirs.

Darkness fades to gray; eastern skies promatable and nutritious browse kept the does in the immediate area. ise daylight. Movement in the tall weeds borI knew once the does came into dering the creek—could it be…? estrus, bucks would come looking.

In the ground blind waiting Hunting does is an excellent way to Email Larry Weishuhn at for first light, my thoughts wanfind whitetail bucks!

ContactUs@fishgame.com dered to numerous other Texas

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Texas GUNS

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

Promoting Mountain Goat Conservation

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HEY LIVE IN PLACES MOST humans only dream of trekking.

Among the highest peaks, in the jagged crevices and rocky valleys where beauty intersects with danger, only the best trained and most fit dare to tread.

Here dwell the white monarchs of the mountains-the mountain goat.

Also known as Rocky Mountain goat this beautiful, somewhat mysterious creature traverses the steepest habitat with ease.

Dedicated mountain hunters consider them a highly respected quarry and yet they are one of the least understood animals in North America amongst the general hunting populace.

And that’s a shame since they are truly unique and are one of the greatest hunting challenges to be found anywhere.

Pete Muennich has for many years had a deep passion for mountain goats and their pursuit and decided to turn that into a cause in 2013.

That was the year he founded the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance (RGMA) initially working on habitat projects in goat country. That has turned into a 1,000-member organization that has contributed many thousands of dollars to mountain goat conservation work.

“It started off very grassroots, and we still are, but we have grown to the point we are doing numerous projects and can fund some important conservation work and research,” he said Muennich said RGMA’s mission is to increase and enhance the management, range, and populations of goats across both native and suitable non-native North American habitats without negatively impacting native ungulates.

“We also work to educate the public of ongoing conservation projects and petitioning for the expansion of sustainable hunting opportunities across the continent.”

In Summer 2019 RGMA volunteers went into Olympic National Park for a massive mountain

PHOTO: CHESTER MOORE

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were then loaded into a refrigerated truck for the drive to their new home in the North Cascades.”

RMGA dollars will continue to be allocated to assist in the Park Service’s live capture efforts.

They hope many more goats are captured live and put into other areas before federal officials engage in lethal removal.

In comparison to whitetails, turkeys or even elk, relatively few hunters pursue mountain goats.

Like sheep, there aren’t enough goat harvest opportunities available to fully fund conservation efforts through traditional license sales.

Through RMGA much good can come to a species that is currently facing some controversies as noted above and the challenges of much of the hunting world overlooking them in a world where wildlife needs all the help it can get.

RMGA is changing that and if you like to know more, visit. goatalliance.org.

goat capture a relocation project.

“This is the second summer of live goat captures orchestrated by the Park Service and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. The Park deems their resident goats non-native and is in the midst of removing them from the landscape. The RMGA is extensively involved in the successful live capture and relocation of some of the Park’s mountain goats.”

In his blog at goatalliance.org Muennich noted officials weighed each goat before extensive biological sampling including the taking of blood and hair samples as well as nasal swabs.

“Once the veterinarians completed their work, the goats were carefully unhobbled as we ushered them into their crates. Boxed up goats

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Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com

The mountain goat is one of the most regal yet misunderstood animals in North America.

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PHOTO:

10/21/19 11:32 AM

HAT TITLE ROLLED OFF MY lips with the same flair for alliteration as my hero Stan Lee when he developed characters named Peter Parker and Bruce Banner, whom you know better as Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk.

I was assigned to come up with a title for this section. At first, it just sounded cool.

Then when I got to work on the actual text, it was apparent I had to make it fresh.

REPORT: NEWS 37 u TF&G OF THE NATION Reported by TF&G Staff

HOT 37 u TEXAS SHOTS

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE u

Trophy Photos from TF&G Readers

38 u TEXAS COASTAL FORECAST

by Capt. Eddie Hernandez, Capt. Mike Holmes, Mike Price, Capt. Chris Martin, Capt. Mac Gable, Tom Behrens, Capt. Sally Black and Calixto Gonzales

48 u TEXAS FISHING HOTSPOTS

by Tom Behrens, Dustin Warncke and Dean Heffner

56 u SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK Tides and SoLunar Data

COMPOSITE PHOTO: TF&G

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GUNS, GEAR, Every issue has articles on guns. Every issue has gear reviews, and there is a cooking column as well. So, I decided to take the unique culture of our state and look at some statistics and historical facts that uniquely marry these three components of

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and GRUB

the outdoor lifestyle.

Remember the Alamo!

This is a Texas statement, not a question. Any Texan reading this who does

not know about the Alamo needs to go back and think about their Texas citizenship.

For real.

This legendary battle pitted a mighty Mexican army against a collection of soldiers set on Texas independence.

Although it didn’t bring independence by itself, it set in motion what happened shortly after that in San Jacinto.

Of course, guns were a key component.

The guns of The Alamo varied, but an interesting historical piece from The American Rifleman cites one of the verified weapons of the mission’s defenders.

“Standing out from an otherwise mostly rag-tag group of men at the Alamo were the New Orleans Greys, named after the matching grey fatigues they sported.

The 23 volunteers were armed as a regular company of soldiers would be.

“When they set out from New Orleans, the majority of the men whose lives would end at the Alamo were equipped with the Deringer M1814. Known as the common rifle, these were .54 caliber flintlock muzzleloaders with 36-inch rifled barrels capable of being loaded with paper cartridges. Their angled stock was intentionally reminiscent of the graceful Kentucky long rifle.”

Other guns used in the battle were 1795 Springfield Flintlock Infantry Musket, French Flintlock Fusil and most likely the U.S. Harpers Ferry 1805 First Model Flintlock Pistol, which was popular in this time period.

Guns may have shaped Texas independence, but the culture of gun ownership has not faded in Texas today.

Texas, according to ATF statistics

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and GRUB

GUNS, GEAR, 1795 Springfield Flintlock, used at the battle of the Alamo.

compiled by Huntingmark.com, is the number one overall state for gun ownership with 588,696 registered firearms.

The Second Amendment, which guarantees a right to keep and bear arms, has

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nothing to do with hunting. However, there’s no question the pursuit of game is a big reason for gun sales and ownership in Texas—and for a good reason.

Texas is first in many categories of

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game animals: Number One Whitetail State: With a whitetail population of more than 3.5 million, Texas is tops for whitetail deer.

Number One Hog State: Whether we love them or hate them, hogs are here to stay. Some estimates put Texas hog population at more than three million.

Interestingly, hog harvest (including trapping) has topped whitetail harvest. About 750,000 hogs are killed annually in Texas according to Texas Agrilife, compared to about 500,000 whitetails.

Number One Turkey State: Turkey hunting is popular here, but perhaps as not as popular as it should be. Texas has more turkeys than any other state with an estimated 400,000 birds. The bulk of these

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A Rio Grande turkey in South Texas

are Rio Grandes, but a growing population of Easterns is being restored in the Pineywoods along with a little-known group of Merriam’s in the Trans-Pecos.

Number One Exotic State: No state

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compares to Texas’s exotic hunting opportunities. From blackbuck antelope to more obscure animals such as markhor, Texas has it all when it comes to exotics. Free-ranging herds of nilgai antelope

roam the lower coast, and free-ranging axis deer are increasingly common in the southeastern part of the Edwards Plateau.

With all of those game animals present within our borders, it makes sense we have lots of ways to cook them. After all, we should not kill what we do not use, right?

A recent article in Texas monthly cites a recent study by a statistics outfit CHD Expert. The article says, “in terms of total barbecue places, Texas leads the nation, with 2,238 total restaurant locations and 1,931 independent locations.”

It’s not just barbecue joints. It’s also barbecue pits, grills and smokers used by folks who merely want to cook some grub in the backyard for family and friends. A recent trend is 1,000-gallon smokers made from repurposed industrial propane tanks.

I guess it would take that kind of

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GUNS, GEAR, and GRUB power to cook all of the pigs we kill.

In terms of gear outdoor lovers use in the field, Texas is a huge priority in the ATV, boating, and outdoor component (camping, backpacks, binoculars, etc.) industry.

That has much to do with our outdoor diversity.

Texas has plains. The Gulf Coast near places such as Port Aransas has some of the flattest plains found in the country.

Texas has deep forests. Texas has an estimated 62 million acres of forests and woodlands in the state.

Texas has wetlands. Texas has an estimated seven million acres of wetlands.

Texas has mountains. Guadalupe Peak is 8,751 feet above sea level’ It’s in the Guadalupe Mountains. We also have the Davis Mountains, Chisos Mountains, Quachita Mountains and other ranges in the Trans-Pecos region of the state.

It takes good quality gear to traverse these diverse terrains. It also takes outdoor lovers who are adept at many styles of hunting and fishing to take advantage of the opportunities here.

Texas, at the end of the day, is about diversity. Biodiversity.

Because of the vast herds of whitetails, flocks of turkeys, coveys of quail and other wildlife contained within our borders we can enjoy hunting at a high level. We also can appreciate the truly unique place we live in.

Even non-hunters would have to enjoy a beautiful barbecue platter. Vegans may balk at the idea, but I doubt anyone reading this would prefer tofu over turkey.

I didn’t think so.

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The NATIONAL

Duck Numbers Dip Slightly THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERvice (FWS) today released its report on 2019 Trends in Duck Breeding Populations, based on surveys conducted in May and early June by FWS, Canadian Wildlife Service, and other partners of Ducks Unlimited (DU).

Total populations are at 38.9 million breeding ducks in the traditional survey area, six percent lower than last year’s estimate of 41.2 million and 10 percent above the long-term average (since 1955).

“Overall both total ponds and total populations of breeding waterfowl in the Prairie Pothole Region were down slightly,” DU Chief Scientist Dr. Tom Moorman said.

“However, important breeding areas in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan were much drier than last year, which contributes

News of TEXAS

Wardens Catch Poaching Ring

to reduced numbers of breeding waterfowl observed in the survey. Fortunately, eastern North Dakota and South Dakota saw an increase in both ponds and breeding waterfowl, especially mallards, blue-winged teal, gadwalls, northern shovelers, and northern pintails.

“Typically, when the Dakotas are wet and southern Alberta, and Saskatchewan are dry, we see the aforementioned species settle in the Dakotas,” Moorman said. “This reminds us that we must conserve habitat across the prairies because it is rare for the entire Prairie Pothole Region to be wet.

“Ultimately, however, hunting success and numbers of birds observed will vary with the onset of fall and winter cold fronts and the arrival of winter conditions necessary to force birds to migrate, and also with regional habitat conditions.”

GAME WARDENS IN SMITH AND Wood counties recently put a halt to a massive poaching network involving 12 individuals responsible for the illegal killing of at least 28 white-tailed deer and 50 feral hogs.

The investigation began in February with information about a deer that had been shot off a county road at night.

Game wardens conducted interviews and soon learned this was not an isolated incident. By the summer, investigators had documented evidence that a dozen subjects collectively committed more than 600 violations during the last two years. All the deer and hogs had been killed on private property at night; shot from public roadways with the aid of spotlights. The dead animals were left to rot where they fell. Cases are pending.

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REDFISH

BASS

Copano Bay

Lake Tyler

Joshua Davis caught this nice red while fishing with his grandparents on Copano Bay. He caught the red on a live shrimp under a popping cork.

Jonathan Holland caught this 6.54-pound largemouth on Lake Tyler. The bass was Johathan’s persal best.

Visit FishGame.com to upload your own TEXAS HOT SHOTS and Vote for our next Winners T E X A S

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Coastal Focus: SABINE :: by Capt.

EDDIE HERNANDEZ

Find the Bait in November

friends, freedom, hunting, fishing and football. That excitement seems to spill over into our bay systems.

Everything from baitfish and shrimp, to predators appear rejuvenated with every new cold front. That’s great news because keying on bait will be your ticket to success when fishing Sabine Lake in November.

It definitely helps whether it’s the hypedup mullet deep in the bayous or the hordes of shrimp that will pour into the lake as each front continues to purge the marsh. If you want a really heavy stringer, it definitely helps find the bait.

Squawking gulls will give the shrimp and fish away in the bay as usual. So it shouldn’t be too hard to load the box. Trout and reds will binge and purge all day until they can’t

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HE FALL FISHING SCENE here on Sabine Lake will kick it up a notch or two with the arrival of November. The cold fronts will be a little more frequent and intense as we steadily progress toward winter.

Excitement will definitely be in the air this month as we give thanks to God, family,

take it anymore.

It’s not uncommon to encounter lots of shrimp forced to the surface in the bayous on good days. However most of the time, your best bet will be to locate schools of mullet hanging around points and drop-offs, or cruising the shoreline.

It’s actually pretty rare to fish these situations in November without bending the pole on some thick reds and nice flounders.

A good moving tide from either direction will help, as usual, with finding the bait and enticing strikes. Dark plastics such as Texas Roach and Root beer on 1/8 ounce or 1/4 ounce lead heads are hard to beat.

Work it really slow if you’re casting to the shallow water or the bank. If the upper end slot reds are there, it will get their attention.

They will be more aggressive if it’s not moving too fast.

We are definitely blessed here on Sabine to have several bayous to fish year round.

Some prime November honey holes include Blacks, Madame Johnson and the mouth of Bridge Bayou.

Make sure you have your Louisiana fishing license if you plan on fishing in any of these. If you don’t mind a little competition and want some super-fast action, run the open bay and fish the birds.

Some very solid trout are in these schools, and most will have some real nice reds mixed in as well. We hope you’ll get a chance to make it down to Sabine this month because the fishing is good, and we have so much to be thankful for.

THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Twin Lakes (Hwy 87 Bridge City) SPECIES: Red fish, flounders, crabs BAITS/LURES: Fresh shrimp, mud minnows, finger mullet, BEST TIMES: All day (best when tide is moving)

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Coastal Focus: GALVESTON :: by Capt.

MIKE HOLMES

November: Best Fishing of the Year?

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S I AM WRITING THIS COLumn, we have a Cat 5 Hurricane heading up the U.S. East Coast.

Here’s hoping that by mentioning this storm, it doesn’t decide to skip across Florida and bring havoc to the Gulf!?!

We have been very lucky with our weather so far this year. Although we did get triple digit heat in late summer, no significant tropical activity has threatened the Gulf States since Harvey visited us last year.

Harvey might have been considered a valuable “wake-up” call for the upper Texas coast, as it was a heavy rainmaker and caused extensive freshwater flooding. The San Bernard River makes a curve behind my Brazoria County acreage before emptying into the Gulf.

Since the Gulf outlet of that river is again sanded “shut”, all the water coming from upstream has backed up. Water has spread across areas that, although coastal, are not commonly flooded, and it’s caused a lot of problems.

My property is where “old-timers” tell me they used to move their cattle when the Brazos River overflowed its banks because this part of the county stayed dry. However, it had as much as five feet of muddy water piled up on it at the highest point—and it stayed that high for as much as a week’s time.

All that water DID open the mouth of the San Bernard somewhat—temporarily.

However, it seems to be closed again now and is likely to stay that way. If the river outlet were dredged and jettied it would make a wonderful difference when tropical storms pay a visit, but that doesn’t seem to be something “in the plans.”

November, of course, is perhaps a bit late in the year for a lot of us to do much bay fishing.

However, river outlets not in flood stage can be excellent spots to seek coastal fish species

such as speckled trout and redfish, Such areas provide an amazing amount of food for these creatures.

Even better is the prospect of good fish activity in the surf, where “bull” reds come to feed and spawn. Also present in the “near Gulf” are various pan fish and visitors from deeper water such as jack crevalle, Spanish and king mackerel.

The real “holy grail” of surf anglers, of course, appears when the silver shapes of trophy tarpon follow hordes of mullet into the surf zone. Boaters may have an advantage when seeking tarpon. However, they ARE hooked—and sometimes caught—by surf fishermen who watch long rods in sand spikes.

More common than silver kings are “dirty fighters” such as big black drums and stingrays.

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Yes, brutish stingrays can be caught in the surf, and provide a “fight” to remember.

Big rays often top 100 pounds in weight, and use that power very effectively when hooked. Actually, a significant number of fishermen actively pursue big rays.

More of these folks probably look for them in the ship channel or on the Gulf side of the jetties. Besides great sport, big rays do provide a bunch of good meat for the table for those who take the time to properly process them.

Most Novembers still feature water warm enough for the other heavy hitters that prowl the surf—sharks. Bull sharks and blacktips are probably the most common, but some big tigers, sand tigers, and even hammerheads are possible.

Some good sharks can be taken by a skillful angler using tackle meant for bull reds, but the “big boys” will warrant heavier gear and specialized techniques. Baits for big sharks are usually taken past the breakers in a surflaunched boat, although some hardy souls will swim theirs out.

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Coastal Focus: MATAGORDA :: by Contributing Editor MIKE PRICE

World’s Best Birding and Good Fishing, Too

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STENSIBLY, THE REASON we go fishing is to catch fish, but we also go fishing because it takes us to wondrous natural environments where delightfully unusual things happen.

I enjoyed such an experience at Oyster Lake in late November last year. I had had a frustrating morning of business problems and needed to paddle off some steam. So, I went to Oyster Lake and launched my kayak.

It was a promising fishing day because there was a strong incoming tide. I put in at the bridge and paddled twenty minutes to the south shore. Two redfish were splashing and feeding on the shoreline. At the same time, a school of about a dozen redfish were herding bait 20 feet from the shore. I could not fish both, so I decided to go for the school of reds in the bay and quietly paddled in that direction until I was close enough for an effective cast, and then I dropped a threeinch Egret Baits Wedge-tail Minnow just in front and to the side of the school. It was taken faster than you can snap your fingers, and I put the 21-inch red on the stringer.

Then I drifted back toward the bridge with the following wind. I fished both the bay and the shoreline and appreciated the bird life for two hours.

I saw an osprey and then a roseate spoonbill in flight. It looked iridescent pink in the late afternoon light. Ducks in small groups were flying at a distance, and hundreds of geese were sitting on the mudflats.

On the shoreline a white morph reddish egret danced while feeding on little fish.

After many casts in between watching birds, I caught another red. This one was 23 inches.

After drifting and casting for another hour, I got a strike. I could tell by the fight that the

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fish was much bigger than the first two redfish. I worked it up to the net and then made a mistake. I did not get the net below the line of sight of the fish, it saw the net, and bolted.

The pressure was enough to rip the hook out of its mouth, and I lost the fish.

Then I was treated to one of the world’s greatest birdwatching events. At 5 p.m. sand-

speakers and other times it was just massive garbled gobbledegook.

I rounded the corner to the bridge at 5:30 p.m. and fewer sandhill cranes flew over me.

The south wind carried the sound of every goose and sand hill crane on the mudflats talking at the same time.

It was deafening. What a marvelous bird watching experience, and a pretty good afternoon of fishing too!

Water temperatures vary with air temperatures. Last year we had a severe front come through on November 13th that lowered the water temperature from 80°F to 50°F. I went kayak fishing in East Matagorda

Reddish Egret

hill cranes started flying over me en route from the rice fields north of the lake to the mudflats where the geese were. They were close enough for me to see their graceful wing movement clearly.

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Bay two days after that front. Even though I covered a lot of water, I did not find actively feeding fish until I was returning to the kayak launch off FM 2031 at dusk. The sun had warmed the bottom of the bayou leading to the launch throughout the day and that had stimulated feeding activity.

In late November we left the dock in Palacios at noon and went to the south shore of West Matagorda Bay. The water temperaPHOTO: JANET PRICE

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ture that afternoon went from 55°F to 64°F while we fished.

Redfish were active when we arrived and became livelier as afternoon turned to evening. We had to leave at 4:45 p.m. to get back before dark, but it was hard to leave that scene. The water was flat calm and loaded with feeding redfish. I would have loved to have stayed and fly fished—but that will have to wait for another day.

THE BANK BITE THE JETTIES: There are three jetties where FM 2031 meets the beach: Parallel jetties serve as the passage between the river and the Gulf of Mexico (east and west jetties), and a weir jetty which is connected to the long pier goes into the Gulf of Mexico. The east jetty is easy to access by fourwheel drive vehicle or you can park at Matagorda Bay Nature Park and walk to it. You must use a boat or kayak to get to the west jetty. To fish from the weir jetty, walk out on the pier or drive to the jetty on the beach. There’s a very good possibility that you will catch redfish when fishing from these

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THE BANK BITE

productive of all areas. River mouths and jettied passes are excellent. Inshore species mix with some from deeper water several miles offshore for those who seek them.

SPECIES: Reds, trout, and flounders. Offshore waters offer kings, snappers, and other great food and sport species.

BAIT: Shrimp and bait species such as mullet are common. They’re easily caught in cast nets for those who want to seek their own. Just about any small fish netted in inshore waters can be depended on to draw hits from larger relatives.

BEST TIME: with cooler daytime temperatures, fishing around the clock can be good, with tide and water conditions most important.

LOCATION: Bay fishing can be excellent, somewhat depending on local weather conditions.

As mentioned earlier, the surf might be the most

Email Mike Holmes at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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Large reels capable of holding enough heavy line to battle fish approaching 500 pounds mounted on heavy rods and “worked” by an angler wearing a shoulder harness and using a gimbal belt are fairly common at night on the beach.

BIG fish have been taken this wa. Even more are hooked and lost – after providing an experience that might be remembered for a lifetime.

jetties in November, most likely bull reds (over 28 inches). Texas fishing regulations allow you to keep one bull red by attaching the tag from your fishing license to the redfish right after you catch it. Redfish

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will bite on shrimp, cut mullet, or artificial lures.

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Email Mike Price at ContactUs@fishgame.com

10/21/19 11:33 AM

Coastal Focus: MID COAST :: by Capt.

CHRIS MARTIN

Imitation is Vital

A lot of avid outdoorsmen will opt to be in either a deer stand or a duck blind this month, instead of out on the water with a fishing rod in their hand. That means significantly less fishing pressure this month as things tend to transition into the pre-wintertime pattern.

The larger speckled trout will begin eating a couple of nice-sized mullet each day, instead of eating dozens of shrimp. Once the trout grow past the twenty inch mark, they typically won’t be eating anything but the larger, mullet-size baits. That makes November a perfect month for having some great fun with some of the larger artificial baits.

This includes some of your favorite big top waters and fat slow-sinkers. Don’t forget about the old reliable 51MR and 52MR sinking twitchbaits by MirrOlure. They, too, can be depended upon to entice a fair share of November trout (and redfish) that are searching for a mullet dinner.

As stressed previously, the mullet is an important part of the speckled trout’s diet.

Coastal anglers who enjoy hunting for big trout need to focus their attention on the presentation of mullet-imitation baits to the trout.

A proven and effective method of doing that in November is to locate concentrations of mullet to throw your artificial baits to. It’s all about being able to present your artificial plug in a manner that closely resembles a wounded mullet, so the better you get at mimicking that action, the more response you’re going to get out of the trout—practice, practice, practice!

Although November will generally present us with a couple of substantial cold fronts, there typically are some days that will remain rather warm. On those warmer days, the mullet will seek the warmth atop the mud flats, and the trout will follow.

They’ll fall back into the protection of deeper water after sunset and on colder days, but make your way to the nearest mud flats this month, especially on clear, sunny, warm days if you want a piece of the November trout action.

Places to fish on a north wind are the flats and shorelines lining the 19-mile stretch of the Intracoastal Waterway between Port

W

OW, IT’S ALREADY November. Where’d the first three quarters of the year go?

Oh well, all this means is that it’s once again one of the absolute best times of the year to be fishing along our central portion of the Texas Gulf coast.

Football season will soon be wrapping up for most schools, and basketball season will be getting underway again, and families will begin prepping for this year’s busy holiday schedule

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O’Connor and San Antonio Bay. You can try other area shorelines and bays in Espiritu Santo Bay such as the Dewberry shoreline, Shoalwater Bay, and the back side of big Grass Island.

When fishing with a south wind, areas to place focus on are locations holding mud along any of the openings to any of the back lakes out on Matagorda Island. Try inside the mouth of South Pass Lake, inside the entrance to Long Lake, inside Corey Cove, Pats Bay, the inside of Cedar Point, and in the back corner of Panther Lake.

Drifting with a current and tossing a mullet-imitating top water lure among a pod of mullet is a great way to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time, but wading a shoreline provides you much more stealth. Wading is tough to beat this time of the year, so look for mullet activity before stopping the boat.

You don’t need to see the area completely covered with bait. Just a few mullet working can signal the possibility of big trout in the area. Common topwater baits include the She Dog, Super Spook, Skitter Walk, and the Heddon One Knocker.

These are typically retrieved across the water’s surface with a walk-the-dog motion.

Other effective top water baits include the poppers. The Chug Bug, Pencil Popper, and the Super Pop-R have all been highly productive throughout the years.

When you get a blowup, work the entire area thoroughly before moving on. Big trout that aren’t willing to eat at the surface can often be enticed to hit a lure below the surface.

Trade your top water for a Corky FatBoy, or similar suspending bait, and get after it until you find the fish—they’re there!

Big November trout will always be on the lookout for mullet. Find the mullet, and then learn to imitate them to the best of your ability. Until next time, good luck out there, and be careful!

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Contact Capt. Chris Martin at bayflatslodge@gmail.com or visit bayflatslodge.com

G A M E ®

10/21/19 11:34 AM

Coastal Focus: ROCKPORT :: by Capt.

MAC GABLE

Use It or Lose It!

I

T WAS LATE. WELL, LATE FOR ME is after nine p.m. I didn’t answer my cell on the first two call attempts, but did on the third attempt—all from the same number.

I was beaten down, bone tired, so upon answering I was thinking this better be about a nuclear attack or a tsunami heading our way, for why else would anyone call me at this hour?

Needless to say, my interpersonal skills were lacking. It was a client; I’ll call him John. He had fished with me for many years and decided a few months prior to buy his own boat.

“John,” I said, “are you broke down somewhere? If so take a Sominex and I’ll come get you in the morning!”

He laughed. I didn’t.

“It’s my boat,” he said, “I have to sell it.”

Silence on my end. “I have a boat already!”

“I know,” he said, “and I’m sorry for the hour, but it’s really bothering me.”

In the background my wife is whispering “BE NICE”. I took a deep breath.

He said, “It’s only four months old and in excellent shape.” “A 21-foot Kenner with a 150 Mercury on it,” “You recommended it if you recall,” he said.

“How much do you think it’s worth?”

“That’s hard to say,” I replied, now feeling a bit guilty for being so aggravated at the call.

“Why would you sell it? It’s a perfect boat for you.”

“It’s not the boat,” he said, “it’s me! I am just falling apart! My back hurts, my knees hurt, my feet hurt, and now I can’t hold a rod any longer, because my wrists and shoulders are killing me.”

“You were running around on my Haynie like a 20-year-old not more than six months

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minutes a day.

“Take back control of your life!

“For every pound you lose that’s four pounds off your joints. So, 65 pounds. is an additional 260 pounds on a single joint.

“John I’ll make you a deal: don’t sell that boat, instead spend the next eight weeks engaged in at least 30 minutes of activity a day that makes your heart pump and causes you to sweat. If at the end of that period you still want to sell the Kenner I’ll take you fishing for free. If you lose 30 or more pounds, that’s also a free trip.”

I never did take him fishing. A few months later I recognized his boat at a local bait stand, but he was nowhere to be seen. A trim, fit man walked up to me, stuck his hand out, and I realized it was John.

I did not recognize him. He had lost close to 75 pounds. and his goal was 85. He said “I was mad at you when you chewed me out over the phone, but it made me get up and get going. Thank you!

“I am fishing about 10 times a month now. Captain Mac, are you picking up a few pounds, I don’t recall you ever being that heavy?”

Well, I guess I had that coming.

“By the way, I think you owe me a fishing trip,” he said with a big grin on his face.

“After 75 pounds I do believe you are right!” I responded.

“You gotta lose it to use it!” he said laughing.

“Call me when you’re ready to fish,” I said, “but please NOT after 9 p.m.!

November is typically a game changer.

Live bait has been used extensively for the past seven months. Although it is still a great go-to tool, the angler who breaks out his/her lures can be rewarded with some great rodbending action.

• • •

ago,” I stated flatly. “What happened?”

“Well I retired, and I guess I’m just getting old. I went out last week with my son and after six hours was worn out. We were supposed to fish the next day, but I was hurting so bad I came home. Since I retired I picked up about 65 lbs.”

“You don’t need to sell that Kenner, you need to have your butt kicked or at least chewed out!” I blurted. I knew this guy well and considered him a friend.

Silence.

“Is your heart okay?” I continued.

“Yes, but I have borderline diabetes.”

“John, listen to me,” I told him “My passion is the outdoors, and for me to continue as an angler, a guide, and a hunter I have had to stay in shape. I work out five to six days a week and have been doing so for over 30 years.

“Although it guarantees nothing, the truth is, it’s hard to beat your genetics. It DOES improve your quality of life and allows you to continue to engage in those activities you love!

“Almost every day, I see neighbors and friends who are avid outdoorsmen/women walking or biking or swimming or at a gym lifting weights or cutting grass or chain-sawing wood or building a barn or painting or gardening.

“The point is, they are staying active. They know what you eat is just as important as how much. Coastal fishing is not bluegill fishing on a creek; one must be active and conditioned to enjoy fishing on our bays. Whether it’s from a boat, a kayak or wading, this is the real deal down here.

“You don’t have to trust me; look at the science. Those who engage in exercise from ages 50 to more than 80, and at least stay active, have a 70 percent happier life and extend their lives by 10 to 20 years.

“Here’s the math. for less than 30 to 45 minutes of exercise a day, your odds of living a happier and longer life go up significantly.

I’d say that’s time well spent. Get away from the electronic devices, get away from TV. Watch what you eat and stay active 30 to 45 F I S H

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COPANO BAY: Some keeper reds may be found on Shellbank Reef using finger mullet on a light Carolina rig. If colder temperatures are in the area, the mouth of Mission Bay can be a good spot for black drum using fresh |

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Forecast: ROCKPORT dead shrimp. Free-lined is best or a light Carolina rig.

ST. CHARLES BAY: Drifts across Egg Point can produce some nice reds using sand eels in sapphire shine color. With a south wind, Little Sharp Point is a good spot for reds using cut mullet free-lined.

Anchor out from the shoreline and fish just off the grass beds in this area.

ARANSAS BAY: Drifts down Traylor Island can produce some nice trout using free-lined croakers or sand eels in tequila gold CT color. The area around Paul’s Mott Reef is a good spot for reds and trout using free-lined live shrimp. This area is a good black drum hole as well.

CARLOS BAY: Wades down Cape Carlos shoreline is a good tactic for reds and trout using live mud minnows free-lined. Berkley sand eels in silver mud color is a good choice.

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Cedar Reef is a good spot to fish with live shrimp under a silent cork. Reds, drum and trout hang in this area on warmer days.

MESQUITE BAY: Drifts across Brays Cove still produce some keeper flounders using grubs on a medium jig head. Jig the grub off the bottom with a slow retrieve. With a north wind Third Chain Island is a good spot for black drums using live or fresh dead shrimp under a popping cork; with some sheepshead here as well.

AYERS BAY: Just off Ayers Island is a good spot for sheep head and keeper reds using live shrimp. Light Carolina rigs work well, but don’t reel in until you have a bite, as it’s easy to break off. Second Chain is holding some keeper reds using finger mullet on a free line.

THE BANK BITE The Fulton Beach shoreline is a good spot for wading. The many piers in this area harbor some nice trout. Much of this area is private property, but public access is available via multiple parking lots.

This can be a long wade. Be careful, as there is still debris in the water from Harvey. A red and gold spoon is my favorite here. Super Spook lures in blue and silver or black and silver are productive.

« Contact Capt. Mac Gable at Mac Attack Guide Service, 512-809-2681, 361-790-9601 captmac@macattackguideservice.com

10/21/19 11:34 AM

Coastal Focus: ARANSAS/CORPUS :: by Contributing Editor TOM BEHRENS

M

AX SMITH OF PORT ARANsas and Luis DeLeon of Corpus Christi were two of the lucky anglers who are now driving brand new Ford F-150s and fishing from a 23-foot Haynie Bigfoot, Mercury marine outboard, and Coastline trailer packages. Both men caught a tagged redfish in the 2019 CCA Texas STAR Tournament.

Max Smith caught his redfish July 26.

He, his son, other family members and friends were fishing the Outboard Fishing Tournament from his boat to benefit the Port Aransas volunteer fire department.

The plan was to check several spots looking for fish. Just before tournament check-in time, they checked out one more spot, one of Smith’s favorites: “We get to my spot and after a little bit, the bite was on. Everyone was catching fish. We probably put back at least six limits of reds.

We had four reds, two big trout, a flounder and a sheepshead; we were having a great day.”

Close to 3 p.m., Smith’s cousin, Bill caught a fish. “What the heck,” said Smith. “I’m going drop one more (shrimp) in. Almost as soon as it hit the water, I had a fish on!

“It makes a run and then heads to the anchor rope. I turn it like a header on team roping. It goes under the boat. I get him back and Bill nets him. Not once do we see the tag.

“While I’m trying to remove the hook, my son said that we didn’t need that small fish and to kick it back into the water. Out of nowhere, Bill says ‘that fish has a tag.’ I was really close to dropping that fish back, I never noticed the tag until it was pointed out to me.”

All the anglers had been joking with each other all day telling each other they caught a fish with a tag.

“

The plan was to check several spots looking for fish.

“

‘One More Shrimp’

Tournament.

This year he remembered to enter the tournament. DeLeon was back in the same spot throwing his favorite lure. He got a hit, and when he landed the fish, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing: “It’s tagged. “I couldn’t even fill out the paper I was shaking so badly”, said DeLeon.

Is it too early to start thinking about next year? Can DeLeon make it three years in a row? Will Smith’s redfish hole yield another tagged redfish?

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There’s no rhyme or reason where they will be. Sometimes they’re working in one place, other times in a totally different location.

“I kind of like to start off in the morning in the location I caught fish the day before,” said fishing guide, Tommy Countz. “If the fish aren’t there we go looking again. Most times you will find the fish in the same general areas you found them before, unless is there is a big change in the weather.”

Communicating with fish: “People ask me where the fish are. Years ago I used to think I could envision my bait moving through the water and a fish striking it. I honestly believed that. If I could just sit down and drink a beer with the redfish, talk to them, find out a lot more about redfish.

“Right now, I haven’t been able to get one to cooperate with me. I don’t know where they go. You have to figure they are there somewhere. I had an old guide tell me one time that the fish have this thing on the back end of them called a tail and they snoop around by using them, sometimes a little more than other times.”

Where are the redfish in November?

Northers will become more numerous about this time of the year and will be a factor in where to find fish. Shrimp is on the menu, sometimes staying through December. Work sand bars, drop-offs, grass bottoms, the same areas you normally fish until the water gets cold. How cold is cold?—in the 50s.

Even then concentrate on guts. The water may be lower because of low tides and blowing north winds. If you do happen to hook up with one of the tagged redfish that wasn’t caught, remember where you caught him.

There might be a 2020-tagged fish there next summer.

“I roll the fish and I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Billy and I start screaming. Everyone in the back of the boat thought we were messing with them until we showed them the tag. We take a few minutes for the fish to stop kicking so we can get pics. We kept the news under wraps till we got back and told my wife. I wanted to see her face when she got the news.

“My son has grown up through the STAR, this being his first year as an adult. The experience that everyone on the boat had was a lifetime memory that no one will ever forget.”

This was the second year in a row for Luis Deleon to catch a tagged redfish, however the first one caught on July 1, 2018 didn’t count. He was not entered in the STAR

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10/21/19 11:34 AM

Coastal Focus: BAFFIN BAY :: by Capt.

SALLY BLACK

Tis the Seasons

of the wind, waiting for the ducks to land in the decoys.

Guides at BBR&G scout the bay and go hunt on the “X,” where the ducks want to be.

Using the panel blind system keeps hunters “on the ducks” throughout the season, concealed and in comfort.

Combining duck hunting in the morning and fishing in the afternoon is called a “Blast and Cast” and it’s popular. At some point during the last two months of the year, the dove and duck seasons overlap. That’s called a “Blast and Blast,” —duck hunt in the morning and dove hunt in the afternoon.

“Cast and Blast” fishing in the morning and dove-hunting afternoon will begin again when the second season of dove begins in December. The choices and combinations are endless. One of the most popular pastimes during duck season at BBR&G is the “Blast and Nap,” duck hunting in the morning and lie around napping and watching football at the lodge in the afternoon.

As the water temperatures begin to drop, fish get a notification from Mother Nature that the lazy, food-filled days of summer are about to end. It’s time for them to put the feedbag on and begin eating in a big way.

Just to survive the winter, fish need to pack on the pounds, but trout also have a special purpose. That’s to spawn more eggs.

This fall spawn is very short and it is nowhere near as dynamic as the spring spawn, but it’s going on, nonetheless. That first real water temperature drop of 10 degrees is enough to kick it off.

Look in the usual spawn places such as the north shoreline of Baffin Bay, the south shoreline grass and even in the back of the coves of the Cayo del Grullo.

Shallow water, top water action should be fantastic early mornings on the bank, drop offs, edges and potholes. Soft plastic paddle tails in four-inch and five-inch sizes by Salt Water Assassin, Down South, Kelly Wigglers in light and dark colors are good choices.

Tossed on the Black’s Magic 1/32-ounce jig head, they’re super effective on trout protect-

T

HE YEAR HAS BEEN A WHIRLwind of seasons that, on Baffin Bay, were tremendous and interesting.

Even the recent start of the dove season was totally off the charts, with lots of birds in the area.

The last couple of months of the year usually highlight the preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but, for outdoorsmen on Baffin Bay, it means a few things even more important than that. This includes dove hunting, duck hunting, a fall trout spawn with an opportunity to catch a double-digit big girl and giant redfish on the fly.

Outdoorsmen wrap that Thanksgiving/ Christmas thing around those epic sporting events, to the chagrin of some family members.

Too good to pass up, the perfect storm of fishing and hunting cannot be denied.

Having waited all year for dove and duck hunting seasons to begin, the actual opportunity to do it and do it often is a heavy draw.

There are only so many days in those two seasons. When it’s over, it’s over for a long time. Shotguns, dogs and birds are some of the best things in Texas so when the seasons arrive, the outdoorsman goes big.

Besides the fantastic dove opener on Baffin, the ducks have begun to arrive in big flights. Here at Baffin Bay Rod and Gun, we have a few permanent blinds in the bay, but guides primarily use “panel blinds” made by Tanglefree. These are five-panels, and they fold up like a giant briefcase.

Super light (15 pounds) and effective as hell, these blinds let you sit on the bank of the King or the Kenedy Ranch unseen by ducks as they totally blend in. Hunters, sitting in camo captain’s chairs, sit in comfort and out

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ing their spawning grounds.

If the weather is right, try a morning of searching for a ten-pound-plus trout. Then go super shallow, on the sand and sight cast to some redfish and black drum, either with conventional tackle or the fly rod.

Epic fishing applies to reds and drum, but also flounders, that travel along the edges of the sand just like the rest of the predators.

They’re up there looking for shrimp, crabs and small finger mullet.

The Black’s Magic 1/32-ounce jig head with a four-inch Gulp Swimming Mullet in chartreuse is deadly presented to anything up there. Fly guys toss white clousers, small crabs and anything that is a favorite confidence fly. Put it in the right spot and the fish really doesn’t care too much about anything—as long as it’s about the size of the goodies they are eating.

Time flies when you’re having fun, and it certainly did so this year. Hope to see you at the lodge taking advantage of all the very giving and uncrowded Baffin Bay provides.

BBR&G is Orvis Endorsed for both wing shooting and fly-fishing, so you know it has got to be great. Come check us out.

See you on the water.

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Contact Capt. Sally Black at 361-205-0624 Email: Sally@CaptainSally.com Web: www.BaffinBayRodandGun.com Facebook: Baffin Bay Rod and Gun Twitter: @CaptainSally Instagram: baffin_bay_rod_and_gun

G A M E ®

10/21/19 11:34 AM

Coastal Focus: LOWER COAST :: by Saltwater Editor CALIXTO GONZALES

Ballers

M

OST LOWER COAST anglers will tell you that their favorite month to hit the water is November. Fewer anglers are out because hunting season is in full swing The weather is much more moderate, transitioning between the searing heat of summer and the weekly cold fronts of winter. Most appealing to all about the Turkey Month is that the fishing takes off.

Redfish and trout cover the flats, flounders move to the edge of passes in anticipation of their migration, black drums start to show up in prodigious numbers and sizes, and pelagics such as blackfin tuna, kingfish, and even wahoos are within easy reach of a short jaunt.

The most exciting part of the entire November fishing experience, however, happens along the beachfront. Vast schools of small baitfish—usually pilchards, scaled sardines or the diminutive rain minnow—are corralled by various predators. Among them are the aforementioned kingfish, Spanish mackerel, bonita, large speckled trout and redfish, skipjack, and tarpon.

These voracious apex hunters tear into these schools with abandon. It’s quite a sight to behold, with bait spraying and jumping, large fish splashing, and gulls and pelicans joining in on the fun.

The action underneath baitballs can be ferocious, especially when predators begin strafing through them. As fish attack, even more show up and join in. The frenzy grows and grows until an angler can’t figure where to cast.

An angler with knowledge of how to run a boat in the surf and a sturdy bay boat can get in on the action. Choose a calm day and cruise within a quarter mile of the beachfront.

The baitballs are usually visible as dark shadows on the water that hold stationary

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of plugs in their Baitball series that mimics smaller rain minnows and anchovies that make up these schools. Another option is some kind of tail. A soft plastic is ideal for this application because you can use a heavier jighead (such as ½ or ¾ ounce) to get the bait down quicker while still using the same sized tail.

Big tarpon aren’t the only critters hiding under the school of harried baitfish. Usually, some good-sized redfish and even speckled trout are sitting near the bottom to pick off any wounded or dead morsels that fall from above. As every angler out there knows, these gamefish will not turn their nose up to a soft plastic.

Fly anglers should have a blast fishing these baitballs. A standard eight- or nineweight fly rod with a sinking fly line is ideal.

White or silver flies such as a small Tarpon Bunny or Chicken Feather replace the white jig or spoon.

Again, a short segment of soft wire is a good idea to prevent or mitigate bite offs.

Plenty of backing is a must, because a big tarpon or king can take a lot of line when they greyhound for the horizon.

as the waves and current roll over them.

Sometimes it’s even easier to spot the balls because bait is crashing into it and birds are hovering and diving over them.

The prize quarry that hangs under these baitballs is the tarpon. Silver kings ranging from 40-pound juveniles to monsters pushing 180 or even 200 pounds cruise around and slurp down wads and wads of bait from these swimming buffets.

It’s easy to spot them rolling or flashing in the clear water of a calm November day.

Bailey says that they can be easily fooled, if an angler plays the situation properly.

As with any other schooling situation, anglers should ease up to a baitball from the upwind side and drift in when possible A trolling motor is a great asset, because it will allow you to hold your position and prevent you having to come back around over and over.

Sight casting toward an area where a tarpon was immediately spotted either rolling or darting under the surface is the preferred method. However, plenty of anglers hook up while blind casting.

The lures for baitball tarpon is pretty straightforward: anything that can adequately match the hatch should be fine. The old standard is a ¼ ounce Johnson Sprite or Tony Acetta Spoon in chrome. The smaller size and silver flash mimic a rain minnow or white bait quite well.

Of course, the smaller hardware can be a liability if a really big tarpon or a kingfish grabs your offering. Some fishermen will switch out the small treble hook with a larger Sproat or O’Shaugnessy hook for a better hookup.

White bucktails such as ½ ounce Roadrunner or Spro jig, a white, clear/glitter or pearl soft plastic is also lethal. The old standard is the curly-tail grub, but shad tails and boot-tailed swimbaits work fine too.

Whatever you throw, rig a short piece of wire to the bait. Spanish mackerel and kings also love these baits.

LiveTarget Lures has developed a series F I S H

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THE BANK BITE LOCATION: South Mansfield Jetties (accessible via South Padre Island Access Point 6) SPECIES: Redfish, tarpon, mangrove snapper.

TIPS: Fish bait or soft plastics among the rocks for snappers, in the first and second guts for reds and spoons.

« Email Cal Gonzales at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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FISHING HOTSPOTS Saltwater: n Upper Coast n Mid Coast n Lower Coast Freshwater: n Piney Woods

Freshwater: n Prairies & Lakes n Panhandle n Big Bend n Hill Country n South Texas

SALTWATER Fishers Reef Earns its Name

GPS COORDINATES are provided in two formats: “Decimal Degrees” (degrees.degrees) and “Degrees and Minutes” sometimes called “GPS Format” (degrees minutes.minutes).

Examples (for Downtown Austin): Decimal Degrees: N30.2777, W97.7379; Degrees and Minutes: N30 16.6662, W97 44.2739. Consult your manual for information specific to your GPS device.

by Tom Behrens

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Galveston Trinity Bay HOTSPOT: Fishers Reef GPS: N 29 40.116, W 94 51.073 (29.6686, -94.8512)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOLure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: “Look for birds working shrimp, usually west or east end. It’s 90 percent mud flats. Fish where you see a lot of bait popping around.” Capt. Countz

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LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Boggy Cut GPS: N 28 44.069, W 95 49.682 (28.734481, -95.828034) SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: 1/4-1/8 oz. gold spoons, Bass Assassin Soft Plastics, MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “North and south shorelines should have diving gulls feeding on shrimp popping the surface…easy pickings throwing gold spoons, soft plastic tails. Tail colors are not real important when fishing under the birds … as long as the bait is moving, the trout will go after it.” Capt. Marcaccio “

LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Hanna’s Reef GPS: N 29 28.471, W 94 43.251 (29.4745, -94.7209)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: You can keep the Lil John with a 1/16 oz jig head in the water column and not hang up on grass. It throws like a bullet, doesn’t catch much wind, and you work it slow.

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LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Raymond Shoal GPS: N 28 40.434, W 95 53.899 (28.673906, -95.898314)

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: “In November we will catch more redfish out of East Bay. The redfish like to stay down on the bottom below the trout, picking up the shrimp that the trout don’s snatch up. I use a 3/8 oz. jig head.” Capt.

Countz

LOCATION: East Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Raymond Shoal GPS: N 28 40.449, W 95 53.898 (28.6742, -95.8983)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: 1/4-1/8 oz. gold spoons, Bass Assassin Soft Plastics, MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “Water temps dropping from the 70s down to 60s means you don’t need any early morning starts.

If you’re wading, stay skinny as long as you can. As the sun gets up, the big fish will move out from the shallow mud bottoms to the shell bottoms.” Capt.

Marcaccio LOCATION: Galveston East Bay HOTSPOT: Ladies Pass GPS: N 29 28.471, W 94 43.251

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FISHING HOTSPOTS (29.4745, -94.7209)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: 1/4-1/8 oz. gold spoons, Bass Assassin Soft Plastics, MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com gofishgalveston.com TIPS: “Key on outgoing tides if you can. Drains and bayous offer great ambush points for the those ‘big girls’, fish over 25 inches.” Capt. Marcaccio LOCATION: Galveston West Bay HOTSPOT: North Shoreline GPS: N 29 14.315, W 95 0.677 (29.2386, -95.0113)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: 1/4-1/8 oz. gold spoons, Bass Assassin Soft Plastics, MirrOdine Suspending Twitchbait CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Soft plastic colors: “Any bait with a paddle tail and a bright color should work…Fire Tiger, Limetreuse, Chicken On A Chain. The paddle tail action is more likely to draw the strike.” Capt. Marcaccio LOCATION: Galveston West Bay HOTSPOT: Campbell Reef GPS: N 29 21, W 94 52.325 (29.3500, -94.8721)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish

BEST BAITS: Topwaters CONTACT: Capt. Paul Marcaccio 281-788-4041 captpaul@gofishgalveston.com gofishgalveston.com TIPS: Baby Spooks, She Pup … small applications, no big baits and very little lure movement. Once there’s a strike or blow-up and the fish misses the bait, don’t move the bait, allow it to sit. The fish is still in the area.” Capt. Marcaccio

HOTSPOT: Zipprian’s Bayou GPS: N 28 36.019, W 95 59.912 (28.6003, -95.9985)

LOCATION: Matagorda HOTSPOT: Colorado River GPS: N 28 35.849, W 95 58.649 (28.5975, -95.9775)

SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: “If we don’t get any strong Northers, some of the back lakes will still have some fish. Typically, we will start getting fronts pushing through and lowering the water level.” Capt. Countz

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: “Use a heavier lead head, drift down the river and throw the lure op on the shelves along the banks, retrieve and let it drop off into water. Drift until you catch a couple of trout, then go back up the river and drift/cast again.” Capt. Countz

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay HOTSPOT: Big Bayou GPS: N 28 35.171, W 96 3.157 (28.5862, -96.0526)

LOCATION: Sabine Lake HOTSPOT: East Pass GPS: N 29 59.027, W 93 46.562 (29.9838, -93.7760)

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Soft Plastics or Live Bait CONTACT: Capt. Bill Watkins 409-673-9211 97862018@sbcglobal.net www.fishsabinelake.com TIPS: Capt. Watkins’ favorite colors in soft plastics are white/chartreuse, red/gold flake/chartreuse tail and chartreuse/gold.

LOCATION: West Matagorda Bay T E X A S

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SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: MirrOlure Lil John on a 1/16 oz. jig head CONTACT: Capt. Tommy Countz 281-450-4037 tcountz@sbcglobal.net matagordafishing.com TIPS: Favorite soft plastic colors: Glow/chartreuse tail, Watermelon…”the Mirrolure soft plastics are scented, which helps draw fish.” Capt. Countz

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FISHING HOTSPOTS Shoreline a Sure Thing on Corpus

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LOCATION: Port Aransas HOTSPOT: Traylor Island GPS: N 27 56.841, W 97 4.263 (27.9474, -97.0711)

A Green Deal for Arroyo Specks

by Tom Behrens

• • • SPOTLIGHT • • • LOCATION: Corpus Christi Bay HOTSPOT: Portland Shoreline GPS: N 27 52.51, W 97 18.013 (27.8752, -97.3002)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Mack Gable 361-790-9601 TIPS: Speckled trout fishing is rated as fair to good around Traylor Island and Mud Island

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch CONTACT: Capt. Mack Gable 361-790-9601 TIPS: Piggy perch freelined should be picking up some trout for anglers fishing from the bank.

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Chris Martin 888-677-4867 bayflatslodge@gmail.com www.bayflatslodge.com TIPS: Chicken Foot Reef is a small oyster reef in the southern end of San Antonio Bay, produces trout year-around.

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LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Laguna Vista along Hwy 190 GPS: N 26 5.522, W 97 16.656 (26.0920, -97.2776)

LOCATION: San Antonio Bay HOTSPOT: Chicken Foot Reef GPS: N 28 15.928, W 96 47.346 (28.2655, -96.7891)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout, Redfish and Flounder BEST BAITS: bay CONTACT: Capt. Mack Gable 361-790-9601 TIPS: The Italian Bend has mixture of sand and grass.

Trout and Redfish fishing can be good in early winter.

It may also be good for flounder as the water temps cool down.

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• • • SPOTLIGHT LOCATION: Arroyo Colorado HOTSPOT: Green Island GPS: N 26 23.31, W 97 19.876 (26.3885, -97.3313)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch, topwater lures CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: “We place a “Bay Banger” chatter weight between the fishing line and leader.” Capt. Romero

LOCATION: Copano Bay HOTSPOT: Italian Bend GPS: N 28 1.711, W 97 8.632 (28.0285, -97.1439)

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by Tom Behrens

LOCATION: Redfish Bay HOTSPOT: Morris & Cummings Cut GPS: N 27 50.572, W 97 7.746 (27.8429, -97.1291)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout and Redfish BEST BAITS: Live Shrimp CONTACT: Capt. Mack Gable 361-790-9601 TIPS: Speckled trout, redfish fair to good on the reefs of the Portland shoreline, Causeway and Boat Hole.

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SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch, topwater lures CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: “In fall we use bigger live baits, big topwater lures, looking for big trout … piggy perch, croaker, Skitter Walk, Super Spook.” Capt. Romero

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Lower Laguna Madre HOTSPOT: Holly Beach GPS: N 26 8.19, W 97 17.507 (26.1365, -97.2918)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch, topwater lures CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: “Use 4- to 5-inch live bait, free lined, 6/0 hook, 15-inch leader with 20-30 lb. monofilament line when fishing shallow water. If the fish are in deeper water, shorten leader length.” Capt. Romero

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch, topwater lures CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: “If the fish are aggressive, use a big topwater lure; if action is slower switch to smaller lure.” Capt.

Romero LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: The Boiler GPS: N 26 28.722, W 97 21.027 (26.4787, -97.3505)

SPECIES: Speckled Trout BEST BAITS: Piggy Perch, topwater lures CONTACT: Capt. Rudy Romero 956-226-3561 TIPS: Capt. Romero’s favorite topwater lure colors are pink, gold, chartreuse or solid gold…”just a hot color.” Capt. Romero

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LOCATION: Port Mansfield HOTSPOT: The Drain GPS: N 26 33.719, W 97 20.323 (26.5620, -97.3387)

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FISHING HOTSPOTS FRESHWATER Creeks Call to Crappie on Fork

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Umbrella rigs, crankbaits, chatterbaits, flukes, large topwaters CONTACT: Caddo Lake Guide Service/Paul Keith 318-455-3437 caddoguide1@att.net www.caddolakefishing.com TIPS: Fish up and down this bayou paying particular attention to the bends and cuts in it. Bass will gang up at the mouths of those cuts and bends, schooling throughout the day. I usually stick with shad or white colors this time of the year. The current coming down the bayou helps hold the bass and shad in place from day to day but if there is no current the bass/shad schools may roam in those areas daily.

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Dale Creek GPS: N 32 49.548, W 95 33.552 (32.8258, -95.5592)

SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Crappie jigs in electric chicken color, live minnows CONTACT: Doug Shampine 940-902-3855 doug@lakeforktrophybass.com www.lakeforktrophybass.com TIPS: November is a month where Lake Fork fish are feeding up before it gets cold. The crappie bite is very good, and my brush piles pay off big time! The best depth for November crappie will be 18 to 24 feet and I can catch them on both minnows and jigs. My best color for the colder water is always electric chicken (green/pink). The bite will be aggressive so the most inexperienced fisherman can catch fish. The north end of the lake has started cooling off more than the southern end, so I try to fish the brush piles that has the warmer water. Best areas for this will be Little Caney, Dale, Ray and Chaney. Cold fronts now can be a factor in where you fish, and all these areas will have places to get out of the wind. I furnish everything for your trip so just come get in my boat and go fishing. With a 22-foot bay boat I can handle 4 adults on a trip.

LOCATION: Lake Conroe HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 22.7159, W 95 35.3579 (30.3786, -95.5893)

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Bass jigs, spinnerbaits, underspin lures with a Grandebass KICK back shad swimbait CONTACT: Lance Vick 903-312-0609 lance@lakeforkbass.com www.guideonlakefork.com TIPS: November bassin’ in Lake Fork we will be hitting the shallow grass in the morning, preferably around creek channels with bass jigs and spinnerbaits.

Then, move to deep spoons on humps and points in the afternoon and be ready for schooling fish in late afternoons out deep with an underspin and a Grandebass KICK back shad swimbait. Good fishin’ all!

LOCATION: Lake Fork HOTSPOT: Brush Piles and Bridges GPS: N 32 55.536, W 95 38.8799 (32.9256, -95.6480)

SPECIES: Hybrid Stripers BEST BAITS: Live shad, swimbaits, shad colored crankbaits CONTACT: Richard Tatsch 936-661-7920 admin@fishdudetx.com www.fishdudetx.com TIPS: “The hybrid stripers will begin to school along ledges by the river channel this time of year. Find the schools of shad and you will find the hybrids. This time of year, they will run shad up on these ridges. During the day, they will move deeper around the area. Find the depth the bait are in and you will find the fish. Live shad will be the bait of choice in deeper water, but the swim shad will work if you can control your retrieve to keep the bait in the depth the fish are going to be in.

The depths will vary from one day to the next. Today they may be in 20 feet of water and tomorrow they may be in 40 feet of water. It all depends on the schools

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by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • • •

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of shad. Good luck and good fishing! Bank Access: Stowaway Marina”

LOCATION: Caddo Lake HOTSPOT: Big Cypress Bayou GPS: N 32 44.016, W 94 6.4379 (32.7336, -94.1073)

SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Minnows and jigs in Electric Chicken or a jig with chartreuse and blue.

CONTACT: Doug Shampine 940-902-3855 doug@lakeforktrophybass.com www.lakeforktrophybass.com TIPS: The lake is cooling off and the crappie bite is very good, as they feed up for the winter months. Brush pile fishing in 19-26 feet of water will be the best places to catch a mess of slabs. Another good place will be the 154, 515 east and west bridges around the bridge structure. Look for the crappie to be suspended in the 20 foot range. There are a series of humps around the damn area in 26-30 feet range that will also be good crappie fishing. I like to use a 1/8 oz. jig head for the fall fishing. As the crappie go deeper I will up the size

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FISHING HOTSPOTS of the jig head.

LOCATION: Lake Livingston HOTSPOT: Riverside Area GPS: N 30 51.1679, W 95 22.9859 (30.8528, -95.3831)

of creeks. Shad imitating reaction baits will work best.

Rayburn has lots of hydrilla that should be starting to recede deeper and the shad will be just above this deeper grass. A suspending a jerkbait could be the secret weapon to catch a late fall personal best.”

(31.2597, -93.7006)

LOCATION: Toledo Bend Lake HOTSPOT: Big Sandy Creek GPS: N 31 15.5819, W 93 42.0359

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Chartreuse chatterbait tipped with Charlie’s Zipper Dipper Houdini, Texas rigged Berkley Neon Power Craw CONTACT: David S. Cox, Palmetto Guide Service 936-291-9602 dave@palmettoguideservice.com www.palmettoguideservice.com TIPS: “November is one of the best times to fish for Largemouth Bass here on Lake Livingston. I love to fish the river channel near Riverside. For lack of better words, I call it just ‘good ole fashion river fishing.’”

A couple of things need to fall in place. November weather can be finicky. Fishing days with a warming trend and a south wind are always better. Look for the water level at Riverside to be around 131’ mean sea level. Under the right conditions in the fall the water here can be what we call “”low and green.”” Key in on cut banks with wood and rock. While the Bass fishing can be very good here this time of year you may find yourself to be the only boat on the water. Good luck fishing! BANK ACCESS: Public boat ramp at Riverside: Bethy Creek Resort” LOCATION: Sam Rayburn Lake HOTSPOT: Owl Creek GPS: N 31 12.792, W 94 6.6659 (31.2132, -94.1111)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Jerkbaits, shad imitating reaction baits CONTACT: Mike Knight (936) 635-2427 notechmike@hotmail.com www.easttxfishingguide.com TIPS: “November at Sam Rayburn is about finding shad schools to find the bass. The shad will be bunched up and constantly moving towards the backs

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FISHING HOTSPOTS SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Shad colored reaction baits CONTACT: Mike Knight (936) 635-2427 notechmike@hotmail.com www.easttxfishingguide.com TIPS: November bass fishing at T-Bend will be all about that BAIT, BAIT, BAIT. The shad will gather in large schools and migrate towards the backs of major creeks. You must cover lots of water until you find the bait and the bass will be close by. Use shad colored reaction baits like square-billed cranks and Rat-L-Traps for best results.

Take Whitney Stripers by Storm

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Whitney HOTSPOT: Big Rocky Creek GPS: N 31 52.788, W 97 23.6759 (31.8798, -97.3946)

LOCATION: Toledo Bend North HOTSPOT: Still Water to Bayou Seipe GPS: N 31 44.52, W 93 49.764 (31.7420, -93.8294)

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Storm’s Wild Eyed Shad in chartreuse, white 1/2 oz. Bucktail jigs with chartreuse snake tail trailers.

CONTACT: Randy Routh 817-822-5539 teamredneck01@hotmail.com www.teamredneck.net TIPS: Stripers and sand bass are staging in the mouths of major creeks on Whitney, gorging on shad, as they try to migrate out of the creeks. Live Threadfin shad are working this time of year, fished straight down below the boat at 22’ on a Carolina rig. The way we are catching them is on artificial baits like the Storm wildeyed shad and Striper Sniper jigs and chartreuse Snake Worm trailers. Cast out 30 feet behind the boat and turn your trolling motor on medium speed. Drag baits behind the boat in the mouth of the creek and hump just out from creek. Stripers have baits pushed up in the mouth of Big Rocky, gorging on them, so this is a great ambush point. BANK ACCESS: Walling Bend.

SPECIES: Crappie BEST BAITS: Minnows, crappie jigs CONTACT: Greg Crafts, Toledo Bend Guide Service and Lake Cottages 936-368-7151 gregcrafts@yahoo.com www.toledobendguide.com TIPS: November is my favorite month of the year to be fishing on Toledo Bend. Besides the weather being pleasant with cool mornings and warm afternoons, the vista of the lake can be mesmerizing with the fall foliage and waterfowl migration. Besides soaking in all the glorious surroundings of nature, the fish will be feeding like crazy bulking up for winter. On the north end of the lake the crappie will start moving and bunching up along the ledges of the river channel. Use your electronics to locate the bait fish and natural cover or drop your own brush tops. As the water temperature falls the crappie will move deeper. Either shiners or jigs will load up an ice chest full of crappie. If the lake is high and the stumps are under water, it’s hard to stay over your brush tops in order to catch your fish. If you want to make your fishing time more productive, invest in a hands-free trolling motor with “Spot Lock” technology like the MinnKota I-Pilot. You’ll be glad you did.

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LOCATION: Cedar Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 32 18.522, W 96 7.53 (32.3087, -96.1255)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits, bass jigs CONTACT: Jason Barber 903-603-2047 kingscreekadventures@yahoo.com www.kingscreekadventures.com TIPS: November is a great month for bass fishing on Cedar Creek. Throw the above lures underneath and around all the docks throughout the lake and enjoy the time in the outdoors!

LOCATION: Lake Eagle Mountain HOTSPOT: Long Ridge South of Pelican Island GPS: N 32 54.035, W 97 30.22 (32.9006, -97.5037)

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LOCATION: Bachman Lake HOTSPOT: Webb Chapel Road Bridge GPS: N 32 51.5699, W 96 51.3839 (32.8595, -96.8564)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass and Crappie BEST BAITS: Bass: spinnerbaits, Rat-L-Traps | Crappie: minnows, crappie jigs

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CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 Whitebassfishingtexas@gmail.com www.whitebassfishingtexas.com TIPS: For bass, throw spinnerbaits and Rat-L-Traps along the weed lines. Crappie are under the bridge this time of year. Minnows and jigs are your best bet right now.

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SPECIES: White bass BEST BAITS: Slab with a fly 12-in. above CONTACT: Johnny Stevens 817-597-6598 johnlu1313@gmail.com johnnysguideservice.com TIPS: This area is a long ridge surrounded by deeper water. Sand Bass chase shad along this ridge. I have found the best way to work this area is to find fish on your electronics and anchor on them and let them come to you along this ridge. I use a slab and jig above, jig this rig up and down. This is also an area that they surface sometimes in the morning.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS LOCATION: Lake Fayette HOTSPOT: Cedar Creek Bridge Pilings GPS: N 29 56.448, W 96 44.562 (29.9408, -96.7427)

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: CJ’s Punch bait, shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: There is about 40 feet of water here. Toss a buoy marker here and chum close to buoy. Anchor your boat and cast close to buoy or anchor boat close to buoy and fish straight down around the bridge area.

LOCATION: Gibbons Creek Reservoir HOTSPOT: Intake Channel GPS: N 30 37.02, W 96 4.3319 (30.6170, -96.0722)

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: CJ’s punch bait, shad CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Anchor in the stumps on the left side of the channel in 4-5 feet of water. Tight line after casting into channel where deeper water is located. There is cooler moving water here so chumming always helps.

BEST BAITS: Topwaters, Pop-Rs, Texas rigged worms and shallow diving crankbaits, spinnerbaits, frogs CONTACT: Michael W. Acosta, Unfair Advantage Charters 817-578-0023 TIPS: Look for flats with brush adjacent to deeper water where fish will push baitfish. The backs of sloughs with brush are producing as well. Work crankbaits near submerged brush near main lake points.

Work the crankbait to draw active fish and follow with the Texas rigged worm in red shad or pumpkinseed.

TIPS: Fish main lake points and humps using slabs.

Feel for the bite on the fall of the slab by staying in contact with the slab. Concentrate on fishing in 10-20 feet of water for best results.

LOCATION: Lake Palestine HOTSPOT: Flat Cove GPS: N 32 13.128, W 95 32.988 (32.2188, -95.5498)

LOCATION: Granger Lake HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 42.8399, W 97 19.908 (30.7140, -97.3318)

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Cut bait, shad, Zote soap CONTACT: Tommy Tidwell 512-365-7761 crappie1@hotmail.com www.gotcrappie.com TIPS: This month the crappie and white bass have scattered all over the lake and are not easy to catch.

If you try crappie, fish the river and creek channels.

Otherwise, now is a good time to fish for blue cats to stock up your freezer. Use jug lines baited with some type of cut bait, shad, or Zote soap. I like to use 11/0 Tuna circle hooks and put two on each jug line. I put one about 4 to 6 feet from the top and one 4 to 6 feet from the bottom.

LOCATION: Lake Lavon HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 33 3.0659, W 96 28.3739 (33.0511, -96.4729)

LOCATION: Lake Granbury HOTSPOT: Mid Lake Near Town GPS: N 32 26.404, W 97 46.977 (32.4401, -97.7830)

SPECIES: Largemouth bass

SPECIES: White Bass BEST BAITS: Slabs in white or chartreuse CONTACT: Carey Thorn 469-528-0210 Whitebassfishingtexas@gmail.com www.whitebassfishingtexas.com T E X A S

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FISHING HOTSPOTS (33.9139, -96.7066)

LOCATION: Richland Chambers Lake HOTSPOT: Crab Creek GPS: N 31 57.8339, W 96 19.422 (31.9639, -96.3237)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Big Eye spinnerbaits, Big Eye jigs CONTACT: Ricky Vandergriff 903-561-7299 or 903-530-2201 ricky@rickysguideservice.com www.rickysguideservice.com TIPS: Bass fishing should be very good in Flat Creek’s cove this time of year. Fish this area early morning using Big Eye jigs in black/blue along the creek channel. You can also use Big Eye spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white in this area if you want to mix it up a little. Fish slow for best results.

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Danny Kings punch bait CONTACT: Royce Simmons 903-389-4117 simmonsroyce@hotmail.com www.gonefishin.biz TIPS: November is the month we begin our catfishing for “eater size” blues and channels. We focus on the timber in the Crab Creek area on the Richland Creek arm and use Danny Kings Punch Bait on a # 4 treble hook to catch almost 100% of the catfish we catch.

Sometimes we bait an area with sour grain but most of the time we’re fishing in the timber where the “water turkeys” roost and it’s already chummed for us! Catfish can be found in depths as shallow as 15 feet or as deep as 30 feet and will be caught on or near the bottom most days. Hold on to your rod as it’s not unusual to hook into a monster blue cat while fishing for these 2 lb. to 5 lb. fish! Catfishing is best in the fall and winter months and RC is loaded with them!

LOCATION: Lake Ray Roberts HOTSPOT: State Park Cove GPS: N 33 22.295, W 97 1.941 (33.3716, -97.0324)

SPECIES: Crappie, white bass BEST BAITS: Minnows, 3/4-oz. slabs CONTACT: Justin Wilson 214-538-2780 justinwilson371@yahoo.com TIPS: Most of the summer weather is starting to move out and the lowering temperatures and great fishing make October one of the best times of the entire year to be on the lake. The white bass are excellent on main lake points in 25-40 feet of water. I like to use a 1 oz., white and chartreuse slab jigged off the bottom where there is a school of feeding fish waiting to eat. The crappie can be found on structure at the same depths as the whites. The bigger crappie are starting to feed better than they have the past few summer months, making it a lot easier to fill the cooler. Jigs are working well but minnows will be your most consistent bait.

When you find a brush pile holding fish you can usually catch quite a few in one spot as long as you fish it diligently and work all around the pile including the edges and different depths of higher or lower brush.

LOCATION: Lake Somerville HOTSPOT: Yegua Park West Shoreline GPS: N 30 17.76, W 96 32.784 (30.2960, -96.5464)

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SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Shad, Liver, CJ’s punch bait CONTACT: Weldon Kirk 979-229-3103 weldon_edna@hotmail.com www.fishtales-guideservice.com TIPS: Fishing here is best with a slight north wind.

Fish shallow, near vegetation. Bait fish are here right now before they head into the deep water for the winter.

Use cork and suspend bait a foot off bottom.

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•••

Great Possum Fishing for Peanuts

by Dustin Warncke & Dean Heffner

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Possum Kingdom HOTSPOT: Peanut Patch GPS: N 32 53.627, W 98 30.998 (32.893783, -98.516633)

LOCATION: Lake Texoma HOTSPOT: Five Creeks GPS: N 33 54.8339, W 96 42.3959

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SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Sassy Shad jigs and live shad CONTACT: Bill Carey 903-786-4477 bigfishlaketexoma@gmail.com www.striperexpress.com TIPS: “The stripers are running in large schools. Pay close attention to the seagulls. They will locate the stripers ambushing a large bait ball. The favorite artificial is the 4”” Sassy Sha on a 1oz. jig head.

The best colors are white glow and chartreuse fleck.

Live shad fishing is also a great way to catch stripers.

You can anchor or drift live bait. Bank Access: Sand Creek.”

••

SPECIES: Striped, white bass BEST BAITS: Live bait, jigs, slabs CONTACT: Dean Heffner 940-329-0036 fav7734@aceweb.com TIPS: Time to look for birds and slabbin.’ Try to time trips in front of the cold fronts for best fishing. Beside chasing birds, look on the 20- and 30-foot breaklines for natural travel highways for the fish. Sometimes you won’t mark but one or two fish, but you turn around on the trolling motor and that depth will light up with plen-

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FISHING HOTSPOTS ty of fish—so take your time. Stripers will be mixed with the white bass and, if you are live bait fishing, you could have five to six species by the end of a trip. Live bait is always best, but this time of year jigging and slabbin’ work great.

some of the other locations where habitat have been deployed, which these locations can be found at the following link: https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/ recreational/lakes/fish_attractors.phtml

••

•••

LOCATION: Lake Alan Henry HOTSPOT: Little Grape Creek GPS: N 33 1.9739, W 101 3.96 (33.0329, -101.0660)

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Crankbaits, jigs, shaky heads, spinnerbaits CONTACT: Norman Clayton’s Guide Services 806-792-9220 nclayton42@sbcglobal.net www.lakealanhenry.com/fishing-guides.html TIPS: “November fishing on Alan Henry is usually very good. You can catch bass nearly anywhere you fish using the baits above. The key to catching bass this time of the year is to time your trip to the lake on the day before a front is going to be coming through.

I would start ‘crankbaiting’ up any of the creeks and, later, move to the steep banks with shaky heads. Fish Fun-Fish Safe!”

LOCATION: Lake Brownwood HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 31 50.19, W 99 1.331 (31.8365, -99.0222)

Buchanan Stripers Hungry for Shad

•••

Amistad Bass Rough & Ready

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Mid-Lake Area GPS: N 30 48.402, W 98 24.3959 (30.8067, -98.4066)

by Dustin Warncke

••

LOCATION: Amistad HOTSPOT: Rough Canyon Area GPS: N29 34.82838 W100 58.9488 (29.580473, -100.98248) SPECIES: Striped Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad CONTACT: Clancy Terrill 512-633-6742 centraltexasfishing@gmail.com www.centraltexasfishing.com TIPS: “November usually brings cooler weather and the stripers are in transition, moving up the lake for the winter months. Fish mid-lake areas and in big coves.

Drift or anchor with 5- to 8-inch baits from 20 to 60 feet of water. Live shad is the usual bait of choice for Lake Buchanan stripers.”

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: War Eagle spinnerbaits, soft plastic worms, lizards CONTACT: Capt. James Burkeen 830-734-9652 www.amistadbassin.com TIPS: The bass will be holding off the drop-offs along the numerous points in this area. Start early with a spinnerbait to search for any bass that are on the move and feeding shallow and then switch to a Carolina rigged worm or other soft plastic. Concentrate on the drop-offs but cast your lures toward shallow water and work them all the way out until you feel the drop-offs.

••

•••

LOCATION: Lake Austin HOTSPOT: Main Lake GPS: N 30 19.482, W 97 50.37 (30.3247, -97.8395)

•••

SPECIES: Largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Crankbaits, chatterbaits, and swim jigs CONTACT: Michael D. Homer Jr., Texas Parks & Wildlife 325-692-0921 michael.homer@tpwd.texas.gov TIPS: Largemouth Bass may be tough in the late fall but fishing deeper water may produce a catch. Fishing the artificial structures deployed at Lake Brownwood offer reliable structure to attract fish. Crankbaits, chatterbaits, and swim jigs are optimal baits when fishing these artificial structures. Also consider fishing

SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Picasso spinnerbaits, Double Underspins, V&M Delta Bug and Wild Thang CONTACT: Brian Parker - Lake Austin Fishing 817-808-2227 lakeaustinfishing@yahoo.com www.LakeAustinFishing.com TIPS: November at Lake Austin can be somewhat tricky because of feeding patterns of the bass. Some days they will bite just about anything they find and some days it’s hard to get them to eat. With that in mind, I will start with Picasso spinnerbaits and Double T E X A S

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10/21/19 11:34 AM

FISHING HOTSPOTS Underspins around the docks and shallow flats. If the moving baits aren’t successful I switch over to a V&M Delta Bug or Wild Thang. I like to pay attention to how the bass eat. If they crush the bait, I know they are in a good feeding mode..

LOCATION: Lake LBJ HOTSPOT: Barnett Cove Area GPS: N 30 35.778, W 98 23.874 (30.5963, -98.3979)

TIPS: Drift fishing shad close to the bottom at a depth of 15 to 25 feet in this area produces some good catches of Blue Cats.

LOCATION: Coleto Creek Lake HOTSPOT: Turkey Creek GPS: N 28 44.694, W 97 10.176 (28.7449, -97.1696)

LOCATION: Lake Buchanan HOTSPOT: Shaw Island GPS: N 30 49.194, W 98 25.4159 (30.8199, -98.4236)

SPECIES: Bass and Crappie BEST BAITS: 0 CONTACT: Teach ‘Em to Fish Guide Service-Barry Dodd 210-771-0123 www.teachemtofish.net TIPS: This area has a good break lines and is convenient to shallow water for crowding baitfish. Work slowly moving up and down the break lines while watching your electronics and look for schools of fish breaking the surface. Fall fishing can be one of the most productive times of year. In the fall, bass and crappie chase baitfish into the shallower water, so finding wind protected coves just might be an excellent choice. Following the cove’s creek structure, cover and secondary points should yield good results.

SPECIES: Striped Bass and White Bass BEST BAITS: Live shad, top water lures, slabs, deep diver trolling baits in shad color CONTACT: Ken Milam 325-379-2051 kmilam@verizon.net www.striperfever.com.com TIPS: Watch for feeding seagulls on main lake areas spanning from Shaw Island to the Dam. Throw top waters and slabs. White bass can be found from the Breezy Point to Paradise Point area. Use deep diving trolling baits in a shad color.

••

Pack a Picnic for Calaveras Cats

LOCATION: Canyon Lake HOTSPOT: Potters Creek Park GPS: N 29 54.1799, W 98 16.14 (29.9030, -98.2690)

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by Dustin Warncke

• • • SPOTLIGHT • LOCATION: Calaveras Lake HOTSPOT: Picnic Point GPS: N 29 17.6819, W 98 18.114 (29.2947, -98.3019)

SPECIES: Striped Bass and White Bass BEST BAITS: 1 oz. red jigging spoon CONTACT: Capt. Steve Nixon, Fishhooks Adventures (210) 573-1230 steve@sanantoniofishingguides.com http://www.sanantoniofishingguides.com TIPS: “Fish from the point back to the swim beach, casting out the spoon. Try to maintain a depth of 20 to 40 feet. The Striped Bass and White Bass like to school in this area this time of year. Tight lines and fish on!”

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LOCATION: Falcon Lake HOTSPOT: Alejandrejas Road GPS: N26 44.04954 W99 12.05676 (26.734159, -99.200946)

••

SPECIES: Catfish BEST BAITS: Shad CONTACT: Steve Nixon, Fishhooks Adventures 210-573-1230 steve@sanantoniofishingguides.com www.sanantoniofishingguides.com

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SPECIES: Largemouth Bass BEST BAITS: Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, Carolina rigs CONTACT: Rocky’s Guide Service 361-960-0566 TIPS: This month people are both hunting and fishing! November is the best of both worlds. This time of year, I think the late morning and afternoon bite is more active. Sunny days will draw bass up really shallow.

I’m talking a foot deep! I like pitching a spinnerbaits right along the edges anywhere there is structure or preferably a nice little drop off or even up on some little flats. This is especially true if there is any hardwood laying around. Early morning, go deeper with crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps or Carolina rigs.

SPECIES: largemouth bass BEST BAITS: Craw worms, jigs CONTACT: Robert Amaya 956-765-1442 www.robertsfishintackle.com TIPS: Slowly fish a Carolina or Texas-rigged craw worm or a jig with a soft plastic trailer on the drop-offs around the islands in this area. Topwater lures can produce some fish during the early morning hours around the brush but most fish will be deep along the edges off the drop-offs during the day.

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK NOVEMBER 2019

Tides and Prime Times

USING THE PRIME TIMES CALENDAR

The following pages contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel (29.3166° N, 94.88° W).

T12

T4

T11

T10 T9

TIDE PREDICTIONS are located in the upper white boxes on the Calendar Pages. Use the Correction Table below, which is keyed to 23 other tide stations, to adjust low and high tide times.

T8 T17

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY is shown in the lower color boxes of the Calendar pages. Use the SOLUNAR ADJUSTMENT SCALE below to adjust times for points East and West of Galveston Channel.

T15 T16

TIDE PREDICTIONS are shown in graph form, with High and Low tide predictions in text immediately below.

SOLUNAR ACTIVITY data is provided to indicate major and minor feeding periods for each day, as the daily phases of the moon have varying degrees of influence on many wildlife species.

T13 T6

T7

T3 T2 T1

T5

T14

AM & PM MINOR phases occur when the moon rises and sets. These phases last 1 to 2 hours.

T18

AM & PM MAJOR phases occur when the moon reaches its highest point overhead as well as when it is “underfoot” or at its highest point on the exact opposite side of the earth from your positoin (or literally under your feet). Most days have two Major Feeding Phases, each lasting about 2 hours.

T19

T20

PEAK DAYS: The closer the moon is to your location, the stronger the influence. FULL or NEW MOONS provide the strongest influnce of the month.

PEAK TIMES: When a Solunar Period falls within 30 minutes to an hour of sunrise or sunset, anticipate increased action. A moon rise or moon set during one of these periods will cause even greater action. If a FULL or NEW MOON occurs during a Solunar Period, expect the best action of the season.

T21

TIDE CORRECTION TABLE

Add or subtract the time shown at the rightof the Tide Stations on this table (and map) to determine the adjustment from the time shown for GALVESTON CHANNEL in the calendars.

KEY T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6

PLACE Sabine Bank Lighthouse Sabine Pass Jetty Sabine Pass Mesquite Pt, Sab. Pass Galveston Bay, S. Jetty Port Bolivar

HIGH -1:46 -1:26 -1:00 -0:04 -0:39 +0:14

LOW -1:31 -1:31 -1:15 -0:25 -1:05 -0:06

KEY PLACE HIGH Galveston Channel/Bays T7 Texas City Turning Basin +0:33 +3:54 T8 Eagle Point +6:05 T9 Clear Lake +10:21 T10 Morgans Point T11 Round Pt, Trinity Bay +10:39

LOW +0:41 +4:15 +6:40 +5:19 +5:15

KEY T12 T13 T14 T15 T16 T17

PLACE Pt Barrow, Trinity Bay Gilchrist, East Bay Jamaica Beach, W. Bay Alligator Point, W. Bay Christmas Pt Galveston Pleasure Pier

HIGH +5:48 +3:16 +2:38 +2:39 +2:32 -1:06

LOW +4:43 +4:18 +3:31 +2:33 +2:31 -1:06

KEY T18 T19 T20 T21 T22 T23

PLACE HIGH San Luis Pass -0.09 Freeport Harbor -0:44 Pass Cavallo 0:00 Aransas Pass -0:03 Padre Island (So. End) -0:24 Port Isabel +1:02

LOW -0.09 -1:02 -1:20 -1:31 -1:45 -0:42

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK IS SPONSORED BY:

NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION T22 T23

READING THE GRAPH

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS

Moon Overhead

Fishing Score Graph

Moon Underfoot

Day’s Best Day’s 2nd Score Best Score

n

Best Day Overall

MOON PHASES

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter «= Good Day by Moon Phase 60

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NOVEMBER 2019

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

28 « l FEET

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

3:55a 10:42a 6:08p 11:34p

TUESDAY

29 «

1.57ft.

0.16ft.

1.85ft.

1.26ft.

High Tide: 4:12a Low Tide: 11:26a High Tide: 7:17p

1.57ft.

-0.00ft.

1.87ft.

WEDNESDAY

30

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

12:32a 4:26a 12:12p 8:28p

1.44ft.

1.58ft.

-0.07ft.

1.86ft.

THURSDAY

31

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

1:48a 4:20a 1:01p 9:44p

1.56ft.

1.59ft.

-0.06ft.

1.82ft.

FRIDAY

Nov 1

Low Tide: 1:54p High Tide: 11:04p

SATURDAY

2

0.02ft.

1.79ft.

Low Tide:

2:53p

SUNDAY

3 End DST

0.14ft.

High Tide: 12:18a Low Tide: 3:00p

1.75ft.

0.27ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

12:30 — 2:30 PM Sunrise: 7:27a Sunset: 6:36p Moonrise: 7:53a Moon Set: 7:23p

12a

6a

12p

6p

AM Minor: 6:40a AM Major: 12:26a PM Minor: 7:07p PM Major: 12:54p

2:30 — 4:30 PM

AM Minor: 7:40a AM Major: 1:26a PM Minor: 8:07p PM Major: 1:53p

TUESDAY

5

1.70ft.

0.39ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

FEET

12:43a 8:17a 9:20a 5:17p

1.63ft.

1.24ft.

1.24ft.

0.51ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:04a 7:54a 11:20a 6:14p

6p

12a

6a

1.57ft.

1.14ft.

1.25ft.

0.62ft.

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

8:00 — 10:00 AM

9:00 — 11:00 AM

6p

12a

6a

10:00A — 12:00P

6p

12a

11:00A — 1:00P Sunrise: 7:32a Sunset: 6:32p Moonrise: 1:45p Moon Set: None

AM Minor: 10:41a AM Major: 4:28a PM Minor: 11:08p PM Major: 4:55p

Moon Overhead: 5:21p Moon Underfoot: 4:54a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 7:31a Sunset: 6:32p Moonrise: 12:58p Moon Set: 11:32p

AM Minor: 9:42a AM Major: 3:29a PM Minor: 10:10p PM Major: 3:56p

Moon Overhead: 4:26p Moon Underfoot: 3:58a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 7:30a Sunset: 6:33p Moonrise: 12:05p Moon Set: 10:37p

AM Minor: 8:41a AM Major: 2:27a PM Minor: 9:09p PM Major: 2:55p

AM Minor: 11:36a AM Major: 5:24a PM Minor: ----PM Major: 5:49p

Moon Overhead: 6:14p Moon Underfoot: 5:48a

Moon Overhead: 7:05p Moon Underfoot: 6:40a

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

6

12p

Sunrise: 7:29a Sunset: 6:34p Moonrise: 11:07a Moon Set: 9:44p

Moon Overhead: 3:30p Moon Underfoot: 3:03a

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Fishing Score Moon Moon Graph Overhead Underfoot

MONDAY

6a

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 7:29a Sunset: 6:35p Moonrise: 10:04a Moon Set: 8:53p

Moon Overhead: 2:35p Moon Underfoot: 2:08a

READING THE GRAPH

12a

BEST TIME

1:30 — 3:30 PM

Moon Overhead: 1:40p Moon Underfoot: 1:14a

High Tide: 12:10a Low Tide: 4:10p

6p

Sunrise: 7:28a Sunset: 6:36p Moonrise: 8:59a Moon Set: 8:06p

AM Minor: 5:44a AM Major: 11:57a PM Minor: 6:11p PM Major: 12:24p

4º

12p

BEST TIME

n

Day’s 2nd Best Score

Best Day Overall

THURSDAY

7

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:20a 7:55a 12:40p 7:01p

1.51ft.

1.01ft.

1.30ft.

0.74ft.

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

FRIDAY

8

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:33a 8:02a 1:44p 7:41p

1.47ft.

0.85ft.

1.37ft.

0.86ft.

SATURDAY

9

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:46a 8:14a 2:40p 8:16p

SUNDAY

10 «

1.45ft.

0.69ft.

1.44ft.

0.98ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:59a 8:33a 3:32p 8:50p

1.44ft.

0.53ft.

1.51ft.

1.09ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

12:00 — 2:00 PM Sunrise: 6:33a Sunset: 5:31p Moonrise: 1:27p Moon Set: None

AM Minor: 11:27a AM Major: 5:15a PM Minor: 11:51p PM Major: 5:39p Moon Overhead: 6:53p Moon Underfoot: 6:29a

12p

6p

BEST TIME

1:00 — 3:00 PM Sunrise: 6:33a Sunset: 5:30p Moonrise: 2:05p Moon Set: 12:22a

AM Minor: ----AM Major: 6:01a PM Minor: 12:12p PM Major: 6:24p

Moon Overhead: 7:38p Moon Underfoot: 7:16a

12a

6a

12p

6p

BEST TIME

2:00 — 4:00 PM Sunrise: 6:34a Sunset: 5:29p Moonrise: 2:39p Moon Set: 1:16a

AM Minor: 12:32a AM Major: 6:43a PM Minor: 12:54p PM Major: 7:04p Moon Overhead: 8:22p Moon Underfoot: 8:00a

T E X A S

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12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

3:00 — 5:00 PM

6p

11:00A — 1:00P Sunrise: 6:36a Sunset: 5:28p Moonrise: 3:41p Moon Set: 3:01a

AM Minor: 1:11a AM Major: 7:21a PM Minor: 1:32p PM Major: 7:42p

AM Minor: 1:48a AM Major: 7:58a PM Minor: 2:08p PM Major: 8:18p

Moon Overhead: 9:03p Moon Underfoot: 8:43a

&

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:35a Sunset: 5:29p Moonrise: 3:11p Moon Set: 2:09a

F I S H

6a

Moon Overhead: 9:44p Moon Underfoot: 9:24a

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12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

12:00 — 2:00 PM Sunrise: 6:37a Sunset: 5:27p Moonrise: 4:11p Moon Set: 3:53a

11:30P — 1:30A Sunrise: 6:37a Sunset: 5:27p Moonrise: 4:42p Moon Set: 4:46a

AM Minor: 2:23a AM Major: 8:34a PM Minor: 2:44p PM Major: 8:54p

AM Minor: 3:00a AM Major: 9:11a PM Minor: 3:21p PM Major: 9:32p

Moon Overhead: 10:26p Moon Underfoot: 10:05a N O V E M B E R

6a

Moon Overhead: 11:08p Moon Underfoot: 10:47a

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Sportsman’s DAYBOOK MONDAY

11 « FEET

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:10a 8:58a 4:22p 9:25p

TUESDAY

12 l

1.44ft.

0.37ft.

1.58ft.

1.19ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:19a 9:26a 5:13p 10:02p

WEDNESDAY

13 «

1.44ft.

0.23ft.

1.63ft.

1.30ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:21a 9:59a 6:06p 10:43p

THURSDAY

14 «

1.45ft.

0.11ft.

1.68ft.

1.40ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

2:14a 10:35a 7:05p 11:30p

1.48ft.

0.01ft.

1.70ft.

1.49ft.

FRIDAY

15

High Tide: 2:00a Low Tide: 11:17a High Tide: 8:09p

SATURDAY

16

1.52ft.

-0.06ft.

1.72ft.

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

12:34a 1:40a 12:04p 9:16p

SUNDAY

17

1.56ft.

1.56ft.

-0.09ft.

1.72ft.

Low Tide: 12:57p High Tide: 10:18p

-0.08ft.

1.71ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

11:00P — 1:00A

12a

6a

6p

11:30P — 1:30A

19 »

-0.01ft.

1.67ft.

Low Tide: 3:01p High Tide: 11:40p

20

Low Tide:

4:11p

12a

6a

0.25ft.

FEET

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

6:30 — 8:30 AM

6p

12a

6a

7:30 — 9:30 AM

6p

12a

8:30 — 10:30 PM Sunrise: 6:43a Sunset: 5:23p Moonrise: 10:06p Moon Set: 11:24a

AM Minor: 8:03a AM Major: 1:49a PM Minor: 8:31p PM Major: 2:17p

Moon Overhead: 2:23a Moon Underfoot: 2:51p

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:42a Sunset: 5:24p Moonrise: 9:05p Moon Set: 10:29a

AM Minor: 7:02a AM Major: 12:48a PM Minor: 7:29p PM Major: 1:16p

Moon Overhead: 1:30a Moon Underfoot: 1:56p

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:41a Sunset: 5:24p Moonrise: 8:08p Moon Set: 9:32a

AM Minor: 6:04a AM Major: ----PM Minor: 6:30p PM Major: 12:17p

AM Minor: 9:05a AM Major: 2:51a PM Minor: 9:34p PM Major: 3:20p

Moon Overhead: 3:19a Moon Underfoot: 3:47p

Moon Overhead: 4:15a Moon Underfoot: 4:44p

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

0.10ft.

1.60ft.

6p

6:00 — 8:00 AM

Moon Overhead: 12:40a Moon Underfoot: 1:04p

TUESDAY

12p

Sunrise: 6:41a Sunset: 5:25p Moonrise: 7:17p Moon Set: 8:33a

AM Minor: 5:11a AM Major: 11:23a PM Minor: 5:36p PM Major: 11:53p

Moon Overhead: None Moon Underfoot: 12:16p

MONDAY

6a

BEST TIME

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Fishing Score Moon Moon Graph Overhead Underfoot

READING THE GRAPH

12a

Sunrise: 6:40a Sunset: 5:25p Moonrise: 6:31p Moon Set: 7:34a

AM Minor: 4:23a AM Major: 10:34a PM Minor: 4:46p PM Major: 10:58p

Moon Overhead: 11:52p Moon Underfoot: 11:30a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:39a Sunset: 5:26p Moonrise: 5:51p Moon Set: 6:36a

AM Minor: 3:40a AM Major: 9:51a PM Minor: 4:02p PM Major: 10:13p

Low Tide: 1:56p High Tide: 11:06p

6p

5:30 — 7:30 AM

Sunrise: 6:38a Sunset: 5:26p Moonrise: 5:15p Moon Set: 5:40a

18

12p

BEST TIME

Day’s 2nd Best Score

THURSDAY

21

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

n

12:07a 6:43a 11:06a 5:23p

1.52ft.

0.93ft.

1.13ft.

0.44ft.

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

Best Day Overall

FRIDAY

22

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:29a 6:57a 12:48p 6:33p

1.44ft.

0.63ft.

1.23ft.

0.64ft.

SATURDAY

23

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:49a 7:28a 2:11p 7:39p

SUNDAY

24

1.38ft.

0.31ft.

1.37ft.

0.84ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:07a 8:04a 3:23p 8:42p

1.35ft.

0.02ft.

1.50ft.

1.03ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

9:30 — 11:30 AM Sunrise: 6:44a Sunset: 5:23p Moonrise: 11:10p Moon Set: 12:14p

AM Minor: 10:07a AM Major: 3:53a PM Minor: 10:35p PM Major: 4:21p

Moon Overhead: 5:12a Moon Underfoot: 5:40p

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12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

10:30A — 12:30P Sunrise: 6:45a Sunset: 5:22p Moonrise: None Moon Set: 1:00p

AM Minor: 11:05a AM Major: 4:51a PM Minor: 11:33p PM Major: 5:19p Moon Overhead: 6:08a Moon Underfoot: 6:35p

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2 0 1 9

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

AM Minor: 11:59a AM Major: 5:46a PM Minor: ----PM Major: 6:13p

6p

12a

1:00 — 3:00 PM

6p

8:00 — 10:00 AM

AM Minor: 1:09a AM Major: 7:22a PM Minor: 1:35p PM Major: 7:47p

Moon Overhead: 7:55a Moon Underfoot: 8:20p

F I S H

12p

Sunrise: 6:47a Sunset: 5:21p Moonrise: 2:25a Moon Set: 2:59p

AM Minor: 12:23a AM Major: 6:36a PM Minor: 12:49p PM Major: 7:02p

T E X A S

6a

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:46a Sunset: 5:22p Moonrise: 1:21a Moon Set: 2:22p

Moon Overhead: 7:02a Moon Underfoot: 7:29p

|

12p

BEST TIME

12:00 — 2:00 PM Sunrise: 6:46a Sunset: 5:22p Moonrise: 12:15a Moon Set: 1:43p

6a

&

Moon Overhead: 8:46a Moon Underfoot: 9:11p

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

8:30 — 10:30 AM Sunrise: 6:48a Sunset: 5:21p Moonrise: 3:30a Moon Set: 3:36p

AM Minor: 1:54a AM Major: 8:06a PM Minor: 2:19p PM Major: 8:32p

Moon Overhead: 9:36a Moon Underfoot: 10:02p

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

9:30 — 11:30 AM Sunrise: 6:49a Sunset: 5:21p Moonrise: 4:34a Moon Set: 4:15p

AM Minor: 2:38a AM Major: 8:51a PM Minor: 3:04p PM Major: 9:17p

Moon Overhead: 10:27a Moon Underfoot: 10:54p

G A M E ®

10/21/19 11:35 AM

NOVEMBER 2019

Tides and Prime Times MONDAY

25 « FEET

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:26a 8:44a 4:29p 9:43p

TUESDAY

26 «

1.35ft.

-0.22ft.

1.60ft.

1.19ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:44a 9:26a 5:30p 10:43p

WEDNESDAY

27 l

1.37ft.

-0.38ft.

1.65ft.

1.30ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

1:59a 10:08a 6:30p 11:51p

THURSDAY

28 «

1.38ft.

-0.46ft.

1.65ft.

1.37ft.

High Tide: 2:06a Low Tide: 10:53a High Tide: 7:30p

1.39ft.

-0.45ft.

1.61ft.

FRIDAY

29 «

Low Tide: 11:39a High Tide: 8:29p

SATURDAY

30

-0.38ft.

1.55ft.

Low Tide: 12:26p High Tide: 9:27p

SUNDAY

Dec 1

-0.26ft.

1.48ft.

Low Tide: 1:16p High Tide: 10:17p

-0.11ft.

1.41ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

10:30A — 12:30P Sunrise: 6:50a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 5:39a Moon Set: 4:56p

12a

6a

12p

6p

5:30 — 7:30 AM

= FALLING TIDE = RISING TIDE = DAYLIGHT HOURS = NIGHTTIME HOURS Fishing Score Moon Moon Graph Overhead Underfoot

3

0.05ft.

1.34ft.

Low Tide: 3:01p High Tide: 11:23p

4º

Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide:

FEET

7:12a 9:14a 3:58p 11:43p

12a

6a

0.85ft.

0.87ft.

0.39ft.

1.21ft.

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

7:00 — 9:00 AM

6p

12a

6a

7:30 — 9:30 AM

6p

12a

8:30 — 10:30 AM Sunrise: 6:55a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 11:22a Moon Set: 10:11p

AM Minor: 8:13a AM Major: 2:00a PM Minor: 8:40p PM Major: 2:27p

Moon Overhead: 3:02p Moon Underfoot: 2:35a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:54a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 10:37a Moon Set: 9:14p

AM Minor: 7:14a AM Major: 1:00a PM Minor: 7:41p PM Major: 1:27p

Moon Overhead: 2:07p Moon Underfoot: 1:39a

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:53a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 9:46a Moon Set: 8:18p

AM Minor: 6:13a AM Major: 11:55a PM Minor: 6:41p PM Major: 12:27p

AM Minor: 9:10a AM Major: 2:58a PM Minor: 9:35p PM Major: 3:23p

Moon Overhead: 3:55p Moon Underfoot: 3:29a

Moon Overhead: 4:45p Moon Underfoot: 4:20a

MOON PHASES

Day’s Best Score

WEDNESDAY

0.22ft.

1.27ft.

6p

6:00 — 8:00 AM

Moon Overhead: 1:11p Moon Underfoot: 12:43a

TUESDAY

12p

Sunrise: 6:52a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 8:50a Moon Set: 7:23p

AM Minor: 5:14a AM Major: 10:56a PM Minor: 5:42p PM Major: -----

Moon Overhead: 12:15p Moon Underfoot: None

MONDAY

6a

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:51a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 7:49a Moon Set: 6:30p

AM Minor: 4:18a AM Major: 10:31a PM Minor: 4:45p PM Major: 10:59p

READING THE GRAPH

12a

BEST TIME

5:00 — 7:00 AM

Moon Overhead: 11:20a Moon Underfoot: 11:47p

Low Tide: 2:07p High Tide: 10:55p

6p

Sunrise: 6:51a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 6:45a Moon Set: 5:41p

AM Minor: 3:26a AM Major: 9:39a PM Minor: 3:53p PM Major: 10:06p

2

12p

BEST TIME

n

Day’s 2nd Best Score

Best Day Overall

THURSDAY

5

Low Tide: 7:02a High Tide: 11:15a Low Tide: 4:55p

0.70ft.

0.87ft.

0.54ft.

l = New Moon l = Full Moon = First Quarter º » = Last Quarter « = Good Day by Moon Phase

FRIDAY

6

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:00a 7:07a 12:44p 5:52p

1.17ft.

0.53ft.

0.94ft.

0.69ft.

SATURDAY

7

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:15a 7:19a 1:55p 6:45p

SUNDAY

8

1.15ft.

0.35ft.

1.04ft.

0.81ft.

High Tide: Low Tide: High Tide: Low Tide:

12:28a 7:37a 2:53p 7:35p

1.14ft.

0.17ft.

1.15ft.

0.92ft.

FEET

+3.0

+3.0

+2.0

+2.0

+1.0

+1.0 0

0

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

6a

BEST TIME

9:00 — 11:00 AM Sunrise: 6:55a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 12:02p Moon Set: 11:06p

AM Minor: 10:03a AM Major: 3:52a PM Minor: 10:27p PM Major: 4:15p

Moon Overhead: 5:32p Moon Underfoot: 5:09a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

10:00A — 12:00P Sunrise: 6:56a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 12:38p Moon Set: None

AM Minor: 10:52a AM Major: 4:41a PM Minor: 11:14p PM Major: 5:03p

Moon Overhead: 6:17p Moon Underfoot: 5:55a

6a

12p

6p

BEST TIME

11:00A — 1:00P Sunrise: 6:57a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 1:11p Moon Set: None

AM Minor: 11:36a AM Major: 5:25a PM Minor: 11:57p PM Major: 5:46p Moon Overhead: 6:59p Moon Underfoot: 6:38a

T E X A S

TexasOutdoorNation-DIG-1911.indd 63

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

6:30 — 8:30 PM

6p

7:30 — 9:30 PM Sunrise: 6:59a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 2:11p Moon Set: 1:44a

AM Minor: ----AM Major: 6:06a PM Minor: 12:16p PM Major: 6:26p

AM Minor: 12:33a AM Major: 6:43a PM Minor: 12:54p PM Major: 7:04p

Moon Overhead: 7:40p Moon Underfoot: 7:20a

&

12p

BEST TIME

Sunrise: 6:58a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 1:41p Moon Set: 12:53a

F I S H

6a

Moon Overhead: 8:21p Moon Underfoot: 8:00a

G A M E ®

|

12a

6a

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

AM Minor: 1:10a AM Major: 7:20a PM Minor: 1:30p PM Major: 7:41p

Moon Overhead: 9:02p Moon Underfoot: 8:41a N O V E M B E R

12p

6p

12a

BEST TIME

8:00 — 10:00 PM Sunrise: 6:59a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 2:41p Moon Set: 2:36a

6a

8:30 — 10:30 PM Sunrise: 7:00a Sunset: 5:20p Moonrise: 3:13p Moon Set: 3:30a

AM Minor: 1:46a AM Major: 7:57a PM Minor: 2:07p PM Major: 8:18p

Moon Overhead: 9:46p Moon Underfoot: 9:24a 2 0 1 9

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10/21/19 11:35 AM

Texas TASTED

by BRYAN SLAVEN :: The Texas Gourmet

Cajun Style Meatloaf MEATLOAF IS A GREAT COMFORT food and can be made a variety of ways. This recipe is a detachment from the one that mom made, but it’s still really tasty, just a bit spicy. You can substitute ground venison for the beef, but still use the pork shoulder for moisture. The squash casserole is easy to make and goes well with the meatloaf. I hope you enjoy it!

INGREDIENTS 1 medium yellow onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped ½ medium red bell pepper, core, seed, chop 2 green onions, chopped small 1 small can, diced green chilies, tasty and not too hot 1 clove garlic, minced ½ t ground cumin 3 T Texas Gourmet’s Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly ½ t black pepper, finely ground ¼ t nutmeg 2 T Worcestershire sauce 2 T Texas Gourmet’s Sweet Chipotle Season All 2 T unsalted butter ¼ cup canned milk 1 cup bread crumbs, fine, dry 1 lb. lean ground beef (or substitute with venison) ½ lb. lean ground pork shoulder 2 eggs, slightly beaten

2. Melt the butter in a heavy 10-inch skillet over moderate heat. Add the above vegetable/spice mixture, & cook, uncovered, for 6 minutes, stirring constantly, until the onions & peppers are soft. Remove from the heat & let cool until warm to the touch.

Mix in the milk, ½ of the ketchup, & bread crumbs. (Use your hands to mix well) 3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, eggs, & the breadcrumb and sautéed vegetable mixture. Pack the meatloaf mixture into a greased, 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ketchup with the Texas Gourmet’s Jalapeno Kiwi Jelly, then spread over the meatloaf. At this point the meatloaf can be covered tightly with aluminum foil & stored. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.

(Place the covered meatloaf in the freezer; when frozen, remove from the pan, wrap in

PREPARATION 1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Mix the onion, celery, bell pepper, green chilies, garlic, cumin, black pepper, Sweet Chipotle Season All, nutmeg, and Worcestershire sauce, in a medium sized bowl.

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T E X A S

F I S H

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G A M E ®

heavy-duty aluminum foil, label & return to freezer) 4. Bake the meatloaf, thawed and uncovered, for 30 minutes covered and 25 minutes uncovered or until nicely browned and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Allow 10 minutes to rest then slice to desired thickness and serve with mashed potatoes and tomato gravy and squash casserole.

This would be a great prepare and freeze dinner to carry to the deer camp.

Don’t forget the gravy!

« Email Bryan Slaven at bryan@thetexasgourmet.com

PHOTO: BIGSTOCK

10/9/19 4:53 PM

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G A M E ®

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N O V E M B E R

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10/9/19 4:52 PM

SHARK South Padre Island Seven-year-old Lucas Addison Rogers holds his first black tip shark, caught while fishing at South Padre Island area July 2, two days before his eighth birthday.

CROAKER Sabine Pass Six-year-old Carson Goodrich caught his first croaker at Sabine Pass while fishing with his dad, “Popops” and uncle.

DOVE

REDFISH

New Braunfels

Upper Laguna Madre

Six-year-old Chris Barefield enjoyed his family’s annual dove hunt with his lab puppy in a field west of New Braunfels.

Fifteen-year-old Jordyn Moore caught this red while fishing with her grandpa on the Upper Laguna Madre.

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10/9/19 4:52 PM

SEND YOUR PHOTOS TO photos@FishGame.com For best results, send MED to HIGH quality JPEG digital files only, please.

Also Enter our PHOTO CONTEST: FishGame.com/HotShots No guarantee can be made as to when, or if, a submitted photo will be published.

BASS Private Lake Thirteen-year-old Andrew Walton caught this nice largemouth on a private lake on Tule Ranch.

SPECKLED TROUT Matagorda Gage Ferguson caught this speckled trout while fishing at Matagorda.

BLACK DRUM MIXED STRINGER

Texas City David Garza caught and released this black drum at the Texas City Dike.

East Matagorda Bay Three-year-old Everett Krushall enjoyed a wadefishing trip with his dad, Christian, and PePaw Everett on East Matagorda Bay.

T E X A S

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1911 Reader Photo.indd 64

10/9/19 4:52 PM

C3-Convergent.indd 3

10/9/19 4:49 PM

C4-CZ.indd 4

10/9/19 4:50 PM