The Ugly Sweater and/or Tie Day was originated by my Chief Deputy, Clarri Atkinson. It began with just the idea of my office and the Auditor’s office getting into the spirit and doing something that sounded like fun. We then talked and thought how cool would it be to include all County employees. We had it put on the agenda and it was approved on November 24th to have the first Annual Calhoun County Ugly Sweater Day on December 23, 2015.

After that the spirit of Christmas seemed to grow and we then decided to have a morning of punch and cookies for the public in the Courthouse Lobby. That too being December 23, 2015 from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon. How festive for the public to come in see all the employees walking around in their Christmas sweaters – enjoy the “new” beautiful Christmas tree (that was bought and paid for by donations of employees) and have goodies to boot! Thought it was time to give just a little something back to the community for their continued support.

Scott with 2 big’unz at dark 30.
-Capt. Jeff Larson

Happy Holidays And Merry Christmas From The Saltwater Lodge!
The November wrap up:

We had great diver shoots. As most of you know, Redheads are a staple to the Duck Strap when its 70 degrees and no wind. It is so Awesome when you have a hundred drop into the X. This is when everyone needs self control with the old itchy trigger finger. The key to adding other species to the strap was finding other divers. Blackjacks, Goldend eyes, Buffys, etc. with an occasional puddler was the on the bay strap. The inland waters were either feast or famon. Teal, Spoonys and Whistlers hit the strap when they showed up for the day. There were high hopes for Cold Fronts to push the water out of the bay and bring more ducks. They just petered out for the most part. There was 1 day, I had a Blast and Cast, a front came through in the morning, made it into the Gulf and backed up by the evening. I’m not a Meteorologist and dont get pumped up when some person on TV gives us a forecast that is anyone’s guess. I definitely enjoy using my weather Apps on my smartphone. Weather apps are a good guideline for Up-to-date information. They track real time information from weather stations around the area which is better than a general guess. Pre Front no matter what size turned the fish on like a light switch. If you fished you caught. Good luck this month should remain the same.

The first part of December has been really good for fishing. Redfish, trout and flounder are being caught every chance you can get outside. Artificials (soft plastics) and live shrimp have been the best baits to catch trout and flounder. Cut mullet is the steady bait of choice for reds. Plastics and Gold Spoons are the artificial but we have been using while wadeing for redfish. Bull reds are steady on sardines. The tide has finally dropped and cooled off which has played a big part in getting on schools of fish for a rather quick limit. The Saltwater Lodge Scouting for ducks report is looking like a barn burner. The puddle ducks are loading up on the bay since the water has dropped. The back bay grasses are being exposed to the ducks and makes for easy pickings for both puddlers and divers.

Flounder gigging is back. The limit is still just 2 until December 16th. Scott Weiler, the Lodge Foreman and I went after some record breaker flounder a few nights ago.. Since the limit was still only two, we did not get in a big hurry and went out about 10:30 p.m. we reached our first spot and it look like we were a little late because we were only seeing flounder beds. The beds we were seeing looked like 5 pound plus fat flattys. Scott ended up getting his pers personal best that night which was a record breaker in his own rights. It was around 5 or 6 pounds. The flounder we found were on hard sand that night. They were close to drop offs and guts that led to deeper water.

Roger T who builds the TnT Gig n Lights has a couple of dozen set ups if you need one for the reopener of the 5 fish limit or for Christmas. The great thing about Rogers lights is he warranties them for a year. He will also replace the light for his cost if you get it to him at the shop. These lights are for walking. He will also custom build u a boat gig if you need some for gigging out of the boat.

There is another outdoor excursion that goes overlooked in Calhoun County. Bird watching is becoming more and more popular because we have several hundred different species of birds that winter here. The whooping crane which is on the endangered species list is a rare bird that birders flock here to get a look/see at the few that are left in the world. These private tours are available at the lodge.

The Mowdy Pro Team has a list of its guides in our area who can get you on your quarry of choice. They are also getting geared up for the Houston Boat Show. Frank and Robbie are telling me there will be another price increase due to the rising costs of raw materials. We are just giving our readers a heads up. See their ad in the paper to order yours today or go for a test ride.
The Saltwater Lodge phone number is 361 785 DUCK. Call Scott to set up your lodging, food and guide.

Wishing you Merry Duck Straps, A Cooler packed full of fillets and a few more 2015 memories for your diary,

Captain Jeff Larson
281 217 0399

Young Guns filling their straps.
-Capt. Jeff Larson

Successful duck hunting in Port O’Connor starts with a well brushed blind, a great decoy spread and some good calling.
Robert Sloan photo

There are three things you can do to bring in more ducks as we get further into the season. One is to brush up your blind as often as possible. The second thing is to wear full camo especially on your face and hands. Third – ease off the calling. At times subtle little quacks can be the ticket to success.

Of all the gear you can have for water fowling decoys are probably the most important. Without them you don’t stand much of a chance for a successful hunt, unless you happen to get in on some good pass shooting.

There are all sorts of decoys, and all are good in varying situations. Over the past several years motion decoys have been taking center stage.

If you plan on using something like a Mojo Mallard I highly recommend that you rig them about 5 to 10 feet above the water. Visibility is everything. I’ve made plenty of hunts with this type of decoy and they are deadly. But they definitely work best when rigged on a PVC pipe stand.

What I’ve noticed over the past couple of seasons is that ducks are becoming wise to electronic decoys. The best tactic is to have a remote control so you can turn them on and off. They seem to work best when ducks are out at about 50 to 100 yards. It’s the flash of the wings that get their attention. Once you have them coming in turn the decoy off, and work them in with a little bit of good calling. If they turn away, hit ‘em with a highball call and turn the decoy on.

Decoys are kind of like Scotch whisky – they get better with age. A shiny plastic decoy is not the best option. Real ducks don’t shine. It’s always best to touch up duck decoys with a little bit of paint. Fresh red paint on the head of a drake redhead is good. Ditto that with white on the head of widgeons, and on the breast of a drake pintail.

One other little trick that works really well is to set out about three magnum pintail decoys a few yards from the spread. That’ll help get the attention of high flying birds.

The main thing is to make sure your decoys are always in working order. There is nothing more frustrating than messing with tangled duck decoys a few minutes prior to shooting time.

With duck decoys it’s best to make sure they have good anchors, tangle free lines and can easily be tossed out.

Duck and Dove hunting dates:
Ducks – South Zone – Dec. 12 – Jan. 24, 2016, North Zone – Dec. 12 – Jan. 31, 2016
Doves – South Zone – Dec. 18 – Jan. 22, 2016, Central Zone – Dec. 18 – Jan. 1, 2016

For duck hunting trips and fishing charters call:
Capt. Robert Sloan, 409-782-6796, email – sloan288@aol.com or check out www.luckystrikeguide.com.

Phil Brannan used a slow sinking mullet imitation plug to catch this big trout while fishing with Capt. Robert Sloan. Some of the best winter trout fishing in Port O’Connor can be had while wade or drift fishing on clear water flats over sand and grass. Capt. Robert Sloan photo.