Shall we gather at the river?

The answer is yes, as thousands of white bass and anglers in pursuit of them make their ways to the muddy banks of the Bosque for the annual spawning run.

Boaters and bank fishermen alike are finding success on the rivers, with the most popular spots being the South Bosque near the Highway 84 bridge and the Middle Bosque at McLennan Crossing.

Tena and Johnny Elkins used fly rods to make a haul last week, with Johnny predicting a strong run for at least the next few weeks. Moderate temperatures and stable weather patterns should bear his prediction out.

An impromptu fishing trip I took one afternoon with Jeff McNew and his family convinced me that the run is on, as I spent roughly 30 minutes on the water and boated 10 while others in the group had roughly the same success. Good numbers of limits and nonstop fishing action have been reported in the past few days.

The best fishing is typically during the post-spawn, when fish have completed their egg-laying and fertilizing duties. All that hard work leaves fish extremely hungry, and during the post-spawn phase, whites are not the least bit picky about what they eat on their way back to the lake.

So far, indications are that the females are joining their male counterparts upstream, but they haven’t actually spawned yet. Photos of the white bass action can be found at the Centex Outdoors Web site.

Anglers 17 and older are required to have a valid Texas fishing license. There’s a limit of 25 fish per person on whites, and they must be at least 10 inches in length.

Navarro Mills slow

While the fishing isn’t red-lining at Navarro Mills, crappie fishing remains slow, along with largemouth and white bass.

The lake is yielding nice catches of catfish, however. Channels are good off the points on shrimp and stink bait, and blues are hitting trotlines and jug lines baited with shrimp and goldfish.

Navarro Mills is home to the state record for white crappie at 4.56 pounds.

Optimistic on turkeys

The statewide outlook for spring turkey hunting is less than great, but local reports indicate that Central Texas might exceed the expectations.

The downbeat prediction is based on back-to-back years of dry conditions that negatively impacted nesting conditions, meaning fewer eggs being laid and higher mortality rates.

On the bright side, wildlife biologists say 2007 produced a bumper crop of birds, and that carryover of mature toms, combined with excellent nesting conditions this year, could result in a turkey baby boom.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologist Ralph Suarez is based along a transitional area between the northern Hill Country, southern Rolling Plains and western cross timbers. He says that they have had near record moisture this winter and that he is already seeing a lot of green weeds.

Suarez is predicting an early start to the nesting season, but expects the overall number of gobblers to be down this season due to the past two years of drought.

Rio Grande season

Rio Grande spring turkey hunting season opens in the North Zone April 3 and runs through May 16. Special youth-only weekends are set for March 27-28 and May 22-23.

The South Zone opens March 20 and runs through May 2, with youth-only weekends set for March 13-14 and May 8-9.

A special one-gobbler-only Rio Grande spring season is set for April 1-30 in eight counties — Bastrop, Caldwell, Colorado, Fayette, Jackson, Lavaca, Lee and Milam.

The bag limit for Rio Grande turkey is four turkeys per license year. Regulations and bag limits vary by county, so check the specific rules where you are hunting. Only gobblers are allowed to be harvested during the spring hunting season.

If you’re looking for a place to hunt, TPWD’s public hunting program offers the opportunity to participate in low cost, family-oriented, spontaneous hunts for turkeys on more than 1 million acres of public hunting lands.

The permit costs $48 and may be purchased wherever hunting licenses are sold.

Having purchased the appropriate Texas hunting licenses and stamps, permit holders may take children under age 17 hunting free of charge on these public hunting lands.

www.centexoutdoors.com

717-8907