Sasser: First step in abating zebra mussels is awareness
This just in from the “about time department,” sometimes known as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The state agency is asking for public comment on a proposal to require draining water from...
View ArticleNew Thunder coach Monty Williams gets hooked on Oklahoma bass fishing
New Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams likes to fish, and on Wednesday he caught the biggest bass of his life while fishing with Oklahoma's most celebrated angler, Jimmy Houston. New...
View ArticleSasser: Lake Fork hosts unique event
The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is at Lake Fork Friday through Sunday. Fifty of professional fishing’s top anglers will compete for the $100,000 top prize in a unique format that allows anglers to bring...
View ArticleJune 7 is Free Fishing Day in Texas; Event aimed at helping parents steer...
June 7 is Free Fishing Day in Texas. Each year, on the first Saturday of June, all fishing license requirements are waived. It’s a good day to take kids fishing. In Texas, children 16 and younger are...
View ArticleOutdoors notebook: Observed quail having success in nesting
Michelle Downey has been following wild-trapped bobwhite quail that were moved from one ranch to another in March 2013. Downey is a Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute graduate student...
View ArticleSasser: Magazine’s top 100 bass fishing lakes is open to debate
Bassmaster Magazine’s 2014 list of the Top 100 U.S. bass fishing spots is out with a disclaimer from the magazine’s editor, James Hall, that not one single reader will agree with the order of the Top...
View ArticleSasser: Out-of-box strategies can lead to big hauls for anglers, even in poor...
It pays for anglers to pay attention and remain innovative. That’s how fishing guide Tony Parker came up with the “grasshopper pattern” that’s paid off with fast action on Cooper Lake hybrid stripers....
View ArticleOutdoors briefs: Huge catfish are target for anglers, agency; big bass wins...
One man’s trophy fish is another man’s trash. Blue catfish and flathead catfish are an example. They are revered for their size in Texas and throughout the South. In Maryland, these big cats are the...
View ArticleSasser: Commission lowers bag limit for spotted seatrout
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted a variety of new fish and game laws at its meeting in Austin last week. The most significant is a more restrictive daily bag limit on spotted seatrout...
View ArticleOutdoors notebook: Lake Texoma to host catfish contest
Lake Texoma hosts the Cabela’s King Kat tournament series Saturday and there should be some big blue catfish landed. Tournament anglers are allowed to bring five fish to the weigh-in, set for 4 p.m. at...
View ArticleSasser: Crappie action warms up with weather
Crappie are on the move in North Texas lakes, easing toward shallows and into creeks for their annual spawn. Just two weeks ago, Wally Marshall, aka Mr. Crappie, was catching fish on Lake Ray Roberts...
View ArticleSasser: More restrictive limits on speckled trout will be hot topic for TP&W...
In Austin next week, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission votes on proposed changes to fishing and hunting laws. One of the hotter topics involves more restrictive limits for spotted seatrout,...
View ArticleSasser: Mating largemouth bass move to shallow areas, become easier to catch
The long-awaited month of March is upon us. It’s time to spool fresh line onto your favorite reels and decide on a starting lineup of fishing lures. In descending order of preference, mine will be...
View ArticleSasser: New protections for alligator gar getting shopped
Fishing and hunting regulations have become onerously complicated. The current Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Outdoor Annual has 100 pages of rules in small print. I sometimes joke that anglers...
View ArticleSasser: Mexico is a good place for fishing, adventure
There’s a new bass fishing lake opening in Mexico. It’s the latest in a long string of fishing spots that have lured American anglers south of the border since largemouth bass ascended to the pinnacle...
View ArticleOutdoors
Cabela’s King Kat Tournament is Saturday at Lake Tawakoni. The venerable lake east of Dallas is where the eye-popping tournament record was set in 2013. Brothers Danny Miles of Irving and Paul Miles of...
View ArticleSasser: Bitter cold contributes to reduction in wild quail population
Bitter cold weather takes its toll on wildlife, as verified by data collected in the latest Quail-Tech newsletter. It summarizes various quail projects conducted on more than 27 ranches across West...
View ArticleSasser: Quail feeders sustain interest
Here are observations on three subjects during a mostly dreary week when the weather pendulum, as usual for late February, swung back and forth between winter and spring: Quail season ended Feb. 23....
View ArticleSasser: Bird dogs, characters, roar of wings are some of my favorite things...
Believe it or not, quail season begins next weekend. Texas and Oklahoma are thought by many to be the last stronghold of wild bobwhites and the birds haven’t fared well of late. Quail hunter numbers...
View ArticleBob Hood's weekly outdoors report
Dove hunting hit-and-miss The North Texas dove hunting season, which opened Friday, has been a hit-and-miss affair for most hunters. Although a frontal system that brought cooler weather and rain to...
View ArticleYoung angler's catfish was worth the weight
Column by RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News | rsasser@dallasnews.com Ray Sasser Archive | E-mail Colton Austin, 13, was shivering on a cold, blustery day at Lake Tawakoni, but his afternoon was...
View ArticleSasser: Take advantage of these activities on Free Fishing Day
Memorial Day weekend is traditionally a busy holiday for outdoor sports, particularly boating. June 2 is likewise shaping up as a busy day, partly because it’s the start of National Fishing and Boating...
View ArticleProjects search for answers on quail decline
Column by RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News | rsasser@dallasnews.com Ray Sasser Archive | E-mail Quail season fittingly began on Halloween, and it looks like another trick-or-treat sort of a season....
View ArticleFishing records: These days, anglers enjoying record hauls
The weather may be uncomfortably hot, but hardy anglers are still catching big fish. Luke Wooldridge, 15, of Wills Point was fishing with his buddy Cody Clark, 20, at Lake Tawakoni on June 2 when he...
View ArticleSlow fishing expected at Bassmaster Classic
Slow fishing is predicted for the 40th Bassmaster Classic championship tournament Friday through Sunday. Though bass pros have been tight-lipped during practice rounds, most admit they're not catching...
View ArticleSasser: Childhood of summer jobs, physics and snakes
A recent U.S. Forest Service news release about Youth Conservation Corps summer jobs reminded me of a similar program that provided my first full-time summer job when I was 14 or 15 years old. It was a...
View ArticleEd Godfrey's list of favorite fishing quotes: The Okie version
By Ed Godfrey Oklahoman Leave a comment The staff at Outdoors Magazine recently compiled a list of their favorite fishing quotes. Topping it was “I am haunted by waters,' the line from Norman MacLean...
View ArticleRay Sasser's outdoors notebook
According to the Texas Department of Health, it's safe to eat fish from Lake Tawakoni, despite the gasoline spill that's causing water-quality concerns at the popular lake east of Dallas. Calendar...
View ArticleOutdoors notebook
Colorful catfish caught Gene and Terry Dodson of Wills Point knew they had a big catfish on their Lake Tawakoni trotline June 5. They could feel the fish pulling against the heavy line. The brothers...
View ArticleSnare some instruction from bass fishing's best
Column by RAY SASSER / The Dallas Morning News | rsasser@dallasnews.com Ray Sasser Archive | E-mail Top bass pros Michael Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek will make an unexpected appearance at the Dallas...
View ArticleOutdoors notebook: Lake Amistad proves tough for anglers
Anglers found the Lake Amistad fishing tougher than usual during the Bassmaster Central Open that concluded Feb. 9. Minnesota’s Andy Young edged Arkansas angler Stephen Browning by one ounce for the...
View ArticleOutdoors calendar
TODAY -Dallas Chapter of Coastal Conservation Association general meeting, 6:30 p.m. at Collectors Covey, 5550 West Lovers Lane, Dallas. Program by Dick Davis, Parks and Wildlife Foundation Executive...
View ArticleAt King Kat tournament, the bigger the catfish, the better
The Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail returns to Lake Tawakoni on March 1, and the weigh-in should include plenty of big catfish. A pending lake record blue catfish was landed Feb. 15 by Jody Jenkins...
View ArticleSasser: Big bass are biting early even in the cold
For bass anglers suffering cabin fever after the dismal weather of early February, the future looks both warmer and brighter. That was made clear at Falcon Lake on Feb. 15 where Bruce Benedict, Jr., of...
View ArticleCatching the big one includes catfish
Until lately, catfish have been a lot like the repeated punch line for the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield, who always joked about getting no respect. Restaurant chains have created entire menus...
View Article