Texas Fish & Game Magazine

CURRENT ISSUE

March/April 2025

In This Issue

The Fish & Game Playbook: 3 Steps to Pull in More Red & Speck Catches • Spring Turkey: 10 Things You NEED to SUCCEED • Go Big or Go Finesse for Bass • Conservation VS. Coastal Development • A Cheat Sheet for Bowfishing • Profile: TF&G’s Man of Mystery • Plus … Columns, Saltwater Focus Reports and Much More…

Now You Can LISTEN TO THE ENTIRE ISSUE:

ISSUE COVER – March/April 2025

BACK COVER: Suzuki

INSIDE COVER: Yamaha Marine

ISSUE COVER – January/February 2025

The Next Mega Bass: Where to Fish for a Double-Digit Lunker • TF&G Saltwater Playbook: Topwaters for Speckled Trout • Poaching in Texas: The Hidden Crisis • Floating Options: Kayaks, Paddle Boards and Inflatables • Doggett & Pike: Fish & ...

BACK COVER: Suzuki Marine

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INSIDE COVER: Hummingbird

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PAGE ONE: Progressive

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INSIDE BACK COVER: Saskatchewan

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INSIDE FISH & GAME by Roy and Ardia Neves

FOR THOSE OF US OLD ENOUGH to have looked ahead to “The Year 2000” as a doorway to futuristic wonders, it’s almost surreal to realize we’re now standing at the quarter-century mark of the 2000s. Yet here we are: Happy 2025! ...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Thanks, Doug, for the Katy Memories. THANK YOU FOR writing this great article. (Doug Pike’s column, “Pike on the Edge,” November/December 2024 issue) So many great memories I had hunting the Katy/Brookshire rice fields with my dad and brothers...

EDITOR’S NOTES by Chester Moore

A MONTANA MAN has been charged and sentenced to six months in prison for trafficking and conspiracy under federal law for cloning a Marco Polo sheep as well as breeding and selling its offspring and DNA across several states, including…you ...

DOGGETT AT LARGE by Joe Doggett

WHEN I WAS A KID in Houston during the mid-50s good old Santa delivered a classic lineup of young-boy presents: a Lionel electric train set, then a Schwinn bicycle, then a Zebco Model 33 spincast reel and a fiberglass Shakespeare Wonderod. ...

COVER STORY: The Next Mega Bass

ANGLERS LOOKING TO JOIN the Mega Bass Club this year—recording official catches of eight, ten and thirteen-plus pounders—can look to three Texas lakes as the most promising places to apply their efforts: OH Ivie and JB Thomas in West Texas, ...

The Fish & Game Saltwater Playbook

THE TEXAS COAST offers prime opportunities for topwater fishing for speckled trout, especially given the unique geography and diverse estuary systems found along its shores...

FEATURE ARTICLE: Poaching in Texas

FROM "FLIPPER" THRILLING FAMILIES on television in the 1960s to modern-day dolphin encounters at aquariums and resorts, the love affair families have with dolphins is a strong one. So, when game wardens in Orange County, Texas, found a dead dolphin ...

TEXAS WHITETAILS by Larry Weishuhn

IT HAPPENED LAST JANUARY, after I had spent several days at the 2024 DSC Convention visiting with hunters who, like me, were headed to their deer camps as soon as the festivities completed to finish out their deer season on properties ...

FEATURE ARTICLE: Floating Options

MANY ENTRY-LEVEL ANGLERS are hitting the fishing market not in a high-powered bass boat or big bay boat, but in kayaks, paddleboards and other more easily portable and affordable vessels...

TEXAS FRESHWATER by Matt Williams

THE STORYBOOK FISHING TRIPS to shock the imagination continue to unfold at Lake J.B.Thomas near Snyder. To hear Christian Gladfelter and Brandon Burks tell it, it’s been like the Wild, Wild West out there...

Doggett and Pike: Fish & Game Icons… Texas Outdoor Legends

THIS ISSUE WE BEGIN a series honoring our columnists, who provide us with such valuable content and inform us about their adventures in the great outdoors. We are going to start with two of the first people I met when ...

GOING COASTAL by Kelly Groce

WINTER ON THE TEXAS COAST is a special time especially for those in heavy pursuit of an elusive breeder speckled trout. Wading shorelines scattered with Spanish daggers and cactus while keeping your eyes peeled for any kind of bait movement and ...

APTITUDE OUTDOORS by Paul Fuzinski

THE IDEA OF BANNING hunting, as advocated by some animal rights activists, is based on the belief that protecting individual animals will result in a flourishing wildlife population...

FEATURE ARTICLE: High-Tech Optics for Hogs

THANKS TO BREAKTHROUGHS in high-tech optics, hog-hunting tools have come a long way. These innovations are giving hunters new advantages, making night time hog hunting more effective, and helping keep feral hog populations in check...

THE FISH & GAME REPORT

IN THE EARLY HOURS of March 17, five Texas Game Wardens played a critical role in rescuing a man who had slipped while fishing off the Port Aransas jetties and had gone into the water. The day brought strong winds, ...

TEXAS HOT SHOTS

Trophy fishing and hunting photos from Fish & Game readers like you!

UPPER COAST FOCUS—Sabine

HELLO WINTER. Welcome to Texas’ northernmost stretch of coastline. Since there’s not much I can do to prevent you from making your annual appearance, I will welcome you with open arms and accept what you have to offer...

UPPER COAST FOCUS—Galveston

WINTERTIME ON THE TEXAS COAST can be a wild one with all of the cold fronts we get blowing through each month here on Galveston Bay, which can make for some sporty and sometimes dangerous conditions out on the water...

UPPER COAST FOCUS—Matagorda

HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone! I hope all of you had a blessed holiday and were able to enjoy your family. As my time decreases on the water during the winter I still enjoy fishing between the cold fronts...

MIDDLE COAST FOCUS—Port O’Connor

THE PORT O'CONNOR area offers a strong winter fishery for speckled trout, redfish, black drum and flounder. The diverse structure and habitat of our protected back lakes and marshes can provide some hot action...

MIDDLE COAST FOCUS—Upper Laguna Madre

WE HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED... yes, at the BEST time of year, and no I’m not talking about sippin’ pina coladas and chilling on the beach. I’m talking about bundling up in our Simms G4s, built for performance and wicking technology ...

MIDDLE COAST FOCUS—Rockport

WHAT AN ODD START to the fall and following into winter. Tides staying high into the start of duck season. I can only guess that the birds were staring at their maps questioning why the back lakes looked so different! ...

LOWER COST FOCUS—Baffin Bay

Let us talk about fishing in January and February. This time of year is great for the angler looking for “the one,” but it can also be great for the novice crew. Either way, start with attempting to pick the ...

LOWER COST FOCUS—Lower Laguna Madre

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY are a great times to be on the water. There are plenty of good opportunities to chase trophy fish, and to fill up the box with good eaters as well...

FORECAST CENTER: Saltwater Hotspots – January/February 2025

Upper Texas Coast HotSPOTLight: Galveston Causeway Area • • • LOCATION: Chocolate Bay HOTSPOT: Chocolate Bay Shoreline GPS: N 29 10.392, W 95 9.005 (29.1732, -95.1501) Chocolate Bay: Chocolate Bay Shoreline SPECIES: Redfish BEST BAITS: Texas Tackle Factory soft plastics ...

FORECAST CENTER: Freshwater Hotspots – January/February 2025

Reported by TF&G STAFF More Hotspots Available in the 2024 Texas Lakes & Bays Fishing Atlas www.FishGame.com/fishgamegear CURRENT WATER LEVELS • • • East Texas HotSPOTLight: Lake Chapman • • • LOCATION: Lake Bob Sandlin HOTSPOT: Jake’s Creek GPS: ...

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK-Tides & Prime Times – January 2025

The following tables contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel.

SPORTSMAN’S DAYBOOK-Tides & Prime Times – February 2025

The following tables contain TIDE and SOLUNAR predictions for Galveston Channel.

FISH & GAME HUNTING CENTER

THERE IS NO BETTER FEELING than watching a younger hunter bag their first big game animal. Whether it is a deer, hog or bear watching them take the shot and seeing the sheer excitement on their faces when they put ...

Fish & Game Photos

WHITETAIL | Mason County | Seven-year-old Trevor York harvested his first whitetail deer this season while hunting in Mason County. A nice 6 pointer! SPECKLED TROUT | Galveston | Matthew Flueckiger and his six-year-old son Henry caught a nice Trout ...