Winter On the Farm – Too Cold To Do Anything But Go Fishing

“Baby its cold outside!” For some reason that song keeps going through my mind. Temperatures in the low 20s are not usual here, thank goodness! But when they hit, unusual problems pop up.

The pressure switch on my well will freeze if the temperature stays in the low 20s overnight. A heat lamp on it solves the problem, if I remember to turn it on! Outside faucets will freeze. I have “freeze proof” faucets on the outside of my house, but I found out a couple of years ago they will freeze if you leave a hose attached!

Many houses are like mine, with heat pumps to warm them. But a heat pump can’t get enough heat out of air in the low 20s, so they switch to either gas or electric strip to produce heat. Problem is, the relay that tells it to switch over can go out, and you won’t know it is bad until it doesn’t work on a cold night!

Farmers have an especially tough time in bad weather like Texas had this week. Taking care of livestock and other farm animals is miserable for the farmer but can be deadly for the animals if not done.

Every winter when I was growing up seemed to produce a few days when the temperatures didn’t get above freezing. Our 11,000 laying hens didn’t stop eating, drinking or laying eggs.

We had seven chicken houses. The older four were wide, open structures with shavings on the floor. Nests were attached to the inside of the walls and filled with shavings. Food troughs had to be filled with five-gallon buckets of food brought from the big bin twice a day

A trough ran the length of each house. Water ran very slowly into one end. At the other a drain kept it from overflowing. The pipe nipple had to be pulled from the drain and the trough flushed out every day, chickens don’t know not to poop where they drink!

That water trough would sometimes freeze overnight so we would have to break the ice out by hand so fresh water would be available to the birds. I hated that wet, messy job.

The other three houses were modern, with cages along the inside walls of narrow houses. A small trough for water ran the length of the house, and it had to be cleaned, too. A bigger trough was filled with a motorized cart that augured it into the trough, much easier than carrying buckets!

On very cold days and nights, we had to gather the eggs every hour to keep them from freezing. The caged chickens’ eggs rolled out onto a wire shelf, so they froze fast. Even the ones in the old houses nests would freeze since the chickens didn’t stay on them after laying them.

With that many chickens, gathering the eggs hourly was never-ending. By the time we made a circuit of all the houses, it was time to start over!

Now, the only time I have to go out in miserable weather is to go fishing. But for some reason, eight hours in a boat is not unbearable, no matter how bad it gets!

How the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission ‘Fishdozer’ May Aid In Invasive Carp Management

‘Fishdozer’ May Aid In Invasive Carp Management

from The Fishing Wire

Clarendon, AR — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Lower Mississippi River Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office in Tupelo, Mississippi, recently tested a new method of fish sampling on the White River that may help monitor the fight against invasive carp. The electrified dozer trawl method streamlines two previously used sampling techniques to collect information on the populations of silver and bighead carp, two invasive species the AGFC is working to reduce in Arkansas waters.

Previously, biologists would slowly motor through an area and use electricity to stun fish while simultaneously dipping them from the water using long-handled dip nets.

“Dip netting those giant carp can be extremely difficult for the person on the front of the boat,” Matt Horton, Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator for the AGFC, said. “You also have some variability between how good different ‘dippers’ are that can make it difficult to get consistent numbers between sampling events.”

The ‘fishdozer’ takes that variability out of the equation. Instead of people using dip nets, a device called a push trawl is lowered into the water. The trawl looks like a blade of a bulldozer that’s been hollowed out and outfitted with a length of netting as a catch bag that flows underneath the hull of the boat. As fish are stunned by the electric field, the boat cruises over them, securing them in the net like a whale swallowing krill.

According to Jimmy Barnett, Invasive Carp Biologist for the AGFC, the dozer testing was conducted in three different scenarios along the White River to determine its effectiveness in varying aquatic habitats. Researchers are testing the experimental gear throughout the Mississippi River Basin to modify the design and technique to optimize carp capture and identify where it is most effective.

Standardized sampling methods are necessary to estimate fish abundance. Horton says the AGFC and its partners may be able to more accurately measure the effectiveness of carp removal efforts in some bodies of water using the dozer trawl.

The sampling technique doesn’t have immediate use as a fish removal strategy, but Barnett mentions that with some modifications, the tool may have some applications to help control these invasive fish.

“We performed both active netting with gill nets and the electrified dozer trawl in Cook’s Lake, which lets us compare the two,” Barnett said. “Gill nets produced 200 adult silver carp versus 78 collected with the dozer trawl, but we did see that the trawl collected mostly fish in the juvenile size ranges up to about 8 pounds. We use gill nets that have large webbing to reduce the amount of nontarget fish we catch, so catching carp smaller than 10 to 12 pounds is pretty rare with our current netting protocol.

“I wouldn’t say this gear is as efficient as other methods for removing carp, but it may provide managers with another tool for monitoring the distribution and abundance of carp and evaluate the effectiveness of control efforts.”

Visit www.agfc.com/ANS for more information on aquatic nuisance species like invasive carp.

Hot Hands Hand Warmers Are Worth Their Weight in Heat

When I first joined a bass club I had no idea bass would bite during the winter. But a January, 1975 tournament at Jackson taught me they would. Six bass weighing more than six pounds each were weighed in.

I thought I would freeze that cloudy, windy day with sleet all day long. I had worn my winter hunting clothes that were fine for deer hunting in the fall or walking winter fields and woods looking for squirrels, rabbits and quail, but they were not fine for sitting in a boat in 32-degree wind and sleet!

A catalog at home from a new mail order company, Bass Pro Shops, offered snowmobile suits and boots. I ordered both the next week. The thick insulated jumpsuit was water resistant and repelled sleet and snow, but I had to get a good rainsuit to go over it.

The boots were very heavy, with inch thick felt liners inside. I knew if I ever fell out of the boat they would take me to the bottom, so I never tightened up the string at the top, leaving them where they would easily slip off. Of course, with everything else I wore, getting out of the boots probably would not make much difference. This was way before the small auto inflatable life jackets I now wear at all times.

I had some of the old hand warmers, the ones you filled with lighter fluid, lit and put in a case in your pocket. When they came out I got the ones that used a charcoal stick and put it in a cloth lined case to put in a pocket to keep you warm. Both kinds were messy and hard to use, and inconsistent staying lit, but they helped.

A few years later I saw a product called “Hot Hands” at Berry’s Sporting Goods that did not make sense. It was a small cloth pouch with grit in it that, when taken out of a plastic bag, shook up and put in your pocket, it warmed up. Since I taught science at the time I was able to figure out the iron dust inside rusted really fast when exposed to air, producing heat.

Hot Hands make a huge difference when fishing this time of year. They are not messy or bulky and are easy to use. I can put them in my boots before leaving home and they are still warming my toes up nine hours later.

One in each jacket pocket lets me put hands in them one at a time when driving the boat or even fishing a slow-moving bait to warm them up. A few scattered inside my heavy suit keep my body toasty.

I was a press observer at the 2015 Bassmasters Classic on Like Hartwell. On practice day I rode with David Kilgore, watching him figure out patterns for eight hours. I could not fish, just sit and talk and watch.

The air temperature was eight degrees that morning, but it warmed all the way up to 20 degrees during the day. And the wind blew. I was comfortable all day though, since I had hot hands in the toes of each boot, in each outside coat pocket for my hands, and four in inside pockets against my body. I even put one under my cap before putting on a stocking cap and pulling my hood over it.

Two-packs of both hand or toe warmers are about $1.75 at Berrys and bulk packs are cheaper. They really help and I don‘t leave home without them this time of year.

Are Great Fish Caught On Watts Bar Reservoir In the Fall?

Great Fish Caught On Watts Bar Reservoir

from The Fishing Wire

Rhea County, TN — Watts Bar Reservoir, created in 1942, has remained a consistent bass fishery according to data collected over the past decades. Reservoir biologists are hopeful that a recent catch is reflective of Florida largemouth bass stocking efforts started in 2015.

Randy Miller of Spring City caught an 11.22-pound largemouth bass on the reservoir and graciously shared the photo with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency reservoir biologist, Mike Jolley. Jolley, an employee with over three decades of professional experience, grew up on the lake and has intimate knowledge of its waters.

“We routinely evaluate our fisheries in reservoirs, including Watts Bar, to assess overall health of population dynamics,” Jolley said. Some anglers have questioned the status of the bass fishery in this lake. I’m happy to share that Watts Bar has remained a consistent fishery based on long-term, routine data collection.”

TWRA reservoir crews perform yearly creel and electrofishing surveys throughout the entirety of the lake. Furthermore, crews have stocked one million Florida largemouth bass fingerlings into the reservoir since 2015. Jolley stated, “In my career, I’ve never seen a largemouth this size caught on the reservoir, and I look forward to seeing more.”

Reservoirs decline overtime due to many factors including sedimentation that can cover rocky areas used for spawning and insect habitat. Nutrient loads can decrease, and necessary fish habitat degrades. Reservoir crews address habitat needs on a rotational basis adding structure. Crews and volunteers recently built and added 250 structures. Structures will be utilized by bass, crappie, and various other fish at different life stages. They also provide a place for anglers to target fish.

Fall is a great time of year to fish. Bass can resume springtime patterns, making them more easily targeted. Furthermore, waterways are less busy. Anglers are reminded to follow safe boating measures. More info on fishing and boating can be found at tnwildlife.org.

Opening Day Of Squirrel Season Memories

I missed the opening day of squirrel season bck in August. That would never have happened when I was growing up. Opening day was almost as good to me as Christmas and the last day of school each year!

Back then opening day was much later, usually in early October, if I remember right. I could not wait for it to open, always on a Saturday back then. I would be up before daylight and sitting under my favorite white oak tree as it slowly got light enough to see.

I usually carried the Remington .22 semiautomatic rifle I got for by 12^th birthday and had its “high capacity” 17 round magazine full of long rifle bullets. I prided myself on marksmanship, being able to hit a squirrel in the chest just right to not mess up any meat.

Some of my friends shot squirrels in the head, but even though I was a good shot, I knew a miss just 2 inches the wrong way would blow its jaw off, sentencing it to a slow painful death. And I would not get to eat it if I made a bad shot, so I stuck with the high percentage chest.

Later in the season when leaves were off the trees I carried my .410 shotgun. With no leaves, I could see the tree rats better and often run to them to “tree” them, but the squirrels could see me better, too. And they often would not stay treed but would run, so I wanted my shotgun to have a better chance of hitting a moving target.

We ate every tree rat I killed. Mama would cook them in a variety of ways, from country frying young ones to making squirrel stew or squirrel dumplings with older ones. And BBQ squirrel was always good.

With the way things are going, I am glad there are lots of squirrels around my house and I know how to kill, clean and cook them!

Kids now-a-days miss out by not going squirrel hunting. Deer hunting is exciting, but so is squirrel hunting and you can kill 12 each day, so you get a lot more shooting. And you learn hunting and shooting skills, as well as safety, chasing them.

Take a kid squirrel hunting. You may be surprised how much fun it is for both of you.

Would You Rather Be Lucky Or Good When Fishing

“I’d rather be lucky that good.” Kenneth Hattaway, one of my mentors in the bass clubs back in the 1970s and 80s, used to say that a lot. He was one of the best club fishermen in the area back then and did well in bigger tournaments, too. In many ways he was both good and lucky.

Over the years I have come to believe what he meant was you can be good consistently, but when you are lucky you do even better. Anyone can win a tournament with the right luck, but it won’ be consistent over time.

All the pro fishermen on the Bassmaster Elite Series are good. I have fished with more than a dozen of them and they have all the details and mechanics of fishing down pat. They can skip a jig under a dock into places most of us never reach. They can read electronics like a printed report. And they keep all their equipment in top condition.

But to win an Elite tournament when competing against 87 other fishermen just as good as you are takes some added luck.

Boyd Duckett sitting on the porch of his cabin after the first day of a tournament, seeing fish schooling and going there the next day and winning is mostly luck.

Leaving your bait in the water while eating a sandwich for lunch, and your boat drifting over an unknown rockpile and getting a bite, then winning the tournament on those rocks is a lot of luck. My partner in a BASS Regional in Kentucky did that.

When I do well it is a lot of luck. To do well one day of a two-day tournament is luck, to do well each day takes some skill. There have been multiple times I have done well one of two of the days in our state top six, but I have done well both days only five times, making the state team each time.

Sunday I got lucky enough to stop first thing on a bank with a little current moving, and caught six bass in the first two hours. The next six hours produced only two more fish. Stopping on that particular bank was as more luck than skill, and the current died before 8:00 AM.

In the Flint River Bass Club tournament Sunday at Sinclair, eight of us fished from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM to land 18 12-inch keeper bass weighing about 28 pounds. There were two five-bass limits and three people did not have a bass.

My five weighing 10.42 pounds was first. Niles Murray had three at 6.45 pounds for second and his 3.34 pound largemouth was big fish. Doug Acree had five weighing 6.22 pounds for third and Lee Hancock came in fourth with three at 2.83 pounds.

My first stop was on a deep bank with docks and grassbeds and I started casting a buzzbait. When I came to a shallow seawall a cast with a weightless Trick worm produced my first keeper, one that was very skinny and barely 12 inches long.

A few minutes later I skipped a wacky rigged Senko under a dock and landed my biggest bass, a 2.94 pounder. Then another good keeper hit my buzzbait between docks. Another dock produced my fourth keeper on the Senko at 7:00. I was pleased with the fast start.

A few docks later I caught another good keeper, filling my limit, then, right at 8:00 caught my sixth keeper, culling the small bass. I was happy with my catch and started trying to find something else that would work.

At noon I had not had another bite, then I caught my seventh keeper on the Senko on a dock and my eighth, my second biggest of the day, on the Senko on a shady seawall.

Other than hooking a 20-pound blue cat on a shaky head near a dock at 1:00 PM, I did not get another bite until weigh-in.

I wish I could be that lucky every trip.

Till next time – Gone fishing!

Where and How To Catch Early Ice Walleyes

Early Ice Walleyes

from The Fishing Wire

By Bob Jensen

Interest in fishing for walleyes is growing and diversifying. One thing that remains the same when it comes to walleye fishing is that lakes in some regions are going to freeze over in the winter months. The walleye enthusiasts that live in the areas that see ice get especially excited about fishing through early ice for walleyes. When you’re sure that the ice is safe, here’s how you can catch walleyes early in the ice fishing season.

Start looking for early season ice walleyes in the same areas where you caught them late in the open water season. If the walleyes were there in late open water, they’ll usually still be there, at least for a while. Points, sunken islands, and the edges of flats will all produce.

If you’re fishing shallow water, a quiet approach will be most productive. Shallow water walleyes, and fish in general, can get spooked by too much noise or commotion overhead. On the other hand, if you’re fishing deeper, say fifteen feet or more, you can move around without as much risk of spooking the walleyes. However, it works best to pop a bunch of holes along and over the structure before you start fishing. Get the noisy activity out of the way before you drop a line.

Different anglers have different ideas about walleye fishing through the ice. Some like to sit on a spot and hope the walleyes come to them, others like to move around and try to find the fish. Here’s a good rule-of-thumb: Early in the season sit still or move a little. Wait’em out. As the season progresses and the ice gets thicker and the snow cover increases, the angler who moves around will get more action.

A spoon of some sort is what many anglers use for early ice walleyes. Actually spoons are a big part of a walleye angler’s arsenal the entire ice season. But spoons have different characteristics, and those characteristics appeal to walleyes in different ways.

Rattling spoons are very popular. In stained water, the rattling noise helps fish find your bait. In clear water, the rattle will attract fish from farther away. The new Rattlin’ PT Spoon has a painted hook that adds to the flash.

A spoon’s design and material that it’s made of will affect how it falls. Spoons like a Ribbon Leech Flutter Spoon, as the name suggests, has a distinct flutter as it slowly falls. A Pinhead Spoon is built to fall faster with less flutter. Both have a very important role in fishing through the ice for walleyes.

There’s no doubt that sonar will enable us to catch more fish. There are times when a walleye will come in and look at your spoon but not eat it. The sonar reveals this. When the fish looks at your spoon but doesn’t eat it, it will often eat a minnow on a plain hook. When you initially set up on a spot, drill two holes. Work the spoon under one hole, put a minnow under a bobber down the other hole. When the walleye comes in and looks at but doesn’t eat the spoon, they’ll often eat the minnow. Vexilar makes several units that enable an angler to see an expanded area of the water column, and that is going to help us turn the lookers into biters.

Some very accomplished ice-anglers feel the early ice period is best for ice fishing. Find out for yourself how good this early ice action for walleyes can be.

Is Forward Facing Sonar Unfair?

A meme on social media shows a fisherman with his head hinged opened and his brain on the floor. The caption reads “I don’t need you anymore, I have Forward Facing Sonar (FFS).”

Every time something new comes out many fishermen condemn it as something that gives the fisherman an unfair advantage. Of course they mean it gives “other” fisherman an unfair advantage. It’s fine when they learn to use it.

Forward facing sonar is amazing. It will show you everything within its range under the water, much like having a video camera under the water. It is directional, sending out a “wedge” of sonar blips covering about one foot wide for every three feet of distance, so at 30 feet the wedge is about 10 feet wide.

It takes a little time and effort to learn what the sonar returns look like on the screen. The screen looks much like an ultrasound screen at the doctors office. Fish look like little dots moving around but you can see the limbs of a tree or brush pile and even individual fish in a school of crappie.

A muskie tournament trail has banned FFS in their tournaments and some other tournament trails like BASS are actually discussing what to do. It does give an angler that studies and learns how to use it an advantage, but it does not make the fish bite. I have had one for three years and it has helped me catch some fish, but many more times I have wasted too much time watching fish follow my bait and not hit it.

I can only hope every fisherman I compete with that has FFS quits using their brain.

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A Good Example Of Why I Have Problems With High School Tournaments

I was told “90 percent of our boat captains are safe.” In a 200 boat tournament that means that diretor knows there are about 20 dangerous boats out there!!

At Lanier the second weekend in November, on Saturday when a clerk at Hammonds told me there was an 80-boat high school tournament the next day I instantly wondered what dangerous, stupid and inconsiderate actions I would witness.

On Sunday I didn’t see many boats, I guess most stayed up the river due to the cold wind.

BUT – I had gone back to Balus Creek to finish up the day. I was fishing the bluff bank past the ramp at 1:00, about 3/4 way out to the point. I had been fishing there for about 15 minutes, slowly working out toward the point fishing a jig.

A bass boat came out of the cove on the other side of the ramp with one kid riding illegally in the butt seat up on the front deck and the other illegally in the chair on the back deck.

The “captain” was at that speed where the front of the boat stays way up, half on plane and making the biggest possible wake. And no way he could see ahead of the boat with the kid up there, too.

If I had been tournament director, they would have been disqualified for illegal and dangerous boating.

They came by me about 100 feet away, rode past me halfway into the cove, made a U turn without slowing down, passed me a second time and stopped on the point ahead of me and started casting. I guess I was fishing where they wanted to fish.

I had to hang on to the butt seat to not get thrown out of my boat from their wake.

I don’t know what they caught, but when I got to the point where they stopped and started casting ahead of me, I caught my third keeper and two 13.5-inch throwbacks.

I try to support youth and high school fishing teams, but things like this are all too common and make it difficult. I don’t blame the kids, the adult boat captains drive the boat and make the decisions where to fish so safety and courtesy are up to them. But too many of them are teaching the kids bad habits.

I fear it is “when” not “if” there is a serious problem.

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