Rambling Angler Outdoors
Rambling Angler Outdoors
Issue 5 Spring 2025
DEPARTMENTS
COOP’S CORNER tells from afield 12
OUTDOOR READS
reviews and suggestions 17
ALASKA CONNECTION
stories from the last frontier 24
THE FLY at the bench & on the water 28
ENJOY THE HARVEST recipes from afield 38
SEAL THE DEAL tips and techniques 42
BACK IN THE DAY
Reelfoot Lake/ A Fight for Fishing 46
EDITORIAL
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Ken McBroom
EDITOR AT LARGE
Bill Cooper
CONTRIBUTORS
Bill Cooper
Troy Seal
Mike Schoonveld
Nice one on Sardis Photo Ken McBroom
Well, it is the second year for Rambling Angler Outdoor Magazine and I couldn’t be more happy with the response. When I decided to become an outdoor writer/photographer I wanted to share the outdoor lifestyle with as many people as I could. This decision came from nowhere for me. I had always selfishly enjoyed what the great outdoors had to offer without actively introducing others to the lifestyle. Now that has become my mission.
This journey has taken me down many new roads, many keeping me from hunting and fishing as much as I would like. This is the sacrifice I have decided to make to hopefully keep our American traditions and the outdoor lifestyle alive. We need recruitment to continue having outdoor opportunities we love so much. With fewer people entering the ranks of anglers and hunters the desire to prop them up will wane. Through writing for magazines, social media and now my ever growing tackle store, I am able to share information through decades of living the outdoor lifestyle bringing experiances and lessons learned to new and old outdoors people alike. I have probably connected with and helped more people catch more fish through my store and the many baits I sell there. I started my store to try and fund my goals of helping people learn about the great outdoors and the lifestyle itself.
There are so many options out there for panfish baits and people ask me what makes mine any better than others. Of course there are some things I like about my baits as I only sell baits that I use myself but I tell people that the great thing about my baits is that with your purchase you are helping to fund the movement that I have embraced and am willing to spend the time and energy to help promote and continue the outdoor lifestyle. Thank you for all your much appreciated support. Ken McBroom
Dropping on Slab Crappie
Ken McBroom
Speed for Searching
This wasn’t the first time I was in the boat with some great crappie anglers chasing big crappie in open water. I had the opportunity to fish with professional crappie anglers Chad and Stephen Crepps. I got a lesson on keeping on the move searching for not just a crappie but a big crappie . Chad and Stephen made the technique look easy and they didn’t drop on the crappie, they pitched their jig up to 45 feet to catch theirs. They used their trolling motor on high and cruised at up to 2 mph scanning the water in front of them. They made it look easy.
water crappie but instead of pitching to the crappie we dropped on them with a 15-foot rod with a LiL TUFFY Swimbait. I had been wanting to vertical fish for crappie with the LiL TUFFY swimbait and finally got to see it in action for open water slabs. Jimmy likes to scan for crappie at .85 mph to get into range and slow down when close. When dropping on crappie at 15 feet or less the trolling motor needs to be set a little lower so you can slow down without spooking the crappie and the lower setting aids in this and you don’t have to keep adjusting speed settings as you approach.
This trip with Jimmy Riley on Sardis was much different. We did scan for open
Crappie brakes help you slow down without using the main trolling motor. Crappie brakes are small motors on the back of the boat
Jimmy Riley with a pair of roaming slabs from Sardis using the LiL Tuffy Swimbait dropped down and held as still as possible until the crappie saw it and struck. Photo Ken McBroom
that engage with a foot button. This puts the noise on the back of the boat and lets you slow down and ease up to the crappie to silently drop your bait down to it.
The Drop
There are a few tips for dropping on and catching open water crappie with livescope. To get your bait into the crappie’s range fast a weight
1/16th to 1/8th oz. The size of sinker and jighead is determined by wind and current. With a 15-foot rod you can handle enough line to drop 2 to 9 feet easily. When the fish are deeper a great technique that Jimmy showed me was to use your free hand to pull a few feet out and hold it until ready to drop. I was also shown this technique a few days earlier on Lake Washington
is added about a foot above your bait. Jimmy uses anything from 1/4oz to 1/2 oz mojo sinker that is slender and long giving more surface for the livescope to pick up and it causes less drag on the line when you need to chase the crappie down. A jighead is used below the mojo weight and is
by Anthony Owens a guide from Oklahoma. A couple things I learned about dropping on crappie in open water that is less than 10 feet deep is that any sound made by the jig or sinker when it hits the water will send a crappie
2.99 lb Kentucky Lake slab caught on Lil Tuffy Swimbait. Photo Ken McBroom
into the next county. This is where the dropping terminology comes in. Pitching to crappie when this close isn’t encouraged. With a little practice a short pitch with a silent entry works and can help you present to more crappie in a day’s time but you have to be able to ease the entry enough that it makes no noise or it will spook the crappie. I was surprised just how little of a sound it took, from the bait hitting the water, to spook a crappie.
Sizing Them Up
If you have ever seen a boat moving, zigging and zagging in open water while you are locked on a dozen fish dropping on each one and wonder what in the world is that guy doing? He is looking for the crappie he wants to drop on. By spending time on the water and noting the size of the return when you catch a big one, you can learn which return to look for. The more big crappie that the lake has the less zigging and zagging you will see as you are liable to run into a big crappie often enough to eliminate the need. Some people are looking for a limit and don’t necessarily target big crappie, but if you want to catch more slabs then learning to size them on the screen will increase the big crappie you catch. Remember to keep what you need and release the rest and keep those big genetics in the lake. While I don’t like the grid on my screen (little boxes on the screen to help determine the size of the fish) many crappie anglers use the grid to help size up the return on the screen. You can size up crappie on the screen without the grid after seeing enough but the grid will help you in the beginning. Another tip is to try and keep your settings, depth range, forward range the same while fishing. Find a range you like for your body of water and keep it set that way for the most part
and you will learn the size of the crappie with those settings. When you adjust these settings the return (the crappie on the screen) size changes and a return that you think is a big crappie when you catch it you might be disappointed. The other side of that if your settings are stretching your screen a big crappie will look small and you might not target some good crappie because you think they are small.
Match the Brightness
One thing that is vital to dropping on crappie, especially in dirty or stained water, is to match the brightness (your bait return on the screen) of your bait to the brightness of the crappie. This lets you know that the bait is in the same spot as the crappie. If the crappie is showing bright and your bait is not you could be several feet to one side or the other, and the crappie won’t see your bait. This is probably the most common issue for people not understanding this. It is all a learning curve and time on the water is the best teacher. If you want to learn to drop on crappie using forward facing sonar you need to go out with that technique and stick to it even if you’re not doing that well. By focusing on the technique, you will learn it faster and it might take a few trips but stick to it and you will eventually get it. Released to fight again. Photo Ken McBroom
Anthony Owens loves to drop big baits on roamers.
Photo Ken McBroom
The LiL Tuffy Swimbait is perfect for dropping
on crappie.
dropping
Photo Ken McBroom
Image by Matt Lemoine
Bill Cooper has published over 1,500 articles and hosted TV and radio shows over a half century as an outdoor communicator. Recognized on the floor of the Missouri House of Repesentatives in 2016 for his career of promoting the outdoors, Bill has stood the test of time through his unwavering love of the outdoors.
Bill is also a member of the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame and the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame and still going strong. We welcome his experiences and outdoor communicator skills to Rambling Angler Outdoors and look forward to all the remarkable stories and adventures ahead.
Public Lands and Outdoor Opportunities
It is no secret that access is one of the major deterrents to participation in hunting and fishing. If you fall into that category, or know someone who does, public lands may be the answer to your dilemma. Millions of acres across the nation are available to public hunting, fishing, hiking and general enjoyment. Finding those lands are not as difficult as you might think. Here are some tips to
help you get started. State Lands
Every state in the nation has park and wildlife state-owned lands that individuals can utilize for outdoor pursuits. Quantities and varieties of these lands vary from state to state. Some are open to the public for specific uses, while others are open to many types of outdoor opportunities.
Bill Cooper
A place to start your search for public lands is with your state conservation agency. If you do not know your state conservation agency’s website, simply search Google for state conservation agencies.
My home state of Missouri has over 1,000 parcels of land owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation. These range from parcels of only a few acres to vast areas comprising 30,000 acres or more. Dozens of them lie within a 1,000-mile radius of my Ozarks home. Many are very near urban areas, as well.
County Properties
Often overlooked by outdoor enthusiasts, county parks offer some outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities, including fishing and specially regulated hunting seasons, in some cases. Simply do an internet search for your local county parks and recreation, or counties in which you are interested. Many counties in Missouri, which surround urban areas, offer special deer control hunts.
Federal Lands
Federal lands comprise the largest acreages of land available to the general public. There are federally owned lands in every state with federal ownership in the states ranging to 0.3 percent to 84 percent in Nevada. These holdings amount to millions of acres of land that offer outstanding hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, canoeing and boating
opportunities.
The four main land management agencies administer vast areas. The Bureau of Land Management controls 248 million acres, the U.S. Forest Service 193 million acres, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 89 million acres and the National Park Service manages 80 million acres. Millions more acres are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense.
Recreation.gov provides information on hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreation opportunities at federal recreation areas. Mytopo.com offers maps for practically every public land area in each of the states.
There is no reason for any American citizen to be deprived of outdoor recreation opportunities. Millions of acres are available and they belong to our citizens. Too, many conservation and park agencies offer outdoor recreation programs to get the public involved in utilizing public lands, as do many conservation organizations such as Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. Finding both programs and available public lands are only a few clicks away. Use your computer to open up a life time new outdoor adventures.
Topwater Time
Spring has sprung and with the birds singing and the redbuds blooming it’s a sign of great things to come. Like springtime topwater action! There’s nothing better than a good topwater bite in the morning or anytime you can get it. Spring is a great time to catch a giant bass. A topwater bait might just be the bait to trigger it into biting.
Fishing for Bass in Shallow Water
Bass are moving to the shallows in the spring to spawn as well as to gorge after a long winters nap. They’re hungry and find it hard to resist a topwater bait. There’s nothing like a bass exploding on your topwater bait on a calm spring morning. A great springtime topwater bait is the infamous Rebel Pop-R . There are many topwater baits on the market today, because they work. While the Hula Popper had its day, the Rebel Pop-R has stood the test of time.
The Rebel Pop-R
Anybody that has been around bass fishing for any length of time has probably heard of the Rebel Pop-R. The Pop-R came onto the scene in 1976 and never caught on at first. It was dropped from the Rebel lineup. This was great news for tournament anglers. Zell Rowland, who is considered the reason for the return of the Pop-R, as well as other well-known anglers like Rick Clunn used the Pop-R. They used the Pop-R with great success until the secret was leaked by a writer covering Zell Rowland’s win at the 1986 B.A.S.S. Super Invitational at Chickamauga Lake. In 1987 the Pop-R was back, and Rebel sold more than a million of them. It became one of the bestselling lures in company history and sales continue to this day because the Pop-R works.
Pop-R’s can be worked a few different ways and can call bass from 20 feet deep in clear water provided you find the presentation the bass desire. Pop-R’s can be worked slow or fast and it’s even possible to “walk the dog” with the Pop-R. Finding the cadence and action the bass want on a particular day will take a little experimenting on the angler’s part. Sometimes the bass want the Pop-R worked slow with long pauses between pops. This is usually the case in dirty water. Other times the bass want the bait worked fast with non-stop chugs all the way to the boat and this is often the case in clear water.
It helps to have an idea on what the bass might want on any given day as a starting point. If the weather has been stable and the water temp is rising into the upper 50’s or 60’s start with a fast cadence. The bass are probably active. Working the Pop-R with a steady retrieve with just a microsecond pause between pops can work well when bass are active and it also allows you to cover more water looking for active bass. This movement can also fool a bass in clear water because it can’t get a good look at it.
Another great fast-paced cadence with a little less pop and more of a splash or spit action is to walk the dog with your Pop-R. It takes practice and I’ve yet to master it, but it works. Walking the dog with a Pop-R is done in the same manner you would walk the dog with a Zara Spook or Sammy. The Pop-R doesn’t glide along like those baits therefore requires a little more practice. Sometimes this technique is what the bass want. It’s a great presentation to add to your springtime topwater bass arsenal.
Searching for Topwater Bass
The Pop-R is an awesome search bait in the spring when bass are spawning. Oftentimes the bass will only boil on the bait to try to scare it away from their bed. This will pinpoint where the bass is spawning. A great tactic is to follow the boil with a wacky worm or Texas rigged craw. Let it sit on the bottom where the bass boiled on your Pop-R. More than likely the bass is going to bite your presentation or pick it up to move it. This gives you a chance to set the hook. The fact that the bass swirled at your Pop-R tells you that it’s aggressive. She won’t tolerate anything near her bed.
Topwater Tackle
A good Pop-R set up would include a 6’ 6” medium action rod with a high speed reel spooled with 12 to 15 pound test monofilament. You need a shorter rod to be able to easily work the Pop-R with a downward motion. A longer rod makes it a little awkward. The rod tip can hit the water’s surface unless you’re a tall angler. The high speed reel allows you to get the Pop-R back to the boat to quickly cast to a new target. It also helps when a bass boils and you want to get your Pop-R to that spot before it’s too late. Monofilament is another vital part of tackle. Monofilament floats better than other lines. When your line sinks it can cause the Pop-R to dive. This isn’t what you want.
Springtime topwater bass time is here. What a great time to be on the water chasing springtime topwater bass with a Pop-R. Fell the excitement it brings especially with young anglers. If you can get on a good topwater bite and you want to get a kid hooked on bass fishing bring them along. I promise it won’t take that many times when a big bass explodes on their bait to etch an indelible impression into their minds, making every spring to them a time to throw a Rebel Pop-R.
Mitchell Fort with two nice topwater bass. Photo M. Fort
Chasing Singles
In my younger days my dad and me did a lot of bird hunting in the hills of Lynchburg Tennessee. We both had trouble hitting a single bird when the covey flushed. There could be 30 birds in a covey coming out of a clump of briars or brush and we would both miss. After the rise, the miss and a good bit of razzing back and forth, we settled into what we enjoyed most. It may have been out of necessity, due to our lack of marksmanship on the rise, that we learned to love chasing singles.
Slowly the quail populations dwindled, and it became difficult to even find a covey and the days of chasing single birds that scattered into the cedar thickets and throughout the briar and sage grass covered hillsides in Lynchburg came to an end. Today there’s a new technique derived from the new forward scanning sonar like the Garmin Livescope. The technique, I affectionately call chasing singles, was perfect-
ly demonstrated on a fishing trip at the 2022 Spring Brushpile Fishing Media Camp on Dale Hollow Lake.
I had the great fortune of fishing with two of the best crappie anglers in the country Stephen and Chad Crepps. We fished just a few days before they were to compete in the American Crappie Trail National Championship on Lake D’Arbonne in Farmerville, Louisiana. They finished 13th against the best crappie anglers in the country. I had been informed that these guys could catch the crappie but had
no idea that I would have a front row seat to a crappie fishing clinic.
While I had heard of and seen videos of anglers chasing crappie with the Garmin Livescope, I had never been in the boat to see it firsthand. I did write an article about chasing crappie last year but that was chasing the schools while longlining through them. This
technique was different and as I explain you will see how I quickly came up with the term of chasing singles.
The first thing I found amazing was the ability to pick and choose the fish you wanted to target. With a Killer Klatt colored Crappie Magnet jig rigged on B’n’M poles, Stephen and Chad would pitch their jigs into the cone of the perfectly dialed in Garmin Livescope and manipulate the jig into the crappie’s face where it would instantly attack, almost every time. This sounds like an easy thing to do but I will say without hesitation that it is not. I was able to get in on the action and learned quickly that this technique takes some practice.
With Stephen running the trolling motor scanning back and forth to locate the lone crappie that were suspended just feet beneath the surface in 50 feet of water Chad would make the pinpoint accurate pitch in the direction of the crappie. Boat control is just one of the many facets of being successful with this technique and Stephen had that down for sure. Moving along at 1mph scanning the water then reversing thrust to stop the boats momentum while keeping the crappie out at 30 to 45 feet is much harder than it looks. If the boat ran up too close to the crappie it would spook, and you would have to find another.
These guys could determine not only the size of the fish but also the species. The first few fish we saw were bass. Stephen and Chad don’t target bass and would just make the comment that that’s a bass right there. Then finally Chad asks me if I wanted him to catch one of the bass. Sure, I told him, and the next fish was a bass. Chad made the pitch and promptly landed a close to 5 pound largemouth. Chad would land several bass,
essentially calling his shot when he did, enough so that I can unequivocally say that you can learn to only target big crappie with the Livescope.
Learning to distinguish species and size of fish that you are targeting is one thing. The most impressive thing that I saw was the teamwork displayed by team Crepps. Stephen caught his fair share of the crappie that day but his role when competing is boat control. Positioning the boat to target a single fish takes a lot of time on the water. Stephan would move along spotting crappie in a range that he felt was worth pitching a jig to, usually 10 feet or less. It was determined early on, through trial and error, that these fish were the ones that were more active and would provide for a higher percentage of hook-ups. When a single crappie of a pound or more was spotted Chad would make the pitch and usually hooked-up shortly after.
A big part of lining up a pitch on a single crappie was knowing what direction the crappie was swimming. Knowing this allowed Stephen to line up the target while also letting Chad know where to pitch. By knowing which way the fish was swimming Chad could lead to the right or left or pitch his jig head on short when the crappie was coming toward the boat or head on long when swimming away. Watching this for 8 hours in real time and getting in a few pitches and catches myself shortened my learning curve by many hours on the water. It was a blast and I’m always honored to hang with some great anglers like Stephen and Chad from time to time. Aiming the pitch on cruising crappie isn’t that different than leading the shot on a quail back in the day when we were chasing singles.
Chad Crepps with a good’un. Photo Ken McBroom
CONNECTION
After 20 years as a helicopter mechanic in the Alaskan bush, and living on a boat in Southeast Alaska, my heart and soul is still and forever will be a part of Alaska. My writing career began in a tent in Chicken, Alaska and I owe Alaska a great deal for who I am and for inspiring me to write. I hope that you enjoy the stories herein as we bring you the great history, outdoor adventures and more from The Last Frontier. Ken McBroom
LIFELONG ANGLER A Tale of Fly Fishing in Alaska
Lifelong Angler: A tribute to Edwin Pease November 23, 1927 ~ April 5, 2017 (age 89)
My journeys thus far have led me down many paths and with many anglers across this great land of ours. One person that comes to mind is a man named Ed Pease. Ed is 77 years young to date and still going strong, he is a lifelong angler. He makes his way to Alaska each fall in pursuit of Rainbows and Silver Salmon. I met Ed personally after seeing him casting a fly into one of his favorite runs. It was depicted in a watercolor hanging on the wall of Gigglewood Lakeside Inn, a Bed and Breakfast where I was staying the summer. Linda, the owner of the B&B informed me that the man in the painting would be up to fish in August and that I should meet him. So I did.
I was fishing a rather large creek that just happened to be the one in the painting. I wasn’t having much luck when I noticed some anglers wading toward me from upstream. The nearest angler turned to work the pool above me and it was then that I realized it had to be the man in the painting. I later learned it was the very pool that was rendered in the watercolor.
Ed is a lifelong angler, although far from a young man, Ed pursues his passion relentlessly. Four to five weeks each fall you can find Ed angling Alaska’s rivers and lakes in search of something but few will ever understand and many are still searching. Searching for that drift of the fly, the flowing water of a river. Searching for the strike of a Silver Salmon as it leaps from the depths of a well known run. Perhaps it’s the camaraderie found among friends at 3 am joking about bears as we embark on a mile long journey, in the dark, down an even darker path along a salmon choked river or creek.
Ed walks the trail alone as he is let out while the boy’s park the truck. You can see Ed’s hat glisten as the headlights pan across the many flies that adorn it. One might stock their fly box with the flies that drop from Ed’s hat along that trail and if the lucky recipient actually tied one of the colorful flies on they would find out that the fly isn’t just pretty but effective as well. As for me I tend to leave the flies where they lay just in case its Ed’s way of getting back to the truck.
Only Ed can say for sure what it is that motivates him into such pursuits that are far from easy for any man. Rising at 2 a.m. in order to beat the crowds after fishing till late the night before. Then trekking a mile or more to the hot spots on a bum hip and landing as many, if not more, big fish than the rest of us. You should try catching several Silver Salmon in rapid succession in a swift current. Fun for sure, tiring for surer.
Many may wonder what the lifelong angler sees in such pursuits. I assure you that the lifelong anglers of the world know for what they are searching. Because they have already found it. Explaining the feeling or reasoning is usually futile at best. Many, myself included, have grown weary of trying to describe the indescribable.
I have been informed on many occasions that as you grow older your passions change and your priorities get shuffled. My response is that if the fueling of my fire for hunting and fishing ended today it would take more than my lifetime for the fire to go out.
Last season Ed was hand lining for striped bass in the Atlantic Ocean! That’s right, he was pulling 10 to 30 pound striped bass in with his hands. Ed was trolling off the coast of Massachusetts. This year who knows? It is the lifelong anglers such as Ed that give me hope that my passion for fishing will be as strong in the future as they are now and that at age 77 I too can get to the hot spots and cast a fly to a stubborn Coho or a rising Rainbow and be able to land it when I hook it.
Ed said last year it might be his last trip to Alaska. He was promptly reminded that he had made that statement for at least five seasons. As long as the passion is there Ed will be landing Coho and tying god-awful flies that actually catch fish. The passion in many anglers is stronger than aching muscles and joints. The only time the pain subsides is on the water with rod in hand and a fish on the line. I hope to see Ed again on the salmon stream. We can compare flies and tall-tales and enjoy a passion that will continue in the hearts of many well past any of our time here on earth. To Ed Pease of Massachusetts, we salute you as a Lifelong angler and unsung hero to our cause. Thanks for sharing the clean water.
Ed posing with a nice coho caught in the clean water. Photo Ken McBroom
NOTE: The reference at the end “Thanks for sharing the clean water.” has a story all its own. Here it is.
The clean water referred to at the end of this story involves the deterioration of our favorite creek to catch Coho in Alaska. For several years, at the mouth of this great Alaskan creek, I won’t mention it here because it began to see more and more anglers fishing this small area. It is now listed on the web as a combat fishing spot. In the beginning we enjoyed several hours of fishing without other people crowding the spot. We did get up early and hike into the spot along a bear invested river in the dark but we had until 9 or 10 o’clock. After a few years like this the spot began to be overrun with anglers by 6 am I counted 60 people in a spot that can handle maybe 10 or 12. At this number it was best to be friends as it took some sharing and cooperation for everyone to effectively fish this small area.
The river was very silty and while you could catch some coho in this silty water it needed to be with a spoon or vibrex something that imparted noise, but we all fly fished back then and we needed the clean water, from the crystal clear creek, emptying into the silted river to catch them. We had learned that there was a seam of clean water that flowed underneath the silty river water where the creek flowed in. So, we would line up along this seam and catch coho salmon as they made there way up the silty river to spawn in the creek. After sometime people began to stand where the creek was dumping into the river and cast their lure across the 10 or 12 fly anglers that were fishing along this seam of clean water. They would not have any respect for the anglers that had been there since daylight and constantly would cross our lines. The great conversation and occasional catch of a coho and sometimes even a good size rainbow that was following the coho up the river.
After several mornings of this Ed began to straddle the seam. By standing in this spot and pretending to fish it allowed the anglers along the seam of clean water to fish. The conversation and fun catching coho returned. We would rotate time protecting the clean water from the disrespectful anglers that made you wonder what they were thinking. I eventually started leaving by 6 or 7 am with my limit to escape the onslaught but my buddies stayed and would fish for many hours practicing catch and release they would catch many salmon and enjoy the day even with all of the people around them. Ed was a good friend and part of my story as a fly fisherman and adds much joy to my memories.
THE FLY
at the bench & on the water
It is our goal with this department to provide fly tying and fly fishing information. While we endeavor to cover all aspects of fly tying & fishing we want to hopefully inspire and recruit more people into warm water options and our content will reflect this. Expect some history and interesting stories that involves the art of fly fishing.
The Tarpon Toad
The Tarpon Toad has rapidly become one of “THE” flies for Tarpon. The Tarpon Toad was developed by Gary Merriman and tarpon fishing has never been the same since. The Tarpon Toad in this video has been tied with no flash (that is how I prefer them), but they can be tied with a couple strands of krystal flash in the tail. Also, the toad in this video was tied with with the rabbit strip right side up. I have always tied them this way and prefer that style. The developer, Gary Merriman, initially tied the toad with the rabbit strip tied upside down. The Tarpon Toad is most commonly tied in Chartreuse, but many other color variations (Black and Purple) have been introduced to the fly fishing scene. Do not leave on a Tarpon trip without them!!
OUTDOOR READS
reviews and suggestions
BUY HERE
John P. Faris Jr.
When I wrote my first book, Ten Was The Deal, in 2013, I was surprised at its success. I received not only nice book reviews and complimentary comments from folks that you would expect to gravitate to hunting and fishing stories, but many non-hunters, women and men, spoke of how much they enjoyed word pictures of our beautiful southern outdoors, of the closeness and companionship of those we spend days afield with, and the adventure that is so much a part of many of our hunting and fishing trips. This book is more than tales of turkeys, rabbits, deer, ducks and fish. It is about the joys and sorrows of life itself. I hope you will enjoy these stories as much as the experiences I had living them and reliving them as I share them with you, the reader.
Mostly though, this is just relaxed literature on the outdoors in the vein of Havilah Babcock, Archibald Rutledge, Robert Ruark in his “Old Man” pieces, or Charlie Elliott at his best. As Southern as a slice of pecan pie or Vienna sausages and Saltines on a summer fishing trip, this is a book meant not just for sons and daughters of the South, but anyone who relishes those warm and winsome hours devoted to being astream or afield.” Sporting Classics magazine.
It’s the great turkey hunting debate. Which is the better hunting method, run and gun, or immediately set up, call and wait them out? With over 50 years of turkey hunting experience under my belt, I’ve watched many great turkey hunters from both sides of the fence with many gobblers flopping on the ground.
I’ve also witnessed quite a few heated arguments on the topic. Turkey hunters are a hard-headed lot, especially when they are defending their position about how they hunt wild turkeys. Successful turkey hunters carry egos as big as the shotguns they pack, and very few of them subscribe to the idea of admitting they are wrong about their turkey hunting tactics, especially when they have ample evidence to prove their point. Most video footage, photos, or buddies who witnessed said hunts to support
their theories.
I’m not suggesting that this grand argument will ever be resolved, at least not as long as there are two turkey hunters left in the woods. I do, however, hope to shed some light on the reasoning behind the thoughts of each camp on this most controversial of turkey hunting subjects.
Two of the most successful turkey hunters of all time, whom I’ve been personally acquainted with for decades, and whom I’ve hunted with many times are Ray Eye and Walter Parrott. They are both from the Missouri Ozarks and know one another very well. However, Eye is a die-hard supporter of the run and gun, call until their ears bleed camp, while Parrott is a staunch supporter of calling softly and hunting birds as if they were always look-
Walking Out
Photo by Dian Cooper
ing at you. Who can argue with these two super successful turkey callers and hunters?
I’ve been convinced for decades that most turkey hunters begin running and gunning because turkeys will not come to their calling, and they don’t know what else to do. They hear a turkey gobble at a distance and begin calling. When the tom doesn’t head their way in a few minutes, they chase after it. If they experience success with this method, running and gunning becomes their way of turkey hunting.
As long as I’ve known him, Ray Eye has been the ultimate call hard, go hard turkey hunter. I’ve hunted with him on several occasions when he had a turkey gobbling, but it did not gobble enough to suit him or did not come his way soon enough. I’ve heard him say it many times. “Let’s forget this gobbler and find one that wants to play.”
Ray Eye is an exceptional caller. He easily entices gobblers to do things that I could never get them to do. He is bold and aggressive. He calls long and loud and moves often if birds don’t cooperate quickly.
“Not every turkey in the woods gobbles on a given day,” Eye said. “I figure only about one in five gobbles the best of days. “So, I don’t like to spend a great deal of time on a bird that is don’t react well to my calls. I know from my experience that most of the time if one bird doesn’t work, I can move on and find one that will.”
At the other end of the spectrum is world class caller Walter Parrott. Parrott, too, is an exceptional caller and turkey hunter. However, he
prefers to call quietly and rely on his patience to work gobblers into range.
“Gobblers are crafty birds,” Parrott said. “I’ve seen many turkey hunters scare birds off before they even get started on a hunt by starting with loud calling. Turkeys hear much better than us. That’s why I always start calling very softly. If a bird responds, I set up and begin working it. If a bird does not respond, then I begin calling louder, especially on windy days.”
Parrott also believes in sitting tight to wait gobblers out. “Patience is key to killing gobblers consistently,” he said. “Impatient hunters have kept more gobblers alive than you can imagine. Calling too loudly and moving too quickly are common mistakes. Hunters so often scare toms away that they don’t even realize are nearby.”
“You can’t see far in the thick woods, and a gobbler’s eyesight is far better than ours,” Parrott said. “Moving too much and calling too loudly become your enemy. If you are having a tough time killing birds, you are more than likely committing these two big turkey hunting sins. My advice is to always to hunt wild turkeys as if they are looking right at you!”
There you have it, the best of both sides of the great turkey hunting argument. Choose your side or adapt to both sides of the fracas. Utilizing both tactics has worked for me. Of course, my family history dictates my behavior. A grandfather several generations removed belonged to both the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Choosing sides often complicates matters.
Champion caller Walter Parrott believes that calling softly and always hunting a gobbler as if it is looking right at you is the the surest plan to tagging a bird.
Photo Bill Cooper
SOUTHERN LAKE MICHIGAN CASINOS AND COHOS
Captain Mike Schoonveld
Great Lakes
Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Monte Carlo, Southern Lake Michigan.... What do these places have in common? Easy answer–casinos!
Thousands of people plan trips and vacations to these locations for the gaming, the night life, the shows, the glitz, glamour and fishing opportunities. Okay, maybe I better cancel the fishing options for most of the locations–but not for southern Lake Michigan casinos.
Besides being the gaming capital of the Midwest, the southern tip of the lake is also known as the coho capital of the Great Lakes. Some would argue southern Lake Michigan is the coho capital of the world--if you base the title on fast fishing, healthy limits and easy access.
Early spring is “coho time” along this Southlake Strip. From March right on into May anglers going for the sure-bet on the lake are fishing in sight of the casinos where gamers are basing their bets on Lady Luck.
Interested in one, the other or both? Here’s a quick run-down.
Horseshoe Casino at Hammond Marina
The Horseshoe Casino is the closest boat to downtown Chicago and there’s easy access to both the marina and casino off of I-90. The Horseshoe doesn’t have a hotel associated with the facility, although there are several hotels just south on Calumet Avenue.
The boat ramp at Hammond Marina is very nice, having been built when the construction for the new casino was started. Parking for vehicles with trailers is just outside the marina enclosure.
The Hammond Marina offers easy access
to several fishing hot spots. The hot water discharge from the BP Refinery at Whiting is less than a half mile south. From there the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal with it’s own set of warm water outlets is about 3/4 mile to the east.
The biggest plus for the Hammond Marina, however, is the proximity to Calumet Harbor. The breakwalls which form this harbor offer comfortable fishing regardless of wind direction. Two productive areas are the mouth of the Calumet River at the northwest corner of the harbor, and in the gap between the attached and detached outer breakwalls of the harbor at the northeast side of the harbor. The waters inside Calumet Harbor are reciprocal between Indiana and Illinois so a fishing license from either state is valid.
Ameristar Casino at East Chicago Marina
The East Chicago Marina (formerly called Pastrick Marina) is located off just Cline Avenue (S.R. 912) which is an expressway accessible from both I-80/94 and I-90 so one can access the marina from both east or west with no traffic signals until you are at the front door of the Ameristar.
The Ameristar Hotel is decidedly upscale and decidedly more pricey than nearby locations. However, being located just outside the marina fence, it’s within walking distance. There is a choice of theme restaurants in the facility and a terrific buffet.
Boats get weathered off the lake at East Chicago only on strong ENE winds since the early season fishing is done in a huge bay formed by the Cleveland Cliffs Steel Mill on the northwest and Buffington Harbor on the southeast.
Cohos are caught everywhere and anywhere inside the bay. Landmarks along the Mittal wall include the “1st light” a structural steel lighthouse a half mile from the marina, the “hole-in-the-wall” where the shoreline
vehicles with trailers is available in a patrolled lot adjacent to the hotel.
Michigan City offers two public launch facilities. The one at Washington Park is usually open 24/7 during March and early April.
transitions from rock to sheet-piling and the “2nd light” at the extreme eastern tip of the Cliffs property. East of the marina is the beach and the Buffington Light at the tip of breakwall forming Buffington Harbor.
Blue Chip Casino/Michigan City
The Blue Chip Casino and Hotel is located a few blocks away from Lake Michigan in Michigan City, IN on Trail Creek, one of Indiana’s two tributaries to the big lake. Parking for
This ramp is inside the Michigan City Marina so it’s only a few minutes from the ramp to where you will start fishing. The ramps at Washington Park have always been prone to filling with sand and were built when the water in Lake Michigan was several feet higher than now. These conditions often team up to make this launch troublesome for trailered boats larger than 18 feet.
Trail Creek Marina on U.S. 35, just across
The white building in the upper left is the Ameristar Casino at the East Chicago Marina
the stream from the Blue Chip facility is gated, but once the fishing cranks up in the spring, the gates open early enough to suit most anglers. Expect to idle 20 minutes downstream to get to the lake.
Coho fishing at Michigan City centers around the mouth of Trail Creek and in the shallows to the southwest and northeast. A mud-line is normally apparent where the stream water flows into the lake. At times fishing in the darker water pays off best and other days keying on the boundary between the lake and stream water is the answer.
Along the beaches, pay attention to water depth. On any given day, most of the fish seem to congregate in a particular zone. On Tuesday you might get action in 15 to 25 feet of water; on Wednesday, the fish may be along the 25 to 35 foot contour.
Hard Rock Casino, Gary, IN
The Hard Rock Casino is Indiana’s newest gaming/entertainment center. Located just off of I-80/94 it’s located centrally between the Hammond/East Chicago marinas and the Sammie Maletta Public Marina - formerly called Portage Marina. Most years the Sammie Maletta Marina offers the earliest fishing of the season. The mudline at the mouth of Burns Waterway that connects the marina to the lake, the breakwalls around the Port of Indiana just to the east and the breakwall and hot water discharge at the US Steel plant several miles west are hotspots. Don’t overlook the shallowest waters just off the beaches of the Indiana Dunes National Park between Portage and US Steel.
Four Winds- New Buffalo, MI
The Four Winds Casino Resort owned and operated by the Pokagon Band of the Potawotomi Nation is just off I-94 at New Buffalo, MI. The resort features restaurant options from grab and go to fine dining, and has 165 standard rooms and suites. Follow the highway from the casino, across I-94, through town to get to the public marina and boat ramps just upstream
from Lake Michigan on the Galien River. As at Michigan City, coho trollers target the mouth of the river, in and out of the mud line as well as plying the beach in either direction.
Tips and Tricks
Coho fishing starts at all these locations as soon as the ice in the marinas melts and the lake ice disappears making it safe to boat–figure early March–give or take a week or so. From ice out through the first few weeks of April, small body baits with internal rattles in fluorescent hues rule the waves. Unweighted ThinFins, Jointed Rapalas, Shad Raps and others will all work well fished as flat lines or behind planers.
Once the water warms a bit, coho-pros target the top 15 feet of water using 6-inch dodgers trailing small flies and they add a few spoons to their mix of lures. Still, bright colors rock, most days.
The spring, near-shore bite wanes during May as the shallows warm out of the coho-comfort zone in the southern basin. Offshore, deeper and cooler water prevails and the coho fishing remains good right on into August most summers. Dodgers or flashers and flies remain at the top of the best-bait list on most boats. Spoons on lead core and copper line rigs are certain bets, as well. THE END
Blue Chip
www. bluechipcasino.com 888-879-7711
Ameristar
www. ameristar.com/East_Chicago.aspx (866) 711 GAME
Horseshoe
www. horseshoehammond.com 219-473-5930
Hard Rock Casino
https://cafe.hardrock.com/northernindiana/ 219-228-2383
Four Winds
www. fourwindscasino.com 866-4WINDS1
Venison Stew
One of my favorite recipes to enjoy the harvest is venison stew. I have many stew recipes and love them all. This venison recipe is classic and is perfect for enjoying your harvest. Often, I utilize the trimmed meat from my deer carcass, which amounts to several pounds of venison. This is meat trimmed from the ribs, neck, and anything remaining after processing the large cuts. You should consider trimming your deer carcass for excellent stew meat. I usually crack open a brew and bring out the fillet knife to meticulously trim my deer, chucking the meat into a bowl. This is the meat I use quickly for a hearty stew. Here is my recipe. Enjoy the Harvest.
• 3 lb venison (cubed)
Ingredients
• 1 lb yukon gold potatoes (chunked unpeeled)
• 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
• 3 large carrots (chunked)
• 3 slices thick bacon (chopped)
• 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
• 1 pinch sea salt (to taste)
• 1 pinch black pepper (to taste)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 4 cups beef stock
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tbsp parsley (chopped)
• 1 dash thyme
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 2 small bay leaf
• 1 splash dark beer (about 2 ounces)
Instructions
1. In your stew pot or Dutch oven cook 3 slices of bacon. Remove bacon when crispy and set aside
2. Pour bacon grease into a heatproof bowl. Return 2 Tbs. of the fat to the pot and heat over medium-high heat
3. Season the venison stew meat with salt and pepper and cook until browned on all sides. About 5 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside
4. Add another 2 tbsp. of bacon to the pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens. About 5 minutes
5. Stir in the butter and let it melt. Add a pour of your favorite beer. I like a dark beer and believe it makes a richer stew
6. Sprinkle with the flour and stir well
7. Gradually stir in the stock and tomato paste, parsley, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves
8. Return to the pot and bring to a boil.
9. Add potatoes and stir it all together
10. Cover and place in 300 degree oven. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Or until meat is tender
11. Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top and enjoy
Backcountry Tarpon On The FLY
Tom Berg
The Florida Keys are well-known for the excellent fishing that can be found there year-round. Whether you like inshore fishing or prefer to head offshore, there is always something biting. Tarpon are at the top of many anglers’ wish lists, and although I’ve caught a few tarpon in Florida waters over the years, I have never fished for them in the Keys and never with a fly rod, either. That was about to change!
My brother Mike and I were staying on Marathon Key, one of the hottest locations in the Florida Keys for fishing, and we had booked an early morning fishing charter trip with tarpon as our prime target. Our guide for the day was Capt. Scott Collins (305-304-5965), one of the most knowledgeable and successful tarpon guides around.
It was still dark when we met Capt. Scott in the parking lot at the Seven Mile Fly Shop near the west end of Marathon. We wanted to get an early start before the heat of the day set in, and as an added benefit Capt. Scott said the tarpon would likely be more active before the sun got too high in the sky anyway. Mike and I hopped in Scott’s truck, and we headed for the boat ramp.
Once the boat was in the water, Capt. Scott headed for some of the small backcountry islands dotting the shallow waters nearby. Some of the islands we passed were just tiny stands of mangroves clustered together, while others were expansive islands with a mixture of mangroves and larger hardwood trees.
As we approached one of the larger backcountry islands, Capt. Scott cut the engine and let the boat drift as he scanned the water for tarpon. He told us to keep an eye out for porpoising or tailing tarpon, too. We were searching for small pods of active fish where we could present a fly to them, but we would have to act fast because these fish would be cruising and not sitting still.
The boat drifted to within several feet of the island’s southernmost point, and suddenly Capt. Scott yelled and grabbed the fly rod lying beside him. A small pod of three or four tarpon had suddenly appeared at the surface, and there was no time to hand the rod to either me or Mike. Capt. Scott made a very short cast, and as soon as the yellow fly hit the water – just 10 feet from the boat – the water erupted as a tarpon engulfed the bait!
Capt. Scott set the hook with a quick strip of the line, and the fish took off like a freight train! He handed the rod to Mike, and Mike held on as the tarpon sped away. He really had his hands full! The fish was swimming full speed, and before Mike could get all of the fly line back on the reel his fish was airborne!
The fish landed with a big splash and then went airborne again! Mike got control of the reel and started playing the fish, but the tarpon was not interested in slowing down. After two more tremendous leaps, though, the fish began to tire. Mike started gaining line and soon the tarpon was only a few feet from the boat.
Capt. Scott leaned out over the water and was able to grab the fish by its bottom jaw. Success! And Mike's first tarpon on a fly! These fish are not the 100-pound adults that appear in Boca Grande Pass and other places in the early summertime. These tarpon are juveniles for the most part (two or three feet long), but they still fight like crazy and leap clear out of the water several times before you can get them to the boat.
Capt. Scott released Mike's fish and then it was my turn. The small pod of tarpon that Mike's fish came from was long gone, so we started looking for new fish. It didn't take Capt. Scott long to spot a new group of fish, but they were a little too far away for me to get a fly in front of them. They were gone before we could get close.
We continued moving along slowly as Capt. Scott silently poled us forward, scanning the water all around us. Suddenly he hissed “Fish – almost straight ahead! Cast to
Tarpon are known for their spectacular leaps of faith. Photo Tom Berg eleven o-clock!” I looked forward and slightly left and saw the dorsal fin of a tarpon break the surface, followed by the tail of another fish right behind it. They were moving fast, so I knew I only had a couple of seconds to get the bait to them. I tried to cast the fly a couple feet in front of the moving pod of fish, but it landed about three feet short and near the center of the pod rather than in front of it. I
groaned and thought I would need to re-cast, when the water unexpectedly boiled as a hungry tarpon grabbed the fly! I swept the rod back to set the hook, and the tarpon took off like greased lightning!
It immediately jumped and cleared the water by three or four feet, then landed in a shower of water. I bowed to the fish as it jumped again, and my adrenaline was really pumping! When it jumped for the third time, I saw the fly shake loose as the fish went the other way. It was gone! Arrrrggghhhhh!
I wondered how the hook came loose, and Capt. Scott told me not to set the hook with the rod – it was too limber. He told me to do a “strip-set” instead. “Point the rod at the fish and strip the line towards you right when the fish grabs the bait,” he said. “That will give you a solid hookset. Don’t worry, you will get a chance to redeem yourself.”
He was right. Just a few minutes later another pod of fish cruised within
author with
casting range and this time I placed the fly more accurately. The lead fish instantly saw the fly when it hit the water and slammed it! I pointed the rod at the fish and stripped the line to set the hook, and the tarpon screamed away on a powerful run. Fish on! Almost immediately the tarpon leaped clear out of the water, and as soon as it landed it jumped again. I held on as it continued jumping – three times – four – five times!
The
a tarpon on the fly in Florida.
Wow, these fish can jump!
After its fifth jump I could tell the tarpon was beginning to tire. I fought it closer to the boat and marveled at its strength and beauty. Suddenly it came up to the surface and rolled, and I could see its bright silver scales shimmering in the sunlight. Capt. Scott lipped it as it came to the side of the boat and handed it to me for a photo. What a beautiful fish!
Mike and Capt. Scott snapped a couple quick photos, and then I gently released it. It swam away strongly and I hoped it would bring another angler the same joy it brought me when I caught it. Our trip wasn’t over yet, and Mike and I were both lucky enough to hook more fish before calling it quits for the day.
Capt. Scott Collins fishes the productive waters of the Florida Keys year-round, from Key Largo to Key West. Our trip was in mid-September, but the fishing here is great throughout the fall and all winter for various species. Tarpon, permit, bonefish, sharks, and other species are happy to come out and play!
The next time you go to the Florida Keys, get in touch with Capt. Scott Collins for a great day on the water. Visit his website for more info (www.captscottcollins. com) or call or text him (305-304-5965). He can also be found on the website for the Lower Keys Guides Association at www.LKGA.org.
While fishing in the Florida Keys, we stayed at the beautiful Faro Blanco Resort on Marathon Key (www.faroblancoresort.com). The accommodations were perfect and the staff was absolutely top-notch. We had dinner at the Lighthouse Kitchen & Bar restaurant at Faro Blanco and it was fantastic, too. Besides world-class fishing, check out some of the other fun things to do at: www.fla-keys.com. There is so much to do in the Florida Keys, I think I need to make a return trip!
Seal the Deal
tackle tips and techniques
Troy is an avid angler from Bean Station Tennessee. Troy is a “nothing fancy” kind of guy well except maybe for his tackle. Troy is a multi-species angler but loves panfish, especially the sun fish. He has tinkered with and honed his tackle and techniques to target these great panfish. Fishing from a small aluminum boat without electronics or any of the modern day gadgets Troy loves getting old-school in a new world of fishing. We are happy to have Troy’s expertise within these pages and I think you will be too. Troy has the popular Facebook group The Bluegill Network
BEING OLD SCHOOL
You do not have to have $10k in electronics to find panfish. What us old people use to do still works today as I have not had a depth finder on my boat in over 20 years. I am not hear for a debate about new technology or to voice my opinion of ffs. I am only here to say it is doable and still viable, it is called fishing, and we all use to do it unless you are still pooping yellow.
The Power of Paying Attention
Your brain and power of observation is your most useful fishing tool. Nothing is a sure thing, rivers change, spots become pressured, seasonal patterns shift because of unseasonal weather, over harvest change fisheries in a few short years. Pollution does not help a thing either. Pay attention to each day’s offering. Time of day, sunlight, wind and current, available cover and a whole spectrum of things can dictate if fish bite and location of said fish.
Getting where others can not. Photo Troy Seal
Location
I have noticed the past two or three years, through many hours on the water, especially in the winter, that fish activity can be extremely sensitive to time windows. A rule of thumb is the evening bite, especially on warmer days, is better. Early in the cold-water season, cold fronts do not bother them that much, it seems. But time of day can be crucial and peculiarly one spot may be good early in the morning or midday while another similar spot will not turn on till the last hour of daylight, especially during transition periods like the fall.
Do not stay in one spot for long if they are not biting. Go check another place, another piece of cover, another piece of structure; sometimes you will find them, then you can go back and check the spot that you tried earlier. Sometimes they turn on at different times for some reason. A lot of the times I find fish just because of shade. Chase the shade on these banks that have a little bit of good stuff on them. The east side in the morning will have shade, the west side in the late afternoon will have shade. Sometimes that shade is more important than depth, cover, bottom contour, and structure.
Tinkering with tackle is as fun as tinkering with a $100,000 bass boat. Photo Troy Seal
Large pieces of real estate are harder to cover but are more likely to have fish on them somewhere at any given time. The old spot on a spot that the Infisherman came up with years ago is the gospel. Sometimes a large expanse of flats or long tapering point will hold fish in one tiny area and that area can change from day to day or hour to hour. Stay mobile and don’t stay on any spot long if you are not catching fish.
Lures.
Try small swimbaits like the 1” Slider Grub or curly tails like the smallest GoGo Minnow and Beetle Spins as search lures till you get a bite or two, especially on large areas, then slow down and use jigs when you find them.
If you need to take notes or keep a logbook to remind yourself about things that fade from your memory in time. But most importantly, stay observant and do not fish a spot all day because you caught them there once. Observe what the day has given you. Use your eyes and your mind to deduct what may be going on or how fish will react to present conditions. It could be environmental, or it could be a hatch. Nothing causes a quicker shift in feeding behavior like a hatch, especially for bluegills and other sunfish that feed on aquatic insects. Good luck fellas and keep your line wet.
BACK IN THE DAY
American Indian Dog
How Dogs Came to Live With the Indians
An Oral History
We often hear the saying that the dog is man’s best friend. But before the dog came to live with humans, it belonged to the dog family, and there, among the wolves, the dogs had to do all the errands. One cold day, the wolves ordered the dog to go to a man’s wigwam to get fire. This was the only place that the wolves knew that they could get fire, but it was very dangerous for any wolf to go there. The wolves had often gone to Indian villages to get fire, but they would always drop the coals and the humans would get the fire back. Or as they carried a burning stick, it would burn brighter and they would have to drop it, or otherwise be singed by the flames.
The dog knew all this and decided that it would be a very difficult job to get fire from humans. So the dog decided that he would just pretend to try to steal fire from humans but not really go through with it. But the dog knew that if he failed in the mission to get the fire, life with the wolves would be unbearable, and instead, he decided he would just leave the wolves and go live with the humans.
The dog left the wolves’ country and went through the forest to the Indian village. He saw smoke coming out of the smokeholes of the wigwams and went toward one of the houses. He stood in the doorway and looked inside, and realized that the hunters were not home: Only the women and children were there. The people had always feared the wolves, so the dog decided that it would be good to show that he himself was afraid of the humans. So he lowered his tail and his head and looked up at the people with his eyes wide to show that he was afraid of them and crept over to the fire and lay down.
The dog was lucky, because the man who lived in the wigwam had often dreamed of wolves, and had in fact dreamed that he would receive a gift from the wolves. In his hunting, he had also appealed to the Wolf spirit and been assisted by it to feed his family. When he returned to the wigwam and saw the harmless wolf dog lying there by his fire, he decided to make friends with him. Remembering his dreams, the Indian man told the dog that they would be brothers forever, and, to prove this, he would take the dog as his companion when he went hunting for his family and share the meat that they got together.
(Adapted from Phebe Jewell Nichols as told by Chief Reginald Oshkosh, n.d., Tales From An Indian Lodge: Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin.)
