June 14, 2024
Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
Volume 20, Issue 20
Breezy, not easy
Cobia, tarpon tight to the granite
Ray Terrazas caught this cobia while fishing for jacks and tarpon from the Port Aransas south jetty. Photo from Ray Terrazas.
By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News Part of what drives the obsession of diehard jetty anglers is the mystery of what might be lurking in the waters surrounding the granite where the Gulf and coastal bays connect. Ray Terrazas recently experienced this first-hand while he was casting swimbaits for tarpon and jackfish from the Port Aransas south jetty. He ended up catching a cobia from the rocks. “I had been fishing most of the morning and was seeing good numbers of tarpon in the 3- to 4-foot range rolling out off of the rocks,” Terrazas said. “I tried using a few different swimbaits but couldn’t get a tarpon to eat.” As the morning wore on, Terrazas said the tarpon activity slowed, but rafts of mullet began to show up with the incoming tide. Jacks were following the mullet, and before long, he
was seeing jackfish busting along the surface. “I started casting out into the open water in front of me, and all of a sudden I felt a fish crush my lure, soon after it hit the water,” Terrazas said. “It felt like a jackfish at first, but then it started fighting a lot differently than a jack would. I could see a dark silhouette under the surface and began to wonder what I had just hooked.” As the fish got closer, Terrazas finally realized he was hooked up with a cobia. Luckily, the tide was up and as he brought the fish in close to the rocks, a wave helped push the fish toward him and he was able to land it without any help from other anglers. The cobia ended up measuring 38 inches in length, just 2 inches under the minimum legal length required to retain it. After taking some photos with the fish, Terrazas released it safely back into the water. Another avid jetty an-
Brittany Geer competed in the 4th annual REEL Lifesaver catch-and-release tournament hosted by Getaway Lodge at Port Mansfield. Conditions were difficult and most of the fish caught were on the smaller side. Photo by Nate Skinner, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
Getaway Lodge promotes C&R By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News Getaway Lodge at Port Mansfield held its 4th annual REEL Lifesaver catch and release tournament the weekend of June 1. Anglers were met with windy conditions and lethargic speckled trout and redfish on game day. Each fish entered by participants in the lure-only tournament was photographed on a measuring board, before being safely released.
Mark Alaniz and Sam Hughston were the only two anglers to successfully enter two redfish and one speckled trout to qualify for the event’s top prize for the longest combined stringer. Alaniz edged out Hughston by 2 inches and won first place for the longest combined stringer with a total length of 61 inches. Alaniz fished with Capt. Heath Schley, and said all of the fish he caught came on soft plastics. “I caught the speck and my first redfish that went towards my threefish stringer not long after we got out of the boat to make our first wade of the morning,” Alaniz said. “I caught my second redfish later in the day,
while drifting, after Schley decided we would have better luck finding more redfish by covering water and sightcasting from the boat. He was right, and it worked.” The redfish Alaniz entered were both in the 20-inch range, and his trout was right at 17 inches long. He caught plenty of other, smaller trout throughout the day, but the 17-incher was his best. “I felt like the fish wasn’t going to be near big enough to help me place in the tournament,” he said. “I was about to let it go when Schley stopped me and suggested that we go ahead and enter it.” It turns out that the 17-inch trout,
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PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Medicated feed approved for wild quail By Craig Nyhus
After more than a decade of research, applications and years of waiting, a drug integrated into medicated feed to control parasites in wild quail has been approved by the Federal Food and Drug Administration. The FDA concluded the drug
integrated into a medicated feed is both safe and effective in controlling parasites in wild quail in their natural habitat. For instance, eyeworm parasite infection levels in the Rolling Plains region of West Texas have been documented at over 60 percent and cecal worms have been documented at up to 90-percent levels throughout Texas.
The medicated feed crumble integrating the anthelmintic drug will be known as the new retail product “QuailGuard.” In labeling instructions, the FDA recommends that the medicated feed be in the form of a crumble and not generally broadcast but offered through strategic feeding stations and/ or appropriate feeders. QuailGuard is a field-tested
A medicated feed for wild quail has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and the feed and feeders are ready for Texas landowners. Photo from QuailGuard.
Please turn to page 6 Freshwater Fishing Report . . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . . Page 16 Saltwater Fishing Report . . . Page 19 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22 Datebook . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
CONTENTS
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Lone Star Outdoor News
HUNTING
FISHING
Rutting axis (P. 4)
Flooded brush for bass (P. 9)
Roaring in West Texas.
New structure holding fish.
Duck patterns shifting (P. 4)
Cheater at Big Bass Splash (P. 9)
Mallard, pintail shifting north, study shows.
Man stuffs weights in fish.