fishing

9.41 pounder takes top prize in big bass derby

Keith Carlile of Mont Belvieu weighed in a 9.41 pounder during the 11-12 o’clock hour on Day 3 of the Sealy Outdoors Big Bass Splash held recently on Sam Rayburn to grab the tournament’s top prize package—a fully-rigged, 21-foot Triton bass boat, RAM Truck and $10,000.

Bass Champs wrap, Texas pros eying spots in FLW Title championship

Marshall Hughes and Cole Stewart, both of Hemphill, weighed 21.86 pounds to top a field of 171 teams in the Bass Champs East Texas Division finale held Aug. 1 on Toledo Bend.  Bass Champs’ summer protocol limits teams to three-fish bags.  The winning bag averaged about 7.
Texas dove hunters will need to be sure to have a new 2020-21 hunting license and a valid Texas Migratory Game Bird Stamp in hand when they head to the field next month. New licenses and public hunting permits go on sale Aug. 15. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Texas dove hunters will need to be sure to have a new 2020-21 hunting license and a valid Texas Migratory Game Bird Stamp in hand when they head to the field next month. New licenses and public hunting permits go on sale Aug. 15. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Paying your dues: New hunting/fishing licenses on sale

It’s early August, and the clock is ticking down towards another Sept. 1 dove season opener. Dove season in most of Texas gets underway on a Tuesday this year. It’s not the best timing for working folks, so some may have to sit out opening day.
James Maupin’s 13.15 pounder from Lake O.H. Ivie was the only 2020 Legacy Lunker out of four to successfully spawn this spring. The big West Texas bass produced nearly 30,000 offspring that were recently divided between lakes Nacogdoches, Alan Henry and O.H. Ivie. Courtesy/TPWD via Matt Williams

James Maupin’s 13.15 pounder from Lake O.H. Ivie was the only 2020 Legacy Lunker out of four to successfully spawn this spring. The big West Texas bass produced nearly 30,000 offspring that were recently divided between lakes Nacogdoches, Alan Henry and O.H. Ivie. Courtesy/TPWD via Matt Williams

Nearly 43,000 ShareLunker offspring stocked in Texas lakes since spring

Safety and social distancing protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic helped take a big bite out of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s overall freshwater hatchery production numbers this spring, but the setbacks didn’t stop one Toyota ShareLunker Legacy Lunker from making a slew of little ones.
Crappie are a popular sport fish prone to gather in large number around man-made brush piles strategically placed to concentrate the fish. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Crappie are a popular sport fish prone to gather in large number around man-made brush piles strategically placed to concentrate the fish. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Angler conflicts around brush piles on the uptick on some lakes

It is no secret among crappie fishing buffs that sinking brush piles far from shore is a great way to forge some really good fishing holes while enhancing the habitat at the same time.
Topwater fishing is arguably among the most enjoyable ways to catch bass because strikes can be explosive and totally unexpected when they come. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Topwater fishing is arguably among the most enjoyable ways to catch bass because strikes can be explosive and totally unexpected when they come. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Surface scratchin’: For love of the game

Anyone who has spent much time around me knows I'm a bass junkie at heart and a topwater nut from way back. I like to catch bass any way they’ll bite, but I had rather fool them with a surface lure than any other way.
Crappie fishing expert Wally Marshall prepares to shoot a jig beneath a dock on Toledo Bend. Done correctly, Marshall says shooting will catapult the jig at a low angle, parallel to the water, with enough velocity that it will sail far beneath the dock. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Crappie fishing expert Wally Marshall prepares to shoot a jig beneath a dock on Toledo Bend. Done correctly, Marshall says shooting will catapult the jig at a low angle, parallel to the water, with enough velocity that it will sail far beneath the dock. Courtesy/Matt Williams

Dock shooting tactic puts crappie baits where the sun doesn’t shine

Wally Marshall of Westminster is arguably one of the most well-known crappie fishermen in North America. He goes by the nickname “Mr. Crappie,” a fitting moniker he trademarked way back in 1996.