EDITOR’S NOTE
It is deer season, it’s duck season for some, it’s quail season, and the fish are biting. There are plenty of choices available in the state, making for a busy first weekend in November. For more good news, some parts of the state have seen heavy rains and storms are heading into North and East Texas today.
— Craig Nyhus, Executive Editor
TWO NEW SURVEILLANCE ZONES
Just one day before opening day of the general deer season, two new surveillance zones were established requiring mandatory testing of deer harvested. The zones were in response to the disease being found in two breeding facilities in Gillespie and Limestone counties. Check stations will be in Doss and Harper in Gillespie County and in Coolidge in Limestone County.
BIG CATS ON TEXOMA
On Lake Texoma, fishing for big blue catfish has been great, according to Tight Lines Guide Service. “Lots of limits on stripers and lots of big catfish hitting the deck. The birds are back at the lake and fish are schooling up around the lake,” the guide service posted. On Nov. 3, a charter trip had the group keeping three 30-inch fish from 12 to 14 pounds and releasing seven fish from 15 to 33 pounds. The eater-sized fish also were biting, and the group kept 42 blues from 3 to 1- pounds.
WATERFOWL SEASON OPENER
The regular duck season opens tomorrow, Nov. 5 in the South Zone and Nov. 12 in the North Zone. High Plains Mallard Management Unit reopens again today for waterfowl hunters. Some had concerns that dry conditions across the state over the summer would create some challenges for hunters, but the good news is that when there’s less water available, birds concentrate in fewer areas, making them easier to find. Read the duck hunting report in the Nov. 11 issue of Lone Star Outdoor News.
FALL ELECTROFISHING SURVEY ON HUBBARD
Biologists from the Inland Fisheries Dallas-Fort Worth District had to wait for the rain and wind to pass, but wrapped up its fall electrofishing surveys on Lake Ray Hubbard. For this survey, they only targeted largemouth bass, but saw plenty of sunfish and shad, meaning there is plenty out there for bass to eat. They shocked largemouth bass ranging from 2 to 21 inches, with approximately one-third of the bass being legal harvest size. All size classes of bass were healthy and plump.
