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We are all over the map this weekend! To start with we are joined live from the Texas Coast by our good friend Captain Len Girard. The trout bite is on fire right now and Captain Len tells us where to find ’em and what bait to use. Of course live shrimp and croaker are always great options for live bait but what about artificials? Captain Len breaks down his favorite plugs and soft plastics as well. Full stringers of trout with some bonus reds can be expected from Corpus Christi Bay all the way to the Land Cut.
Then we change gears and dive into a hot button issue involving two heavy weights on the Texas deer scene. The Texas Deer Association and Texas Wildlife Association passionately disagree on some recently proposed legislation in the Texas house. HB 2433 and SB 1412 – would change the an 80 year old 10 day rule for releasing bucks into high fence pastures. The new legislation would increase the required release time from 10 days to 60 days. Dick Cain- Board Member, Texas Deer Association and longtime deer breeder drops by to explain why this would not be in the animal’s best interest. Also, it becomes a private property rights issue when folks start trying to tell each other what they can and can’t do on their own place. The high fence vs low fence debate will never die. Personally, I believe we need to stand united as a hunting community. Either way, it’s very interesting stuff for sure. Which side of the fence are you on?
Next we talk spring crappie with Texas’ top crappie angler- Paul O’Bier. A longtime friend of ours, Paul is a 4 time Crappie Anglers of Texas Angler of the Year and 3 time Texas Crappie State Championship Tournament winner. Paul breaks down how this unpredictable spring weather has affected the crappie spawn and bite. Where is Paul finding most of his fish? What is his go to jighead weight? We also find out what color jig he used to win the CAT Tournament on Cedar Creek last weekend. Paul with a couple nice slabs from his winning stringer of papermouths.
We wrap things up by checking in with TPWD Chief Pilot and Assistant Chief Game Warden Lee Finch. Lee heads up TPWD’s aviation department and his responsibilities include wildlife surveys, animal relocation and patrolling the night skies in search of poachers and game law violators. Lee talks about some of his experiences as the “Eye In The Sky”, from West Texas mule deer counts, to big horn sheep relocation and using night vision to bust an unsuspecting deer poacher. Lee and his partner using night vision goggles while flying an anti poaching surveillance mission.
