Bass Eat Bass

Just read your article in the May 2019 issue of Texas Fish & Game Magazine (“Texas Freshwater” by Matt Williams). The title caught my eye. As you can see from the pictures attached we have had the same experience.

Neither of these fish were hooked, they were spotted at the surface of the water. My friend slowly trolled over to see what exactly was happening and found these two fish. He was able to capture and separate them.

The larger fish was a 6 pounder and the smaller was 4lbs. Both were successfully released back into the lake. These pictures are from 2015 in a private club lake near Athens Texas.

Mike Leamon

Joe’s Snake ID

Great article Joe D! Very timely, they are really active right now. Through the years I have really enjoyed your writings, and encourage you to please keep it up!

Bob Crow

Hillsboro, Texas

I loved the article you wrote and wish more people would relocate them rather than kill them. I just wish you had used venomous or non-venomous in place of poisonous or non-poisonous, since that is the correct terminology. It would lend more credence to the article.

Doug Haas

Deer Park, Texas

Do it again. Next time with comparative photos. Help protect snakes from being killed due to anti-snake hysteria.

Ed Chaney

Laguna Vista, Texas

Editor’s Note: This article was a very timely reprinting of a TFG article at fishgame.com and it got great response. We will be doing some special animal identification stories there coming up. Snakes are first up so sign up for our e-newsletter at fishgame.com to keep up.

Flounder Revelation

It was many years ago when I met Chester Moore the editor of Texas Fish & Game Magazine. He had a dream he was working on at that time, a dream that many others could not see nor agree with.

What was that dream you ask?

Well Chester wanted to bring back the flounder population and was working hard chasing every angle and selling his dream and ideas to others. Now back in the late ’90s early 2000s flounder were scarce and the old huge females we called saddle blankets were far and few in-between.

I remember back in the ’70s when we could fish the beach along the Bolivar Peninsula with cane poles and catch flounders without getting in ankle deep water. I haven’t seen flounder fishing like that since.

Well Chester pushed and crusaded until his dream came to light. New flounder bag limits and sizes were passed. It was then a lot of others tried to take credit for all of Chester’s hard work. Also a lot of anglers were upset with the new bag limits and sizes. Chester got a lot of flack on one end and glory on the other. But even when his glory was being stolen by others he kept his head high and leaned on God to find his way through and that he did. Since the new regulations were passed within a few years we saw a great shift in the flounder populations.

There’s so much more to this story, and I’ve left out so many details to keep it short, but I cannot give enough praise to this man, Chester Moore. He loves the great outdoors and he really cares. The proof is standing right under our noses.

I wrote this today because I heard that on Stewart Beach in Galveston kids were catching thumb-size flounder with their hands from the beach and today my son caught a small flounder about the size of your palm from the beach at SeaRim State Park in Sabine Pass.

I thought I’d never see the day we could catch flounder from the beach again, but one man started a movement that rallied into many who helped to make it all possible. In a few more years I hope to bring my grandsons back to Sea Rim solely to target flounders from the shoreline like I did as a child.

Thank you Mr. Moore.

Marcus Heflin

Editor: Wow. Thank you for your kind words. I definitely kicked the flounder snowball off the hill and did my best to keep it rolling, but there are many others such as the folks at Sea Center Texas, different biologists at TPWD and UTMSI and CCA officials who did much as well. But it has definitely been a passion of mine. I can’t thank you enough for recognizing that.

Flounder numbers are still stressed due to climatic issues. That will have to be addressed at some point, but if the regulations had not changed we would be in dire trouble with flounder. Let’s hope one day the beaches are loaded with flounders, and we can all gather together to fish from the bank and enjoy free, quality flounder fishing access. God bless!