Nancy Rodriguez shows off a tom from a past spring turkey season. The Northern California resident is fired up for the March 29 opener. The season runs through May 4. (NANCY RODRIGUEZ)
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Size doesn’t always matter when it comes to loading your stringer with enough filets to fill your smoker. Crappie, ubiquitous throughout California, offer a feisty fight on light tackle, and as Tim Hovey (right, with wife Cheryl and daughter Jessica) has discovered, these panfish make for a delicious meal. Hovey dishes on how to fish for them in spring and prepare your catch for the table.
13 THE GOBBLER HUNT THAT TURNED INTO A BATTLE ROYALE
Drawing on a life filled with raising cattle, training horses and guiding hunting clients around his San Luis Obispo ranch and a nearby national forest, William (Will) Murray reminisces about many of his adventures in a new memoir. “I was born a storyteller,” he tells editor Chris Cocoles in a Q&A to go along with a book excerpt highlighted by a scary encounter with an angry rattlesnake and a turkey while guiding a tom-seeking client.
21 DO THE TURKEY TROT
With California’s spring turkey season opening on March 29, we have you covered with multiple stories, including Cal Kellogg’s tutorial on how to scout, call and approach active toms. “Many hunters mistakenly believe spring hunting success is all about calling, but there’s more to it than that,” Kellogg writes. “The real challenge is locating turkeys and developing a strategy to meet the prevailing conditions.”
39 ‘CUT’ AND DRY STRIPER STRATEGIES
Mark Fong is looking forward to warmer weather and the pending return of striped bass to Central Valley fisheries like the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, which should get moving in March and then accelerate into the spring months. With help from two local linesides guides, Fong states his case for why anchoring up and casting cut bait can help anglers earn their stripes.
(TIM E. HOVEY)
THE EDITOR’S NOTE
How many perfect days can you remember? I don’t know if I’ve had a “perfect” day, as the definition mandates. I’ve had wonderful days with wonderful people. They can be as simple as seeing a movie, hitting some golf balls, cooking dinner for and eating ice cream with a friend I truly care about. A visit to a faraway locale on the other side of the world can also make for a special experience. But perfection is a tough nut to crack.
Conversely, I’ve had great days of fishing (and some terrible, frustrating and miserable outings, but those are stories for another time). Some of my best days included catching fish, of course, but it was also the setting, the weather and the company I kept. But like in my everyday life, were they perfect?
Let me tell you about the closest I came to fishing perfection. In 2017, I joined guide Manuel Saldana Jr., California Sportsman correspondent Mark Fong and then deckhand – now a guide himself – Justin Leonard for a late-spring trip on the Feather River.
Needless to say, the linesides were happy to keep us busy by biting at will that day with the live minnows we drifted. We all limited out, and Saldana and Leonard cleaned our catch and everyone went home with delicious filets in Ziploc bags.
Besides the keepers, both myself and Fong landed giant hens that weighed at least 25 pounds. My fish was one of the biggest I’ve ever caught. Both of us posed with Saldana for photos before we released the females. But we had nonstop action for most of the morning through early afternoon when it was time to head for home. The weather around Yuba City that late April day was glorious as we packed up and said goodbye.
Fong, who previews the spring striper runs around Central California this month (page 39), told me what that day meant to him.
“The action was fast and furious. Both you and I caught some really nice fish that day,” he said. “But what I remember most was just how much fun it was to be on the water with such great friends.”
The guide everyone knew as Manny Saldana unexpectedly passed away in 2019, and I still miss him. Reading Mark’s report on what to expect this year only added to my sadness, but also gave me a feeling of such warm nostalgia about that day. If only I could fish with Manny one more time as spring arrives in the Central Valley, that might just be a day I’d consider calling perfect. -Chris Cocoles
Guide Manny Saldana (left) and longtime CS correspondent Mark Fong joined the editor on a memorable 2017 spring striped bass trip on the Feather River. As the spring run of linesides gets cranking soon, both Cocoles and Fong fondly remember Saldana, who passed away in 2019. (CHRIS COCOLES)
OUTDOOR CALENDAR
MARCH
1-2 NorCal Boat, Sport & RV Show, Shasta District Fairgrounds, Anderson; exposureshows.com
10 Last day of North Coast Special Management Area Canada geese and Northeastern Zone late white and white-fronted geese seasons
15 Pardee Lake Junior Kokanee Derby; kokaneepower.org/derbies.php
16 Last day of falconry rabbit and varying hare season
22 Blake Jones Trout Derby, Owens River and Pleasant Valley Reservoir, Bishop; bishopvisitor.com/event/blake-jones-trout-derby
22 NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge, Lake Amador; anglerspress.com/ events/norcal-trout-anglers-challenge
22-23 Junior wild turkey hunting dates
29 Spring wild turkey season opens
APRIL
4-5 Blue Lakes Trout Derby, Lake County; (707) 477-8360
5 Bullards Bar Team Kokanee Derby, Bullards Bar Reservoir; kokaneepower.org/derbies.php
12 Get Out and Fish Kids Derby, Collins Lake; getoutandfish.us/events
12-14 Isabella Lake Fishing Derby; kernrivervalley.com/ isabellalakefishingderby
Mother Lode fishery Lake Amador hosts the next NorCal Trout Angler’s Challenge series event on March 22. Go to anglerspress.com/events/Norcaltrout-anglers-challenge for more information. (CAL KELLOGG)
25 Fishmas Eve Party, Twin Lakes Resort, Bridgeport; twinlakeresort.com
26-27 Monster Trout Contest, June Lake; (760) 648-7756
27-June 13 Round-Up at the Lake Spring Fishing Derby, Convict Lake; (800) 992-2260
For a list of upcoming bass tournaments, go to nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FishingContests/default.aspx.
THE TURKEY HUNT THAT TURNED INTO A BATTLE ROYALE
HUNTING
GUIDE/
HORSEMAN SHARES WILD TALE FROM HIS NEW MEMOIR
eventually
Those who have spent most of their lives in the field or in the saddle like William (Will) Murray has will likely be nodding along as they read the pages of Murray’s new memoir.
From his early days growing up on a ranch near Riverside and eventually settling on a sprawling piece of land near the Central Coast community of San Luis Obispo to raise cattle, Murray always had a passion for being outside, getting his hands dirty and savoring a life full of horses and hunting.
He raised and trained horses and dabbled in the world of being a hunting guide on those wild lands around his ranch (he named his guide service Murray Outfitters). The days spent helping clients harvest big game and birds are among his favorite memories, and he has plenty of stories of chasing toms in rugged areas like the Los Padres National Forest.
“Every spring I would guide turkey hunters from all over the country. Hunters came from California to New York. Men and women looking for their first tom turkey or trying to close out their grand slam,” writes Murray, who now continues to be an equine trainer in Santa Fe, New Mexico. But there will always be the guiding adventures to reminisce about, including a gobbler hunt that featured a rattlesnake and an excited hunter taking it all in.
The following is excerpted from Worn Out Saddles and Boot Leather, by William Murray and published by McFarland Books.
William (Will) Murray, who grew up on a ranch near Riverside and
settled on a sprawling property in San Luis Obispo County, always had a propensity for horses and hunting. In his new memoir, he shares many of his outdoor tales. (WILLIAM MURRAY)
HUNTING
Q&A WITH A HUNTER, HORSEMAN LIFER
We chatted up with Worn Out Saddles and Boot Leather author William (Will) Murray about his life spent in the field and in the saddle.
Chris Cocoles Congratulations on the book. What prompted you to write and pursue this project?
William Murray A horse that I was training fell on me, and I had plenty of time to think about my life. I realized just how adventurous and wild my life had been, so I wanted to share my stories with others so that they could experience life through my stories.
By William Murray
Late in the spring of 2006 I had booked a young fella for a quick one-day tom turkey hunt. All my one-day hunts started before dawn and ended after dark. I made sure that you got all the hunting that you could stand. This always brought up a conversation about fair chase. On occasion I lost a client over this. I’ll expand on this in another chapter. Basically, I did not allow fudging on the game laws, and I even sent two of my clients home early for trying.
It was late spring when I met this young man at the Ragged Point trailhead. It’s always refreshing when your hunter shows up with the right gear, a hunting license and, most of all, a great attitude. It seems like once per year I would guide someone that always knew better than I did about everything. It was very difficult to help a hunter have success if he always disagreed with the guide. If you book a hunt with a guide/outfitter and have looked at his reviews, for heaven’s sake, listen to him.
Early that morning while saddling the horses, I offered this young man some of my coffee; he turned it down (a smart man). We left the trailhead in time to be on top of the ridge above Ragged Point right at dawn, and after a pleasant ride up with great conversation, we arrived at the top. Now, on top in late spring the meadows were all coastal grass and wildflowers. It always made me feel alive and my horses felt the same but always behaved; well, most of the time. Once long ago, one of my pack horses bucked his packs and our food off in a fit of joy. I just couldn’t blame him!
Once we reached the summit, I made a few calls on my slate turkey call. We waited between calls and listened for the better part of an hour for an answering tom. It was a latespring hunt and, believe me, those toms had figured out what a turkey call was all about and were call-shy.
Always a horseman, Murray, who these days lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he still trains his equine partners in crime, is happy in the saddle. “Horses saved me and took me into rodeo and raising cattle. They carried me through my guiding years, and I’ve never had a horse haul me into divorce court,” he writes. (WILLIAM MURRAY)
Now I tried a trick that I had learned by accident. I separated the horses so that they couldn’t see each other, and they started to whinny back and forth. Tom turkeys started calling from almost every direction. I guess they needed a date ... I mean a hen!
JUST BELOW US ALONG Dutra Creek there was a tom calling. I knew this area well, so down the canyon we rode until I came to a meadow where I could highline the horses. A tip I would like to mention here is never tie your horse directly to a tree. Always use tree protectors and don’t leave them there long enough to greatly disturb the soil.
We hiked from the horses, and I need to stop here and say that it was a glorious day: blue sky, a few big fluffy clouds and no more than 80 degrees. The air was sweet and fresh with the scent of wildflowers. We all felt alive that morning. My hunter and I knelt along a meadow that overlooked the creek and I hit that slate with the sexiest hen calls that I knew. Even my client seemed excited.
CC I’m a longtime journalist covering sports and now the outdoors. What I’ve loved most about my career is storytelling. Is that something that you’ve discovered about yourself in working on this book?
WM I was born a storyteller, and to make matters worse, my father was the original tale teller. In writing this book, I just used my inner thoughts and wrote from the heart. The fact that all of my writing is nonfiction helped too.
CC You grew up on a ranch around Riverside. Is that where your love for the outdoors and hunting was born?
WM Yes, that hardscrabble ranch there in Riverside offered unlimited opportunities to hunt and explore the outdoors. My childhood wasn’t pretty, and I soon discovered that riding my horse and exploring the area around our ranch took me away, where I learned to dream and then go out and live those dreams.
CC How did you make your way to San Luis Obispo to raise cattle and what was that experience like?
WM In the early 1990s after a failed marriage, I ranched up in the Garner Valley area of California (San Jacinto Mountains). After two hard winters there with over 25 percent of my cattle being lost, I moved to San Luis Obispo and started over. My years in Garner Valley had been tough and a little hopeless, but up in San Luis Obispo my tough days were filled with hope. I gradually found myself with a very fine herd of black Angus cattle and four leased ranches. Hard work but honest, and I slept well!
CC What prompted you to become a hunting guide?
WM Sometime around 1998, I realized that my cattle ranch and gundog training kennels were in need of more income. I also had a daughter to put through school. Hunting upland and big game was something that I was very good at and I already had the horses, so up sprang Murray Outfitters.
A retro moment for Murray in crossing San Carpoforo Creek (Los Padres National Forest) enroute to do some pig hunting. “My childhood wasn’t pretty, and I soon discovered that riding my horse and exploring the area around our ranch took me away, where I learned to dream and then go out and live those dreams,” he says. (WILLIAM MURRAY)
HUNTING
The second I hit my slate call, a tom answered; he not only answered, he never stopped. I would call just often enough to keep him coming in our direction (never overcall; they’re not stupid, just in heat!). Now, that tom was getting close, so I whispered to my client to quietly chamber a round and to stay behind me, and when it came time to shoot, I would lie down, clearing the way for a safe shot.
WE WERE WELL HIDDEN in the grass and the wildflowers were 2 to 3 feet high that year; just beautiful. The gobbler had closed to within about 30 yards and was moving into view when my hunter started poking me in the back. I whispered to him to stay quiet, but he just kept poking me, so I turned my head to see what the problem was. He had that “deer-in-theheadlights” look as he pointed at something on the ground beside me. Thank God for that young man, because there beside me on the ground was a big, unhappy rattlesnake. He was coiled and looking at me like an hors d’oeuvre.
Now, I’ve spent a lot of years in the field, and I knew instantly that if I moved, he was
CC Do you have a favorite moment or hunting experience that you can share?
WM I loved writing every story. It’s hard to choose, but here are my favorite two: Chapter 8 (“Trophy Blacktail on a Harvest Moon”); one of the best hunts of my career, and we didn’t harvest a thing except for poison oak and saddle sores! And Chapter 18 (“A Miracle in the Night”); this story tells of a horrible accident and how the three of us there on the trail that night witnessed a miracle!
CC So many of the fishing and hunting guides I’ve corresponded with have told me how great it feels to give their clients such a memorable experience. Have you felt that way too in your stint as a guide?
WM For me, it was almost completely about the total outdoor experience, along with my safety talk. The harvest was secondary but was so rewarding after a long and hard fair-chase hunt.
CC You’ve chronicled lots of adventures in Los Padres National Forest, not far from San Luis Obispo. Is that one of your favorite spots?
WM The Los Padres National Forest along California’s coast is one of three great areas that I used to hunt. What made it more special than the others were the people that I guided – all lifelong friends.
going to bite me. I had absolutely no interest in this! I reacted swiftly, picked up a rock and beat him to death. I then went right back to calling that tom turkey, but he’d seen enough of my dog and pony show and was off and running, moving south along the creek like his tail feathers were on fire. He was gone. I buried that snake’s head and put nine rattles in my pocket. I wish that I had taken them out of that pocket before my wife found them. She sent me to the barn for this infraction. I spent a lot of time there. My client just sat there staring at me. I told him that I thought I knew where that turkey was going and if he was up to it, we needed to run to
A temperamental rattlesnake threw the first of two unexpected curve balls at the guide and client just as a turkey came in to their setup. (NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)
HUNTING
On this trip, Murray and his client didn’t harvest a tom like he’s done so many times, but the hunter couldn’t hide the excitement of the day. “All he wanted to talk about was that rattlesnake and how, without ruffling a feather, I just calmly killed the snake and went back to calling that turkey,” the author writes. (WILLIAM MURRAY)
the horses and get downstream ahead of that bird. A note here: Never run up to a horse that you need in a hurry. Just kind of stroll up like you’re not serious. Don’t get them excited until you’re safely in the saddle.
We loped those horses down that canyon for about half a mile, highlined them and my client followed me on the run until I came to a big, downed log. We quickly hid behind this log. I had him chamber a round in his 12-gauge, deadly and humane on turkey. Once again, I hit the call. The turkey responded and was not 60 yards away on the other side of the log. He was making a real racket running through the dry oak leaves and coming straight toward us.
I quietly joked with my hunter that he’d be over that log
CC The excerpt from the book is about spring turkey hunting. Can you tell me a little about what turkey hunts have meant to you?
WM I took all of my hunting and guiding hunters very seriously, but spring turkey hunting was always filled with outlandish experiences. And camaraderie.
CC You have worked with horses a lot, and one of your book’s chapters is titled “Horses: My Friends for Life.” Will you always have a special bond with these animals, especially now that you’re raising and training them in Santa Fe?
WM I was born on a ranch with horses and started riding when I was 8 years old. I spent my youth on a tough ranch in more ways than I’ll mention here. Horses saved me and took me into rodeo and raising cattle. They carried me through my guiding years, and I’ve never had a horse haul me into divorce court! There is nothing like riding a good horse into new country by yourself!
CC The book has some short stories in a chapter, with one mentioning getting your dad out to hunt deer when he was 85 years old after you hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Was that a great moment for you?
WM Guiding my dad was bittersweet. Yes, I loved seeing him, but also discovered that he hadn’t changed much at all. However, I’ll always be thankful for this trip – changed or not. I’d like to have him here with me right now. Covid took his life when he was 99 years young.
CC What advice would you give to folks who want to begin guiding hunters and/ or anglers?
WM Do your homework, follow all the rules religiously, give your clients the best day that you can, no matter the circumstances, and always be honest! CS
and in our laps in a hurry and to be ready. No sooner had I whispered this to my client than, good grief, he came right over that log and into my lap. He wasn’t nearly as surprised as I was. Now, for reasons that only I would know, and I’m not talking, I grabbed that bird by a wing (not recommended at any time) and yelled at my client to help me.
The big tom wasn’t messing around, and he was hurting me pretty good with the long spurs on the back of his legs just above his feet. Now, I must tell you things were happening in a hurry. I might have won this battle, except out of the corner of my eye I saw my client, who was no more than 5 or 6 feet away, aiming his shotgun at both of us. Evidently, he was going to shoot one or both of us; nearly getting bitten by a rattlesnake and now getting shot by my hunter. Now, my momma didn’t raise a complete fool. I let go of that bird and he flew off like he had a rocket in his tail. I watched as my client missed him three shots in a row (too close, no pattern to hit him with). We stood there in silence for some time; it had been quite a morning!
WE NEVER SAW OR heard another bird that day and 3 o’clock in the afternoon found us riding back down to the trailhead. Back then, you had to stop hunting turkeys in the spring at 3 p.m., and, of course, California changed it a couple more times to 4 p.m. and its current rule of 5 p.m. Now, this young man wasn’t disappointed at all. All he wanted to talk about was that rattlesnake and how, without ruffling a feather, I just calmly killed the snake and went back to calling that turkey. He thought that I was a bona fide mountain man. What I didn’t tell him was how badly I needed a change of clothing.
All my life I’ve had an angel on my shoulders! CS
Editor’s note: Order William Murray’s book at mcfarlandbooks.com/product/ Worn-Out-Saddles-and-Boot-Leather.
LET THE GOBBLER GAMES BEGIN HUNTING
By Cal Kellogg
For two days the weather had been a dismal mix of wind and rain, but now the woods were still. The steady squishing of my boots was the only sound as I shuffled down a muddy trail under a sky blanketed with stars. I glanced at my GPS unit to confirm my position.
For 45 minutes, I’d been hiking along a ridge using the stars and a glow stick for light. Just a few hours earlier, I’d stood in the same spot and watched eight turkeys – seven hens and a gobbler – go to roost. I had watched the birds with my binoculars as they fed their way onto a point halfway up the far ridge and then flew into a gray pine one by one.
I plotted a strategy while lying in my tent that night. From the ridge trail, I’d drop into the canyon, scramble up the far side, locate and skirt around the birds’ roost, and set up behind them before dawn.
Making it to the canyon bottom was easy, but the far hillside above the creek was steep – steeper than I thought it would be – and it was slick after two days of rain. I used some tree roots as a makeshift ladder and pulled my gear up behind me on a piece of cord. Once I got past the creek bank, finding the roost tree proved anticlimactic.
As dawn broke, I was set up in the limbs of a deadfall 50 yards from the roost – hidden behind a screen of brush and small oaks – and with a hen decoy placed seductively 15 yards in front of me.
I listened as the turkeys yelped softly for several minutes. When a woodpecker flew from a nearby tree, I knew it was time. I fired off a short
HOW TO PREPARE FOR A SPRING TURKEY HUNT
Chasing spring gobblers is an addictive and often confounding sport. Here we see master hunter and guide Tony Martindale living the dream, posing with a massive Golden State tom. (TONY MARTINDALE)
HUNTING
staccato series of yelps and clucks with a diaphragm call while flapping a turkey wing against my thigh.
After a few minutes of silence, I scratched the leaves and grass. The sequence was my best imitation of a turkey flying down from its roost to feed. Suddenly, there was a loud gobble, and then the dawn air erupted with wing beats. Just like that the turkeys were off the roost and on the ground, but where? Just as suddenly, the birds fell silent. I sat frozen, my ears straining as my eyes picked apart the brush.
I’d almost convinced myself that the birds had moved away. I was about to yelp lightly when I spotted a gobbler’s head moving through the undergrowth and glowing like an iridescent blue light bulb.
I held my breath. The gobbler’s movements were slow and cautious; he wasn’t excited about the decoy I had put out, only curious. At 35 paces the gobbler paused. Would he keep coming? Was he suspicious? It didn’t matter. My Remington ended the game by anchoring the longbeard with a load of Hevi-Shot.
As I ran my hands over the Rio Grande’s glistening feathers, I smiled with satisfaction. The homework I’d done had paid off with a handsome 22-pound public-land gobbler. It doesn’t get any better than that!
THE GOBBLERS OF SPRING
Each spring, thousands of West Coast hunters take to the field hoping to harvest a gobbler. Most of these hunters will fail to bag that old tom. Consistently harvesting gobblers on public land requires preparation, dedication and persistence.
Many hunters mistakenly believe spring hunting success is all about calling, but there’s more to it than that. Calling is only one piece of
the turkey hunting puzzle. The real challenge is locating turkeys and developing a strategy to meet the prevailing conditions.
Scouting is the most important element in building a successful turkey hunting strategy. The amount of success you have during the spring season is largely dependent on the amount and quality of preseason scouting you do. Most hunters who fail to bag a gobbler do so as a result of poor or, worse, nonexistent scouting.
For new turkey hunters or experienced hunters trying a new area, scouting begins with a call to the state wildlife agency. You want to contact a biologist involved with the wild turkey program or, at the least, a wildlife biologist who regularly works in the area you want to hunt. Begin by asking for any literature or maps that the biologist can provide.
The biologist can give you updated information about turkey numbers, forage, preferred habitat, hunting pressure and the counties with the highest harvest rates.
Don’t expect a biologist to point you to a specific hotspot. But they are a great resource and can provide you with an understanding of your area’s
Decoys can help seal the deal with a big educated longbeard. And having multiple calls that can be used at the same time allows you to sound like two different hens interacting. (CAL KELLOGG)
A longbeard doubleheader makes for a great spring outing. Mikayla Daniels and her boyfriend called in these amazing birds and sealed the deal! (MIKAYLA DANIELS)
turkey population while saving you a lot of searching.
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT
Based on the information the biologist provides, the actual legwork of scouting is up to you. It takes time. For serious turkey hunters, scouting is a year-round affair that turns serious about February 1. Depending on daylight and weather patterns, birds will begin moving to spring haunts in preparation for the breeding season during February or early March.
When you hang up the phone with the biologist, you will have identified some public areas around your region that hold promise. These areas typically consist of national forest lands and state wildlife areas.
I love the onX Hunt app on my phone. It reveals terrain and vegetation in good detail and provides information about boundaries and land ownership status. This knowledge, when combined with a basic understanding of turkey behavior, will help you predict the location and movements of turkeys.
In addition, these electronic maps provide a template on which you can record information uncovered in the field such as turkey sightings, potential strutting and nesting areas, feeding and watering areas, dusting spots and movement corridors.
Knowledge is power. Learning all you can about the turkeys in your area and the lands that they frequent makes a real difference when the season opens.
SCOUTING SUPERLATIVES
The objective of the turkey hunter is to locate a gobbler and either call him in or ambush him as he goes about his routine. To achieve this, the hunter must know the lay of the land thoroughly. Field scouting involves three things: finding turkeys, locating sign and identifying areas that breeding turkeys will find attractive, namely nesting areas and strut zones. While producing eggs, hens require a diet high in calcium. On
HUNTING
There’s calling to bring in toms, and then there’s calling to locate a longbeard. “A number of sharp natural sounds such as crow calls, coyote howlers, owl hooters, hawk screamers, and goose call reliably elicit gobbles without alerting the turkey to your presence,” author Cal Kellogg writes. (CAL KELLOGG)
the other hand, the fast-growing poults need a high-protein diet made up almost exclusively of bugs. Open areas like meadows, old pastures, abandoned farms, fire breaks and old burns meet the nutritional needs of both hens and their young, providing calcium-rich green shoots as well as ample insects. And where there are hens, you can bet toms won’t be far away, so consider nesting areas like these as possible honey holes.
As for a strut zone, it’s an open area where gobblers display themselves in hope of attracting hens. Old logging roads traversing dense woods and
clearcuts are classic strutting areas. Strut zones are usually found between roosting and feeding areas. When possible, toms locate their strut zones on high ground so as to increase their visibility to hens. An opening doesn’t have to be large to attract a strutting gobbler. I spotted the first such turkey I ever called and killed strutting in a small opening about 15 yards in diameter on a hillside choked with brush and oaks. When I find an area that serves as a strut zone, I make note of it on my mapping software. Gobblers use these areas year after year.
HUNTING
PREP WORK
Six weeks before the season opens, I begin locating and marking gobblers. I like to mark as many birds as possible before the season. Inevitably, other hunters will discover some of these birds, but by locating several gobblers, I know that at least some will be left undisturbed.
To locate gobblers, I hike along ridges at dawn and dusk glassing for birds and listening for gobbles. At times I will attempt to solicit shock gobbles by blowing a coyote howler every 500 yards or so that I walk.
Overall, public-land gobblers tend to be more closed-mouthed than their
private-land brethren, but you can still count on them to gobble when they come and go from the roost.
In my experience, turkeys may or may not roost in the same tree night after night, but they do roost in the same basic area. This means that if you hear a turkey gobble from the roost, then you can conclude that you’ve located his home area where he’s likely to remain unless disturbed. Once I hear a roosted bird gobble, I mark his position on my phone or GPS and leave him alone.
A word of warning is in order: Never attempt to make a tom gobble with hen noises during scouting
trips. Public-land turkeys are callshy by nature, and you don’t want to intensify this by calling them before the season. And know that locating a gobbler near a trailhead or access point is of limited value, since the bird will invariably attract a lot of attention until he spooks, stops gobbling or gets killed.
CROWD CONTROL
Part of the challenge of effectively hunting on public land is dealing with hunting pressure. Take other hunters into consideration as you scout.
I’ve avoided other hunters over the years by hunting areas featuring rugged terrain and limited trails a mile or more from an access point. Sure, those predawn cross-country hikes using a glow stick and GPS for navigation can be painstaking, but the reward is great when Mr. Longbeard struts into your setup.
By the opening of the season, provided you’ve done your homework, you will have discovered the locations of some gobblers. The evening before hunting, visit one or more of these spots and attempt to solicit a shock gobble from a roosted tom using a locator call. This is known as putting the gobbler to bed.
Products that make sharp natural sounds such as crow calls, coyote howlers, owl hooters, hawk screamers and goose calls reliably elicit gobbles without alerting the turkey to your presence. Some locator calls are adjustable and make up to four different sounds. Silent dog whistles are also great locators that not a lot of hunters use. If you opt for one of these high-frequency whistles, be prepared to pay about $20 for a quality longrange model.
When a roosted bird responds, try to locate the roost without being seen. To accomplish this, you may have to make the bird gobble more than once, but try to keep gobbling to a minimum. You don’t want the bird’s gobbles to serve as an advertisement to other hunters.
This happy hunter brought the spring gobbler of his dreams into range using a friction call. (TONY MARTINDALE)
HUNTING
ON THE MOVE
Turkeys move around a lot on the roost as they settle in for the night. You can generally spot a receptive gobbler quickly by using binoculars. Don’t overlook the advantage of using quality optics when turkey hunting. I carry a full-size set of 10x50s while scouting and hunting.
Knowing where the gobbler is roosted allows you to move in and set up on him long before dawn. Hopefully the roost will be in an area you are familiar with. Then you’ll be able to make an educated guess about the direction the gobbler will head once he hits the ground. Conventional wisdom dictates the hunter should set up 100 or more yards from the roost.
If cover allows, I prefer to set up much closer. A lot of gobblers I work are in the company of hens. Hens are a jealous breed, and given a chance, they will lead the gobbler away from your calls. Remember that to her you are just another hen with which she must compete for the attention of the gobbler.
To combat this, I try to anticipate where the turkeys will land off the roost and set up as close to that spot as is practical. My goal is to trick the gobblers into thinking I’m one of his hens that has flown down early. I do this by employing a decoy and the fly-down calling/flapping/scratching sequence detailed at the start of this piece. I was taught to incorporate wing beats and feeding noises into my calling by West Coast guide Terry Bellingham more than 30 years ago.
GUT INSTINCTS
Despite your best efforts, it may not be possible to locate a roosted gobbler the evening before you hunt. In this event, choose an area that held sign or looked promising during scouting sessions. Take a position that allows you to hear and see as far as possible 30 minutes before dawn.
As dawn breaks, listen for both gobbles and yelps while glassing for
“Many
roosted birds. When you hear or see a gobbler, move toward him quickly and use the terrain for concealment.
If the bird is moving, try to get ahead of him. If he’s stationary, try to set up above him. Again, I like to move within 100 yards before making a sound. Getting close has important benefits. First, it only requires reluctant or mildly interested gobblers to cover minimal ground before coming into range. Second, if the bird is hot, being close minimizes the time it will take the gobbler to reach you, reducing the chances that another hunter or a hen will hear the tom’s gobbles and interfere.
I remain at my dawn listening post for an hour. If nothing develops, I begin covering ground slowly and quietly using a locator call to spark a gobble. The hours between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. have produced a lot of action for me. During this time, hens often abandon
gobblers and visit their nests. A gobbler that ignores your calls when he’s with hens can change temperament quickly when he’s alone.
In terms of calling, I prefer a lowkey approach. Public-land turkeys are often call-shy, especially when hunted after the opener. I think most hunters call too aggressively and too often.
To fool a mature gobbler, calls must sound natural. I rely heavily on sounds like wing beats and scratching in leaves to supplement my light clucks, yelps and purrs. At times, I’ll yelp with a box call and a diaphragm to simulate the sound of two different hens. CS
Editor’s note: California’s spring turkey season runs from March 29 to May 4. Cal Kellogg is a longtime Northern California outdoors writer. Subscribe to his YouTube channel Fish Hunt Shoot Productions at youtube.com/user/KelloggOutdoors.
hunters mistakenly believe spring hunting success is all about calling, but there’s more to it than that. Calling is only one piece of the turkey hunting puzzle,” Kellogg writes. “The real challenge is locating turkeys and developing a strategy to meet the prevailing conditions.” (CAL KELLOGG)
FROM FIELD...
GOBBLER GEAR THAT WORKS GREAT BEST SHELL, DECOY
OPTIONS FOR SPRING TURKEY HUNTERS
By Scott Haugen
Ispend a lot of time testing turkey gear. And with spring turkey season here, these are some pieces of gear I’ve put to use. I’m confident they’ll work just as well for you.
A WHOLE NEW GUN GAME
The subgauge shotgun craze continues to escalate in the turkey hunting world, and rightly so. Reduced recoil, quieter shots and less flinching than when pulling the trigger on big bores – there’s no
doubt subgauges optimize accuracy.
I know that 30 years ago hunters – myself included – did just fine shooting their waterfowl and/or upland shotgun at turkeys because they knew how it performed. Then came short-barreled turkey
Turkey season is here! Knowing and having confidence in your gear is a big part of each and every hunt. Author Scott Haugen focuses on improving success via shotgun shells and decoys. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
HUNTING ... TO FIRE
MAKE YOUR SPAGHETTI WILD WITH GAME MEAT
By Tiffany Haugen
Who doesn’t love spaghetti? No matter our age or how picky some people may be, spaghetti is one of those universal comfort foods most enjoy.
Turkey meat is very lean, so don’t overcook it. The number one reason I hear from people about why they don’t like eating wild turkey meat is because it’s tough. That’s 100 percent on the cook, no matter the age or sex of the bird. Overcook any turkey – even a young one – and it’ll turn out tough. The key to cooking leg and thigh meat is always a low-and-slow method.
If you or someone in the family is still skeptical about eating wild turkey, this recipe will change that.
Two wild turkey legs and thighs
One onion
6 cloves garlic
½ cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ to 1 teaspoon black pepper
½ to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup fresh basil and or parsley
Fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese for garnish
12 ounces pasta of choice
Place turkey legs and thighs in a slow cooker. With big toms, it’s best to separate
Spaghetti usually can satisfy even the most picky of eaters, and as chef Tiffany Haugen says, slow-cooking wild game meat like turkey adds an outdoorsy twist to a menu staple. (TIFFANY HAUGEN)
the legs and thighs at the joint so they fit in the cooker. Cook on high heat for four to six hours or until turkey meat separates easily from the bone.
Remove all meat from bones, cartilage and sinew, chop and add back juices to the slow cooker or into a soup pot. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and spices to the slow cooker or soup pot. Cook an additional hour in the slow cooker or bring to a boil in the soup pot and then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
Cook pasta according to directions. Serve with fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese if desired.
Editor’s note: To order signed copies of Tiffany Haugen’s Cooking Game Birds, visit scotthaugen.com for this and other titles.
HUNTING
shotguns utilizing extra-full chokes and jaw-popping super magnum loads. From what I’ve seen in recent years, the magnum setups have accounted for many misses for the simple reason that too much recoil causes hunters to flinch. So, because shot strings are tighter with the juiced-up loads, magnum guns and extra full chokes, any flinching will skew the point of impact.
Enter tungsten super shot, or TSS. TSS isn’t new, but how it’s being used is. We need to grasp the purpose of TSS. I can’t count the number of times someone has said to me, “I want to shoot a turkey at 70 yards with TSS in my .410.” If that’s your
goal, stick with a 12-gauge and 3½inch magnum loads, because more pellets leads to high-percentage hits.
I promise that no shotgun shell manufacturer designed a .410 or even 20-gauge load to intentionally shoot turkeys at 70 yards. The intent behind TSS is to offer more pellets per load – thanks to tungsten’s high density – and deliver tighter patterns. A tighter pattern with more kinetic energy means more lethality.
I’ve tested a lot of TSS loads in my subgauges and have fallen in love with two. In my Browning .410 pump, I’ve found nothing patterns like Apex Ammunition’s Turkey TSS. And in my Browning 20-gauge
try
Silver edition, Hevi-Shot’s Hevi-18 gives me utmost confidence.
PATTERN YOUR GUN, LOAD
Treat TSS loads like a rifle cartridge and you’ll be ahead of the game. Be sure to always pattern each load before hunting with it. These are specialized loads that need to be shot in your gun so you know their precise point of impact and pattern. They might shoot differently in other guns. Not all TSS loads pattern the same in all guns, and not all brands pattern the same in one gun.
Once you find a shell you like, stick with it, just as you would a rifle load. I first test loads at 20 yards to see the pattern. Then I shoot it at 10 yards to reveal the exact point of impact. This is because most of the turkeys I kill are inside 20 yards and I want to know how tight the pattern is at close range. Then I pattern it at 30 and 40 yards so that I know how it performs should I need a follow-up shot. Know the effective range of your TSS loads when shooting subgauges and your shot-to-kill ratios will skyrocket.
CALLS AND DECOYS
The art of turkey hunting is to call a tom in close for a clean and ethical shot, not shooting at a bird that hangs up at 75 yards and hope you hit it in the head with a lucky pellet. To pull a tom in close, quality calling and the right decoy are key.
Two seasons ago I brought dozens of toms to within 15 yards using Dave Smith’s Preening Hen decoy. Last season was a repeat of the first with this decoy. I sought out this decoy for two reasons. First, we have a lot of rain early in the turkey season, and hens spend a lot of time preening in the timber. Where hens are, toms will follow. Second, both furred and feathered predator populations are ridiculously high in a few places I hunt, which also keeps birds in the cover of timber for protection.
Alone, the Preening Hen works wonders. As the season progresses, I’ll
Eager to
a subgauge for gobblers? This Apex Turkey TSS payload of size 9½ shot has accounted for multiple turkeys for the author and is one he’ll keep shooting in his .410. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
pair it with an upright hen decoy, and from time to time, a strutting tom decoy.
A couple springs ago I shot three toms over the Preening Hen decoy using my .410 loaded with Apex TSS. Two were inside 15 yards, with one at 22 yards.
Last spring and this past fall, I shot a number of turkeys with my 20-gauge using Hevi-18 and was greatly impressed with this load’s performance at 35 yards. The addition of a Muller UFO choke has further increased the pattern density and performance of a range of 20-gauge shotgun shells.
With spring turkey season upon us, now’s the time to use gear that’s been proven to work. CS
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies For All Levels, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram and Facebook.
Placed on the edge of a forest, a Dave Smith Preening Hen decoy pulled this big tom into range for author Scott Haugen and his trusty .410. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
PUTTING WEIGHT BACK ON A GUN DOG
WATERFOWL SEASON TAKES A LOT OUT OF HUNTING DOGS – HERE’S A HEALTHY WAY TO GET THEM TO OPTIMUM SIZE AGAIN
By Scott Haugen
Iclosely monitor the weight of my dogs all year. Both are pudelpointers. This versatile breed allows me to get outside with them year-round, hunting for waterfowl, upland birds, shed antlers, fall turkeys, squirrels and more. In the offseason we typically train twice a day.
Waterfowl season takes the most out of my dogs. A long season combined with long days in cold water and even colder air temperatures means they’ll lose weight. For simplicity’s sake, here’s how I manage the weight of Kona, my 8½-year-old male pudelpointer.
KONA’S OPTIMAL WEIGHT IS 63 pounds. He maintains that weight from March through August. Starting in September, I will increase the fat in Kona’s diet. By mid-November he weighs 66 to 67 pounds. The weight is put on slowly.
(By the way, my dogs never eat before a hunt. Stomach twist is always a fear in deep-chested dogs like pudelpointers. Kona nearly died from it when he was 5. Lethargy, discomfort, less efficient digestion and compromised performance are also reasons I don’t feed the morning of a hunt. If the hunt ends before noon, I’ll feed them. If not, I’ll double what they eat at dinner and feed earlier.)
Cold weather can make it difficult for a hard-working gun dog to retain weight all winter long, especially in lean, versatile breeds like author Scott Haugen’s pudelpointer Kona. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
COLUMN HUNTING
Once duck season starts, Kona is hunting five days a week. He’s lean, runs hard and covers a lot of ground on land and in the water. Because he burns so many calories, by season’s end Kona might only weigh 60 pounds. It’s hard keeping weight on him during the season.
Once duck season is over I start increasing the amount of fat in his diet. In addition to feeding a 25 percent NutriSource kibble and 75 percent raw diet, eggs and goat milk are also part of Kona’s diet. I’ll add one egg to a meal, a cup of goat milk to another meal. During the first two weeks, an egg or milk is added once a day. For the next two weeks, three times every two days he’ll get an egg or a cup of milk. After that, it goes to twice a day until Kona hits his target weight of 63 pounds.
Mind you, Kona is still active following duck season, training every day and hunting for shed antlers in the hills once a week. We’re also hunting geese a day or two a week during the late season. The goose hunts and shed hunts are brief, usually winding down by 9 a.m.
I PREFER FEEDING DUCK eggs over chicken eggs. I crack and feed the whole raw egg, shell and all. A duck egg has more fat than a chicken egg. Duck eggs are also higher in omega-3 fatty acids, providing about 71 milligrams of omega-3s compared to about 37 milligrams in a chicken egg. Both duck and chicken eggs contain calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, copper, sodium, potassium and manganese, minerals that help dogs in many ways.
I also like feeding goat milk instead of cow’s milk. A cup of goat milk has 10 grams of fat compared to cow milk that has 8 grams of fat. This means the goat milk is higher in calories, about 19 more calories per cup. Being higher in fat, the goat milk is also higher in saturated fat, all of which help weight gain.
Goat milk and eggs, especially duck eggs, play an important role in Haugen’s dietary plan for putting weight back on his dogs following hunting season. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Haugen and Kona with a last-day limit of ducks. The following day began Kona’s weight gain diet regimen to bring him back up to 63 pounds after the exertions of waterfowl season. (SCOTT HAUGEN)
Cow milk largely consists of long-chain fatty acids. Goat milk is made up of medium-chain fatty acids that are easier to digest and do not require pancreatic enzymes to break down. This is easier on the dog’s pancreas.
NOT ONLY ARE HIGH-PROTEIN and -carbohydrate diets important for active hunting dogs, but so is moisture. Echo, my other pudelpointer, drinks water all the time. Kona is reluctant to drink, which is where goat milk serves two purposes. With meals where no goat milk is served, I’ll add a cup of water to Kona’s kibble and raw food. A dehydrated dog cannot efficiently gain muscle mass or maintain optimal energy levels needed to carry out their daily activities. Hydration is an important part of putting weight on a gun dog.
By late March, Kona is back to his 63-pound optimal self, and he stays there all summer long until it’s time to get ready for winter hunting season.
I wish I could manage my diet as efficiently as I do my dogs! CS
Editor’s note: Scott Haugen is a full-time writer. See his puppy training videos and learn more about his many books at scotthaugen.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
FISHING
FISH OR WITH CUT BAIT
CONSIDER THESE MEATY OFFERINGS, TECHNIQUES TO SLAM STRIPERS
By Mark Fong
It’s that time of year. The trees are in bloom, the rivers are full, and when the calendar approaches April 1, these are all signs that it is striped bass time in Northern California.
From the Delta upstream to the Sacramento and Feather Rivers, the system is full of stripers making their annual migration to their spring spawning grounds. For many anglers, this is the apex of their entire fishing year.
While there are many different methods to catch striped bass, perhaps the most overlooked and effective choice is cut bait fishing.
There is no denying that trolling plugs, tossing swimbaits or drifting live minnows get lots of attention from anglers, but day in and day out, the truth is that the old-school bait-and-wait approach just plain catches fish.
No one knows this better than Dakota Townley, who guides for spring stripers on the Sacramento River between Tisdale and Princeton. “Bait is a great option,” Townley says. “Especially early in the season when the water is cold and muddy. But don’t be fooled; it works throughout the spring and year as well.”
With striped bass starting to show up in the Central Valley rivers this month – April is when prime time fishing should get going – one method that may be a bit overlooked is tossing cut bait. (DAKOTA TOWNLEY GUIDE SERVICE)
FISHING
Anchoring your boat along inside river bends and fishing in 3 to 7 feet of water is a good starting point to target stripers with cut bait offerings. (DAKOTA TOWNLEY GUIDE SERVICE)
TIME TO BAIT UP
Bait fishing is done while on anchor. Townley likes to concentrate on inside river bends and turns in anywhere from 3 to 7 feet of water. There are days when Townley may start out in 3 feet of water only until his side-scan electronics alert him to the fact that he is fishing too deep and to move shallower – so shallow that his boat is barely floating, yet his catch ratio increases exponentially.
According to Townley, “A lot of guys want to sit in that deeper water near big dropoffs, but in my personal experience, that is just not the case, at least not in the upper sections of the river where we fish.”
Townley uses the standard fare of striper baits, including anchovies, sardines and pile worms. Rather than cut the bait into chunks, he likes to filet the bait off the backbone. Next, he inserts his hook through one end of the filet and takes the other end, pinches it up his leader line and wraps it with a specialized elastic bait tread to hold it firmly in place.
LOCAL GUIDES PREVIEW SPRING LINESIDES RUN
With the spring striper run upon us, CS correspondent Mark Fong reached out to two of Northern California’s best guides, and here is what they had to say:
“This season should be really good. It should be another high-water, great striper season. Anytime we have these big late-winter or early-spring storms, it kind of gets everything primed up. It gets the water really flowing and the fish just seem to get charged up. When we get these big high-water years, the number of fish we see is so much more and the quality can be good as well. And the season typically can last a little longer than normal – maybe into June – but April and May are the prime months, for sure.”
BRETT BRADY, BARE BONES GUIDE SERVICE; (530) 263-4451
“It’s going to be a boomer. We got good water and all the lakes are full, so hopefully we already have fish in the system. Everything is starting to stabilize and as long as we don’t get a March Madness blowout, we should be looking at an April 1 kickoff. I do believe that both the Sacramento and the Feather will be fishable this year. If we get storms, we may see the rivers fluctuate, so we will need to adapt. The fish will be in the rivers until they spawn, which typically happens when the surface temperatures reach 62 to 64 degrees. There will be waves of fish – some coming and some going – so I expect to see solid fishing for at least six weeks or so.” MF
Townley says this rigging method improves his hookup ratio.
“You want to make sure your bait is real streamlined; you don’t want it to spin in circles. Instead, when you place your bait in the water, it should lay flat,” he says. “It kinda looks like a cone, and when the fish picks it up, he is grabbing right on the hook end.”
When a striper decides to bite, Townley coaches his clients not to react to the first strike but to wait as long as possible until the rod loads up and then to start cranking the reel. Townley is not an advocate of swinging on the fish on the initial bite, as he believes that a lot of anglers miss a lot of fish by doing so.
GEAR TALK
Townley constructs a leader with a 2-foot section of 15-pound monofilament line. To the business end he ties a 1/0 Owner mosquito hook, and a barrel swivel to the other. On his mainline from the rod, he threads
FISHING
“Bait is a great option, especially early in the season when the water is cold and muddy,” guide Dakota Townley (right) says, “But don’t be fooled; it works throughout the spring and year as well.” (DAKOTA TOWNLEY GUIDE SERVICE)
on a snap swivel before attaching it to the barrel swivel tied to the leader. Finally, to the snap swivel, he’ll clip a cannonball sinker just heavy enough to keep his rig on the bottom.
Typically, Townley starts off with something in the 1- to 2-ounce range but will adjust accordingly for the speed of the current. His rod and reel combo consists of a 7-foot, 6-inch Kevin Brock Minnow Rod paired with an Abu Garcia 5500 Reel spooled with 65-pound braided line.
The next time you head out on the water in search of striped bass, don’t forget to consider grabbing a bag of bait from your local tackle shop; it just might surprise you. CS
Editor’s note: To book a guiding trip with Dakota Townley, contact him directly at (530) 680-3717. Follow Dakota on Facebook.
While drifting live minnows is an effective technique, your local tackle shop’s supply of bait like frozen anchovies and sardines can score you plenty of perfect eating-size stripers too. (DAKOTA TOWNLEY GUIDE SERVICE)
MIMIC THEIR MEATY MEALS
WHEN CHOOSING BAITS, DON’T FORGET TROUT EAT OTHER FISH
By Cal Kellogg
Big fish eat little fish and trout – whether they’re browns, brookies or rainbows that live in streams, lakes or reservoirs –all gobble minnows with gusto when they get the chance.
But let’s keep this information between you and I, or everyone and their brother will be casting and pulling plugs and scoring big trout. After all, we want those hook-jawed, slob-gutted minnow munchers for ourselves, right?
At this point, you probably think I’m talking about ripping big minnow plugs like size 13 and 18 Floating Rapalas. While fast-trolling big baits like these is a tried-and-true approach for hooking trophy-size fish, that’s not what I’m focusing on.
Fishing these magnum-sized plugs for trout is a bit like sturgeon fishing; the hookup and fights are awesome, but the waiting time between bites can be long and tedious.
What we want to consider are smaller minnow plugs, crankbaits, flies and soft plastics that will catch trout of all sizes.
This massive 11-plus-pound rainbow crushed a trolling fly pulled in shallow water just after dawn. “If you are not pulling minnow imitations in the form of plugs and flies,” author Cal Kellogg writes, “you are selling yourself short in terms of hooking a maximum number of larger-than-average fish.” (CAL KELLOGG)
FISHING
Plugs have long been a standard choice for trout anglers attempting to imitate baitfish.
PLUGS, CRANKBAITS
Plugs in the 1- to 3-inch range are small enough to tempt pan-sized trout, but when you come across a big girl, these baits are substantial enough that she just won’t be able to pass them up.
In all seriousness, I don’t think any trout angler – whether they fish streams or lakes, from the bank or from a boat – should be without a selection of minnow plugs. But they are only part of the story when it comes to trout plugs.
Short, thick-bodied, bass fishingstyle crankbaits and boomerangshaped plugs like FlatFish and Mag Lips should also be part of the wellheeled trouter’s arsenal.
I like to fish my plugs on an 8-pound
fluorocarbon line. I go with spinning gear if I’m fishing a stream or casting at a lake. If I’m trolling, I use spinning gear at times, but most often I’ll be running with a baitcasting-style rod, which is balanced with an Abu Garcia 5500 linecounter baitcasting reel.
For toplining, that reel will be spooled with 10-pound moss green Trilene Big Game Line and tipped with a fluorocarbon leader, or it will be set up as a hybrid leadcore rig, which allows me to work depths down to 30 feet without using a downrigger.
It’s important to use a rod with a soft tip. Trout have soft mouths, and the soft tip helps to minimize lost fish. Most crankbaits have smallish hooks that can pull out easily if too much pressure is applied.
My plug selection for fishing creeks and rivers is smaller than the selection I carry for lake fishing. On the stream, I like size 5 and 7 Floating Rapalas in rainbow trout, silver/black, firetiger or orange. For deeper work, slow-sinking Yo-Zuri L Minnows in the 1¾-inch size have proven to be deadly in rainbow trout and chrome and blue finishes.
For crankbaits, I use small Hot Shots and Brad’s Wigglers in rainbow trout and orange over gold. When it comes to FlatFish and Mag Lips, I like to have baits in red, frog and chrome/blue.
While all these baits imitate minnows, I fish them all differently. I use Rapalas and Yo-Zuris to cover water quickly. I cast them across and
(CAL KELLOGG)
FISHING
slightly downstream, allow them to swing across the current on a tight line and then retrieve them slowly. After one or two casts, I move downstream a few feet and repeat. This approach works best in streams that are reasonably open and allow me to cover the water thoroughly and quickly.
I still use Rapalas on brushy streams, but in general I use more crankbaits and boomerang-shaped
plugs. Since heavy brush prevents you from effectively walking and casting, you must be able to cover a lot of water from each brush opening.
To accomplish this, I’ll tie on a crankbait and pitch it out a few feet into the middle of the current and close the reel’s bail. The plug will immediately swim to the near bank. I allow it to work there for several seconds and then begin feeding line a foot or 2 at a time, giving it plenty of
pauses to sit and work in the current. It’s amazing how many trout will dart out from under the bank and absolutely slam the bait. If crankbaits don’t produce in this situation, I tie on a Mag Lip or FlatFish and fish it the same way.
My plug selection doesn’t change when bank fishing lakes. Key locations to fish are points and anywhere water is flowing into the lake. These areas should be thoroughly worked via fan casting.
In lakes where the main forage is shad, I like to employ crankbaits and boomerang plugs most of the time. If pond smelt are on the menu, slender minnow plugs tend to work better, but of course this is just a general rule. In reality, minnow plugs work just about everywhere fish swim.
ON THE TROLL
And now we come to trolling. One of the reasons I really like minnow plugs and crankbaits for trolling is that they are baits that I can work quickly. Typically, I troll them from 2.5 to 4 or more miles per hour. These baits work equally well when top-lined or trolled from leadcore or downriggers.
When top-lined, you’ll want the plugs at least 150 feet behind the boat with 200 feet being preferable. If I’m kayaking, I shorten things up and run 60 to 100 feet back. Also, when pulling them behind a downrigger, you can shorten up significantly, although I still like to keep them at least 50 feet behind the ball. With leadcore, the distance behind the boat determines the depth. If fasttrolled plugs don’t do the trick, break out the boomerang-shaped FlatFish or Mag Lips. FlatFish work best when pulled from 1 to 1.5 mph. Mag Lips can be worked faster; they dive deeper and feature a rattle chamber.
Let’s also consider plug color selection. All things being equal, I like to run with natural-colored offerings like rainbow trout or black over silver. When the water is murky, that’s when you might consider
A small fly can lead to a big trout. This huge Eagle Lake rainbow grabbed an orange tube fly during a trolling adventure. (CAL KELLOGG)
FISHING
breaking out the fire-tigerand hot orange-colored lures, although I’ve caught plenty of trout in murky water with naturalcolored baits. And there are always exceptions when the bright stuff works in crystal-clear water.
I’ve seen a lot of huge trout landed in crystal-clear lakes like Pardee, Almanor and French Meadows on bright-orange Rapalas.
FLIES
When it’s time for fly anglers to imitate baitfish, they reach for streamer flies, and so should anglers fishing with conventional gear, though few do. Anglers working in streams or casting from shore can put a streamer on their line and apply weight in the form of split shot to get the fly down in the water column.
In this situation, apply the action to the fly with the rod and reel using twitches and pauses to simulate the dipping and darting of a wounded or frightened baitfish.
Where streamers really shine is the trolling arena. Some of my trolling flies are colored to mimic baitfish, and others are brightly colored.
While a lot of anglers have heard how effective trolling streamers can be, many of them don’t really understand how to fish them properly. I rig flies a few different ways. Teaming the fly with a clear wiggle disc is an easy and effective way to impart deadly erratic movement to your fly. To vary the action, I fool around with the distance between the disc and the fly.
If the wiggle disc routine isn’t working, I’ll sometimes team my fly with a small dodger like a Sep’s Side Kick or Strike Master. At other times, I’ll run a fly behind a set of Vance’s Little Slim Willie flashers.
If you really want to give the trout something they haven’t seen, try trolling a fly with just a split shot or two pinned on the line about 20 inches above the fly. With this rig, run the fly back 150 to 200 feet behind the boat.
Sometimes when the trout are really finicky, they’ll inhale a trolled fly that exhibits very little
movement. If you think you need some movement, you can pick up the rod and experiment twitching and surging the fly through the water. Keep the movements subtle and experiment until you find what the fish want.
When the water is cold, I’ve done very well tipping trolling flies with a small piece of nightcrawler about a half-inch long. When trout are lethargic, that little piece of meat can make a tremendous difference in turning window shoppers into hooked fish.
Why are streamer flies, especially trolled streamers, so effective? The simple answer is that they imitate baitfish, but there’s more to it. Every year, many of the largest fish to hit the net on my guide boat come on flies, the biggest so far being a 13-pound rainbow.
I’m convinced the reason why trolled streamers produce so many big trout for me is that few other anglers use them. Trout at popular lakes see a lot of plugs and spoons, and they may reject a plug as a result. When the same trout are confronted with a fly, they may well
Streamer flies closely mimic both the look and movement of baitfish, and using those principles when targeting trout and knowing what they eat will score fish. (CAL KELLOGG)
respond simply because it is their first interaction with a trolled fly. Research done by the scientists at Berkley Fishing demonstrates that fish can remember a given lure for up to six months after a negative interaction, and they are far more likely to strike a bait they are unfamiliar with than something they’ve seen in the past.
THE LAST WORD
At the end of the day, trout – both large or small – are apex predators. They eat all manner of insects, shrimp and even plankton, but given the opportunity, they will gladly gobble down another fish. The larger trout grow, the more important large forage items like baitfish become.
As a result, if you are not pulling minnow imitations in the form of plugs and flies, you are selling yourself short in terms of hooking a maximum number of larger-thanaverage fish. CS
“At the end of the day, trout – both large or small – are apex predators,” Kellogg writes. “They eat all manner of insects, shrimp and even plankton, but given the opportunity, they will gladly gobble down another fish.” (CAL KELLOGG)
CLAP FOR CRAPPIE
LIGHT TACKLE AND JIGS CAN MAKE FOR A GREAT DAY AND DELICIOUS PANFISH MEAL
By Tim E. Hovey
When it comes to springtime fisheries action, not much beats the crappie bite. During certain times of year like spring, they can be predictably patterned.
They are aggressive and can be caught using a variety of lures or live bait. Crappie are fun to catch and one of my favorite fish on the plate. Add in a well-rounded fishfinder, and with a little searching, you can have an amazing day on the water targeting
this scrappy panfish.
Before I owned a boat, I could catch crappie during the spawn when they moved into shallow water. I fished several coves littered with downed trees and stumps that always held crappie when the water temperature
Fat, feisty, fun to catch on light tackle, and a delicious option for your smoker, crappie should be on your spring fishing radar.
(TIM E. HOVEY)
FISHING
“Using jig heads in the 1/16- and 1/32-ounce size, I’ll double rig my terminal tackle so I can fish with two different-colored jig tails,” author Tim Hovey writes about targeting crappie. “I like to use jig colors that contrast with the water, making the bait easier to spot for feeding fish.” (TIM E. HOVEY)
started to rise. Armed with small jigs and a bobber to keep from getting snagged, I’d walk along the bank, catching fish in only a few feet of water. Those early forays at the shore were the beginning of my angling passion for patterning fish movement.
SPAWNING SECRETS
Crappie usually gather up in large groups in preparation for spawning. Since shallower water warms first, fish will start to move into the shallows when the water temperature rises into the 55- to 60-degree range. For most California lakes, this period occurs between
March and early May. This migration is considered prespawn behavior; the actual spawn occurs when the water temperatures rise to the mid-60s to 70 degrees.
Depending on the lake, these gatherings can be made up of tens of thousands of fish, if not more. They associate closely with structures like submerged stumps, vegetation and downed trees. The increase in water temperature and the pending spawning activity makes them more aggressive and easier to catch if you can find them. The period from prespawn into the spawn is absolutely the best time to fish for crappie.
WHAT WORKS
Up until recently, I would always target crappie and other panfish with micro-jigs, as well as by drop-shotting different baits. They were always my go-to rigs and seemed to always produce. However, I noticed that before the fish move into the shallows, they not only become tough to locate, but can be finicky as well. This is when I start changing things up.
Trolling crankbaits and diving stickbaits can be an excellent way to locate pockets of crappie if you don’t have a fishfinder. Crappie are aggressive predators, and when these baits are presented close,
FISHING
Your fishfinder will be a key component for finding schools of hungry panfish. “As I paid attention to water temperature and depth, I started seeing a definite crappie pattern,” Hovey writes. And if you don’t have electronics, trolling crankbaits can be an effective way to help find pockets of fish. (TIM
they will initiate a strike. Shad and crayfish colors have always been my favorites. Slow trolling or tossing these lures in various depths will help you locate lethargic fish. Crappie have delicate mouths, and larger lures can be ripped out of their thin skin when retrieving. When switching over to crankbaits and trolling, adjust your retrieve to avoid losing hooked fish. When the bite is slow or the fish haven’t quite moved into the shallows yet, presenting a bigger lure can get them biting.
Micro-jigs in a multitude of colors are always my top bait when the fish are gathered for the prespawn. Using jig heads in the 1/16- and 1/32-ounce size, I’ll double rig my terminal tackle so I can fish with two different-colored jig tails. I like to use jig colors that contrast with the water, making the bait easier to spot for feeding fish. I’ll keep track of what lure color is working best and then switch both baits to that color. Dropping micro-jigs in a school of prespawn crappie can result in all-
day action.
Last season, I started using a dropshot rig baited with a Berkley 2-inch minnow. During a hot spawningperiod bite, I caught 25 crappie in a row on the same lure before having to change it out. Often, the fish were so aggressive that they’d grab the lure while it sank. When the fish are active and ready to feed, dropshotting a Berkley minnow is my favorite way to target crappie.
READ YOUR FISHFINDER
I’ll be the first to admit, it took me several trips behind the Garmin Echomap to realize what I was looking at. After tossing the thick instruction manual to the side and through continued use, I started to understand what to look for and how to use the electronics to my advantage. As I paid attention to water temperature and depth, I started seeing a definite crappie pattern. Using the Garmin to search certain coves when I found prespawning temperatures put me on large groups of crappie. When I saw that they were closely associated with structure, I began mapping out areas I was confident would hold fish during the prespawning and spawning period.
In early spring when the water temperature starts to rise, I like to start my search for crappie in shallower portions of the lake. These areas will heat up first, pulling fish in from deeper water. Using the mapping function on the Garmin, I can confidently return to these previously visited coves, check the water temperature and conduct a quick search for schooling fish.
It’s important to understand that the temperature in these coves will increase during the day, so vacant coves in the morning may be occupied in the afternoon. If during a morning scan the fish are absent but I know the area holds good structure, I’ll return later in the day when things warm up a bit and search again.
E. HOVEY)
FISHING
Utilizing your electronics properly can put you on fish faster. And honestly, fishermen would rather get on a great crappie bite than spend the day staring at a screen.
SAVE THEM FOR THE SMOKER
For the most part, I don’t ever keep freshwater fish. I’ve always been a catch-and-release angler. I’d toss crappie back even when I caught a few tasty panfish. A chance meeting at the fish cleaning station at the lake changed all that. My wife Cheryl and I had spent the day on the water, and before we headed home, I stopped by the table to see how other anglers had done and what they were cleaning.
There was a single angler there with a massive pile of large crappie. We got to talking and he mentioned that he takes the filets home, dusts them with a seasoned rub and prepares them on a smoker. “You’ll never toss them back after you’ve tried it!” he said. The following weekend we were out again to see if we could find those crappie and try some for ourselves. After a brief search, we located a larger school in a cove and started loading the livewell. Back at home, I used an electric knife to filet the fish, and that evening we had an amazing meal of smoked crappie tacos. That guy was right; if I can catch a few, I’ll be taking them home for the smoker.
Whether you’re a shore angler or own a boat, crappie fishing is one of the most enjoyable types of freshwater angling you can experience. These fish put up an excellent fight on light tackle and are relatively easy to fish for. Fishing during the prespawn and spawn can get you into almost nonstop action.
Use your fishfinder to monitor water temperature and bottom structure, and fish should be close by. Experiment with lure type and color to find the best working combination. Don’t be afraid to try those triedand-true bass lures to get them biting either. And save a few for the smoker. You won’t be sorry. CS
The author’s wife Cheryl Hovey with a perfect eating-sized crappie. (TIM E. HOVEY)
The author used to release most of the freshwater fish he caught, but after a fellow angler made a convincing argument about crappie’s table fare, Hovey learned to make memorable meals with the filets. (TIM E. HOVEY)
