Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
Texas’s Big Ranches Are Still Selling for Big Bucks
Even when interest rates are high, people want a place where they can hunt actual bucks.
Hunting & Fishing
Stories and tips on hunting and fishing
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
Why the Deer Are Bigger and the Hunting Is Easier in Texas
Wildlife biologist Larry Weishuhn explains the changes he’s seen in his lifetime of Texas woodsmanship.
Sponsored
October 1, 2022
A Dream Catch
The best fishing trips in Texas and beyond are now at your fingertips with Captain Experiences.
Texas Country Reporter
September 21, 2022
Meet the Patron Saint of Texas Game Fish
Years ago, Kenneth Henneke helped develop a feisty catfish, and now he stocks a variety of species for anglers across the state.
Hunting & Fishing
September 9, 2022
How Alvin Dedeaux Went From Punk Rock to Redefining Texas Fly-fishing
The affable musician turned guide is the rare fly-fisherman to reach star status within the angling world.
Hunting & Fishing
June 6, 2022
Microfishing Is Texas’s Tiny New Angling Trend
Inspired by an ancient Japanese tradition, it’s all about catching as many minuscule species as possible.
Hunting & Fishing
June 3, 2022
You Can (And Should) Fish in Texas Without a License This Saturday
With Texas’s annual Free Fishing Day, you can cast your line without all the red tape. No license required!
Hunting & Fishing
May 19, 2022
How to Catch a Guadalupe Bass
I’d long hoped to snag the elusive state fish of Texas. A nineteen-year-old expert guide helped me do it.
Texas Country Reporter
May 13, 2022
Viva la Guadalupe Bass! The Comeback Story of the Texas State Fish
Decades of conservation have helped save the native fish, now iconic to Central Texas anglers.
Hunting & Fishing
April 4, 2022
When It Comes to Gulf Fish, Don’t Fear the Sheeper
Move over, speckled trout and redfish. The misunderstood, toothy sheepshead is a tasty—and sustainable—catch.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
February 24, 2022
Instagram’s Newest Influencers: Texas Women Who Eat What They Kill.
These wild-game influencers spotted a gap in the market—refined recipes and honest reflections on what it means to eat what you kill.
Hunting & Fishing
February 10, 2022
Big Money Is on the Line at Catfish Competitions Across Texas
Lucrative tournaments built around these river monsters are booming.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
November 24, 2021
Texas First: Killing and Cooking My Own Thanksgiving Turkey
As an impressive quantity of hot, steaming blood poured over my bare hands, I wondered how I, a vegetarian for most of my life, had ended up here.
By
Rose Cahalan
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Hunting & Fishing
November 13, 2021
Duck Duck Duck: Where to Hunt Three Popular Breeds in Texas
Ready to commit murder most fowl?
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
November 9, 2021
Your Red Snapper Filet Might Have Been Caught by Drug Runners
Federal agencies have long struggled to stop illegal fishing and drug smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent years, it’s only gotten worse.
Hunting & Fishing
October 15, 2021
Eat, Prey, Love: A Day with the Squirrel Hawkers of East Texas
The ancient art of falconry is alive and well.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
July 16, 2021
For Crowd-Free Fly-fishing, Go East . . . to East Texas, That Is
The Hill Country offers fast-flowing streams and some nice bass. But for solitude and diversity of species, the creeks and bayous east of I-45 can’t be beat.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
April 26, 2021
Hunting Exotics at Ox Ranch
Ranch CEO Jason Molitor always loved hunting. Now he runs an 18,000-acre operation with more than 60 species on offer.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Critters
February 28, 2021
Axis Deer Had Overrun the Hill Country. The Winter Storm Devastated Them.
Exotic species brought to Texas from Africa and Asia fared poorly in freezing temperatures.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
January 21, 2021
In Search of the Chachalaca, the Least-Hunted Game Bird in Texas
With its distinctive, raucous call, the chachalaca is often heard in South Texas—but good luck spotting one.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
January 20, 2021
Where to Hunt, or Photograph, Exotic Animals in Texas
From the Big Bend to East Texas, the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley, Texas ranches have been transformed in recent decades by the proliferation of exotic game animals, many of them rare and endangered in their native habitats. With the rise of “Texotics” has come an army of
By
Wes Ferguson
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Wildlife
January 20, 2021
How Texas Hunting Went Exotic
Sprawling ranches. Rare animals. Rich folks with guns. Welcome to the state’s booming business of stalking wildlife from around the globe.
By
Wes Ferguson
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The Texanist
December 7, 2020
The Texanist: Is There Really Only One Place to Go Trout Fishing in Texas?
An Oregon transplant is hoping he can find a few places to cast a line in his adopted state.
Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
Fishing Lures We Love
These Lone Star lures catch the eye as much as they catch fish.
By
Emily McCullar
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and
Pete Robbins
Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
How a Battle Between Recreational and Commercial Fishermen Spawned a Conservation Movement
The Redfish Wars changed Texas fishing. A fight over flounder could be next.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
The Great Texas Fishing Safari
Texas offers some of the most-diverse fishing in the country—from stalking monster sharks on Padre Island to fly-fishing from a kayak on the remote Pecos River. And for three months, I got to try it all.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
Kayak Fishing 101: What You’ll Need
Here are four essential items to get off dry land and into a kayak.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
How Fishing in Texas Got So Good—and Kind of Weird
The state has spent more than a century building up a world-class fishery, with some unintended consequences.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Critters
December 30, 2019
Feral Hogs Are Invading Yankeeland. Northern Friends, Here’s What You Need to Know.
Tips from Texans who trap, kill, and study wild pigs.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
October 28, 2019
A Procrastinator’s Guide to Free (or Cheap) Public Hunts in Texas
Deer season is almost upon us, but don’t fret if you don’t have a lease. Here are four public places that welcome hunters.
By
Wes Ferguson
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Hunting & Fishing
March 22, 2019
Dreams of Landing the Big One at Lake Fork
The fish stories out of this East Texas reservoir are mostly true, which is why fishermen come with their gear and beer in search of some of the state's biggest monster bass.
Hunting & Fishing
March 22, 2019
Five More Great Lakes for Bass Fishing
In addition to Lake Fork, here are some other places where trophy lunkers lurk.
Hunting & Fishing
May 23, 2018
The Rockport Report: Birding, Fishing, and Coastline Updates
There are some bright spots and signs of hope as the area recovers and rebuilds. The fish and birds are waiting for you.
Hunting & Fishing
April 9, 2015
Katy Teen Loves to Fish in his Neighborhood Sewer
Sixteen-year-old Kyle Naegeli has perfected the art of sewer fishing.
Hunting & Fishing
January 20, 2013
Chefs on the Range
Most recipes for game birds amount to long, slow overkill. Only quick, hot cooking ensures that red-meat birds retain their rich flavor.
Hunting & Fishing
January 20, 2013
Quick Cuisine: After the Hunt
A bird in the pan is worth two in the bush, especially when it’s quail.
Hunting & Fishing
March 1, 2004
On the Fly
Who needs Colorado when the Guadalupe River is so closeand so full of rainbow trout.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1996
Shooting Blanks
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department aims to please hunters and birders alike. So why is everyone gunning for it?
Business
September 30, 1996
A Shrimp Tale
After nearly fifty years of working Matagorda Bay, Vernon Bates could soon watch his business shut down for good—and so could the thousands of other shrimpers who make their living on the Gulf Coast.
Hunting & Fishing
May 1, 1995
Burning Down the Woods
In 1990 the state banned the use of dogs to hunt deer. Ever since, a rogue group of East Texas hunters has exacted a fiery revenge.
Hunting & Fishing
August 31, 1994
Idyll Pleasures
Welcome to Puerto Escondido, where you can ride magnificent waves, hook a sailfish, or do absolutely nothing.
Hunting & Fishing
January 1, 1993
Water Babies
Deepwater Gulf shrimp get all the press, but the sweetest, most succulent shrimp in Texas come from the bays.
Business
June 30, 1992
All’s Fair in Love and Catfish
Staring down a Mississippi monopoly, one Brazoria County company hopes to become a bigger fish in a big pond.
Hunting & Fishing
February 1, 1992
Bass on the Hook
A state breeding program aims to fatten up the trim, pugnacious bass.
Hunting & Fishing
July 1, 1986
Man to Man
The son’s ultimate selfishness is to see his father only as his father—not as a man. But on our first fishing trip in 25 years, I began to see my father—and myself—as the grown men we’d become.
Hunting & Fishing
March 1, 1986
Bass’n Gal
There are bass in Sam Rayburn Reservoir, and the gals were out to hook ’em. And Rhonda Wilcox hoped to hook the biggest one of all.
Hunting & Fishing
June 1, 1985
The Last Tarpon
My quest for this magnificent silver fish drew me to a lonely stretch of the Texas coast night and day, summer and fall, over and over again.
Hunting & Fishing
March 1, 1985
Bring ’Em Back Alive
In darkest South Texas roam two of the world’s most endangered species—the black rhino and the Great White Hunter.
By
Jan Reid
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Hunting & Fishing
March 1, 1984
The Deluxe Down-and-Dirty Goose Hunt
In which a group of society ladies samples the thrills and chills of an essentially masculine pastime.
Hunting & Fishing
April 1, 1983
The New Rustlers
Today’s desperadoes are in the bays of the Texas coast, roping redfish and cursing the Parks and Wildlife Department.