03/03/2010Milestone ShareLunker will be worth $500 a pound For most diehard fishing fans, a largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more would be considered the catch of a lifetime, all by itself. The angler who catches Toyota ShareLunker No. 500 will earn the usual ShareLunker booty plus a cash bonus of $500 a pound.Gift adds nearly 200 acres to Garner State Park Texas Parks and Wildlife has added nearly 200 acres to Garner State Park, one of the most popular state parks in Texas. The new addition, including an iconic bluff called Old Baldy, was purchased from Barbara Muenninks, whose family owned the property for more than 80 years.Outdoors tip Abundant rains have created above-average flows in most Texas rivers and streams. That's good news for white bass, a popular game fish species that travels upstream to spawn in flowing water. Outdoors calendar Events through Oct. 2303/02/2010Texins Archery Club must adjust sights For nearly half a century, the Texins Archery Club has been butted up against LBJ Freeway in North Dallas.02/28/2010Outdoors club has a way of growing on you On March 13, the Dallas Woods and Waters Club will host its 31st Annual Dinner and Benefit Auction at Plano Centre, 2000 East Spring Creek Parkway in Plano, writes Ray Sasser.March madness: The month for big bass Monday is the first day of March, and March is the premier month of the state's traditional big bass season. It's shaping up as a good one.Outdoors notebook Outdoors calendar 02/24/2010After third Classic win, no doubt that VanDam's the best ever Kevin VanDam's third Bassmaster Classic championship Sunday at Alabama's Lay Lake cements his lofty stature as the top tournament bass pro ever. Only Texas native Rick Clunn has won more of the coveted titles.Outdoors calendar Events through March 27Outdoors tip Now that big-game hunting seasons have ended for most species, be sure to give your rifle a thorough cleaning before off-season storage. Lead traces left in the barrel can hurt the rifle's accuracy.02/20/2010Bass pro's fishing checklist starts with iPhone When Kelly Jordon was packing his gear for the Bassmaster Classic, the Elite Series angler went through a mental checklist to make certain he had the essentials covered. Rods? Check. Lures? Check. Extra fishing line? Check. Warm clothing? Check. iPhone? Check.Think a Jack Russell terrier can't be a bird dog? Meet Huck Cord Burnett's starting lineup of bird dogs looked like they were assembled by the United Nations. There was a vizsla, a reddish, short-haired pointing breed that originated in Hungary; a Brittany, a longer-haired pointing breed from France; an English pointer; and the real joker in the deck, a Jack Russell terrier – JRT for short.Study finds that dogs miss many quail Texas quail hunters have suffered through a poor hunting season, mostly because last summer's drought resulted in a poor production year for bobwhites.Outdoors calendar Events through Oct. 2302/17/2010Show provides insight on hunting, fishing in Canada This weekend, Dallas-area sportsmen have an opportunity to meet 50 Canadian fishing and hunting outfitters at the All Canada Show at Southfork Ranch Convention Center.Slow fishing expected at Bassmaster Classic Slow fishing is predicted for the 40th Bassmaster Classic championship tournament Friday through Sunday. Though bass pros have been tight-lipped during practice rounds, most admit they're not catching much at Lay Lake, the event's venue in Birmingham, Ala.02/13/2010Young angler's catfish was worth the weight Colton Austin, 13, was shivering on a cold, blustery day at Lake Tawakoni, but his afternoon was about to warm up. Colton, who lives in New Braunfels, was fishing with his dad, Ray Austin, and their friend, Ron Denison, of Canyon Lake.Built to last Marlin Dempsey has an eye for stone. Opening weekend big for Dallas boat show Outdoors calendar Events through March 602/10/2010Innovation isn't hard to find at Dallas boat show The Dallas International Boat Show wraps up its run in Market Hall this weekend. As usual for the boat show, the huge exhibition hall is filled with all things boating and a few thing that are just fun. Seguin man catches 15.09-pound ShareLunker at Choke Canyon Choke Canyon Reservoir gave up a Toyota ShareLunker weighing 15.09 pounds to Seguin's Richard Flores on Feb. 6. Flores was flipping a 10-inch plastic worm in about 12 feet of water when the big fish bit.Outdoors calendar Events through Oct. 23Outdoors tip The Dallas International Boat Show continues Friday through Sunday, at Market Hall, 2200 Stemmons Freeway. Boat show hours are 3-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. 02/06/2010Mexico still a bird paradise It seems that the best remaining wild bobwhite quail hunting in North America does not occur in the United States.Is deer corn a quail killer? As another poor quail season grinds toward a halt, I'm struck by a disturbing thought. Texas deer hunters may be killing more quail than quail hunters kill, and the deer hunters are not even aware they're doing it.Outdoors notebook Outdoors calendar 02/03/2010Snare some instruction from bass fishing's best Top bass pros Michael Iaconelli and Pete Gluszek will make an unexpected appearance at the Dallas International Boat Show from 6-7 p.m. Friday at Twin Peaks Restaurant's Lost Cove Bar. Iaconelli has won the Bassmaster Classic and Angler of the Year honors. Gluszek has won tournaments on both major circuits, the FLW and Bassmaster.Weekend outdoors tipOutdoors notebookOutdoors calendar Events through Feb. 1101/30/2010Boat business survives storm The 57th Dallas International Boat Show cranks up at Market Hall on Friday, and the boat business is good in spite of the economy.Fly-rod fisher is gaining weight Casey Ryan is a dedicated fly fisher from Dallas, writes Ray Sasser, who's caught numerous striped bass weighing 10 to 16 pounds in the last three years. Outdoors notebook Outdoors calendar 01/27/2010Rains end drought, turn Texas lakes into bass fishing paradises Texas droughts are a bad deal for just about everybody. The worst droughts occur in west and south Texas where huge reservoirs suffer precipitous drops in water level. When the rains finally come, however, game fish in old impoundments get a new lease on life, and so do anglers.Texas group offers prizes for feral hog hunt Most Texas hunting seasons are closed, but the season never ends on feral hogs. The abundant hogs are a mixed blessing – a challenging game animal that yields tasty pork but a pest that causes millions of dollars worth of damage to farm and ranchlands and competes with native wildlife.Weekend's outdoors tip01/23/2010For Colorado guide, a different breed of retriever The Labrador retriever is one of America's most popular gun dogs, cherished as a family pet as well as a retriever of waterfowl and a flusher of upland game birds.Nowhere to hide Jack, the English setter, spent 15 minutes working the wind next to an Oklahoma Panhandle ranch road. The road was baited to congregate bobwhite quail, and Jack's boss, John Cox, figured the quail would be on open flats within 100 yards of the all-you-can-eat buffet.Outdoors notebook The hottest bass lakes in Texas may be lakes Amistad and Falcon, both on the Rio Grande, more than 400 miles from Dallas.Outdoors calendar (1/24) 01/20/201077-year-old largemouth bass record deserves a better fate Last week's announcement that a largemouth bass caught in Japan ties the world record seemed anticlimactic. It took six months for the International Game Fish Association to certify that the fish caught by Manabu Kurita, 32, shares the world title.40,000 trout to be stocked in Oklahoma river More than 40,000 extra trout are scheduled to be stocked in southeast Oklahoma's Lower Mountain Fork River through March.Outdoors tip An enigmatic duck season closes throughout Texas on Sunday. Despite favorable weather over the holidays, duck hunters have reported mostly sporadic action, particularly in East Texas. Outdoors calendar Events through May 1501/16/2010Outdoors calendar (1/17) Events through Jan. 2401/13/2010Outdoors calendar Events through Feb. 1101/09/2010Hunters get chance to bag wild hogs around Lavon Lake Feral hogs are big, ornery and destructive. They multiply like rabbits and number in the thousands around Lavon Lake in rural Collin County.Outdoors calendar (1/10) 01/06/2010Outdoors calendar 01/02/2010Two big hunting shows to set up in Dallas area this week Dallas-area sportsmen should prepare for sensory overload with two big shows vying for their attention Thursday through Sunday, writes Ray Sasser, the Dallas Safari Club's annual convention and sporting expo and the Texas Fishing, Hunting and Outdoors Show.Outdoors calendar 12/30/2009Outdoors calendar Events through Jan. 1412/26/2009Outdoors calendar (12/27)