Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2024 i Game & Fish South

The buck was a dandy, especially for my 13-year-old son, who at that point had never taken a shot at anything larger than a 5-point. I tried to keep him calm while hiding my own excitement, which wasn’t an easy task with the two of us inside a 4-foot-square blind and the buck just 60 yards away. Jacob managed to slowly, and relatively quietly, get his rifle in position and rested on the edge of the sturdy blind’s wooden frame. I had the utmost confidence in him. We had practiced shooting from a tripod at a 100-yard deer target throughout the fall; this buck was only about half that distance, and the blind provided better support than shooting sticks. He had this. “When you have a good shot, take it,”…

As winter’s icy grip loosens from our favorite lakes, rivers and reservoirs, largemouth bass respond in predictable ways that make them more accessible to anglers and more reliable guests in the livewell. Steady increases in both water temperature and daylight hours trigger changes to bass metabolism and preferred locations as fish transition from relative lethargy to aggressive feeding postures. Across their range, winter bass seek thermal stability by collecting in deep water, where temperatures remain relatively stable even in the face of cold fronts that deliver wind, rain and snow. Bass are certainly catchable from the depths throughout the winter months—as any Northern angler chasing bass through the ice will attest—even though water temperatures in the 30s to low 40s suppress bass metabolism and the urgency to feed with regularity.…

Two sections of towering pines loomed ahead, a single 10-foot-wide mowed grass path running between them and extending beyond sight. In front of me, guide Parker O’Bannon stood on the forest edge, cautiously scoping out the two-track. It was mid-afternoon, and he was worried about spooking birds on our way into the property, a 2,300-acre parcel along Florida’s Nature Coast. It was one of several pieces of land, totaling almost 10,000 acres, owned and managed by Florida Outdoor Experience (FOE) near Chiefland. As O’Bannon had explained earlier, the path cut through the flatwoods—a distinctly Floridian mix of pines, palmettos, shrubs and grasses extending across a flat expanse—before eventually leading into a thick swamp. This bog harbored several turkeys, including some gobblers that trail cameras had captured walking and strutting along…

When it comes to catching bait, I’m old school. Growing up on the Texas-Louisiana border, a fishing paradise, we couldn’t even buy live bait. We had to catch our own. Early on we had no boat, and soon realized that wading shorelines and roadside ditches while pulling our bulky 20-foot minnow seine was lame. Saltwater bait easily outran or jumped over the net floats. One day, while struggling in the mud, we noticed a guy high and dry on the seawall racking up mullet and shrimp with a cast net. So, the very next day we bought one. Our garage bait freezer was soon well-stocked with mullet and shrimp that supplemented live bait. That’s still true today. Throwing a cast net may sound difficult, but if a 9th grader can…

There’s an old adage that goes, “Fishing is a jerk on one end of the line, waiting on a jerk at the other end.” The wisecrack doesn’t consider the possibility of a third “jerk” in the equation that can be a critical tool for early-spring success: the suspending jerkbait. As the water starts to warm ever so slightly during the pre-spawn, the jerkbait possesses the sudden and erratic movement that draws bass from considerable distances as they feed prior to the spawn. Properly employing a jerkbait can lead to that special “jerk” at the end of your line imparted by a pre-spawn female bass. Jerkbait design has come a long way in the past 20 years. In the past two decades, lure makers started doing what savvy anglers had been…

A fishing world record is a record, right? Usually, but it’s not always as simple as weighing a fish, as some of the freshwater-fishing world-record holders have discovered. Largemouth bass, small-mouth bass, walleye and musky represent what are arguably the most famous freshwater records in fishing history, but even they weren’t clear-cut for one reason or another. The controversies and disputes that surrounded them are interesting history, whether you’re a diehard record-chaser or just an angler with big dreams. PICTURES CAN LIE You might say that for a long time, the world-record walleye literally didn’t measure up to its place in fishing lore. As the tale is told, the 25-pound fish was landed Aug. 2, 1960, by a Tennessee angler who was night-fishing the upper reaches of Old Hickory Lake…

If it’s waterproof and not yellow, bring it,” said Shane’s father as he topped off the Thermos and squeaked the lid tight. Outside, endless sheets of rain pounded the earth. But what was rain to a couple of duck hunters keen on taking a late-season limit? Surely it would let up soon. When it did, they’d be in the blind, shotguns loaded and looking up. The hunters turned off the kitchen light, closed the front door behind them and scurried to the truck. What was typically a 40-minute cruise to the pond turned into an hour-and-a-half white-knuckled journey as the windshield wipers engaged in a losing battle. Shane realized how bad it was when his father passed by the gate and then had to make a U-turn in the county…

STRAIGHT TALK (NO GUFF) WITH JIM SHOCKEY In a revealing G&F interview— “A Conversation with Jim Shockey”—the renowned hunter shares personal stories of his loves, losses and the field-to-table lifestyle. BASS CLASS A CLICK AWAY Stay sheltered from winter’s cold and improve your bass game by cozying up to our popular video instructional series, “Bass Crash Course” and “Beyond the Bait.” WHAT’S THE LATEST BUZZ? Read the hunting and fishing stories everyone is talking about under our new “Trending” category—updated weekly with links to our most popular content. GREAT GUNS FOR HUNTERS We attended January’s hunting trade shows to seek out top gear for the upcoming seasons. “Best New Hunting Rifles for 2024” reveals some of the hottest firearms of the year. SPRING TURKEY PRIMER Spring turkey season is just…

I love the shine of a new bass boat. While some folks are drawn to sports cars, I always do a double take at a new bass rig being towed down the highway. However, with the cost of a brand new, fully outfitted bass boat clearing six figures, investing in the upkeep of my existing rig seems the more fiscally responsible option for now. The 2004 Skeeter ZX225 in my garage was once a sparking thing of beauty; however, days spent in the sun chasing bass together have aged both of us, evidenced by the sunspots on my skin and the severe oxidation to the metallic blue gelcoat on the boat. Once the oxidation began a few years ago, the haze advanced further and became more apparent each year, particularly…

Most of us fish when we can, not just when conditions are ideal. But if you’re planning an inshore fishing trip to the Southeast coast this winter, it can pay to schedule your excursion during the prime periods around the new and full moons—and avoid the half-moon periods in between. That’s because the tide movements will be greatest on the three days on either side of the “strong” moon periods, when the gravitational force of the moon combines with the gravitational force of the sun to create the highest high tides and lowest lows of each month. Tides are most pronounced in winter, and the fish take full advantage of them. Extreme tides have multiple benefits for coastal anglers in winter. First is that on the maximum highs, reds and…

A steady rain smacking the windshield as I wound toward a remote river access point made me almost giddy. With dark skies and a bit of extra flow, the river’s notoriously finicky wild browns would be more cooperative than normal. Like always when conditions suggest that brown trout might be willing to bite, I was excited at the prospect of connecting with a big, buttery, hook-jawed fish. Trout tend to get lumped together when anglers think about their behavior, the locations they favor and the offerings they are most apt to eat. Just as largemouth and smallmouth bass act differently from one another, different types of trout vary in their behavior. Maybe because rainbow trout significantly outnumber brown trout in so many Southern streams, brown trout defy trout stereotypes in…

If you want to set a new record for a particular species of fish, the following suggestions might help you in your quest. Though some waters are famous for their propensity to grow big fish, other rivers and lakes off the beaten path also have the right stuff. We’ve included them, too. What constitutes a likely record producer? A lot depends on habitat, food sources, predation by other fish and water quality … and, of course, angler expertise. LARGEMOUTH BASS Best Bet: The word record is 22 pounds, 4 ounces and is shared by Lake Biwa in Japan and Montgomery Lake in southern Georgia. There’s probably bigger bass swimming in Lake Biwa, but Montgomery Lake has pretty well had it as a lunker fishery. Set your sights on California to…

A relative newcomer to the hunting rifle market, Stag Arms was founded in 2003 and initially focused its efforts on the AR platform. Notably, Stag pioneered the development of the first left-handed AR, complete with left-side ejection. Since moving its headquarters from New Britain, Conn., to Cheyenne, Wyo., in 2018, the company has continued to develop American-made, competitively priced rifles for law enforcement officers, recreational and professional shooters, and citizens concerned about self-defense. However, one of Stag’s latest rifles, the Stag 10 Pursuit, was designed specifically for hunting with the goal of being as lightweight as possible without sacrificing accuracy. The Stag 10 Pursuit combines reliable functionality, impressive accuracy and appealing looks to meet the needs of discerning hunters. It is available in 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win. chamberings with…

In 1915, Savage introduced the .250-3000 rifle cartridge. Also known as the .250 Savage, it’s generally considered the first factory American rifle cartridge to achieve 3,000 fps. It set the stage for several other successful .25-caliber cartridges, and for many years hunters relished these quarter bores. But, as of late, their charm has diminished. We’ll discuss why shortly, but first, let’s look at why hunters liked them so much to begin with. DUAL-PURPOSE APPEAL Part of the quarter-bore cartridges’ appeal involves sectional density (SD), the ratio of a bullet’s weight compared to its diameter. Historically, SD has been a controlling factor regarding the nominal weight of rifle bullets as they relate to caliber. Often, the most common hunting bullets—by caliber—have an SD of around 0.25. This is why the 100-grain…

The good news: more than three-quarters of Americans approve of hunting, fishing and recreational shooting. The bad news: that supermajority of supporters is declining, according to a survey of national attitudes concerning our field sports that was released last year. The slipping support comes after nearly 30 years of increasingly favorable attitudes toward hunting and fishing, and it has caused some conservation leaders to suggest that we participants need to do a better job of projecting the public benefits and personal joys of hunting and fishing to Americans who may have no familiarity with the activities. The “Americans’ Attitudes Toward Legal, Regulated Fishing, Target/Sport Shooting, Hunting and Trapping” survey was released in August by the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF), a non-profit organization that uses research to recruit a…

February is one of those in-between months in the South, when it seems there’s nothing much to do. If you think about it, though, there are enough chores to keep you busy until it’s time to start scouting for gobblers or roaming the shallow flats looking for bass. What about the boat repairs you’ve been putting off? How about giving your rifle or shotgun a good cleaning before you put it away? You can put off patching up duck blinds, but now’s a good time to take down any lock-ons and ladder stands you’ve got up and give them a good onceover with sandpaper and lubricants. Taking care of such housekeeping might not be the best remedy for boredom, but it should keep you from gathering cobwebs. Once you get…

You’d think that since the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico are all one big, connected body of water, tide heights would be the same everywhere. But that’s not the case at all. The highest tides in the world can be found in Canada at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. Tides there sometimes reach more than 50 feet. On low tide the water retreats up to a half mile, setting large commercial fishing boats on bottom until the tide returns. The highest tides in the United States can be found near Anchorage, Alaska, with tidal ranges that average around 30 feet. Conversely, tides on Pensacola Beach, Fla., are sometimes measured in inches rather than feet. The shape and geometry of a coastline play…

Several years ago, in an effort to get off the couch between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I took up the challenge of getting in good enough shape to run a 5K in five weeks’ time. Most of my nightly runs occurred at my small hometown’s youth baseball field, which sits at the edge of town and has a quarter-mile track around it. On several occasions, a pack of coyotes would yip and howl in the bordering fields and small patches of timber. Since I was trying to clear my head from the daily distractions, I didn’t give much thought to the howling coyotes until after Christmas, when I had passed my running goals. I started the new year by continuing to run regularly during the evening hours, but more for maintenance.…

Many people who travel to hunt Boggy Hollow camp at Open Pond Recreation Area. The property spreads across 450 acres of Forest Service land on Alabama State Road 137 about 8 miles north of the Florida line. The property includes a 30-acre lake full of largemouth bass, bluegills, crappies and channel catfish. Two fishing piers offer access to the lake, and there are several other lakes nearby. The Open Pond area offers hiking, but more adventurous types hike the Conecuh Trail, which runs for 20 miles through the Conecuh National Forest. Bird watchers might spot an endangered red-cockaded woodpecker here. In Andalusia, home of the World Championship Domino Tournament, visitors also find good restaurants, golf courses, cultural centers, museums and shopping. In winter, people can enjoy an ice-skating rink, a…

Stevens Arms has been around for a long time. The company was founded in 1864 and was acquired by Savage Arms in 1920. At that time, the merger made Savage the largest firearms manufacturer in America. Though operating in a semi-independent status until 1942, Stevens has remained a part of Savage since the acquisition. However, during a period in the 1990s, there were no Stevens firearms made. In 1999 Savage revived the brand, and last year it introduced the Model 334 bolt-action rifle. The Model 334 is available with a wood or synthetic stock and is chambered in .243 Win., .308 Win. and 6.5 Creedmoor. With the Model 334’s suggested retail price of $389 for the synthetic-stock version and $489 for wood-stock version, the new rifle fills a gap in…