Schools & Sports

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) 2023–24 proposed migratory game bird regulations mirror last year’s season lengths, timing and daily bag limits. No changes were required due to federal regulatory modifications for season length or daily bag limits. In addition, staff are not proposing any substantive changes to any migratory game bird hunting season.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND THE OUTDOORS

I’ve got a lot to share with you this week. I’m looking forward to our 4th annual Outdoor Ron de Voux in Greenville this Saturday, and we will discuss that in a bit. But first, I just have to tell you about possibly the most exciting wild hog hunt of my life – and I’ve been on lots of hunts! I’m not a ‘trophy boar’ hunter. I usually pass up bigger boars for smaller ‘eater’ hogs. I know the plan is to remove hogs from the landscape but, to my way of thinking, every hog removed is a good thing, regardless the size. I love cooking and eating wild pork, and it’s those 75to 125-pound hogs that I settle my crosshairs on. I have lots of hunting opportunities, including some very good land within a half mile of my house. My farmer/ rancher buddy allows me to set up a couple of feeders and hunt when I wish. I spend a good bit of time in the woods around here and have a good ‘handle’ on the best spots to set up to hunt. In the course of the past couple years, I have seen a really big boar twice. My neighbor also spotted him once and also described him as the biggest boar he’s ever seen as well. How big? Guessing the weight of a wild hog is ‘iffy’ at best. I will bet my best hunting rifle the hog weighs 250 pounds, possibly 75 pounds more! He is BIG. The overgrown porker has been hitting my friend’s plowed field the past couple weeks, probably in the middle of the night and with no real pattern. He has rooted craters three feet deep in the soft earth. A couple days ago, I decided I needed some fresh pork for breakfast sausage and settled into my spot under an old bois d’ arc tree about 50 yards from a corn feeder. A shift in the wind just after dark carried my sent directly to where I expected the hogs to be. I decided a warm bed might be better than fruitlessly watching skunks, kangaroo rats and raccoons munch corn. On the way out, I used my AMG Global Vision Rattler scope to scan the big field the big boar had been ripping apart. I spotted what I thought was two hogs near the middle of the field. On closer inspection I learned it was one hog, a very big one! With a stiff wind blowing from the boar to me and a black night with only a hint of moon, I stalked within 45 yards. I was shooting a 50 caliber Umarex Hammer big boar air rifle pressured to 4,500 psi. Long story short, I hit the boar behind the sheath that covers his shoulder and the big bullet kicked up mud on the far side of the hog, a lethal pass through shot. The boar made a dash to the south and ran across a property line into land I didn’t have permission to enter. The entire event was filmed through the scope’s onboard camera. It’s now on our TV show, A Sportsman’s Life, available many places but easy to find on YouTube. My farmer buddy is happy the destructive boar is gone, but how I did want to photograph that big hog up close!

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s (TPWD) 2023–24 proposed freshwater fishing regulation changes focus on simplifying and clarifying fishing- related rules on waters within public parks, particularly Community Fishing Lakes (CFLs). Additional changes could remove unnecessary exceptions and clarify water-body boundaries.

Many sports include the throwing, passing, and communication of a ball. However, there is much more that happens—relationships are built, friendships and connections are made, and teammates can create traditions. Let’s take a look at some of Crandall Middle School’s basketball traditions.

O.H. Ivie kick-started the second month of the 2023 Toyota ShareLunker collection season Thursday afternoon with a pair of Legacy Class Lunkers, followed by one on Friday and another on Sunday to close out the week. This run of Lunkers boosted O.H. Ivie’s seasonleading total to six entries. With Lake Nacogdoches’ ShareLunker 634 from Jan. 23 added to the mix, the overall season total stands at seven.

Lake Nacogdoches recorded its first Legacy Class largemouth bass of the 2023 Toyota ShareLunker collection season when angler Jack York of Emory reeled in ShareLunker 634. York’s catch was certified at 13.51 pounds and is the second overall Legacy Class fish donated to the program this year. Nacogdoches has now produced a Legacy Class fish in three of the last four collection seasons.

Photos Courtesy of Jim Klenke

Egg prices continue to set all-time per-dozen price records, and a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert does not expect that trend to reverse in the near future.

Over 170 Angelo State University student-athletes and student-athletic trainers have been named to the Lone Star Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll for the 2022 fall semester in recognition of their hard work in the classroom.

University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) graduated more than 7,600 students worldwide in fall 2022. Students from all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and 18 countries earned UMGC degrees. More than 2,200 graduates attended “Grad Walk” in Adelphi, Md., an in-person experience designed to place the spotlight directly on graduates and their achievements while helping protect the health and safety of their guests and the university community.

Matthew Adams of Forney, was named to the Mississippi State University fall 2022 President’s List.

The Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame committee is pleased to announce that Wally “Mr. Crappie” Marshall of Anna, Texas, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2023. Marshall revolutionized crappie fishing through innovative products, tournaments and promotion of the sport. Marshall generously gives back to the fish community through his philanthropic work, teaching youth to fish and donating time and products to multiple charitable organizations and events.