March 8, 2024
Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
Volume 20, Issue 14
Record setting fires Kacey Tilley landed this 8-pound bass while fishing a ditch leading to a shallow flat on Lake O’ The Pines. Photo from Kacey Tilley.
Bass spawn begins By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News Largemouth bass are moving up shallow to spawn across many lakes, and anglers are taking advantage. On some bodies of water, the largest fish are up on beds among schools of smaller bass, while on other lakes, the bigger bass seem to be staging in deeper water. Professional tournament bass angler, Josh Bensema, and his teammate, Juan Monroy, won first place in the Brandon Belt “The Show” Team Series event on Lake Conroe recently. Bensema said that their success came from a 50-yard stretch of water that was 2-3 feet deep. Chatterbaits, spinner baits and lipless crankbaits did the trick for the team. “There were some bass up shallow on beds and spawning, and there were a lot of bass still in a pre-spawn pattern,” Bensema said. “There seemed to be more and more bass moving towards shallow water as the days wore on during the tournament. The spawn is definitely kicking into gear on Conroe.”
A coyote suffering from burns was observed on the parched landscape from the Smokehouse Creek Fire. Photo by Pecos Hagler. Above, fires moved at a fast pace across a deer feeder pen near White Deer, Texas. Photo by Daniel Arias.
Wildlife impacted By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News What has become the largest wildfire in Texas history hit the Panhandle beginning Feb. 26, with devastating impacts to pastures, buildings and cattle, and causing two reported deaths. The impact on wildlife
is thought to be less devastating based on how wildlife responds to fires. According to the Texas Forest Service, as of March 4 the Smokehouse Creek Fire, which began in Hutchison County and has spread from the Panhandle into Oklahoma, has burned 1,076,638 acres and is 15-percent contained. Burning close to Miami
and Canadian along Highway 60 and around Highway 33, the fire spared the main areas of most of both cities while burning hundreds of acres surrounding the area. Hemphill County emergency officials told The Associated Press that about 40 homes were burned around Canadian’s perimeter. In the county alone, more than 400,000 acres burned.
Cattle losses are estimated in the tens of thousands, according to the U.S. Farm Report. Hemphill County AgriLife Extension agent Andy Holloway told The Canadian Record. “I know one rancher near Canadian who lost 280 mama cows. They were calving so many of those are pairs. Another rancher lost more than 300 and one lost 50 or more 2-year-old
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Economic value of Texas whitetail hunting By Mike Bodenchuk
White-tailed deer hunting in Texas has an economic impact of $9.6 billion annually, according to a Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute study. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
Whitetail deer are the most hunted big game animal in Texas, but what is the value of deer and deer hunting to the state? A group of researchers from the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute surveyed hunters and landowners to gauge their ex-
Freshwater Fishing Report . . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 15 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . . Page 16 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 19
penses and to estimate the contribution of deer hunting to the Texas economy. Using standard survey tools, researchers estimated there were 554,900 deer hunters in Texas in 2022 who spent an average of $3,348 on deer hunting alone. Of these hunters, 52 percent hunted primarily on family or a friend’s land, 41 percent leased
hunting rights, 5 percent hunted on public land and 2 percent used an outfitter. The average deer lease fee in 2022 was $2,904 per hunter. Landowner expenses were much higher, averaging $18,812, but landowner revenue averaged $20,658. Researchers estimate 198,500 landowners participate in white-tailed deer hunting Please turn to page 7
INSIDE
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
For Lone Star Outdoor News
HUNTING
FISHING
Anticipating turkey season (P. 4)
Sandies on the move (P. 8)
Lots of jakes expected.
Low water impacts run.
Traveling to hunt (P. 4)
Hundred-pound limits (P. 9)
Due dates for western states.
Fork, Toledo Bend produce.