Texas’ Largest Hunting and Fishing Newspaper Since 2004
August 26, 2022
Volume 19, Issue 1
Saving Texas tarpon
Improving habitat and increasing juvenile tarpon numbers are goals of the Texas Tarpon Collaborative. Photo by Troy Butler.
By Nate Skinner
For Lone Star Outdoor News The Texas Tarpon Collaborative is a nonprofit organization formed by a group of individuals who wanted to help assess, restore and preserve a healthy juvenile tarpon population and its native habitat along the Texas coastline. Founder and president Erik Schmitt grew up in the Port Aransas area targeting and catching juvenile tarpon. “It was nothing to go out and
catch a bunch of juvenile tarpon when I was a kid,” Schmitt said. “That’s just not something that happens regularly anymore.” According to Schmitt, the decline of the tarpon fishery appears to be linked to the quality and availability of nursery habitats used by juvenile tarpon during their first year of life. “Port Aransas was once known as the Tarpon Capital of the World, as large schools of tarpon would pass along the coast here every year,” Schmitt said. “By the
1960s the fishery had collapsed, which was initially attributed to the overfishing of adults and the loss of suitable habitat and prey resources for juveniles. An examination of fishing records of tarpon caught between 1908 and 1998 in the area showed a lack of small fish caught after 1960, while large fish were still present.” Schmitt said scientists have speculated the collapse of the tarpon fishery in Texas is the result of recruitment failure in the area. “Studies that modeled popula-
tion dynamics of tarpon using life history data determined that small declines in juvenile survival resulted in notable reductions in the abundance of adults,” Schmitt elaborated. TTC has partnered with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the University of Houston and Texas A&M University-Galveston to implement a variety of programs and projects for tarpon restoration and conservation. “One project involves developing a standardized survey that
will provide critical baseline data on the occurrence, abundance, and habitat requirements of juvenile tarpon in Texas,” Schmitt said. “This will allow us to better understand the ecological value of estuarine nursery habitats used by this species and guide future management decisions to rebuild a sustainable tarpon fishery.” Bag seines will be used to sample juvenile tarpon from specified locations and habitats, based on successful collection sites and proximity to river mouths, passes Please turn to page 17
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID DALLAS, TX PERMIT 3814
Axis and CWD Research planned to see if disease transmits from whitetails
Precipitation welcomed by hunters, anglers
By Craig Nyhus
Please turn to page 21
By Craig Nyhus
Lone Star Outdoor News
Axis deer will be mixed with CWD-positive white-tailed deer to help determine whether the disease can transmit from one to the other. Photo by Lone Star Outdoor News.
Freshwater Fishing Report . Page 10 Game Warden Blotter . . . . Page 12 Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . Page 14 Sun, Moon & Tides . . . . . Page 18 Saltwater Fishing Report . . Page 24 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . Page 26 Datebook . . . . . . . . . Page 26
INSIDE
CONTENTS
Time Sensitive Material • Deliver ASAP
Lone Star Outdoor News At a recent hunting show, several landowners and outfitters told Lone Star Outdoor News they had heard a rumor. “They are going to inject CWD into the brains of axis and see what happens,” attendees said, repeating the
Singing in the rain
Rain isn’t something dove hunters necessarily hope for just days before the Sept. 1 opener. This year, though, may be the
exception, with all sportsmen and women happy to see something falling from the sky. In Central Texas, the last time any of the area had five consecutive days of rain was in October of 2021. That changed when areas saw downpours, causing creeks to flood and creating debris to be cleaned up. Please turn to page 18
HUNTING
FISHING
Homes for hunting dogs (P. 4)
Big blue (P. 8)
Orvis employee starts nonprofit.
Marlin on lure weighs 680.5 pounds.
Duck numbers dip (P. 4)
Choke comeback (P. 8)
Breeding success could make up the difference.
Good numbers of bass, size improving.