The Outdoor Zone with Larry LeBlanc


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The Outdoor Zone
by Larry LeBlanc

JULY 07'

We have so many lakes in this great state of ours that we sometime tend to forget that there are any other places to fish. There are literally thousands of miles of rivers and creeks in Texas that team with fish and if we do not get in on some of the action it is because we are not out there fishing those rivers and creeks.

Texas offers such a diversified geography that when you start to discuss river or creek fishing you can be describing everything from mountain or desert environments to the bayous of our coastal marshes. Let’s look at some of the differences one encounters when they are fishing creeks and rivers as compared to some of our reservoirs that we so lovingly refer to as lakes.

One item that will be immediately noted is the fish in most of our rivers are still bass, perch, crappie and catfish as we find in the lakes, but the verities may be different. For instance, most of our lakes have been stocked with Florida bass. The creeks and rivers have not been, but some will find their way from lakes and move up or down stream along with the native bass. You may run into small mouth bass or Guadeloupe bass in addition to the native and Florida largemouth of the lakes.

The pan fish will be numerous and many different varieties will be seen. I was canoeing with some others on Village Creek in the East Texas, Piney Woods one time and we were fly fishing along the way. We caught some of the most beautiful sun perch I have ever seen. They were colorful and had a clean, clear look to them. Beside that they were a lot of fun to catch on a light fly rod and even though they were small they really fought.

When it comes to fishing tackle unless you are specifically after some large catfish or garfish light tackle is the way to go. A light weight fly rod or ultra-lite spinning outfit will generally fill the bill.

Also when fishing our rivers and creeks keep in mind the temperature range the fish prefer. Most pan fish and bass will prefer a temperature in the mid 70 degree range, therefore in hot weather look for the holes and shady areas around deadfalls and under overhanging trees where the temperature is likely to be a little more to there liking.

Dead trees lying in the water are excellent places to drop your hook, especially on the down river side where the water will be quieter. Black bass and yellow catfish, both hunters of live prey, will hide in areas such as that and ambush passing prey from hiding.

Many of our rivers and creeks closer to the coast will have garfish of varying species. Most of the gars I have brought in were either taken by shooting them with a rifle or handgun, shooting them with a bow and arrow or caught on a trotline. Before you go shooting them with anything check the county regulations in your TPWD annual to make sure there is no legal objection to shooting in the water. Archery is not as bad as a firearm, but it is always best to make sure you are legal before approaching the acquisition of any wildlife.

Another point to remember about garfish is they have teeth and a solid bone in the top of their mouth and that means that if they hit one of lures they can tear it up with their teeth and straighten the hook out if it hits the top of their mouth.

If you get to the point where you are getting a little tired of fishing our lakes and would like a different angling challenge take to the creek, rivers and bayous. You will have to do some fine tuning to your approach when fishing a different environment, but it well worth the experience.

JUNE 07'

I was recently in my shed out back of the house with the intent of cleaning up my fishing gear, spooling new line onto the reels, checking the eyes on the rods for nicks or corrosion that would make them rough and abrade the line as it tracked through the eyes, thereby weakening the line.

It was also my intent to check lures for any abrasions on the eye on which I tie my line and also checked the hooks to make sure they were sharp enough to do the job, when the enormity of the task became real in my mind.

To make things more manageable I decided to separate them into freshwater (quarter-ounce and up), freshwater (ultralight), freshwater (fly fishing), and saltwater, which made the task appear less overwhelming. After my lures were appropriately separated I then opened the bag containing the new lures I had to add to the collection and I came upon a container of WORM-GLO.

Now I know everyone who has read my column and fishing reports have seen reference from time to time concerning Glowworms. Glowworms are night crawlers that have had their bed doctored with a product called Worm-Glo that is put out by Legend Laboratories. If you would like to go on line and see their products you can go to legand-labs.com.

The way this product works is you get some worms, let’s say some ordinary Red Wigglers in a carton of bedding and you sprinkle one teaspoon of WORM-GLO on top of the bedding and then store them at a temperature of from 70 to 80 degrees for a period of two to four days. Then you will be ready to go fishing and your worms will no longer be the reddish color they were, but brilliant chartreuse. The worms will also be more active, have extended lives, and the chemical addition presents no ecological problems.

Next I came on a package of new Gulp Craw bait from Berkley. This is new bait designed for the bass angler when he finds he is in heavy vegetation. It comes in all of the popular colors, is 100% biodegradable, with no plastic ingredients. It also has an exclusive scent technology that disperses 400 times more scent than traditional plastic baits, leaving its scent like a blood trail through the water. Berkley is also making a number of new soft products with the Gulp technology such as the Wicked Wing Trailer that is a jig trailer with the same Gulp scent chemistry.

Another in the new Gulp line is the six inch Float Worm. This one is designed for the finesse angler working shallow grass lines, docks, ledges and other structures. This new product is extremely buoyant and is available also in the popular, bright colors. Berkley recommends rigging this bait with a split shot or swivel so it will hover in the strike zone, and then work the bait near the target allowing the scent to disperse like a blood trail. These are designed as float bait, but will work equally well on a Carolina rig, jig head, or drop shot. Like all in the new Gulp line they are 100 percent biodegradable.

Berkley has gone hog wild with the Gulp line and they have Floating Night Crawlers, Jerk Shad and Shaky Shad also available in the new plastic free material and they are available at all of the places you normally get your soft plastics and lures.

After looking over the mass of lures, worms and etc. that I had all over my work bench I decided that was not the day to attack the lure inventory and maintenance so I just left it lay in the four, separate, masses to be addressed at a later date, however, I did not waste the rest of the day or something frivolous. I spooled new line on all of my reels, which requires a considerable amount of time and the lures will wait until another day.

SPRING CAMPING

Camping can be one of the most enjoyable outdoor events with which we can get involved. It can also be one of the most miserable of times if one has the wrong expectation or is not prepared for the event.

When going out on a camping experience we should first examine what we would like our experience to be and prepare for that accordingly. If one wishes to plunge forward into Mother Nature’s back yard and have all of the artificial, man made, creature comforts, most have grown to expect in their everyday lives, about the closest you are going to get is in a motor home or a 40 foot, fifth wheel trailer, parked in some appropriate area of a state park or a private area constructed for such vehicles that will have all of the hookups providing the amenities one can expect in cities.

On the other extreme if one chooses to delve into the world and adventures reminiscent of those experienced by the mountain men two hundred years ago, it will be necessary to get back into the few remaining areas of our country where the federal government has preserved, to the best of their ability, some of the wildlife and natural habitat of wild America. The major atmosphere that is missing from today that was quite real in 1700 and 1800 America are the wild, native, human savages, a few imported human savages, such as the infamous Jessie James and family from Missouri, and other human trash of varying races and origins.

Many campers will fall between the two extremes mentioned and just want to get out for a couple days and enjoy the woods with the family or alone, recharge their human batteries and commune with nature. Once in the camping area of your choice it is important to leave the area at least as clean as you found it and better if possible. There is no excuse to leave a camp site for others to come along and have to pick up drink containers, paper and trash left behind by others.

I would like point out a few useful items that you have around the house that can be handy to have with you at a camp site. Channel lock pliers make good pot holders and are good for holding almost anything hot and can help retrieve items that fall into the campfire that should not have.

Nylon rope can be used as shoe laces; can secure a tarp to trees to offer shelter from the sun or rain. Zip lock plastic bag, filled with air, can function as a pillow, if you’re desperate. They are also excellent for holding almost anything. Including bait, but remember a sealed zip lock bag is air tight and anything alive left in them for too long a time will expend the oxygen sealed inside and die, so keep them open or open them periodically to keep bait alive.

I am all in favor of loading my drinking water in an approved container and taking it to camp in my truck. If you are back packing, to be safe, purchase a proper canteen or other approved water container.

Twist ties, metal coat hanger, and bungee cords can have enumerable uses in a camp site to hold down almost anything when the wind picks up, to make hooks and hangers; the list can go on almost forever.

There are many other household items that could be added to the list, but one important item that should never be forgotten is a hammer or hatchet. Pounding in tent stakes is not much fun when you are trying to accomplish the feat with a rock or a log. There is also a lot of wisdom in the saying when one has some difficult feat to accomplish and that has always been, “Get a bigger hammer.”

GET YOUR BOAT READY

Well neighbors, it is getting to be that time again when our hearts start to fill with and overwhelming need to hit the water for some serious aquatic activities. Also one might notice that the fishing tournaments are starting to show up in the fishing report and as of last weekend the water warmed up to the 60 degree mark resulting in stringers approaching 30 pounds. They are not only showing up, but also making 20 pounds or better mandatory to even get into the money on Lake Conroe.

Most of the serious, competitive anglers have been braving the elements and fishing much of the winter, but many of the rest of us sissies have been curled up in front of the fireplace with a good book waiting for the current warming of the weather. Now that the urge to get wet is creeping into our being please do not think that you can run outside, pull the cover off of your boat or personal watercraft, hook it on to you truck and enjoy a great day on the lake, because according to Murphy's law things just don't work out that way. So the best move is to either take your watercraft to the nearest shop and have the entire rig, boat, motor, and trailer checked over or if you are so inclined you can do it yourself, but either way do it prior to the designated day of the outing and allow the shop enough time to properly service your individual rig. There is not too much a shop owner or service manager hates to hear then, “I want my rig checked out and serviced and I want it by tomorrow.” Chances are pretty good that you will either be disappointed because that time frame cannot be met or you will find yourself moving the start day for water sports two or three weeks further down the calendar.

To give you and idea of just a few of the items one must tend to if you are a do-it-yourself type of person is as follows.

Let’s start at the easiest place and that is the trailer. Check the tires and make sure they are dry rotted. Then jack up each wheel and check the bearings and races to make sure they are sound and not prone to giving out on you half way to the boat ramp. If all look good grease the wheel bearings and reassemble the wheels. If equipped with buddy bearings check each wheel for too much loose play and fill with grease until sleeve is flush. As the grease is used the sleeve will retract into the housing so keep an eye on them every time you take it out.

Next closely inspect the hitch and make sure rust or corrosion has weakened any of the bolts or fasteners and every moving part is well lubricated and working smoothly. Then move to the lights. This can be one of the biggest pain in the neck that one can face on a trailer and the problems usually are caused by bad grounds or connections. Therefore if you have a lighting problem don't just decide to travel only during daylight hours, but start checking connections, bulbs, and grounds and get everything working properly.

Once your trailer is in tip top shape move on to the boat, where again one of the most troublesome area will be electrical, so make sure you have a good, strong, marine battery and check out the lights and if some do not work look for the same problems as with the trailer, bad connections and grounds.

So neighbors if you want a trouble free day out on the water it pays to do your homework before the fact and either check it all out or take your boat to your favorite shop and let the professionals see to it.

Editor Homespun Pauline's Texas Travels Round About Texas The Outdoor Zone Cowboy Corner Fishing NASCAR	The Outdoor Zone by Larry LeBlanc JULY 07' We have so many lakes in this great state of ours that we sometime tend to forget that there are any other places to fish. There are literally thousands of miles of rivers and creeks in Texas that team with fish and if we do not get in on some of the action it is because we are not out there fishing those rivers and creeks. Texas offers such a diversified geography that when you start to discuss river or creek fishing you can be describing everything from mountain or desert environments to the bayous of our coastal marshes. Let’s look at some of the differences one encounters when they are fishing creeks and rivers as compared to some of our reservoirs that we so lovingly refer to as lakes. One item that will be immediately noted is the fish in most of our rivers are still bass, perch, crappie and catfish as we find in the lakes, but the verities may be different. For instance, most of our lakes have been stocked with Florida bass. The creeks and rivers have not been, but some will find their way from lakes and move up or down stream along with the native bass. You may run into small mouth bass or Guadeloupe bass in addition to the native and Florida largemouth of the lakes. The pan fish will be numerous and many different varieties will be seen. I was canoeing with some others on Village Creek in the East Texas, Piney Woods one time and we were fly fishing along the way. We caught some of the most beautiful sun perch I have ever seen. They were colorful and had a clean, clear look to them. Beside that they were a lot of fun to catch on a light fly rod and even though they were small they really fought. When it comes to fishing tackle unless you are specifically after some large catfish or garfish light tackle is the way to go. A light weight fly rod or ultra-lite spinning outfit will generally fill the bill. Also when fishing our rivers and creeks keep in mind the temperature range the fish prefer. Most pan fish and bass will prefer a temperature in the mid 70 degree range, therefore in hot weather look for the holes and shady areas around deadfalls and under overhanging trees where the temperature is likely to be a little more to there liking. Dead trees lying in the water are excellent places to drop your hook, especially on the down river side where the water will be quieter. Black bass and yellow catfish, both hunters of live prey, will hide in areas such as that and ambush passing prey from hiding. Many of our rivers and creeks closer to the coast will have garfish of varying species. Most of the gars I have brought in were either taken by shooting them with a rifle or handgun, shooting them with a bow and arrow or caught on a trotline. Before you go shooting them with anything check the county regulations in your TPWD annual to make sure there is no legal objection to shooting in the water. Archery is not as bad as a firearm, but it is always best to make sure you are legal before approaching the acquisition of any wildlife. Another point to remember about garfish is they have teeth and a solid bone in the top of their mouth and that means that if they hit one of lures they can tear it up with their teeth and straighten the hook out if it hits the top of their mouth. If you get to the point where you are getting a little tired of fishing our lakes and would like a different angling challenge take to the creek, rivers and bayous. You will have to do some fine tuning to your approach when fishing a different environment, but it well worth the experience. JUNE 07' I was recently in my shed out back of the house with the intent of cleaning up my fishing gear, spooling new line onto the reels, checking the eyes on the rods for nicks or corrosion that would make them rough and abrade the line as it tracked through the eyes, thereby weakening the line. It was also my intent to check lures for any abrasions on the eye on which I tie my line and also checked the hooks to make sure they were sharp enough to do the job, when the enormity of the task became real in my mind. To make things more manageable I decided to separate them into freshwater (quarter-ounce and up), freshwater (ultralight), freshwater (fly fishing), and saltwater, which made the task appear less overwhelming. After my lures were appropriately separated I then opened the bag containing the new lures I had to add to the collection and I came upon a container of WORM-GLO. Now I know everyone who has read my column and fishing reports have seen reference from time to time concerning Glowworms. Glowworms are night crawlers that have had their bed doctored with a product called Worm-Glo that is put out by Legend Laboratories. If you would like to go on line and see their products you can go to legand-labs.com. The way this product works is you get some worms, let’s say some ordinary Red Wigglers in a carton of bedding and you sprinkle one teaspoon of WORM-GLO on top of the bedding and then store them at a temperature of from 70 to 80 degrees for a period of two to four days. Then you will be ready to go fishing and your worms will no longer be the reddish color they were, but brilliant chartreuse. The worms will also be more active, have extended lives, and the chemical addition presents no ecological problems. Next I came on a package of new Gulp Craw bait from Berkley. This is new bait designed for the bass angler when he finds he is in heavy vegetation. It comes in all of the popular colors, is 100% biodegradable, with no plastic ingredients. It also has an exclusive scent technology that disperses 400 times more scent than traditional plastic baits, leaving its scent like a blood trail through the water. Berkley is also making a number of new soft products with the Gulp technology such as the Wicked Wing Trailer that is a jig trailer with the same Gulp scent chemistry. Another in the new Gulp line is the six inch Float Worm. This one is designed for the finesse angler working shallow grass lines, docks, ledges and other structures. This new product is extremely buoyant and is available also in the popular, bright colors. Berkley recommends rigging this bait with a split shot or swivel so it will hover in the strike zone, and then work the bait near the target allowing the scent to disperse like a blood trail. These are designed as float bait, but will work equally well on a Carolina rig, jig head, or drop shot. Like all in the new Gulp line they are 100 percent biodegradable. Berkley has gone hog wild with the Gulp line and they have Floating Night Crawlers, Jerk Shad and Shaky Shad also available in the new plastic free material and they are available at all of the places you normally get your soft plastics and lures. After looking over the mass of lures, worms and etc. that I had all over my work bench I decided that was not the day to attack the lure inventory and maintenance so I just left it lay in the four, separate, masses to be addressed at a later date, however, I did not waste the rest of the day or something frivolous. I spooled new line on all of my reels, which requires a considerable amount of time and the lures will wait until another day. SPRING CAMPING Camping can be one of the most enjoyable outdoor events with which we can get involved. It can also be one of the most miserable of times if one has the wrong expectation or is not prepared for the event. When going out on a camping experience we should first examine what we would like our experience to be and prepare for that accordingly. If one wishes to plunge forward into Mother Nature’s back yard and have all of the artificial, man made, creature comforts, most have grown to expect in their everyday lives, about the closest you are going to get is in a motor home or a 40 foot, fifth wheel trailer, parked in some appropriate area of a state park or a private area constructed for such vehicles that will have all of the hookups providing the amenities one can expect in cities. On the other extreme if one chooses to delve into the world and adventures reminiscent of those experienced by the mountain men two hundred years ago, it will be necessary to get back into the few remaining areas of our country where the federal government has preserved, to the best of their ability, some of the wildlife and natural habitat of wild America. The major atmosphere that is missing from today that was quite real in 1700 and 1800 America are the wild, native, human savages, a few imported human savages, such as the infamous Jessie James and family from Missouri, and other human trash of varying races and origins. Many campers will fall between the two extremes mentioned and just want to get out for a couple days and enjoy the woods with the family or alone, recharge their human batteries and commune with nature. Once in the camping area of your choice it is important to leave the area at least as clean as you found it and better if possible. There is no excuse to leave a camp site for others to come along and have to pick up drink containers, paper and trash left behind by others. I would like point out a few useful items that you have around the house that can be handy to have with you at a camp site. Channel lock pliers make good pot holders and are good for holding almost anything hot and can help retrieve items that fall into the campfire that should not have. Nylon rope can be used as shoe laces; can secure a tarp to trees to offer shelter from the sun or rain. Zip lock plastic bag, filled with air, can function as a pillow, if you’re desperate. They are also excellent for holding almost anything. Including bait, but remember a sealed zip lock bag is air tight and anything alive left in them for too long a time will expend the oxygen sealed inside and die, so keep them open or open them periodically to keep bait alive. I am all in favor of loading my drinking water in an approved container and taking it to camp in my truck. If you are back packing, to be safe, purchase a proper canteen or other approved water container. Twist ties, metal coat hanger, and bungee cords can have enumerable uses in a camp site to hold down almost anything when the wind picks up, to make hooks and hangers; the list can go on almost forever. There are many other household items that could be added to the list, but one important item that should never be forgotten is a hammer or hatchet. Pounding in tent stakes is not much fun when you are trying to accomplish the feat with a rock or a log. There is also a lot of wisdom in the saying when one has some difficult feat to accomplish and that has always been, “Get a bigger hammer.” GET YOUR BOAT READY Well neighbors, it is getting to be that time again when our hearts start to fill with and overwhelming need to hit the water for some serious aquatic activities. Also one might notice that the fishing tournaments are starting to show up in the fishing report and as of last weekend the water warmed up to the 60 degree mark resulting in stringers approaching 30 pounds. They are not only showing up, but also making 20 pounds or better mandatory to even get into the money on Lake Conroe. Most of the serious, competitive anglers have been braving the elements and fishing much of the winter, but many of the rest of us sissies have been curled up in front of the fireplace with a good book waiting for the current warming of the weather. Now that the urge to get wet is creeping into our being please do not think that you can run outside, pull the cover off of your boat or personal watercraft, hook it on to you truck and enjoy a great day on the lake, because according to Murphy's law things just don't work out that way. So the best move is to either take your watercraft to the nearest shop and have the entire rig, boat, motor, and trailer checked over or if you are so inclined you can do it yourself, but either way do it prior to the designated day of the outing and allow the shop enough time to properly service your individual rig. There is not too much a shop owner or service manager hates to hear then, “I want my rig checked out and serviced and I want it by tomorrow.” Chances are pretty good that you will either be disappointed because that time frame cannot be met or you will find yourself moving the start day for water sports two or three weeks further down the calendar. To give you and idea of just a few of the items one must tend to if you are a do-it-yourself type of person is as follows. Let’s start at the easiest place and that is the trailer. Check the tires and make sure they are dry rotted. Then jack up each wheel and check the bearings and races to make sure they are sound and not prone to giving out on you half way to the boat ramp. If all look good grease the wheel bearings and reassemble the wheels. If equipped with buddy bearings check each wheel for too much loose play and fill with grease until sleeve is flush. As the grease is used the sleeve will retract into the housing so keep an eye on them every time you take it out. Next closely inspect the hitch and make sure rust or corrosion has weakened any of the bolts or fasteners and every moving part is well lubricated and working smoothly. Then move to the lights. This can be one of the biggest pain in the neck that one can face on a trailer and the problems usually are caused by bad grounds or connections. Therefore if you have a lighting problem don't just decide to travel only during daylight hours, but start checking connections, bulbs, and grounds and get everything working properly. Once your trailer is in tip top shape move on to the boat, where again one of the most troublesome area will be electrical, so make sure you have a good, strong, marine battery and check out the lights and if some do not work look for the same problems as with the trailer, bad connections and grounds. So neighbors if you want a trouble free day out on the water it pays to do your homework before the fact and either check it all out or take your boat to your favorite shop and let the professionals see to it.
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