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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, September 5, 2019:
Reflections on Texas, the outdoors and 40 years of writing and photography: September’s arrival marks a time of transition for Texas’ natural world and those whose hearts and actions are tied to the rhythms of land, water, sky and the life in, on and over it. This makes the month special for all Texans, but especially those of us who fish or hunt or otherwise spend time engaged with the natural world. For many of us, it’s the de facto start of our new year, with the first day of the month marking the start of the state’s hunting/fishing license year, the opening of the first of fall’s many hunting seasons, the first major waves of migratory birds arriving from the north and the first surges of the annual autumn bull redfish “run” along the beachfront. September has always been a benchmark month of personal transition, too. It’s the month I arrived, born a seventh-generation native Texan blessed to become part of a family deeply connected to this singular land, its culture and history and natural world. Those connections, nurtured and encouraged, led (inevitably, it seems) to a life, academic track and professional career revolving around them. For the past 40 years, I have made a living as a newspaper journalist, almost all that time — the last 30 of them on the staff of the Houston Chronicle — reporting, photographing and writing about outdoor recreation, the natural resources on which those activities depend and the issues and public policy surrounding them.
Texas fishing tournament cheater sentenced: After being charged with fraud in a fishing tournament and possession of marijuana (less than 2 ounces), Brent Taylor has been sentenced to jail time and restitution of nearly $3,000. His fishing license has also been suspended for a year and he has been banish from fishing in tournaments. The court decision comes after an extensive investigation after suspected fishing tournament fraud on Decker Lake in Texas. The amount of jail time has not yet been disclosed. Because kayaks do not have livewells, these tournaments are typically won by an angler amassing a greater total catch length than other participants. When an angler catches a bass, he or she takes a photo of the bass on an approved bump board and sends it to tournament officials. This process allows the bass to be released immediately after recording the length. Texas Parks & Wildlife claims Taylor used the cut tail of a bass and placed it further back on his actual catch, covering the cut with his hand, making the bass appear longer than it actually was.
Woman dies in ‘extremely rare’ black bear attack in Canada: A 62-year-old woman was killed by a black bear while staying at a cabin on a secluded Canadian island north of Minnesota on Sunday. One source pointed that Catherine Sweatt-Mueller of Maple Plain was staying with her parents in a remote cabin on Red Pine Island when the black bear attacked her in what experts believed to be an “extremely rare” incident. According to Ontario Provincial Police Constable Jim Davis, Sweatt-Mueller went outside the cabin to check on her two dogs who were, at that time, barking. “The dogs returned, but she did not,” Davis said, adding that it was the victim’s 84-year-old mother who called the OPP “because she was concerned for her daughter’s well-being.”
NTSB: Fishing guide killed in plane crash took off during break in storms but flew into more bad rain: Federal investigators’ initial report into the seaplane crash that killed a popular south Louisiana fishing guide last month says he took off during a break in heavy rain off the Louisiana coast but crashed as conditions deteriorated again. Stormy weather also delayed by several days the search for the wreckage of the float-equipped Cessna 206 that Theophile Bourgeois III was flying when it slammed into Chandeleur Sound off the coast of St. Bernard Parish. A four-day, 82-square-mile search using sonar equipment got underway after conditions improved, but it did not turn up the plane’s wreckage, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s report, which was released Wednesday.
Vivid memories of family dove hunting trips: The only outdoor-related subject matter that gets me as much response as my columns on wolves are the ones related to dove hunting. Morning doves are the most plentiful game bird in North America and their populations are considered a species of least concern. The average life expectancy of a dove is under one year. Yet with all of the facts that show hunting doves has no measurable effect on dove populations, there are always going to be folks who think all hunting should be outlawed. This is why so many states have amended their constitutions to protect hunting and fishing as a legal activity. My dad never really hunted very much, and I certainly did not develop my outdoor passions as a result of countless hours in the field with my dad. Making a living back then was the only concern, and for the majority of my youth my parents spent their time doing just that. One dove hunting memory that I do remember well is one from when I was about 6 years old, and it took place in the great state of South Dakota. Times have changed a lot since then, but the story I am about to share was quite common more than 50 years ago.
‘It’s been very rewarding for me’: Veterans’ lives changed by fly fishing: Lick the finger, grab the fir, twist the thread, repeat. That’s the drill for the group of seniors sitting in the CLC dining hall at Spokane’s Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center. Tying flies is a relaxing task, but the room isn’t quiet. Questions ring around the room as the group learns the precise technique of making thread bugs. Vietnam War veteran Steve Gump makes creating them look easy, but it’s been years of practice to get to this point. “It gets me out of my head, the fly tying. I’m focused on tying a fly versus other thoughts intruding,” Gump said.
Fall fishing on Alabama Gulf Coast heats up after crowds thin: For those who like to take their vacations at Alabama’s coast after the crowds are gone, now is the time to head south. Though the weekends are still busy, the weekdays have a shadow of the numbers of vacationers pre-Labor Day, and that’s nothing but good for anglers. Fall is prime time for redfish, which move from the beaches into the lower bays to spawn as fall nears. The “bull” reds — which are actually mostly females — settle on the edges of the bars and around the gas rigs, sometimes in schools that number several hundred, all of them 15 to 25 pounds and some even larger.
Overloaded fishing boat capsizes in Indiana, leaving 4 dead and 1 missing: An overloaded fishing boat ferrying seven people back to their cars after a family picnic along the White River in Indiana capsized on Monday night, killing four people and leaving one missing, the authorities said Tuesday. The accident happened around 9:30 p.m., after 16 members of a family had picnicked in a public fishing area along the river near Martinsville. The boat was transporting the family from a sandbar across the river when it overturned, Lt. Angela Goldman of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in an interview on Tuesday evening. “The boat was 10 to 12 feet long,” Lieutenant Goldman said. “Boats that size are not intended to fit that many people.”
Conservation Congress asks DNR to do more to fight chronic wasting disease: A group of influential sportsmen wants Wisconsin wildlife officials to teach people more about chronic wasting disease, do more to help deer hunters dispose of carcasses and make testing for the disease easier. Conservation Congress Chairman Larry Bonde made the remarks during a joint news conference with state Department of Natural Resources officials. The event was designed to draw attention to the department’s efforts to address the disease as the fall hunting seasons approach. Gov. Tony Evers, who controls the department, hasn’t offered any new CWD strategies. The governor has said he wants to see if research conducted in other states yields breakthroughs.
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