The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed analysis of aerial surveys of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo whooping crane population, the only surviving wild population of whooping cranes in the world. Preliminary survey data indicated 329 whooping cranes, including 38 juveniles, in the primary survey area (approximately 153,200 acres) centered on Aransas National Wildlife Refuge near Austwell, Texas. At least nine birds were noted outside the primary survey area. The survey shows an upward trend in whooping crane abundance over the last five years. Last year, 308 whooping cranes were estimated in the primary survey area.

Whooping cranes are one of the rarest birds in North America and are highly endangered. Cranes can survive more than twenty-five years in the wild. Adults generally reach reproductive age at four or five years, and then lay two eggs, usually rearing only one chick.

“This is the highest survey estimate ever documented for this population of whooping cranes,” stated Wade Harrell, U.S. Whooping Crane Recovery Coordinator. “We are thrilled to see that these birds continue to increase in number after being so close to extinction only 75 years ago.”

More information about the survey and whooping cranes can be found on the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge website at http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aransas/ or by calling (361) 286-3559.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service.

For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq.

Installing signs at Chester Island Bird Sanctuary

It is summer time and Chester Island Bird Sanctuary, located near the Matagorda Ship Channel “big jetties”, is brimming over with Colonial Waterbirds. These are Herons, Egrets and other similar birds – who gather in large groups called rookeries or colonies during nesting season to build nests, lay eggs and raise their chicks. With continued coastal development, uninhabited places like Chester Island become even more valuable to these birds’ continued existence.

For many species like Brown Pelican and Royal Tern, the parents are now teaching their young how to fly around the beach area. Others, like the Black Skimmer, are still sitting on eggs very near the shoreline. All are vulnerable to human disturbance, which can cause birds to flee or abandon their nests – leaving eggs and chicks to overheat in the sun or become victims of predators and other birds.

Audubon Coastal Warden Tim Wilkinson and son Tyler recently posted several yellow signs along the shoreline to help remind fisherman and other boaters not to disturb nearby nesting birds. We ask for the public’s cooperation by staying at least 50 yards away from the shoreline and from nesting birds – and please no landing or walking on the island. Both at Chester Island and other locations around Matagorda Bay, if birds are flying around you and getting louder, that normally means nests and babies are very close and you are causing disturbance of the birds. This is serious business, as the birds of Chester Island are protected from human disturbance by both federal and state law – by both the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and Parks And Wildlife code 64.002.(a)(1,2,3).

Chester Island (aka Sundown Island or Bird Island) is recognized by the National Audubon Society as a Globally Important Birding Area for the essential habitat it provides for breeding, wintering or stopovers of several threatened and vulnerable species. 2016 is turning out to be a great nesting season – with almost 20,000 nesting pair of 18 species utilizing every corner of this 65 acre island. So please help us continue to protect this valuable environmental resource!!

The island and birds are closely monitored by Warden Wilkinson and local volunteers. For questions or to become a volunteer, he can be reached by email at twsword@gmail.com. To donate, visit tx.audubon.org.

June 24th, 2016 – Today, the Calhoun County Historical Commission received the 2015 Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Historical Commission. The award was presented by Pct 2 Commissioner Vern Lyssy to Commission members in attendance: (L-R): Commission Chair Mary Belle Meitzen , Avril Sassman, Sue Thomae, John Meitzen and Gary Ralston. (Photo by Phil Thomae, also a commission member.)

During 2015 the Commission members contributed over $50,000 in volunteer hours in service to Calhoun County. Major activities included:

Overseeing installation of the following Texas Historical Markers in the County: Don Martin de Leon, Dr. Edward Knipling, Port O’Connor Cemetery, Sunlight Girls, The Great Camel Experiment, Battle of Norris Bridge and German Immigration to Texas.

Markers with formal dedications held in 2015 were Sunlight Girls and The Great Camel Experiment. An application was also submitted for a Historical Marker dedicated to “The Cotton Gins of Calhoun County. Planned and approved a Locomotive Silhouette for the Seadrift, TX Train Depot to be installed in 2016.

Other activities included: Installation of an interpretive display for the Lavaca Battery at the Bayfront Park; Participated in the reading of the Texas Constitution in honor of its adoption on its 179th anniversary; Held a work day at Ranger Cemetery; Held an Indianola Scavenger Hunt; Inspected The Half Moon Reef lighthouse to determine scope of repairs necessary and oversaw repairs; and, restored a kiosk at Magnolia Beach for display of Historical Marker photos and attractions at Indianola.

Kirk and Brendon on their 1st Father & Son wade fishing trip. Great times and memories. -Capt. Jeff Larson

Holy Cow! What an Awesome Month! Calhoun County was on fire!!!

Literally and figuratively speaking.  There were some Great Firework Displays this past Independence Day Holiday Weekend.  We hope you were able to enjoy all of  em.  We all need to give a Big Shout Out and pat on the back to our 1st responders once again.  The high winds, semi drying conditions and fireworks are a recipe for disaster.  Our guys did a SMOKING  Great JOB containing the couple of Flare ups! The enforcers kept everyone safe as well. Great Job Responders!!! We Appreciate your services.

Side note to the Holiday Weekend. Noral, from Over Board Marine, posted a cool video on FB.  Capt. Craig Carter, with Outlaw Guide Service, put together a (must see) phenomenal POC drone video of our Coastal Lifestyle with out-takes of the POC Independence Day Fireworks. It was so impressive I looked him up and introduced myself.  Carter claims he is a drone hobbiest and is working on a full blown POC commercial.  Capt. Craig has an awesome bow hunting rig you might see it around the Fishing Center. He specializes in night time bow fishing so look him and his video up on his website: OutlawBowFishing.com.

The last week of June and before the wind started to blow in July, we  had some of the most epic trout fishing we have seen in recent years.  The surf was red hot. Jetties were smoking.  The shorelines were on fire shallow or deep.  The reefs produced plenty of specs as well.  Then after limiting on trout, the hard chargers   ran out and took advantage of some line screaming king fish action, Or Snapper.  There are still  plenty of keeper Red Snapper inside of our 9 mile limit.
Then the winds started to howl churning up the bay like a Home Shopping Network Commercial Blender. Ugh! It was so miserable that we had to cancel a couple of trips due to the nasty change. Who wants to pay for a miserable day on the water?

But, when the going gets tough we regroup and  keep fishing.  The wind slowed up to barely bearable today. And the rescheduling paid off, I had the pleasure of introducing  Robin the Barber, the Best Barber around, her brother, Kirk McMurrey, and her nephew, Brendan to the world of wade fishing.  We had a great day putting a few nice trout in the box.  It was a little grind but Kirk caught his personal best 23 ½” 4#.  Brendan now has a goal the next time he comes back for another wade trip.  It’s a great day when a plan comes together.  Good Students and cooperative fish. It can’t get any more gratifying for a fishing guide to teach people how to catch fish and to see them succeed.

The outlook for July seems to be steady and windy.  Flounder Gigging has been another past time that has been producing solid results. Over the past week we have been noticing a influx of big Door Mat Size flounder.  We have gigged several pushing 5# mark.  The boys are out right now even with 15 knot winds blowing a gale. They reported 6 and were making a couple more stops to get their 15. The tide has started to recede so walking seems to be easier to find em up real shallow. Like ankle deep shallow.  Gigging boats aren’t able to get as close to the shore as they could last month but they cover plenty of ground so you can find enough to bring home a mess of em.

Capt. Pat Lester and Mark Robinson have had weeks of success out of their boats.  I have have been getting them walking with the TnT Gigging Lights.  I called Roger to check his stock and he  said he only had about 3 left ready to go but will put more together once those left his shop.  If you are looking for the light and gig combo, I certainly recommend his gigs cause they are standing the test of time and the ones that might have issues, he repairs. You can give me a call if you would like to order a couple of them.

July will be a Grind til you Find kind of month.  Please give the Lodge a call, speak with Scott and he will hook you up! (Pun is always intended).

Hoping your flats boat doesn’t get past up by a sail boat, keep 2 anchors out and watch the low tides.

Capt. Jeff Larson
281 217 0399

Big king mackerel like this one can be caught within a few miles off the Port O’Connor jetties during July and August on both lures and live baits. Robert Sloan photo

There is one fish that I like to target right about now and that’s a king mackerel. We have some of the best fishing for kings on the entire Gulf Coast right off the Port O’Connor jetties. I’m talking about huge kings, many of which are feeding around big schools of menhaden.

The average size of a king mackerel is anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds. But they get a lot heavier than that. The state record weighed 79 pounds, and was 58.50 inches long. It was caught on Aug. 20, 2006. The current leader in the king mackerel division of the STAR weighs 62.13 pounds. Second place weighs 51.9 and third is 42.11. Kings have been known to weigh more than 90 pounds. The world record weighed 93 pounds.

King mackerel are among the most sought-after gamefish throughout their range from North Carolina to Texas. They are long and silver, and crazy fast. Known throughout the sportfishing world for their blistering runs, the king mackerel matches its distant relative, the wahoo, in speed.

(Want to tap into the action right now? Call Capt. Robert Sloan at 409-782-6796.)

A king mackerel is a true player when it comes to offshore fishing. They are faster than greased lightning, and are capable of melting line off a reel. They are voracious feeders, and will hit just about anything that won’t eat them first. You can catch them on topwater plugs, trolling lures, live baits and even on fly fishing gear.

Kings can be found feeding around schools of baitfish, around rigs, along weed lines and behind shrimp boats.

The most exciting way to catch these tackle wreckers is with a topwater lure, and one of the best is a Super Spook in silver or blue/chrome. Kings are well known for shooting out of the water like a missile when they charge a topwater. When it comes to world class topwater action kings rule. Imagine a lure that was originally built to catch largemouth bass, getting ripped by a 30 pound streak of silver full of razor sharp teeth.

Other well-known lures for taking kings include silver spoons, feather jigs, lipless cranks and deep divers. A Rapala Saltwater Magnum is very popular for trolling deep. The 7 to 9 inch models are best. They will run 18 to 25 feet deep. A Bomber Super Pogy is a good lipless trolling or casting lure. It’s 3-1/2 inches long with loud high-pitched rattles and a tight wobble. This is one of my favorites for casting around anchored shrimpers that are culling the nights catch. C&H King Buster jigs come rigged on a wire leader trailing a skirted jig with a single treble hook. This is a good jig/live bait rig. It can also be rigged with a dead bait like a ballyhoo or cigar minnow for trolling.

With a mouth full of glistening teeth it’s a given that wire leaders are a must when targeting kings. You can either rig them yourself, or buy pre-rigged leaders with a black barrel swivel on one end, and snap swivel, for quick change out of lures, on the other end. They are available in 6 to 18 inch lengths. Always go with a single strand Titanium leader in black.

If you’re dead set on catching big kings, fish in the 30 to 50 pound class, go after them with live baits. Small hardtails, a.k.a. blue runners, in the 5 to 8 inch length are deadly. So are fresh caught pogies. Blue runners can be caught on Sabiki jigs fished around rigs. Pogies are caught in open water with a fast sinking cast net. Live pinfish and croakers are also very good. Live baits can be free-lined, fished on down-riggers or bump trolled behind the boat.

Two of the best months to target king mackerel are July and August. Let’s go fishing!

Get in on the action by calling Capt. Robert Sloan at 409-782-6796, email – sloan288@aol.com or go to www.luckystrikeguide.com.