October 4th from 6-9 PM. FREE event with wild game bites, beverages, live music, raffles, games, and more! Don’t miss out. No RSVP required. Donations needed and sponsorship opportunities are available! Please contact Mimi Meyer at mimi.lsonf@gmail.com for more information.
Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s mission is all about one thing – providing opportunities.
Finding and cultivating future hunters and anglers is crucial to the survival of our passion for the outdoors. Unfortunately, many people never get the chance to have these life-changing experiences. Maybe they had parents who didn’t hunt; maybe they are from
a single-parent household and need someone to give them a gentle nudge into the outdoors. Texas is full of people wanting to become outdoorsmen or outdoorswomen, but they don’t know where to start.
In 2022, LSONF introduced nearly 30 people to the outdoors.
Jarrod Smith took his first deer at 40 years old.
“This is definitely just the start for me,” Smith said. “I want to get with guides and do some saltwater fishing this spring and get the boys out on Lake Conroe to catch some fish. And I think my 11-year-old is mature enough to go out with me hunting.”
LSONF partnered with the Delta Waterfowl R3 program again this year to get 10 wildlife students from Texas A&M-Kingsville out in a duck blind for the first time. One of the students, Andres Rosales, shot a beautiful green- winged teal and had already made plans with his mom to get it mounted as his Christmas present this year. He couldn’t wait to get it back home to a taxidermist.
Working with the Texas Dove Hunters Association, LSONF took Texas Sen. Donna Campbell, M.D. and fellow staff members on their first dove hunt this September.
And it’s not just hunting. Five friends from San Antonio headed to Rockport over the summer for a weekend of fishing. Gabe Constantine caught his first fish and everyone in the group caught their first black drum. Most fish caught were undersized, but Courtney Cargil hooked one keeper, and the group took it to a local restaurant to be prepared and shared.
This year, LSONF’s Wild Game Night raised more than $30,000 with the help of generous donations by our sponsors and patrons. The annual event will be celebrating its 12th year on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at the Beretta Gallery in Dallas.
We hope you will look at our mission statement and consider becoming a donor or sponsor to help us pursue these worthwhile, and vital, causes.
By Mimi Meyer, For Lone Star Outdoor News
Ten wildlife students from Texas A&M-Kingsville, most on their first duck hunt, arrived at the historic Port Bay Club, Nov. 14. The Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation partnered with the Delta Waterfowl R3 program again this year to get students out in a blind.
The group was lively and excited about the experience. The week before, they had gone out with Aidan Flores, Delta’s Texas R3 coordinator, on a skeet shoot. After that, they all seemed to feel comfortable around the shotguns that were provided for them. The group met for a safety debriefing during dinner and then enjoyed the club for the rest of the evening.
Many of the students had expressed their desire to go duck hunting, but had never found the opportunity or place to go. One student, Christin Moeller, said, “I have a group of friends that go all the time, and somehow, they always seem to forget my invite. I have begged them to go for years.”
She was excited to get out on the water and have some ducks to bring home.
The following morning, the breakfast bell rang early at 4:15 a.m. The group was ready to go, all decked out in their camouflage. Riding on “The Launch,” the boat pulling skiffs into the bay and marsh, in darkness with a rough bay, the boat was quiet with nervous energy. As the Port Bay guides picked up each pair of hunters to go to their designated blind, they all wished each other luck.
During the hunt, the students had pleny of opportunities to see and shoot various species of ducks. One text from a guide read, “Dang this girl can shoot!”
There were few misses from the group and nearly everyone returned with a duck in hand.
Returning later in the morning, the boat was filled with laughter, stories and a sense of accomplishment. Everyone investigated the various types of ducks that were brought back. In total, the group brought in 32 ducks. Then they huddled around in the “picking house” for a lesson on cleaning ducks and breasting them in preparation to take home.
Andres Rosales shot a beautiful green-winged teal and had already made plans with his mom to get it mounted as his Christmas present this year. He couldn’t wait to get it back home to a taxidermist.
As the group was saying goodbye, many were excited to return home to share their stories and begin looking for their next opportunity to duck hunt again.
A special thanks to Aidan Flores, Professor Bart Ballard, Tye Green and Jeremy Griffis from Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club. To learn more about LSONF, visit lsonews.com/lson-foundation. For more information on the Delta Waterfowl, University Program, visit deltawaterfowl.org/deltas-university-hunting-program.
Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s 11th Annual Wild Game Night was a success
Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation’s 11th year of the Wild Game Night event raised more than $30,000 with the help of generous donations by our sponsors and patrons. Past LSONF hunters: Kelsy Burrows, Kamille Martin, Channing Flanagan, Michael Flanagan, and Tom Laakman were present along with friends and supporters from across the state.
The foundation’s mission is to create hunters and anglers for a lifetime, and this event supports our annual operations budget to make that happen. This year the foundation plans to introduce at least 15 more people to the outdoors this hunting season.
Thanks to all our sponsors who helped make this night one for the books: Beretta Gallery, Cinnamon Creek Ranch, Tahwahkaro whiskey, Epic Western, Master Construction, Graff Dealerships, Ubathi Global Safaris, Rolling Plains Quail Research Foundation, Flyit Drone Services, TDM Enterprises, Temple Fork Outfitters, Game Girl Gourmet, Small Groups Rifle Range, Haute Horns, Medina Co. Bracelets and Total Wine and More.
For more information on the foundation or if you would like to contribute, please email Mimi Meyer at mimi.lsonf@ gmail.com, go to lsonews.com/lson-foundation, or call (214) 361-2276.
Story By Craig Nyhus, Lone Star Outdoor News
This story originally appeared in the Nov. 26 issue of LSON
The Lone Star Outdoor News Foundation, along with the Delta Waterfowl University Hunting Program, took eight students from Texas A&M-Kingsville on their first duck hunt at the historic Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club in Rockport.
The students arrived on Nov. 15 evening for a gun safety meeting and dinner. Most were quiet and nervous, but they were soaking it all in. The next morning, at 4:30 a.m., the breakfast room buzzed with energy and excitement as the groups drew for their blinds. From there, groups boarded the boat, The Launch, and in total darkness, road across Port Bay.
The students road, unsure of what they were getting themselves into. As each guide pulled up their skiffs to collect their groups, two-by-two they went off to their blinds.
“We sat in a blind nearby,” said LSONF Executive Director Mimi Sams. “There wasn’t a lot of action early on, but around 9 a.m. a few flocks of ducks started flying. We heard a shot, immediately followed by lots of giggles from the blind behind us. Then again, this time from the blind in front of us. This time an ‘Oh yeah’ followed. Then we watched the guide’s dog head out on a long retrieve.”
Several more shots rang out in the late morning.
“You could feel the excitement carrying over the water,” Sams said.
When the morning hunt ended, the groups boarded back on The Launch. This time, the boat was more lively.
“Everyone came back with big smiles on their faces,” Sams said. “The ducks were hung up and all the students gathered around to inspect each one and tell stories about their trips. They all helped identify each duck — a total of five different species and a few coots were harvested.”
“I feel so spoiled to get to hunt here and for my first duck to be a pintail,” said Matti Bradshaw, a graduate student whose project studies pintails and the effects of different habitats on their nesting habits. “Now I need to go buy a shotgun – that’s definitely next on my list.”
Jason Loghry, a graduate student studying shorebirds, grew up in Rockport.
“Someday, when I have a real job, I would like to look at getting a membership to Port Bay Club so I can come to do this all the time,” he said.
Taylor Curry is a sophomore whose dad never took her hunting growing up. She was grateful to experience this with her roommate, Jeanette Velazquez, who convinced her to come on the trip.
“I can’t wait to experience it all with my dad soon,” Curry said.
Alexander Meza is a senior and president of the Wildlife Society chapter at TAMU Kingsville.
“I’m bringing my first harvest back to get it mounted so I can always remember this,” he said.
Two hunters were not successful, but only because they weren’t presented with a shot that morning.
Takayla Hart helped clean the ducks while her guide walked her through the process. She said it was a lot harder than it looked. And two girls took home their coot’s feet and couldn’t wait to scare their friends back at school.
When they were saying goodbye, all of the students planned to get together to cook their ducks, and all said going hunting again would be in their future.
Delta’s University Hunting Program be- gan in 2017 at five partner universities, and the program has grown to 39 schools for the current waterfowl season. Of the student participants, 70 percent have continued as license-buying hunters. The program’s goal is to be offered at all 494 North American schools with wildlife management programs.
This season upwards of 300 students will participate in the program.
A special thanks to Cory Henderson, Professor Bart Ballard, Tye Green, and Jeremy Griffis from Port Bay Hunting and Fishing Club.
