bluetick breader ?

sadly I lost my best friend a few months ago and my wife and I decided it's time for a new puppy to fill that hole. I instantly know what I want, a dark somewhat smaller bluetick . The problem being that I'm still somewhat new to Texas and haven't had the opportunity to meet many other houndsmen. Also I have looked online and through Craigslist but can't seem to find any breeders with the type of stock im looking for and that seam even remotely reputable or trustworthy. Is there a starting place anyone can give me or is Texas just the wrong place to look for hounds?

I'm sure there are a few good traditional type hound breeders around, but I don't believe they will be particularly easy to find. The old school coon hounds have given way around here with the falling popularity of coon hunting due to the rising popularity of hog hunting. The guys that would have gotten into running coon hounds years ago are the same guys running pigs instead now.

I breed blueticks and hunt coon and a few bobcats around Menard County where I live and lion out west. I breed the smaller blueticks females in the 50 pound range and males around 60. My dogs are very athletic, shorter eared than the old style blues...built to run and have a lot of stamina.
I don't breed for color, some of my dogs are open ticked and others are extremely dark; I breed for performance. I don't raise dogs for a living so I don't breed a female very often. I breed them to keep me and a few buddies that are genuinely hunter in hounds. I don't have any pups and not sure if I will breed a female this year or not.
There is a bluetick breeder at Joshua which is just south of Ft. Worth. His name is Gene Wolfenbarger, a great guy and he is also Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Joshua. He is a coon hunter and has some really well bred hounds.
There are still a lot of houndsmen that pleasure hunt for coon and a lot of bobcat hunters in South Texas but they are very low key. Most of these hunters are ranchers and won't sell a dog. A lot of East Texas coon hunters have gone to hog hunting but not so much across South and West Texas.
Adios,
Gary
Gary

thank you for the info! I'll have to look up the guy in Joshua since it's only about 45 minutes from me.

the color isn't really a big deal I'm only looking at it for nostalgia purposes because the first hound I ever had WAY back when I was 13 was a dark saddle back tri color. The main thing I'm interested in is temperament and stamina. I prefer a more outgoing / dominate disposition because I prefer hunting single's vs pair's of dogs.

if you do decide to bread one and think there may be a dog pthe bunch like that than make sure to send me a message!