Congrats to our April winner. Monthly winners are entered into our Photo of the Year Contest which includes a 4 day high fence bow hunt for trophy whitetail at the QB Ranch Be sure to get your May photos in for a chance to win your own customized pair of Costa Del Mar shades!
What We’re Doing
Just got back from a long weekend in Port Aransas. Can't beat wade fishing down there this time of year. Caught some nice trout on live croaker. No action on artificial.
Our longtime buddy and Elite Series Pro Kelly Jordon drops by. We get Kelly’s thoughts on fishing grass lines where bass typically congregate. “Find the grass and you’ll find the bass”. We also discuss the Elite Series and how things are shaking out so far this season. Also, Kelly is a passionate off shore fisherman – heading down to the Texas coast as often as he can. Red Snapper regulations, big tuna and a whole lot more with our good friend!
Then a very special treat when Texas Country music legend Pat Green joins us. We talk about Pat’s days in Nashville and return to Texas music and of course we also will get into his new record Songs We Wish We’d Written II. Oh yeah, we’ll also talk a little hunting and fishing with one of the most influential Texas artists of the past 20 years.
Then we round things out by checking in with Col. Pete Flores who retired last week after 27 years as a Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden. He was the head of TPWD’s Law Enforcement Division for the past 7 years and over the course of his career has seen and done it all! We will hear some of his stories and enjoy celebrating 27 years of service to the Lone Star State’s outdoorsmen and women.
We all know how tough public hunting in Texas is. Our state is 95% privately owned so public hunting opportunities can be few and far between. We’ve all driven by a beautiful piece of private property gazed wistfully at a tank full of greenheads or a flock of turkeys in a field…and how we long to hunt that property, knowing it’s unrealistic. Or is it? Our buddy and outdoor blogger Noah Van Hochman (The Outdoors Guy) gives us his tip on how he frequently gains permission to hunt those desirable tracts of private land. Noah’s Website
If you haven’t heard, the hunting community was dealt a heavy blow by the California senate and HSUS last week. Backed by the HSUS, the senate approved a bill that would outlaw the use of hounds to hunt bear and bobcat in California. This bill would ultimately put alot of hardworking outfitters out of business. One of those outfitters is Dean Collins of Clavey River Guide Service. He joins us to talk about the dire situation threatening to destroy his livelihood, way of life and heritage. Make no mistake, the Humane Society won’t stop in California and they won’t stop with hounds. Their goal is outlaw all hunting in this country. Here is Dean with a couple of his hunting buddies and a California black bear.
We then round out the broadcast when STI Guns President & CEO Tim Dillon stops by. STI is based out of Georgetown, TX. Their guns are Texas made and the company is employee owned. Specializing in all manner of high end pistols, STI is the United State’s 3rd largest exporter of handguns. Tim talks about STI’s history and their dedication to making only the highest quality handguns like the 1911 Lawman Series below. I have an STI pistol and can tell you from experience you won’t find a more well crafted firearm!
Gaining Access To Hunt Private Lands, California Hound Hunters Under Fire & Texas Premiere Pistol Manufacturer[ 1:23:05 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
We kick things off with our longtime friend of the show John Devney- Delta Waterfowl’s Senior Director of U.S. Policy. Delta has long been one of our favorite conservation organizations and John breaks down how nesting conditions look in the Prairie Pothole Region and farther north. Also, there is some potential Agricultural Policy Change up for vote in Washington and John will update us on that as well. It’s no secret that private land is essential for nesting success like this canvasback and her brood:
Then we have an in studio guest when our buddy Derek Lemaster of Black Ops Tactical Hunts drops in. Black Ops is doing there part to put a dent in our feral hog population one pig at time thru the use of thermal imaging scopes. I was able to hunt with these guys last week and it was an awesome experience! Derek talks about thermal imaging and tells some of his pig killing secrets. By the way- our July Photo of the month grand prize winner will get to do some hog control with Black Ops Tactical Hunts so send in your best outdoor photos! Derek and myself with the results from our hunt. Good piggies!!!
We then cap things off by checking in with our longtime friend and Lake Fork Guide Heath Hardwick. The action on Lake Fork is heating up as the bass are moving out of the shallows and into their summer haunts. Heath tells us where to find ‘em and how to catch. Even more exciting- Heath confirmed that hydrilla and dense aquatic vegetation is starting to pop back up after a couple year absence due to drought. Don’t look now but Lake Fork is poised to bust out in a big way! Find the hydrilla and you will find the bass:
The outdoor community suffered a big loss with the passing of Mitchell Guist of the hit show Swamp People. He and his brother Glenn epitomize what it means to live off the land. Hunting and fishing for all of their food. The show won’t be the same without him. RIP brotha.
Got another good one lined up this week. Off the top we get it going with TPWD Fish Hatchery Director Todd Engling. Todd oversees all 5 of Texas’ freshwater hatchery centers and his department recently took 5 monstrous striped bass out of the Guadalupe River and moved them to the Possum Kingdom hatchery. WHAT, 50 lb stripers in the Guadalupe? I never woulda thought so either. But these fish come thru the Canyon Lake dam and seem to thrive in the river. Here is a 48 lb monster that TPWD took out of the river to use as brood stock at the Possum Kingdom hatchery:
Then we let TPWD tell their side of the story regarding partnering with the Humane Society (see last week’s interview with Texas Fish & Game Magazine Editor Don Zaidle to find out more). TPWD is set to match up to $10,000 in an attempt to find non-lethal methods to remove these jackasses from Big Bend State Park. The invasive species needs to go and Texas Parks and Wildlife Special Assistant to the State Parks Director -Kevin Good- joins us to explain TPWD’s stance on the issue which has so many of us riled up! I’ll ask him all ya’lls tough questions. Feral burros compete with native animals such as desert big horn sheep and deer.
Then we round things out when Michael McCloud joins us. Michael and his son recently founded an amateur bass fishing tournament- Big Bass Mania. Which takes place on Sam Rayburn this June. The tournament was started to help raise money for wounded soldiers. With a $120,000 payout this is also one of the highest paying amateur tournaments ever. Michael gives us all the details.
Striped Bass in The Guadalupe, TPWD Explains Themselves and Big Bass Mania![ 1:00:00 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Went hog hunting with Black Ops Tactical Hunts in Jacksboro, Texas last night. My first time using thermal imaging to hunt hogs. Derek and Nathan run an awesome outfit and put me on the biggest boar I have shot up to date. 200 lbs plus!!! Awesome hunt! Can’t wait to do it again. To see more photos from the hunt visit our Facebook page: More Photos W/ Black Ops Tactical Hunts
Wow, what a show this is gonna be. I always tell ya’ll that this is the most controversial outdoors show out there and this week just further proves that’s the case! Off the top we are joined by the Back Country Lands Director for the Sportsman’s Conservation Project of Trout Unlimited- Dave Glenn. The current administration has moved to pass HR 1581- a piece of legislation that would allow for new roadways and increased access to some of the last remaining tracts of pristine, unmolested tracts of public land in the Western United States. These remote wide open spaces are still the way Teddy Roosevelt envisioned them and untouched habitat means better fishing and bigger bucks/bulls. Here is Dave with a nice Wyoming bull elk strapped to his horse:
Then we crank it up even more when Texas Fish & Game Magazine Editor & Chief Don Zaidle drops in talk about his latest article “TPWD In A Deal With The Devil?” The article focuses on TPWD’s decision to work with the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States). HSUS is the biggest anti-hunting faction in the world and TPWD has pledged to match up $10,000 to partner with HSUS in an effort to find non-lethal means of dealing with the nuisance feral donkey herds that are destroying areas of Big Bend State Park. The burros are an invasive species and policy has always been to exterminate them on site- well until the olive branch between TPWD and HSUS became evident. Don is fired up and I guarandamntee ya I am as well! Feral burros compete with native species such as big horn sheep and deer for food and habitat in Big Bend:
We then cap things off when our longtime friend and angler Stan Nabozny stops in. Stan holds over 150 IGFA world fishing records and just received their Lifetime Achievement Award so to say he is the most well rounded and versatile angler in Texas is pretty much spot on. He plans on going after a few tarpon records this summer. Stan has been tarpon fishing the Texas coast for many years now and he talks about this rejuvenated fishery. Tarpon are beloved by anglers for their fierce fighting spirit and majestic jumps:
TPWD Dancing w/ The Devil, Back Country Lands Under Attack & Texas Tarpon Fishery[ 1:08:16 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
We are hunting heavy this weekend. Kicking things off with Dr. Joe Ables of Decatur, TX. For those of you who might not know- Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) is the biggest threat to Texas whitetails. Killing tens of thousands of animals last year alone. Well Dr. Ables has invested his time and energy into studying this deer killer and he has successfully come up with a treatment! This is a groundbreaking development in whitetail medicine and will benefit both our native and pen raised deer populations. Dr. Ables with a nice buck post treatment.
Then we are talkin’ late season gobblers with renowned outdoor writer and Real Tree Turkey Editor Steve Hickoff. Steve has been chasing toms for decades and with only 3 weeks left in the season we pick his brain on how to bag that last minute gobbler! Calling, locations, and decoy setups are just a few of the things we discuss.
We round out the broadcast with some suppressor talk. TPWD recently passed some regulatory changes that will allow the use of suppressors when hunting wild game animals such as deer or turkey etc. There are quite a few benefits involved with this decision and Scott Bittner w/ Silenced America will educate us on exactly what all this means. I love talkin’ guns! It’s gonna be a great show!
Ground Breaking Discover in Whitetail Medicine, Late Season Gobblers and Hunting w/ Suppressors[ 1:04:00 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Had a great weekend with a couple good buds out at Squaw Mt Whitetails this weekend. Couple good friends of the show joined myself and Will Echart at the ranch for a weekend of turkey hunting and great music. After the dust had settled we had 3 turkeys a hog and a rattler down. Zane and Justin also provided some great Texas music throughout the weekend. Justin and myself with Sunday’s haul and Zane doing a little pickin’. You can see all the photos from the weekend on our Facebook page: More Photos From Squaw Mt Whitetails
Dang! What a great show we have planned for this weekend. Spring is here and if you aren’t chasing longbeards then you should be wetting a line somewhere. So we are keeping it fishing heavy this week and we kick it off with our Coastal Fishing Report when our longtime friend Captain Len Girard joins us live from Corpus Christi Bay! The trout are plentiful as are black drum and the redfish are starting to move back in. Captain Len with a monster bull red!
Then a real treat when Scooter Bivens of the History Channel’s hit show Mudcats stops by. Scooter has won numerous noodling championships including the Okie Noodling Invitational Championship as featured on Mudcats. Now that Texas has a legal noodling season I am sure Scooter can share some tips for those of us who are new to the sport! Scooter with a couple monstrous flatheads!
Then we round out the show when our longtime bud and Army Bass Anglers Founder and President – Major Cody Roberson drops in. The Major has some big news regarding the new Army Redfish Anglers division and of course the new show Force on Force which premiered on Sportsman’s Channel a couple weeks ago. It’s gonna be a good one!
Noodlin' 101 W/ The Champ of Champs, Trout Bite Heating Up & Big News From Army Bass Anglers[ 1:03:00 ]Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
