Outdoor Guide Magazine May-June 2018

Ma y - June 2018

Outdoor ag Guide M

e n i z a

HUNTING • FISHING • CAMPING • BOATING • SHOOTING • TRAVEL

Daylight Savings.................Page 2

White Perch.......................Page 6

Strange Seeds...................Page 12

Albino Catfish.................Page 16

Hobo Meal........................Page 20

Scrapes Tales....................Page 32

Asian Carp.......................Page 46

MISSOURI - ILLINOIS - AND OTHER EXCITING OUTDOOR DESTINATIONS

Outdoor Guide

Page 2

May-June 2018

Daylight Savings Is a Good Deal

(Editor’s note: Outdoor Guide Editor Bobby Whitehead’s Dogwood Journal column is taking this issue off but will return in the July-August issue.)

For reasons I cannot comprehend, each spring and fall a debate rises to eliminate the practice of Daylight Saving Time.

Some of that discourse even rises to the level of near outrage.

(Just like about everything else these days.)

Fortunately, I believe the haters are the minority, and after about a week, most of them move on to something else. There are usually a few calls for legislative action to tackle what is obviously not the biggest problem of our time, and usually that fades nearly as fast.

There are a few inconveniences with our semi-annual clock adjustments, but in total, it is a plan with a lot of merit. I actually like it so much that rather than eliminating Daylight Saving Time, I think a better plan would be to make forward and backward adjustments twice a year.

Instead of proposing to abolish Daylight Saving Time, I think we should spring forward an hour on the second Sunday in March and another hour again on Memorial Day weekend.

We should start our fall back on Labor Day weekend, and then finish it off on the Sunday after Halloween as currently scheduled.

FRANKLIN GOT IT In the United States since 2005, we have had about four

months of standard time and eight months of adjusted clocks, which has also been called Fast Time, War Time, and Peace Time, according to a pretty cool website called timeanddate. com.

When it was first officially established by Congress in 1966 through the Uniform Time Act, the two time periods were each about six months long. Energy saving has been the goal and reward of every incarnation of Daylight Saving Time since it was first utilized here during World War I and World War II. The plan for utilizing sunlight more efficiently actually dates back to Roman civilizations, and in the United States is also often attributed to Benjamin Franklin, who published an essay in the Journal Of Paris in 1784 suggesting that candles would last longer if people would get out of bed earlier.

I have friends and family in both Indiana and Arizona, two states that do not adjust their clocks each year. The Uniform Time Act allows states to opt out. But both of those places are on the western edges of their time zones, so they have a built in extra hour of sunlight as opposed to the states on the eastern side.

The first laws establishing Daylight Saving Time were implemented in Canada in 1908, and Germany was the first country to make it a national standard in 1916, followed by the United Kingdom, France and other European countries to minimize fuel use for artificial lighting. Daylight Saving Time is now in use in more than 70 countries around the world and affects over a billion people each year, according to the website.

MORE FISHING TIME Now, let’s get back to that idea about a bonus round of time

Nothing beats a good old family fishing trip. An extra hour just extends the fun.

– Missouri Department of Conservation photo

3 Things You Can Do to Help

Monarchs and Pollinators 1

Plant Natives

Native plants are a food source for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Add these plants to your landscape:

2

Keep it Blooming

3

Get Involved

Keep something in bloom each season. Some species bloom all year, others only in April and May, still others in July and August. Learn more at mdc.mo.gov/monarch.

Protect native grasslands, provide nesting places, and become a wildlife gardener. To learn how, visit GrowNative.org.

Common milkweed

Showy goldenrod

New England aster

Prairie blazing star

Wild bergamot

Alternative fishing methods, such as bow fishing seen here, are becoming more popular in Missouri.

– Missouri Department of Conservation photo

saving. By implementing the changes on a three-day weekend, our biological clocks (called circadian rhythm by the scientists) have an extra day to make the adjustment.

By the end of May, the sunrise in Missouri happens about 5:30 a.m. Allowing it to be dark again until about 6:30 and even earlier through June would keep the sun out until almost 9:30 at night and closer to 10 p.m. by the time of the summer equinox. That is a lot of extra light for fishing after work.

More hours to play daylight baseball or golf is another bonus, but admittedly the 7:30 a.m. sunrise in early September might be pushing the envelope a little far. Still the trade off of 8:30 p.m. sunsets until the end of August seems like a fair swap.

Even as it is currently implemented, I have always felt Daylight Saving Time was a good deal. I am happy to trade an hour of sleep time for an extra hour of daylight in the spring afternoons, and by the time late autumn arrives, that extra hour before the alarm clock beckons seems like a real bonus.

John J. Winkelman is community relations manager at Mercy Hospital Jefferson. If you have news for Outdoor Guide Magazine, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.

May-June 2018

Home

Outdoor Guide

Page 3

Is Where You Park It

v

Our trusted, locally-owned dealers are dedicated to the RVing experience: Apache Village

9001 Dunn Rd. • Hazelwood, MO 63042

877.665.4449

Colman’s Country Campers #2 Fun Street • Hartford, IL 62048

618.254.1180

Bill Thomas Camper Sales

101 Thomas RV Way • Wentzville, MO 63385

636.327.5900

Bourbon RV Center

I-44 • Exit 218 • Bourbon, MO 65441

573.732.5100

Byerly RV Center

295 E. 5th St. • Eureka, MO 63025

800.878.3325

Van City RV

3100 Telegraph Rd. • St. Louis, MO 63125

800.467.3905

47 West Trailer Sales

M.B. Thomas RV Sales & Rental

636.528.4301

314.631.5600

2294 West Hwy 47 W • Troy, MO 63379

Middleton’s RV

3441 US-67 • Festus, MO 63028

866.583.7600

STLRV.com

275 Lemay Ferry Rd. • St. Louis, MO 63125

Midwest RV Center

6200 Heimos Industrial Park Dr • St. Louis, MO 63129

314.487.8000

Outdoor Guide

Page 4

May-June 2018

The Ones that Got Away

Photo and Text

By BRENT FRAZEE At the start of each fishing season, I pause to pay my respects to fishing partners who have passed away.

That’s one of the bad things about growing old. It happens way too fast. One minute, you’re in the boat with a

friend, sharing a moment you’ll never forget. Seemingly the next minute, you’re mourning his loss.

So it is with me. I don’t really consider myself old yet. I’m 67. But every year, I learn of a fishing buddy who no longer is with us.

The one I miss the most is my dad. When he passed

away in 2001, it brought back memories of days when fishing was the way a father and a son bonded.

Even in his dying days when I would sit and talk with him, his eyes would suddenly brighten and he would say, “Do you remember Arnie?”

Arnie was our guide on our first trip to Canada and he was a character. He took us on my first real adventure in life. He transported us to a remote wilderness lake in a beat up old truck with doors that wouldn’t shut and we hopped into a boat that had a

slow leak.

LIKE A KID AGAIN We set out on a beautiful lake filled with big northern pike. I’ll never forget how those fish would hit and immediately fly out of the water.

My dad was just like a kid, laughing as he watched my reaction.

We went on to fish for walleyes, northerns and bass throughout Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada, and he and my mom even purchased a lake home in central Wisconsin.

Dad got to go on one last fishing trip at Lake of the Woods.

Quality Breading & Batters For Fish and Chicken For more information or recipe ideas:

www.andysseasoning.com

I remember reversing roles as Dad got older, taking him for one last trip to Canada.

Fishing on Lake of the Woods, we caught big walleyes and big crappies and I could see the sparkle return to my dad’s eyes.

But it wasn’t long before he became too sick to fish anymore. I miss those days that I once took for granted.

I would give anything for just one more day in the boat with Dad. But the same is true for many others who I became friends with in the fishing boat.

• J.D. FLETCHER – I can still picture ol’ J.D. at the back his old river johnboat, paddling us to his favorite spots on the Kings River in northern Arkansas.

J.D. was a great fisherman, but he was much more than that. He was a quick-witted, self-professed hillbilly who made fishing fun. He was a comedian, historian, resort owner and excellent fishing guide all rolled into one.

I met him in the early 1980s, and we immediately hit it off.

We caught lots of white bass on Table Rock Lake, but it was more than that. He was just fun to fish with.

I remember one time when we were meeting up with an old rancher who was going to pick us up after our float trip on the Kings. I left a stack of newspapers containing past articles I had done on J.D. sitting on the front seat as we talked to the old rancher.

Pretty soon, I looked up and saw a billy goat up on its haunches, reaching into an open front window and devouring every one of those papers.

J.,D. roared in laughter and didn’t miss a beat. “I always told you your writing is in good taste,” he said.

Man, I miss those days.

When J.D. passed away at age 83 in January of 2014, it left a hole in my heart.

• FRANK FENSOM – Frank was one of the first fishermen I met when I was hired in 1980 to serve as outdoors editor of The Kansas City Star.

He took me to a then-new Truman Lake and we fished for bass. I remember how he used plastic worms and he dipped those baits in a bottle of mulberry juice before each cast. We caught so many fish that day that my arms ached.

We continued to fish together for years before he eventually became sick and passed away in 2009. I remember his funeral vividly.

He was laid to rest with his favorite fishing rod in his casket.

I miss you, Frankie.

• ELDEN BAILEY – I remember getting the terrible news in 2015 that Elden had been killed in a car accident. It hit hard.

Elden was a great guy – gruff on the outside but with a heart of gold. We fished for crappies many times together in his home state of Kansas, and we always caught fish.

Those were just a few of the fishing partners I remember each spring, though. I think of the good times with Steve Custer, a guide at Truman Lake; Virgil Ward and Harold Ensley, the longtime hosts of national TV fishing shows; Jim Spengel, a salesman who accompanied me on many of my travels; Charlie Keeler and Bill Mueller, muskie guides at Pomme de Terre Lake; and many others.

They’re gone, but not forgotten. I would like to think that I have many casts still left in me. But I will always treasure the memories of some of the fishing buddies who are gone.

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 5

Fishing

Outdoors

Golf

Boating

800-Fun-Lake Request Your FREE Vacation Guide today

Outdoor Guide

Page 6

May-June 2018

White Perch: From Invader to Favorite

By NEAL HOLLAND

An invasive and unwanted species of fish has invaded many of the large impoundments of Kansas. Once started, these pesky critters can overtake a body of water.

To make matters worse, the higher the population goes, the smaller the size. The fish I am referring to is the white perch.

Not actually a perch, the white perch is closely related to white and yellow bass as well as striped bass. In fact,

they were accidentally introduced in Kansas while stocking two lakes with stripers.

Within five years they had overrun Cheney Reservoir, displacing existing species and adversely affecting the fishing. An angler literally could not fish a nightcrawler anywhere on the lake without getting stripped by the new “piranhas.”

Then, to our relief, two things happened at Cheney in subsequent years that changed the fishing in spectacular ways. The first thing

that happened, about 10 years ago, was that the native predator fish – mainly walleye and hybrids – learned to feed on the perch, and their growth rates were phenomenal.

Double-digit fish in both species were not uncommon, and 4 to 8-pound walleye were plentiful.

One year, a major outdoor publication listed Cheney as a Top 10 walleye lake nationally. Hooking 25 to 50 hybrids a day over 5 pounds came to be expected.

While that caliber of fish-

ing has cooled off (although the big hybrids are making a comeback), another phenomena occurred. The white perch population has stabilized, I think due to periodic winter kills, and with that, the size of these fish has dramatically increased.

Where once 3-6” fish were the norm, now stringers of 1014” fish are commonplace.

And make no mistake, they are still plentiful.

GOOD EATIN’ Here is the best part. These

May - June 2018

Outdoor agazine Guide M H U N T I N G F I S H I N G C A M P I N G B O A T I N G O UT D O OR TR AV E L

Volume Twenty Six, Number Three Published Six Times A Year Office: 505 S. Ewing, St. Louis, MO 63103 Office/News Department — 314-535-9786 www.outdoorguidemagazine.com e-mail: ogmbobw@aol.com

Cover: Jordan Lee, winner of back to back Bassmaster Classic championships, on Lake Guntersville. Photo by Strike King/Garrick Dixon

Bobby Whitehead, Editor/Co-Publisher Theresa McFadin, Graphic Designer Kathy Crowe, Graphic Designer Maria Murphy, Production Coordinator

John Winkelman, Associate Editor — ogmjohnw@aol.com Lynn Fowler, Circulation Manager Carl Green, Copy Editor

— Account Executives — Dan Braun, Assistant Marketing Director Lauren Marshall

Curt Hicken Bill Cooper Thayne Smith Steve Jones Larry Dablemont

John Neporadny Jr. Rick Story T. J. Mullin Ron Henry Strait Larry Whiteley

Ted Nugent Ron Bice Colin Moore Jim Cassada John Sloan

In Memoriam — Jared Billings • Charlie Farmer • Richard Engelke • Mark Hubbard Spence Turner • Hank Reifeiss • Bill Harmon • Barbara Perry Lawton • Danny Hicks • Ron Kruger

Scott Pauley Tim Huffman John Meacham Bob Holzhei Jeannie Farmer Kay Hively Tyler Mahoney

— Staff Writers —

Claudette Roper Brad Wiegmann Mike Roux Craig Alderman Randall Davis Jerry Pabst Ryan Miloshewski

Kenneth Kieser Gerald Scott Russell Hively Roxanne Wilson Gretchen Steele Jo Schaper Jed Nadler

fish are absolutely delicious.

Flavor- and texture-wise, they remind me more of yellow-ring perch than they do their striped cousins. They are easy to catch and filet, and because of their firm flesh, they can be prepared in a variety of ways. And if that’s not enough, there is no limit on these guys! In fact, regulations dictate that all caught perch must be killed.

A sonar enthusiasts’ dream, these fish stack up on humps, points, edges etc. in large schools and are easy to mark on today’s electronics. They can be caught in a multitude of ways – with small jigs, spoons and spinners. Nightcrawlers are excellent bait, but by far the best baits are pieces of fresh-cut shad. I have heard pieces of shrimp

are effective, and I am anxious to try it.

Early summer ‘til late fall is prime time as large schools relate to newly hatched shad.

The dead of summer is dynamite for these fish.

Cheney Resevoir is located 20 miles west of Wichita, and to say it is a windy lake is an understatement. Deep V, 18foot boats are the norm. Big hybrids, walleye, white bass, crappie and catfish all are abundant, and almost always, multi species are caught.

If a cache of fresh. delicious fish is in your plans, this trip is worth a try.

A guide service in the area is Miller Time Fishing Adventures. Myles Miller can be reached at (316) 239-9328 and seen on Facebook or at wecatchfish.net

Readers Respond

— Regional and Specialty Editors — Joel Vance Darrell Taylor Ray Eye Brent Frazee Brandon Butler Bill Seibel

Everybody catches fish at Cheney Reservoir in Kansas.

Don Gasaway Terry Wilson Barbara Gibbs Ostmann Tom Uhlenbrock Michael Wardlaw Larry Potterfield Tom Watson

Foolish Rules Serve the Wrong Purpose Gerald J. Scott’s guest editorial (“Doing Battle with Foolish Rules,” March-April, p.8) hit the nail dead on. I suspect, in every state, such foolish regulations abound and I, for one, have never had a logical explanation offered.

In some states, those stupid regulations stem from pressure by special-interest groups. Here in Tennessee, for example, we have two ridiculous regulations that do nothing except create law violators out of honest hunters.

They have absolutely no positive impact on the wildlife or environment. They badly skew data and create false

accounting. But they appease a small group of “trophyists.”

Whenever a wildlife commission exists to oversee the biologist, politics gets involved. Whenever politics and biology meet, biology loses.

Again, kudos to Mr. Scott.

I am going to use this quote from him often: “One way to decide if a regulation needs to be skewered is to see if it is all but universally ignored by otherwise law-abiding outdoorsmen.”

I could not have said it better.

John L. Sloan Lebanon, Tenn.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 7

Bluegill Spawn Offers Nonstop Action Photo and Text

By BRANDON BUTLER

Fishing lures were once so valuable to me that I would climb trees to retrieve them before breaking one off. These days, my supply of fishing tackle might be an early indicator of becoming a hoarder.

No matter how much gear I obtain, though, the simple pursuit of fishing for bedding bluegills with a worm under a bobber remains a favorite.

Many of us forged our love of fishing catching bluegills.

As time passed, we moved on to the more complicated exploits of fishing for bass and other prized game fish.

Yet the magic of watching a bobber dance has never faded.

For me, the excitement of catching hard-fighting bluegills in big numbers when they are bedding is a thrill I can barely get enough of.

Most bluegills spawn when water temperatures are from 65 to 75 degrees. Some will spawn above and below those temperatures, but that’s pretty much the magic range. The water temperature on my fa-

vorite little lake is 72 degrees, and bluegills are on beds all around the shore.

FINDING THEM Bluegill beds are usually easy to locate. They are saucer shaped and there are a lot of them right next to each other. While cruising shallow shorelines and the back of coves, keep looking down into the water, especially around fallen trees, docks and other structures. When you start to see beds, back off and pitch your bait right on top of them.

You can do this from the shore or from a boat.

Bluegills are aggressive defenders of their nests, so they’ll smash just about anything you drop on them.

Worms, bee moths, crickets, minnows and artificial lures all will work well this time of year. I really like fishing with crickets for bluegills, but they’re not the easiest bait to come by. Worms are readily available to anyone with a shovel and are effective bluegill bait.

I must admit it had been a while since I dug worms for

Catching big bluegills under slip bobbers is an exciting spring fishing tradition.

Commentary

The Biggest Threat to Gun Ownership

By KENNETH K. KIESER Attention hunters, target shooters or firearms collectors! This is getting serious.

We are suddenly faced by the biggest challenge to private gun ownership in American history.

During the recent past, anti-hunting or anti-gun groups protested and wrote editorials about taking away our guns. We didn’t feel threatened, just annoyed.

The NRA and other political specialists blocked bills to eliminate private firearm ownership, and we just thought our so-called detractors were noise-making nuts.

That has changed!

Today, students, teachers, mothers and other respected citizens are marching and protesting against firearms.

They want them eliminated from all homes. They want your deer rifles, pheasant or duck-hunting shotguns or your .22 rifles ground into scrap metal.

This is all playing out across America in front of our eyes. Even if guns are not eliminated now, they may be when these students are of voting age.

This may be the biggest threat to private gun ownership in American history!

A SAD TRUTH I am horrified to hear of these shootings that have brought on mass protests.

Schools, concerts and other

venues have become targets for madmen who apparently want attention and will kill to get it.

There is even an armed guard at my church on Sunday morning and other churches across the region.

I am glad they are watching over us while we practice freedom of religion. There absolutely are mentally disturbed people who find access to guns – a sad truth.

I will publicly state, as I have many times before, that criminals or mentally challenged individuals should never own guns. Eliminate honest Americans owning guns, then criminals and mentally challenged will still get guns and the honest citizens will be unprotected. I recently saw a protest sign in Kansas City that stated, “All gun owners are criminals.”

A FAMILY TRADITION My family and friends were raised shooting guns.

We were educated from day one on proper handling of a firearm. There were no accidental shootings, nor even close calls. We learned respect for the power of a gun, and we handle ours on hunting trips or in the home in the safest ways possible.

We do not leave guns lying around the house for a young child to find. They are stored with trigger locks intact.

Not one of us has ever committed nor broken any kind of law with a firearm.

There are six million legal

gun owners in this country just like us. We use guns for the intended purposes – hunting, target practicing and home protection.

DING! Yes, home protection is important to me, and so are our police. I thank God for our policemen who make it possible for my family to leave the house safety and come home every night.

Sadly, a policeman can’t be present every time a crime is committed. That is another reason why we have guns in our home – for personal protection until the police can arrive.

People reading this column may have used their guns to protect family on a dark night when a criminal decided to break in. Anyone crazy enough to commit such a crime will be armed. An unarmed homeowner would be at this crazy person’s mercy. That is a fate I hope my family or yours never endures.

HOW IT COULD HAPPEN When laws are passed, honest people comply, criminals don’t. I help guide duck hunting trips with men from Brazil annually. They are hunting here because someone in their country made hunting illegal – overnight.

Honest sportsmen woke up to discover they could not legally hunt – just that simple. Only poachers shoot game there now.

New gun legislation making our firearms illegal would mean taking guns to a specific drop-off spot where they would be destroyed. Not complying would mean law enforcement would eventually show up at your door demanding to know why you didn’t turn in your guns.

Gun ownership could be traced by gun registration or perhaps even through hunting licenses. You would be subject to breaking a state or even federal law, depending on how big the fines or even jail time would be. Do you wonder what I based my opinions on? I’m a historian, and this is how Hitler and other dictators took over.

During World War II, the Japanese did not want to invade America because they feared a gun shooting at them from most homes. That was likely true then and would be now. Take away our guns and the entire country becomes more vulnerable.

WHAT TO DO So what should honest firearms owners do now?

Pay close attention to laws being passed and vote, while encouraging others to vote, and don’t be too shy to contact your politicians to discuss bills against guns.

Try and educate our younger generation about the positive aspects of firearms and their importance in our society. They certainly are being shown the bad side of guns these days!

bait. But the other night I actually ran out of nightcrawlers while fishing, so I grabbed a shovel from the barn and went to work. There is something special about digging up worms in your own back yard and using them to catch fish.

It took me back.

ROCK THE SPADE When I was a kid, a lady named Pam who lived across the street from my grandparents would take me fishing. I was little, three or four, but I remember her teaching me how to dig worms. She said once you sink the spade of the shovel into the dirt, rocking it back and forth calls the worms up out of the ground.

All these years later, even though I know she was just fooling with a little boy, I still can’t help but rocking the shovel. Maybe it works, because I filled a box full of worms from only a few shovels of dirt.

Slip bobbers are a must for me. There’s nothing wrong with bobbers you clip on your line, but for me, it’s slip bobbers all the way. I guess it’s

because that’s what Grandpa always used. I’m sure he felt they were the more sophisticated fisherman’s choice.

I just like how easy they are to cast.

If you haven’t tried using slip bobbers before, you might want to give them a try. You can buy bobber stoppers or you can use a little piece of rubber skirt from a spinnerbait. Tie it on your line at the depth you want your bait.

Once you pitch it out, the bobber will slip up to the stopper.

THE MAGIC WINDOW The magic window of catching spawning bluegills doesn’t last long. Soon the big, colorful bulls will scatter in deep water. I absolutely love catching these big bluegills while I can, which is why I am careful not to keep too many.

There is nothing wrong with keeping some of these bluegills for eating, but always be mindful of the resource. You can overharvest these feisty little fish, so keep a reasonable amount and release the rest.

Skipjack Herring Sets Reel Fishing Record Craig Barulich caught this 3-pound skipjack herring in the Missouri River.

Craig Barulich of Kansas City, MO, became a recordbreaking angler in Missouri when he hooked a 3-pound skipjack herring on the Missouri River using a rod and reel on Nov. 12, 2017.

The pole-and-line skipjack herring record fish topped the previous state record of 2 pounds, 11 ounces. Barulich used a 3/8-ounce white Bink’s Pro Series Spoon for bait, trying to catch walleye and saugers, “The day I caught the staterecord skipjack herring was the day I actually caught my first skipjack,” Barulich said.

“I was so grateful that day to just catch skipjack that I didn’t even know I caught a state record fish until I got home.”

Barulich noticed how large one of the skipjack herrings was when he was taking it out of the cooler to freeze it for catfish bait. “I weighed the large skipjack and Googled to confirm that my fish was

a possible state record,” he said.

Missouri Department of Conservation staff weighed Barulich’s catch on a certified scale at the Kansas City regional office and confirmed it was a new pole-and-line record skipjack herring.

PUTS UP A GOOD FIGHT Anglers often catch skipjack herring to use for bait.

The fish is boney, lacking in flavor, and is seldom used as food. But it fights spectacularly when hooked and can provide considerable sport on light tackle.

The oil present in its flesh is said by fishermen to attract catfish. Skipjacks can usually be found in swift water below dams and around the ends of wing dikes.

Barulich said he plans to use the fish for catfish bait and to have a replica of the fish made.

Outdoor Guide

Page 8

Elephant Hunting, As I See It

By JERRY PABST

I don’t hunt elephants. I have never hunted an elephant. I never want to hunt an elephant; the decoys are too heavy.

I have never been to Africa. I never want to go to Africa. The place is full of little critters that bite and sting and can kill you. The place is full of really big critters that can eat you.

The place is home to a long list of diseases which, if you contract one, will make you wish you had never heard of Africa. The place has an over-abundance of corrupt politicians and terrorists. And, the place is full of foreigners.

But, all the negatives listed above aside, there are people willing to spend enormous amounts of money and travel half-way around the planet just to have some professional guide tap them on the head and say, “Shoot that one.”

The reward for their investment in treasure and time is a photo of the hunter grinning over the elephant carcass, surrounded by a handful of strangers, and a few body parts to take home as souvenirs.

These keepsakes may include, but are not limited to, a foot or two to be crafted into umbrella stands (no home should be without one), a pair of six-foot tusks which the little woman will probably exile to the basement, and a full head to be mounted at a staggering cost, and hung in a warehouse if one is available.

Actually, for the hunter, the photograph is the most valuable. And, that is a good thing, since it is the only remembrance of the elephant hunt that he can be sure he will return home with.

Guest Editorial

IS IT ALWAYS SLAUGHTER? In today’s ongoing tug of war between sport hunting groups and anti-hunting groups, some governments, including the U.S., have decided that killing animals whose populations are deemed “threatened” with extinction is a no-no. Even if the hunt is legally conducted in a foreign country under carefully crafted biological controls, some here in the U.S. feel free to disapprove and take action to influence these nations to end such “slaughter.”

The result has been vote-sensitive politicians issuing orders that the trophy body parts of certain animals, currently polar bears and elephants, may not be brought back to the U.S. by hunters who took them legally in another country.

What will that accomplish? Unlike Lazarus, the elephant will remain dead. Yes, but it will punish the trophy hunter and hopefully dissuade others from following in his footsteps. But this emotionally based wish fails the test of practicality when we consider that each nation that allows elephant hunting

does so on a controlled permit basis, and available permits are sold to hunters from all over the globe.

So even if all U.S. hunters were deterred from applying, all the permits would be issued to others, and the same toll would be taken from the elephant herds, the only difference being that few or no U.S. hunters would take part in the hunting.

Do you suppose the elephant has a preference as to the nationality of the hunter who plugs him?

The next question then is, is the elephant really threatened with extinction? I readily admit that I am not qualified to answer that question. But I have read a lot and seen numerous videos purporting to answer that question. Here is my take on it.

HABITAT LOSS AND POACHING In Africa, some of the elephant herds are enormous and thriving, while others are dwindling. The main problems for those herds facing an uncertain future are habitat loss and poaching, not sport hunting.

The human population of Africa is exploding, largely due to the availability of vaccines and medicines and implementation of modern farming practices. Simply put, more humans require more land to live on and to farm. Some of that land is currently elephant habitat. Now what?

To give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem, imagine what our country would be like if we still had 70 million wild bison foraging up and down the plains states, from Illinois to the Rocky Mountains. Imagine our response if, during the 1860s-1890s a foreign government had tried to “save the buffalo.”

Today, the bison are not extinct, but only small, representative herds exist in protected preserves. Was there any other way?

Poaching by local citizens illegally takes far more elephants than sport hunting. For the impoverished native poacher, the cash derived from a pair of elephant tusks could represent a fortune for him and his family, or he could simply be a cold-hearted criminal.

The poacher’s motivation really doesn’t matter to the animal he kills, and so his crime receives equal punishment.

GAME RANGERS’ WAR GOES ON The game rangers in many African countries do not hand out tickets to poachers, who are dangerous customers; instead, they ambush and kill them. It is truly war.And wars cost money, and the sport hunters’permit fees provide much of those funds. Stop the sport hunting and you may well lose the rangers, which would give free rein to the poachers.

Isn’t the better course to allow a few old tuskers to be taken out of a herd and save the rest than to ban hunting and risk losing the entire herd?

Ending the world-wide illegal ivory market would be the ideal solution, but so far, good luck with that.

Well, as I said, I am not an expert on the subject, but that is how I see it.

May-June 2018

— Random Shots — How to Catch Crappies Photo and Text

By JOEL M. VANCE Cajuns call the fish sac au lait, literally “sack of milk,” for reasons that amount to “who cares.”

It may be because the crappie offers resistance like a sac of milk or because its light color reminds grit-heavy anglers of milk … but whatever the origin, Missouri anglers cherish the fish perhaps beyond all others.

Most of that reverence is not because the crappie puts up a grueling fight, but because, reduced to skillet, it is as good as fish get.

“Papermouth” is another slur, because a crappie is tender-lipped, and you don’t sock the hook to it as if you were hooking a tarpon. Crappies call for finesse and tender loving angling.

Crappies move into shallow water looking for spawning places from mid-March through May. The exact timing depends on water temperature. They spawn when the temperature is between 55 and 70 degrees.

Look for brushy areas in protected coves with fine gravel or light vegetation on the bottom. Spawning depth varies with water clarity (clearer water, deeper spawning).

To find the right depth, lower a white lure until it is barely visible. Fish up to twice that depth. Fish close to shore and if you’re catching males, cast out the other side of the boat (or farther out if you’re fishing from shore – larger females will lurk outside the males-only area.)

THE OLD TRICK An old trick is a dropper line to attach a second or even third hook. Try two different lures and switch to the one that works best. About half a crappie’s diet is small fish, so any lure that imitates a minnow is a crappie lure.

Jigs are the most popular because they not only imitate minnow but also aquatic insects and crayfish as well. A 1/64th ounce jig with a white chenille body and a shocking pink head can be deadly.

If you’re not into hot pink, try a yellow jig in clear water and a white one in murky water. Small spinners also can work minnow-magic on crappies. Live minnows are the choice of many for fishing with a bobber. Rather than casting, you can vertical jig in a brushy area. Buy jigs by the dozen because you’ll lose them

in the brush.

An ultra-light spinning rig is ideal. Cast and let the jig sink to the desired depth and then retrieve slowly with twitches to give the jig action. A strike can be light, so if there’s a hitch or slight tug, set the hook gently.

In summer, crappies hang around bridge pilings, usually 10-15 feet deep. Cast beyond the piling and let the jig or minnow drift past the fish, or fasten a bobber and let wave action tickle the bait.

ANOTHER TRICK Summer fishing is tough, but an old trick is to find a brushy area and fish at night by the light of a lantern. Hang the lantern away from the boat (perhaps on a pole or from a tree limb. Back off and fish with minnows in the cone of the light. The light attracts insects, which attract minnows… which attract crappies.

If you’re catching only small fish within a few feet of the surface, go deeper, say 10-15 feet, and see if you don’t start catching larger fish.

Check with resort owners to see if there aren’t created brush piles (sunken Christmas trees are a favorite artificial brush pile). Many resorts and fish managers wire trees to a concrete block and sink them to attract crappies and the anglers who fish for them. There may even be maps showing the location of such artificial fish attractors.

Crappies may be Missouri anglers’ favorite fish.

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Protect your favorite places from invasive tree-killing pests that hitchhike on firewood.

Learn more at treepests.missouri.edu

Page 9

Outdoor Guide

Page 10

May-June 2018

Traditional Archery Is All-Year Fun

Photo and Text

By BRANDON BUTLER

As weather continues to improve and days become longer, we are more apt to want to stretch our legs with long walks in the woods. Searching for mushrooms and shed antlers is reason enough to venture into wild lands, but for added fun, consider carrying a traditional bow and flinging arrows at stumps, clumps, banks and blow-downs.

Archery is a pastime nearly anyone can enjoy. Men, women and children are able

to stretch a string and send an arrow towards its target.

Archery offers a physical and mental challenge to all who bend a bow.

Like most sports, hobbies or pastimes, technology has invaded the relm of archery.

Necessary hand-eye coordination has been diminished by the use of mechanical releases and accurate sight systems.

The once limited range of archery equipment continues to expand as compound bows become more powerful and more disconnected from instincts.

Traditional archery is defined by shooting a bow void of mechanical assistance. No sights, no mechanical releases, no wheels or cams. Just a stick and string.

Point-and-aim accuracy depends on the archer, not the equipment. Success is enjoyed by propelling an accurate arrow. Of course, shooting a bow is not only for hunters.

It’s also for those who simply enjoy archery for fun.

IT’S IN THE BOOK In 1948, Eugene Herrigel penned the book, Zen in the Art

of Archery. Herrigel describes Zen in archery this way: “The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull’seye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art.”

Walking through a blooming spring woods with a bow in hand searching for wild morels

Shooting a traditional bow with no mechanical advantages is enjoyable all year.

brings a sense of closure to winter. And this past winter, having been as long as any in recent memory, is one I’m particularly glad to see go.

My longbow has been pulled off the rack, where it spent the last few months collecting dust, and is strung. My mesh mushroom bag is riding shotgun in the truck. Let the stump-shooting mushroom hunts begin.

Stump shooting is nothing more than walking through the woods and firing arrows at anything that catches your fancy. Stumps, rotten logs, clumps of grass and lone leaves tangled in the grasp of multi-flora rose are prime targets.

Not only is it just plain fun to shoot arrows, it is a skill-building exercise. The hand-eye coordination that comes from repetitive shooting year-round becomes quite valuable when a buck walks into range during bow season.

You can stump shoot with any bow, including a hightech compound, but I prefer using a traditional bow with a reduced draw weight. I don’t use arrows I’d mind losing or breaking. Stump shooting is a great excuse to break out those

old aluminum sticks from the ‘90s and give them new life.

I’ll occasionally find old arrows at garage sales or bunches for sale on Craigslist, and pick them up for next to nothing.

CHEAP THRILLS With such minimal financial investment, you can loose shots into some wild places without worry of finding the arrow. I use blunt tips on my arrows, which keep them from sticking into whatever you shoot, but field tips will work fine as well.

Stump-shooting mushroom hunts have other advantages, too. Any time you can get out and walk your hunting property in the spring, you’re going to learn something new to apply to your plan for the coming deer season. You’ll find trails you didn’t know existed, old rubs, scrapes and bedding areas.

You can learn where deer are crossing creeks and fences.

And there are still plenty of shed antlers to be picked up.

There’s a good chance a rodent or two will have gotten to them first, but the sheds will still offer clues as to which bucks you may be able to hang a tag on come fall.

10th Student Archery Tournament Biggest Yet The tenth annual Missouri NationalArchery in the Schools Program state tournament, held March 23-24 in Branson, drew 3,132 student archers in grades 4-12 from a record-setting 140 schools across the state.

Winning teams and individuals, along with other teams and individuals who had qualifying scores, were going on to compete in the National Archery in the Schools Program tournament in Louisville, Ky. in May. Missouri Department of Conservation Education Outreach Coordinator Eric Edwards, who coordinates the tournament, said this year’s state tournament was the largest ever, drawing 10,000 spectators.

“To put the size of the state tournament in perspective, if you laid every arrow shot at the tournament from end to

end, they would stretch 111 miles,” Edwards said.

670 SCHOOLS The program is coordinated through the MDC and the Conservation Federation of Missouri in partnership with 670 participating schools and supporting organizations.

More than 185,000 students in grades 4-12 participate.

“The growth of the Missouri National Archery in the Schools Program has been tremendous over the past couple years, and this surge has led students outdoors with their families to participate in this lifetime sport,” Edwards said.

“Local conservation groups and civic organizations are volunteering to help in their communities. Students are connecting with family members, coaches, and teachers through archery.”

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 11

Thank You Outdoorsmen for Choosing One of Our Restaurants.

“We’ve got nothing to hide so the sauce is on the side!”

– Owner, Mike “Smokey” Emerson

Voted one of the 101 Best Places to Chow Down In America by The Travel Channel

Downtown St. Louis, MO

Downtown St. Louis, MO

Downtown St. Louis, MO

314-535-4340

314-531-4668

314-621-3107

3106 Olive St.

www.pappyssmokehouse.com For all your catering needs, please call 314-607-2446

3108 Olive St.

www.stlsouthern.com Catering available: call Rick at 314-531-4668 or email rick@stlsouthern.com

Valley Park, MO

1627 S. 9th Street

2951 Dougherty Ferry Rd.

www.bogartssmokehouse.com For all your catering needs, please call 314-603-2003

www.daliessmokehouse.com Now catering, contact Craig at 636-529-1898

636-529-1898

Outdoor Guide

Page 12

May-June 2018

Wildlife Wrangling and Outdoor Ramblings

Making Garden Choices? Here’s a Way Photo and Text

By RANDALL P. DAVIS

It always seems the first two weeks in May is a period of self-inflicted retribution – a time to pay up for my annual January and February indulgence.

You see, during those long winter months, nearly every day I find the mailbox bloated with thick and robust seed catalogs. Those irresist-

ible Technicolor pages of burgeoning fruit trees and prolific vegetables manifests such a powerful temptation to plow up and plant most of the Missouri River valley from Kansas City to St. Louis, I can hardly contain myself.

Once I’m home alone with those captivating solicitations, I paw through them with the same salivary eagerness as a 13-year-old boy does a pilfered Playboy.

Those soil-titillating demons with their alluring horticultural advertising certainly know how to buckle my knees. Perhaps this is deeply rooted in the rare condition I suffer: P.O.I.S.E. That is, Planting Odd Indigenous Seeds Everywhere.

Through the years, I’ve quietly planted in some corner of the garden – unbeknownst to others – peanuts, cotton, ginseng, Indian

popcorn (quite delicious), bushel basket gourds (once hollowed out, dried, and two eye-holes drilled in the side makes a wonderful Halloween costume; add a few feathers and beads and you’re ready for Mardi Gras), Luffa sponges (a marvelous species of vegetation soft enough to bathe your nether regions, yet tough enough to scrub down a manure wagon), mammoth pumpkins (claimed to grow

bullseyebaitandtackle.com

Bullseye Bait & Tackle • Large Selection of Zoom Plastics • Rod Repair • Reel Cleanings & Repair • Live Bait - Rods - Reels • Full Line Of Tackle • Custom Spinner Baits & Jigs • Components — Over 60 Varieties Of Blades

• 160 Colors Of Silicone Skirts For Spinner Baits & Jigs • Fishing Books • Large Selection of Crank Baits • Full Line Of Yamamoto Baits & Worms

266 Fort Zumwalt Square, O’Fallon, MO •

(636) 281-3524

Located 1/4 mile west of K on Veterans Memorial Parkway

To Davis, a garden is for planting strange seeds.

to 200 pounds, but never reached half that heft; I felt cheated) and Moon & Stars watermelons (looked more like green melons afflicted with jaundice splotches).

HE-MAN SALSA I even ventured into the chilling realm of planting hot chilies with the idea of impressing the guys with some real he-man salsa. As it turned out, any pepper plant named Trinidad Scorpion is not suited for any human. AND, no matter how much hair is on one’s chest, these little red rubies with a curly tail will certainly singe it down to the follicles.

I mean, with a claim of three million Scoville units (however that is calculated), it’s bound to cause tremendous gastronomical distress. I can still feel a couple hundred thousand units through the jars of salsa canned years ago.

Another time, I planted some tobacco. Now this wasn’t the typical Kentucky burly you’ll find in a can of Prince Albert. No, I went straight to the mother plant, the wild stuff, the patriarch of all today’s tobacco – Nicotiana rustica.

You know it’s heavy duty when the seed package posts a warning not to consume any of the plant as it has five times the nicotine as hybrid varieties. Precisely the forbidden fruit to stoke my raging curiosity.

The plants grew vigorously and matured. Soon the purpose of my endeavor manifested. You see, tobacco plants readily attract the sphinx moth, which lays eggs, which produce tobacco hornworms ... which makes great fishing bait.

TOBACCO WORMS The trouble was, these tobacco worms were so loaded with nicotine that when the fish bit the bait, they were either paralyzed like being hit with a dart full of curare, or they were forever addicted.

I could never practice catch and release because once released, the fish would follow me down the bank, begging for another worm to get their fix.

So this year my P.O.I.S.E.

condition has really kicked in, and I’ve focused on a particular dry heirloom bean.

It’s called Turkey Craw.

The story goes, generations ago, a hunter downed a turkey and while dressing the bird found these beans in its craw (crop, for the undereducated). No one had ever seen such a bean, and planting said legume resulted in a “new” variety that found great favor among most of the South.

The bean has a distinct color, rather what one would expect from the initial portion of the turkey’s gut.

To me, however, the bean’s mottled brown/tan earth-tone appearance looks like they made the entire passage through the digestive tract – emulating the same close relationship found between persimmon seeds and possums.

Perhaps what really happened was the frontiersman couldn’t bring home beans he found in the bird’s organic fertilizer (Hey ma, wanna cook a few of these turkeyturd beans for supper? Might be good when the preacher comes fer Sunday dinner!) so he made up the craw story.

SHRINKING GARDEN Thus, though I have a good P.O.I.S.E. direction this year, I still must decide just where I’m going to put all these produce-producing products in my petite plot.

Each year, I keep reducing my cultivated square footage, which is directly proportional with the power of May’s heat and humidity and to my winter’s tough-guy gumption.

Currently, the garden covers the length and breadth of an area in which I could toss a fair-sized raccoon – had I just consumed a couple cups of coffee. Yet I’m trying to crowd in some wild Turkey Craw beans among the salsa staples.

I’m sure it will work out.

The bean’s inherited heirloom-type avian fertilizer will obviously do everyone a little good. After all, it is organic. And besides, after adding those sizzling Trinidad Scorpions, who’s gonna taste the difference, anyway?

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 13

70 years of upfitting the outdoor lifestyle.

Local and Family Owned Since 1948

295 East 5th Street Eureka MO, 63025│www.byerlyrv.com│636-938-2000

Outdoor Guide

Page 14

May-June 2018

Gunsmith TechTalk

In Search of Tight Groups How to Turn the Bullseye into a Black Hole.

By JED NADLER Master Gunsmith I regularly get inquiries like the following, both at the shop counter and by email: Sir, I have a (make and model removed to protect the innocent) in (a variety of calibers) that is driving me crazy. After countless hours at the range

(trying different loads) it still will not shoot consistent groups.

Long story short, could you give me a ballpark estimate on bringing this rifle up to par?

Love the look of the gun, but disappointed with the accuracy.

Thanks, Steve There are SO many factors

that can contribute to inaccuracy that I have made myself a checklist for discussions with customers. The first group of contributors on the list includes shooter-controlled factors. The second group has evaluations and modifications shooters might be able to do themselves. The final group is, typically, gunsmithperformed adjustments and

modifications.

Why this categorization of items? So that you, the shooter, can take care of all the things you can take care of yourself. It’s less expensive that way.

The discussion below assumes the rifle is in good repair. The barrel is straight.

The chamber, bore, end of the muzzle (crown), bolt and

Time To

Hit The Range!

We’ve Got You Covered

• Guns • Ammo • Range Bags • Optics • Targets • Gun Cases • Safes • Knives • Apparel Father’s Day Gift Certificates Available!

receiver are not damaged.

SHOOTERCONTROLLED ASPECTS OF ACCURACY • AMMO – All firearms exhibit different performance with different ammo. I’m not just talking about bad with cheap ammo and good with expensive stuff. It’s almost like guns have a taste for a particular flavor. It is decidedly not logical but is generally accepted.

Try different brands.

• BENCH REST – Obvious, but necessary to say. We’ve got to eliminate the human sources of error.

• CLEAN BORE – Also obvious? Maybe. How clean?

Spotless if you are looking to split a minute of angle.

• BORE BREAK-IN – Very few people properly break in a new barrel. The instructions with a new barrel typically prescribe something like the following: Shoot 1 shot.

Clean the bore. Repeat 3 times. Shoot 3 shots. Clean.

Repeat 3 times. Shoot 5 shots.

Clean. Repeat 3 times.

That’s 25 shots and nine cleanings. I’ve seen double that prescribed. Follow the prescription under threat of proscription. Why? The rough edges of new rifling have to wear off evenly.

The sharpest of them grab brass and get protected from wear in subsequent shots. This results in rough and smooth spots, causing the bullet to travel down the barrel in fits and starts. Doesn’t make for tight groups.

POSSIBLE SHOOTER (OR GUNSMITH) CURES • SCOPE MOUNT – Make sure the screws holding the scope to the rings are tight, as are the rings to the base and the base to the receiver.

• SCOPE CONDITION – Eliminate the possibility of a scope with internal damage.

How? The only way I know of is to shoot a different scope for comparison.

• TRIGGER GUARD SCREW TORQUES – The stock screws

MidAmericaArms.com

8205 Gravois Road • 314-631-3130 Tues.-Thu. 10 AM - 7 PM • Fri. 10 AM - 8 PM • Sat. 9 AM - 4 PM

to the action with one, two or three screws. If you want consistency from one disassembly to another, make sure they are always screwed back in to the prescribed torque.

• STOCK STIFFNESS – No matter how hard you pull or push on the stock, it shouldn’t

move or flex. If it does, it’s straining and moving the action, too. You can replace it with something better or have it “glass bedded.” This is a process of lining the interior of the stock with fiberglassreinforced epoxy “bedding compound.” This will stiffen the stock and make the action fit snuggly. One can also embed aluminum cylinders around the mounting bolts in a technique called “pillar bedding”.

• BARREL SUPPORT – When a blast of bullet and gas flies down a barrel, the barrel whips. Then it “rings,” vibrating like a bell, too fast to see or hear. Obviously, really thick bull barrels don’t do that anywhere near as much as light, thinly profiled ones. Accuracy is all about consistency. What it does once it should always do the same way. If something like a forearm touches the barrel, it could do so gently once, firmly another, or even from varying angles. So that’s why we “free float” barrels, not letting anything touch them.

Some stocks can be trimmed away from contacting the barrel.

• TRIGGER – A hard-to-pull trigger will pull your aim off.

Some rifle models can accept “drop-in” triggers made by third parties that are adjustable and can make a huge difference.

GUNSMITH FIXES Scope mounts, stock bedding, barrel floating and trigger jobs are things we gunsmiths do if you need us to.

• BLUEPRINTING – This is the ultimate in accurizing.

This effort uses a lathe to make sure that all components of the rifle align accurately with the bore of the barrel. The purpose is to make sure the cartridge enters the chamber as precisely aligned as possible every time. See Figure 1.

May all your bullets find their target, but don’t get too tight yourself.

DISCLAIMER – Do not make changes to a firearm for which you are not qualified. Dangerous conditions can result. Take the gun to a qualified gunsmith. Jed Nadler can be reached at FIRST Gunsmithing in Valley Park at (636) 826-6606 or online at info@FIRSTGunsmithing.com.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 15

Full Line Of Commercial Trucks!

Service Body

Silverado HD

Box Truck

Colorado

Dump Body

Van

City Express

4x4 Van

Come See: Jerr y Trunko, Tim Gilber t, and Charlie McCoy.

– Your Commercial Truck Exper ts – SHOP ONLINE AT www.weberchev.com 12015 Olive Blvd. • Creve Coeur, MO (Olive & I-270)

314-567-3300 TOLL FREE 1-888-408-2470

Outdoor Guide

Page 16

May-June 2018

Albino Catfish Makes a Memory Photo and Text

By TYLER MAHONEY

In 20 years of fishing, there are many things I’ve learned about techniques and strategies to make my trips more successful. The exhilaration of landing a fish after matching your lure to the conditions provides a satisfaction like no other.

But even more important than the technical fishing skills I’ve acquired over the years are the deeper lessons my experiences have revealed along the way.

Sami wasn’t happy at first, but she got the first albino cat.

GLO Colors

Color 48G “Pumpkinseed Chartruese Glo”

Color 183G “Tuxedo Black Chartruese Glo”

Color 186G “Red Chartruese Sparkle Glo”

Color 186G “Refrigerator White Glo”

Color 246G “Osage Orange Glo”

Perhaps the most basic certainty I’ve observed about fishing is that no matter the time or place, every outing provides the chance for a memory of a lifetime. A recent trip of mine solidified my belief even more.

After a stressful workweek in mid-June, my mind could only focus on the first chance I’d have to throw a line in the water on Friday evening. To complicate matters, I found a way to upset my girlfriend, Sami Thomas, that very same morning. We had been planning on spending time together all weekend, and although she likes to fish, fishing wasn’t originally what she had in mind for us on Friday night.

Like many men before me, and probably many who will follow, I had forgotten about some other plans in my haste to go fishing as soon as possible. Luckily, I still managed to convince her to join me instead and put off the other plans for another day.

Now at this point in the story, some of you are probably thinking, “Wow, I hope he realizes how amazing that girl must be to ditch the plans she wanted to go fishing with him instead!” Your follow-up thought might be, “I wonder if he’s writing that in an attempt to make it up to her, knowing full well she will be reading this.”

The answer to both questions is yes.

IN A BETTER MOOD When Sami arrived at the farm, I made sure to have one of her favorite dinners ready, which certainly helped soften the mood. Soon, we were off to the boat to fish Mahoney Lake, with some slight tension still lingering.

I kept my fingers crossed that the fish would be biting, and I rigged up her pole with the best producing lure I had for the lake, a pink crappie jig, which also happened to be her favorite color.

Upon launching from the dock and a few casts in, she started catching numerous fish. Unfortunately for me, it was taking a little longer, and I’m sure there was a slight sense of satisfaction coming from the other end of the boat.

After catching yet another, she asked if anyone had caught one of our albino catfish yet, which we had recently stocked in the months prior. Nobody had.

“It would be so cool to catch one of those,” she said in a hopeful tone.

“Yeah, it would be,” I re-

sponded. “Probably not very likely though, with the lures we’re using. We can try to focus on catfish with the right bait another time.”

We continued, and as the sun sank down, the water turned to glass. The low hum of the trolling motor was accented with a resounding chorus of cricket frogs ringing out along the banks, only subsiding when we ventured too close.

MORE THAN CONTENT The bites slowed down, but the distinctive “ker-plunk” of our fishing lures hitting the water continued to provide some much-needed therapy from the stress of the week and our misunderstanding earlier that day. It became one of those moments where you feel completely content, like nothing can get any better than what’s happening at that very second.

But then it did.

“Woah!” I heard behind me. I immediately turned and saw Sami winding furiously as her fishing pole bent over toward the water.

“I don’t know what it is, but I think it’s a lot bigger!” she exclaimed. The drag on the reel buzzed as the fish made a run. I moved over to help land it, fully expecting to see a larger bass or walleye on the end of the line.

Then, a distinct flash of white shot towards the surface into view and out of sight again within a split second.

I frantically grabbed the net because I couldn’t risk this one getting away. I knew exactly what it was.

“It’s an albino!” I yelled.

Sami fought it a few more seconds and successfully turned it my way. I plunged the net into the water and one scoop was all it took. Just like that, she was the proud angler of the very first albino catfish caught out of Mahoney Lake.

After snapping a few pictures, we released it back in the water and returned to the dock as the starry night took hold. She told me how happy she was that she decided to come fishing with me.

“And not just because I caught the albino catfish,” she joked with a playful grin. All I could do was smile.

On the ride home, I couldn’t help but think how the night’s events must have been meant to be. From the time we had our disagreement, to when she hoped for and caught the albino catfish, the night was destined to be something special – a true memory of a lifetime.

Visit Our Website At

outdoorguidemagazine.com

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 17

n g i t 4 a r 8 b Years e l e C Huge Anniversary Show June 14th - 16th

Come celebrate with us! Manufacturer Reps on hand with Great Deals!

ERIOR PAINT OPTIONS

MERE

RWOOD

LEGENDARY RENEGADE QUALITY – VERONA LE

Leader to the Great Outdoors.

LEGENDARY RENEGADE LUXURY AND QUALITY

NOW OFFERING

NOW OFFERING

DE

FROST

RENEGADE DEALER:

YOUR

DESIGNED FOR LIFE

Now offering Super Class C RV’s from Renegade and Dynamax!

3100 Telegraph Rd., St. Louis, MO 63125 314.894.3905 or 800.467.3905

www.vancityrv.com

4 locations across the US to serve you!

Kalispell, MT • Las Vegas, NV • Colorado Springs, CO

Outdoor Guide

Page 18

May-June 2018

History – as Seen by RV Users

By THAYNE SMITH

History doesn’t record the making of the first recreation vehicle.

It’s believed, however, that it was fostered by the invention of the wheel, because RVing means mobility, providing an exciting and economic way of going from one place to another.

It’s conceivable, even, that the first RV rested atop a chariot chassis, fashioned by some gladiator who shunned arena life and wanted to see other parts of what we now call the

early world.

Or it may have been the dream of a pioneer, trekking west across the mountains, hills, plains and streams of America in a covered wagon.

Likely, it was equipped with a wood-burning stove, bed, a few utensils and pots and pans and the tools needed for hunting and fishing and living off the land.

It is recorded, however, that the first motorized RVs came in the early teens of the 20th century. Their numbers soared following World War 1 (19141918) and the mass production of the Model T Ford. It marked

the beginning and development of the industry, and “See America First” became a rallying cry for travelers.

Initially, they were nothing more than an auto with a piece of canvas stretched across parts of its body, or an early-day tent attached to its roof, extending over its rear to form a shelter of sorts.

THE EARLY RV Then, the introduction of the “Model T Truck” in the early 1920s opened a lot of doors for early RV developments. It had a wood floorbed fashioned of

stout timbers on which boxes could be built with more wood, providing much better living quarters. Called “house cars,” they had large, narrow tires, enabling the traversing of roads and trails that modern autos dare not tackle.

With limited budgets, many anxious campers fashioned their own of plywood and canvas, glue and nails and screws. At the same time, manufacturing plants sprang up throughout the nation. Some started producing sleek units for the more affluent, costing about $1,000, while the lesser

Pin Oak Creek RV Park & Paintball Family Owned and Operated

“The Best In The Midwest For Camping & Paintball!”

Rural setting on 26 acres with modern facilities.

OPEN YEAR ROUND! SEASONAL SITES AVAILABLE!

• 155 Campsites with Full Hookups • Large Pull-thru and back-in sites • Picnic Tables, Fire Rings • Tent Sites • Cabins • Wi-Fi • Swimming Pool and Pavilion • Fishing Lake • Miniature Golf, Shuffleboard, Horseshoes, Volleyball, Batting Cages • Clubhouse • Game Room • Paintball Course • On-Site Propane Service • Pets Welcome • Restrooms and Showers • Laundromat • Full Service Grocery & Liquor Store Bait & Tackle – Paintball Supplies – RV Parts & Accessories – Gift Items – Snack Bar Planned Activities & More!

The Coleman Carbana, first produced in 1960, had the amenities of home but was screened in, with slide-out bed and stove, lantern, coolers and jugs.

models sold for a couple of hundred bucks or less.

Others, the forerunners of today’s camping trailers, were made for those who wanted to drive their vehicles and pull their “camper” behind it.

Fashioned of a single axle holding a box bolted to strong springs, these tagalong units allowed travelers to park when desired and use their vehicles for other pleasures and necessities.

THE ROARING ‘30s The numbers, types and importance of these mobile units and their impact on the economy of the nation and the everyday lives of thousands of citizens increased tremendously in the 1930s.

Every conceivable mode of transportation, including makeshift campers, were utilized by Americans as living quarters and for low-cost recreation following Black Monday in 1929 and the Great Depression that followed.

My family was among them, living in the environs of the infamous Dust Bowl. Its howling, devastating winds played havoc with the lands and lives of people in western Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Some “camped” their way west with all their belongings to the promised land of California and other west coast states, while others – like my parents – sought haven in the closer, rockier mountains and hills of the Ozarks in Arkansas and Missouri.

By the mid-1930s, aluminum, strong but lightweight, could be twisted and turned and riveted to aslick and shiny shapes. It had great impact on camping trailer manufacture

and popularity. Without doubt, it started a trend for “bigger and better” units that prevails to this day.

Lightweight materials like aluminum, plywood, fiberglass and foam insulation are the foundations of today’s construction materials.

All this was accompanied by the development of local, state and national parks and playgrounds, gigantic lakes and reservoirs, public campgrounds and an ever-growing interest in outdoor and leisure activities.

Even the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps, served by five of my brothers in the 1930s) added greatly to the cause by constructing dams for small lakes and streamside public use areas, including campgrounds and associated facilities.

POST-WAR DEMAND The demand for RVs climbed to new heights after WWII with a postwar boom in population and an everincreasing demand by young families for additional outdoor recreation facilities.

Now called “Baby Boomers,” they are the most numerous and affluent of buyers.

Meanwhile, they mix with younger generations seeking an economic means of traveling across the nation and enjoying the many scenic splendors and historic wonders it has to offer.

At the same time, only the sky is the limit for RVs. They come in many sizes, shapes and colors, designed for varied and specific purposes, to serve buyers pursuing a great variety of lifestyles.

I-44, Exit 247 • Villa Ridge, MO (St. Louis West)

Just West of Six Flags and St Louis area attractions. info@pinoakcreekrvpark.com

888-474-6625 or 636-451-5656

www.pinoakcreekrvpark.com

The Dreamer slide-in pickup camper was mounted on pontoons and came with an outboard motor.

– Photos courtesy of Thayne Smith

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 19

HE KNOWS WHERE TO GO

AND HE’LL EVEN TAKE YOU THERE No One Can Get You There Like Our Captains.

King Mackerel

Yellowfin Tuna

Red Snapper

Black Drum

Swordfish

White Marlin

There simply is no better way to enjoy Louisiana’s vast saltwater fishing opportunities than with a licensed, professional charter captain. Our captains are the best in the world at creating an outdoor adventure that you will never forget. And nothing could be easier. Just show up, step in the boat and leave the rest to us!

Blue Marlin

Redfish (red drum)

Unlimited Possibilities with 22 species of fish!

Call today to set up your charter! • 225-421-9130

www.lasaltwater.com

Outdoor Guide

Page 20

May-June 2018

Gravel Bar Gourmet

Hobo Meal Can Please a Crowd

Photo and Text

By BILL COOPER

The summertime float and camp season is here. It’s that magic time of year when school is out and everyone is in the mood to get back out on our Missouri Ozarks rivers and streams. It’s the best time of year for river rats. Tons of memories will be made around the communal campfires on gravel bars all over the Ozarks.

Floating parties may get scattered up and down a river and lose contact with some party members for hours. However, when mealtime comes, most floating parties will meet up at a designated place and enjoy a meal together.

Such summertime gravel bar gatherings often include a liquid diet, pushing solid foods out of the limelight. That need not be the case.

With a little forethought and planning, a small group of volunteers can prepare a sumptuous gravel bar meal for their entire group.

THE HOBO MEAL The infamous hobo meal in a foil pack is a great crowd pleaser, especially after a few hours on the river. The appointed cooking crew can put these food packs together prior to the trip, making the gravel bar cooking event one of simple pleasure.

When cooking hobo meals for a crowd, I like to make them in two sizes: big and bigger. Outdoor appetites will match the size of the servings.

Begin by tearing off tinfoil sheets that are large enough to be doubled to make secure food packs. With a magic marker, write an S on small food packs and an L on the large

food packs. In the middle of the doubled-over foil sheets, place a leaf of cabbage on the bottom. Cabbage will help prevent burning the meat, plus add an incredible taste to the meal.

Next, place either 1/3 or 2/3 pound of hamburger meat on the cabbage. The hamburger meat may be seasoned ahead of time with your favorite seasonings. Basic salt or garlic salt and pepper are very good. Pat it out like a hamburger patty. Finally, add pieces of carrots, potatoes, onions, green peppers and mushrooms. Place in a cooler prior to beginning the float trip.

DIGGING A PIT The cooking party should head down-river a couple of hours before the main group. They will need a shovel and an appropriate amount of charcoal. Dig a shallow pit on a gravel bar and allow the charcoal, or hardwood, to burn down to a bed of coals. Ideally you will have enough coals to cover the tops of the foil packs as well. Cover the entire pit with another layer of gravel.

Twenty minutes later, dig out one of the food packs and check it. Believe me, the aroma that will fill the air when you open the food pack will make it very difficult to return it to the fire pit. Continue cooling as necessary.

If your group is a little late showing up, simply take the food packs and toss them on top of the gravel-covered coals on the pit.

The process will keep the delectable gravel bar meals warm for some time.

Provide ketchup, steak sauce and salt and pepper for the meal, and your cooking team will be a gravel bar hit.

Vegetables make the hobo meal something special.

5935 S. LINDBERGH BLVD., ST. LOUIS, MO 63123 MUNGENASTMOTORSPORTS.COM | (855) 584-0166

We sell and service all Honda power equipment!

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 21

Outdoor Guide

Page 22

May-June 2018

Claudette’s Kitchen

Things You Can Do With a Goose

By CLAUDETTE ROPER

“When we came across the river, we saw a field just white with some kind of bird or something. What was it?”

Mountain Man is always answering questions like this. He suggested that they were probably snow geese.

Of course, being unable to stop there, he went on to expound on the difficulty of hunting them as opposed to Canada geese.

“Canadians are much easier than snows,” he said. Seeing the look in my eyes, he quickly added, “That’s why I married Claudette.”

The light goose season ran from Nov. 11 through Feb. 6 this year. The light goose conservation order extended hunters’ opportunities to bag more snows through April 30. Wow, if Mountain Man is right (and he usually is) then there should be a lot of good meat to work up.

ROAST IT I’m not a fan of roasted wild goose. The idea sounds great – kill it, cook it. It’s more than an idea at this house, it’s the rule – except roadkill, usually. So what do you do?

This old girl had to figure out where she went wrong and also look for a creative alternative.

The biggest error I’ve made with roasting a wild goose is thinking that because it flies, it has to be treated like chicken. Wrong. The meat should still be pink with juices still running. Another factor was that unlike domestic geese, these don’t have much fat to keep the meat moist.

An overnight brine using your favorite recipe followed by searing in bacon fat before roasting helps.

GRIND IT Grinding the fresh meat is an excellent way to prepare your goose. I’m not as patient as Mountain Man, so if it were up to me to do this work, only the breast would get ground. The rest of the goose is good for this as well, if you’re good with a knife and patient.

Once it’s ground, spice it with your favorite sausage spices.

Don’t have a favorite recipe? It can be as simple as adding a teaspoon each of salt and sage for a pound of ground. If you like it hot, add some red pepper flakes, and if you are a fan of an Italian taste, add some fennel.

Instead of “caribou on a half shell,” replace the caribou sausage with spiced ground goose breast. The cream cheese certainly helps with the dryness of the meat.

The breast is also excellent, thinly sliced and lightly stirfried, in Missouri Scampi or added to Missouri Gumbo in place of the rabbit or squirrel. These past recipes are available at claudettescottage.blogspot.com If you ground the breast only, boil the remaining parts in water (or chicken broth for more flavor) with traditional stock ingredients: onions, celery, garlic, carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns, sage and thyme. Even cooking stock from fresh chicken gets at least a 2-hour boil. I can rely on Mountain Man (most of the time) to tell me if it’s an “old bird” or not and add simmering time accordingly.

MAKE SOUP Once you have tender meat and a strong stock, you can pretend it’s chicken and make soup, white chili or a fricassee of sorts – with emphasis on “of sorts.”

Real fricassee uses most parts of a fresh whole chicken cut into pieces. In a situation like this, you would substitute the cooked-to-tender goose meat and skip the frying step.

MAKE JERKY Goose can also be used to make jerky. Yes, it’s dried just like all other jerky, but if you’re like me, you might be a little squeamish about taking fowl on a long hike in the heat.

On the other hand, it’s usually eaten up before you know it.

Even when making jerky there are options – cut the meat into strips or shoot out strips of ground meat. Personally, once it is ground, I’d rather go the sausage route, but this isn’t one size fits all. It’s your bird to be prepared your way.

One thing about making strips – you will pay much closer attention to removing all fat, gristle and silver skin. It’s easy to get careless and skip that step when grinding. One piece of advice – don’t skip that step.

The seasoning you use is also a matter of taste. If you have a favorite jerky recipe, use it. Ready-made seasonings work well too. The meat doesn’t require special spices. Ducks Unlimited has a spicy goose jerky recipe on their website that looks good.

FREEZE IT A lot of geese have passed through this household, but never enough that Mountain Man has had to vacuum-pack the jerky. The best way to keep it is like all the jerky he makes – vacuum-packed and in the freezer.

Lastly it’s important to find a good hiding place in the freezer. Usually behind a container marked “pigs ears for dog food” works really well. Happy Summer!

5935 S. LINDBERGH BLVD., ST. LOUIS, MO 63123 MUNGENASTMOTORSPORTS.COM | (855) 584-0166

THE 2015 FOURTRAX RANCHER ®

BEST ON EARTH

™

®

KNOWS HOW TO WORK, KNOWS HOW TO HAVE FUN.

Huge selection!

We will not be undersold!

Utility ATVs are recommended only for riders 16 years of age and older.

ATVs can be hazardous to operate. For your safety, be responsible. Read the owner’s manual. Always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Be careful on difficult terrain. All ATV riders should take a training course (free for new buyers. Ask your dealer or call ASI at 800-887-2887).

Never ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol, on paved surfaces, on public roads, with passengers, or at excessive speeds. No stunt riding.

Respect the environment when riding.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 23

HIKE, RIDE, CAMP OR FLOAT. ~ Only 2 Hours South of St. Louis ~

Clearwater Lake and Webb Creek Recreation Area - Hwy H – Bring the family to

1

boat, ski, fish, and unwind on crystal clear Clearwater Lake. This area of the lake is formed where Webb Creek and Logan Creek empty into Clearwater Lake. It is known for its crappie, bass and catfish fishing in the spring and Clearwater Lake fun for the entire family all summer long. Camping is available; at Webb Creek Recreation Park; plus a full service marina with boat/wave runner rentals on site. Webb Creek Park features over 40 campsites, swim beach, playground, showers, picnic pavilions, boat launch, and more. Call Webb Creek Marina at 573-461-2344 for marina, boat rental and campsite information or visit www.reserveamerica.com to make reservations. If you are interested in all the conveniences of home call Webb Creek Cabins for cabin rentals, 573-461-2244.

2 Black River and K Bridge Recreation Area

- K Hwy – Float, canoe, fish and explore the beautiful Black River. Enjoy swimming, camping and picnicking right on the banks of the Black River. K Bridge Recreation Area and Campground offers playground, showers, electric Black River and comfort station, visit www. reserveamerica.com to make reservations. Floats (raft or canoe) can be arranged on site by calling Jeff’s Canoe Rental at 573-598-4555. A small general store is also available on site.

3 Current River

-Hwy 106 to HH Highway- Fish, swim, camp and relax on majestic Current River.

Great place to explore Current River.

Rough camping is available at Log Yard Landing (known to the locals as Cardareva Gravel Bar) and the School Yard. These are available on a on a first come basis, electric is not available. Bring your tubes, rafts and Current River kayaks; a perfect day float….put in at Powder Mill and float to Log Yard. Enjoy the quiet outdoors, a nice campfire and Current River this summer!

4 Blue Spring

- Hwy 106- This spring is the 6th largest spring in Missouri and known for its deep blue color. It has been said that this spring is so deep, if submerged the Statue of Liberty’s torch would not be seen above the water and actually the bottom has never been found. Take your camera! Blue Spring can be accessed by boat, kayak, float or a short .25 mile hike from Powder Mill Recreation Area. Located on Current River, near Powder Mill.

5 Rocky Falls

6 Current River Conservation Area

- NN Hwy- A cascading crystal Rocky Creek drops from the Ozark Mountains into a lazy pool which eventually winds through the Ozarks to Current River. A must see if you are in the area and fun for all ages. Wear non-slip shoes and use caution when climbing on the falls. Picnic tables provided.

–Consists of 28,000 acres of state land. Deer, turkey, eagles, elk and a multitude of wildlife can be seen. UTV’s, ATV’s and vehicle traffic are welcomed on miles of gravel roads that wind through some 60+ food plots. Buford pond, Missouri’s first fire tower, a 1926 log cabin and an earthen Fort Barnesville can all be found here. Buford Pond provides fishing and picnicking and is a favorite location of all. For hunting enthusiasts an unstaffed rifle and archery range are provided.

Current River Conservation Area is home to the Missouri Ozark Ecosystem Project, the world’s most comprehensive forest management study. This 100 year project spans over 9,000 acres.

Main park entrance located on South Road in Ellington, other entrances located off Hwy 106 and HH highway. Maps are available at the main park entrance.

7 Local Flavor

– Ellington Chamber of Commerce & Copeland-Shy Visitor Center – One of the oldest homes in Ellington, built in 1886 by Dr. William Copeland, was recently opened as a visitor center. We invite you to stop by and pick up brochures and information about the area. Located at 155 W. Walnut Street (Hwy 106) in Ellington.

Copeland-Shy House

Also while in town you won’t want to miss the Reynolds County Museum while visiting Ellington. This museum is filled with relicts from days gone by and the rich history of the Ozarks.

Volunteers staff the establishment and are happy to answer questions; Open Mar-Nov, T-F 10-4 and 2nd Saturday of the month 10-4. Call 573-663-3233 for more information.

Need a spot for the kids to play, then visit Brawley Park located on South Road. This park features a playground, basketball courts, picnic pavilions and short hiking trail.

Want some nostalgia from a couple decades back; how about a Drive In movie. One of only a few drive-ins left in the Midwest is located just south of Ellington on Highway 21., call 573-945-2121 for info.

9 Blair Creek

- Hwy 106 – This area is a favorite of the local’s spring, summer and fall. For the person who is looking for the unknown, adventure into the wild Ozark hills for the beautiful views, caves, swimming, picnicking. Here riding the back roads in ATV’s, UTV’s and 4-wheel drives is exciting Blair Creek and fun. Entrance located North of Hwy 106 across from Blue Spring entrance.

Scenic Highway 106 10

- This 26 mile drive between Ellington and Eminence is known state wide for its scenic views and beauty, and is especially a favorite in the fall. This section of highway is also home to the Mid Atlantic Bicycle Trail and sees many bicycle travelers from April-October. Bicycle enthusiasts say it’s one of the “toughest sections on the trail” and known for the steep hills & hollers.

11 Peck Ranch

- H Highway, Shannon County- Listen for the bugle this fall! Elk are now roaming the hills of the Ozarks and can be seen in Peck Ranch, Current River Conservation Area and the surrounding region. Thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation’s recent Elk Restoration Program elk were released into the elk zone beginning in the summer of 2011. With the third release the summer of 2013 the elk herd is nearing 200 bulls, cows and calves. Peck Ranch is open from sunrise/sunset daily and offers a driving tour. Bugling occurs in the fall, Sept-Nov. Check the Missouri Dept of Conservation website for park closing details. Maps are available at park entrance.

Elk

8 Ozark Trail

- Hwy 106- Blair Creek & Current River section; Hwy 106 – Whether you are looking for a one day hike or want to make a few days of it; hiking these sections of the Ozark Trail is rewarding and adventurous.

Such splendid locations as Rocky Falls, Klepzig Mill and Buzzard Mountain Shut-Ins are located right on the trail.

For the adventurous visitor this is a must!

Ellington Chamber of Commerce | www.ellingtonmo.com | Find us

Outdoor Guide

Page 24

Fish Prints Provide a Taxidermy Alternative

By JOHN MEACHAM

Like many entrepreneurs, Mike Emerson, proprietor of the Catch and Release Print Shop, got his big idea from his own experience, and now it’s becoming a new trend.

Emerson grew up fishing for largemouth bass in strip-mine lakes around his hometown of Peoria, IL, and for smallmouths with his grandfather on the Bourbeuse River in Missouri. When he became a father, he often took his three sons fishing with him. When one of them caught a big one, Emerson would photograph it.

“But pictures never do the size of the fish justice,” he said. So he looked for the best scientific illustrations of each species, and that led him to Joe Tomelleri and Diane Peebles, whose work has appeared in countless magazines and brochures. He obtained licenses from them to use their renditions, bought a printer and launched his business in January, 2017.

For approximately $5 per inch of a fish’s length, Emerson will make a life-sized print from a Tomelleri freshwater illustration or a Peebles saltwater illustration. He uses archival paper and ink and says

Ladies like it better than a dead fish on the wall.

the print will last 100 years.

He puts field notes about the angler, the fish and the catch in the lower right corner.

BEATS A DEAD FISH The print costs considerably less than a mount made by a taxidermist, and many women have told him they prefer a picture over a dead fish on the wall, Emerson said. The company’s motto is, “Measure your prize … We print to size … The fish survives.”

“We provide an alternative to traditional taxidermy, mounts and replicas of game fish,” Emerson said. “Custom prints are created to the actual length of the angler’s fish and stamped with field notes regarding the catch.”

The idea has enough appeal to have won the award for best new giftware product in the 2017 ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades) awards

competition.

Emerson has also partnered with renowned wildlife artist Ryan Kirby and will soon offer prints to commemorate trophy deer that hunters have taken.

“We’re going to have a buck and a doe with field notes in the corner about the deer that was harvested. We’ll eventually get into waterfowl and other types of game,” he said.

For more information, go online to prints.fish.

May-June 2018

Think Now About Your Fall Tree Stand Photo and Text

By RON BICE

To increase your odds of a successful whitetail hunt this fall, now would be a great time to get your stands up to speed and take care of all pruning.

Leaf growth is pretty much at 100 percent, and the deer in your hunting area will have plenty of time to adapt to the modifications you make. It takes time for deer to accept, without caution, these obvious changes to their environment. You’ll bypass this fact and a few other issues if you can get it done now.

Temperatures will continue to climb as well as the bug count. I’ve found my success is always better if I start now.

When putting up a new stand, I always set it before any pruning starts. Overpruning stand locations is my biggest concern. Taking too

much can change the dynamics the deer prefer about that area. Many times, I’ve pruned first and then set the stand only to realize something wasn’t right with the set-up and ended up moving to a different tree.

GET IT RIGHT It’s important to be certain that the stand is in the right place and comfortable first.

Once the stand is set, and I can see exactly what needs to be taken, I begin. I take as little as possible, but only after the stand is in place.

Having this job completed now will increase your odds of success. When the season arrives, you’ll know the stands are ready to go. The deer will be so used to the change that your stands will be virtually invisible to them. You’ll have increased the probability of success considerably.

When it comes to pruning, less is best.

@visit_lebanon_mo

Visit www.LebanonMissouri.org

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 25

Page 26

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Protecting Dogs Against Ticks Photo and Text

By PURINA PRO PLAN

Understanding tick-borne diseases is a continuum, as the distribution of tick species, their regional prevalence and the infectious pathogens they carry fluctuate yearly or even seasonally based on weather, rainfall and climate.

As the 2018 tick season begins, sporting dog owners should take heed. The possibility of a tick bite causing severe or life-threatening illness ­– including Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis,

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesosis, bartonellosis and hepatozoonosis – warrants being tick-savvy.

“The challenge with tickborne diseases is forecasting their regional prevalence and how common they may be,” said Jason Stull, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Ohio State University and a presenter at the 2017 AKC Canine Health Conference in St. Louis.

ALL 50 STATES Although there is no way of knowing the number of dogs infected annually by tick bites, tick-borne diseases certainly have become a growing threat.

Hardworking dogs could be at high-exposure risk due to the spreading geographical distribution of ticks.

Highly prevalent, tick-borne diseases currently are found in all 50 states, including some urban areas.

“What’s more, tick-borne diseases are transmitted by zoonotic pathogens, meaning they can infect people, too,” Stull said. “It’s crucial to protect two- and four-legged individuals alike during hunting trips or field trials.”

YEAR-ROUND PREVENTION Tick preventives reduce the transmission of tick-borne diseases by repelling ticks that eventually die or killing ticks already attached to a dog. The type of product and how it’s used varies by a dog’s exposure risk, safety and frequency of swimming or bathing. Talk to your veterinarian to determine which product is best for your dog.

Although no product is 100 percent reliable, there are many good products on the market.

Newer products include the eight-month flea and tick collar Soresto and the three-month flea and tick pill Bravecto. New monthly chewables include the tick preventive Simparica and the flea and tick (Lone Star tick, black legged tick, American dog tick and brown dog tick) preventive NexGard. A vaccine for Lyme disease provides protection from this illness.

FULL-BODY CHECKS, FOR YOU, TOO Because tick-borne diseases can be transmitted in as little as three to six hours after a tick bite, it’s important to perform a head-to-tail body check on your dog immediately after spending time outdoors.

If you find a tick, remove it by grasping it as close to the skin as possible with tweezers and pulling up firmly. Avoid squeezing or twisting to prevent the transfer of the tick’s bodily fluids. Kill the tick immediately by placing it in a container with rubbing alcohol, and apply a mild antiseptic to your dog’s wound.

Consider having your dog screened annually for an infection. Blood testing detects the presence of an antibody, one product of the dog’s immune response against a pathogen, while polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing detects the DNA of the organism itself.

Both are fast and effective and could save you money down the road if a tick-borne disease isn’t caught in its early stages.

Being out in grassy or wooded areas with your dog puts you at risk for tick bites, too. Take caution by tucking your pant legs into your socks or boots to avoid ticks making contact with your skin.

Shower immediately upon returning indoors and practice daily head-to-toe body checks for ticks on yourself just like you do with your dog.

RESEARCH INITIATIVE New advances are helping to keep dogs safe from tickborne diseases. On a mission to learn more about the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dogs affected by tick-borne diseases, the AKC Canine Health Foundation launched the Tick-Borne Disease Initiative in 2016.

Since then, several grants have been awarded, addressing tick-borne diseases by funding research to discover new ways of preventing infections and recognizing, diagnosing and treating tick-borne diseases before they become serious or life-threatening to dog.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Nugent: ‘I Wanna Go Huntin’

By TED NUGENT

“I was always different, nobody understood. I didn’t play follow the leader, cuz I was always in the woods.

“They hadn’t invented peer pressure yet, seems I stood alone. But my daddy had a vision; love, family and a home.

“Punks used to laugh at me, said, ‘How can you rock and not get high?’ But I just stood my ground and I watched those punks fall and die!

“Cuz I just wanna go huntin’. It makes me feel so good.

I just wanna go huntin’, try to find me in the woods!

“Things get a little crazy, in this day and age. The concrete jungle warfare got everybody in a rage. I sure like rock and danger, and I love my rock ‘n roll. When I get my limit, I know just where to go.

“I jump into the four-wheel drive, load up the dogs and the family. I’m gonna feel alive, with the wildlife where I can breathe!

“And I just wanna go huntin’. Makes me feel so good. I just wanna go huntin’, try to find me in the woods.

“I’m slippin’ away, lookin’ for a new sunrise. I’m feelin’ OK, times like this makes me healthy and wise!

“I just wanna go huntin’.

Makes me feel so good. I just wanna go huntin’, try to find me in the woods.

“God told me in the Bible, He said, ‘Go ahead and whack ‘em Ted!’ So I take my kids huntin’, so I don’t have to hunt for my kids!

“I just wanna go huntin’, it makes that feeling last. And if you don’t like my huntin’, then you can kiss my ….!

“I’m slippin’ away, I’m feelin’OK. Feelin’better every day. I gotta get away. Headin’ for a brand new day. Far, far away...”

Now that’s a love song, chillin’!

That little ditty came balzing out of me with a life of its own way back around 1989, long, long ago!

I don’t really write songs, I simply channel the music from deep within, a stream of consciousness, unbridled torrent of spirituality if you will, much like a perfect, second nature mystical flight of the arrow when everything is perfecto.

Sitting around one of my gazillion campfires of yore with an acoustic guitar within easy reach, the earthly dynamics of a gung ho hunting lifestyle will unleash and manifest with a life of their own if one’s soul has been adequately and fully cleansed by the Great Spirit of the Wild!

Of course, a steady diet of hard-earned backstraps is the clincher!

I think that particular song came to life around a very special Michigan swamp campfire on a day where my good hunting blood brother, baseball

legend and diehard bowhunter Kirk Gibson and I worked with the Detroit Police Department to bus a bunch of inner Motor City kids out to my farm for a soul cleansing day of tree planting, archery, BB gun competition, nature adventure, wildlife identification, fishing and campfire fun.

These kids had never been fishing before, much less ventured beyond the concrete jungle pavement.

WILD IN THE CITY I was born and raised in Detroit myself, but lucky, lucky me, my dad was a bowhunter and he taught me the ways of the wild. Even right there in the Detroit city limits, I had endless wild grounds along the mighty River Rouge to explore and stalk critters with my trusty little bow and arrow, homemade slingshot and Daisy Red Ryder BB gun.

Without that important parental direction and critical discipline, we can clearly see where America’s youth went bad.

These city kids were extremely resistant to our outdoor guidance and activities at first, but once they shot that first arrow, felt the tug of a fishing line and roasted marshmallows over an open fire that they helped create, the transition was undeniable, powerful and effervescent.

That life-changing moment had a lot to do with the creation of our Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids 501C3 non-profit charity, and in 29 years we have witnessed the life-changing glow of more than 16,000 kids from across America come to cherish the Spirit of the Wild.

Some of the parents of our recent Kampers were some of the first youngsters we hosted way back then.

Amazing ain’t it?

Just the other day, I again took my guitar to a nearby high school and did a presentation of hunting music and speech to a hundred or so young Americans that had the same impact it had 30 years ago.

Music is surely the ultimate universal communication, and even though music styles and genres come and go and have changed dramatically over the years (and NOT for the better I might add!), young people can feel genuine passion and emotion in soulful music delivered with spirit and attitude. And when that music delivers a message like my “I Just Wanna Go Huntin’,” “My Bow & Arrow” and “Fred Bear” and others, the sparkles in the eyes and smiles on the faces tell you everything you need to know.

REACH OUT! As our dedicated army of volunteers gear up for another wonderful year of saving lives with our Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids charity in Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota and Colorado, give some thought as to how you might be able to impact

and connect with kids in your area with a positive, passionate, FUN message about the joys and sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that our handson hunting lifestyle can provide for anyone and everyone who gets into it.

In this day and age of heartbreaking disconnect, soulwrecking political correctness and runaway fake news, those of us who know better have a duty to reach out and make a difference.

I don’t know about you, but I just wanna go huntin’! It’s only rock ‘n’ roll but I like it!

The 2016 Iowa Nugent Kamp for Kids sends greetings.

Page 27

Outdoor Guide

Page 28

May-June 2018

Fishing Lake Docks with Casey Scanlon

By JOHN NEPORADNY, JR. Boat docks are high priority targets for Casey Scanlon whenever he practices for a tournament at Lake of the Ozarks.

Scanlon admits targeting docks gives him confidence, especially since he guides on Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks, the 54,000-acre reservoir loaded with countless docks. So it is a given that the first piece of cover Scanlon checks out in practice will be a dock.

Throughout his pro career, Scanlon has fished all sorts of docks, ranging from stationary wooden piers to floating structures secured with steel cables. Scanlon mainly fishes the floating-style boat houses attached to steel cables on his home lake.

The FLW Tour pro considers docks ideal cover because the structures extend over a wide range of depths. “You can fish them from zero to 30 feet deep,” Scanlon said. “A lot of times, homeowners put brush under them – a bonus

piece of cover.”

The boat houses also allow bass to move up and down in the water column where they can suspend right under the foam of the floating structures or at a mid-depth range or hug the bottom.

Boat docks attract plenty of forage fish for bass, too.

“Every dock is going to have bluegill underneath it, and it is nice to find docks where the shad are congregating around as well,” Scanlon said. “There is always going to be bait present and mostly

in the form of bluegill, which I think bigger fish prefer.”

THE SHADY SIDE Docks also create a lot of shade where bass can lurk and set up to ambush baitfish. “I always keep an eye on shade and am aware of it in case I start getting bites,” Scanlon said. “I always fish the shady side (of docks) a little bit harder.”

Scanlon notes the only time he avoids the shady side of docks is during winter and early spring when bass seek

Nothing beats talking a little fishing with Casey Scanlon.

warmer water. Then he keys on the sunny side, especially where the sunshine is hitting the black floatation, which generates warmer water.

“An ideal dock to me is the biggest I can find without being a marina dock,” he said.

He prefers large private docks that can cast expansive shade.

The local pro also favors fishing isolated docks. If an area is loaded with boat houses, he keys on the first few docks heading into a creek, the last few docks in the back of a creek, or docks situated on a point or break line. “I rarely go down a row of 20 docks that are all in 15 feet of water,” he said.

When he has to fish an area with rows of docks, Scanlon tries to pick out individual targets rather than fish a whole row. “I will side scan (the docks) with my Garmin electronics and look at my down view and see where the fish are positioned,” Scanlon said. “I am mostly looking for cover, so if one of the docks has a brush pile underneath, that is the one I am going to target. I also look for the biggest one and the ugliest one with stuff falling off of it. I also look for rod holders and fish baskets – just signs that a fisherman lives there.”

Docks are productive yearround for Scanlon, so here are his tips on how to fish this type of cover throughout the four seasons at Lake of the Ozarks.

WINTER “A lot of the fish will either be around docks in the deep guts in the very back of the creeks or isolated docks on a secondary point or the main lake,” Scanlon said. “Basically I am looking for a dock that has a lot of depth under it, and I am looking for a lot of shad. I look for docks where the fish don’t have to move a whole lot. If it is sunny they can slide up in 10 feet of water and then they can slide back the other direction by 10 or 12 feet into depths of 30 to 40 feet. “ On extremely sunny days, Scanlon will fish the back side of docks along steep banks, but most of the time he keys on the sides of docks or wherever he finds brush piles

near the floating structure.

“Bass like to suspend that time of year, so if there is some brush on the side or if there is a brush pile behind the dock I will flip a jig there,” Scanlon said. He also concentrates on the front of large boathouses where bass hang around the steel cables that anchor the docks.

SPRING “I am looking for the transitions in the bank where the channel bank turns down into gravel, which is where the fish are looking to spawn,” Scanlon said. “So I like docks that are situated really close to the bank, especially if the back of the dock is up on the bank.” He believes bass flock to these shallow docks because the cover is similar to a laydown log that provides bass with shelter extending from the bank out to deeper water. When bass move to the bank to spawn, Scanlon fishes the back side of the docks then.

SUMMER Like in winter, Scanlon keys on deep-water docks that attract plenty of shad.

“So I am looking for those isolated docks and trying to catch fish suspended on the front corners that are looking for bait,” he said. He keys on large docks on main lake points and channel swings.

He also fishes brush piles near those docks and works his lures along the bottom for bass holding tight to the wood cover.

FALL The touring pro concentrates on isolated docks along main lake flats or the last few docks on flats in the creeks.

Tracking shad is the key to finding the most productive lures during this season.

For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or go online to funlake. com. For copies of John Neporadny’s Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide call (573) 365-4296 or go to jnoutdoors.com.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 29

Bersa Thunder .380 Accurate but Flawed Photo and Text

By TJ MULLIN The Bersa Thunder .380, equipped with laser grips (pink!), is obviously designed to attract the female market. I am not certain why marketing people seem to think pink-colored grips will attract the female shooter, but perhaps it is really meant to attract the male buyer.

Well, I suppose it does no harm, so let’s just discuss the pistol as a self-defense weapon.

In a day when polymerframed weapons are the rage, with the Glock M42 .380 pistol being the best example of the breed, whether the Bersa brings anything to the table is a valid question. For it is a traditional double-action/ single-action pistol of steel construction with a flat, dark color that seems not to be a special “gee whiz” finish.

DROP-HAMMER SAFETY The safety is of a drophammer type, very stiff and almost impossible to operate with the thick laser grips, compelling me to pull the trigger (carefully!) to lower the hammer when finished with a course of fire. Such safeties, of course, are slow to operate and likely, possibly the worst design if actually used as something more than a “hammer dropper.”

The pistol was equipped with a lock-out feature on the left side that allows a person to lock the weapon by inserting a small tool in the hole, turning it to disable the weapon. Such things are apparently installed on handguns to meet some legislative rules passed by people who know nothing about weapons and tactics, or who actually hate the enjoyment of Constitutional rights.

Perhaps some optimists somewhere truly believe such a device can keep illtrained people from using their weapons, and that they will be able to insert a small tool in a small hole in the dark while someone recently released on parole is attempting to stab them.

A SHARP RECOIL The weapon is sized about like many compact, full9mm handguns today but is only a .380. But since it is a blowback weapon with no locking system, it has a surprisingly sharper felt recoil. This also causes it to have a very strong recoil spring. Some people who are either weak or infirmed

OUR NEW HOME IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION and will be open Spring 2018.

Check out website for updates.

Toy Haulers

Travel Trailer The Bersa Thunder .380 features pink laser grips.

may find it impossible to pull the slide to the rear or push it forward while holding the receiver even with the hammer, cocked to make it easier. My friend’s wife, who tried it, could not chamber a round that way.

The sights were surprisingly good, allowing quick pickup with plenty of light on either side of the front sight. The rear sight was screw- (but not click-) adjustable for windage – always nice to allow easy zeroing. The laser grips, of course, can then be zeroed to coincide with the iron sights and were typically timeconsuming to get perfect since no clicks are available.

Basically, it is a two-person job, in my experience. I am not a laser grip fan, as I think the money spent on them is better spent on ammunition.

But with everything said previously, the real questions about any weapon are these: Is it reliable, first; and, accurate, second. For only reliable handguns are worth having, to alter Col. Whelen’s famous statement about rifles.

The answer to the reliability question, of course, really takes tens of thousands of rounds to determine, which I could not do, but it worked every time in the sub-500 rounds fired through

it in the evaluation session.

Typically, if something will not work properly, it’s at the beginning when rough edges and lack of final fitting show up.

IT’S ACCURATE The accuracy issue can be answered more easily. While no doubt most will view this weapon as a close-range, self-defense weapon, even at close range, sometimes the target is small, say a partially exposed body behind solid cover. Then good accuracy is important, even for a .380 pocket pistol-sized weapon.

The Bersa trigger pull made it difficult to achieve, but with effort to overcome the heavy pull and care, it will deliver the goods. I shot a number of 4-inch, 5-shot groups at 25 yards using a variety of ammunition and my best group was 3-3/4 inches at 25 yards using a rest position. Pretty fair, I would say.

But while the Bersa was accurate and seemingly reliable, at least in my test example, I certainly would not pick it for a self-defense weapon. The Glock M42, if you just have to have a .380 or better, and the Glock M43 in standard 9mm, are much, much better and the price difference is not much, if any.

Light Weight Travel Trailer

Destination Trailers

WELCOME!

Family-owned business for 20 plus years.

Our friendly staff ready to assist you, for Sales, Rentals, Service, Parts or Propane fills.

Browse our website then come see us!

2294 West Hwy 47 W Troy, MO 63379

Phone: 636.528.4301 Toll Free: 866.464.5434

47westtrailers.com E-mail gm@47westtrailers.com

Outdoor Guide

Page 30

May-June 2018

Ponds Are Good Enough for Me

By GERALD J. SCOTT

Mindy Smith’s CD, “Long Island Shores,” includes the song “Tennessee,” which includes the lyric, “You may not be what I will always need, but, Tennessee, you’re good enough for me.” That’s exactly the way I feel about ponds.

But what, you might ask, is a pond? I normally detest the cliche “according to the dictionary,” but in this case, it’s irresistible. According to Webster’s New World Col-

lege Dictionary, a pond is “an impounded body of water smaller than a lake,” whereas a lake is as “an impounded body of water larger than a pond.”

If that logic is a trifle too circular for you, I describe a pond as “an impounded body of water large enough to support game fish but small enough to be fished effectively from the bank.” If you insist on something more specific, most impounded bodies of water from half an acre up to somewhere around 10-15 acres are ponds.

In my mind’s eye, the term pond conjures up an image of a preschool boy using a $5 cane pole in a sometimes successful effort to get a worm-baited hook into the water, while his mother uses a $500 fly rod to lay 90 feet of line on the water as softly as gossamer. With a few very limited exceptions, where else but a pond could my imagination become reality?

But as Harold Ensley, who was a pioneer in televised outdoor sports, said 60 years ago, “Fishing isn’t fun; catch-

ing fish is fun.” I’m not the least bit ashamed to admit that the distinct possibility that I’ll catch lots of fish is the number one reason I’m so fond of ponds.

PROS AND CONS There’s a very practical reason why ponds have so much potential. Not only are ponds capable of producing more game fish per acre than other types of water, but their abundance is also concentrated into a small area. Ergo, anglers can be confident that their lures are passing over, or at least close to, a fish on every cast.

Overconfidence, on the other hand, can ruin what might have been a good day.

As any experienced angler can attest, the fact that a lure passes within inches of a fish’s mouth doesn’t necessarily equal a strike. Pond-dwelling

be honored, but a surprising number of great ponds are located on public land. Although there are certainly exceptions, the Missouri Department of Conservation manages the fisheries in most of the ponds owned by municipalities or other governmental entities, in addition to the hundreds of ponds located on its own properties.

Nobody could pry my admittedly somewhat outof-date print copy of the MDC Conservation Atlas out of my hands, but the online version on the agency’s website is a faster way to get general information, because it’s possible to search for an individual feature – in this case “fishing ponds” – within a single county, region or the entire state.

The MDC also publishes an annual “Fishing Prospects” brochure that provides more

I describe a pond as “an impounded body of water large enough to support game fish but small enough to be fished effectively from the bank. bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish can be every bit as persnickety as their big water cousins. I can’t count the times it’s taken me longer to find a lure the fish would hit than it did to catch all the fish I wanted afterward.

The need to be able to adapt notwithstanding, another thing I love about fishing in ponds is its relative simplicity.

My typical pond fishing tackle consists of a light-action spinning outfit spooled with 6- or 8-pound thin-diameter line.

I almost always start with a white 1/16- or 1/8-ounce inline spinner bait, and, more often than not, I stay with it.

But be that as it may, my pond tackle box is a compact softsided satchel with a shoulder strap. Insert boxes hold a limited, but carefully chosen, selection of flies, jigs, soft plastic grubs, Roadrunners, tiny crankbaits and a topwater or two, in addition to the inline spinnerbaits. Outer pockets provide enough room for bobbers, hooks and sinkers.

PUBLIC PONDS Being able to fish a private pond is a privilege that should

detailed information on the current potential of dozens of ponds, lakes and streams.

A LITTER ADVICE Whether the pond you choose to visit is on public or private property, please remember the back country adage – “leave nothing but footprints.” Leaving litter on the banks of a private pond is the surest way I know to make that pond off limits to all fishermen. Littering public property not only makes the next person’s visit less satisfying, but cleaning up trash also diverts funds and manpower that otherwise would be used to make the property even more inviting.

I spent a morning last spring walking the banks of a pond so small I could cast a 1/16th-ounce inline spinnerbait more than halfway across it. I ended the twohour outing having landed 10 largemouth bass, measuring between 10 and 16 inches, and two big crappie. Three of the smaller bass and the two crappie graciously accepted invitations to accompany me home for supper.

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 31

Camping Gear & Gadgets Aqua-Kem Controls RV Odors Aqua-Kem is a powerful odor control product that provides superior waste digestion to keep those smells out of your RV, made by the RV sanitation expert, Thetford (thetford.com).

Aqua-Kem comes in a handy quart or half-gallon bottle of liquid holding take deodorant, or in the new Shotz micro-concentrated pack that makes it easy to drop in a packet and store the remainder.

Its active detergent ingredients are 100 percent bio-degradable.

Aqua-Kem can be seen and purchased at Byerly RV Sales, 295 E. 5th St., Eureka MO 63025, or call (636) 938-2000 or go online to byerlyrv.com.

Water Filter Has High Capacity The Camco 4003 Water Filter provides pure drinking water about anywhere, reducing bad taste, odor, chlorine and other impurities with a 100-micron fiber filter.

It has a wider body to increase water flow and a large capacity to last all season. It uses KDF to help prevent bacterial growth, and its flexible hose protector minimizes kinks.

The Camco 4003 is available for $17.87 from Walmart.

The Eva-Dry EDV-1100 Petite Dehumidifier is a mini-capacity dehumidifier that uses thermoelectric power for quiet and efficient results in small spaces such as RVs, bathroom and closets.

Eva-Dry can work in rooms up to 110 square feet. It uses 22.5 watts, has a 2-cup capacity, is 6 inches tall and weighs 3.5 pounds.

It comes with a 1-year warranty.

Stromberg ladders are available in the St. Louis area at Byerly RV, and Midwest RV.

Stromberg Cargo Products are available in the St. Louis area at Byerly RV, and Midwest RV.

put your grill. But what if it had its own stake to hold it securely exactly where you want it?

That would be the Stromberg Stake & Grill, which combines a 36” stake with a grill 15” wide and 22” long.

The grill’s location on the stake is adjustable to get the desired heat. It has upturned edges to keep hot dogs from rolling off. The whole thing rotates 360 degrees, has a chrome finish that cleans easily and comes in a nylon carry bag.

Stake and Grill is available in the St. Louis area at Byerly RV, and Midwest RV.

Eva-Dry is available from retailers including Bed, Bath and Beyond, Amazon and Wal-Mart at prices starting about $55.

Stromberg offers a range of RV ladders made of rugged construction that holds up to 250 pounds.

Exterior ladders come with a hooked top in silver and will fit the rear of any RV, whether straight or contoured. Bunk ladders provide access to beds or storage in either 60” or 66” lengths in black or silver.

Stromberg also offers a ladder chair rack that keeps folding chairs secure on the road and a ladder bike rack that carries one or two bikes.

If you just can’t get it all in, or if you need a way to haul either cargo or bicycles, Stromberg has a solution in its Cargo Caddy, which attaches firmly to the back of an RV or SUV. Dimensions are 59.7” long and 23.3” wide. It comes as a Cargo Caddy only or as a Cargo Caddy Bike Rack with hardware for two bikes.

Other Stromberg cargo products include the Bike Bunk, the Trailer Tray and the RV Bumper Receiver.

Stake & Grill Perfect for Cooking Over Fire Sometimes it’s hard to find just the right place to

Dehumidifier the Right Size for RVs

RV Ladders Give Access to Comfort, Storage

Cargo Caddy Carries Bikes and Much More

Special Shit Seasonings Get Noticed The Special Shit family of seasonings gives that extra flair to camp cooking – great on meats, in sauces or as part of a favorite dish.

The barbecue sauce is especially good – not too thick or sweet. And for snacking, Hot Shit salsa or Dip Shit dip mixes are just the thing.

First-time customers try it because of the funny label, but they soon find out it comes with delicious taste and makes a perfect gift.

Special Shit products can be found at Pin Oak Creek RV Park on Highway AT in Villa Ridge, MO, (636) 451-5656 or go online to specialshit.com.

Wyoming Whiskey Is as Authentic as It Gets

Maybe what campers need is their own brand of whiskey. Well, now there is one – Wyoming Whiskey, made to be enjoyed in the great outdoors and under a big sky.

Founded by cattle ranchers in Kirby, WY, it is a classic bourbon made with hand-selected barley, corn and wheat grown in central Wyoming. The water comes from a mile-deep limestone aquifer.

The Small-Batch Bourbon is medium-bodied with a palate of vanilla, caramel, charred oak and citrus, in a mild, smooth finish.

Wyoming Whiskey Small Batch Bourbon lists for $39 and is available at Target in Kirkwood or Randall’s or Straub’s in St. Louis.

Outdoor Guide

Page 32

May-June 2018

Mystery and Myths of Scrapes

It is hot. No turkeys are moving; the mosquitos are.

And I am sweating bullets. I gave up on the birds an hour

ago and have finished making my second mock scrape. That makes 10 for the year.

Maybe you guessed, I start my mock scrapes in the spring. They are “picked up” on about the same ratio as scrapes made by deer. In

RV REPAIR AND BODY CENTERS

Now as to the three kinds of scrapes. First, there are the early ones on field edges that mean nothing. Then there are the big, communal scrapes that get opened, freshened and get big and usually have a licking branch. They mean slightly more, but not to a hunter looking for a mature buck.

Last, and of most importance to a hunter, is the aggressive scrape. This is usually a small one, found in thicker cover and often with a fresh rub and a licking branch. This is the one you want to keep an

LARG

Paint EST Boo in the th Midwe st!

• Inspection of Roof • Clean & Seal (up to 2 tubes of sealant.

Each Additional tube $10.99)

• Dewinterize Package

STATE-OF-THE-ART

PAINT SHOP

Featuring our Brand New 65 Foot Paint Booth!

We can Paint Anything from a Full Size Motorhome to Tractor Trailers, Horse Trailers, Semi’s, and Boats.

349

• PARTS • ACCESSORIES • BODY & PAINT

Regular Price $448

Expires 07-31-18

Road Ready Special • Pack the Bearings “Double Axle”

$ Only

OEM

Paint Matching

Special $ Only

common terms.

• FREE Estimates On All Body Work

398

• We Work With ALL Insurance Companies.

• Clean & Adjust Brakes Regular Price $498 • Check Tires & Pressure

Expires 07-31-18

T R AV E R S

Six Flags

Old US Hwy. 66

www.traversrvservice.com

636-324-0559

HOURS: Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm

Six Flags

Old US Hwy. 66

1100 W Terra Ln O’Fallon, MO 63366

• Urinating into the scrape.

Understand this: A buck in full velvet can and will make both a scrape and a licking branch. Obviously, it would be hard to discover just where a deer has urinated. But the “licking branch,” the marked, overhead limb and the pawed “scrape” are visible.

The licking branch is important. I put one with every mock scrape. The overhead limb is simply another form of communication, most often associated with a scrape.

The limb is marked with a variety of secretions and not all have anything to do with the rut. These secretions come from the forehead glands, saliva, pre-orbital glands or nasal glands. Just what all of these methods of communication mean, I do not know.

What I do know is, they can be made and are made at various times during the year, including in the spring.

Word constraint will not let me go into the full explanation of what all goes on. One year, I made 23 mock scrapes. Off

HOURS: Mon-Fri 9am-6pm Saturday 9am-3pm

B O DY

t Wentzville

Bryan Road

HOURS: Mon-Fri 7:30am-6pm Saturday 9am-3pm

18449 Old US Hwy 66 Eureka, MO 63025

ing the scrape.

T R AV E R S

SERVICE

18155 Old US Hwy 66 Eureka, MO 63025

• Pawing the ground – mak-

and on, I freshened them, and I use nothing but my own urine.

I use a folding saw to make licking branches and the same saw to make scrapes. I use no scent on the licking branches, but I admit it might help.

Within two weeks, three had been picked up. By October, 11 had been “opened.” Once they are picked up, I do nothing.

THE GENERAL STORE Scrapes are nothing but communication posts – the old-time general store. The licking branch is more of the telephone. Each year, a few hunters will kill a mature buck scrape hunting. Far more will see does and young bucks. It would take a complete article to explain scrape hunting.

This is just about starting early, mock scrapes and what a scrape is.

I have spent a lot of time making mock scrapes, rubs and licking branches. It is fun and informative. And…I use no cameras. Of the three types of scrapes, the hardest to make, explain, understand and by far the best, to hunt for a mature buck, is the aggressive scrape.

Don’t worry about making one. Just worry about finding one. Look for a small, viciously pawed area, almost always with a nearby rub, and it will almost always be in thick cover. That is the one you hunt … from at least 50 yards downwind.

Now, it is time to go fishing. Too hot in the woods.

Just do some thinking and experimenting. Use scent if you like. Use a camera if you like. Have fun.

O’FALLON

EUREKA

St. Charles u

West Terra Lane N W+E S

#4 N Central Court O’Fallon, MO 63366

N W+E S t Wentzville

HOURS: Mon-Fri 8am-4:30pm

Bryan Road

Spring

eye on. This is also the hardest to “mock.”

MOCK SCRAPES Now, back to mock scrapes.

The first step in understanding a deer scrape is to debunk so much of what is believed and has been written about scrapes. The first thing to understand is that there are components to scrape making, and each has a function.

These components are: • Scent marking overhead limbs – a licking branch in

4 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! We have RV technicians who are eager to take on any size job. We service all makes and models of Class A, B and C motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheels, and toy haulers, even if you didn’t buy from us. From small camper repairs to full ground up RV restoration, we do it all!

This communal scrape was started in April and by October, we’d never seen a buck over 18 months visit it.

West Terra Lane

N Central Dr.

Photos and Text

By JOHN L. SLOAN Southern Editor at Large

short, early not much, later a lot better.

Before I go any further, I better explain what scrapes are and are not, and the three kinds of scrapes a hunter may find.

First, a scrape is, above all, a communication device.

What communication, I have no idea. It is not buck specific.

Both does and bucks scrape.

It is not rut specific. They are just used more during the fall. The doe does not come by, urinate in the scrape and then get followed by a buck.

That is myth.

St. Charles u

www.traversrvservice.com www.stlouisrvservice.com www.stlouisrvservice.com

636-324-0565

636-385-5005

636-439-2060

A buck in full velvet can and will scrape and make licking branches.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 33

Jeannie’s Journey

Beauty of Silent Flowers Speaks Volumes

By JEANNIE FARMER

“Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.” – Helen Keller Those beautiful and thoughtful words by Helen Keller, prominent deaf-blind author, lecturer and political activist, ring true for all who love the fragrance, strength and even the sight of flowers, wild or domestic, and in any form.

Flowers send delightful and powerful messages of affection and love. They are appealing and serve important purposes in our lives, with many meanings associated

with the beauty they possess.

During the Victorian period, from 1837 to 1901, flowers were used to hide expressions in hidden messages through floral gifts. Our memories and love are conveyed in flowers.

Everlasting love is related to baby’s breath flowers, while daffodils send messages of true romantic love. Daisies signify loyal love, purity and innocence.

The lovely month of May is the time to celebrate and honor our mothers and motherhood.

Traditionally, pink carnations are the flowers used on Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 13 this year) to express the gratitude, admiration, love and affection of children, relatives and friends, too.

Memorial Day or Decoration Day (Monday, May 28) is in remembrance of the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces.

We also use it to honor family, friends and loved ones who have passed away. In this light, the beautiful blue forget-menot expresses faithful love, memories and remembrance.

It conveys a message of everlasting love for the deceased and will always remain a favored mode of expression.

WILDFLOWERS Wildflowers – and full gardens of them – are becoming more popular. Wildflowers in a “love garden” or “garden of memories” have special meanings and significance. It’s no secret that they are revered by most outdoor recreation enthusiasts, especially hikers and backpackers, hunters and fishermen, and conservationists. They revel in their beauty, especially while on trips afield or floats on streams.

Some listed in The Old Farmer’s Almanac include: • Aloe, symbolic of healing, protection and affection.

• Blossoms of the Angelica

provide inspiration.

• Bachelor’s button signals The early-blooming dandelion is dreaded by gardeners and lawn growers but remains beautiful. – Jeannie Farmer photo.

FISHING

single-blessedness.

• Basil, good wishes.

• Black-eyed Susan, justice.

HUNTING

• White Clover, “think of me.”

• Crocus (among the first

blossoms of spring) youthful gladness.

• Fern, sincerity.

Others include the goldenrod, encouragement; holly, hope; hollyhock, ambition; honeysuckle, bonds of love; iris, a message; ivy, friendship and continuity; white jasmine, sweet love; lavender, devotion and virtue; lilac, joy of youth; lily-of-the-valley, sweetness; marjoram, joy and happiness; mint, virtue; morning glory, affection; myrtle, the emblem of marriage, true love; nasturtium, patriotism; pansy, thoughts; red rose, love and desire; rosemary, remembrance; sage, wisdom and immortality; silva, blue and think of you; corn star, jest; sweet William, gallantry; red tulip, dedication; violet, loyalty, devotion and faithfulness; willow, sadness;, and zinnia, thoughts of absent friends.

Also, Queen Anne’s lace is symbolic of heaven and sanctuary. It is indicative of complexity and delicateness.

The sunflower expresses pure thoughts, adoration and dedication.

STATE FLOWERS Many states have their own particular official flower designations. Among those in the

A beautiful Monarch butterfly visits a spring flower at the Springfield, MO, Botanical Gardens.

– Thayne Smith photo.

Midwest are: • Arkansas, with the beautiful pale pink apple blossom, officially designated in 1901.

• Illinois, the purple violet.

Many states were encouraged to choose emblematic flowers at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. It wasn’t until 15 years later (1908) that Illinois made its official designation.

• Iowa, the wild prairie rose, adopted in 1897.

• Kansas, the sunflower, one of the most beautiful and unique flowers is the Sunflower. It is specific to the state of Kansas.

• Missouri, the beautiful white blossom of the hawthorn tree, adopted in 1923.

• Oklahoma, the mistletoe; the

legend of the mistletoe brought forth the enduring strength of those who settled the land.

• Tennessee, the iris, symbolizing wisdom and valor.

Spring is a beautiful time to take an outdoor nature adventure. Experience the sweet pleasantries of the blooming flowers and trees on a nature walk. Visit a botanical garden.

All are lovely places to take a stroll and observe a potpourri of brilliant and vibrant colors.

Added, they are a paradise for photographers, a tantalizing world of splendor and brilliance to be captured with camera and note pad.

The memories and photos you gain will last a lifetime.

Bring New Life To An Old RV

RENOVATE

DON’T DREAM IT! LIVE IT! with Quetico Park’s World Class Fishing and Hunting

3R can help with bringing your RV into the modern age with updated furniture, and remodel of the bath or kitchen.

Call Today 877-597-6418 Home of Monster Smallmouth, Walleye and Northern Pike!

Black Bear and Moose Hunts!

Fly In

Drive In

only

1,150

$

only

725

$

JEREMY DICKSON, Owner/Manager

300 O’Brien Street, P.O. Box 1810, Atikokan, ON P0T 1C0 • Office 807-597-6418 www.canoecanada.com • email: canoecanada@nwon.com

Major or Minor Repairs – No job too big or small!

Huge Selection of Parts & Accessories!

Inside ~ Outside ~ Top to Bottom ~ We Do It ALL!

You Can Depend on

• Complete Roof Installation • Bearings Packed • Generator Maintenance • Light Engine Maintenance • Appliance Repairs • Electrical and Plumbing • Body & Paint Work • Insurance & Extended Warranty Claims In Business for 11 years!

EXTENDED HOURS: Mon-Thurs 8 am - 7 pm

Office 636.583.2244 | 3rrv.com

7819 HIGHWAY 47 SOUTH | UNION, MO 63084 44 West – Exit 240 – Go North – 1.5 Miles On Left

10% off

For all Milita Fire and Po ry, Past & pres lice. ent

Outdoor Guide

Page 34

May-June 2018

Jurassic Bluegill Turn Up Twice in One Place

By MIKE ROUX My oldest grandson, Ayden Dietrich, has been fishing with me since he was 5 years old.

He is 13 now and has caught almost every type and size of fish available to him here in the Midwest.

So it came as quite a surprise last month, as were fishing together in a local pond, when he started yelling like

it was Christmas morning. It had been a long time since I heard him get THAT excited over a fish he caught.

“Grandpa!” he shouted.

“It’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen!” I had no idea what he had until I got over there and saw one of the biggest bluegill I had ever seen. It was easily in the top five size-wise that this 61-year old angler has ever laid eyes on. I was truly

Ayden Dietrich with his biggest bluegill ever, caught on the Thumper jig. – Mike Roux photo.

impressed.

A few days later, at the same location, Grandpa Mike caught another monster gill.

Two like this in one season was amazing, much less in the same week. Then, a week later, I caught another Jurassic bluegill in a lake three counties away. What in the world is going on?

The only common factor in these three catches certainly has nothing to do with the size of these fish, but it does deserve a mention. The lure for all three of these amazing fish was the Crappie Thumper jig.

I was introduced to these jigs last year by central Illinois’ top panfish guide, Reagan Smith of Reag’s Guide Service. We used these jigs and we put three limits of nice slab-sided crappie in the boat in under three hours. We then teamed up this summer to hammer big bluegill on them.

These Thumper jigs are the real deal for panfish.

DAVID AND WENDY Thumpers are just one type of lure offered by David and Wendy Maas at crappielures. com. They have been in the lure business for about 30 years and very successful at providing their customers with the undisputed best panfish baits available anywhere.

The unique thing that at-

tracted me to these jigs is that they are individually handmade in the Midwest.

David is a former art teacher who loves to fish. He began to design lures but was having trouble in the manufacturing process. He showed his designs to enough people to find and partner with expert lure makers to produce many of his designs. Now they make and sell over 100,000 jigs a year, and I can tell you the results of these jigs are nothing short of amazing.

David and Wendy established DWAZ Lures and The Crappie Shop, and created an online catalog along with a printed version to serve their customers. The Thumpers come in many variations, and other jigs they sell are hand-tied from chenille and marabou on varying weights and colors of lead jig heads.

Besides the hand-tied jigs, DWAZ Lures also has a huge selection of small plastic “add-ons” for some of their products. There is no way for me to go into any depth on the vast variety of their jig offerings. My best recommendation is to check out crappielures.com and be prepared to do two things – make your first order and get the grease hot.

Mike Roux can be reached at mikeroux.com.

The author was tickled with his Jurassic bluegill, caught on a DWAZ jig.

– Jon Morrissette photo.

Every Saturday Morning 6:00 AM-7:00 AM On Your 590 AM Dial!

Keeping Your

Hunting Buddy Healthy Dr. Doug Pernikoff, DVM • Dr. Pam Von Behrens, DVM

DOGS, CATS AND EXOTICS Full service veterinary clinic with an in-house laboratory Digital X-ray Low cost spay and neuter Exotics are our specialty

Laser therapy for Dogs/Cats • Arthritis treatment • Non-invasive • Pain alleviation • Skin conditions Call for more services and ask about our Vet Pet Rescue program

Clarkson-Wilson Veterinary Clinic

636.530.1808

32 CLARKSON-WILSON CENTER • CHESTERFIELD, MO www.clarksonwilsonvet.com

“Listen Live”

Go To insidestl.com or Download the Phone App

Award winning outdoor radio show with Ray Eye, Vogler Vagler and Matty G. For the best in Celebrity interviews, hunting, fishing, outdoor news

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 35

The Next Big Thing Is 500 Years Old

By DARRELL TAYLOR

Poof! Ching!

“Did you hear that?” my 12-year-old friend asked. “I hit that old rain barrel, must be 50 yards at least.”

His BB had ricocheted off an old barrel that had been the subject of target practice for years.

Since this incident occurred over 60 years ago, I cannot be sure of the gun’s brand name, but I suspect it was a Benjamin that when pumped multiple times, had greater velocity and distance.

It was far superior to the Daisy Red Ryder that I used to rid our chicken house and barn of unwanted sparrows.

Those were the good old

days, when youngsters learned how to shoot with BB guns.

That moniker came about because early air guns fired pellets made for shotgun shells available in three shot sizes – B, BB and BBB. The BB size was the most popular, and the name stuck.

Compressed air guns are much older than most people think, dating back to the 15th century when, because of their cost, only noblemen used them to harvest wild boar and deer. A representative piece is housed in the Livrustkammaren Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

Benjamin, Crosman, Daisy and Sheridan all have rich histories in America, dating back to the late 1800s. Markham Air Rifle Company, established in

One shot from an Air Arms Galahad equals one less iguana to damage fruit crops in Puerto Rico.

– Kevin Jarnigan photo.

1886 in Plymouth, Michigan, made the first financially successful BB gun, eventually taking the name of Daisy. Crosman Rifle Company was founded in 1923 in Rochester, N.Y., when Bertram Fenner produced pellets and an air-driven projectile gun based on William McLean’s design.

GETTING BETTER As the years passed, improvements in technology created a more sophisticated rifle. The names BB gun and pellet rifle slowly gave way to the more appropriate name of air gun. More than 500 years after its invention, the air gun has grown to nearly 100 manufacturers of pistols and rifles worldwide. They are chambered in calibers that range from .177 to BB, 5mm (.22), .45, .30, .308, .35, .356, .357, .40, .454, .457, .50 and 9mm.

From humble beginnings as a basic air-charged firearm, air gun shooting has evolved into a full-fledged sport with competitive matches and hunting at the worldwide level.

For instance, the Civilian Marksmanship Program holds monthly matches in Anniston, Ala., and Camp Perry, Ohio, each touting 80-point ranges and electronic targets. Another match is the Pyramyd Air Cup Shooting Competition, available on YouTube at “pyramid air.”

Gun Talk’s Ryan Gresham and guide Abner Alemanas with iguanas that won’t bother Puerto Rican orchards anymore, thanks to airguns supplied by Pyramyd Air Gun Mall.

– Kevin Jarnigan photo.

International matches are held at the Olympic Games every four years and at the ISSF World Shooting Championships between the Olympics, also on YouTube at “ISSF world cup.”

You can see an example of international hunting when the folks at Gun Talk (www. guntalk.com) try their hand at ridding Puerto Rico of nuisance iguanas. See their adventures on YouTube under “Gun Talk iguanas.”

Missouri joined other states

in 2008 by allowing hunters to use .40 caliber or larger airguns for deer hunting. The Crosman. com/hunting website lists states where airgun hunting is permitted. Always check with your state for exact details.

Airgun technology has taken quantum leaps worldwide, but fortunately the Daisy 1938 Red Ryder, the earliest kid-friendly model, is still available and for less than $50. For the wellheeled enthusiast of air power, Feinwerkbau’s 800X Field Target Air Rifle sells for just

under $3,300.

Advantages of airguns include quieter shooting, the ability to hunt game up to the size of whitetail deer, powderless ammo, low cost per shot, much less recoil to the shoulder and the ability to hunt safely in smaller geographies owing to the shorter distance a pellet travels.

It is hard to speculate where air gun technology will go in the future, but one thing for sure – the next big thing in shooting really is 500 years old.

– Modern – Technical – Professional

GUNSMITH

“We take Grandpa’s gun from attic to heirloom.”

Let us bring it back to life for the Grandchildren!

AGI Certified Master Gunsmith

“Did the deer rifle get put away dirty?”

Now is a great time to bring it to us for a thorough, deep cleaning.

Let your trusty friend spend the next year in clean, oiled comfort.

Store Hours: Tue-Wed-Thu: 10-6, Fri-Sat: 9-4, Closed Sun & Mon

932 Meramec Station Rd., Valley Park, MO 63088 • Hwy 141 & I-44 Behind Ruby Tuesday

636-825-6606 • info@FIRSTGunsmithing.com

Outdoor Guide

Page 36

New Target Stands Give Options for Paper or Streel

Your Guide to

Birchwood Casey is offering four new portable metal target stands that provide great options for shooters using either paper or steel targets.

Universal Gong Nested Stand uses standard lumber for an upright and works in conjunction with the 2-in-1 Gong Target Hanger to mount any metal target. The stand measures 20.5” wide by 20” deep and is 5” high.

Scissor Target Stand has a unique pivoting action to quickly adjust from 24” to 8” wide. It is 20” deep, making it extremely stable.

Swivel Leg Target Stand has two legs that swivel out at a 90° angle to the target holder for twice the stability. The stand measures 21” wide by 4.5” high and the legs are 17” long. It works great with large paper targets.

Adjustable-Width Base Steel Target Stand accepts two standard dimension 1”x2” boards as uprights to attach targets.

The stand has two legs with four stake holes to secure the base. It adjusts in width from 13” to 25” to fit a variety of backboards and targets.

Each of these stands lists for $40; see them online at birchwoodcasey.com.

Bismuth Shotshell Non-Toxic with Great Performance

Hunters now have a high performance, non-toxic alternative with the new Bismuth waterfowl and upland line of shotshells from Kent Cartridge.

Bismuth is a non-toxic alloy that has 24 percent greater density than steel. On windy days you will hit more birds with Bismuth shot because its higher density minimizes wind drift. Bismuth is also soft like lead, for greater knockdown power than steel. It responds to chokes like lead and is safe for use in all guns.

Cartridges are loaded with a high-performance hull assembled with a thicker metal head and a newly designed base-wad that produces more reliable functioning in popular semi-auto shotguns.

Bismuth is available for 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge shotguns, with shells in 12 gauge in 2¾”, 3” and 3½” loads. Loads in 20 gauge are either 2¾” or 3”.

Prices range from $32 to $45 per box. For more information, go online to kentgamebore.com.

Steel Gongs Are Added to Target Offerings

May-June 2018

Birchwood Casey has introduced four new AR500 Steel Gongs to its World of Targets line. Shooters can build their own mounting systems or use products such as the 2-in-1 Gong Target Hanger to design their own ranges.

The gongs are produced using 3/8” thick, AR500 steel and will easily hold up to shots from highpowered centerfire rifles and handguns. They come in 8” and 10” diameter versions and are available with both single and double hole mounting configurations.

The targets are painted black and come with 3” Birchwood Casey Target Spots attached.

AR500 Steel Gongs are made in the U.S. and sell for a retail price of $40 for the 8” models and $53.40 for 10” versions. Go online to birchwoodcasey.com.

Buck Adds New Models to Its Everyday Category

Buck Knives, made in the U.S., is introducing new models in its everyday use category for field or home.

The new, assisted-opening Inertia model has a nylon handle, reduced weight and a more ergonomic fit. Upgraded spring material allows for fast and smooth opening.

Alumni pocket-sized knives are lightweight and affordable, with a stainless steel blade, anodized aluminum handle and black, blue, gray or gold color options. The nail notch makes it easy to open; the lockback design locks it open for safety.

New 363 Rival SS and 366 Rival III have ergonomic nylon handles and are constructed with 420HC steel.

All have blades finished with Edge2x technology that makes them sharper out of the box, hold an edge longer and easier to re-sharpen, backed by Buck’s Forever Warranty.

Inertia lists for $60, Alumni for $30 and Rival from $22 to $37. They can be seen online at bucknives.com or at retailers.

Kent Cartridge Offers New Line of Target Loads

Kent Cartridge introduces a new line of Elite Target loads that provide shooters with great choices regardless of shooting discipline.

Elite Pro Target and Elite Target load offerings use premium components for competition-level consistency, with Diamond Shot technology for unmatched uniformity.

Specific loads are available for trap, skeet and sporting clays.

Where regulations call for steel shot, Elite Steel Target loads use precision steel shot for superior patterns and consistent performance.

The new Elite Low Recoil/Training loads are ideal for new or recoil-sensitive shooters, with lighter payloads and custom powders to soften recoil.

Kent Cartridge products can be seen online at kentgamebore.com.

Growler Lets You Open a Beer While Gutting a Deer

Mossberg Shockwave Wins Golden Bullseye Award

Milwaukee Light Handles Two Jobs In One Package

Hunt Core Body Foam Protects on All-Day Hunts

You didn’t know you needed it, but StatGear is introducing a new outdoor gadget called the Growler that combines a gut hook with a bottle opener for having a cold beer while skinning your deer.

The Growler is made from a solid piece of 440 stainless steel with a molded nylon ring for added comfort. A heavyduty nylon belt sheath is included.

The Growler really allows you to drink a beer while you gut your deer!

Gowler lists for $19.99. See it online at statgeartools.com.

While you’re there, check out their Supervizor XT auto escape tool – something else you didn’t know you needed!

Milwaukee Tools introduces the M18 Radius Compact Site Light with flood mode for users who need two LED lights in one compact package.

With 2,200 lumens of 360° output in area mode and 1,000 lumens at 90°for flood lighting, the light handles either large work areas or smaller task situations for up to 24 hours on a charge.

A 4” self-centering metal hook lets users hang the unit overhead on studs and piping. An AC inlet gives users the option of plugging in the light for extended run time.

The durable, high-impact polycarbonate lens can survive harsh job conditions and is impact- and chemical-resistant. It has Milwaukee’s limited lifetime LED warranty.

The light is powered by Milwaukee Redlithium batteries and is compatible with the M18 cordless system of more than 150 power tool products.

The M18 Radius Compact Site Light can be seen online at milwaukeetool.com or at retailers.

Mossberg’s 590 Shockwave 12-gauge pump-action has won the National Rifle Association Publications Golden Bullseye Award for 2017 shotgun of the year.

The Golden Bullseye Awards for 16 years have acknowledged the finest products available in the shooting sports.

Winners are selected by a seven-member committee of editors, graphic designers and NRA Publications staffers.

Winners must be recently introduced and available to consumers, evaluated by a staff member or magazine contributor; exceed the evaluator’s expectations; and be innovative in design, style and function.

With a 14” barrel, Raptor pistol grip and overall length of 26.37”, the compact, 12-gauge 590 Shockwave is defined as a “Non-NFA Firearm” and requires no tax stamp.

For more information, go online to Mossberg.com.

ElimiShield offers the first FDA-compliant, direct-toskin scent control with its Hunt Core Body Foam, using a nanotechnology that kills 99.99 percent of odor-causing bacteria at the cellular level.

Hunt Core Body Foam is designed for use before going into the field and provides all-day protection from odor-causing bacteria. It is powerful enough to eliminate odor-causing bacteria yet gentle on skin with its alcohol-free formula.

The four Hunt products provide a three-step odor elimination system for hunters. Step 1 is personal hygiene, including Core Body Foam and the Hair & Body Wash. Step 2 is laundering hunting clothes with ElimiShield Laundry Detergent. Step 3 is Scent Elimination Spray for use on base and outer layers and hunting gear that cannot go in the washing machine.

ElimiShield Hunt Core Body Foam is available directly from Hunter Safety Systems in a 7-ounce bottle that lists for $11.99 or a 96-ounce bottle for $129.99. Go online to ElimiShieldHunt.com.

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 37

GREAT GEAR OtterBox Coolers Great for Day Hikes, Fishing Trips

OtterBox’s new series of soft-sided coolers are designed for day hikes and fishing trips. The rugged Trooper 20-quart and Trooper LT30 30-quarter models include premium-grade thermal insulation, mounting systems for accessories, Duraflex hardware with tie-down points, secure one-handed latching systems, bottle openers, hard bases and exterior pockets with water-resistant zippers.

Carrying straps are 2 inches wide and padded. The LT30 shoulder-carry straps can be converted for backpack carrying.

Either model will keep ice for 72 hours, and their coated nylon exteriors will take the hard knocks of outdoor adventures. They’re backed by a lifetime warranty and come in gray, green or camo.

OtterBox Trooper coolers can be seen online at otterbox.com or retailers. Trooper LT30 lists for $299.99 and Trooper 20 is $249.99.

ReelFlex Knives Will Be Packaged in One Tough Case

Outdoor Edge introduced its ReelFlex fillet knives in three sizes last year, and this year the company is packaging all three together with a sharpener in a hard-sided carry case to create the ReelFlex Pak. The ReelFlex Pak includes 6”, 7.5”, and 9.5” ReelFlex professional-grade fillet knives, designed by custom-knife maker Jerry Hossom and using German 4116 stainless steel for excellent edge retention and corrosion resistance, The knives feature ergonomically designed and rubberized handles for a comfortable, non-slip grip even when wet.

The Edge-X sharpener has coarse carbide bits for reshaping and fine ceramic rods for finishing the edge. Its pivoting design provides a stable sharpening platform whether on a boat or dock.

The carrying case adds standard and metric rulers.

The ReelFlex Pak will be available in June, listing for $64.95 at outdooredge.com. The knives are now available there individually.

Slumberjack Roughhouse Keeps Low Profile

Take “roughing it” to a whole new level with Slumberjack’s new Roughhouse tent, combining a four-piece steel and fiberglass pole set for reliable durability with a highly storm-resistant shape to shrug off rain and wind.

Roughhouse is ready to keep campers dry, protected and comfortable. From the off-road campsite hidden in the mountains to a campground in a national park, the Roughhouse is right at home. A “front porch” vestibule converts into a large shade awning for sunny days.

Challenging the traditional architecture of larger tents, the Roughhouse features a stout, low-profile design with steep walls for the ultimate mix of interior space and storm resistance.

The four-person version weighs 13 lbs. and lists for $199.95. The six-person tent weighs 19 lbs. and lists for $259. These and other Slumberjack tents can be seen at slumberjack.com.

Super Brush’s Swab-Its Bore-Tips Adds 9mm Bore-Sticks

Super Brush’s Swab-Its division has introduced 9mm BoreSticks – a three-in-one tool that uses the foam mitt design of Swab-Its Bore-Tips to replace the patch, jag and rod, providing on-the-go cleaning for barrels and rifling.

The engineered internal jag provides complete access. Larger Bore-Sticks, in .22 cal, .40 cal and .45 cal were being introduced in March.

Super Brush for 60 years has been developing cleaning products the high tech, electrical, medical, cosmetic and aerospace markets. Employees were having problems cleaning their firearms, so the company applied its staff to engineer a solution.

The first firearms cleaning products, Swab-Its Bore-Tips – were launched seven years ago at the Las Vegas Shot Show. They save time, are simpler to use than a patch, follow the rifling better, are reusable and easy to clean with soap and water or mineral spirits.

Super Brush went on to develop Gun-tips foam swabs that offer superior firearms detailing, and then Bore-Whips, a pull-through design for guns that are hard to access.

All of Super Brush’s products can be seen online at swabits.com.

St. Croix Inshore Series is Made for Saltwater

St. Croix, from Park Falls, WI, describes its new Legend Tournament Inshore rod series as a blend of the sensitivity, power and durability of Legend rods with components and technology designed for saltwater use.

The blue rods are made of SCIV graphite and use Integrated Poly Curve tooling technology to eliminate transitional points, which fosters smooth action, increased strength and sensitivity.

The rods are equipped with a Fuji TVS blank touch reel seat on spinning rods and a PTS blank-touch reel seat with built-in hoods on casting models.

The Inshore series has seven spinning and three casting models at prices ranging from $280 to $340 and can be seen at stcroixrods.com.

Wheeler Lake Sleeping Bags Have Unique Features

Slumberjack’s new Wheeler Lake synthetic-fill sleeping bags make sure you will have a warm and comfy night in the outdoors, with features including a pillow platform that converts into a hood for colder weather.

The large “Toes Up” footbox provides additional room for feet. Wheeler’s proprietary Perception DST camo is printed on the polyester taffeta lining.

Good for off-road camping, National Park tours or hunting trips, these bags fit campers up to 6’4” and are available in -20 degree, 0 degree and +20 degree versions.

The -20 bag is 5 lbs., 8 oz and lists for $119.95. The 0-degree version is 4 lbs., 8 oz. and lists for $99.95. The +20 bag is 4 lbs. and lists for $89.95. See them at slumberjack.com.

Gun Tote’n Mamas Offers the Rolling Range Bag

Gun Tote’n Mamas, creator of the leading concealed-carry handbags and accessories, now offers the Organized Rolling Range Bag – a better way to find your range gear.

The bag uses a modular, removable system that can be converted easily from range to plane and travel. Just lift the system out, still fully organized, and keep it secured at home or properly checked through airline requirements.

The bag then becomes an approved carry-on with a retractable handle that extends to 6 feet. The modular section has two zippered gun rugs, plus adjustable and removable dividers.

It is available in Distressed Buffalo Leather, Paisley Microfiber and Black or Burgundy Quilted Microfiber.

The Rolling Range Bag is available for $155.95 at guntotenmamas.com and at many sporting goods stores.

Strike King Offers Two New Designs

Strike King says its new Tour Grade Mag Jighead is the answer for all magnum shaky head needs.

After being tested over two years, it was determined to be legit.

Available in two hook configurations – 5/0 or 7/0 – the Tour Grade Mag Jighead comes in five sizes – 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 5/8 and 3/4 oz.

Its TwistLock screw-on keeper will hold the Bull Worm safe and secure.

The Tour Grade Belly Blade is a new way to present a soft bait to pressured bass. The design of the belly-weighted hook, paired with the exclusive Raz-R-Blade, makes this a great rigging option for clear water or heavy cover. Swimbaits, stickbaits, creatures and more can be rigged weedless and fished efficiently on the Belly Blade, offered in 1/8, 1/4 and 3/8 oz. sizes.

For more information, go online to strikeking.com.

Cordless Inflator Will Do It in a Minute

Milwaukee Tool’s new M12 Compact Inflator is the fastest cordless inflator in the industry, with the ability to top off a car tire accurately in under a minute and the portability to go anywhere.

The inflator can also handle light truck tires (65-80 PSI) to compact equipment (10-80 PSI). Rated to deliver over 120 PSI and built with a high-efficiency motor and pump, the inflator delivers up to five times the speed of fill on car and light truck tires and can fill a light truck tire from flat to full on a single battery.

Its auto shut-off technology delivers highly accurate pressure and protects from overfill. A back-lit LCD screen illuminates the digital gauge so users can more easily check the reading.

The inflator weighs just over 3 lbs and has an integrated handle and reinforced cage for protection from impact.

The M12 Compact Inflator can be seen at milwaukeetool. com and sells for $69 to $79 at various retailers.

Outdoor Guide

Page 38

May-June 2018

Tips, Tricks and Thoughts for the Great Outdoors

Vest Brings Its Own Seat

By LARRY WHITELEY

I have been hunting turkeys very comfortably this spring in Tenzing’s new TZ TR18 Turkey Recliner vest and I love it. The internal aluminum frame has spring-loaded legs that convert it into a self-supported, chair and it has a wonderfully thick foam seat.

It only weighs a little over 5 pounds and has a multitude of pockets for everything I take with me out to the turkey woods. They detach and I lay them across my lap so that with very little movement, I am able to get to everything I need and don’t worry about spooking that ole’ gobbler when he comes in to meet his fate.

I like this vest so much that I started thinking about what else I could use it for besides turkey hunting. When I am not deer hunting from a treestand or blind, I like to stalk silently through the woods and sit on the ground, waiting for a deer to come by, so I plan on using my Tenzing Turkey/Deer Recliner for that, too. I also still enjoy squirrel hunting, so my Tenzing Turkey/Deer/Squirrel Recliner will work great for

harvesting a few bushy tails.

My granddaughter is an outdoor photographer as well as a hunter, so I am thinking she would find the Tenzing Turkey/Deer/Squirrel/ Photography Recliner handy for holding all her photography equipment as well as being able to sit comfortably and quietly waiting to take a great wildlife photo.

My wife and I like to go hiking, so I think I will get her a vest, too. With all the pockets on our Tenzing Turkey/Deer/ Squirrel/Photography/Hiking Recliners, we can take along everything we need for a day on the trail. Then when we want to sit down and rest, we’ll just pop out the legs and enjoy the view.

There is probably something else I haven’t thought of yet that I could use my Tenzing Turkey/Deer/Squirrel/Photography/Hiking Recliner for, but I think you will agree that it is much more than a turkey vest. Go online to tenzingoutdoors.com.

CAMPING TIP Use those soft, colorful, snap-together squares often

used in a kid’s playroom or a yoga/exercise mat underneath your tent floor. Both are affordable, don’t take up a lot of room and make the floor of your tent much more comfortable for walking and sleeping.

KIDS AND THE OUTDOORS A great way to improve communication with kids is involvement in outdoor traditions like fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, and a multitude of other outdoor

activities from bird watching to mushroom hunting.

Outdoor activities take you away from the distractions of everyday life and put you in touch with kids and nature.

There are no TVs to interfere in the great outdoors and no smart phones if you turn them off. This quiet time creates the perfect environment for listening and talking.

IN THE NEWS A fisherman in the Ukraine electrocuted himself while

Two of Kris Nelson’s happy customers.

LARRY L. WHITELEY is the host of the internationally syndicated Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Radio and nationally syndicated Outdoor World newspaper and magazine tips.

fishing in a river that flowed by his home. The 43-year-old man connected cables to the main power supply of his home and trailed the end into the river. The electric shock killed the fish, which floated belly-up to the top of the water. The man waded in to collect his catch, neglecting to remove the live wire, and tragically suffered the same fate as the fish.

FISH FACT You can’t really call it shut-eye, but fish do sleep.

After dozing off, many fish assume sleeping postures and positions, but since they have no eyelids, their eyes remain open.

AN EXCELLENT FISHING GUIDE If you want to fish Stockton Lake, Pomme de Terre Lake or even Lake Taneycomo in southwest Missouri, I would not hesitate in recommending Kris Nelson, owner of Tandem Fly Outfitters.

I have fished both Taneycomo and Pomme with this young man and to be honest

with you, I have been with guides all over the U.S. and Canada but I have never had a better fishing guide. He is knowledgeable and wise far beyond his age. You will catch fish and you will catch a lot of them.

If you need a place to stay while fishing, Kris and his wife Amanda along with their new daughter Lilly also own Stone Creek Lodge on Stockton. The best way to book a trip is by going to their Facebook page at Tandem Fly Outfitters or by calling the lodge at (417) 276-1700.

A FISHING QUOTE “A fish, which you can’t see, deep down in the water, is a kind of symbol of peace on earth, good will to yourself.

Fishing gives a man ... some time to collect his thoughts and rearrange them kind of neatly, in an orderly fashion.

Once the bait is on the hook and the boat is anchored, there’s nothing to interfere with thinking except an occasional bite.”

– Robert Ruark

Scenic Rivers Guide Service & Tours

We can’t wait to make your vacation dreams a reality!

Current and Jacks Fork rivers in Missouri • Cabins, Motels and Group Lodging • Tent or RV Camping • Canoes, Kayaks, Rafts or Innertubes • Scenic Trailrides and Hayrides • BBQ Dinners, Buffet, Breakfasts & Hunt Brothers Pizza and Hot Wings

38 YEARS IN BUSINESS! 1-800-367-4516

www.huzzahvalley.com

Book Your Trip Today!

(573) 225-3390 Authorized Fishing Guide, Boat and Eco-Tour provider on Ozark National Scenic Riverways Visit us at ScenicRiversGuideService.com

@scenicriversguideservice

Boat, Fishing and Eco Tours

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 39

Plan Ahead for Timber Harvest

Photo and Text

By CRAIG ALDERMAN

When you get serious about timber stand improvement for wildlife or timber sales, there are a few things to consider up front.

First, don’t stumble into it.

Get a professional forester’s advice based on your goals, and he can help with a written contract. “If it is not in writing it does not exist.” Many states provide this service free. Does the preparation work, and what is that?

Have a professional contract, not a handshake or assumed conditions or results.

Find a logger with a forestry degree and good liability insurance who can pull a named insured policy for your property and do check references.

Visit the sites.

While in college, I was to write a contract for the state to clear timber from a new ski area being built. Loggers came to the college and gave great presentations and spoke of their great techniques and care.

Being a bit “uneducated” at that time I decided to visit some of their logged-over sites to get a better feel for the conditions to go on paper.

Needless to say, what I saw, growing up farming and cutting timber until I went to college, was what can only be

described as a complete mess.

Tops and limbs everywhere, ruts four to five feet deep in the access roads, cull logs left on the roads, designated safe trees scarred and damaged, and of course trash of oil cans and parts including pieces of broken chain. The staging area, where the logs are dragged to grade and load, looked like a twister sat down for lunch.

NO ALLOWANCE? My father would have taken away my allowance, my car and probably hunting privileges and told me to get back on it until it was cleaned up. So the design of the contract I was to write changed, and so should yours. It is no different today either. A local logger here recently made a mess, walking way after the cut with no responsibility to do anything else for his customer, who is left with potential lawsuits. The value of the land plummets, it looks horrible and neighbors are ready for war.

Indicate in writing how you want slash (limbs and branches) and tops piled and where, agree on road locations and the dressing (leveling and seeding) of the roads “after” they leave with no logs or large rocks in them.

In our contract, they had to be left so that a four-wheel

Don’t leave your land looking cluttered after the cut.

drive truck could drive them.

No trash or debris period.

These all have agreed penalties if they are not met. Ask for daily work reports, how much timber was brought to the staging area, graded and loaded.

WHAT TO ASK Ask how much was left, and where were the cull logs piled. You can sell these later locally for firewood.

Obviously, you want prices on paper and the rule used to calculate the timber removed.

You must be active and inspect the property as work starts, progresses and finishes.

We had the mill reports and checks from the mill buying the logs cut to the college/ state for the harvests, then we compared reports and paid the logger. Otherwise, there was no true way of keeping everyone honest.

Your responsibility is high, too. The land must be clearly marked, boundaries easily defined and walked with the logger. Don’t let him charge

around looking for trees with the TimberJack and plow through fences like they did on my land.

Make sure you are very sure where land boundaries are.

Existing fences, fence lines and county markers overrule surveys in some states like Missouri and, by the way, cannot be removed. Don’t let them drop trees or push cull trees onto your neighbors.

That can mean treble damages. All safe trees, seed trees, and boundary trees should be

clearly and well marked along with any potential road locations. If it changes, meet and agree where to go.

Harvesting timber can be financially very beneficial while at the same time great for wildlife. If done right, the results will be fast; wildlife respond quickly because young new growth starts immediately. You will see native grasses spring up that have been dormant for decades. It can be a win-win for all. Just get it all in writing.

• Firearms • accessories

Best Family Owned and Operated Gun Shop In Town!

SPACIOUS LODGING IN THE HEART OF THE OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS • Motel Rooms & Suites • Small Cabins (sleeps up to 4) • Large Cabins (sleeps up to 10) • Story’s Creek Manor 3-BR ranch (sleeps up to 12) • Heating and A/C

• Satellite TV • Open Year Round • Full RV Hook-ups • Laundromat • Playground Equipment • Elk Capital of Missouri • Canoe Capital of the World

Reservations

FFL Transfers for $20

Magtech

Target 45 ACP

1799

$

90 Day Layaway

50 Ct. Box

573-226-3893

BUY, SELL, & TRADE Over 200 Different Firearms in Stock • New & Used

shadylanecabins.com

9422 Gravois • St Louis, MO 63123 • 314.833.6695 triplethreatarmory.com • Email: sales@triplethreatarmmory.com

P.O. Box 94 • Eminence, MO 65466

Page 40

Outdoor Guide

DIRECTORY Outdoor

MARINE SERVICE

EVERYTHING OUTDOORS

DORI MARINE SERVICE 801 N. State • Freeburg, IL 62243

May-June 2018

FISHING JIGS

303 WARD AVE. CARUTHERSVILLE, MO 63830

618-539-9881

On the way to Reelfoot Lake (only 35 miles away from the hottest bream fishin' in the mid-south).

For A Free Catalog Call

1-800-305-9866

or visit us at our Web site: www.grizzlyjig.com

FIREARMS

Benjamin

Air Rifles and Pistols Rebuilding and Repairs We can restore your old friend to top notch condition. Nearly every lever link design.

CAMPING & FISHING

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

Factory authorized Crosman repair station

Call us at:

Advertise Your Business

75

618-458-6244

…You’ll be glad you did! www.CanyonFerryGunworks.com

HELP WANTED

for as $ little as Family Camping and Floating in the heart of the Missouri Ozarks!

• Canoe/Raft/Kayak Rentals • Camp Store/Bait Shop • Tent and RV Camping (20/30/50 AMP) • On-Site RV Rentals • Laundry • Lighted Boat Ramp • Camp Grills/Picnic Tables • and much more!

NEW IN MAY! CABIN RENTALS 18700 Cliff Road, Dixon, Missouri 65459

573-759-7294 • www.bscfloattrips.com Like us on FB and receive $25 off your next rental!* *1 discount per purchase

In The Outdoor Directory 10,000 + Magazines Distributed 6 Times A Year At Over 80 Locations In The Region

Call Dan (314) 256-4136 dbraun@outdoor-guide.com

Established RV Service Center

Looking for RV Technician

Ideal candidate will have certificates in the RV, automotive and/or construction trades. Advanced diagnostic and repair skills for RV coach/trailer systems is desired.

Should be self motivated, with strong attention to detail.

We offer a competitive compensation package, salary is based on experience. Consideration will be given to all applicants with the right work experience.

Contact Chris at 636-583-2244 to schedule an interview.

Inside ~ Outside ~ Top to Bottom ~ We Do It ALL!

You Can Depend on

In Business for 11 years!

EXTENDED HOURS: Mon-Thurs 8 am - 7 pm

Office 636.583.2244 | 3rrv.com 7819 HIGHWAY 47 SOUTH | UNION, MO 63084 44 West – Exit 240 – Go North – 1.5 Miles On Left

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

HUNTING CLUB

DIRECTORY Outdoor CUSTOM BOAT COVERS

PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENT

$ New first year members can join for only $25

50 OFF

Any Boat Cover. Just To learn more about the Gateway Area Chapter, visit: www.GatewaySCI.org

Page 41

ORGANIZATION

Join the only upland wildlife habitat organization whose members “turn-the-dirt”TM, with the most local money of any organization.

Mention this ad

Quality Custom Fit Boat Covers With Fast Courteous Service Travel Covers Cockpit Covers Deck & Pontoon Covers

Truck Tonneau Covers Cover Repairs Flag Poles

Serving o custome ur rs fo 38 Years r !

12219 Tesson Ferry Rd. • St. Louis, MO 63128 314-842-1007 800-769-2140 www.patscustomcovers.com

RADIO SHOW

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

“Outdoors with Larry Reid”

Advertise Your Business for as $ little as

75

In The Outdoor Directory

Sundays at noon (Alton, Illinois)

Call Dan (314) 256-4136 dbraun@outdoor-guide.com

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS

Advertise In The Outdoor Directory

75

This Year Enjoy...

• Full Service Resorts • World class guided fishing • Nature at it’s finest

10,000 + Magazines Distributed 6 Times A Year At Over 80 Locations In The Region

WBGZ Radio 1570 AM 94.3 FM & altondailynews.com for Live Streaming

for as $ little as

FISHING

10,000 + Magazines Distributed 6 Times A Year At Over 80 Locations In The Region

Call Dan at (314) 256-4136 • dbraun@outdoor-guide.com

Call or visit our website for more information

lakeofthewoodsmn.com 800-382-FISH (3474) MARINE SERVICE

NANS BRAMN ARINE JOE BRANNAN (636) 305-0405

Email:brannansmarine@aol.com

64 Gravois Road Fenton, MO 63026

www.brannansmarine.com

Page 42

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Outdoor Gallery Winner for May/June edition is Cameron Lally.

Congratulations from OGM and Strike King!

Email your photo to ogmbobw@aol.com

and enter to win a $100 prize package from Strike King Lure Company HELPING DAD – Dan Hollaway of St. Charles County needed some trapping help at their home near the Mississippi River, so who was there to help? His kids, Lucas and Blake, who took this coyote and muskrat with their dad.

POND SUCCESS – Art Engelage of Smithton, IL, reported catching this six-pound bass on a nearby farm pond.

A WILD PAIR – Ray Eye (at right) and Joel Shipman of Greentop, MO, took this pair of wild turkey gobblers during Missouri’s fall turkey season. They are seen on a bluff overlooking the Big Piney River near Licking, MO.

May-June 2018

Outdoor Guide

Page 43

GOOD AND HOT – Fishing guide Dennis Whiteside of Springfield, MO, says it can be hot, dry and miserable outside – unless you are float fishing. This client from Kansas was tough enough to land a smallmouth in the Ozarks on a hot day.

PLAYIN’ BASS – Chris D’Aquilo of Hillsboro, MO, reports catching these two monster bass in Lake of the Ozarks.

One was 51/2 pounds and the other was 6 pounds. He used a buzzbait and a spinnerbait.

FIRST PRIZE – Cameron Lally, 10, killed his first turkey during youth season in Osage County. His prize weighed 17 pounds, had a 3-inch beard and quarter-inch spurs. He was hunting with Steve Grellner.

GOOD ENOUGH – Dennis Whiteside reports that It was a good week to close out October – fall colors at their prime, hot dogs on a gravel bar and a client from Kansas City going home with a nice mess of Kentucky fillets and a big smile. About as good as it gets.

STUFF ‘EM – The two old taxidermists, Frank Wagner (at right) and Jim Whinnery, from Schwarz Studio in St. Louis, went to southern Missouri this past season to do some snow goose hunting.

Color 535 “Black Back Chartruese”

Outdoor Guide

Page 44

Kayaking

Relax the Grip on Your Paddle

Graphic and Text

By TOM WATSON

Even for kayakers who only paddle to maneuver or for covering short distances, proper hand placement on the shaft is important. Not only can you transfer power more effectively, you can do so with less strain and wear on your hands.

A paddler’s grip needs to control the shaft and blade and provide power when and as needed. Having your hands in the right place and position can make a big difference in overall performance and comfort. I can’t harp on this enough – all techniques for paddling are based on the presumption that the paddler has good form, including proper torso rotation.

Placement and hand movement on the shaft affects how stressed your grip can become after hours or intensity of paddling. The key is your hand around the shaft on the non-power stroke side of your paddling sequence. This is the hand used to push the paddle through the water while the power stroke side pulls the blade.

THE PUSH While the pull is a full finger-

A – Relaxed grip on the return/push stroke guides the paddle with either a full finger wrap or just the closure of the thumb and index finger. B – Force from the arm pushes the paddle forward to set up for the alternate power/pull stroke.

wrapped grip around the shaft, the push often involves a more open grip in which a few fingers are left unclenched around the shaft and the power is sent out through the base of the index finger/thumb joint. It’s very similar to how the handle of a bow seats itself into the archer’s hand.

Using this open finger method, the resulting grip position alternates between open and close (push and pull) as you rotate your double-bladed paddle from side to side. As long as the push-hand is securely seated at your thumb-index “crotch,” you can relax a finger or two

– or even three – throughout your paddling, especially on a long traverse. Basically, the more strenuous the maneuver, the more need for a secure and complete grip.

Another factor in utilizing this open-finger hand grip is the angle of your paddling stroke.

The excessively high angle many novices use is best left to a full grip. Lowering the angle of your stroke gives the paddler a better angle to both grip and relax at the same time.

Proper hand positioning can often lessen the fatigue caused by one’s overall poor paddling style.

May-June 2018

Second Illinois Bobcat Season Totals 318 Kills

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reports that 318 bobcats were killed during its second hunting and trapping season, which ran from Nov. 10 last year to Feb. 15.

The department had issued 1,000 permits to hunters and trappers. Permit holders also salvaged 40 road-kill bobcats during the season.

In 2016-17, the first year of legal bobcat hunting, the department gave out 500 permits, resulting in 141 bobcats being killed.

State law prohibits taking bobcats in 33 counties and portions of three other counties.

The following counties are prohibited from the bobcat hunt – Boone, Bureau, Champaign, Cook, DeKalb, DeWitt, DuPage, Ford, Grundy, Henry, Iroquois, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Logan, Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Ogle, Peoria, Piatt, Putnam, Stark, Stephenson, Vermilion, Will, Winnebago and Woodford, plus areas north of U.S. Route 36 in Edgar and Douglas counties and north of U.S. Route 36 to the junction with Illinois Route 121 and north or east of Illinois Route 121 in Macon County. That leaves

about all of southern Illinois and much of central Illinois open for hunting.

TWICE AS BIG AS HOUSE CATS Bobcats are about twice the size of a common house cat. They stand 20 to 23 inches high at the shoulder and are 30 to 35 inches in length. Weight varies from 10 to 40 pounds.

Females average about a third smaller than males.

They get their name from a short, bobbed tail that is about 5 to 6 1/2 inches in length.

Small tufts of hair extend from the tips of their ears, making them look pointed. A ruff of long fur that extends along the cheekbones gives their faces a full, rounded appearance.

The upper body is yellowish-gray to light brown with a sprinkling of black. Their summer coats can have a reddish tinge, as indicated by their species name, rufus, which is Latin for red. The belly and inner legs are whit-

ish or yellowish with black spots.

Historically, bobcats have been seen throughout Illinois but were most common in forested areas. Habitat changes and unregulated harvest caused their numbers to decline dramatically by the late 1800s. In 1977, bobcats were placed on Illinois’ first official list of threatened species, but they responded well to protection and habitat restoration.

IN ALL BUT THREE COUNTIES A 1990s study by the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory at Southern Illinois University Carbondale confirmed reports of bobcats in all but three counties. At that time, bobcats were common in southern Illinois and expanding northward. They were removed from the state list of threatened species in 1999.

Illinois’ bobcat population continues to grow. Statewide, the number of bobcats sighted by archery deer hunters increased more than ten-fold from 1992 to 2012. In the southern third of the state, the number of bobcats increased from 2,200 in 2000 to 3,200 by 2009. The state now has an estimated 5,000 bobcats.

Your Reloading Headquarters!

RELOADING TOOLS • BULLETS • BRASS • POWDER • PRIMERS

Most Powders in Stock NOW!

BUY • SELL • TRADE 636-946-7468 923 S. 5th Street • St. Charles, MO

Store Hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon., Wed., Fri., and Sat. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tues.& Thurs.

GrafsReloading.com

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 45

A Stingray Battle on the Florida Gulf Photos and Text

By BOB HOLZHEI

I had fished the Gulf of Mexico for the first time years ago as one of a dozen outdoor writers selected from the United States. The group was chosen from the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers and included a writer from Outdoor Life Magazine in New York.

The opportunity to fish the ocean out of Port Sanibel, FL, surfaced. Fellow outdoor writer Dave Barus, his wife Rose and my wife Shirley would join the all-day charter fishing trip. The trip was canceled twice because of high seas; this day the seas crested at two feet but eventually rose to five-foot levels, which resulted in pulling lines and fishing the shelter between two islands closer to shore.

The 36-foot Contender had three 250-horsepower Yamaha outboards, and the captain was Ryan Kane of Southern Instinct Fishing Charters.

The targeted species for the all-day charter included king mackerel, barracuda and king fish, according to Kane.

FROZEN IN TIME The trip began with a slow troll out of Port Sanibel Marina. Suddenly, the speed increased as the three outboards roared to full throttle. The scent of the ocean salt water, the memory of cresting-over waves and the spray from the wake behind the boat were frozen in time. As we arrived at the fishing grounds, the lines were let out 90 feet behind the boat.

“I use 15-pound to 60and 80-pound test line that is spooled on the Shimano reels, and Dan James Custom rods were chosen because of their ability to hold up under the challenge of ocean fish,” Kane said.

“The James Custom rods do exactly what they’re intended to do. Other rods broke under the pressure.

The Shimano reels are ergonomically correct, and anglers have an easier time with the

Dave Barus (left) and the author show the big stingray they caught.

Shimano reels; they’re a step above other reels,” he added.

The way the reel is made, the size of the handle and the ease of using it make them worth the cost.

Kane field-tests the prototype rods before they go into production.

As we boated toward the safety of islands, dolphins surfaced, following the boat.

Time stopped, and I also became airborne, but unlike the dolphin, I would not reenter the ocean, but rather take flight on the never-ending memory of an incredible experience. Ocean trout were caught and have a slot limit between 15 and 20 inches under Florida fishing regulations. In addition, Shirley caught a bonnet-head shark.

STINGRAY BATTLE “Fish on!”

I grabbed the rod, and this was a bigger fish as line screamed from the Shimano reel. I tightened the drag on the reel, but the fish was too green yet in its attempt to free itself from the hook. My arms and shoulders tired, and I asked Dave Barus to take over. Barus moved from side

A dolphin follows behind the Yamaha outboards.

to side of the boat as the fight continued.

It was a stingray, 40-45 pounds, stretched over three feet in width. When it first surfaced, I got my first look at it dove deep again in an attempt to free itself. It surfaced a number of times, going under the boat in an attempt to get loose.

Barus put his finger on the line in order to keep the reel from burning up. The battle lasted over 45 minutes before a gaff hook was used to bring the sting ray aboard, where the venomous stinger was cut off and placed in an empty water bottle so bleach could be added until the stinger turned white and the venom was gone. Another stinger would grow on the ray.

“Get over here Bob, and get in the picture,” Barus said.

Following the photos, the stingray was released and swam back into its natural habitat.

Southern Instinct Charters offers a world-class fishing adventure in the waters of Fort Myers and Sanibel Island. Tarpon, silver kings, red fish, monster snook, wahoo, tuna, red snapper, cobia and sharks all are species Kane targets. In-shore and offshore fishing adventures are offered in addition to shelling and sightseeing trips.

The memory of the daylong fishing charter will live on, and I decided to experience fishing the Gulf of Mexico again to escape the frigid Michigan winter for a warmer climate. Fishing the Gulf was the fishing adventure of a lifetime, and I would return again and again.

Southern Instinct Charters can be reached at southerninstinct.com or (239) 896-2341. Fort Meyers Area information is available at fort-myers-sanibel.com or (800) 237-6444.

...

iiI !�..11=::I , � ll!l i

..,...,.., ti�-, '

.

1,, •

J ---- -

•

I

,.Q ..

1 '

\i ,

,....,.....

ri;\ ��\iJ,

---

,_,, ;\! __,_

• Own and operate our own mill

• Bar Accessories

• Stock over 220 hardwood moulding profiles

• S4S Lumber

• Will match any custom profiles

• Hardwood Plywood

• Specialize in custom orders • Produce custom radius mouldings • Distributor of Woodharbor Interior Doors® • Architectural Mouldings • Wood corbels & shelf brackets • Ultra Flex Mouldings • Columns

• Domestic & Exotic Lumber • Specialty Plywoods • Hardwood Veneers • Hardwood Flooring & Accessories • Decorative Corbels & Appliques • Sawstop Table Saws • Amana Router Bits • Jet Woodworking Equipment • KregTools

3909 Mid Rivers Mall Drive St. Peters, MO 63376 636-926-2000

Outdoor Guide

Page 46

May-June 2018

Asian Carp Fight Is Showing Results

By CARL GREEN The Outdoor Guide

There may be hope yet that the invasive and unwanted Asian carp can be pushed back or removed from Midwestern streams.

Illinois conservation officials reported removing 93 percent of the Asian carp in the Dresden Pool of the Des Plaines River near Joliet, significantly reducing the threat of a carp take-over of the Great Lakes.

And in St. Louis County, an experimental removal project that ended in March took an estimated 47,000 Asian carp out of Creve Coeur Park Lake, about 85 percent of the invaders there.

The Illinois success was evident in a late-March fishing excursion with four boats carrying state employees, elected officials, journalists and commercial fishermen in the Dresden Pool, some 50 miles from Lake Michigan.

Between them, all they got were three carp, reported Wally Haas of the Rockford Register-Star.

Kevin Irons, manager of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) aquatic

nuisance species program, said that 10 years ago, the same expedition would have netted more than 1,000 of the fish, which can grow up to 50 pounds each.

The difference is a partnership between contracted fishermen and the state, which since 2012 has removed more than 6.3 million pounds of Asian carp from the upper Illinois, resulting in a 93 percent reduction of Asian carp in the Dresden Pool.

A PROBLEM FOR 25 YEARS For about 25 years, Asian carp have been seen in the Illinois River, causing great concern that they might find their way into Lake Michigan and devastate the $7 billion Great Lake fishing industry.

The prolific breeders consume about 40 percent of their body weight in plankton in a day So far, it hasn’t happened.

“We’re at the leading edge,” Irons said. “We do not find fish upstream of here. Our job is to keep them from advancing, and I think we’re actually turning the dial back, reducing the number of fish here and their ability to move upstream.”

The Dresden Pool is near

Workers remove Asian carp from Creve Coeur Lake during the big roundup.

– Missouri Department of Conservation photo

the spot where the Des Plaines and Kankakee rivers meet to form the headwaters of the Illinois River.

Also, no more Asian carp were found in two weeks of electro-fishing and netting across the nearby Calumet River and Little Calumet River, further up the channel toward Lake Michigan.

THE MYSTERY CARP Last June, a single Asian carp was found there, within nine miles of the lake, raising concerns, although officials now think it may have just been thrown in.

“We’re pretty confident that was the only one. It’s unknown how it got there,” said Rebekah Anderson, a DNR biologist.

The city of Chicago, meanwhile, has joined a new initiative called the Great Lakes Basin Partnership to Block Asian Carp, along with Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin and Ontario.

The city is also supporting an Army Corps of Engineers proposal to use $275 million to upgrade defenses keeping the carp out of the Great Lakes, including electric fish barriers, water jets and noisemakers, although the plan could also disrupt the barge and shipping industry. The state wants to keep the Illinois River open for barge travel.

CREVE COEUR LAKE SUCCESS The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) joined with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and St. Louis County Parks on the innovative carp removal project at Creve Coeur Lake. It took two years to plan and three weeks to carry out.

The carp arrived in the lake during Mississippi River flooding before 2009 and

The Creve Coeur Lake removal took most of the carp out of the lake by herding them into a small section. – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo.

quickly multiplied, competing with native species and curtailing sport fish including crappie. They were noted for leaping out of the water and striking lake users in their boats.

Previous attempts to reduce their numbers failed, so this year’s project used a new technique.

“We tried a new experimental method from Asia, called the Unified Method, to push all the Asian carp to one end of the lake, where we able to harvest almost 50,000 of them,” MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Kevin Meneau said.

It’s a process of systematically driving and herding fish with boats utilizing electrical and acoustic stimulation. The technique was still experimental, but biologists had high hopes it would work.

“One of the things that get Asian carp really fired up is the sound of outboard motors. We were able to isolate that sound and broadcast it underwater,” Meneau said. “We could project that sound, and the Asian carp would leave that area,

then we could quickly block off those areas they left with giant nets.”

FISH HERDING The team spent an intense three weeks clearing and blocking the lake, section by section, as they gradually herded the fish to a final collection point. They had to overcome challenges including cold wind and weather, ice sheets forming on the lake, and frozen nets. Meneau said winter was the best time because the fish were less active and easier to contain.

Native fish do not respond to the acoustic stimuli in the same way, so the process proved successful in moving only the target fish. Native fish that were caught in the nets were returned to the water.

“We excluded Asian carp from about 95 percent of the lake and pushed them to an area where we could set up for harvest at the north part of the lake near Sailboat Cove,” Meneau said.

Biologists then used seining nets to remove the fish from the water. A few escaped

when a net hit obstructions on the lake bottom, but altogether, biologists took out around 47,000, or about 119 tons, of the unwanted, invasive fish from the lake. They believe 85 percent of the Asian carp population was eradicated.

MORE CRAPPIE, LESS CARP They won’t be back either, the department says, because Asian carp require flowing water, such as that found in the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, for their eggs to be viable.

Those conditions do not now exist in Creve Coeur Lake.

“I think our harvest efforts showed that,” Meneau said. “We caught no young fish – they were all adults.”

As a result, crappie numbers are expected to increase over the next two years.

“All the partners pulled together resources and expertise from all over the Midwest to achieve this goal,” Meneau said. “We’re going to spread the word to other conservation entities throughout the country that maybe this will work for them.”

Rural Ramblings

Summer, the Time of Abundance

By RUSSELL HIVELY

Early summer is a time of rich greenness in Missouri. It is a time when pastures grow so high, they are belly high on cattle grazing in them. It is a time when the trees and bushes are fully leafed out and crops are popping up from the soil.

It is a time of an abundance of flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. It is a time when green is nature’s favorite color. *** May apples are an unusual plant in the woods of Missouri. The leaves are large and abundant, covering the ground in a special way. The large leaves stand on stems that are about a foot tall and dominate the forest floor where they are usually found. ***

Spring brings forth an array of legends. How many people realize that “earth spirits” in the forms of sprites and fairies emerge on May 1 to bring the land safely into summer? *** Perhaps those who believe in earth spirits really have heard spring peepers chirping the arrival of warm weather each spring. Old-timers says that spring peepers have to be cooled into silence by frost five times before spring can really arrive. *** May is considered by many as “strawberry time.” Strawberry production usually peaks about the time when schools are let out for the summer. At one time, the Ozarks section of Missouri had such huge crops of strawberries that special

railroad cars were rolled into small Ozark towns to process the fresh strawberries into jams and jellies. *** Although wild strawberries are beautiful, red and attractive, they offer little taste to those who can’t help but taste the succulent looking fruit. *** Conservation of animals can work. Now most of Missouri has both deer and turkey seasons. In 1938, there were only an estimated 2,500 turkeys and 1,800 deer in the entire state. *** The head of one of Missouri’s wildlife areas said, “We can’t control where the birds go, but we can control having a place for them to go.” How true that is.

*** Trees are an important part of Missouri’s economy. An estimated 47,000 workers make up Missouri’s lumber industry. *** Although children today play games on their electronic devices, have games of marbles, so popular in the early summer, become only memories in old people’s heads? *** Gardening has not lost its popularity, though. More and more people are digging in the soil and putting in some garden plants, even if their plot is only a large, soil-filled pot and one tomato plant. *** Volunteers count wild birds at Christmas time each year.

Volunteers for Missouri’s turkey count might be more involved as they record sightings of turkeys in June, July and August for the Department of Conservation. They are especially looking for the size and number of poults. *** Decoration Day or Memorial Day each year seems to mark the beginning of summer picnics. In the past, the Decoration Day picnics always included deviled eggs for the bad spirits and angel food cake for the good ones. *** Sometimes the sights of early summer can be quite beautiful. Have you ever noticed the snowfall of dogwood petals covering the ground below a nearly leaf-covered dogwood tree?

*** Many people claim that the day they see the first firefly (lightning bug) hovering over the lawn in the evening marks the beginning of summer. Others claim trumpet vines beginning to bloom is the summer indicator. *** May and June are calving time for white-tailed deer.

Seeing a little spotted fawn is a special treat to anyone who enjoys the outdoors. *** Early summer is a time of open windows, lilac blooms and bees humming in garden flowers. It is a time of Little League baseball games and small children making dandelion necklaces. Early summer is a special time for all rural ramblings.

Outdoor Guide

May-June 2018

Page 47

Tackle Tech Never Stops Changing

By BILL SEIBEL

Right on time, just a couple of days after Christmas, the new Bass Pro Shops Master Catalog for 2018 arrived in the mail. And, as usual, that required a quick perusal to see what new “secret weapons” an old fisherman, especially one who enjoys chasing bass, might have to add to an already overloaded tackle box.

The first thing that grabbed these old eyes was something not quite brand new – the Lucky Craft Screw Pointer.

This lure, at first glance, has the appearance of any number of topwater lures on the market: slender body, pointed on both ends and fitted with a little double-bladed propeller fore-and-aft.

The Screw Pointer is described as “… action similar to the Spy Bait technique made popular by the Japanese.” The description went on to discuss the “slow sink, whirly props and a leisurely roll...”

That tweaked my memory of skimming a Matt Straw article in the In Fisherman 2017 Bass Guide entitled a “The Spy (Bait) That Came In from the Cold.” My impression last spring, when I read that piece, was that the old saying “There are no new ideas, just improvements on old ones” was proven again.

I can remember my late KMOX Radio Outdoor Show partner Tony Allbright, enshrined in the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Guide, talking about this technique back in the early 1960s. Back then, lures configured this way were few – basically Smithwick’s

D e v i l ’s Horse and H e d d o n ’s Dying Flutt e r. B o t h were floating topwaters and still catch their share of fish on top.

However, Allbright said that in early spring, some savvy anglers would drill holes in the wooden Devil’s Horse, weight it with lead and fish it deep in cold water for big pre-spawn bass. He complained that it was expensive because getting these lures weighted “just right” was difficult, usually resulting in ruining two or three lures to get one.

OLD IDEAS NEW AGAIN Obviously, today’s materials and technology have solved those problems, and Straw’s excellent article lists a number of lures produced to give the desirable action and results.

Thinking about that old saying of improved old ideas as they applied to fishing prompted other memories and realizations.

For example, back in the early- to mid-1950s, spinning tackle in this country was just getting a good start. And spin-cast or push-button reels were limited basically to the old Zebco 33 and Johnson Century as I remember. I had neither. My casting tackle was a 5 1/2-foot long tubular steel rod and an old faithful Shakespeare 1921 casting reel spooled with braided nylon camo line.

Rapala’s original lures changed everything.

I mostly used the rig for trolling because picking backlashes out of the old revolving spool-and-handles reel was no fun and I backlashed it over 50 percent of the time.

In addition, Norfork Lake on the Missouri-Arkansas border was a favorite (Bull Shoals was brand new and Table Rock yet to be built) and the gin-clear water required longer casts than I could do with that outfit.

1950s TECH I met the late Earl Lawson, who owned a small resort on the lower end of Norfork, and spent a week with him in late May of 1956. He introduced me to several things that have evolved into standards for modern-day bass fishermen.

The first was 6’6” fiberglass light action casting rods fitted with Zebco and Johnson spin-cast reels loaded with 6-pound-test monofilament line. Using such light line and tackle was unheard of back then, especially since Mr. Lawson had 11-pound, 8-ounce and 12-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass mounts hanging on his cabin

wall.

The technology of today’s ultra-light and extra-light tackle, with graphite rods, smooth spinning reels and fluorocarbon or light braided lines makes that tackle seem so primitive. Improvements to old ideas.

SO LIGHT, YOU SLING IT And what Mr. Lawson tied on the end of that light mono was another old idea that has received many great improvements. He tied on a large (probably 2/0 or 3/0) Kahle hook with no weight and then hooked a Bill’s Lucky 13 black pork rind eel through the nose. With that light rod, you would sling it rather than cast it.

The bass were shallow, and that sinuous lure would slither through the water begging to be eaten. Back then, rubber worms were mostly non-existent and had the consistency of a 10-ply tire when you could get them.

Pork rind was packed in jars with formaldehyde-based liquid, so it was soft and supple. Pork eels came in 4-,

6-, 9- and 13-inch lengths as I remember. Of course, there also were pork frogs and pork rinds in various sizes.

My first eel bass came on a cloudy afternoon as I fished alone in the back of a cove from a 14-foot plywood boat with a 10-horse outboard and a paddle. The eel had slipped behind a stump and I thought it was hung up. As I jerked and pulled – not too hard with that light line – a bass weighing about three pounds came swimming around the stump in that clear water with that 13-inch eel streaming down its side and red in its eye. Just about scared a 17-year-old – accustomed to catching onepounders from the Big River on a fly rod – half to death.

The unweighted eels lost popularity as plastic worms became softer and better. Then came the Sluggo and more improvements until today we have the Senko-style stick worms from a bevy of manufacturers. Improvements.

And probably the wildest of all bass fishing improvements was when, in the early 1960s, Luri Rapala’s balsa minnowimitating lure hit our Ozarks lakes. These lures were hard to acquire, so enterprising Rapala owners on boat docks started renting them – $100 deposit and $25 an hour. And there were waiting lists to rent one.

JERKS AND CRANKS Then came the plastic Rebel. The improvements kept coming, and these days we have countless “jerk baits”

with a variety of internal rattles and weighting systems, colors, suspending and diving bill characteristics – and price tags – that boggle the mind.

Crank baits have followed a similar path. From wood to hollow aluminum to plastics, they have changed drastically. In the ‘60s, no Ozarks bass fisherman would be caught without a “little brown Bomber” in his box. Today there are mind-boggling choices.

Finally, there was the introduction in the ‘60s of Lowrance’s Little Green Box Fish Finder, based on the WW2 technology of electronic pulses through the water determining depth and underwater structures. It would take a book and years of interviews with engineers to describe the improvements to that technology from a number of companies. Suffice to say, today’s on-board electronics tell the angler everything that’s below, to the sides and fore and aft of the boat.

These devices also tell the angler what the water temperature is, where he’s been, where he’s going and how to get home or at least back to the dock. About the only thing they don’t do – yet – is hook the fish for him. Be patient!

THE BOTTOM LINE So, are there new ideas? Or simply big improvements to old ones? The bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter.

Today’s bass angler is enjoying the benefits of history and constant improvements to help catch those green and brown fish.

Why Are Spawning Crappie So Elusive?

By GERALD SCOTT In the fall of 1979, I was always figuratively and probably far too often literally standing on the bank of the Pomme de Terre River near the former site of the Avery Bridge, watching Truman Lake fill for the first time.

I was licking my chops, because I’d seen what crappie fishing can be like in a new reservoir 15 years before on Lake Milford in Kansas.

Crappie fishing in Truman was already good in 1980, but beginning in the spring of 1981 and continuing into the early 1990s, crappie fishing during the spawn defied belief.

This is just a literature major’s opinion, but I think there were more crappie in the lake than there was spawning habitat. But whether that theory’s right or wrong, the fact remains that there were crappie on every firm-bottomed foot of shoreline all day long.

Cold fronts slowed the action, but they didn’t stop it.

TODAY’S REALITY My oh my, how things have changed. There are too many natural and angler-aggravated reasons why it’s impossible to maintain or recreate the “good old days” as any reservoir ages.

Instead, I’ll concentrate on coping with today’s reality.

I’m sure I’m far from the only old timer who’s had a tough time adapting. To be honest, I spent the last half of the 1990s “fishing for memories,” a term first coined by tournament bass anglers to describe fishing where the fish were in the past instead of where they are in the present. I’m not entirely sure if I’m ashamed to admit it or not, but I finally said the you-knowwhat with it and quit fishing for spawning crappie all together.

AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT I’m thinking long and hard about adjusting my attitude.

For one thing, I know there are still plenty of keeper crappie in Truman Lake, because I can catch a limit of them in a couple of hours from early- to mid-summer. And for another

If they are on the bank, beach the boat and fish from shore. – Lincoln (NE) Journal-Star photo

thing, why shouldn’t a certain amount of challenge be part of spring crappie fishing, just as it is with fishing for any other gamefish species you’d care to name?

One of my attitude adjustments involves timing. With a few glorious exceptions, the first and last hours of daylight are the only times catching crappie is still easy during the spawn on Truman Lake. That’s decidedly unhandy, since I live 40 miles from the closest of my usual launch sites, but an angler’s got to do what an angler’s got to do.

I didn’t know it at the time, but I experienced a preview of present-day reality one fine April morning in 1985 when I took the sports editor of a western Missouri newspaper crappie fishing out of Bucksaw Marina. He was calling me “Mr. Crappie” long before we returned to the marina with an attention-grabbing boat limit of crappie to clean.

That evening I called a friend in Kansas City and told him that if he wanted to fish with “Mr. Crappie,” he should be in the restaurant at Bucksaw early the following

morning. We met up as planned and headed to the same area I’d fished the previous day. I caught one to his none. Long before we returned to the marina, the oft-repeated moniker “Mr. Crappie” had taken on a noticeably derogatory slant.

So where do spawning crappie go when they aren’t where they were yesterday?

Some biologists don’t think they go anywhere; they just stop biting for reasons known only to themselves. That’s possible, but it doesn’t seem very likely to me.

A BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION Most biologists believe that when crappie leave the banks during the spawn, they move to the closest water deep enough to provide both security and a reliable food source. If that’s true – and I believe it is – it would be enough to stymie most spring crappie fishermen.

Crappie don’t seem to mind being directly beneath a boat when they’re in deep water far offshore. Conversely, when they move into shallow – or

even relatively shallow – water, they become very paranoid about being crushed between boat hulls and the bottom.

For anglers, the solution to this problem is simple, but it’s also seldom applied. On the first pass down a spawning bank, keep the boat as far out as necessary to avoid spooking fish that have moved out of the shallowest water. If you can still cast to the bank, fine, but if you can’t, that’s fine, too.

Except at dawn and dusk, the odds are good that this tactic will put you into all the crappie need to limit out.

THE OTHER HAND On the other hand, if it turns out that the crappie are on the bank, beach your boat and quietly fish from shore. By the way, cane poles are unbeatable for this type of fishing.

Finally, if neither of those tactics produces fish within about 30 minutes, go somewhere else. In 2018, there’s a lot more spawning habitat around Truman Lake than there are crappie wanting to use it at any given time.

Outdoor Guide

Page 48

May-June 2018

You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy a boat.

That’s kind of the same thing…

Arsenal Credit Union can help you get on the water in the boat of your dreams with a low-rate loan. Terms up to 180 months.* Visit our website at ArsenalCU.com North St. Louis County 14305 New Halls Ferry Road St. Louis, Missouri 63033 314.962.6363

Mid St. Louis County 8651 Watson Road St. Louis, Missouri 63119 314.962.6363

South St. Louis County 4566 Lemay Ferry Road St. Louis, Missouri 63129 314.962.6363

Jefferson County 3780 Vogel Road Arnold, Missouri 63010 314.962.6363

*Minimum loan amounts apply to various terms offered.

St. Clair County 4384 North Illinois Street Swansea, Illinois 62226 618.239.6363