Author: Mike Coker
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Sad Day: Evinrude is Gone
Full Disclosure: My family was an Evinrude dealer for years. Although my allegiance has switched to Yamaha, I had many great days on the water powered by Evinrude and hate to see this latest development. Evinrude experienced bankruptcy with OMC only to rise from the ashes. Hopefully, they will return. Evinrude built the world’s first…
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History of Portland Marine
Portland Marine officially opened at the end of 1967 with a new building, which was quite an improvement over the rented three car garage which served as headquarters for the oilfield and charter boat service operated by Liz and Glen Coker for 11 years. The new 1200 sq. ft. building was split equally between showroom…
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Seadrift trout in the wind
Wind was howling but we managed to grind out a limit of trout. Landed a nice 25″ beast at first light.
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Tecovas Boot Review “The Earl”
As with any good Texan, I own and wear boots. Through the years I have developed a fondness for Lucchese dress boots, Ariat work boots, and Wolverine hunting boots. I was in the market for a new pair of brown ropers and started looking at the Lucchese boots and balked at the $400 – $600…
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Leica Geovid 10×42 HD-B 3000 Review
Leica has deservedly earned a reputation for superior optics. The new Leica Geovid 10×42 HD-B 3000 binoculars uphold that fine tradition. I have had the opportunity to carry these for twenty-plus days deer hunting in South Texas and have been impressed with their performance. My experience was primarily glassing for deer out to 500 yards.…
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State Record Tarpon Caught in Port O’Connor
“As far as memories, that’s probably one of the best…I guess because I had both my boys and it was my son’s bachelor party,” said Greg Heine, who caught the large fish. The record tarpon weighed 247.6 pounds and measured 81 inches long. The group was fishing for bull reds and sharks in the Port…
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Weekend fishing POC and Seadrift
We checked in to the Reel Time Lodge in Seadrift mid-afternoon Friday prepared to chase redfish until dark. We put the boat in the water and, nothing. Motor would start up fine but not keep running. Perhaps we were ahead of ourselves and jinxed our luck by already planning to have Bubba’s cook our catch. Well,…
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Hunting Hogs with Contender Blackout
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Snook in Seadrift!
Capt. Chris Martin, owner of Bay Flats Lodge, pulled me aside at breakfast and asked if I wanted to hook up on something special. Yes, I do! He then introduced me to Capt. Garrett Wygrys who explained that he had located a pod of Snook that had somehow found their way into the Seadrift area. …
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Polaris Ranger SuperATV LED Light Bar
Installation of SuperATV 6″ LED Combination Spot / Flood Light Bar on 2017 Polaris Ranger XP 1000. This project kicked off because I wanted to add a cargo bed light to my Polaris Ranger. My initial thought was of a modest solution that would provide just enough light to see what I was doing at…
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Leupold LTO Tracker HD Thermal Viewer
The new Leupold LTO Tracker HD is their second generation thermal viewer. Designed to detect heat signatures up to 750 yards away it should be an essential part of everyone’s kit. From tracking downed game to finding your way back to camp a small handheld thermal is a worthwhile investment. Handheld thermals around this price…
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10 Family Fishing Ideas for Spring Break in Texas
AUSTIN – Many Texans opt outside to help reconnect with nature after a long winter, but Spring Break adventures aren’t limited to swimming, camping and hiking. Fishing also offers a great way for families to experience the diverse aquatic life and scenic places that Texas has to offer. Here are 10 places where families can…