Hunting Small Game After Deer Season

Now that deer season is over it is time to go after small game.  You can hunt rabbits and squirrels as well as quail until the end of February.  Some of my best memories growing up are of hunting those game birds and animals.

    One of my best friends had a pack of beagles and we hunted rabbits almost every Saturday after Christmas until the end of season.  I loved putting the dogs out and listening to them as they jumped a rabbit and chased it.  And it was always a challenge to try to be in the perfect place for a shot when the dogs chased the rabbit in a circle back to us.

     I got frustrated the first two times we went because I took my .410 and missed about half the rabbits I tried to shoot. I was used to shooting squirrels in trees with it and most of my shots at them were while they were sitting still.   Rabbits didn’t sit still.

    I started carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and seldom missed with it.  It almost seemed like cheating at first, but I wanted fried rabbit for supper!

    As much as I liked hunting with the dogs, one hunt without them stands out in my mind.  It snowed a little that week, not enough to mess up the roads but fields and even the ground in the woods was white.  My friend said it was too cold for the dogs so we played dog.

    We went to a farm where we knew there were a lot of good brush piles around the fields.  We took turns jumping the rabbits. One of us would stand on one side of the brush and the other one would stomp up on it and across the top.  It seemed at least every other brush pile had a rabbit in it that day and we got our limits, even without the dogs.

    Hunting on Sunday was illegal back then so most of our squirrel hunting was after school on week days.  Dearing Elementary School I attended from 1st through 8th grade was a little less than a mile from my house.  It was not unusual for me to ride to school with dad – he was the principal – and leave my .22 or .410 in his office. At the end of school I would go by and get my gun and go down to the branch near the school and hunt my way home.

    Dearing was, and is, a small town in McDuffie County and it was easy to avoid houses from the school back to my house.  I probably walked between two and three miles hunting from school to home but it was worth it.

    My dad hunted quail and we went a good bit before he got rid of the dogs and I started rabbit hunting.  He never went with me squirrel hunting but one time and that is a great memory.  One afternoon as I got ready to go out he said he would come along and we went to the woods across from my house.

Most afternoons I was happy to kill three or four squirrels, and I don’t think I ever killed a limit of ten. But that day I did. Daddy never fired a shot. I realize now he actually helped me kill squirrels, by making those he spotted move toward me so I would see them. At the end of the day he bragged on my about what a good  hunter I was, without letting on he helped.

This is a great time to make some memories like that. Take your kids hunting for squirrels and they will probably remember it all their lives. 

What Is A Burbot and How and Where Can I Catch One

IDAHO’S STRANGEST FISH –  The Burdot

– Connor Liess, Idaho Fish & Game Public Information Specialist

from The Fishing Wire

Riddle me this: What lives in the Kootenai River, has the body of a cod, the meat of a lobster and the soul patch of Frank Zappa? No, that’s not a trick question. There really is a species of freshwater cod that calls the Kootenai River home, but that almost came to an end just 20 years ago. Herein lies the tale of one of Idaho’s strangest fish – the burbot.

What’s the deal with burbot?

Burbot – also known as bubbot, cusk, freshwater cod, ling, lingcod and eelpout – are the only freshwater cod species in North America, and they have a special place in Idaho’s heart. With a face that only a mother could love, these long-bodied, cold-water fish are not your run-of-the-mill sport fish. Burbot have flat heads and long bodies that sprout long pectoral fins just behind their gills. Their back-half is eel-like, with stumpy rounded fins. Burbot have brownish-yellow mottled skin, earning them the nickname “Kootenai leopards” among anglers.

As the name implies, these “leopard-like” fish are predatory and feed during the night. They hang out during the day in deep, slow-moving pools, then seek out food such as crayfish or small fish in shallow water. With the help of inward slanting teeth and a funky little chin whisker called a barbel, burbot have no trouble scoping out and hanging on to prey.

Burbot march to the beat of their own drum in more ways than one, but when it comes to reproduction, things get even weirder. Unlike most freshwater fish that spawn in spring or early summer, burbot prefer to do their business in winter. Some Kootenai River burbot will even migrate from watersheds up in Canada, roughly 75 miles away. Spawning can occur from December to late March, with most spawning happening mid-February through mid-March. Females will lay anywhere between 60,000 to 3 million eggs, each being the size a grain of sand. Burbot will often live to 8 to 10 years old, and even longer in other parts of the world.

Unbeknownst to many Idaho anglers, burbot are a healthy sport fish living right here in our backyard, but it didn’t always use to be that way.

Bouncing back

Just 20 years ago, anglers would be hard-pressed to hook a burbot in Idaho’s Kootenai River. It was estimated that only 50 fish remained in 2004. Thanks to an international, multi-state effort including Idaho Fish and Game, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and fisheries biologists from Canada and Montana, Kootenai River’s burbot population recovered.

Research began in the 1990’s, with burbot fishing closed down in 1992 because of a decline in numbers. Biologists started using hoop nets – a non-invasive fish trap – to capture, tag and study these fish. Researchers also tagged burbot with PIT tags to track migration.

In 2004, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho began operating a burbot hatchery in hopes of increasing the population. The Kootenai Tribe took Canadian-spawned burbot eggs back to the hatchery and hatched the tiny eggs from there. Once they reached adolescence, the young fish were released into the Kootenai River.

From the decades’ long research, two important takeaways were found: Burbot weren’t very successful at spawning naturally, and hatchery-raised burbot were surviving but still relied on the hatchery to produce more fish for the population to continue growing.

In 2019, the burbot population finally hit its restoration goal. Partners from the original recovery project are still monitoring burbot populations in the Kootenai River fishery.

You had me at lobster cod

Hit up your buddy to take the rods out on the Kootenai River and its tributaries in mid-winter and you might get a solid “no” before you can even finish your sentence. But tickle their fancy with a prized fresh-water cod that tastes like lobster and it might change their tune.

Anglers will most likely find burbot between mid-February and mid-March when spawning is at its peak, but because burbot fly by night usually, it can be a little challenging to locate them. But before you cast off these unicorn fish as a myth, here are a few fishing tips to help you track down a “Kootenai leopard”:

  • Fish shallow flats (5-15 feet deep) at dusk or during the night.
  • Try river junctions where smaller streams flow into the mainstem of the river.
  • If fishing during the day, try dropping a line in 40-plus foot deep holes. Burbot like to rest in these deep pockets during the day.
  • Anglers can also try ice fishing for burbot on Bonner Lake.
  • Worms and shrimp work well for bait.
  • Use weights to get the line down deep towards the bottom.

Fishing for burbot can be a great way to kick off any angler’s new year. Be sure to dress warm and bring extra layers in case that North Idaho weather takes a turn. Whether you land one of these leopard-like cod or simply use it as a way to get outdoors this winter, burbot fishing is not only a chance to put a delicious, native fish on the supper table, but a true reminder of the persistence and revitalization of one of our state’s fish species.

To learn more about burbot, check out this month’s issue of Wildlife Express. In it you will find all kinds of fun facts, puzzles and more!

Fishing Cold and Hot Weather in January

The Flint River Bass Club tournament scheduled for Sunday, January 15, 2017 was canceled.  Who knew it got cold in January!  I decided to go anyway and had what I consider a good winter day fishing.

    It was cold so I delayed going until later in the morning.  When I put the boat in the water there was a little ice on the ramp from a boat that was launched earlier but I had no problem launching. The only trouble I had was no water was coming out of the tattletale on my motor when I cranked it. 

    Usually a small stream of water comes out of the motor showing the water pump is working. My boat has a water pressure gauge and it showed the right pressure, so I knew the opening for the tattletale was frozen up. That does not really cause a problem but I idled to a nearby rocky point to start fishing rather than making a run.  Sure enough, after fishing for a few minutes I cranked up and the stream of water flowed like it should. The warm sun and motor heat melted the ice.

    Within a dozen cast with a crawfish DT 6 crankbait I hooked and landed a three-pound spotted bass.  The water temperature was 51 degrees so the fish were about as active as I could expect this time of year. By the time I quit fishing four hours later I had also landed a two pound largemouth, a keeper spot, three short fish and had two more pull off without seeing them.

    I never really got cold.  My hands were cold when I got out in the wind and tried to fish, but back in coves, out of the wind, I had to open my jacket because I was too warm with the sun beaming down. When I was running on plane I wore gloves so even my hands were comfortable.

    As I write this it is 74 degrees outside.  Potato Creek Bassmasters has a tournament scheduled for Saturday. I hope it is not canceled because it is too hot for January!

—-

Green Bay Whitefish with the Right Baits

Stirring Up Green Bay Whitefish

Heading out on Green Bay soon? Anchor a Slider Rig with a No. 3 Rapala Jigging Rap, dress your “cheater hook” with half a Mustache Worm and hang on, says in-demand Door County guide and ICE FORCE Pro JJ Malvitz.

“The whitefish bite has been amazing,” he says. “And the cool thing about whitefish is that they’re really easy to catch and you can catch a lot of them.”

There’s more to whitefish angling than just quantity though, Malvitz notes – the fish provide a quality fight as well, especially in the deep water in which they’re often found in Green Bay this time of year.

“You’re catching them in super-deep water – 50 to 100 feet – so you get a lot of time on the rod to really play them out,” Malvitz says. “Any time you can prolong a fish on the end of your line, it maximizes the fun factor. It provides a lot of action, so it’s really good for kids and people who have not ice-fished much before.”

Also, whitefish are delicious.

“They are great table fare,” Malvitz says. He likes them deep-fried, pan-fried and says “you can’t beat smoked whitefish.”

A good keeper whitefish is anything 16 inches long or better, Malvitz says – “you can really get a really good filet off of them.” A whitefish big enough to brag about a bit will be 21-plus inches, about 4 to 5 pounds. “That’s a really good one,” he says. Most you’ll catch on Green Bay will weigh around 1 ½ to 2 pounds. The bigger ones taste better smoked, he says. Wisconsin’s daily limit is 10 whitefish.

“We just started in the first weekend in January to be able to get on this bite safely – to get to that offshore structure where we catch whitefish,” Malvitz says. “We’ve been catching limits from the get-go.”

Slider Rig
Finding whitefish can often be the hardest part of catching them. Once you find a group of fish, though, getting them to bite a Slider Rig is usually pretty easy.

“It’s really kind of a neat little rig,” Malvitz says. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Malvitz’ Slider Rigs comprise a main line of 6-pound-test Sufix 832 Advanced Superline, a six-foot tip line of 6-pound-test Sufix Invisiline 100% Fluorocarbon, a 12- to 16-inch leader of the same Sufix fluoro and four pieces of tackle:

• A heavy, bottom-pounding anchor bait like a No. 3 Jigging Rap or 1/8th oz. VMC Rattle Spoon. Black-gold, silver-black and Firetiger color patterns have all been “producing pretty good,” Malvitz says.

• A small VMC swivel

• A No. 6 VMC Octopus hook

• A brown Trigger X Mustache Worm with one of the arms pulled off. (The brown color is named “Natural”

Here’s how the rig all comes together:

• Use a double-uni knot to connect the main line and the six-foot section of fluoro

• Thread the Octopus hook onto the fluoro, point up, then tie the swivel to the end of the fluoro. Some people call this section of the rig the “cheater hook or slider hook” Malvitz says. (Note: Don’t tie on the hook – after threading it on the line, just let it slide around, free)

• To the other end of the swivel, tie the leader.

• Tie the Jigging Rap or Rattle Spoon at the end of the leader

• Nose-hook the center bulb of the half Mustache Worm on the cheater hook

Fish the rig by dropping it to the bottom, banging the anchor bait around a bit and then lifting it all up. Repeat until you get bit. “Sometimes they’ll pin the Jigging Rap on the bottom and we’ll catch ’em on that, but 75 to 90 percent of our fish come on that top, slider hook,” Malvitz says.

More times than not, you won’t feel your bites. “It’s not a detection bite like when you’re walleye or bluegill fishing, where you’ll feel the fish smoke your lure,” Malvitz explains. “You’ll be lifting upward and all of a sudden, the weight of the fish is just there.”

Steep and Deep
As safe ice allows, Malvitz targets steep drops from 15 to 25 feet of water to 40 to 90 feet. “You want steep breaks with an edge that has some structure. The fish will hold on those breaks. They’ll be running all over those edges.”

Because whitefish are in the salmon and trout family, productive areas will have current as well. “They really relate to current,” Malvitz says. You’ll know you found adequate current when your line very obviously drifts to the edge of your hole.

Unlike some other freshwater fish, whitefish can survive trips to the surface from very deep water, Malvitz says. “They have the ability to ‘burp’ themselves,” he explains. “Sometimes, when you’re reeling up, you’ll have this surge of bubbles come up through your hole. That’s the fish purging its air bladder. They don’t puke up their air bladder like perch out of deep water.”

See Rapala® Jigging Rap

See Trigger X® Mustache Worm

Stupid Names Fishermen Use for Bass and Fishing

For some reason folks seem to want to make up weird words and names for things they do, especially in sports.  Nowhere do I see more of these stupid words than in bass fishing.  Some of them amaze me, others are just so disgusting I ignore them to the point I will not even “like” a post on Facebook containing one of them.

    I could understand using a more succinct name to save words, but when the new dumb name is as long or longer than simply saying “big bass” what is the sense?  I guess folks are just trying to be cute or trying to be different just like everybody else.

    Most of us do not catch big bass very often, so some think they need to show off by naming them something odd.  Growing up I might hear a big bass called a “hog,” which morphed into “Hawg” over the years, but there were few others.

One name used for years was catching “Ole Nellie” for a landing a big bass, but more often it was “I lost Ole Nellie” today, meaning anything from hooking a stump to feeling a tap on your bait, setting the hook and missing the bite, never seeing the fish.  But “Ole Nellie” was so common a Georgia tackle company used it for their name.

    Nicknames like “bucketmouth” have been around for a while, but somehow largemouth are often named “largeheads” now. Why? Seems stupid to me.  A largemouth head is no bigger than a spot or smallmouth, but it is used to delineate between the species.  Will those folks now call smallmouth “smallheads?”  What will they use for spotted bass? “Spothead” or “Medium Head” maybe since it seems to relate head to mouth size?

    The first time someone said they caught a “Slobber Knocker”” I thought they had taken a picture of a couple of ten-year-old boys fighting.  That image of a kid being hit in the nose and snot flying still comes to my mind rather than an image of a big bass.

    A similar silly name is “Swamp Donkey,” a term that seems to be favored by college fishermen.  My mind brings up someone putting out traps for a Sasquatch.  Folks using that term are almost always fishing on a lake, and donkey and bass just do not jive in my mind.

“Chunk” or “Toad” or “Tank” makes some sense to me since those words describe a big fat bass pretty good, as do “Sow” or “Lunker.”  I start getting lost when it goes to “Porker” or “Butterball” though.

I understand the term “green trout” for bass since bass were often called “trout” by some of my uncles.  But how did the made-up word “Slaunch” get associated with fishing.  I have heard “Slaunch Donkey,” 
(there’s that four-legged mammal again) or just a “Slaunce.”  If someone on the street said “Slaunce” in a conservation, would it make you want to call the mental hospital?

“Gorilla” makes a little sense but it makes me think of a zoo, not fishing.  But if you say “Hydrilla Gorilla” like one weigh-in guy on TV tournament shows, it rhymes a little, and makes some sense but is still silly. But how do you get “beefers” or “bulls” for a big bass?

Where in the world did “ditch pickle” come from?  I often hear it from Lake Lanier fishermen this time of year, and fishing ditches in the winter there is a good pattern, but a “pickle?”  I guess bass are green.

I try to have some respect for the game I kill and the fish I catch, and these names are just the opposite of respect.  It’s weird – some fanatical bass fishermen that go crazy if a bass they caught dies will say they want to “Rip Some Lips.”  That sounds like an effort to kill the bass. There is even on guide service called “Lipripper” and that name makes me ignore everything they say.

Fishing is supposed to be fun, even on those tough days when fish just do not bite. But I constantly hear fishermen say “It was a grind,’ or worse “I grinded it out to catch some.” Sounds like a miserable day at work to me. If it is that hard, why do it?  Go grind where you get a salary, not trying to win a bet on catching fish.

    The first time I saw a post that said “I got the dub on my home pond with this slaunch,” I ask the site to convert it to English, but it didn’t change.  I knew if had something to do with bass fishing since the picture was a four-pound bass.  I checked and it was posted by a college fisherman.

    I guess he was trying to be cute, or different like every other fisherman his age, by using “hip” words.  What he meant to say was “I got the win on Lake Logan
Martin with this nice bass.” 

I’ve already given my take on using “slaunch” for a bass. I don’t know if he was ashamed he was on Lake Logan Martin, trying to hid it or just being cute by calling it his “home pond.”  Without research no one knows where his “home” is and calling a 17,000-acre lake a “pond” is just odd.

It took me a minute to figure somehow new-speak turned “Win” into “W” then “Dub.’  Really strange, I wonder what he is going to do with the millisecond he saved by using “Dub” rather than “Win.”  Oh, wait, they are both three letters.

    I have lots of pet peeves. Growing up I thought beatnik slang was stupid, in college hippy talk was cool but now every new thing that comes along just seems dumb.  I guess my age is showing!

Bass Are Cold Blooded So Slow Down for Winter Bass

Slow Down for Winter Bass

By Billy Decoteau

from The Fishing Wire

Bass are cold-blooded creatures, meaning as the water temperature drops lower and lower, bass move slower and slower. Add in some ice chilling water temperatures and lethargic becomes the norm in the underwater world of Micropterus salmoides. (The scientific name for largemouth bass.)

Speaking of scientific, this is the perfect opportunity to employ Z-MAN’s cutting edge ElaZtech soft plastic technology. At no time does ‘Do-Nothing Dead-Sticking’ mean more. When nose hooked on a drop-shot rig, the 4-inch Finesse ShadZ coupled with its exceptional inherent buoyancy mimics the lifelike movement of lethargic baitfish in frigid water. This is also the time when vertical presentations out perform horizontal presentations.

Making the perfect vertical presentation requires anglers to first locate wintering areas with their electronic sonars. Chasing winter bass requires anglers to spend time idling slowly as they monitor their screen, logging waypoints, then dissecting these waypoints even slower with their trolling motors, inserting additional waypoints and pinpointing high percentage spots. High percentage areas may be in the form of vertical cover such as brush piles, rocks, large boulders and ledges or as pictured above structural contour changes. Add in deep vegetation and baitfish… and, you may have found a real winter honey-hole!

Utilize your trolling motor to position yourself above the baitfish/bass. This is when a trolling motor mounted sonar pays off big time. Allow your drop-shot rig to fall straight down to the bottom, as you monitor it falling on your sonar screen. If bass move towards your bait, this signals an active or aggressive school. If your bait misses the target you may need to attach a heavier drop-shot weight or adjust your boat position.

Remember both the water and air temperatures are cold. Pre-rigging several drop-shot rods and jighead rods prior to hitting the water makes life a whole lot easier when snags or bass break-off and re-tying becomes a cold on-the-water chore.

3″ Scented LeechZ™

Keep it simple and subtle when choosing baits for winter bass. More often than not when it comes to action ‘Less is Best’. The following Z-MAN 3″ to 4″ baits are excellent Winter Bass choices for Drop-Shot Rigs.

One important factor to increasing your drop-shot bites when fishing cold water is to keep your baits on or close to the bottom A short six-inch or less drop-shot leader allows your Z-MAN bait to float just off the bottom.

The same subtle action applies when choosing jig-head baits for winter bass. When it comes to the dead-sticking technique, Z-MAN ElaZtech plastics out perform all other plastic baits in my experience. Z-MAN ElaZtech’s inherent buoyancy allows your bait to imitate the movement of lethargic forage in cold water. The following Z-MAN 2.75″ and 4″ baits are excellent winter bass choices for jighead rigs.

2.75″ TRD TubeZ™

The above Z-MAN JigheadZ models allow for several versatile rigging options. For sliding or gliding applications as well as penetrating deep weedlines and vegetation, the pointed large wide-eye head of the Trout Eye jighead falls faster and characterizes a dying shad. Z-MAN’s Finesse ShroomZ matches perfectly as designed with all four of the above baits. While, both the Finesse ShroomZ and Shaky HeadZ may be inserted into the TRD TubeZ, rigging any of the baits by sliding them on the 4/0 Mustad Ultra Point Hook is the perfect Shaky Head combination.

The same vertical boat position over the bass/baitfish applies when descending a jighead presentation. Let your bait fall to the bottom and allow it to lay motionless for as long as you can stand it. Then apply a smooth upward jigging or stroking action allowing your bait to fall back to the bottom, then lay motionless before reeling in and making another cast. Change up your retrieve and cadence until you trigger strikes.

As the aggressive JigheadZ Bait hopping presentation becomes non-productive its time to return to finesse dead-stick and drop-shot techniques. I have caught bass in 34 degree water drop-shotting, when other sections of the lake were iced over! The key to success is downsizing both your line and baits as the water temperature drops. Bass become more lethargic as water temperatures decrease. This is the time for smaller do-nothing baits to entice big cold-water bass.

Fishing Griffin Georgia Bass Clubs

 Bass clubs have been an important part of my life for 48 years. Since Jim Berry invited me to join the Spalding County Sportsman Club in April 1974, I have missed few meetings or tournaments in that club. I joined the Flint River Bass Club a few years later, in 1978, then finally joined the Potato Creek Bassmasters about six years ago.

    Joining a bass club puts you in a group of fishermen that love bass fishing. We are at all levels, from beginners to a few that can compete on bigger money trails.  But the joy of a club is the camaraderie, learning experiences and fun, not the money you might win.

Right now is a great time to join a bass club. All three Griffin clubs are setting our schedules and starting our tournament years in January.  My goal each year is to do well in the point standings for the year, and it is hard to keep up if you miss a tournament. And fishing is often surprisingly good in January and February.

The Flint River Bass Club meets the first Tuesday of the month and fishes our tournament the following Sunday.  Potato Creek Bassmasters meets the Monday following the first Tuesday and fishes that Saturday.  Spalding County Sportsman Club meets the third Tuesday each month and fishes the following Sunday.     

All three clubs have some two-day tournaments, with two in Flint River, three in the Sportsman Club and four in Potato Creek.  All three meet at Panda Bear Restaurant.

Annual dues are $25 in Flint River and $50 in the other two. Monthly tournament entry fees are $25 to $30 with a variety of pots, like daily big fish at $5, that are voluntary. The Sportsman Club and Potato Creek both have year end Classics that members qualify for during the previous year.

We have a lot of fun at the meetings discussing fishing and telling some true stories about it. Tournaments are fun competition, mostly for bragging rights since entry fees are low and there is not enough money involved to really get serious about it.

There are many of us in each of the three clubs that often fish alone, so there is always room for new members without a boat. I am looking for someone to fish with me in Flint River tournaments.  If interested in joining one of the clubs call me at 770-789-6168 or email ronnie@fishing-about.com. 

    The 2021 tournament year is done and point standings are complete.  In the Flint River Bass
Club 100 points are awarded to first place, 90 for second down to 10 for tenth place.  If you catch a fish but finish lower than 10th, you get five points.  You also get 10 points for attending a meeting and 20 points for fishing a tournament, even if you zero.

    Last year in the Flint River Club I won with 1150 points and 42 bass in 12 tournaments that weighed 70.44 pounds.  Don Gober was second with 780 points, 28 bass weighing 44.64 pounds in 10 tournaments. Third went to Don’s grandson, Alex Gober, with 610 points and 19 bass in 10 tournaments weighing 24.4 pounds.

    Niles Murray fished six tournaments but had 580 points and 24 bass weighing 44.77 pounds for fourth. Fifth went to Chuck Croft fishing six tournaments with 510 points 13 bass and 29.52 pounds. He also had big fish for the year with a 5.39 pound largemouth caught at West Point in May. Lee Hancock fished only three tournaments but came in sixth with 310 points and 18 bass weighing 29.21 pounds.

The Potato Creek Bassmasters uses the same point system as Flint River but has a lot more members, and more fish every month.  Sam Smith won with 785 points, 45 bass weighing 86.62 pounds and I placed second with 765 points, 61 bass and 103.24 pounds.  Third went to Raymond English with 700 points, 73 bass and 116.35 pounds and Kwong Yu came in fourth with 695 points, 65 bass and 116.55 pounds.

Fifth place for the year was won by Lee Hancock with 680 points, 55 bass and 98.08 pounds.  Sixth was Mitchell Cardell with 660 points, 50 bass and 96.52 pounds. Big fish for the year was won by Jamie Beasley with a beautiful 7.23 pound largemouth caught at Eufaula in March.

It was interesting that the 12 tournaments in this club were won by 11 different members!

In the Sportsman Club 25 points are awarded to first, 24 for second down to one for 25th.  Each fisherman weighing in a limit in a tournament gets a bonus point, as does big fish. And each fisherman gets one point for fishing a tournament, even if they zero, and one point for attending a meeting.

I had 294 points and 52 bass weighting 86.38 pounds for first, second was a tie with Raymond English and Jay Gerson both having 274 points. Raymond weighed in 45 bass weighing 87.71 pounds and Jay had 60 bass weighing 84.19 pounds.  Fourth went to Glenn
Anderson with 233 points, 35 bass and 48.28 pounds. All four of us fished all 12 tournaments.

Kwong Yu came in fifth with 214 points, 38 bass weighing 69.4 pounds.  Sixth place went to Wayne Teal with 168 points and 28 bass weighing 39.85 pounds.  Billy Roberts won big fish of the year with a 5.15 pound largemouth caught at Clarks Hill in April.

Join one, two or all three clubs and have some fun with us and show us how to catch fish!

What Are First Ice Trout and How To Catch Them

First Ice Trout

from the Fishing Wire

First ice is a magical time to pursue many species of gamefish, and members of the trout family are no exception. Just ask veteran trout and salmon guide Bernie Keefe, who plies the high-country lakes around Granby, Colorado.

“Rainbows, brookies and browns are all hungry right now,” he says. “The spawn is over and trout are feeding up before the winter crunch settles in.”

As a bonus, a lack of fishing pressure in recent months often has trout at ease. “Nobody’s fished them for awhile, so they’re ‘dumbed down’ a little bit compared to the rest of the year,” he laughs.

Keefe targets skinny water in early winter, where trout pursue crayfish, baitfish and other sizeable sources of sustenance. “They eat insects, too, of course,” he concedes. “But trout have big appetites this time of year and prefer larger forage when they can get it.”

He focuses on depths of four to seven feet, especially where bottom transitions sweeten the pot. “Changes from rock to sand or muck can be trout magnets,” he offers. “And green weeds can be a plus where available.”

On the flip side, vertical inclines are out. “Forget steep drop-offs,” he says. “Gentle slopes and flats in the backs of bays or alongside points are ideal.”

When he finds a promising fishing area, Keefe quickly pops a trio of holes and sets up shop. “I drill two holes 30 inches apart, which allow me to fish two lines,” he explains. “Then I add a third hole in between, so I can sight-fish both outer holes simultaneously.”

To maximize comfort and manual dexterity while fishing, he pops a Clam portable shelter over the work zone and fires up a Mr. Heater to ward off the chill. “I like fishing without gloves for better feel, as well as the ability to quickly unhook fish, rebait hooks and retie lines,” he says.

In one hole, Keefe drops a flashy attractor lure like an 1/8-ounce Clam Leech Flutter Spoon. In the other, he deploys a more subtle presentation, such as Clam’s tungsten Caviar Drop Jig. Spoons are often fished without tippings, but traditional jigs are tricked out wit
h a small soft-plastic or live bait dressing. “Berkley Gulp! and Maki Plastics work very well,” he says. “Mealworms and waxies are always good choices if you like live bait.”

Spoons are fished with flair. “Give the spoon a 6- to 8-inch lift, then let it flutter back down,” he says. “Dance it in place, pause and repeat the process. When you see a trout rush in, kill the theatrics. Most fish prefer to crush it on the pause.”

Keefe cautions to keep your spoon performances well grounded. “You don’t have to pound the rocks or stir the mud, but always keep the spoon within a foot of the bottom,” he says.

Jigs are fished with a slower hand, tighter to bottom. “Jigs like the Caviar Drop Jig imitate fish eggs, which don’t jump around a whole lot,” he says. “But you have to add a little movement to get trout’s attention. I favor slow, methodical, 1-inch lift-and-drops, but nervous shakes also have their moments. With either approach, keep the jig within an inch of the bottom.”

Whether jigging or spooning, Keefe wields a 28-inch, medium-light Jason Mitchell Meat Stick ice rod, which he says offers a great balance between strength and sensitivity. “The high-vis tip also makes it easy to see light bites when you can’t see the lure,” he adds, noting that 4-pound Berkley Trilene 100 Percent Fluorocarbon is his line of choice.

Since trout are on the bite, Keefe rarely lingers in an unproductive area. “If you don’t get bit within 10 minutes, move,” he says.

Most days, the bulk of the action comes early in the day. “Under clear skies, it’s usually over by the time the sun hits the ice,” he says. “But it’s a great way to spend a morning. And cloudy conditions can prolong the action until noon or later.”

Keefe says the first-ice flurry usually lasts around three to four weeks, depending on fishing pressure. “When crowds move in, trout slide out to deeper haunts,” he says. “They’re still catchable, but the early season magic is over for another winter.”

The Clam Outdoors “Caviar Drop” jig is an excellent first and last ice trout jig. Watch Bernie’s video to learn more.

For more information or to book a trip with Keefe, visit: www.fishingwithbernie.com or call (970) 531-2318.

Traveling Two Thousand Miles In A Week To Fish Lake Seminole and Lake Erie

Two thousand miles later, I know largemouth are biting at Lake Seminole and smallmouth are biting at Lake Erie!

   On a Thursday in Novmeber, 2016 I made the 200 mile trip to Wingates Lunker Lodge to meet Clint and Bowynn Brown to get information for the Georgia and Alabama Outdoor News December issues.  Clint and his son Bowynn live across the street from Wingates and Clint guides on the lake. Both fish tournaments there. Bowynn is a member of the Bainbridge Bass Cats High and Middle schools fishing teams.

    When I got there that afternoon they had been out fishing and had about ten bass in the live well. When they started pulling them out for pictures each held two up. Those four went from almost six pounds to about five pounds. And there was another five pounder still in the live well!

    We went out for a few hours looking at the ten spots to put on the map and talked about how to fish them.  Then I made the 200 mile return trip to Griffin, getting home about 11:00 PM.

    On Saturday Bowynn won his school tournament with three bass weighing seven pounds and Clint won a tournament with five weighing 18 pounds. Bass are feeding heavily at Seminole and it would be a great trip anytime until the water gets real cold around Christmas.

    Friday I left my house at 11:00 AM headed north. I thought leaving at that time would get me through Atlanta when traffic was not too bad. WRONG.  The traffic warning sign near I-20 on I-75 said there was a wreck at 17th street and all lanes were blocked.

    I started to try to go around it on surface streets downtown but I don’t really know my way around and was afraid I would get lost.  Sure enough I came to a stop near 10th Street.  It took me 30 minutes to get past the wreck on 17th Street. And apparently it had caused other wrecks, the police were working four wrecks between 14th and 17th Streets!

    The rest of the 400 mile drive to near Lexington, KY was uneventful and I spent the night at a Red Roof Inn. The next morning I drove to Lake Erie just south of Detroit, another 400 miles, and spent the night. I was within a mile of I-75, I took it all the way.

    Sunday morning when I got up just before daylight the windshield on my van was iced over. Not frost, solid ice. The air was at 36 degrees according to my phone weather report.  At 9:00 I met Bass Elite Pro Chad Pipkins and got my Cabella’s Guidewear, my heaviest winter suit, on.

    Chad said it was a nice day even if cold, and the wind was not bad. We put in at the boat ramp in a cove and rounded the point, and I said “I don’t think I’m in Georgia anymore.” There was nothing ahead of us but water as far as I could see.

    The waves seemed pretty big to me but Chad said it was not a bad day.  We stopped on a rock pile in 15 feet of water and he got on the front of the boat.  Every tenth wave or so broke over the front of the boat, soaking his feet and putting several gallons of water in the boat.

    He said on a bad day every wave would do that!

    We fished for about an hour and each of us caught a smallmouth on drop shot rigs. We then went back into the ramp cove and he showed me all the bells and whistles on the boat.  Pros at that level have an amazing array of extras on their boats. This one had four top end Hummingbird depthfinders on it!

    We took the boat our and I headed home. The boat followed me!  I hope Linda will let me keep it and give it a good home!

    I called and made reservations at the same motel in Kentucky where I had stayed two nights before.  When I got to Cincinnati I came to a stop about two miles from where I-75 splits and goes over the river.  Nobody was going the other way into town. Four miles and 90 minutes later traffic sped up to about 50 miles per hour and thinned. I never saw a wreck or any other reason for the traffic jam.

    Pulling a new boat through all that mess worried me a little but everything went fine until I came into Atlanta. As usual traffic was jammed up where I-75 and I-85 join, even at 1:00 on a Monday afternoon. One lane would stop while the one next to it moved, then that lane would stop while the other one moved.

    Even though the boat trailer has surge brakes I tried to leave several car lengths ahead of me, you do not stop immediately when pulling a boat. At one point the lane to my left was stopped and I was moving at about 20 miles an hour.  Some crazy woman in a tiny red car decided to pull into my lane just about the time my front bumper was even with her back bumper. I managed to slam on brakes and miss her.  If I had hit her with my big van it would have crushed her little car.

    She went about 50 feet to where the lane we were in was stopped, then jumped back into the left lane between two cars as it started to move, almost hitting them, too.  I saw her change lanes like that four more times in the next half mile or so.  She was about ten car lengths ahead of where she was when she first pulled out in front of me.

    Strangely enough, the most expensive gas on the whole trip was right here in Griffin, Georgia! I wonder why.  Long trip, 400 miles each of five days in a row, 800 of them pulling a boat, and I am glad to be home!

Secrets of the Ice Hunters – Hooking, Fighting and Landing Trophy Walleye

Secrets of the Ice Hunters

Frabill pro Dale Stroschein’s system of hooking, fighting and landing trophy walleyes and deep whitefish starts with the proper ice rods

from The Fishing Wire

Plano, IL – Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Famer, Dale Stroschein, is an analytical guy; he has to be. Through his Wacky Walleye Guide Service, Stroschein leads hundreds of ice anglers each year to thousands of walleyes and whitefish, perfecting basic principles through unending trial and error.

He calls it completing the process: the act of getting fish to strike, fighting them and ultimately leading them safely through the hole. This last step is where Stroschein often sees inexperienced anglers struggle, especially where large fish are involved.

“In open water fishing, we have the greatest device ever created to complete the process – the Frabill landing net,” says Stroschein, who has the big fish gene in his DNA.

While competing on the nation’s largest walleye circuits throughout the 1980’s, Stroschein earned a title no angler has ever duplicated; Big Fish Awards for the largest walleyes caught during competition on both the PWT and MWC tours. Indeed, Frabill landing nets helped Stroschein complete the process on both monster fish. “But, on ice, we don’t have that luxury,” he points out.

Following such open-water accolades, Stroschein took hold of yet another title – one of the walleye world’s greatest – when he landed the all-tackle ice fishing world record, a behemoth weighing thirteen and three-quarter pounds. The fish was brought to hand using the big fish techniques perfected over years of guiding clients on and around his home water of Green Bay, Wisconsin. Thankfully, this system is easily duplicated, and starts with the proper ice rod.

As a lead pro and designer on the Frabill ice team, Stroschein has developed a duo of rods perfectly suited to hooking, fighting and landing the giant walleyes and whitefish he and his clients pursue.

The core walleye stick in Stroschein’s arsenal is a 27″ medium action that fishes comfortably within an ice shelter. “You have to put forth an effort to become a good ice angler,” says Stroschein, who points to mobility as one of the most important elements to consistent success in tracking down and catching roaming schools of walleyes. “Today, you really have to go to the fish with a mobile shelter to be successful every day, and a shorter rod is more practical for fishing in a shelter.” Through countless hours of testing within the confines of one-man shanties, Stroschein settled on the 27″ length of his namesake Frabill Ice Hunter walleye rod to allow anglers to fully set the hook without contacting the shelter’s roof.

Even with the advent of superlines in ice fishing, Stroschein continues to rely on monofilament for the bulk of his walleye fishing, as the line simply generates more bites and better hook-ups. “The biggest thing is that you make a very aggressive hook set with a firm rod,” he adds. “Mono holds up to that initial stress very well, and plays well with the shorter, medium-power rod to get big fish up through the hole.”

The rules change when Stroschein turns to chasing whitefish, often in depths approaching 90 feet. Here, the experienced pro moves to Berkley Fireline with a fluorocarbon leader to presents tiny jigs with live bait trailers. Of course, the analytical Stroschein has worked with Frabill to design the ideal rod for this scenario, too.

“The 30″ Ice Hunter whitefish rod has a positive locking reel seat, which is important, but the biggest attribute to completing the system is the rod’s tip,” he says.

In order to detect light bites in deep water, Stroschein demanded a rod with a bright, blaze-orange coloration at its highly sensitive tip. “It’s like a spring bobber without the headaches,” he says. “A live bait angler can detect subtle bites on a pause in the jigging stroke.”

The medium-light power allows for smooth hook sets on delicate fish, but delivers enough backbone to drive the hook home in deep water when using superlines. And the rod’s sensitivity is unparalleled; it has to be. “Whitefish are one of the most difficult fish, ever, to catch,” Stroschein confirms. “The bite is nothing more than a slight change in pressure.”

On average, Stroschein’s Wacky Walleye guide service outfits a minimum of 25 anglers per day, every day of the ice fishing season around Door County, Wisconsin. All clients are outfitted with Frabill rods, enabling each to complete the system Dale Stroschein has worked over 30 years to develop: present, hook, fight, land, repeat.