Pheasant * December 9, 2005 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 2, Issue 8 * season booming See Page 7 www.lonestaroutdoornews.com INSIDE ADVENTURE Masters of rattling Hunters raise a ruckus with antlers to bring in the deer By Wes Smalling Dubbed the “catch-and- Fishing is year-round at release” of deer hunting, Matagorda and the crowds few. two-person teams compete Guides at the Full Stringer As a young boy, Jim for prizes to capture the Lodge can help you find and Carpenter had heard sto- most bucks on video that land tripletails, which can give ries about rattling — the have been fooled by rat- any angler all the fight he tactic of attracting a buck tling. could want. by rattling antlers to imi- You can put your skills to tate the sound of two clash- the test at the next See Page 9 ing males dueling over ter- Rattlemasters tournament, ritory or a doe. He had Dec. 17-18, in South Texas. FISHING wondered if those stories Or submit your footage in The Packery Channel in were actually true. the group’s annual video Corpus Christi isn’t officially Then one day his dad contest from now until the made a believer out of him end of deer season. open for business yet. But if when he rattled in the boy’s “There are some great anglers are watchful of con- first whitetail buck before deer contests out there, but struction, authorities are allow- his astonished eyes. most of them are harvest ing them to enter the channel. Carpenter has been hooked contests,” Carpenter said. on rattling ever since. “I wanted something that See Page 8 The 52-year-old South everybody can compete in Texas resident is the that isn’t based on the HUNTING founder of Rattlemasters of biggest buck. We call it Two Texas hunters died in New Texas, a tournament series ‘catch-and-release’ Mexico last month due to car- and annual video contest, (because the deer are not MUSIC TO THEIR EARS: Big bucks can be fooled by the sound of hunters rattling antlers. The tactic bon monoxide poisoning, now in its sixth year. See RATTLING, Page 11 attracts deer by imitating the sound of bucks fighting during the rut. according to authorities. See Page 6 Bass catch may A 13-year-old Garland girl was chosen to go hunting in North Carolina as part of a Quality Deer Management Association be record breaker program to encourage youth hunting. National surveys show more females are hunting. 13.63 POUNDS 24.25 INCHES LONG 21 INCHES GIRTH See Page 6 Catching a lake record largemouth bass from Lake NATIONAL Lewisville appears to be easy A Shreveport angler comes for- — it’s been done four times ward with his story of how he since June 1. discovered a fellow Bassmaster Holding on to that record contestant was cheating. is harder. The latest record — pending until accepted — is See Page 4 also the first fish entered into SUCCESS ON THE HIGH PLAINS: Geese have been filling the Panhandle skies. the Budweiser ShareLunker program ever recorded from CONSERVATION Lewisville. Private landowners willing to Jon Babich of Lewisville develop habitat to preserve Panhandle hunters caught the 13.63-pound imperiled species are eligible largemouth while fishing for REELING IN THE BIG ONE: Jon Babich of for $6.5 million in grants. crappie on the Lewisville Lewisville caught the 13.63-pound Fishing Barge. The fish was lake record largemouth while fishing See Page 5 get their goose 24.25 inches long and 21 for crappie on the Lewisville Fishing See BIG BASS, Page 10 Barge. DEPARTMENTS Estacado, high flat land that covers By Bink Grimes an area larger than all of New PRSRT STD Migratory Bird Report Page 7 England. This year, biologists esti- US POSTAGE mate less than 10 percent of playa Outdoor Datebook Page 12 PAID Word is fast getting around Texas lakes are wet. Less water means PLANO, TX Product Picks Page 13 that the Panhandle is flying high more birds piled on limited roost- PERMIT 210 for goose hunters this year. ing sources, which bodes well in Outdoor Heroes Page 14 If you’re in the area, listen for the patterning goose movement, but is Crossword Puzzle Page 15 reports and the whoops. If not, lis- stressful for goose habitat. ten to Bruce Town of High Flying “We need the rain to help spread Wild in the Kitchen Page 15 Outfitters in Dumas. some of these birds out,” said Town. Weather Page 15 “We have been slamming them,” “Few playas have water, but those Town said. “We are getting our lim- that do are roosting thousands of Game Warden Blotter Page 16 its on Canadas and shooting quite geese.” Bordering States Page 17 a few snow geese, too.” Decoying action for Canada geese has been good through the Fishing Report Page 18 Dry conditions continue to plague watering holes on the Llano See GEESE, Page 10 IT TAKES ON KIDS. IT TAKES ON CARGO. IT EVEN TAKES ON THE COMPETITION. GMC Yukon SLT THE YUKON GMC FORD NISSAN TOYOTA YUKON EXPEDITION ARMADA SEQUOIA ADVANTAGE SLT XLT LE LIMITED TURNING DIAMETER 38.3 FT 38.7 FT 40.8 FT 42.3 FT EPA EST. 2WD FUEL ECONOMY 16/20 MPG 14/19 MPG 13/19 MPG 15/18 MPG (city/highway) ONSTAR® 1-YR SAFE AND STANDARD NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE SOUND SERVICE* TRI-ZONE CLIMATE CONTROL STANDARD NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE XM SATELLITE RADIO®** AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE REAR LOCKING DIFFERENTIAL AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE NOT AVAILABLE A CONSUMERS DIGEST YES NO NO NO BEST BUY WE ARE PROFESSIONAL GRADE.® SEE THE PROS AT YOUR LOCAL GMC DEALER Cargo and load capacity limited by weight and distribution. *Call 1-888-4ONSTAR (1-888-466-7827) or visit onstar.com for system limitations and details. **Available in the 48 contiguous states. Basic service fees apply. Visit gm.xmradio.com for details. ©2005 OnStar Corp. All rights reserved. OnStar and the OnStar emblem are registered trademarks of OnStar Corporation. ©2005 XM Satellite Radio Inc. All rights reserved. The XM name and related logos are registered trademarks of XM Satellite Radio Inc. ©2005 General Motors Corp. All rights reserved. Yukon, GMC and the GMC logo are registered trademarks of General Motors Corporation. Page 4 * December 9, 2005 NATIONAL Angler helps authorities catch suspect The angler whose discovery of a that the fish was hooked to, so I went and was instructed not to tell anyone His arrest has led some to question and 11 ounces and was fifth at this tethered fish led to the arrest of Paul over to get my crankbait back and else about the fish. his previous angling success. year’s Lake of the Ozarks Central Tormanen, 39, of Lee’s Summit, Mo., unhook the fish.” “It was real hard to keep my mouth Tormanen has been a big-time EverStart. last month at the Red River His first thought was that the fish shut all week,” Huckabee said. winner in Heartland Tournament BassFan.com unsuccessfully tried Bassmaster Central Open has stepped had broken the line of another angler, Capt. Peter Oliver of LDWF Region Association Pro-Ams over the past to contact Tormanen for comment. forward to tell his story. perhaps by wrapping it around one of III said officers took two fin clippings two years. He’s won four events, net- Messages left at his work and on his Sam Huckabee told BassFan.com the stumps. from the fish that Huckabee found ting about $57,700. cell phone were not returned. that his report of finding tethered fish “Then I realized there wasn’t any tied to the stump. A small piece was In nine such tournaments over the Huckabee, who finished 52nd in began the series of events that wound hook — the fish was tied to the stump removed from the top of the dorsal past 14 months, he’s finished no the Red River Open with two limits up with Tormanen’s arrest for contest with 4 to 5 feet of braided line fin, and a hole was punched through worse than 9th. that weighed a combined 14 pounds fraud. Tormanen was disqualified attached through its lower jaw,” he the tail. Heartland Tournament Association and 12 ounces, said he gave LDWF from the tournament and banned said. “I immediately called Bassmaster On Nov. 10, Tormanen brought the owner Ralph Haggard said his attor- wardens a written statement. The fin from BASS competition for life. headquarters because I knew some- marked fish to the scales at the Grand ney advised him not to say anything samples collected by the agency will The episode began accidentally. body was cheating. I didn’t know if it Ecore boat launch and had them offi- about Tormanen. However, Haggard be used as DNA evidence in the case Three days before the tournament, was from our tournament or not and I cially weighed in to count toward the acknowledged meeting with against Tormanen, according to the Huckabee, of Shreveport, was search- was really hoping it wasn’t, but (the total weight of his catch. Even so, Tormanen. He declined to divulge LDWF’s Oliver. ing for a secluded fishing spot as he fish) was in real good shape and you Tormanen, with a five-limit catch of 8 details of the meeting. The episode marked the first time practiced for the Red River Open. He could tell it hadn’t been there long. I pounds, was in 46th place after the “I definitely have concerns,” he had encountered an incidence of probed a backwater area near the kept fishing in that area to see if I first day.