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coleto creek reservoir, fishing, hunting, lake texana, recreation, saxet lake, texas parks and wildlife, victoria,
A word of advice to outdoor enthusiasts: When coming to Victoria, don’t forget your fishing tackle and hunting gear. There are loads of opportunities to fish and hunt in the region, thanks to local rivers and lakes and the abundance of wild game.
“Victoria is a good all-around area for hunting and fishing,” says Travis Haug, game warden for Texas Parks & Wildlife. “There’s a lot of fresh and saltwater fishing available. We’ve got catfish, bass, striper and crappie. The best fishing is at Coleto Creek Reservoir and Lake Texana. A lot of people fish at Saxet Lake, too.”
Coleto Creek Reservoir is located in the Guadalupe River Basin, 15 miles southwest of Victoria off U.S. Highway 59. The 3,100-acre reservoir is known for its abundance of largemouth bass, and reports of 5- to 8-pound fish are not uncommon. Hybrid striped bass, white bass, crappie, and blue, channel and flathead catfish are also common catches in the reservoir, which is popular not only with anglers, but also with water sports enthusiasts.
“You can go waterskiing, boating or jet skiing there,” Haug says. “I’ve seen people parasail at Coleto Creek too.”
Lake Texana provides excellent angling opportunities as well and is located eight miles east of Edna on U.S. Highway 59. The lake contains large floating beds of water hyacinth and other aquatic vegetation, which provide great habitats for sport-fish species such as largemouth bass, catfish, sunfish and more.
Hunting in the Victoria region is mostly for white-tailed deer, squirrel, turkey, quail, duck and dove.
“Victoria hunting areas are private property, so you need to get permission from the landowner to hunt on the property,” Haug says. “But there are a lot of opportunities to hunt if you get to know the landowners.”
Adventurous hunters can embark on exotic hunting expeditions with the help of local guide services. All Seasons Guide Service LLC in Victoria has access to more than 70,000 acres of managed ranches and hunts more than 40 different species, including aoudad, black buck, ram and addax. Owner Mike Powell has been hunting in the region for 30 years and also leads African safaris in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“Southern Victoria County has good quality white-tailed deer, and a lot of them,” Powell says. “We do most of our exotic hunting in the Texas Hill Country. Trophy quality animals are harder to find, but all the exotic animals make the record books.”
Powell leads hunting expeditions daily and employs six full-time guides in the winter to keep up with demand.
“Hunters come here from all over the U.S. and even other countries. We get a lot of people from the East Coast and the West Coast,” he says. “White-tailed deer hunting is the biggest item, and mule deer are really popular too. We also offer great dove hunting opportunities from September through November.”
Visit www.allseasonsguideservice.com for more information.
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Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Brian McCord
