Outdoors

Must-have gear for waterfowl hunting

Robert Sloan photo

Waterfowl hunters are not that techno crazy when it comes to gearing up for success. It’s basically like football – you get suited up with the essentials and go at it full speed. The crazy thing about duck and goose hunters is that we have to go afield prepared for just about anything that can be thrown our way here in Southeast Texas – rain, cold, mud, ice, sleet, mosquitoes, snakes and even alligators. It can be a true test of one’s perseverance on any given hunt.

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Sometimes it pays to go fishing on a Monday

Roy Euper, TPWD photo

It was Roy Euper’s lucky day. Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, he went fishing on Sam Rayburn and hooked up with a largemouth bass. He was fishing with a crankbait in 30 feet of water when a 13.2-pound bass inhaled the lure. 

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Deer hunting is more than just pulling the trigger

Robert Sloan photo

The thing that draws millions of deer hunters into the wild is the element of surprise – you never know what’s going to show up at any given moment.

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As crazy as it gets for game wardens

Being a Texas game warden is not all that easy. In fact, from one day to the next, the job is totally unpredictable. How crazy does it get? This is what wardens have been doing for the past couple of weeks.

Outlaw hunters with a spotlight, guns, drugs and wounded deer

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Cold is not enough to run off gators and snakes

The good news is that cold weather is finally here. The bad news is that gators

Most people won’t understand this unless they live in Southeast Texas – the best thing about a cold front is that it rids us of mosquitoes, at least for a little while. The one thing cold weather won’t do is run off alligators and snakes. It’s widely believed that a blast of cold air will send reptiles into a state of hibernation. That is definitely not true on the right side of Texas. Keep in mind that the first day of winter is Dec. 21. Even then, snakes and gators will be out and about.

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Fishing on Sabine Lake is better than you might think

Catches of flounder are excellent on Sabine Lake and in Sabine Pass on Berkley G

Fishing on Sabine Lake is about as good as it gets, according to guide Colby Denbow with Sabine Lake Lodge.

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Ducks here, there and everywhere – sort of

The Vaughan gang had a blast during an early season youth duck hunt on Nov. 5. F

Saturday’s duck season opener in the South Zone was fantastic if you had water and happened to be set up where ducks wanted to be. A lot of hunters reported excellent hunts – especially in parts of the J.D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area in Port Arthur. Ditto that in flooded fields near China. But others came up high and dry, with virtually no birds.

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Limits of teal and trout all around

The September teal season has been great for a lot of hunters. Best hunts are on

Fishing on Sabine Lake and at the jetties is good for trout and reds, with more bull reds showing up each day along the rocks and in the surf. Both trout and reds are good under the birds on the lake. Trout are on the small side, but if you fish long enough, you’ll box enough to make it worth your time. Reds are best on the upper end of the lake under small groups of birds feeding on shad pushed to the surface by reds. Best lures for catching the reds are glow/chartreuse paddle tail jigs on 1/8-ounce heads.

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Teal, doves, redfish are in the hunt

Both teal and dove hunts have been fair across Southeast Texas. Best teal hunts

The teal season opener last weekend was very good – if you were on the right water. For example, Bobby Vaughan, who hunts in the China/Nome area west of Beaumont, hasn’t seen a duck since last season. On the flip side, hunters south and north of Winnie got fast and easy limits.

At the J.D. Murphree Area in Port Arthur, the average was about two teal per hunter, according to Area Manager Mike Rezsutek.

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Big Thicket National Preserve

Big Thicket National Preserve is hosting a celebration of the National Park Service’s 100th birthday at the Big Thicket National Preserve Visitor Center on Aug. 25 from noon to 2 p.m. with light refreshments and an opportunity to view a new PBS film on the national parks of Texas.

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