Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
April 28, 2023
Jugging the Rio Grande
Anthrax deer vaccine research shows promise By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News Researchers with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute and at Texas A&M University believe anthrax should receive more attention, especially when it devastates deer populations. Last year, Dr. Walt Cook, of Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, shared information on initial studies being performed on an anthrax vaccine for deer. A vaccine, known as the Sterne strain, has been around for 85 years and used in cattle. However, it has to be administered in an injection followed by a booster, a method not feasible for wild deer. Dr. Jamie Benn, Assistant Professor of Research at CKWRI’s Patton Center for Deer Research, initiated the laboratory and animal studies for the project with the goal of developing an oral vaccine that would be effective in wild deer and mentored another A&M Department of Veterinary Pathobiology Ph.D. student, Chase Nunez, to continue the project. Initial results are promising from their joint research done on a private ranch with a breeding facility and with collaborators at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Benn said. “With whitetails, we started with six groups and tested two different doses and three formulations of the vaccine to measure the immune response in the deer,” she said. The oral vaccines, held in a gellike substance, were encapsulated
Volume 19, Issue 17
Canoer mixes Lower Canyon trip, fishing By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News
On an 83-mile canoe trip on the Rio Grande, Bill Stafford drifted juglines to catch catfish to feed the crew. Photo by Erich Schlegel, for Lone Star Outdoor News.
Bill “Polecat” Stafford has been canoe racing for decades, and he uses a unique method to bring in some catfish for dinner. On a recent excursion to the Rio Grande River’s Lower Canyon, downstream from Big Bend National Park, as part of a group of 15, Stafford showed his fishing method. “I’ve been doing that section of river since 1979,” said the 67-year-old, who lives on the Guadalupe River near Cuero. “Occasionally we would run into fisherman in flatbottomed boats with jet motors, and they had drop lines out along the canyon walls. I asked them and learned from them.” Stafford throws simple plastic jugs, with nothing more than 12 to 18 inches of line, a hook and some bait, into the fast-moving water before the canoeing begins. “I throw them in swift water and let them get swept downriver,” he said. “They eventually end up in deep holes.” Stafford has used cut bait, live bait, chicken blood, dough bait and punch bait — whichever is working best. “It’s a good and easy way to fish,” he said. “The jugs settle in the deep water — that’s where the fish are.” On the six-day, five-night, 83-mile excursion, Stafford brought in several nice cats. “Right before we broke camp in the morning, I would bait them out,” he said. “I threw about 25 out at a time above the rapids where we were. It might be 45 minutes to an hour before we head downriver. The jugs are scattered everywhere — the ones with fish are moving and Please turn to page 19
Please turn to page 17
By Nate Skinner
When it comes to redfish, most anglers turn their attention to the coast. Calaveras Lake and Braunig Lake both hold red drum, and the fish are schooling in open water stretches of both power plant reservoirs. Capt. James Bray, owner and operator of Lone Oak Adventures, has been spending most of his time on Braunig Lake
recently, where he said the redfish bite has been hot and heavy. “The small cold fronts that we keep getting tend to slow the action down for a day or so, but for the most part, the reds have been pretty consistent,” Bray said. “Most of the fish are in fairly large schools out in open water.” Bray has been using a downrigger system while trolling to keep his anglers hooked up with red drum.
“We are trolling large soft plastic swimbaits in dark color patterns,” Bray explained. “The fish have been suspended about 17 to 20 feet below the surface in about 30 to 40 feet of water. Most of the redfish that we are catching are in the 6-pound range, but we are also landing a handful each day that are weighing in at 10 to 15 pounds.” Bray uses side-scan and down-scan electronics to locate schools of reds. Please turn to page 15
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Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 16 Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 21 Datebook . . . . . . . . . Page 22 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 22
INSIDE
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Power plant reds schooling
Jason Lyndon landed this red drum while trolling in open water on Braunig Lake with Capt. James Bray. Photo from James Bray.
HUNTING
FISHING
Early nests, record eggs (P. 4)
After the spawn (P. 8)
Bobwhite clutch has 27 eggs.
Bass changing behavior.
Brothers become wardens (P. 4)
Schooling on the flats (P. 8)
Twins join ranks at same time.
Redfish in big bunches.