If success was only about how you start, then the Longhorns would be national champs right now. But as any successful person knows, the art of winning has a lot to do with persistence and finishing strong.

Which is why I wasn’t at all concerned last Sunday when, after more than two hours of fishing with Donny Stanley and Clay Yadon, I was not only third in the standings — they had caught one fish each — but I hadn’t gotten as much as a bite. Fishing was slow.

After trying a couple different things, Yadon, a striper guide for the better part of a decade, pulled the fishing equivalent of benching the starting quarterback and switching to the backup plan. We moved to a new spot and tried a different technique.

It worked perfectly. Within a few minutes, we were busy netting good-sized stripers on nearly every cast, and soon the boat was alive with the Riverdance-like thumping of fish waiting impatiently to be put on ice.

We quickly approached our limit, then caught and released dozens more big, scrappy stripers. Best results came while slow-cranking chartreuse shad-type baits just off the bottom in 37 feet of water. The bites were so light that you’d think you were catching bluegill.

We caught a number of fish in the teens, with the biggest hitting the 15-pound mark. Check out photos from the trip at www.centexoutdoors.com.

Youths achieve 1sts

A number of Central Texas youth achieved firsts this hunting season, including some big game taken by brothers Cooper and Callan Weaver of Lorena. The youngsters each shot a Texas Dall Sheep while hunting on the Wildlife Ranch in Mason late last month.

Cooper, 10, shot a ram with a 23-inch curl using a .223 from about 50 yards. Callan, 7, took one with a 13-inch curl using an open-sight .22 from 65 yards out, according to their dad, Robert. The hunting trip was a Christmas gift from their grandmother, Joann Ball.

McLennan County Constable Travis Bailey took his grandson, Jonathan Travis Bailey, 14, on a whitetail hunt in Bosque County, and after more than 11 hours, the young man finally found the deer he was looking for — an 8-point buck — which was his first deer ever.

Photos of the Weaver brothers can be found on the Centex Outdoors Web site.

Fish Art Contest expo

Texas Parks & Wildlife officials intend to make the 2010 State-Fish Art Contest expo at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens the biggest and best in the contest’s history, and they need your help.

Wildlife Forever, the national sponsor of the contest, has agreed to move the national competition and expo from the Mall of America in Brooklyn Center, Minn., to TFFC for the July 17 event.

The Toyota Bass Classic Foundation funds the Texas division of the contest, including cash prizes for Texas winners. However, to put on a Texas-size event, TFFC is seeking the cooperation of additional sponsors to put on a day-long outdoor show with hands-on activities and exhibits for the contest winners, their families and the public.

Outdoor-related businesses and organizations are invited to have a booth to display and sell merchandise or to sponsor a demonstration or hands-on activity such as outdoor cooking, camping, archery, casting, fly-fishing, making fish prints or rock climbing.

Especially wanted are artists who combine an interest in the outdoors with their art, whether it be sculpture, painting, woodcarving, pottery or jewelry-making.

The State-Fish Art Contest is open to any student in grades 4 through 12. Texas entries are judged at TFFC and are due by March 31. Contest information and entry forms can be found at www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishart.

Businesses, organizations and individuals wishing to sponsor or take part in the expo should contact Stinchcomb at (903) 670-2238 or e-mail zoeann.stinchcomb@ tpwd.state.tx.us.

Trout fishing clinic

Children ages 5 to 17 will get the first crack at catching trout being stocked at Fort Parker State Park’s Lake Springfield during the 19th annual Trout Fishing Clinic on Jan. 30-31.

The two-hour clinics will take place at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. Saturday, and again at 1 p.m. Sunday. Participants do not need any equipment, any prior fishing knowledge or even a fishing license to participate. There is a $2 park entry fee for people 13 and older.

To sign up for the clinic, call Fort Parker State Park between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at (254) 562-5751. Plan to arrive 20 minutes early for a quick overview of fishing techniques.

Mexia Bass Club members will be on hand to help kids bait hooks, cast lines and otherwise help out. Club members will also clean and bag the fish.

www.centexoutdoors.com

717-8907