Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2025 i Game & Fish

One of the quirks of my job as an outdoor magazine editor is I start to experience each hunting season long before opening day. It’s early January as I write this, three months before I’ll try to convince a longbeard that I’m the hen he just has to come see, but I’ve been reading articles about spring turkey hunting since Thanksgiving. Just after Christmas, I tested a new turkey gun from Henry with new loads from Apex so I could write a review for this issue (see page 76). It’s difficult to not be fired up for turkey season when I’ve already been immersed in my favorite part of spring for weeks on end. The wind chill has been in the teens in my part of Pennsylvania, but I’m already…

Bass-fishing success year-round demands versatility. Hollowbody frogs may be great when the slop thickens, but froggin’ gear is of limited utility when the fish are on the bank and more likely to chase squarebills. An expert-level jerkbait angler will struggle when fish go deep, unless they become equally competent with a drop-shot. Whether you are climbing the competitive-angling ladder, or simply want to consistently enjoy a steady flow of bites, becoming proficient with a broad range of bass fishing techniques is of critical importance. Of course, changing presentations isn’t simply a matter of snipping one bait off your line or leader and tying on another. The rod in your hand is as central to bass fishing success as your choice of lure. An outstanding jerkbait rod is a bad choice…

I had visited Vermont once. I was in eighth grade and attending my cousin’s high-school graduation. Vastly different from the openness of the West where I called home, Vermont enchanted me with its brilliant greens, massive maple woodlots and miles of hardwood ridges. I never forgot those sights, and nearly three decades later when my amigo Justin Brouillard invited me to Vermont to hunt turkeys with him, I jumped at the opportunity to return. I’m a turkey junkie, and I find new states in which to satisfy my addiction each spring. Last season, I officially started my “Chasing 49” quest to harvest a wild turkey in all 49 states with a huntable turkey population. Alaska is the only turkey no-go, thanks to fantastic conservation groups like the National Wild Turkey…

March means winter is almost over and warmer temperatures are ahead. For some, it’s a chance to tune up the boat and put fresh line on crappie rods. For others, it’s all about getting in a few more ice-fishing trips before open water returns. Dedicated small-game hunters can still enjoy some excellent opportunities if they’re willing to look. With turkey seasons approaching, scouting for birds while hunting for shed deer antlers is a great excuse to get outdoors. Besides, after a long winter of hearty meals and too many nights in a recliner by the fire, most of us could benefit from burning a little boot leather now. 1 KANSAS RABBITS Rabbit hunting is allowed year-round in Kansas for both cottontails and jackrabbits, and March is a great time of…

Broaden your horizons. Break out of your comfort zone. Make some new friends. It’s funny how well this classic counsel often peddled by extroverts to introverts describes one of the foundational benefits that forward-facing sonar (FFS) offers. Chiefly, that it enables an angler to open his mind beyond the traditional ways of thinking and find fish he may not otherwise encounter. Producing real-time sonar views, FFS technology is a time saver and a perception enhancer. While it is useful year-round, it especially excels for locating suspended bass staging for the pre-spawn in winter and early spring. MASTER THE MIDDLE As Missouri pro Mike McClelland explains, his seasonal search comes down to finding fish that are relating to their main food source—shad schools. That may sound like Bass Fishing 101, but…

The most amazing thing about a black bear: suddenly, it’s just there, appearing in absolute silence. My first big black bear materialized like that at the forest’s edge. No warning, just there. Although I was young, I knew it was big. A quartering-to shot from my .375 anchored him. Big and burly, over 7 feet. Sadly, I don’t know exactly how big that bear was. The skull mysteriously disappeared, and the rug showed shrinkage. That was 50 years ago. Since then, I’ve taken a few good black bears, but I’m not sure I’ve taken another as big in all dimensions. In the last half-century, the black bear has increased in population and has reoccupied historic habitat. He has the largest range of any North American game animal, from the Atlantic…

WHAT’S GOING ON OUT THERE? Find out what Game & Fish fans love online, from hunting and fishing how-to videos, to trophy successes, to the best and newest gear. Our “Trending” section is updated every week. ‘FIELD TO FIRE’ Andrew Zimmern, host of the Outdoor Channel’s “Field to Fire” series, says cooking over an open fire remains a great way to prepare game dishes. See a trio of his favorite creations under “Recipies.” HOW ABOUT THESE GUNS? If you’re planning for next season and looking to scratch the whitetail itch, you need to check out “Best New Deer Hunting Rifles for 2025,” our online-exclusive roundup. BEST BASS STATES There’s great black bass fishing in every corner of the Lower 48, but where’s the best? Digital staffer Lynn Burkhead breaks down…

I had spent the morning turkey hunting in the West Virginia mountains. On the drive home, I found three black-legged ticks crawling up my arms, even though the temperature at more than 3,100 feet had been in the upper 30s. Unfortunately, I did not find all of them that day. It wasn’t until the next morning that I discovered a fourth tick, which had attached to my body. I immediately asked my wife to remove it. She used curved tweezers to grab the tick close to my skin and gently, but firmly, pulled backward to remove the bloodsucker. Just as importantly, I took two pills of doxycycline, which I always keep on hand through a doctor’s prescription. The black-legged, or deer, tick is about the size of a pencil point…

Many whitetail hunters often view springtime mineral sites as unnecessary. By the time March rolls around, most major hunting seasons are over, turkey season is arriving shortly and fishing in many places is picking up. I’ve heard all these excuses in the past, but none of them truly justifies forgoing a mineral site in the spring. Mineral sites not only benefit you as a hunter; they also can play a vital role in a whitetail’s overall heath. WHY TO DO IT Know Your Deer For hunters, the primary reason to create a mineral site is because mineral sites attract deer. Bucks, does and fawns will all start frequenting your mineral site on a regular basis once they discover it. This is great for inventorying bucks that made it through hunting…

Most anglers seeking big catfish tend to cater to the fish’s senses of smell and taste. Given the catfish’s many extrasensory taste buds and incredible olfactory sensory cells on their skin, in their mouths and on their whiskers, this makes perfect sense. However, while fresh, live and cut baits can certainly draw in giant spring catfish, adding sound and vibration can greatly boost one’s odds, and this bite only improves as water temperatures warm in the spring. With a few small adaptations to spring and summer bait rigs, you too can ring the dinner bell for catfish. CALL ’EM IN Captain Anthony Cubbage currently runs a guide service in Virginia (atomicfishingcharters.com) focused mainly on targeting blue catfish on the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. Before that, though, he lived in Missouri…

When the redbuds begin to bloom in the southern Midwest, many anglers start focusing much more seriously on fishing. March in this part of the region is a time when waters begin to warm and fish become more active, and it can be a great opportunity to work out winter’s kinks. While many northern lakes are still frozen, Missouri’s Truman Lake is ice-free in March. In fact, it usually doesn’t freeze all winter, aside from perhaps a few days during especially cold winters. As a rule, fishing never turns off on the state’s largest lake, with solid action available year-round. That said, things do pick up in March. Walleyes are spawning or getting ready to spawn, as are paddlefish (aka spoonbills). Crappies are up on the flats chasing shad, and…

Options for adventure abound in south-central Alaska. There is, of course, great fishing for salmon and trout in seemingly every waterway, and visiting anglers make spending time on the water a priority. Many also recognize that the state offers numerous other activities such as glacier trekking, jet boating, ATV or Jeep touring, flightseeing and dogsled-ding, along with the more typical hiking and wildlife viewing. Considering all these opportunities, a lot of anglers don’t need or want to fly to a distant, isolated lodge and fish seven days straight. Those visiting Alaska with their spouse or other family members can blend interesting non-angling outdoor activities with excellent fishing to experience the beauty and bounty that makes Alaska a top destination. To add to the adventure, such day-trip fishing opportunities include exciting…

In those dark days before the emergence of tungsten turkey loads, very few hunters carried a .410-bore shotgun for gobblers because they wanted to. They hunted with a .410 because they had to. Either they were too young or recoil-shy to handle a larger gun, or a .410 was the only shotgun they owned. Loads for the .410 just didn’t hold enough No. 6 lead pellets to reliably dispatch longbeards past 20 yards—an unfavorable constraint in the spring woods. Most turkey hunters (except maybe those with an envious amount of time on their hands) still don’t want to limit their shots to 20 yards, but soft-shooting, wand-like .410 shotguns are becoming increasingly popular gobbler guns. Thanks to incredibly dense Tungsten Super Shot (TSS), the effective range of the .410 as…

Portable shooting rests started out as nothing more than two sticks tied together with a leather strap near one end. That’s what the old-time buffalo hunters used. They just spread them apart and rested their rifle at the point where the sticks crossed. Of course, shooting sticks have since evolved, and many hunters are now even foregoing shooting sticks and bipods altogether and instead turning to tripods, onto which they can easily attach their rifle. There’s a wide assortment of these tripods to choose from, and how and where you hunt will ultimately dictate whether a shooting tripod is compatible with your pursuit. If you hunt from a treestand in the timber, they’re probably not for you. But if you like to spot and stalk open country or hunt from…

My buddy Ed has a way with verbs. He says he “stuck” a buck when he connects with his bow, he “blasts” or “schwee-schwacks” deer with his rifle, and he “gives dirt naps” to the elk he drops in the Montana mountains. His is colorful and descriptive language, but those verbs don’t convey much empathy for the animals that will feed his family and quench his passion for hunting. I don’t care that much. I know Ed as a hard and serious hunter, and his earthy descriptions of killing wildlife form a sort of code between committed hunters. I find myself sometimes describing how I “blasted” a duck or goose. But what if a non-hunter or even an anti-hunter overhears Ed? They’re likely to judge him—and by extension, other hunters—as…

The sight of a float ducking beneath the water strikes an atavistic thrill in anglers everywhere. It’s a pity that many of us shy away from this simple tool as our tackle arsenal—and fishing skill level—evolves. It’s sad, too, that few of us take the time to learn just how versatile and sophisticated a float can be. In the 1990s, Mick Thill brought European float (aka “bobber”) concepts and designs to the U.S. This exposed Americans to a wide array of streamlined float varieties and, more importantly, helped illustrate the importance of balanced float rigs that relay the most delicate of bites. Thill’s concepts, derived largely from European match-fishing techniques, never took hold here to the degree he hoped. However, he did pave the way for refined float usage in…

Midwest anglers are fortunate to have access to a plethora of natural lakes, reservoirs and rivers with thriving catfish populations. Many contain all three common catfish species, and several of these can also provide opportunities for trophy-sized fish. Providing an exhaustive list of great Midwest catfishing destinations is almost impossible, but below are a few solid options for those looking to try adding a bit of noise to their bait rigs this spring. POWERTON LAKE This lake in Illinois acts as a cooling reservoir for a coal-fired steam electric generator adjacent to the Illinois River and offers good blue cat action in early spring. Cut silver carp are a popular bait, as the Illinois River is overrun with the invasive fish. Just remember that using live silver carp (or any…

Truman Reservoir is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) lake and has six campgrounds that the Corps operates. There are also campgrounds in Harry S. Truman State Park, as well as many private campgrounds and RV parks. While there are few accommodations directly on the lake—because those areas are under Corps of Engineers control—there is lodging available in Clinton and Warsaw and in between as well. Cody’s Bait and Tackle (codysbaitandtackle.com) in Warsaw, which sells bait and gear and offers a guide service, also has cabins available. In addition to Cody’s, Everharts Outdoor Store (no apostrophe) in Clinton, located on the northwest side of the lake, also offers minnows and other baits. Cody Vannattan, the owner of Cody’s Bait and Tackle, also guides and has a YouTube channel and…

There are several productive streams very close to Alaska’s largest city. Combine those with an abundance of accommodations and infrastructure, and Anchorage becomes a great base location for any Alaska fishing trip. Just keep in mind that some of the close waters are not remote and may attract crowds when salmon runs are heavy. Anchorage lies just south of the Mat-Su Valley, named for its two primary drainages, the Matanuska and Susitna rivers. To the west is the Cook Inlet, and to the south is the Kenai Peninsula. The Talkeetna Mountains are to the north, and the majestic 5,000-foot-plus peaks of the Chugach Mountains lie to the south. It is easy to reach several exciting salmon and trout fisheries from Anchorage. Dustin Slinker has been fishing the area for more…

Shane had yearned for a dog of his own for as long as he could remember, but there was always some reason why his parents wouldn’t let him have one. “Maybe someday you can get a dog when you prove responsible enough” was the common refrain from them both. But Shane’s sustained lobbying ultimately wore them down, and finally, after years of begging, he was told he could get a puppy for his 14th birthday—under a few conditions. One, Shane was solely responsible for tending to the dog each day, training him and cleaning up any messes. Two, the dog would sleep in a doghouse in the backyard. Finally, Shane must earn money through chores to help pay any vet bills. After weeks of research and listening to endless opinions…