Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
November 11, 2022
Volume 19, Issue 6
Drifting for big specks, reds By Robert Sloan
For Lone Star Outdoor News
Rachel Ingram caught this big speckled trout while fishing with her father and Joey Farah. Photo by Joey Farah.
Trout on the Upper Laguna Madre are spawning, and while some catch 25- to 28-inch trout on top-water lures, soft plastics are leading the way to more and bigger fish. Guide Joey Farah has been averaging one or two big trout per fishing trip. Most are pre-spawn trout, with the big ones grouped up for the spawn. “The water temperature is in the 68-
to 72-degree range,” said Farah. “That’s just about right for this time of year. With the cooler water, the fishing for big trout is just getting better. Some of the best fishing is on high tides. That’s when the trout will move up shallow and feed heavily on pin perch.” The best structure has been rock piles and gravelly sand pockets with nearby grass. The pin perch move up and hold in the grass. “That’s why the trout are there, too,” Farah said. “All of the rock piles are pret-
ty much holding really good trout.” While fishing with her dad on Farah’s boat, Rachel Ingram brought in a monster on a Down South dirty tequila soft plastic along the King Ranch shoreline. Another good trout was landed by Farah on a plastic in Victoria’s Tackle Secret color with a white tail. “I’m rigging the tails on 1/4-ounce jig heads and fishing them in 4 to 5 feet of water,” Farah said. The key to finding trout is to find the mullet and stay with them. Farah said Please turn to page 11
Deer hunters out in force Seeing some movement, few fawns By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News
While antler quality might be down in much of the state, plenty of great deer are still on the landscape as the general season begins. Photo by David J. Sams, Lone Star Outdoor News.
The excitement of opening day is a feeling of its own. Even though archery and Managed Lands Deer Permit hunters have been out for a month, most Texas hunters mark November’s first weekend on their calendars. As usual, even though the hunting may not have been great for a majority of those in the field, others found success. An explosion of vegetation after heavy rains in late August and early September kept deer away from feeders, while areas receiving less rain were still suffering through drought conditions. Some hunters found the deer moving, especially younger bucks chasing does, figuring something is up but not really sure what. Rut-
ting activity was reported in Bosque County, Hays County and Tom Green County. Redchevy posted on the Texas Hunting Forum that he suspects there was some rutting between San Antonio and Austin. “Drove from San Antonio to Austin and back today — saw six roadkill deer all on 35 in New Braunfels. Five were young bucks.” For Marley Harrison, 13, opening day became the day she harvested her first deer on her father’s lease in Callahan County. “It took a couple of trips, but we got it done at the lease on opening morning,” her father, Conor, said. Marley was out during the youth weekend and Conor said the wind was perfect out of the north. “We only saw a few spikes and some does,” he said. “She wanted to wait for something bigger.” On opening morning, the Please turn to page 15
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Oyster closures final By Craig Nyhus
Oyster season is officially closed in Carlos, Ayres and Mesquite bays after months of meetings, public meetings, negotiations and hearings. At the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting Nov. 2-3, more than 7 hours were spent on the proposals to close the three bays and also to temporarily close restoration areas in San Antonio Bay and the
Trinity Bay, along with extending closures on the Dollar Reef in Galveston Bay. The current oyster season began Nov. 1 with the fewest numbers of areas open in memory. Robin Reichers, the director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Coastal Fisheries Division, told the TPW Commission the recommended closures were the result of unprecedented harvest activity. The 2,100-acre areas histori-
cally represent 2.8 percent of coastwide oyster habitat, and 9.6 percent of landings. “The bays had 30 percent of the landings in 2022,” Reichers said. “In Mesquite Bay, there were low vessel numbers until 2015. It peaked at 140 vessels in 2022.” Demand for Texas oysters is at an all-time high, Reichers said. “The collapse in Chesapeake Bay and the severe decline in other Gulf states added
Oyster boats are congregating in fewer and smaller areas this season. Photo from TPWD.
Please turn to page 22 Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 16 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 21 Datebook . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
Lone Star Outdoor News
HUNTING
FISHING
Ducks in South Texas (P. 4)
Stripers in fall (P. 8)
Teal stick around for opener.
Fish moving shallow.
More surveillance zones (P. 5) Speckled trout improving (P. 9) Added hours before rifle season opened.
Surveys show rebound.