INSIDE: INSIDE: Annual hunting section 2010 section hunting Annual August 13, 2010 Texas’ Premier Outdoor Newspaper Volume 6, Issue 24 Inside Deer countdown ❘❚ FISHING Offshore safety A few simple steps can help anglers avoid dangerous situations off the Texas coast. Page 6 For the Future An South Texas organization puts a different twist on introducing children to fishing. Page 6 ❘❚ HUNTING Long live Stickers READY FOR A BLAST: Hunting season is days away in Texas, with dove season set to start One of the biggest breeder bucks in Texas Sept. 1 in the North and Central Zones. South Texas has to wait until Sept. 17 to shoot, INSIDE died early this summer. and deer season begins Oct. 2 for bowhunting. For more information about hunting ■ Corn feeders: Hunters have different opinions about when to set off a deer feeder. Page 14 doves and other game, see Lone Star Outdoor News’ annual Hunting Texas advertising Page 4 section inside. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News. Elk, bighorn dispute A disagreement centers on elk management at one West Texas public property. Page 4 Hunt, fish, dive offshore O.H. Ivie still ❘❚ CONTENTS Classifieds . Page 29 Spearfishing pulls Crossword . Page 26 producing Fishing Report . Page 8 from different For the Table . Page 26 Game Warden Blotter . Page 10 outdoor pursuits Heroes . Page 13 lunker bass Outdoor Datebook. Page 28 By Nicholas Conklin Outfitters and Businesses . Page 28 Products . Page 12 LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Phenomenal winter, Sun, Moon and Tide data . Page 26 Spearfishing is slowly gaining a spring continues into ❘❚ LSONews.com foothold in the angling commu- nity along Texas’ coast. summer in West Texas Because of increased interest in diving and fishing, many have By Nicholas Conklin turned to the sport for a unique LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS twist on fishing. PAID Although many offshore anglers With air temperatures exceeding 100 PLANO, TX PRSRT STD PRSRT PERMIT 210 US POSTAGE US wouldn’t dare dive degrees, many anglers have all but given down the oil rigs up their search (temporarily) for trophy INSIDE for snapper, ling bass on Texas lakes. ■ Safety: Prep and amberjack, But O.H. Ivie Lake, which produced sev- work makes a Coe Parker of eral bass weighing 13 pounds or more this big difference Houston saw it as winter and spring, offshore. an opportunity to still remains a via- Page 6 introduce a new ble option for those Ivie report sport to his life. hunting big fish. Water lightly stained; “I just got into spearfishing Anglers fishing 81 degrees; 22.66’ because a buddy brought his gear the West Texas lake low. Black bass are along on one of our offshore trips,” near San Angelo good on green pump- Parker said. “It is an entirely dif- have reported kin or red shad soft catches weighing 10 plastics, baby bass ferent experience. You’re not just crankbaits, white watching, you’re actually looking to 11 pounds, with spinnerbaits and live and hunting.” some fish over 12 bait worked along Parker’s first trip landed him five pounds. grass lines and timber. fish. But to him, the best part of the Tommy Hagler Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP Sensitive Material • Deliver Time trip was reacting to the underwater said that although the lake is not turning environment. out the high numbers of fish it did earlier UNDERWATER ANGLING: Mike Cryer speared a red snapper underwater See SPEARFISH, Page 21 near an oil rig off the Texas coast. Photo by Mike Cryer. See O.H. IVIE, Page 18 Page 2 August 13, 2010 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com LSONews.com Lone✯Star Outdoor News August 13, 2010 Page 3 Page 4 August 13, 2010 Lone✯Star Outdoor News LSONews.com HUNTING Elk, bighorns at center of Sierra Diablo dispute Gill is largely responsible for the prolif- Rancher, TPW at eration of elk in the Sierra Diablos. About eight years ago, he released about 50 elk odds over how to on his ranch, with an additional eight released since then. manage ‘exotic’ elk “My basic take on elk is that they are a critical component to the restoration of By Thomas Phillips habitat,” Gill said. LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS Rather than hurting habitat at Sierra Diablo, elk are helping it, he said. Elk on one West Texas wildlife man- Gill also argues that elk are native to agement area are losing when it comes to West Texas, including the Sierra Diablos, management decisions — and sometimes and should be managed as game animals. they pay the ultimate price. But in Texas, they are legally considered At Sierra Diablo Wildlife Management non-native animals. Like axis deer and Area, desert bighorn sheep are the species feral hogs, they have no bag limit, though of greatest importance. The 11,624-acre the hunter must possess a valid license. strip of land was set up in 1945 “to serve “To us, it’s a resource issue — nothing as a sanctuary for the last remaining desert else,” Pittman said. “If it wasn’t for the des- bighorn sheep in Texas,” according to the ert bighorn sheep, it probably wouldn’t be Texas Parks and Wildlife Web site. an issue at all.” To that end, about 25 elk have been Elk — about 150 to 200 elk roam the killed by state workers there in the past Sierra Diablo Mountains — have not been five years, said Mike Pittman, Texas Parks directly blamed for adverse effects on des- and Wildlife’s project leader for WMAs in ert bighorns, Pittman said. The sheep are the Trans Pecos region. doing well. But wildlife managers there The strategy of killing elk at Sierra Diablo are concerned the elk could become a WMA has met opposition from one neigh- problem. boring landowner. Christopher Gill owns “If we start seeing some negative effects, the 32,000-acre Circle Ranch southwest of it could be too late for desert sheep,” DESERT WILDLIFE: A bull elk stands in the delicate desert scrub at Circle Ranch in the Sierra Diablo Mountains of West the WMA. He manages the property for Texas. The animals are said to compete with desert bighorn sheep for resources in the area. Photo by Circle Ranch. elk and other wildlife. See ELK, Page 22 A matter of timing Different strategies have different goals for use of deer feeders By Nicholas Conklin time to about 6 to 8 seconds each. LONE STAR OUTDOOR NEWS The reason behind a longer run time during hunting season is to The release of corn from a feeder try to keep the deer around the means only one thing to deer: It’s feeders longer. feeding time. O’ Shay’s feeders go off within an For the hunter, it means the hour or two of sunset and sunrise. predictable chance to get a good look at what he or she is hunting. By their schedule Feeders allow hunters and ranchers Ava Denney of Brushy Hill Ranch in Texas to condition deer to appear said that the most important part at certain times during the day. of setting timers is to have them go But when to have a feeder go off is off at natural low-light conditions an important decision in condition- — when deer typically feed. ing deer to return to an area to feed. Denney generally runs about 50 Larry Jameson of Middle Concho feeders on her 13,000-acre property Lodge in San Angelo prefers to run in South Texas. The feeders are set his feeders four times a day to keep to go off about sunrise and again deer visible and feeding for longer at sunset, and are set at a low feed- periods of time. ing frequency because of the high “We set them off four times a day, number of feeders on the ranch. right around daylight then an hour Burns Holt, owner of BHoutdoors, and a half after that. Then again uses consistent feeding times to right at sundown, then an hour improve the chances of harvesting after that,” Jameson said. deer. Jameson said this strategy allows “I run mine generally two to him to release equal amounts of three times a day, and I also run corn twice rather than all at once, them on high tolerances and lon- ensuring that deer will remain in ger,” Holt said. the area longer. The high tolerance means only a small amount of corn is released Dietary changes each time. It gives the deer a taste Rick O’ Shay of Dallas runs his of the candy-like corn and ensures feeders twice a day, all year, but puts that they will return to his feeder. out more corn during deer season. Holt said releasing the corn during “We use them year-around,” the prime feeding hours for deer, at O’Shay said. “We slow them down sunrise, then again at sunset, helps after deer season until about form a routine for the deer to fall August. into. “In the off-season we run them “I do not believe, especially with about three seconds once in the a timed feeder, in putting out too morning and in the evening.” much corn,” Holt said. “The reason During the hunting season is I want to dictate to the deer when O’Shay will increase the feeding they’re getting fed.” DINNER TIME: Deer feeders release food at certain times of day, helping hunters time their movements. Wildlife managers have different opinions about when feeders should go off, but they generally have them timed for morning and evening releases. Photo by LSON. LSONews.com Lone✯Star Outdoor News August 13, 2010 Page 5 DUCKS: When the early teal season begins Sept.