Sports

October is the month for some exceptional bass fishing on lakes within a quick-hit run from Beaumont, or for that matter, Southeast Texas in general. With each passing cold front, water temperatures on lakes like Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend drop into that magical zone that tells bass it’s time to chow down and fatten up for the lean winter months to come. The water temperature on both Rayburn and T-Bend is holding right at the 75 to 77 degree mark.

Nothing perks up bow hunting for deer like an October cold front. This week’s blast of cold air is exactly what bow hunters in East Texas needed to jumpstart the rut in the Piney Woods. Timely rainfall across much of the state that began during winter 2011 and continued through the first half of this year generated much needed habitat recovery, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists. Those important food sources resulted in increased deer antler growth, improved body conditions and higher fawn production and survival.

More than 50 players competed in the annual two-day City Championship Golf Tournament at Henry Homberg Golf Club at Tyrrell Park, but it was Darrell Landry who outlasted the field to take home the prize in the 75th edition with scores of 75, 70 for a 36-hole total of 145.

The weather was horrible with a combination of a cold front, high winds and rain. Those are three things that will give bass anglers nightmares. Even with the wacky weather, North Carolina angler Bryan Thrift managed a final catch of five bass weighing 25 pounds during last weekend’s Toyota Texas Bass Classic held on Lake Conroe, and reeled in a whopping first-place prize of $150,000. Thrift finished with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 53 pounds, 4 ounces.