Sunday, February 9, 1997

Alas, weather hasn't been nice to crappie fishermen

By JERRY O'BRYANT / Outdoor Editor

Last year at this time the winter crappie fishing season was almost two months old and there were enough fresh crappie fillets stored locally to feed everyone in Abilene.

This year - with our "no winter," "late winter" and "lasting-too-long winter" weather - there probably aren't enough fresh crappie fillets in the area to properly feed your family.

Lake water temperatures are the culprit in this situation. Last winter the surface-water temperatures in our lakes had climbed into the low 50s by Christmas and crappie catching was going great guns by early January. This year lake surface temps are still in the upper 40s and while a few crappie have been caught, mainly before it turned cold in December, the crappie fishing is spotty and poor.

The good news in this otherwise dreary scenario is the fish in our lakes are almost ready to go on a biting spree.

At Lake Ivie last week there were scads of crappie schooled in 24 to 32 feet of water, and while a scant few could be enticed to hit a crappie jig or a live minnow, these big schools of fish were generally dormant.

A few yards away from the schooled crappie, in somewhat shallower depths of 16 to 20 feet, small largemouth bass were actively feeding and would grab a white crappie jig every time it passed near them.

Wondering why the small bass were active and the crappie dormant? The reason is most likely water temperatures. Winter crappie generally become active when water temps are in the low 50s and largemouth will usually start feeding, although somewhat sporadically, with water temperatures in the upper 40s.

Fishing guides and marina operators at Ivie say you can catch some good stringers of crappie at the mouth of Elm Creek - but you have to fish at night and at 60-foot depths in order to be successful. Night fishing would probably be all right, especially on nights when the air temperature is above freezing, but waiting for a 16th-ounce crappie jig to sink to 60 feet would require a little more patience than many of us possess.

Another sign that good fishing is just a few days - or a few degrees - away is the 10-pound largemouth bass Bobby Murray caught at Ivie earlier this week.

Murray, a former professional bass angler and B.A.S.S. Masters Classic champion, was in Abilene for the Big Country Outdoor Sports Show last weekend and took a couple of days off to fish Lake Ivie before returning to his duties with the Pradco Lure Company.

Bobby took the 10-pounder, and several other nice bass, from 35- to 40-foot depths on 10-pound test line and a small jig.

The water temperature at Ivie, and several other regional lakes, this past week was running 49 to 50 degrees. As you would expect, our northern lakes are a bit cooler than the southern-most reservoirs, but just a few days with clear skies and warm temperatures will boost lake waters into the lower 50s and the fishing should be much improved.

Quail hunting

The 1996-97 quail hunting season in Texas is down to the last couple of weeks, and due to widespread rainfall that settled the dust and greatly improved scenting conditions for hunting dogs, these last hunting days through Feb. 23 should be good ones.

It is true that we could stand more quail. The quail crop this season was generally poor due to a lack of spring precipitation, but there is a huntable number of birds across the area, and good numbers of quail in scattered locations.

If you haven't made plans for Disability Resources' Annual Big Country Celebrity Quail Hunt you need to get started.

The DRI celebrity hunt is scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday. Dog Field Trials are set for 8 a.m. at the Big Country Bird Hunters Association's Bird Dog Grounds in Hawley Thursday and the Hunter Round-Up and lunch at the Abilene Gun Club will be Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

After the Round-Up and lunch there will be a shooting exhibition by John Cloherty and Celebrity Sporting Clays Competition at 1 p.m.

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. there will be Sporting Clays, Skeet and Trap tournaments for celebrities, guides, the media, hunters and sponsors.

At 6:30 p.m. Saturday there will be a dinner and auction for celebrities, guides, hunters, guests, sponsors and ticket holders at Fairway Oaks Country Club Pavilion.

For more information on Celebrity Quail Hunt activities and dinner tickets telephone the Disability Resources office at (915) 677-6815.

Bobwhite Brigade

If you have a high schooler who is interested in quail, conservation and the outdoors, the Bobwhite Brigade may be just what you're looking for.

The Brigade is seeking 30 top high school boys and girls for its two quail camps this summer.

The two camps, which offer 4-day curriculums designed to make quail experts of their members, will be at the Krooked River Ranch, near Abilene, June 22-26 and at the Pineywoods Conservation Center, near Lufkin, July 27-31.

The Bobwhite Brigade youth camp concept was originated by San Angelo-based Texas Agricultural Extension Service biologist Dale Rollins and the program has enjoyed widespread success and popularity.

Rollins says the Brigade offers its cadets a hands-on learning experience in the outdoors, and no matter what the cadets' future profession choice is, it's important that they develop the ability to think, plan and present their ideas to others.

A major component of Brigade activities involve developing the communication skills necessary to tell others about wildlife conservation and management. To that end, cadets are taught to write news releases, present educational programs and to present themselves on TV and radio.

Prospective applicants should contact their local County Extension office for the necessary paperwork or write: Bobwhite Brigade, TAEX, 7887 US Highway 87 North, San Angelo, TX 76901-9714, or applications are available via the Internet by contacting Rollins at "d-rollins@tamu.edu".

These ducks are fast

You may have noticed that duck hunters are generally a grouchy, long-faced bunch that on most occasions are cold, muddy and empty-handed.

Ever wonder about these hunters and why they look and act like they do?

Well, the cold and muddy can be explained fairly well because they hunt in swamps during the dead of winter. But the empty hands and long faces were something of a mystery until we noticed a recent info-graph published by United Media's Bulletin Board Service concerning the fastest birds in the world.

According to United Media the speed of the three ducks that most hunters shoot at (and generally miss), the pintail, mallard and teal, is 65 to 68 m.p.h.

No wonder these folks are so grouchy. Who can consistently hit a bird traveling at 68 m.p.h.?

But wait. The teal, mallard and pintail are among the slowest of the ducks and geese our long-faced friends like to hunt. The eider duck clocks along at 70 m.p.h., the red-breasted merganser is like a bullet at 80 m.p.h. and the spur-winged goose is even faster at 88 m.p.h.

Who, in their right mind, would spend half a day sitting in cold mud waiting for a shot at a bird traveling 80 m.p.h.?

It's a good thing our duck-hunting friends don't hunt the spine-tailed swift. This fastest-of-all-birds tools along at a mere 106 m.p.h.