Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
November 25, 2022
Third eye blind
Panhandle pheasants dipped to the lowest numbers in nearly a decade. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.
Another deer with eye problems also taken
Pheasant numbers way down
By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News
By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Pheasant surveys conducted by biologists in the Texas Panhandle showed what hunters feared. Birds were few and far between. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists covered nearly 1,000 miles, and the totals were far below the 15-year mean for pheasants observed, and the lowest numbers since 2013. Birds observed were slightly above zero per route, while the 15-year mean is about five birds per route. Numbers have been below the 15-year mean since 2016, but hovered between two and three birds per route. Dry conditions limited reproduction and population growth, District 2 biologists said, noted hunting opportunities will be limited this year, with the northern and western Panhandle providing the best hunting opportunity. Hunting is not believed to be a driver of pheasant declines. “What we see is habitat loss and fragmentation, fluctuating commodity prices (which affect
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Please turn to page 17
A New Braunfels taxidermist discovered a fully developed third eye in the skull of a buck. Photo from Double Nickel Taxidermy. Also this season, Charlie Tweedle’s buck was missing an eye, probably from an injury. Photo from Texas Buck Registry.
A white-tailed buck brought into Double Nickle Taxidermy in New Braunfels for a European mount caught the attention of taxidermist Jon Wilson after it was skinned. It had a fully formed third eye on the skull. Wilson posted on Nov. 11, “Never have I ever… seen a deer with 3 eyes! What seemed to be an abscess at first was later revealed to be a fully formed eye under the skin! This will be a surprise to the hunter! We all had to go see it for ourselves today, nature sure is amazing!” The deer had a large lump on its face, a photo taken from the hunt showed. The hunter and the shop assumed it was some kind of abscess or growth, but never expected an eye complete with socket. While it’s not unheard of for two-eyed animals to be born with a spare, experts say it’s highly uncommon. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department told McClatchy News that a deer with a spare eye is something that can happen, but rarely does. “This is just a random anomaly (birth defect) and extremely rare,” the department said. “It doesn’t appear to have affected the buck.” Wilson said they see abscesses occasionally but said this was “definitely the weirdest thing we have seen.” While bucks with three eyes are rare, one-eyed bucks, especially when one is lost to injury, occur more frequently. In Clay County, young Charlie Tweedle shot the buck known to the family as the one-eyed warrior on a low-fenced ranch. “The buck lost his eye last year while fighting with Mama’s buck,” his father posted on TexasBuckRegistry. “We knew the weather would have them moving so we headed straight to the stand from school. After watching this old buck for 30 minutes before getting a clean shot opportunity, Charlie stayed calm and made a perfect shot!” The 6.5-year-old 10-pointer measured 131 3/8 inches.
Rattlers, fishermen and hunters By Robert Sloan
For Lone Star Outdoor News There is nothing like coming up on a rattlesnake. It’ll get your heart pounding in an instant, and make grown men squeal like a child. Rattlesnakes can pretty much be found just about anywhere in the Lone Star State, and just because the weather is cool, the fearsome reptiles may still be out and about. Rattlers can swim, and it’s not unusual to see them moving across East Matagorda Bay. Long-time guide Charlie Paradoski was washing his boat after a wade-fishing trip on the bay and found one under the bow. “I was washing the boat down and reached
into the compartment under the bow,” he said. “I heard the rattle and yanked my hand out of there. I later pulled about a 4-footer out of there. Talk about lucky, I was that day. Apparently, the rattler swam up to my boat and Despite a dip in temperatures in much of the state, rattlesnakes are still being came in over the transom.” On the third weekend found. Photo by Robert Sloan, for Lone Star Outdoor News. of this deer season, Dennis on the steps leading into the cabin. Brandon was at his ranch south of Victoria. “I didn’t have a pistol with me, only my It had been a good day of shooting pigs and rifle,” he said. “I definitely wanted to kill the checking on feeders. That evening, he drove snake. We had found others in the general viup to his hunting cabin on his ATV. Just before cinity and just wanted them to be gone. It’s stepping out, he looked over and saw a rattler Please turn to page 6
Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 9 Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 16 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 21 Datebook . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
Volume 19, Issue 7
HUNTING
FISHING
Back to hunting (P. 4)
Stripers in the cold (P. 8)
Man shoots hog after losing arm, foot.
Birds leading the way.
Into the marsh (P. 4)
Young Texan wins MLF tourney (P. 9)
Duck hunt with LSON Foundation, Delta Waterfowl.
Granbury pro has two big wins.