Indholdsfortegnelse for June/July 2023 i Game & Fish

With this being the June/July issue, it only seems appropriate to reflect on the freedoms we will celebrate on Independence Day. Thanks to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, we Americans can include hunting among them. And while we enjoy the freedom to hunt within regulations we as hunters have agreed to in order to conserve game species, it is a freedom—like many others—under attack. Take, for example, hunting black bears with hounds. Anti-hunters have already managed to get the method banned in many states, even though it’s a traditional and highly effective way of managing the species. I was fortunate to go a hound hunt with Table Mountain Outfitters in Idaho last June, and my story on the adventure begins on page 20. It is a story that…

Midwest crappie fishing is a game largely played by traditional rules and with traditional tackle. Most anglers targeting crappies do so in the spring. This is when fish are readily found in shallow water and around predictable cover and spawning habitats. Not surprisingly, these same anglers catch lots of fish using jigs, soft plastics, floats and countless live minnows. In the spring, chasing crappies in shallow water and around obvious cover makes sense. Once summer hits, though, the game changes, and these popular fish vacate their usual haunts in shallow water. Now, crappies seek out deeper water where they find a wealth of suspended forage species and schools of young-of-the-year fish just waiting to be eaten. Many crappie anglers forget that both black and white crappies are aggressive predators. Wherever…

With more than 1,300 lakes and 73 streams, Wisconsin’s Vilas County is a freshwater fishing paradise. In the heart of this region lies the town of Boulder Junction, which bills itself as “The Musky Capital of the World.” Within a 10-mile radius of town, there are 194 lakes, many of which produce a steady yield of tape-measure muskies to back the claim. But muskies aren’t the only draw here—not by a long shot. Marty Clauson, guide and owner of Marty Clauson Fishing Adventures, says most anglers come for walleyes, but for him the real fun is the area’s small-mouth bass angling, which he describes as world-class and relatively untouched. The species opportunities rival the beauty and diversity of the area’s waters. Northern pike are popular targets on almost every lake.…

In some of my deer hunting areas I run more than two-dozen trail cameras year-round. In distant places I’ll be hunting, I try to make a road trip, scout and set out trail cameras in early to mid-July. When I return for the hunt, I gather cameras and study footage on my laptop. Eight months ago I started using Browning Dark Ops Pro DCL cameras ($179.99; browningtrailcameras.com). I run all my cameras on video mode to get the full story. High Definition (1080p) video captures movements, behaviors and sounds that still images can’t. With the ability to increase the length of the video clips captured by the Dark Ops, these cameras have revealed a lot about deer—and predators. Think a 10-second video shows a lot? Let it run for 2…

It had taken us all day to find the blacktail buck bedded on the side of a hill rising from Alaska’s Kodiak Island. I was lying prone on an adjacent hill, a light wind quartering from right to left. The range was 284 yards, and my rifle was steady when I squeezed off the shot. The buck took one bound from its bed and rolled down the hill until it stopped on the edge of an alder patch. It never moved again. Thus was my introduction to Remington’s Premier Long Range load, a performance that didn’t really surprise me given the top-end components the company has put in its new line of big-game ammo. Bullets built for long-range hunting have to possess three primary features. First, of course, they must…

The federal Farm Bill, reauthorized by Congress every five years, is the most important piece of legislation that most of us ignore. That’s because the $1.4 trillion bill, which influences everything from public-school lunches to disaster payments for drought-crippled corn farmers, is dense, complicated and so full of acronyms that it’s hard to know whether you should support ACEP, VPA-HIP or EQIP. Happily, folks far more familiar with the process and details are watching the development of the 2023 Farm Bill with an eye for what it can deliver to America’s hunters, anglers and outdoor recreationists. Folks like Jim Ingles, director of governmental affairs for Pheasants Forever. “Depending on what part of the country you live in, or whether you are a farmer or a hunter, you’re going to hear…

Midwestern summers are meant for days at the lake. As many head out to enjoy the weekend on crowded waters, anglers must find remote locations where pleasure boaters won’t interrupt their angling. Thankfully, there are ample places to find peace and quiet this summer—if you know where to look. You won’t compete with water skiers on Indiana’s Wabash River, but you’ll find lots of shady spots to fish for sturgeon. Meanwhile, Lake Michigan’s Beaver Island offers unique flats-style fishing for a very overlooked fish. Hunting is limited, but predators and nuisance wildlife are options. Hunting coyotes in Kentucky, for example, is a conservation effort local fawns and poults will appreciate. 1 LAKE ERIE PERCH Lake Erie is one of the Midwest’s top prospects for putting fish in the freezer.…

Much of the gear needed to get started trolling for crappies is comparable to that used for walleyes. Many anglers use the same rods, line-counter reels, 10-pound-test trolling lines and planer boards for both species. Smaller, purpose-built boards do make it easier to determine when crappies are hooked, though, and they work exceptionally well when paired with light-action rods and light lines. RODS WITH REACH Rods suitable for long-lining jigs are specialty products tailor-made for this unique presentation. When long-lining, use rods of various lengths to spread out jigs and cover more water. You normally buy these rods in pairs. A common long-lining setup would include six rods—two measuring 7 feet long, two 9-footers and two 11-foot rods. HANDS-FREE MOTORS An autopilot-style electric motor handles most summer trolling chores with…

Grandpa Keenan was a feast-or-famine amateur catfisherman who swore a lot, especially during the famine phases of his fishing. He swore colorfully and inventively, which was inspiring to me as an impressionable pre-teen. Year after year, from late spring till early autumn, he fished the same spot on a medium-sized Midwestern river with the same baits. Three or four times each year, he’d clobber cats at his honey hole, but usually he got skunked. Hence the profanity. “Where in the [obscenity] did those [plural expletive] go?” he’d explode after an evening without a single bite. “I caught the [dirty word] out of them right here last week, but now I can’t buy a [bleeping blasphemy] bite.” It was my mistake to copy both his vocabulary and his catfishing tactics. The…

Outstanding resorts and fine-dining establishments abound in Boulder Junction and the broader Vilas County region. One sure way to draw a bead on your fishing and family needs is to contact the area’s tourism organizations. The Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce (715-385-2400; boulderjct.org) compiles an annual visitors guide and can provide additional lodging, dining and recreational tips. Vilas County Tourism (715-479-3649; vilaswi.com) in Eagle River is another helpful source of information. Target smallmouth bass, walleyes or muskies, or plan a multi-species outing with Marty Clauson at Marty Clauson Fishing Adventures (608-369-0075; fishingboulderjunction.com). Meanwhile, for up-to-date info and a full range of quality bait and tackle, try Northern Highland Sports (northernhighlandsports.com) in the heart of Boulder Junction. Fly fishermen ready to challenge the mighty muskellunge and other species (including trout) should…

I was halfway through a slow, steady retrieve when my line suddenly pulled tight, a noticeable bend forming in my rod. Something in the shallow, clear waters surrounding the Sister Islands had inhaled my black marabou jig. I set the hook and felt a weighty fish dart off in another direction. A short but dogged fight later, I had a chunky smallmouth bass in hand—my first of the day. After a few quick photos, I slid the feisty fish back into the cool water, and my boatmates congratulated me on my first Door County smallmouth. It was mid-June, and our group of anglers was on Lake Michigan’s Green Bay for two reasons: to catch lots of smallmouth bass and to test Humminbird’s new MEGA Live Imaging TargetLock system before its…

When school let out for summer, Shane’s cousin Kurt invited him to his family’s dairy farm in New York, with the promise of lots of good fishing after the daily chores were done. Shane quickly talked his parents into letting him go, and a couple weeks later he was in Kurt’s room, organizing his gear in preparation for an afternoon on the water. “I brought Rat-L-Traps, buzzbaits, deep-diving cranks and a whole slew of plastic worms,” said Shane. “I’d probably leave the buzzbaits and those anaconda-sized worms at home,” Kurt suggested, chuckling a little as he looked over Shane’s tackle. “Do you have any eighth-ounce white jigs or Rooster Tails?” “I don’t have anything that small,” said Shane. “I just can’t imagine a bass—even a Northern bass—not devouring a 10-inch…

There are two rules of thumb when it comes to field shooting positions. The first is that the easier the position is to assume, the less steady it will be. The other is that the closer you can get your rifle to the ground, the steadier you will be. Competence from field shooting positions can help you find success while hunting, but competence only comes with practice. Here’s a crash course in the four field shooting positions with some tips to help you assume them faster and shoot better from them. STANDING The standing off-hand position is the fastest to assume and the least steady, but sometimes it’s required when you’re surprised and need to take a fast shot. Most think that to assume it, you just snap the rifle…

When the mud-spattered Toyota stopped at the end of the gravel road, I slid out and strode to the edge of a clearing that had most likely been a log landing in the recent past. The ground dropped off quickly beyond the crushed stone and scattered bark fragments, and below me stretched a vast forest of pine towering above thick, green undergrowth. A soft wind swayed the branches of the trees at the edge of the landing, and I caught my breath when the breeze delivered the faint yet unmistakable sound my ears had been straining to hear. A bark, a bawl … somewhere down in there—way down in there—the hounds were still on the trail. I turned around to get the attention of the guys in the truck and,…

Most hunters have long thought it’s difficult, if not impossible, to shoot big, mature whitetails on small tracts of land—especially on a regular basis. However, this is a false belief. I’ve taken four Pope & Young bucks on the 50-acre Kentucky family farm I’ve hunted most of my life. Similarly, a 180-inch buck frequented a 40-acre Ohio lease I used to hunt, though he never came within bow range the two times I saw him. Meanwhile, I’ve taken 120-, 140- and 142-inch bucks on my current Ohio lease, which only has about 30 to 40 huntable acres. I also filmed my uncle harvesting a big non-typical buck on a 10-acre property that I set up specifically for the encounter we had. Long story short, you can absolutely kill big deer…

Few presentations have taken the walleye world by storm to the extent that glide baits have. Not to be confused with the jointed swimbaits used for bass, these hard-bodied jigging lures—like the classic Rapala Jigging Rap—have successfully navigated the challenging leap from cold- or frozen-water favorites to warm-water essentials. In recent years, they’ve proven highly effective at converting walleyes in lakes, rivers and reservoirs into fish in the tank. That said, inducing strikes with glide baits is not without its own learning curve and supporting tackle needs. The presentation tips and recommendations below will help you target walleyes using glide baits throughout the warm-water season. A NEW WRINKLE While lures like the Jigging Rap may have earned their keep as hardwater staples fished vertically through a watery cylinder in the…

By 3:30 a.m., Dad and I were where we wanted to be. It was Oct. 1, opening day of general rifle season. I had been scouting the area since early August and had seen some good bucks. We assumed the place would be overrun with hunters, but we didn’t see a single truck until 10 minutes before legal shooting light. Over the next few minutes, we watched more trucks making their way down various logging roads in Oregon’s Cascade Range. Daylight came and the sun eventually crested the mountains behind us. Dad and I had yet to see a deer, but we dared not move. The logged unit we glassed was tall with weeds, willows and briars, making it hard to see deer unless they moved. Finally, more than three…

Capt. Adam Rasmussen runs his charter business out of Sturgeon Bay. A testament to Door County’s multi-species diversity, Rasmussen offers smallmouth and walleye trips through his Rasmussen Outdoors Guide Service (rasmussenoutdoors.com) and trout and salmon trips through his Salmon Depot Charter Fishing (salmondepot.com). Book him for a no-hassles adventure and to shorten your learning curve on the water. DIY anglers should visit Howie’s Tackle (howiestackle.com) for local info and to stock up on necessary supplies. There are ample boat ramps on both the Green Bay and Lake Michigan sides of the Door Peninsula, along with a few fishing piers and shore access points for shore-bound anglers. The Wisconsin DNR (dnr.wisconsin.gov) has an interactive map showing launches, shore fishing access and more. Also, bone up on regulations, which can vary. If…