adventure sports outdoors nov. 2012

Sports Outdoors

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INSIDE:! Over 80 Stories!! Jim Crowley

Manitoba Bear Hunt! CPO Reports! Holiday Gift Guide! Fall Mushrooms! Big Savings

on Boats & Hunting Equipment!

INSIDE:! Over 80 Stories!! Jim Crowley

Manitoba Bear Hunt! CPO Reports! Holiday Gift Guide! Fall Mushrooms! Big Savings

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November 2012November 2012Congratulations Jim Crowley!Congratulations Jim Crowley!

AdventureSportsOutdoors.webs.comASOMagazine.com

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2 ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS “THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN” November 2012

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Hartsburg, IL 62643 Greenview, IL 62642217-642-5215 217-968-2216

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November 2012 ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS “THE VOICE OF THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN” 3

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©Copyright 1994Published monthly by: Red Nose, Inc.Harry & Cathy Canterbury, Owners

TREMONT OFFICE1408 Downing Ct. • Tremont, IL 61568

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NOV. 2012 • ISSUE #192

Deadline for ASO editions is the 10th of each previous month.

Please send only digital media files.

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cause that is where most of themoney comes from that isspent in Hawaii. Soundsfamiliar doesn’t it?

Another really neat thing tosee that should get more publicityis the Bowfin Submarine. It is calledthe Pearl Harbor Avenger. She went in-to service exactly one year after the at-tack. Individuals can go through thewhole boat wearing audio headsets tohear details about the sub. This sub-marine sank 44 enemy ships and subs.It is not the favorite place for theJapanese to visit, because on the towerare 44 Rising Sun flags representing aflag for each ship sunk.

I will never forget the experienceof seeing Pearl Harbor. If you get thechance to go please do, you won’t bedisappointed. The names you read onthe memorial sound like neighbors inyour own community.

Another great experience was deepsea fishing off the coast of Kona. Wespent a whole day fishing for marlinand tuna on a beautiful boat in calmwaters. My friend Dave Herschel-man and I both caught yellow fin“ahi” tuna that were about 125pounds. That was a fantastic trip andanother thing off my bucket list.

Dave & Kelleye Herschelman ac-companied us on the trip. Wed nightwe all attended a Luau at the Mar-riott, which had a really neat showand excellent dinner. Open bar wasgreat and in talking to the bartender,found out he was a fisherman. Thenext thing you know we are on a 50foot boat fishing for marlin and tuna.

We cruised for about 6 hours, itwas really nice. It was Dave’s turn inthe chair when the fish hit. He is a big

Canterbury Talesplace I highly recommendall Americans to see. Thiswas a top priority item onmy bucket list. 1177Sailors and Marines diedon that day on December7th 1941 just on the Bat-tleship Arizona. This isthe moment we werebrought into WW2 to stopthe aggression of theJapanese in the Pacific.

As FDR said it was a date that willlive in infamy. On that day 2402 mil-itary and civilians died with an addi-tional 1282 wounded. It is a place ofhonor and should be rememberedforever what the Japanese did to us.

I found the Japanese visitors as awhole are fairly respectful but alsonoticed some were loud and obnox-ious. As we were listening to our tourguide some came by talking veryloudly and looked like they went outof their way to show us they werethere to gloat. I asked a man why dothey come and why do they act likethey do and his comment was theywon this battle and have come to seewhere their ancestors won the day.

Two weeks before our visit, therewas an older Japanese man on theArizona Memorial who spit on thewall of names. The tour guide toldme they had a hard time to keep thepeople from throwing him into thedrink. Knowing me I am glad I wasnot there because I would havethrown him in without any hesita-tions.

Things like this happen once in awhile, but the National Park Servicetries to keep it unknown to most.They try to be politically correct tonot offend the Japanese tourist be-

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I finally went to a placewhere I have alwayswanted to go, but for onereason or another it wasout of reach. Money wasthe main thing and theother was time. It’s aplace I heard about all mylife, I have seen moviesabout it and had a fasci-nation to see it just likeany patriotic Americanwould like to see.

What was it? It was Pearl HarborNaval base in Oahu on the HawaiianIslands. I had pre-conceived ideaswhat it would look like but it wasquite different than I expected.

Cathy and I were at where the warstarted and stood on the battleshipMissouri where it was ended. It is a

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Cont’d. on pgs. 8-9

Harry & Cathy

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62 ......Ed DeVries, BAI News 64 ......Jason Mitchell, Pull Position Walleyes 66 ......Steve Welch, November Crappie Deep Ledge Jig Time 68 ......Dr Dru Hauter, M.D. Motion Sickness 69 ......Gerald Sampen-Outdoor Connection, Adventures So. of the Border 72 ......Judd Cooney, Muzzleloader Loads: 100 vs. 150 grains 74 ......Bill Nichol, Far-Bank Retrieves74 ......Rocky Canterbury Arrested by PAWS76 ......DeerCreek Legion, Winter Coat Exchange/Free Thanksgiving Day Dinner77 ......Lester Rench, Central IL K-9: Family Pack Walk 78 ......Calif. Artist Robert Steiner Wins 2012 Federal Duck Stamp Contest79 ......Waterfowl Youth Hunts80 ......Mike Lambeth, Duck Blinds, DIY Style81 ......Building a Homemade Boat Blind82 ......Duck Populations Hit All-Time Record 83 ......New Waterfowl Ammunition84 ......2012 Migration Update 85 ......Aaron Fraser Pass, Bad Habits86 ......Make Sure Your Shotgun Fits 86 ......DU Explores New Salt Marsh Restoration Technique 87 ......Jeff Foiles, Duck Hunter Dream Dog Part 1 88 ......Holiday Gift Guide88 ......Wenger 2012 Knife Collection 89 ......BioLite™ Revolutionizes Campfire w/ Clean/Efficient CampStove™90 ......Yaktrax® Helps Users Stay Safe on Ice During Winter Months91 ......Merrell’s Coats for Women Who Love the Outdoors 92 ......Don Higgins Hunting Trophies94 ......Johnson Tree Stands96 ......Keli VanCleave, High Altitude Hunting with Sugar Hill Archery Club97 ......Nici Haerter A Family Tradition: The Elusive Piranha Preta Part 298 ......Anita Williams, The Wild West100 ....Marlene Odahlen-Hinz, Recipe for a Bowhunter101 ....Chuck Sudo, River Otter Trapping Legal Again After 83-Year Ban102 ....A.K. Thompson Dirt Church, Strawberry 103 ....Kris Winkelman’s Kitchen 104 ....Dave Genz, Ice Fishing’s Future is Now! 105 ....Mary Ann Vance, Real Estate Chatter106 ....Dan Gapen, The Southward Journey 108 ....Dr. Dave Samuel, To Cull Inferior Bucks, or Not109 ....Drake Taylor, Little “D” Adventures to Arkansas 110 ....Dave Evans, MN Memoirs: Endless Summer Ends 112 ....Brian Barton, Jigging Spoons For Fall Catfish 113 ....Bob McNally, Preparation is everything when Processing Deer114 ....Jack Hart, Recreational Ground, Part 15 115 ....Bob Hendricks, The Life and Times of a Bowhunter 116 ....2 hunters killed in Mississippi River boat crash 116 ....Deer hunter fatally shot in northern Indiana 116 ..More than 8,000 Michigan deer dead from disease117 ....Dan Galusha DAN’S FISH ‘N’ TALES®, Giving a Kick to a Jig118 ....Canadian fishing adventures with ASO rep. Floyd Green119 ....Ray Simms, Fall Fishing is Fine for Muskies & Pike

GUIDE TO ASO WRITERSGUIDE TO ASO WRITERS7 ........Mom's Recipe: Venison Recipes 8-9 ....Canterbury Tales continues, Hawaii Trip10 ......Norman V Kelly, Named FORE Whom?12 ......Dorge Huang, Firenock AEROINSERT™ A & D13 ......ISRA: Rich Pearson, Open Letter To Shooters Regarding Barack Obama15 ......Terri Sweckard & Pam Tanner Land of Lincoln Honor Flight16 ......John Ackerman, Letter to the Editor of Local Newspapers18 ......Mike Roux, Bowhunting According to Luke20 ......Bob Murray, Meandering Murrays: Mount or Meat? 22 ......NOV Outdoor IL Calendar of Events22 ......Nabbing 697 1/2-pound Mississippi gator a record thrill23 ......Wisconsin, Minnesota ready for first wolf hunts24 ......Outdoor News25 ......Dave Shadow, E-Town: A Jewel of the South 26 ......Dave Shadow, Fall Mushrooms are an Overlooked Delicacy 27 ......Colby Simms, SimmsOutdoors.com: White Knuckle Lake Trout Fishing30 ....Illinois Walleye Trail Hennepin Marine Fall Classic31 ......Kurt Meyer, Cannon Dam Cabins & General Store Mark Twain Lake, Mo32 ......Missouri Wild-turkey production up for second year 32 ......Urban deer harvest beats 10-year average33 ......MDC Stocks Trout at Jackson’s Rotary Lake,34 ......Bill Graham, MDC Raise/Release Mighty Lake Sturgeon in Big Rivers 35 ......MDC and DU Celebrate 75 Years of Boosting Wetlands and Wildlife36 ......Stephen D. Carpenteri, Crossbow Accurately is No Accident38 ......Wayne Baughman, Survival of the Fittest 39 ......Jason Houser, Calling the Wily Coyote 41 ......Woo's Corner, Match your Tackle with the Conditions 42 ......Babe Winkelman, Get rattled43 ......Daniel Vinovich, Heartbreak Ridge! 45 ......Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) – Illinois Update 46 ......Dave Herschelman, I hate Rain! 48 ......Bill Cooper, The Perfect Jungle Camp 50 ......Hunting Trophies 51 ......CPO Reports AUGUST 2012 55 ......Roland Cheek’S Campfire Culture, Tess the Talking Dog 56 ......Kirby Schupp, Gunsmithing: TheShotGunShop.net Capabilities/Patience58 ......Jim Crowley, Bear Down60 ......Oak Lawn High School Bass Tourney 61 ......Tim Huffman, Bumpin' Deep Wood for Crappie

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Pan Broiled Venison Steaks 6 venison steaks, 1/2 to 1 inch thick1/2 tsp. pepper1 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. charcoal seasoning (optional)Marinade:1/4 cup red wine vinegar2/3 cup salad oil1/2 tsp. dry mustard1 tbsp. onion, grated1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce1/4 tsp. garlic powder3 tbsp. water1 tsp. salt1 tbsp. ketchup1/2 tsp. sugar1/2 tsp. paprika

Measure all marinade ingredients into a jar, whichhas a tight-fitting lid. Cover and shake vigorously.Place marinade in large glass bowl. Add steaks andallow to stand for several hours or overnight in thefridge. Remove steaks from marinade and drain well.Season steaks with salt, pepper, and charcoal sea-soning, if desired.Heat oil in frying pan. Cook steaks quickly at highheat, turning every half-minute until done. Do not

overcook. Add only enough oil to prevent meat fromsticking to pan. Serves 6.

Fillet of Venison 1 whole deer tenderloin, 1-3 lbs.1 tbsp. olive oil or vegetable oil1-2 tbsp. butter or margarineSalt and freshly ground black pepperMadeira Game Sauce (optional):3 tbsp. butter or margarine1 cup venison stock (may substitute beef stock)2 tbsp. Madeira wine3 tbsp. all-purpose flour2 tbsp. currant jelly

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In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium lowheat. Stir in flour. Blend in stock. Cook over mediumheat until thickened and bubbly after 5-7 minutes.Add jelly. Stir until melted. Add Madeira wine and heatjust to boiling. Serve sauce warm. Makes about 1 cup.Remove all surface fat and silver-skin from tender-loin. Slice across grain into one-inch-thick fillets.

In medium skillet, melt butter in oil over medium-low heat. Add fillets; cook to desired doneness overmedium high heat, turning once. Salt and pepper totaste.

Serve with Madeira Game Sauce (as above).Serves 4-6.

Venison Scallopini 1-1/2 lb. venison round steak, cut 1/2 inch thick1/2 cup flour1/2 tsp. pepper1/3 cup light cream3/4 cup Parmesan cheese1 cup Marsala wine or pineapple juice1 clove garlic, crushed1 tsp. salt1 egg, slightly beaten

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3/4 cup fine cracker crumbs1/4 cup snipped parsley

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Pound meatpieces !-inch thick with the edge of a saucer or meatpounder. Stir flour, salt, and pepper together. Stir eggand cream together. Stir crumbs, Parmesan andparsley together.

Dredge the meat first in the flour mixture, then theegg mixture, then the crumb mixture. In large skillet,heat butter and garlic until golden. Brown meat onboth sides. Place browned meat in square baking dish,8 x 8 x 2 inches. Pour wine over the top and cover.

Bake 45-60 minutes or until meat is tender.

Mom’s Recipe

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Venison Recipes

WATCH ASO-TV Sat. Nov. 24

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WTVP Ch. 47

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Cal l Club for Specif ic ShootingDays & Times Open for Skeet &

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Dave & Kelleye Herschelmanwith Harry & Cathy

at a Luau.

Dave & Kelleye inside theBowfin Submarine. Great tour

of a hero ship.

Volcano Park was on the other side of theBig Island. Great drive!

On the deck of the Missouri…

Giant guns!

Left: Harry reeling in his monster125 lb yellow fin tuna (ahi)

Below: Steve with Dave & his giant tuna.

Tuna Flag flying! Heart ofthe tunawas stillbeating!

Harry’s tuna

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majestic Battleship Arizona. I feellike I have seen the place above allplaces where so many died at onetime so we can live. God bless them.Remember Veterans Sun. Nov. 11th.

It is duck season and I have beenworking my tail off trying to getready. Dave Evans and I have beenpumping water building blinds haul-ing decoys and doing every otherchore you can think of to get ready. Idon’t know why we do all this workto shoot a few ducks but I actuallylike all the prep work and think it isas much fun as it is to hunt. Allthough of course the hunting part isbetter I hope.

This year looks pretty good; wehave over a hundred acres of milletand natural feed. I was introduced tothis sport when I was a kid. That wasover 50 years ago when dad took meto the duck club. I had to carry wood-

strong guy but this was one time hehad a pretty good tussle. It took about30 minutes to get the first fish upalong the boat.

These big fish are dangerous whenthey are next to the boat and have tobe dispatched by a ball bat. Steve, ourfirst mate was about as good a firstmate I have ever been with. He wasnot only great on deck working thegear but was fun to be with. He madethe trip interesting and is a top notchguy to fish with.

Take a trip to Hawaii, stay on theBig Island. Book a trip to fish for tunaand marlin with Long Ranger SportFishing Charters. Their phone num-ber is 808-937-1870. Capt. LanceGelman is a great guy too. Hebrought this beautiful boat to Hawaiiover 40 years ago and has been fish-ing ever since. He knows what he isdoing and is good at it.

The trip to Hawaii was as good asthey get. I have been all over Centraland South America on vacations andthey were great but the weather inHawaii is much better with 80degrees a normal and no humidity.You can drink the water and eat thefood and you won’t get sick.Experience visiting the graves of1175 Sailors and Marines who areburied in the bowls of the once

en decoys over my shoulder and cutbrush. I told dad, “Why do you dothis dad, this is not fun.”

He was always excited about theupcoming season but at that time Icould not figure out why. As timewent by it finally came together whyhe and all the other guys thought thiscrazy sport called duck hunting wasfun. In fact it is probably as much funas anything there is to do.

Dad told me I would learn moreabout life and people doing this sportthan anything else, and he was right.One quote I remember so well is“you will know more about a man byspending 30 minutes in a duck blindon a great day then you will if youknew him for 20 years.” You willlearn if he shares, if he’s greedy, is hegood company, does he have a senseof humor, is well rounded, and do

you really want to hunt with himagain?

Dad was a wise man and I just wishI had the wit and humor my dad had.He was a special guy and when hewas alive I wish I had known that. Imiss him and thank him for givingme the enthusiasm to enjoy this thingwe call waterfowling. Thanks dadyou will be there on opening day.

Keep your powder dry and yourworm wet. Harry

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NAMED FORE WHOM?by Norman V. KellyOver the

years peoplehave asked mea lot of ques-tions abouthow our streetswere named,where we gotour parks andhow the golfcourses were named. Since I amamong the very old golfers aroundhere, I guess I qualify to answerthose questions. Let’s start withMadison Golf Course since it is theoldest one here in Peoria.

This original piece of park dis-trict property was acquired in 1895at a cost of $48,301.50 and thetruth is there is nobody who canactually say for certain for whom itwas named. I have often told myreaders that is was named after theold actor, Guy Madison. I even toldthem that Dolly Madison was itsnamesake, or maybe JamesMadison. Then I finally told them

the truth. I think the park districtshould consider naming it afterJames Cummings, a loyal support-er and board member of the parkdistrict for over forty years.

In the beginning the land wasfarmed and the corn used to feedanimals at the zoo. Hay was intro-duced and that crop pretty muchfed all the horses and other animalswithin the park system. By 1909 anine-hole golf course was openedwith the intent of expanding it toeighteen holes. By 1916 three moreholes and a pavilion were added tothe property. A golf shelter withshowers and lockers were con-structed, and by 1925 an additional32.68 acres were purchased toallow the expansion to eighteenholes.

In 1927 an incredible gift of 661acres of land which we now callDetweiller Park and DetweillerGolf course was given to the PeoriaPark District by Thomas Detweillerand his two sisters. They inheritedthe land from Captain HenryDetweiller, a Civil War steamboatcaptain and local hero. Additionalland down by the Illinois River wasalso gifted to Peoria. Henry wasour treasurer at one time and was inthe ice business with MayorWoodruff and was a well-knownhighly regarded Peorian. Henrydied at the age of seventy-eight.The beautiful Detweiller Parkhouses a small nine-hole golfcourse and a beautiful park thatincludes a massive bird sanctuary.The golf course has an impressiveview of the river and was opened tothe public for play in 1963.

There was a lot of talk about thenew golf course in 1928 and bySeptember construction began onthe land that would soon be knownas North Moor Golf Course. Theday finally came on July 4th, 1929when the course opened to the pub-lic who immediately loved thebeautiful setting and the name thatharkened back to old Scotland.

In 1930 the first women’s citytournament took place and by 1934the PGA and Western Open were

held at North Moor. In 1987, sadlyfor most of us old timers, the parkdistrict decided to name NorthMoor the Leo Donovan GolfCourse. To tell you the truth, manyof us still call it North Moor. LeoDonovan certainly deserved thehonor but we still miss the originalname. Mr. Donavan was a memberof the park district for sixteen yearsand ten of those he served as presi-dent. Leo was instrumental in theconstruction of the Detweiller GolfCourse, the Lakeview Pool and IceRink and the Peoria Zoo as well.

My favorite course has alwaysbeen Newman because I lived in ElVista and we made that place anextended playground, especially inthe winter. During WW11 we spentmany hours scouring the rough andgullies for precious golf balls thatbrought us a quarter or more fromeager golfers desperate for golfballs. This property was a gift fromLydia Moss Bradley and namedafter her daughter Laura the onlyone to have lived beyond earlychildhood. I often wondered hadher husband and all six of her chil-dren lived, would we have aBradley Park and a golf coursethere today? The name of the golfcourse was changed to Milton G.Newman in 1937. Some membersof the board went to Newman’s

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010_001.qxd 10/21/12 9:31 PM Page 1


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hospital bed to tell him that theBradley course would be namedafter him. Milton was a member ofthe park district board from 1907and served as its president from1917 until his death in 1937.

I am no fan of Kellogg GolfCourse but I was delighted when Iheard that the park district wouldactually build two golf courses outthere for a total of twenty-sevenholes. The Executive Course was apositive addition, and the youngerplayers in Peoria truly love thatplace. Since I am tossing my ownopinions around, I think they shouldname the nine-hole course the TimCassidy Golf Course. The Peoriafolks who know what Tim has doneover the years for the Parks inPeoria will agree with that choice.Kellogg Golf Course was namedafter Howard B. Kellogg an insur-ance executive who was a memberof the park district board from 1943to 1957. During 1970 and 1971 con-struction continued and on May 15,1972 the course opened and over17,000 rounds of golf were playedout there that year. A marvelousaddition to that area was the GolfLearning Center and on June 3,1999 it was opened for public use. Idon’t know who in this town war-

rants the most praise, the PeoriaPublic Library folks or those thatoversee our parks and golf courses.

I am old enough to remember thatwe paid seventy-five cents to playgolf back in 1952, and back in the1940’s we just snuck on the backnine at Newman. Of course in thosedays, the pros had no fast carts tochase us off. We could get a seasonpass for $15.00. Can you believethat? We are fortunate to live herewith all the recreational things thatare available to us.

There are folks in town that havenever stepped foot on our golfcourses or walked through ourparks, but I can’t help feeling thatthey too have pride in those places.Parks used to be extremely impor-tant to families in this town, startingwith one of the longest linear parksin America…Grand View Drive.Over the years a dedicated boardand employees have kept them inwonderful condition. Next time youlook at your real estate bill, gripe ifyou want to, but remember parksand golf courses need care, and Ithink we have a great bunch of peo-ple dedicated to that cause. See youon the golf course where guys likeTony King will take good care ofyou.

Editor’s Note: Norm is a local historian and monthly contributor to ADVENTURE SPORTS OUTDOORS. He welcomes

your comments. [email protected]. Listen to Normevery Sun morning 7-10 a.m. with the Red Nose Gang on

WOAM 1350 AM & streaming live at: www.hometownpeoria.com

WAYNE’S 121 CLUBLocated in Tremont, IL on Old Rt. 121 • 250 S. Baer Rd.

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VOICE OF THE OUTDOORSMANI am running a petition to extend the current night hunting season in

Illinois for Coyotes. The current season opens on November 10th andconcludes on February 15th.

My proposal is the 2013 / 2014 hunting season open 4 weeks earlierand conclude 4 weeks later (October 10th through March 15th).

You can help by going to the following link which takes you to mywebsite where you can read the letter I mailed to the appropriate stateofficials supporting the extension. At the end of the letter you will findinstructions on how to show your support by emailing your petition letter to the appropriate state officials.

If successful the new season will be effective for the 2013/2014 hunting season.

Here is the link: HighTechRedneckIncorporated.com/articles.asp?ID=258

Thanks very much for your help!Kevin Wort

RR1, Box 16F, Rushville, IL 62681309-221-6613 Cell

011_001.qxd 10/21/12 9:27 PM Page 1


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size it is neither anodized nor laser marking.AeroInsert_AA weight in at 21.0 grains andAeroInsert_AS is 10.5 grains.

In case of high powered bows and most slim styleinserts, an arrow shaft is cut perpendicular to itslength; a weakness is created at the most criticalpoint which is the end that impacts the target. Whenan arrow insert is positioned at the end of an arrowshaft, upon impact, these extreme forces are appliedto the end of the shaft at its weakest point. Since theend of the shaft is flat, and the collar on the insert isflat, these forces are allowed to go out radically formthe arrow, causing the front end of the arrow shaft tomushroom as the arrow insert is forced backwards.The in-outsert system although address some of theissues, the fact that it makes removing arrow fromtarget very difficult which causes it to disappear alltogether on the current market just after 2 years.

AeroInsert-A takes arrow performance to an all newlevel, by allowing auto strengthening the forward endof the arrow shaft itself and concentric itself with sim-ple straight forward arrow installing process (US Pat

AeroInsert™-A (Angle [A])The special feature of this AeroInsert is that it offer

automatic concentric technology that is never seen inthe archery industry. AeroInsert-A is offer in 2 sizes,both size insert are CNC machine made from 7071-T5aluminum. The AeroInsert-AA is specially made toaddress the needs of smaller diameter shafts(0.202”-0.204" internal diameter example: Gold tipKinetics smaller or equal to 300 spine; any axis arrow,any MFX, or arrows that can fit the A nock fromFirenock, X nock from Easton, or Gold tip Accutoughnock)) and is hard anodized in black with Firenocklaser marking. Most inserts for slim arrow shafts aregood at their best, where the neck of the point and thethreads might be off concentrically from the arrowinsert, and of the tip itself.

All archers’ hope was to glue the insert into thearrow, and hope that they would align well enough tomake the arrow fly with acceptable accuracy. Morerecently, so called hidden insert, in-outsert system O-ring was to slide onto the neck of some arrow tips.

Though these hidden inserts slightly help align-ment, they offer no long term solution, as the arrowinserts could still be misaligned as there is always tol-erance issues and difficult to glue perfectly while con-centrating the insert. While AeroInsert-AS is speciallymade to fit arrow of standard size that has ID of0.244" to 0.246" (aka S nock size) and due to its

P.) AeroInsert-A strengthens the forward end of anarrow by forcing the front end of the arrow shaft at anangle, the reverse angle collar on the back of theinsert will force mate with said shaft end on everyimpact. The design will force this pressure fromimpact to be confined, thus eliminating the mush-rooming effect of standard style inserts and arrowshafts that are cut of perpendicular to the length ofthe shaft. This effect is further utilized for concen-tricity of the insert to the shaft. By simply squaringthe shaft and make sure the shaft do not go over theoutside of the insert, the arrow will be concentric evenif it is not concentric when first installed. The contin-uous shooting/pounding of the arrow, with the reversetaper back side of the insert, the forced deformationof the shaft in micro increment is what caused the selfconcentricity of this insert.

AeroInsert™-D (Hybrid/Dual [D])AeroInsert-DS and DA are made of Stainless andAluminum respectively to address different durabilityand kinetic transfer needs for different archery pro-jectile requirements. AeroInsert-D takes arrow per-formance to an all new level, by concentrically aligningthe arrow insert, and strengthening the arrow shaftitself without adding weight. (US PAT Pending)Common 22/64"(0.300") size arrow insert is goodat its best with issue, where the neck of the point andthe threads might be off concentrically from the arrowinsert, and of the tip itself. All the target archers couldhope for was to screw the arrow tip into the arrowinsert, and hope that they would align well enough tomake the arrow fly with acceptable accuracy. A short,single piece insert that was not concentrically alignedwill negatively impact the accuracy of the arrow. If thetolerances were poor on the insert or the shaft wall, it

was nearly impossible to ensure concentric alignmentof the arrow point, and consistent arrow flight. Inaddition to poor flight characteristics, the shortinsert, due to its length, has very little adhesive sur-face area. Having such a small adhesive surface, uponimpact, it was common for the insert to come dis-lodged from the arrow shaft, thus forcing the insertand arrow tip rearward into the arrow shaft, causingthe forward end of the arrow shaft to mushroom.

For the sake of clarification and definition, anarrow insert is a coupling means that is adhesivelyinserted into the end of an arrow shaft, wherein saidcoupling means is used to couple an arrow tip to anarrow. AeroInsert-D’s dual step insert increases adhe-sive surface area of the longer insert, which alsoincreases accuracy for concentric alignment of theinsert, so as to concentrically align the point as it isscrewed into the arrow insert.

By utilizing a dual step insert with an extension(Hybrid system), the arrow shaft can be made muchstiffer at the front, where it is needed, without addingweight to the entire arrow shaft, thus increasing per-formance and accuracy. Advantageously, AeroInsert-D hybrid insert system allows an arrow insert to havegreater adhesive contact surface.

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012_001.qxd 10/23/12 2:28 PM Page 1

Through political and policy means, Obama will force you to choosebetween your guns and your family; your guns and your livelihood;and possibly your guns and your freedom. Obama’s plan to takeyour guns away is in motion. The only thing left is for misguidedgun owners to give him the opportunity to do it.

I will close this letter the same way I closed my letter to you fouryears ago. I want to remind you that I’m a guy who has actuallygone nose to nose with Obama on gun rights issues. I know Obamaas someone who cannot even begin to identify with our nation’soutdoor traditions. Obama cannot fathom what it feels like to com-mand the liberty, freedom, and individuality afforded by a 5-lbhunk of iron. Every bit of pride, satisfaction and security you de-rive from owning firearms is something totally foreign to a guy likeObama.

If you are a gun owner and you voted for Obama in 2008, youmade a grave mistake. Don’t compound that mistake by voting forhim in 2012. These are the sorts of mistakes that cannot be fixed– ever.

The ISRA-FEDPac is a political action committee affiliated withthe Illinois State Rifle Association. Donations to ISRA-FEDPac arenot tax deductible. The ISRA-FEDPac is not authorized by any can-didate or election committee.


Obama was always there with checkbook in hand to help them out.No indictment of Obama’s anti-gun sentiment would be complete

without dropping the names of some of his close friends and confi-dants. First, we have renegade Chicago priest Mike Pfleger. Manyof you will recall that Pfleger openly called for the murder of gunshop owners and legislators who were pro-gun. Obama is alsostrongly affiliated with guys like former Chicago mayor, Richie Da-ley and international gun-hater George Soros. Truly, birds of afeather flock together.

Four years ago, there was overwhelming evidence that Obamawas no friend to the law-abiding firearm owner. Nevertheless, manyshooters bought in to Obama’s bogus claims of ‘respect’ for theSecond Amendment. To their detriment, they believed Obama’s as-sertion that he would not take their guns away from them.

After issuing my open letter to firearm owners four years ago, Ireceived a lot of emails, letters and calls from hunters and out-doorsmen who told me I was wrong about Obama. They claimed thatObama truly understood the constitution and that the breaking ofhis ties with the Chicago establishment would move him towards amore gun-friendly state of mind.

Now, four years later, I’m afraid I must say, “I told you so.” Oba-ma has repaid the gun owners who supported him with the appoint-ments of two anti-gun, anti-freedom jus-tices to the Supreme Court. And, justlast week, we heard Obama promise mil-lions of debate-watchers that he wouldwork to reinstate Bill Clinton’s ban onsemiautomatic rifles, pistols and shot-guns. Obama went even a step further byhinting that he was contemplating ac-tions to ban handguns as well.

I want to make my 2012 message tofirearm owners very clear – if you re-elect Barack Obama you will be giving himlicense to take your guns away from you.

Fellow Sportsman:About this time four years ago, I penned an open letter to you

that spoke of the Barack Obama I grew to know while I was a lobby-ist in the Illinois State Capitol. At that time, I described Obama asa stony-faced liar who will do whatever it takes to force his extrem-ist agenda on the American people. I warned you that electingBarack Obama would be something that hunters, sportsmen, tar-get shooters and gun collectors would live to regret.

In writing to you four years ago, I backed my assertions aboutthe danger of an Obama presidency by citing his legislative record.That record includes voting no less than 4 times against legislationthat would allow law-abiding citizens to defend their familiesagainst home invaders without fear of being arrested or beingsued. This shameful record of Obama’s also included his supportfor legislation that would run venerable Illinois firearm manufac-turers such as Armalite, Lewis Machine & Tool, Rock River Arms,and Springfield Armory out of business.

I reminded you as well that Obama was a long-time member ofthe board of the rabidly anti-gun Joyce Foundation. As a member ofthe Joyce Foundation board, Obama approved the donation of mil-lions of dollars to gun grabbing groups such as the Violence PolicyCenter and the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence. Those,and other groups funded by the Joyce Foundation, are bent on de-stroying the Second Amendment to our Constitution – and Barack

From theDesk of:

Rich Pearson,

ISRA ExecutiveDirector isra.org

Congratulations to Eric Williams, 13 years old, for killing his first squirrel and catching a

5 pound catfish & 4 pound largemouth. Way to go Eric...Keep up the good work!

Thanks to proud parents Dave & Carla Williams for sharing Eric’s outdoor conquests with ASO.

013_001.qxd 10/28/12 5:54 PM Page 1


BLARNEYCASTLE

Delicious Homemade Pizza…Enjoy sizes up to 16 inches!Delicious Homemade Pizza…Enjoy sizes up to 16 inches!Fri. Night Special: Catfish Dinner with all the TrimmingsFri. Night Special: Catfish Dinner with all the Trimmings

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Thanks to Richard Anderson for being the high bidder on the donated fishing trip at the Multiple Sclerosis Fall Warm-Up Shoot

Fundraiser. Here is Richard with his children Elle and Clayton after a fun day of fishing at Irish Acres!

Thanks to Mike O’Bryan for donating the fishing trip to help raise funds for a great organization!

Here is Bill Langan and right,Jim O’Bryan (Mike’s brother)with some 5lb bass. They had agreat bass fishing experience!

This is Steve Cicciarelli of PeoriaThe muskie, 50-in. was caught with a white swimbait from a

lakeshore near Williamsfield. “...on the 4th cast the beast hooked upand put on a great show!” The bass was was caught at a different

lake in the area. “The fish engulfed the chugbug and the fun began!”Thanks to ASO friend & sponsorMike O'Bryan for sharing these

photos. Hecan line youup with yourown outdoor

property the whole

family can enjoy! Call him at

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014_001.qxd 10/28/12 5:56 PM Page 1


to go on the Honor Flight, please contactyour local Am Legion or their website formore details:

www.LandofLincolnHonorFlight.org. You can fill out an application on-line. If

you need a Guardian to go along, there is aprogram available for those who need theassistance.

This is a wonderful program for Veteransand each and every one should have the op-portunity to experience this trip. Your do-nations are always needed to keep this pro-gram funded; please visit their website forways to donate as well as merchandise avail-able.

Land of LincolnHonor Flight

By Terri Sweckard & Pam Tanner

Burt Bogard was among many Veteranswho had the pleasure of attending the Landof Lincoln Honor Flight, last Sept. 2012.Burt served in the Korean War, and at age82 he was delighted & moved by the expe-rience he had while attending the HonorFlight program. This program is a one daytrip to Arlington National Cemetery.Plane tickets & all meals are provided forthe veterans.

Burt is Pam Tanner’s Father and shewould like everyone to know how they canhelp with this worthwhile cause & sendother Veterans on this trip.

Honor Flight is currently looking forWW 2 Veterans as well as Korean Vets. Ifyou have a family member who would like

Schnucks E-Script Program: Want to help fund Land of Lincoln Honor Flights when you buy groceries

at Schnucks? All you need to do is ask for a customer card at their servicecounter. Then call the 800 number listed on the card and tell them that youwould like to fund "Land of Lincoln Honor Flight". The zip code is 62629.That's it, except for buying your groceries like you would normally do.Schnucks will donate a small portion of your total grocery billing to our hubeach time you show your card when you pay for your groceries.

Here is a listing of Schnucks stores in our hub area that are participating inthe e-script program, according to the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight website:

Bethalto 72 Airport Plaza, Bloomington 1701 East Empire St., Normal 617011750 Bradford Lane, Normal 61761

1001 Court St., Pekin, 615544800 N University, Peoria 61614

Montvale 2801 Chatham Rd., Springfield 62704 1911 Sangamon Ave, East, Springfield 62702

Dean Petty Paul Pardo George GiesenhagenHunting & Shooting Supplies • Knives • CASFirearms Transfers • Gunsmithing Services

OPEN: Mon.-Fri. 9am-7pm • Sat. 9am-2pm • Sun. Gone Shootin’“Keeping You On Duty and On Target”

401 W. 2nd St. • Kewanee, IL 61443Ph. 309-852-AMMO (2666)

Central Illinois Outdoor ExpoFeb. 22 & 23 (Fri & Sat)

Otto Center in Arthur, Illinois

Burt Bogard

Photo by:Mary Eschelbach, Morton CourierSubscribe to a Courier Newspaper in your community!Visir CourierPapers.com

015_001.qxd 10/27/12 11:17 AM Page 1


I found two political commer-cials very interesting the othernight. Recent David Koehler andPat Sullivan ads ran one after an-other. David Koehler claimed hecut his pay during this tough eco-nomic time while the Pat Sullivanspot claimed Koehler raised hispay. Well, here is an easy issue tosolve that will speak volumes tothe individual candidate’s cam-paign. Pay received by an electedofficial is open to the public andwith one phone call can easily beproven or disproven.

In 2007 his first full year as aState Senator, Senator Koehlerearned $64,274.96 as reported bythe State Controller’s Office. In2008 it moved slightly higher to$66,594.48. It jumped to$76,366.08 in 2009 and then takes

a small drop to $74,569.20 for2010 and 2011. The drop in pay isthe result of Pay Furlough and isnot permanent. Pay Furlough is nota pay cut as his base pay remainsthe same in the future (it is a year-ly decision rather than permanentaction) and it is far from the pay he

received in 2007. Senator Koehleris confusing a pay cut with a dayoff.

Pay Received While SenatorKoehler has been Office:2007 $64,274.962008 $66,594.482009 $76,366.082010 $74,569.202011 $74,569.20If you and I decide to take our pay

check and for a few weeks give itback to our boss, then we cannotlater say we got a pay cut. The nextyear we could simply decide keep

the money forourselves. Thusour pay was real-ly never cut; wesimply decided togive back a smallamount of ourpay to our em-ployer.

Too often wefind political can-didates will twistinformation andbend words to getelected. Theyhope we will nottake the time tocall them out onit. In this case

Senator Koehler gambled and lost.Pat Sullivan’s ad is correct with notonly this pay topic but also theacross the board tax increases thatreceived Senator Koehler’s sup-port.

Pat Sullivan is shown here to bethe plain spoken, truthful candidatefor the 46th State Senate Seat.Please support his campaign.

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016_001.qxd 10/22/12 7:44 AM Page 1


12 TIPS FORBOWHUNTING

THE RUTLearn how to create shotopportunities on the buck

you've always wanted.by Patrick Durkin

1. After rattling, don’t be too quick todrop your guard. Every buck respondsdifferently to rattling. For all you know,the buck that showed up an hour afteryour last rattling sequence was standingout of sight 30 to 45 minutes, trying todetermine what caused the ruckus.

2. When the rut is peaking, hot andcold hunts within a hunting group arecommon. Why? It’s not unusual for onehot doe to tie up three or four amoroussuitors. If your treestand is hangingwhere she happens to walk or run,you’ll think you’re seeing the best rutever. But if your buddy is a half-mileaway, the woods around him might bedevoid of bucks.

3. Most buck fights are over beforethey begin. And even if one of the bucksdoesn’t back down, fights seldom last

long. Even so, some bucks fight for sev-eral minutes and sound as if a tank isbarreling through the woods. So, whenrattling, mix up your routine with fightsof various length.

4. No matter how long your rattlingsequences last, it’s critical that you re-main well-concealed. Whenever possi-ble, choose treestand sites that provide agood backdrop and multiple trunks.

5. Not all scrape lines or rub lines godormant once breeding begins. If youfind rubs and scrapes in a pinch point ortravel corridor that provides the shortestrun between two doe bedding areas, abuck just might shoot through whileprowling for his next companion.

6. If a buck comes in silently andcatches you with your hands still hold-ing antlers, don’t try hanging them up.Drop them to the ground, even if it’s 20feet below, and let the buck make thenext move before reaching for yourbow.

7. If hot weather moves in during therut, realize your odds just plummeted.But don’t give up. Search out water,preferably springs or watering holes onhigh ground where winds are lesstricky. If bucks are courting does allnight in the cool evening air, they’ll of-ten look for a drink before beddingdown, and then again late in the day be-

fore beginning their next night ofprowling.

8. Don’t be too quick to abandon atreestand on warm days. Although it isdifficult to stay up there all day whenyou haven’t seen a buck all morning,sometimes those boys make a quick cir-cuit around midday, even in hotter tem-peratures.

9. Scrape-line hunting, even in thebest circumstances, is a relatively low-odds endeavor. But low odds are betterthan no odds. Bowhunters sometimeshave inflated hopes. Research shows upto 90 percent of scraping activity occursat night. But that still leaves 10 percent,right? Remember, though, that maturebucks are least likely of all to show upat scrapes in daylight. Therefore, if youhunt scrapes, hunt those closest to bed-ding grounds—if you can get in therewithout spooking him.

10. Do treestands have you stuck in arut? If you feel tortured sitting in a treeall day, consider your hunting alterna-tives. Instead of snoozing in the truck,grab your binoculars and spottingscopes, find some high ground, andlook for bucks bedded in brushy fencerows. Stalking bucks is never easy, butit offers better odds than watching TVor socializing with other frustratedbowhunters.

11. Another good way to spend themidday hours, whether the rut is on ornot, is to stalk cornfields on windydays. If you thought ahead, you marked“dead” spots within the field that werewater-soaked when the field was seed-

which bucks sometimes use for securebedding sites. Or so they think.

12. Never be afraid to experimentwith grunts and bleats. One of the mosteffective doe bleats I use sounds almostlike a Hereford cow calling for her calf.I’ve never heard a real whitetail doemake such a sorrowful sound in thedeer woods, but I’ve bow-killed at leastthree bucks that came to investigate thecall, and none appeared suspicious, justcuriouswww.GrandviewOutdoors.com

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017_001.qxd 10/21/12 11:49 PM Page 1


Welcome to...

The Brick TavernWhere even the ducks come to party!

All-You-Can-Eat Meals Thursday, Friday and Saturday Nights

Sandwiches & Soups SaturdayDaytime Meals Sunday

309-546-9013Rt. 78 • Bath, IL

WANTED TO BUY:INDIAN INDIAN RELICS RELICS OF ALL OF ALL KINDSKINDS

APPRAISALS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.Contact Brian: (217) 642-5379

(217) 871-5379 • [email protected]

I have had the privilege of knowing LukeTerstriep of Quincy, IL for several years.However, just a few years ago I also met hissons and we have been hunting together eversince. Today I will share with you all thecomments and bowhunting tips I got fromeldest son, Luke, Jr. This young man is a bigbuck magnet during archery season and hisrecord speaks for itself.

Luke, Jr. is a Pro Staff Member forMUZZY. So his advice is solid and well re-searched. He has taken three POPE &YOUNG whitetails. One of those madethe All Time Boone and Crockett RecordBook--the only true 4x4 ever taken in Illinoiswith a bow that has achieved that recogni-tion. Luke told me, “The first 15 years of myhunting career were basically spent makinglots of mistakes and trying to learn fromthem. I only recently got to a point where Ifeel like I have a handle on how to huntwhitetails, though I’m still learning every dayand continue to make mistakes regularly.”

I asked Terstriep to lend some advice tobowhunters on shot placement. “First, Iconsider the angle at which the deer is stand-ing. Next, I try to visualize the vitals that Iwant to hit. Then, I’ll aim for the exit holeand squeeze until the bow goes off, followingthrough until the arrow hits its mark.

I think that I tend to aim a little lowerthan most people. I’m usually aiming forlow lungs or the top of the heart, pretty tightto the point of the shoulder. If I miss a fewinches in any direction, I'll still have a shorttracking job. If a deer jumps the string, hecan only drop down in order to move awayquickly. A slightly lower shot offers a greatercushion in case the deer is on edge and ducksat the sound of the shot,” Luke said.

He continued, “Personally, I’ve never tak-en a real quartering-to shot with a bow, butI’ve always heard that the shoulder socket canstop an arrow like a brick wall. With a littlepatience you’ll generally get a broadside orquartering-away shot opportunity on thatquartering-to deer.

There are websites, books, phone apps,and online games that can teach you aboutthe anatomy of a deer and what shots are go-

ing to put one down fast. It’s important tostudy that stuff. Sometimes the properplacement will surprise you when a deerpresents a weird angle like quartering up asteep hill, or lying in a bed,” Luke added.

Now that we have discuss shot placement,I queried Luke on stand placement; “I couldtalk forever about stand placement because,ultimately, the stand is where I go to try tointercept big bucks, so its placement is criti-cal to the success of any hunt. There are waytoo many variables to cover, but here’s theshort of it:

I think about entry and exit routes first,then about the location where I‘d like to seta stand. If the location is great, but the entryand exit routes are bad, I know that I’mshooting myself in the foot because I’ll be ed-ucating deer every time I hunt, and the bigboy on the block isn’t going to spend muchtime in the area during daylight hours if hesees or smells me coming and going.

And it’s not just mature bucks that cangive you fits it’s the does as well. If a doebusts you getting in or out of your stand, shewill be on high alert the next few times shevisits that particular area, and any other deerin sight will pick up on that behavior, andmy prime hunting location just became anervous corner. Good entry or exit routesshould keep you from being seen or smelledfrom the deer’s feeding areas at night andfrom their bedding areas during the day.”Tips of this level and expertise are as good asmoney in the bank for serious bowhunters.

Luke also told me, “Regardless of the pre-

cautions that I take to minimize my scent,I’ve never been able to fool a deer’s nose con-sistently, so I try to play the wind on eachand every hunt. It often means that I don’tget to hunt where I really want to hunt on agiven day; however, as long as I don’t getbusted that day, I know that the deer that Iam after is unaware he's being hunted andthat it’s just a matter of time before we crosspaths.

During the early and late season, standplacement is based on what I’m seeing in theherd’s feeding preference. Simply put, I’mtrying to find a good buck using a foodsource on a semi-regular basis and hang a

BOWHUNTING ACCORDING TO LUKE

BY MIKE ROUXwww.mikeroux.com

MUZZY Pro Staffer Luke Terstriep, Jr.s 2011 Illinois buck

is just one of the massive whitetails on his wall.

Photo by Lance Terstriep

018_001.qxd 10/28/12 10:13 PM Page 1


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stand downwind of the trail that he’s mostlikely to use to approach that food.

During the rut, I’ll sometimes gamble alittle and sacrifice one wind direction to godeep into the woods and spend all day onstand in a funnel, on a ridge, or in an areawhere multiple doe trails come together, butif I can keep my scent blowing into an openfield or toward a road, I always do.’

Being on the Professional Hunting Staff

of a company like MUZZY is a true honorfor Luke, but he has earned. I wanted tofind out what it is about MUZZY broad-heads that make him like them so much. “Ishoot Muzzy because they give me confi-dence. I prefer the 3-Blade in 100 grains be-cause of its simple and effective fixed-bladedesign, and its devastating cutting power.My broadhead is one less thing I have toworry about because I know that if I put oneon target, it will do its job. It has to. I haveenough things to worry about during themoment of truth. I don’t want to worryabout whether or not a blade has openedprematurely before I draw, or about the po-tential for the arrow to deflect when shoot-ing a deer at a sharp angle, or about the po-tential of a blade a not expanding at all. Amechanical broadhead introduces the po-tential for mechanical error,” Terstriep says.

“I practice shooting broadheads at longdistances, and am comfortable withMUZZY’S performance. I shot a big 10-pointer last year at 18-yards. It was a lethalshot, and the broadhead sent the arrowthrough so fast that buck had no idea whathad just happened. He jumped and ran, butin his confusion he stopped at 62-yards totake a look back. I was already coming tofull draw with a second arrow. He was quar-tering away hard, so I had to slip it just pasthis hind quarter to catch his vitals. It was a

my brother Lance after we spent all daytracking a 152-inch buck that he'd shot onopening day of Illinois’ firearm season. Wemoved slowly and quietly. Lance followedthe scant sign with which he had to work.After tracking for 8 hours, crossing a road,and getting permission from two differentneighbors to track on their land, I finallyspotted half an antler sticking out from be-hind a big oak tree about 130 yards out (thebuck was oblivious to our presence). We co-ordinated a stalk and killed that deer in hisbed just minutes before the end of legalshooting time,” Terstriep ended.

For decades I have promoted accuracyover arrow speed for bowhunters. Lukeagreed. “Accuracy is paramount. If you’repulling at least the legal minimum to huntand can place an arrow exactly where youwant it, then speed is of little importance.Having said that, I’m shooting Hoyt's Car-bon Element at 313 feet per second, and Ilove it. I want the fastest bow that I cancomfortably draw and hold for an extendedperiod - at least a full minute. Speed willproduce a flatter trajectory, allow you toshoot a heavier arrow, and produce more en-ergy, which are all good things. The key isto find the right balance for you--and prac-tice, practice, practice.

scratch high, but found its mark, and thebuck collapsed in his tracks. It made mewonder though…the fixed blades of mybroadhead punched through that buck’svertebrae and severed his spinal cord.Would an expandable have deflected off ofthe vertebrae at such a severe angle? I don’tknow the answer, but I’m not willing to riskit.” Then Luke said that tracking after thehit was also very crucial. I asked him toelaborate.

“Well, Stan Potts said it best, “when indoubt, back out.” I want to be sure that thedeer has expired when I walk up on him. Ifthere is any doubt, I give him more time.Even so, I treat every tracking job as thoughI’m stalking a live animal--I just might be. Idon’t cut corners when tracking: I’ll gothrough my scent control routine, wear myMossy Oak from head to toe, have my re-lease strapped on, and be ready to draw onshort notice.

I like tracking with a partner when possi-ble. The shooter leads, looking for sign onthe ground, while the second is glassing forthe bedded deer. The best advice is to goslow, be meticulous, and have the spotterstand at the last spot of blood and glass un-til the next spot is found.

A few years ago, this method paid off for

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019_001.qxd 10/28/12 10:12 PM Page 1

The MeanderingMurray’s

By Bob Murray


Mount or Meat?The season is here. The conversations

inevitably move to the where and when oftaking your deer. How it will be taken is thenext topic. Bow, crossbow, pistol, shotgun,black powder or bare handed with a bowlingball, the myriad of tags now seems limitlessand the number of deer to harvest per hunterquite substantial. It seems the differences stillare between those that want to get horns tohang on the wall and are satisfied with turningthe entire beast into sausage, versus those thatwould just as soon take a nice tender doe thatmay still have a spot or two showing and thehunter blaming the dappled shadows and thelack of depth perception on how a spottedanimal slightly larger than a German Shepardcould have stumbled into theirbullet….arrow…whatever.

For those “trophy” hunters they must also

know that at least one person in their familyis going to squawk about any caped outmount adorning any wall anywhere in thesame structure in which they live.

The foodie on the other hand has thesheepish look on their face communicatingtrue remorse and regret for the lack of targetidentification skills at hand. But! The mindis at the same time grilling the most succulentmoist and tender backstrap known to wildgame chefs around the world. The spittle col-lecting in the corners of the mouth belie thereal emotion, but only to a trained observer.

The majority of us fall for the story that hasrepeated itself for years, and delivered withthe same sincerity of that of the political hacksthat make us the same promises every fouryears. Maybe Pavlov could recognize thatmouthwatering for the gastronomical lust

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that it truly is.Either reason for the “hunt” is legitimate,

but as the average hunters age is creeping upand up every year, my assessment is that themeat hunter, the hunter gatherer, so to speak,has reasserted dominance in the arena of har-vesting at least one of the thirty eight sub-species of white tail deer for sustenance andsubstance over form. Some, no doubt willremain trophy hunters for their entire huntingcareer, but most will evolve as so many havedone in the past, from horn hunting to put-ting a roast on the table, chili in the pot orsausage next to the eggs and hash browns.

I have already mentioned back strap and itwould be foolish to think that just because adeer has big horns that all of it must be turnedto summer sausage or salami. The backstrap…loin if you will, coming off any deercan be a joy that can grace your table in a wayto make any chef proud. I will insert one tiphere that has worked for me over the years.Even if you are confident knowing the diet ofyour animal, ensure that the gaminess is goneby soaking the meat in milk overnight. Ofcourse if you like the gaminess, and some do,forget I even wrote this.

Gaminess or not, my favorite way to pre-pare it is what is called Steak Diane. That dishis generally made with beef filets but it origi-nated as a venison dish named after Diannathe goddess of hunting in Greek mythology. Isay the makes it a great candidate for us to res-urrect for that loin that you carefully cut fromeither side of the deer spine. I can’t emphasizehow good this is and I know that a deer filet

wrapped in bacon and seared on the grill is thebomb…this dish however, is special!

1 Whole deer loin. Cut into two inch thick-ness and just push moderately with the palmof your hand to flatten somewhat (4-6 steaks).1.5 cups milk for soaking overnightSalt n pepper to taste3 green onions chopped fairly fine1 teaspoon minced garlic8 oz. button mushrooms1 tablespoon butter or olive oil (I prefer 1/2 and 1/2 mixture)1/2 cup heavy cream (see note)3 tablespoons mild onions…shallots if youhave them2 teaspoons Dijon mustard1 teaspoon Worcestershire2-3 dashes of hot sauce 1/4 cup brandy or cognac…red wine if youdon’t have either2 tablespoons fresh parsley for garnish or usegreen onion tops

Cut the steaks and soak them covered inmilk overnight.

When ready to cook remove steaks fromthe milk and pat dry with paper towels.

020_001.qxd 10/27/12 1:12 PM Page 1


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in the heavy cream, add the green onions. Return steaks to the mix with low heat back

on and turn them over to coat both sides.Serve with the sauce spooned over the steaksand garnish with the parsley if you want.

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Season with salt and pepper and set asidewhile you prep your other ingredients. I likethe steaks very close to room temperaturewhen I cook them.

Pre heat a heavy skillet and add butter.Don’t let the butter turn brown (in comes theolive oil) we’re shooting for med. rare endproduct here so about 2 - 2.5 min per side tryto get a good sear on both sides. Removesteaks from pan and keep warm. Add themild onions and sauté for about two minutesthen add the garlic cook another 30 sec. thenadd all the mushrooms.

When the shrooms are browned or evenjust soft, stir in the mustard, Worcestershireand hot sauce. Add the liquor or the wine andscrape the brown bits from the bottom of thepan, simmer for about three minutes.

Turn the heat way down or even off and stir

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As the ranks of America's World War II Veterans continue toshrink at the rate of 1,000 per day, so does our chance to honor

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NOVEMBER 9• Ill. Endangered Species Protection Boardmeeting, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie,Wilmington, IL; 10 am.; 217-785-8687

NOVEMBER 10• Opening day of waterfowl season, South-Central Zone; www.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/waterfowl/Pages/default.aspx

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NOVEMBER 16-18• Illinois Firearm Deer Season, first segmentwww.dnr.illinois.gov/hunting/deer/Pages/default.aspx

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Nabbing 697 1/2-pound Mississippi gator a record thrillFITLER, Miss. The hunters knew there was a huge `gator in wetlands where

they had hunting permits. He gave them a scare before they killed him, but theygot a state record 697.5 pounds.

It took six days just to sight the gator on private land where Tom Grant ofCleveland had spotted it while fishing and where the hunters had permits to catchseveral alligators.

“I caught one two years ago that was 12 feet, 9 inches long and I knew this onewas as big or bigger,'' Grant told The Clarion-Ledger.

They spotted it late Sept. 21. The big guy, females don't get that big, spottedthem too. It went under water. “I threw in his general area and hooked him on a blind cast,'' said Grant.

Grant, Kenny Winter and Jim Reed, both of Greenville, and Michael Robbersof Palos Verdes, Calif., got more hooks in the gator as it headed for deeper water.

It stayed at the bottom for a while. When it surfaced, it came up under the boat. “Depending on who you talk to, he either rocked us or almost sank us,'' said

Reed. Winter said, “He hit the boat so hard we started taking on water on the opposite

side. We started stomping on the bottom of the boat to make him change hisplans.''

From first hook to final gunshot took two hours, with another 2 1/2 to wrestlethe beast to shore and lash its head to the boat trailer. By then it was Sept. 22.

“We tried to winch him up on the trailer. It broke my winch,'' Winter saidSunday.

They drove slowly the mile or two to camp, dragging the alligator. The head of Mississippi's alligator program drove from Jackson with a

portable scale later Sept. 22. The gator broke the old state record by 7 pounds. The 13-foot 1.5-inch gator is far shy of the 19-foot-2 that Tabasco Sauce

president and naturalist E.A. McIlhenny said he measured against his shotgun's30-inch barrel in 1890. That's listed as Louisiana's and the species record. Information from: The Clarion-Ledger, www.clarionledger.com

022_001.qxd 10/23/12 11:26 PM Page 1


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a once in a life-time experience.'' Beverly Kiger, a Grand Rapids,

Minn.-based trophy hunter who hasbagged a wildebeest and an impalain South Africa, bought her wolfpermit the same day she discoveredshe'd won one. She wants to add afull-size wolf mount to her collec-tion. She plans to start scouting for

wolf signs, perhaps around her cabin in farnortheastern Minnesota.

“To get a (wolf) as a trophy would be awe-some,'' she said.

Mark Dahms, 54, of Waukesha, Wis.,entered that state's lottery with threefriends. He was the only one who won a per-mit. He's taking off time from his job as anelectrician and plans on employing a newlypurchased electronic call that can produce400 sounds mimicking wolves and distressedanimals.

“First time in modern-day history is why Ientered,'' he said. “The big thing is (getting)the hide.''

But whether the hunters ever see a wolf isanybody's guess. Montana, for example, soldnearly 18,700 licenses in the 2011 seasonbut hunters took only 166 animals, a successrate of less than 1 percent.

Wolves are mostly nocturnal and they'redispersed over a wide range, making thechances of encountering one remote. They'reextremely smart, too. If one wolf is killed theothers in its pack can become even more cau-tious. And their sense of smell is so keen thattrappers boil their snares to eliminate anyhuman scent.

Making matters even tougher forWisconsin hunters is a lawsuit filed by a groupof humane societies seeking to block the useof dogs. A judge has issued a temporaryinjunction while he weighs the case, meaningthe most ef fective approach to huntingwolves won't be available for at least the firsthalf of the state's season.

“Your hunters are going to be in for a realshock. There's nothing harder to hunt and killthan a wolf,'' said Martin, the Montana hunt-ing guide. “The ones who actually shoot awolf, the data won't even graph. (And) what'sgoing to happen with the trapping ... is thesame thing that happened out here. They wentout, set a bunch of traps, run the lines forthree weeks and caught absolutely nothing.''

But Wisconsin and Minnesota huntersremain undaunted. They contend the stateshave grossly underestimated their wolf popu-lations.

“They're all over the place,'' saidWisconsin permit winner Donald Bohr, 57, ofWausau. “We had them right in our gardenhere a couple of years ago, three wolves sur-rounding our dog. Wasn't 40 yards from thehouse. You'll hear that story more than once(from other landowners). There's a lot more ofthem out there than everybody says.''

WISCONSIN,MINNESOTA

READY FOR FIRST WOLF HUNTS

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — For years, vaca-tioners and farmers across northernWisconsin and Minnesota have heard the eeriehowl of the gray wolf and fretted the creatureswere lurking around their cabins and pas-tures, eying up Fido or Bessie. The tables areabout to turn: Both states plan to launch theirfirst organized wolf hunts in the comingweeks.

The hunts won't be anything on the scale ofthe two states' beloved whitetail deer hunts,when hundreds of thousands of huntersrearrange work and school schedules and fanout across the woods. Wildlife officials in bothstates have drastically limited the number ofwolves hunters can kill and released only ahandful of permits, creating an exclusive clubof hunters who will get what could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take on the wiliest ofpredators.

Anticipation has reached a fever pitch, butmost hunters will come face-to-face with asobering fact within a few hours of venturinginto the woods, wolves aren't deer or ducks.They're intelligent, mobile creatures with anunmatched sense of smell. The states couldbe hard-pressed to meet their kill goals.

“Everybody's gung-ho to go kill a wolf butnobody realizes how hard it's going to be,''said Bud Martin, a Montana-based huntingguide who shot a wolf two years ago in Idaho.“I'll bet you a steak dinner your quota won'tbe met.''

Wolf hunting isn't unheard of in the United

States. Alaska, Montana, Idaho andWyoming all allow it. Federal officialsremoved Great Lakes wolves from theendangered species list in January.That spurred Michigan, Minnesotaand Wisconsin lawmakers to draftbills establishing hunts, too, pushingaside animal advocates' concernsthat the wolf populations still are toofragile to sustain hunting.

Farmers in all three states have long com-plained about wolves wreaking havoc on theirlivestock. Wildlife officials estimate there are

NOW 700 wolves in Michigan and 850 inWisconsin. About 3,000 roam Minnesota, thelargest wolf population in the lower 48 states.

Michigan's hunt legislation still is pendingbut Wisconsin's season is set to open Oct. 15.Minnesota's season is on track to begin Nov.3. Hunt opponents have asked an appealscourt to halt the proceedings but it's unclearwhen the court might rule.

Both states will allow hunters to bait, shootand trap wolves. Wisconsin also will allownight hunting and the use of dogs. Wildlifeofficials have kept the hunts small, though, asthey feel their way along; Wisconsin set itsquota at 116 animals and awarded only 1,160permits through a lottery. Minnesota set itslimit at 400 animals and awarded 6,000 per-mits.

Joe Caputo, 50, of Spring Green, Wis., wona permit in his state. A life-long deer hunter,he's jumping into the wolf hunt full-bore, bon-ing up on wolves, preparing to drop more than$3,000 on two dozen new wolf traps andseeking out northern Wisconsin landownerswho have suffered wolf depredation.

“This is the ultimate challenge,'' Caputosaid. “You're talking the largest-scale preda-tor on the landscape. It's probably going to be

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023_001.qxd 10/28/12 9:16 AM Page 1

Seneczko said. Tim Goodwin, an avid lion hunter who

said the animals taste like pork, told thecommission that it should eliminate thequota altogether.

“I propose that instead of having a num-ber, just have a season,'' Goodwin said, ac-cording to the Pioneer.

“There's no way we are going to kill 100if there are only 300 of them,'' he added.“It's hard to hunt lions. It's not an easydeal.''

ORANGE COUNTY MAN MAY HAVECAUGHT $1 MILLION TUNA

DANA POINT, Calif. - An OrangeCounty sport fisherman may have himself a$1 million catch.

The Orange County Register says GuyYocom of Dana Point caught a 427-poundyellowfin tuna last month in Mexican wa-ters. It took him about 50 minutes to landit.

The boat skipper, Greg DiStefano, saysthe catch was submitted to the Internation-al Game Fishing Association. If theweight's confirmed, it would break the cur-rent record of 405 pounds and win a $1million prize offered by Mustad, the com-pany which made the hook that caught thefish. WOW!

WILDLIFE OFFICIALS SAY COYOTE'S ATTACK "STRANGE"SALT LAKE CITY - Utah officials are

awaiting the results of a rabies test on a coy-ote that attacked a guard at a KennecottUtah Copper site in Salt Lake County, call-ing the attack rare.

The woman was sitting in a booth Mon-day night when the coyote entered through


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Outdoor NewsWILDLIFE OFFICER SHOOTS,KILLS BEAR IN S.W. FLORIDA

AVE MARIA, Fla. - A black bear hasbeen shot and killed after it charged at astate wildlife officer in southwest Florida.

Authorities tell WBBH-TV in Fort My-ers that the 250-pound male bear was firstspotted on the Ave Maria University cam-pus. It later showed up in a nearby CollierCounty neighborhood. Residents say thebear rummaged through garbage, wan-dered into garages and chased people get-ting into their cars.

Florida Fish and Wildlife ConservationCommission officers shot and killed thebear Sunday.

Commission spokesman Jorge Pino saysthe bear charged at an officer who tried toback away from the bear. Pino says the of-ficer fired as a last resort.

S. DAKOTA COMMISSION SETSMOUNTAIN LION QUOTA AT 100DEADWOOD, S.D. - South Dakota's

Game, Fish and Parks Commission an-nounced Friday that it will allow up to 100mountain lions to be killed during the up-coming hunting season, 30 more than lastyear.

The season begins Dec. 26 and runsthrough next March 31 unless either of twoquotas is reached, the 100 total lions or 70females. Last year's quota was 70 lions or50 females.

The matter has been hotly debated since2005, when the commission first OK'dhunting mountain lions. Proponents saythat mountain lions are devastating deerand elk populations, while opponents ar-gue that too many lions are being shot,putting the state's lion population at risk.

“Definitely not easy decisions,'' commis-sion chairman Jeff Olson of Rapid Citysaid, according to the Black Hills Pioneer.

The commission has increased the num-ber of lions that may be killed during thehunting season each year since the first yearin 2005. That first season closed when thefifth breeding-age female was killed; 13 li-ons were killed.

The next year, 16 lions were killed, fol-lowed by 19 in 2007. The number jumpedto 73 in 2012.

“Changing quotas yearly does not allowenough time to assess the changes,'' saidSharon Seneczko, president of the BlackHills Lion Foundation.

“We've watched the management overthe years, and we are sorry to say thatthere's no assurance that a stable popula-tion of lions will remain in South Dakota,''

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the door and lunged at her, Kennecottspokesman Kyle Bennett said. The coyotebit the woman before she was able to get itout of the security station.

A Unified police officer responded andfatally shot the animal. The animal's headwas sent to a laboratory managed by theUtah Department of Health early Tuesdayfor a rabies test. The rest of the coyote wassent to the Utah Veterinary DiagnosticLaboratory for a necropsy.

The guard was treated with a few stitch-es and released from the hospital.

John Shivik, mammal program coordi-nator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Re-sources, said the animal looked healthy butthat more may be known about what led tothe attack after the laboratory tests.

“This was an isolated, rare, strange anduncommon thing to happen,'' he told TheSalt Lake Tribune for a story Wednesday.“We need to figure out what was goingon.''

At least four bats from across Utah havetested positive for rabies this year, but it isuncommon for other mammals to carry thedisease, according to Leslie McFarlane,wildlife-disease coordinator for theWildlife Resources Division.

“In Utah, the only animals we see andhave test positive for rabies are bats,'' shesaid. “Several years ago, we did have a foxbite a little boy and that was positive, butwe really don't see it in other mammals toooften.''

Kennecott owns about 100,000 acres inthe Oquirrh Mountains, west of the SaltLake Valley. Bennett said there have beenno other reports of coyote problems there.

Information from: The Salt Lake Trib-une, www.sltrib.com

024_001.qxd 10/24/12 6:05 PM Page 1


Did you ever want a place to go on adreary day? Or maybe a place to go on abeautiful day? Makes no difference, It’s al-ways a good day to venture south to Eliza-bethtown Illinois. It’s especially good if youcan time your visit so that you’re near theE-TOWN FLOATING RESTAURANTnear lunchtime. This is probably mine andRosalie’s favorite place to eat in the whole

world! It’s a floating restau-rant on the Ohio River atElizabethtown Illinois.

E-town as it’s called by allthe locals is a picturesquetown of about 350 sitting onrte 146 and the Ohio River,north of Golconda Illinoisand south of Cave In Rock,in the extreme southeasterncorner of Illinois. There aremany historical locations and scenic attrac-tions in the area including the famed RoseHotel and Cave In Rock, which is just ashort drive up the road to the north. Thiswhole area abounds in geological and his-toric attractions also. Obviously the OhioRiver is also one of the finest fishing attrac-tions in southern Illinois and Golcondasports a fine marina with parking and boatlaunching facilities, licenses and a conven-ience store.

The ferry at Cave In Rock hauls vehiclesback and forth across the Ohio River. This

is one of thosea t t r a c t i o n sthat youshould reallye x p e r i e n c e .It’s a step backin time andI’d expect itwont be herefor manymore future

generations to see. This is the only way toget into Kentucky without driving severaladditional miles. All of these towns are“big” in friendly atmosphere and commu-nity activities. It seems like there’s alwayssomething happening at one place or an-other.

The floating restaurant at E-Town is a“must” when we are anywhere near. We atelunch there today while the local cat-fisher-men were bringing in their catch and themaster fish fillet’er was cleaning them forour lunch. You can’t get fish any fresher

than that! One of

the guys brought in a fifty-pound flathead catfish whilewe watched him unload hiscatch. The restaurant has re-cently added a two-level out-door patio for added capacityand ambiance. The giant cave that over-

looks the Ohio River is“long” on history with end-less stories of river pirates

and old-time gangs hiding out there. It al-so served as refuge for early settlers accord-ing to the old lore. Today, it fascinates kidsand older folks alike.

Cave In Rock State Park sits above theriver-cave with a real nice restaurant andmany other attractions for your comfortand relaxation. The roads in and out ofthese areas are good with Interstate 24 justa few miles to the west. Dixon SpringsState Park is between Interstate 24 andGolconda on the North side of rte 146.Right near the exit of Dixon Springs StatePark is a retail business called The Choco-

late Factory that I’d also highlyrecommend unless you havemore will power than I.

Fall is always a pretty time inthe wooded countryside andthe fall leaves are just now be-ginning to get real pretty in this

E-TOWN: A JEWEL OF THE SOUTHby Dave Shadow

[email protected]

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Fall Mushrooms are an Overlooked Delicacy

by Dave ShadowI’ve written previously regarding fall

mushrooms but with squirrel season, fallfishing, and then the advent of whitetaildeer season, I forget that this is also thetime for the “Hen of the Woods” mush-rooms. That memory lapse was remediedby a visit to the Mattoon Battery Spe-cialist Shop and some conversation withgene Thacker.

Thanks to a contribution and someadvice on preparation from Gene, I en-joyed a nice mess of fried mushrooms forsupper this evening coupled with somegreat barley soup prepared by Rosalie.It’s all this good cooking that keeps melooking like the Pillsbury Doughboy!

The drought adversely affected mostall the crops in our area, but I raised thenicest tasting patch of turnips that I’veever raised. Mix these with a tenderloin

steak from that young whitetail that Igot last week and a “side order” of mush-rooms and you’ve got a fine meal. Theymust not be good for you, cause theytaste too good! Who cares? Actuallymost all of that is good for you if it was-n’t battered and fried! But then itwouldn’t taste as good.

Not many people are real knowledge-able regarding the fall mushrooms and Icertainly fall into that category. Thereare many types of these growths andsome are not edible. I have eaten severalvarieties over the years with varied ap-preciation. The “hen of the woods” isabout the only one that I trust my judg-ment on.

According to Gene these grow best inthe low-lying areas where the groundmay be damper. The “hen of the woods”is technically a “grifola frondosa” andthese are much easier to see in the woodssince they may grow as big as fiftypounds according to web sources. I canattest to the delicious flavor when friedor pickled. The have a much “meatier”texture than the morels I usually pursuein the spring. These also store well bysimply freezing them and using them asdesired.

One caution related to traipsing thrusome unknown woods in search of some

fall mushrooms; since this is archery deerseason be sure you have permission tohunt mushrooms in that area as you’lllikely upset some deer hunter somethingbad if you come stumbling under hisstand or scaring off his deer.

Since some “inedible” mushroomshave very negative effects resulting in astomachache or worse, I’d caution youto be sure to positively identify your“find” before eating it. There is a lot ofgood information on the web or consultsomeone who is more knowledgeable inthe subject. Some recent research alsoshows some health attributes to consum-ing mushrooms. Whatever, they tastegood and are fun to find!

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Hen of the Woods

area. Pack a bag, gas up the car, andhead for southern Illinois for the mostwonderful scenery and catfish lunchyou ever imagined.

On another subject, the first day ofthe 2012 Illinois archery deer season innow behind us and I hope you havebeen successful in either deer harvestand/or the level of enjoyment and satis-faction gleaned from your outdoor ex-perience. Jon at Stewarts Archery inCharleston indicated that he believedthat the first day harvest was at least asgood as normal, dispelling the fears ofmany that the population might be di-minished. He also indicated that thequality of kill-shots was improved overnormal. He contributed this to the guyspracticing on his new indoor range thatfeatures a realistic “dart” system. You’vegot to stop and see this system, It’s awe-some !

It’s Faith, Family, and Fishin

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: the Mattoon lake catfish club fished on 09-29-12with 9 boats participating. The team of Jeff and Jeff Smith of Dalton Citydominated the event with the winning weight of 43lb 6oz including the “bigcat” of the day weighing 17lb 6oz. – Brenton Gossard of Windsor and Bran-don Neese of Neoga placed second with 25lb 6oz.

026_001.qxd 10/28/12 9:56 AM Page 1


Lake trout are voracious predators. These animalsrank right up there with muskies, largemouth bass,northern pike, redfish and stripers, in the way theyhunt and attack prey, they way they strike and fight,the way they leave even the most seasoned of anglerswith shaking hands and sweaty palms, that is if youfight the good fight with them on their own terms. Youcan fish lakers the same old way that most anglers do,never really understanding what these willful warriorsare truly capable of, or you can accept the challengethat the beast of the north offers, put in some work,and live for every second of the masterpiece of battle

they weave!

*Same Old Same OldIt wasn’t until I’d fished lakers for years that I actu-

ally realized how tough they can be, how much fun itcould be to target them. Most of the lake trout fishingI’d done was vertical jigging or trolling, not really mycup of tea. I’ll admit that I never really got excitedabout lake trout fishing before, partially because I’dnever caught any big lakers, but mostly because ofpast experiences with fishing methods used. I enjoyvertical jigging, but not with small lures, 100 feet

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down over deeper water, for small fish. That was myfirst encounter with lakers on a trip to a boat-in lake inOntario, and something I’ve done many times since.This method never produced a big trout for me or any-one I’ve fished with, and it’s not thought of as a greattrophy tactic with many of the dedicated lake troutanglers on my company’s Pro Staff and Field Staff.

Another popular method is technical big boat pow-er trolling with tons of gear. I don’t have anythingagainst trolling. In fact, trolling produced some of thefish that helped Ray Simms and I win some majormuskie tournaments over the years. If we do troll, weusually flat line two lures, holding rods so we can actu-ally feel the strike, and begin fighting fish immediate-ly with the motor out of gear. For lakers though, it’scommon to let the boat and equipment do most of thework, and anglers often ski fish in across the surfacebehind a moving boat, something that doesn’t domuch for me. In truth, the only time I really enjoytrolling is for marlin, sailfish and other pelagic saltwa-ter giants offshore, as the sheer size and power of thefish always give it the advantage, and the boat is justanother piece of the puzzle, rather than the determin-ing factor for success. Even though power trollingseems to produce bigger lakers on average than jig-ging, the fish just can’t give an angler the same kind offight, after being dragged for a while with a rod in theholder and then skied across the top while the boatcontinues forward. I make many public appearancesand give many seminars each year across North Amer-ica, and when the subject turns to lake trout fishing,I’ve found more anglers who don’t care for it, than theother way around. Every angler I’ve talked with that

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lake trout waters. The casting decks on my ZX Skeeter(www.SkeeterBoats.com) are enormous, and allowtwo anglers to cast large trout lures, on long big gamerods, from the front deck at the same time. A third an-gler, or sometimes one of our TV show cameramen, willfish or film from the back deck. Casting is now the pre-ferred method of lake trout fishing for my staff and meon most waters we fish, and it’s a red hot tactic for tro-

friend Mark Davis invited me on an exclusive mediaevent he’d organized to a remote fly-in lake, not farfrom Nunavut. For those who don’t know, Mark is Hostof the award winning fishing TV show, Big Water Ad-ventures (www.OutdoorChannel.com/Shows/BigWat-erAdventures.aspx) that you’ve got to check out. Itwas on this trip that I finally experienced the aggres-siveness and power of the lake trout. We actually got tocast for these fish! I was so excited when I realizedwhat we’d be doing. The trout were big. Medium-heavycasting equipment was used to lob large lures near bigrocks where lakers hung out.

I developed a whole new respect for the species.These beasts would chase muskie sized lures as ag-gressively as the large pike that shared their waters.They’d hit so hard, they’d nearly pull the rod out of yourhands. Battles were long and intense. The monsterspulled as hard as any big sport fish I’ve caught in fresh-water, and they never seemed to give up. This wasnothing like the lake trout fishing I’d done before, and Icouldn’t get enough of it. This tactic doesn’t just pro-duce in the far northern regions in and near the arctic.It will produce lakers anywhere they swim. While wetargeted early season ice out lakers in the shallows, itworks just as well during fall when trout invade theshallows again. In summer, we’ve used the same excit-ing tactic, only in deeper water, where we make a longcast to an area holding fish, allow the lure to hit bot-tom, and slow roll it back to the boat. When we’re notflying into remote areas, I tow my 21 foot bass boat to

phies in the fall.

*Lures & TackleStrong yet lightweight

graphite casting rods of at leastseven feet are best, and our fa-vorite is the MH Split Grip fromTackle Industries (www.Tack-leIndustries.com). We spoolcasting reels with Vicious Braidfrom 50-65lb test (www.Vi-cious-Fishing.com) and add a12-18” 80lb fluorocarbonleader. Large spoons, big jigsand swimbaits can be effectiveoptions, but one lure is as closeto magic as anything for lots ofbig lakers, the long arm, multi-blade safety pin style spinner-bait. Colby Simms Tackle School N Shads from ColbySimms Outdoors (www.ColbySimmsOutdoors.com)are large skirted spinnerbaits that feature either 3, 4or even 5 big graduated willow blades on a long arm,with swimbait tails. These lures perfectly mimic thelake trout’s favorite prey, large schooling baitfish likeciscoes, shiners and whitefish, and have producedmore and bigger lakers for me and my staff than any-thing else. They do perform well with trolling tactics,but why troll when you can cast? School N Shads pro-duce giant trout with simple cast and wind techniquesin shallow or deep water, with steady or stop and go re-trieves. Some days the fish want the lure movingsteady and sometimes they hit it better when its re-

trieved and then dropped back to the bottom, but it’sa lot more fun than traditional fishing styles, and pro-duces bigger fish more consistently.

*Get Out ThereThere’s lake trout fishing and then there’s lake

trout fishing, and this is unquestionably the most ex-citing way to approach this sport. To give our quarry asporting chance, to beat us at our own game, makesthe experience that much more rewarding when we dowin. Real sportsmen long to get back to nature, backto the raw unadulterated savageness that is the wild.This is a true contest, where sheer strength and willrule the day, where your gut wrenches, as your fists

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TROUT…Cont’d. from previous pg.

Josh Raglin with a monster laketrout taken on a Colby Simms

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Guide Tom Kinskey lifts another one of ColbySimms' arctic lake trout taken on the Colby

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028_001.qxd 10/27/12 1:43 PM Page 1


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clench the rod handle, and you go toeto toe, in a slugfest, with the powerof nature, on its own terms. This, myfriends, is what being in the wild is allabout, the sheer exhilaration of theage old battle between man andbeast, so get out there!

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13th Ryan Feldott and Brandon Samolitis 13th Dave Puetz and Jason Thies 13th Chris Payne and Mike Payne 13th Joe Miller and Joe Quick 13th Mark Actis and Bob Kidd 13th Jim Coonan and Jack Vogel 13th Jeff Edwards and Bill Hetzler 13th Dave Kleszyk and Tim DePooter 13th Steve Skupien 28 35.10 Total Weight

I would like to thank everyone who par-ticipated in this event and thank all of oursponsors for all of their support! Thank youHennepin Marine for hosting such a greatevent and providing a great meal for every-

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1st Mike Hanson and Matt Wohead-far right top 2nd Tom Giachetto Sr. and Tom Giachetto Jr. Top Middle

3rd Steve and Adam Sandor-Top Left Big Fish Award

Lower left Dave Hall Jr., John Smith and Dave Hall

030_001.qxd 10/27/12 9:57 PM Page 1


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Wild-turkey productionup for second year

By Jim Low JEFFERSON CITY–Admirers of the wild turkey in

Missouri have cause for celebration for the sec-ond year in a row, according to the Missouri De-partment of Conservation (MDC).

Each summer, citizen volunteers and MDCstaff record the number of wild turkey hens andrecently hatched turkeys they see. This year’swild-turkey brood survey showed strong repro-duction, bolstering gains posted last year.

Resource Scientist Jason Isabelle, MDC’sturkey program leader, divides the number ofyoung turkeys, called poults, by the number ofhens. The resulting poult-to-hen ratio is a goodmeasure of turkey nest success and poult sur-vival.

From 2007 through 2010, the statewidepoult-to-hen ratio ranged from 1.0 to 1.2. Thisyear’s survey showed a ratio of 1.7, the same as in2011 and up 42 percent from the average overthe past five years.

This year’s poult-to-hen ratio exceeded thefive-year average in all nine of Missouri’s turkey-production regions. The eastern Ozarks had thehighest number, with 2.5 poults per hen. The Mis-sissippi Lowlands in southeastern Missouri wasnot far behind with 2.2 poults per hen. Poult-to-

hen ratios ranged from 1.5 to 1.7 throughout therest of the state. A map showing regional brood-survey results is available atmdc.mo.gov/node/16163.

The 2011 and 2012 brood survey numbers aredramatic improvements from 2007 through2010, when the ratio ranged from 1.0 to 1.2poults per hen. Isabelle says the difference is duein part to weather. Record rainfall cut into turkeyproduction prior to last year. Warmer weatherand drier conditions during the nesting andbrood-rearing seasons enabled Missouri’s wild-turkey flock to make significant gains.

“Hunters can expect to hear more gobblingnext spring, as birds hatched in 2011 mature,”says Isabelle. “The boost from this year’s contin-ued good nest success should continue that trendinto 2014.”

Approximately 15,000 hunters buy firearmsturkey hunting permits each fall, compared withspring permit sales of more than 100,000. Thefew hunters who do pursue turkeys in the fall of-ten have the woods to themselves.

Hunters harvested 7,077 turkeys during Mis-souri’s 2011 fall firearms turkey season. Isabellesaid that current fall harvest numbers are wellwithin acceptable limits and do not impact thepotential for long-term population growth. Thesuccess of the hatch drives wild turkey populationabundance. In a good year of production, hun-dreds of thousands of turkeys are added to thestate’s population.

“Missouri’s wild turkeys suffered through poorhatches for several years in a row,” said Isabelle.“We have always been confident that they wouldbounce back when the conditions became favor-able, and they continued to do that this year.”

Urban deer harvestbeats 10-year average

by Jim Low JEFFERSON CITY–Hunters checked 1,108 deer

during Missouri’s four-day urban firearms deerhunt, nearly double last year’s urban deer harvestand a little above the 10-year average for the ur-ban hunt.

All or parts of 12 counties are included in ur-ban deer zones around Kansas City, St. Louis,Springfield and the Columbia-Jefferson City area.Boone County led harvest totals with 186 deerchecked, followed by Greene with 165 deerchecked and St. Charles with 151. Other countyharvest totals were: Jefferson, 105; Cass, 94;Franklin, 92; St. Louis, 90; Jackson, 72; Cole,71; Clay, 60; and Christian and Platte, 11 each.

The Missouri Department of Conservation(MDC) instituted the urban hunt in 2003 to pro-vide better control of deer numbers in and aroundhuman population centers. Hunters are allowed totake only antlerless deer during the urban hunt.

In the 10 years the urban season has been of-fered, hunters have checked an average of 997deer per year. The smallest urban deer harvest,129, occurred the first year. MDC expanded theurban hunt to four days in 2004, which saw thelargest harvest, 2,077.

Urban season harvests tend to be larger whentemperatures are lower. This is partly becausedeer are more active in cool weather and partlybecause more hunters take part in the seasonwhen the weather is cool.

Missouri’s firearms deer season consists of sixportions, comprising 42 days of hunting. Upcom-ing portions include the early youth portion (Nov.3-4), the regular November portion (Nov. 10-20), the antlerless portion (Nov. 21-Dec. 2), thealternative methods portion (Dec. 15-25) andthe late youth portion (Dec. 29-30). Missouri’sarchery deer season runs from Sept. 15 throughNov. 9 and Nov. 21 through Jan. 15. Details ofdeer-hunting regulations are contained in the2012 Fall Deer & Turkey Hunting Regulations andInformation booklet, which is available from per-mit vendors and MDC offices statewide. The book-let also is available at mdc.mo.gov/node/3656/.

White-tailed deer are a vital part of Missouri’shunting heritage and local economies. More than506,000 Missourians hunt deer. Each year, deerhunting supports 11,000 jobs and adds more than$1 billion to Missouri economy.

For more information about deer managementin Missouri, visit mdc.mo.gov/node/3347/.

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MDC STOCKS MDC STOCKS TROUT ATTROUT ATJACKSON’S JACKSON’S

ROTARY LAKEROTARY LAKE

by Candice DavisCAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – The annual winter

trout fishery at Jackson’s Rotary Lake begins Nov.1, marking the opening of Missouri’s winter troutseason in lakes around the state.

According to Missouri Department ofConservation (MDC) Fisheries ManagementBiologist Mike Reed, approximately 1,900 trout, aswell as a number of ‘lunkers’, will be stocked inJackson’s Rotary Lake prior to the opener.

Rainbow trout are purchased by the City ofJackson and MDC and stocked in Rotary Lake eachfall. Anglers are then able to fish for this popularcold-water fish through the fall and winter monthson a catch-and-release basis. Anglers may harvesttrout as of Feb. 1, 2013. Rainbow trout are cold-water fish which live in water temperatures lessthan 70 degrees. They do well in waters such asRotary Lake during the colder months.

Reed cautions anglers to remember that fromNov. 1 through Jan. 31, all trout must be releasedunharmed immediately. During this time, anglersmay only fish with flies, artificial lures, andunscented plastic baits. In addition, they may only

use one fishing rod at a time and chum is not per-mitted. Starting Feb. 1, any bait may be used andfour trout may be kept regardless of size. Allanglers between the ages of 16 and 64 must havea valid Missouri fishing permit and any angler har-vesting trout must possess a trout permit as well.

Trout can be caught on a wide variety of lures,according to Reed.

“Flies, which imitate aquatic insects, are pop-ular with fly fishers,” he said, “but spinners, smallspoons, and various small lures are also effec-tive.”

Light line and tackle will typically produce morefish than heavier equipment. Successful anglerstypically use 2-6 lb test line when fishing withlures and add little or no additional weight to theline. Set the drag light as a trout often hits hardand makes strong runs which can break weak orfrayed line.

For more information, contact the MDCSoutheast Regional Office in Cape Girardeau at(573)290-5730. For information on trout fish-ing in other areas of Missouri go online tomdc.mo.gov.

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souri River.Years from now, the same fish may be caught by

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Lake sturgeon date back 150 million years. Thespecies swam near wading dinosaurs and out-survivedthose beasts. They require large waters and are nativeto the Missouri River, Mississippi River, Great Lakesand Hudson Bay ecosystems. Sturgeon use tube-likemouths on the undersides of their elongated heads tosuck up small fish, snails and other food.

Overharvest by commercial fishing greatly reducedlake sturgeon numbers in the United States by the ear-ly 1900s. Continued loss of habitat due to humanchanges to rivers and lakes caused further declines.

But biologists are working to bring back Missouri’slargest fish.

MDC began releasing lake sturgeon into the state’sbig waters in 1984. Research has shown that maturinglake sturgeon spend most of their time in the deeppools of the biggest rivers. But they often travel longdistances between stops. Most lake sturgeon stockedby MDC were released in the Mississippi or lower Mis-souri River on the state’s eastern side. But MDC re-search crews have caught and measured lake sturgeonupstream in the Missouri River all the way to Iowa.

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Some have been caught in the Kansas City area and afew in the lower Kansas River.

Lake sturgeon are protected in Missouri and mustbe released if caught. Adults have rounder bodies,shorter snouts and smooth barbels that distinguishthem from the far smaller and more common shovel-nose sturgeon, or the endangered pallid sturgeon. An-glers fishing for catfish catch them at times.

The goal is to build self-reproducing lake sturgeonpopulations, Moore said.

“Someday down the line we might have a sport fish-ery with limited harvest,” he said. “When caught on arod and reel they will actually tail walk like a large-mouth bass.”

But it might take another 20 years of stocking,management and research for the fishery to growenough in Missouri to take lake sturgeon off the stateendangered list, Moore said. They are considered agood eating fish in states with populations largeenough to allow harvest.

"These lake sturgeon will be the biggest fish in thestate of Missouri someday,” he said. “There’s nothingelse that reaches 200 pounds.”

This lake sturgeon was raised at MDC’s LostValley Fish Hatchery near Warsaw before itbecame one of 12,000 released in September2012 into rivers feeding the Missouri River.This six-inch youngster can potentially live150 years and grow to eight feet long and

more than 300 pounds. Young fish like thishave black and brown mottled color. Adults

turn chocolate brown or tan.

The blue wand at the upper right reads a magnetic tag inserted

into the snout of this young hatchery raised lake sturgeon. The tag will help researchers

identify the fish if caught in the future.

25 or 30 years for a lake sturgeon to reach reproduc-tive size and age, and they don’t always spawn everyyear. Slow reproduction is one reason why they are astate endangered species in Missouri.

Reversing that trend is why Moore and MDC fish-eries crews handled 12,672 hatchery-raised lakesturgeon by hand on Sept. 25, one fish at a time. Theymarked them by removing a specific scute, a scale-likeplate, from the fishes’ side. Each fish also received atiny wire chip in its snout that is magnetized to carryinformation about its origin. The fish were releasedSept. 27 into the Grand, Osage and Gasconade rivers,just upstream from where they empty into the Mis-

MDC STAFF RAISEAND RELEASE LAKE

STURGEON, AMIGHTY FISH FOR

BIG RIVERS by Bill Graham

Warsaw, Mo. -- Travis Moore reached into a fishhatchery tank and with one hand picked up a youngfish, one that in the next century might require threepeople to lift. The squirming, six-inch lake sturgeon heheld is capable of growing into a giant that long out-lives biologists trying to save the species’ future.

The biggest lake sturgeon can reach eight feet and300 pounds. This year, biologists in a northern statemeasured an egg-producing female lake sturgeon thatweighed 240 pounds and was more than seven feetlong.

“They believe that it was 125 years old,” Mooresaid, “which means she was born sometime in the late1800s.”

It’s remarkable that a fish that old is still reproduc-ing, said Moore, a Missouri Department of Conserva-tion (MDC) fisheries biologist who is leader of the LakeSturgeon Recovery Team. The flip side is that it takes

034_001.qxd 10/27/12 10:37 PM Page 1


tion.The Wetland Fun Day anniversary event included

demonstrations and educational booths such aswingshooting tips, live snakes and turtles, and infor-mation about wetlands and waterfowl hunting. Activ-ities, such as a scavenger hunt, were oriented to-ward families and youths. About 130 people attend-ed.

“I want to thank you for bringing your kids outhere today,” said Jeffries, who noted that his ownchildren were attending. “They are the future of con-servation.”

Jeffries presented a certificate of appreciationand congratulations to Missouri DU officials for 75

years of serving the outdoors and wetland conserva-tion. He said the cooperation has included millions ofdollars invested in improving Missouri wetlands andprotecting important waterfowl breeding habitat inCanada.

Missouri DU State Campaign Chairman GeorgeThomlinson of Sedalia presented a certificate of ap-preciation to MDC. Thomlinson also recognized thefinancial contributions made by DU members towardwetland renovations at the Montrose ConservationArea. He noted that 80 youths gave $200 each andare recognized on a plaque as Missouri Ducks Unlim-ited Legacy Greenwing Members.

“This will have a powerful effect on their views ofwetlands for the rest of their lives,” Thomlinson said.“It’s important to them because it’s important toyou.”

DU Director for Western Missouri Mark Jackson ofNevada said he was inspired by a member’s observa-tion that wetland conservation boosts far more thanwaterfowl, many other types of wildlife as well.

“Ducks Unlimited has been a part of wetland con-servation for many years, and we plan to continue,”Jackson said. “There are few places in the world thathave the heart and passion for conservation that wehave in Missouri.”

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MONTROSE, Mo. -- The MDC and Ducks Unlimitedheld a 75-year anniversary celebration on Sept. 29at MDC's Montrose Conservation Area. Attendeesalso dedicated a major renovation for water-controlstructures that will keep wetlands healthy. The proj-ect was made possible by private donors and cooper-ation between MDC, DU and other conservation part-ners.

Both MDC and DU are celebrating 75 years servingpeople and conservation. The two entities often co-operate on wetland habitat projects.

Private donations play a major role, as does thesupport for conservation by landowners and citizensinterested in plants, forests, fish and wildlife.

“With the help of citizens, the Department ofConservation has been able to restore importanthabitat on both private and public lands,” said AaronJeffries, assistant to MDC Director Bob Ziehmer.

The Montrose Conservation Area has a long histo-ry of partnerships serving outdoor enthusiasts.Kansas City Power & Light Company purchased landalong Deepwater Creek in the early 1950s for a coal-fired electrical generating plant and built a 1,600-acre lake to provide cooling water. In 1957, KCP&Lbegan leasing land to MDC for public use and thearea became a popular hunting and fishing destina-

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Some of the 80 DU “Legacy GreenwingMembers” who donated money for a wetland improvement project at the

Montrose Conservation Area were present at the MDC and DU 75-year anniversary celebration at the Montrose ConservationArea. They were called forward to accept applause fior their support. Introducing

them (onstage with microphone) was DU Regional Director.

Assistant to MDC director Aaron Jeffries (r)presented a certificate of appreciation for

wetland conservation partnerships to Missouri Ducks Unlimited. Accepting was

Missouri DU Chairman Dave Hakes (l) andMissouri DU Campaign Director GeorgeThomlinson (c). Thomlinson presented a

plaque of appreciation to MDC. The presentations were part of an MDC and

DU 75-year anniversary.

Conservation and hunting skills demonstrations were among activities at theMDC and DU anniversary event Sept. 29 at

Montrose CA. Loel Wilson of Taberville provided tips for training retrievers for

waterfowl hunting. His dog, Gauge, madeimpressive retrieves of training dummies

thrown far into the marsh.

035_001.qxd 10/29/12 5:33 AM Page 1


SHOOTING ASHOOTING ACROSSBOWCROSSBOW

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The first thing I learned aboutcrossbows when I got into this gameback in 1995 was that, out of the box,they are as accurate as any modernfirearm — when they are at peak per-formance. In fact, I discovered that Icould not shoot more than two orthree arrows at the same target (at 20,30, 40 or even 60 yards) without risk-ing a “Robin Hood” — splitting one

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arrow with the next shot. I enjoyedthis kind of accuracy with everycrossbow I used, from the low-end,basic models to the highest-pricedunits. When the shine wears off,however, it’s time to take action.

A few seasons ago, a friend and Iwere on a winter hunt in Ohio. I’dshot two does (legal in that zone) andwas holding out for a nice buck. Myfriend was having trouble hitting thetarget even at 20 yards, and afterthree discouraging misses, we headedto the range to find out what waswrong.

A crossbow is, after all, a machine,and machines must be maintained. Tobegin with, we tightened all screwsand bolts, including all stock, bowand sight screws. Next, we checkedhis bowstring to be sure it was cen-tered — and found it was not. Theeasiest way to monitor this is to markthe string where it crosses the rail.Using a black permanent marker,carefully mark the string on bothsides of the rail. When the bow iscocked, the marks will show you ifthe string is uneven, which can causethe arrow to fly off-center.

It’s also important to apply thestring and rail lube provided by your

crossbow’s manufacturer. Most man-ufacturers recommend lubing afterthree or four shots. The bottom lineis, if you see your arrows flying offthe mark, first check the string align-ment and lubrication points beforemoving on to cables, limbs or sights.

Sights and ScopesMost crossbows are supplied with

basic open sights, which are general-ly worthless in most cases. The beststandard sight is a 4X scope with aseries of vertical crosshairs that allowthe shooter to sight in at 20, 30, 40and 60 yards. Properly mounted,tightened and maintained, thesescopes will allow any shooter toplunk his arrows into a coffee cup atthe designated range — but only if alldetails of the shooting process areattended to as previously noted.

One point to consider is that mostcrossbow scope mounts also serve asopen sight bases, which can beadjusted by turning an elevation knobon the side of the receiver. These canbe toyed with or bumped inadvertent-ly, so put a dab of White-Out or somepermanent marker on them once yourbow is on target. One click either wayamounts to 10 yards of error, and

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that’s more than enough to miss yourbuck this season. My friend’s sightshad actually been moved two clicks,which largely accounted for his miss-es.

Because crossbows have so manymoving parts, accuracy can literallychange daily. To avoid surprise miss-es, I sight my crossbow in at home,and then check it again after a longdrive to my hunting spot. I carry asmall Block target in my vehicle allseason, and whenever I stop for ahunt — whether for a few hours or aweek — I shoot a few arrows just tobe sure. This is especially importantwhen traveling hundreds of miles.Even the gentle jostling of highwaydriving can affect your bow’s accura-cy, so it’s important to test-fire a fewarrows upon arrival at camp. Also, itis wise to shoot your crossbow daily,even in camp, to ensure that it’s ontarget. Hunting via horseback, moun-tain bike, ATV or even on foot canaffect crossbow accuracy. Load yourquiver with hunting arrows, but keepa field point in your pocket so youcan test-fire your bow once you reachyour destination.

When shooting a crossbow over astand rail, blind ledge or other hard

Quail & Pheasant HuntingQuail & Pheasant Hunting

036_001.qxd 10/24/12 10:14 PM Page 1

’em and forget ’em” implements.Crossbow accuracy depends on allworking parts being functional andproperly set. As with all machines,diligent maintenance is the key. Theprice for sloth is simple and direct —you will miss your target, or worse,injure and lose the game animalyou’ve invested so much time and ef-fort.

Arrows and Sighting-InOnce the arrow leaves the crossbow

rail, the success of your hunt dependson how it performs downrange. Tosave aggravation, buy the best arrowsyou can afford, buy all the arrows youcan afford — I like to keep at leasttwo dozen on hand — and buy thebest broadheads you can afford.“Best” means consistent in shape, ta-per, weight and construction. All ofyour arrows should be made of thesame material (wood, aluminum orgraphite) have the same fletching(feathers or plastic, as long as theyare consistent from arrow to arrow),the same fittings (nocks and inserts),and the same broadheads.

I have killed big game all overNorth America with a variety ofbroadheads, and any type will do thejob. The key is consistent broadheadweight. I go so far as to weigh each

surface, be sure to have your hand,your hat or some other soft, cushion-ing material under the forearm. Likea firearm, a crossbow will shoot offtarget (high, usually) if the hard fore-arm is allowed to bounce off anotherhard surface.

Time for a Tune-UpSooner or later your crossbow will

begin to shoot erratically, and thissimply means it’s time for a tune-up.When you see that your bow is sud-denly shooting off the mark despiteyour best efforts to correct the prob-lem, take action. Older crossbows(those with more than two years ofregular shooting behind them) shouldbe returned to the factory during theoff-season for string replacement aswell as cam and cable adjustments.Over time the original string willstretch, which affects speed and accu-racy. Most manufacturers will makethese adjustments free of charge orfor a nominal fee, but the processtakes time, so get it done during thesummer months. Send your bow in(usually just the limb/cam/string as-sembly) for routine tune-ups at inter-vals suggested by the manufactureror as noted in your owner’s manual.

This might seem like a lot oftweaking, but crossbows are not “set


broadhead on the same grain scale Iuse when reloading firearms. Placeall the same weight broadheads inone pile and work up your hunting ar-rows from the biggest pile. You canshave a grain or two off a broadheadby sharpening it or grinding down thethreads (one thread at a time) andthen re-weighing the piece. The goalis to come up with five or 10 same-weight broadheads, which will giveyou all the same-weight, accurate-shooting arrows you’ll need for anydeer hunt.

At peak accuracy, your crossbow islikely to be so accurate that youwon’t be able to shoot more than twoarrows at the same bull’s-eye. My at-home Block target has five three-inchcircles. Once my crossbow is sightedin, I shoot one arrow at each circle. In

fact, to avoid fletching damage bycross-over arrows, I start shooting atthe top circle and work my way downto the bottom.

Keep in mind that it might take adozen shots or so to zero your cross-bow’s sights. Take your time! Makesure your string marks line up, yoursights are properly adjusted and yourbowstring and rail are properly lubri-cated.

This is a lot to think about, butthat’s what it takes to achieve de-pendable crossbow accuracy. Cutcorners or go the cheap route andyour accuracy (and success) will cer-tainly suffer.

Thanks to Whitetail Journal &Grandview Outdoors for this greatcrossbow article.

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his vehicle and carefully edged his waytoward the pair. Close observation re-vealed that their antlers were locked to-gether. One of the deer was alive andjust barely able to stand, the other wasdead. The dead deer was already in anadvanced state of repulsive decay.

Thinking quickly Gerald retrieved aset of long handled hedge loppers and asmall landscape saw from his jeep. Healways carries these to trim brush alonghis jeep trails.

Slowly approaching the deer whiletalking softly Gerald reassessed the sit-uation and decided the live deer wouldnever tolerate the sawing process. Heelected to use the lopping tool to severthe hooked antler on the dead deer thatbound the two together. It was a toughcut but with Herculean effort Geraldmanaged to snap off the snaggedantler.

Once free the deer made a couple ofthrusts at the dead animal then beganlooking at Gerald in a menacing fash-ion. A couple of lusty yells cause thedeer to turn and head back into the ad-jacent woods.

Gerald had a discussion with our lo-cal IDNR staffers it was estimated thedeer had likely been locked together for

well over a week and thedead deer probably diedof a broken neck. It wasalso concluded that towater in the tiny streamwas a big factor in keep-ing the surviving deeralive.

Gerald and familymembers hunt during thefirearm season but con-centrate on harvestingdoes for the freezer thusthis buck is lucky if hesurvived this ordeal.

I asked Gerald if he in-tends to recover theantlers from the deaddeer and he does, oncethe rank decaying processis complete enough thathe can stand to removethe horns.

Battling for supremacyis common among deer,elk, bear and moose. Lock ups like thisone is not however. When it does hap-pen usual both animals become victimsof the conflict.

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038_001.qxd 10/25/12 12:30 AM Page 1


then concluding that the darn thingdoes not work.

Even if you do not intend to learnthe habits of the quarry you intend tohunt, and do not want to take the timeand effort to distinguish telltale signs, atleast move through enough country, andtry calling enough times to giveyour call a fair shake. Just remember, a coy-ote will normally answer a call if it has theopportunity. But, no predator will come a-calling if it can’t hear your call.

The basic problem, then, is finding a placeto call. Since most calling is done on privateproperty you must get permission to hunt.This isn’t too difficult if you approach thelandowner in the right frame of mind.Hunting is a granted privilege, and you arenot doing the landowner a favor by huntinghis land unless he specifically comes to youand requests help. Remember that you aremaking the advances. Do it with courtesyand respect and few landowners will denyyour wishes. If he has the time he may evenshow you where he has seen predators in thepast. But, if you disrespect his property, anddo not treat it as you would treat your own,there will be no more welcome signs hungout for you. On the other hand, if the manfinds that you are sincere and honest, he mayagree to serve as a character reference whenyou are seeking permission to hunt otherlands.

Seek out the advice of others when pin-pointing the range of coyotes. The ruralmailman is one possibility; so are the UPS,Fed-Ex and school bus drivers, along withthe local game warden. Workers in the soilconservation office are another good source.Ask them if in their travels they recall seeingany predators. If so, take down where the

CALLING THE WILY COYOTE

by Jason HouserWhen thinking of calling wildlife we typi-

cally think of whitetails, turkeys and water-fowl.

However, the trend is quickly changing.More and more hunters are taking up thechallenge of calling furbearers, especially thecoyote. The days of using cassette tapes and“boom boxes” to lure predators to your loca-tion are quickly fading away. New innova-tive trends are hitting the market with literal-ly hundreds of sounds available at the toughof a button. Small handsfree digital callerslike the loud FoxPro CS-24 is the new cas-sette tape.

This doesn’t mean you can buy successwith a digital caller and a library of soundsthough. The best hunters still have to huntwhere the animals are for any type of successto come their way.

Many callers just assume that predators arewidespread, found most everywhere. But,just as a scant few of the available water acresin a lake contain game fish, only a small per-centage of the land holds predators. Theymight be concentrated in one limited spot,while just a few miles away there might notbe any. This is dictated more than anythingelse by the available food supply.

Nothing is closer to the truth than the say-ing; “You can’t call’em if there are none tocall.” However, many callers take this as justa saying, but it is so much more. A typicalcase has a person buying a game call, going tothe field, trying it briefly in one spot, and

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animals were sighted and get in tough withthe landowner.

Hunting in country where no predatorsare around is the foremost mistake of the

beginning caller. Probably the secondis returning to the same general areaeach time you call. It is wise to under-

stand that a predator that you callonce is doubly tough to call a second time.By failing to seek out fresh territory eachtime you call, you are only handicappingyourself. If you intend to return to a spot asecond time, rest it several weeks before pay-ing it a repeat visit.

Far too much emphasis is put on master-ing the calling technique. This is only a verysmall part of the big picture. Equal fore-thought should go into concealment, winddirection, movement, and, of course, pickinga good location to hunt. I spend as muchtime scouting areas as I do hunting it. Thisscouting not only results in more predatorscalled, it also saves a lot of wasted time. I al-so ask around to make sure other callers havenot been hunting in the immediate area re-cently. Calling a wily coyote is no haphazardventure. The only way you can outwit a coy-ote is by sheer intelligence. When you comedown to the animals level, and try to play thegame on the critters terms, your chances of

success are almost nil. The coyote reacts to a call much like a fox

does. When it decides to answer it answersin a hurry, usually within 10 minutes. Acoyote is not as susceptive as a foolish fox,but its greed often supersedes any inherentsense of survival. Yet, it does not throw allcaution to the wind. The game caller whosets up for coyotes must mind his Abc’s ofcalling technique, and must pay strict atten-tion to all the minute details of concealment(including camouflage clothing) and winddirection.

A Cottonwood rabbit dying call is great oncoyotes, but I have found a lower-pitchedcall like that of a Jackrabbit to be sometimesmore effective. Also, manufactured decoysare a great advantage to the caller trying tobring a call-shy decoy in for a shot. Whengoing from one location to the other whencalling, go at least one mile between stops.

Coyote calling is a year-round sport formany, but I prefer to call in the winter whentheir fur is prime and sellable. Calling dur-ing winter is usually good all day long. Therewill be times the coyote population is so highthat they are killing livestock, and other wildgame like deer, rabbits and turkeys. Thenthis happens action must be taken. One of

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to take the kids fishing,” Miller said.! “Fall is a great time to spend time outdoors, andwe want to encourage youth, families and experienced anglers to participate, the fallcatchable trout season.”

More than 70,000 trout are stocked by IDNR at the locations listed below justprior to the opening of the fall trout season. To take trout legally after Oct. 20,anglers must have a fishing license and an inland trout stamp, unless they are underthe age of 16, blind or disabled, or are an Illinois resident on leave from active duty,the Armed Forces.! The daily catch limit for each angler is five trout.

For more information on fall trout season and other Illinois fishing opportunities,check the web site at www.ifishillinois.org.

Illinois fishing licenses and inland trout stamps are available at IDNR Direct licenseand permit locations, including many bait shops, sporting goods stores and otherretail outlets.!

Fishing licenses and trout stamps can also be purchased by using a credit cardthrough DNR Direct online via the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov or by callingDNR Direct toll-free at 1-888-6PERMIT (1-888-673-7648).

For more info. about all site regulations, anglers should contact individual sitesthat will be stocked with catchable-size trout.

The 37 locations listed by County are:Adams: Siloam Springs State Park, 217/894-6205Bond: Greenville Old City Lake (Patriot’s Park Lake), 618/664-2330Bureau: Hennepin Canal Parkway State Park, 815/454-2328

Christian: Manners Park Pond, Taylorville, 217/824-3110Coles: Campus Pond at Eastern Illinois University, 217/345-2420Cook: Axehead Lake - Cook Co Forest Preserve District, 847/294-4134Cook: Belleau Lake - Cook Co Forest Preserve District, 847/294-4134Crawford: Crawford Co. Conservation Area Pond, 618/563-4405Douglas: Villa Grove West Lake, 217/345-2420 DuPage: Silver Lake DuPage Co. FPD, 630/933-7248Jefferson: Mount Vernon Game Farm Pond, 618/547-3610Johnson: Ferne Clyffe State Park, 618/995-2411Kankakee: Bird Park Quarry, Kankakee, 815/939-1311Kendall Co: Big Lake at Silver Springs State Fish/Wildlife Area, 630/553-6297Lake: Banana Lake - Lake Co. Forest Preserve, 815/675-2319Lake: Sand Lake at Illinois Beach State Park North Unit, 847/662-4828 Macon: Rock Springs Pond - Macon Co Conservation Dist, 217/423-7708Macoupin: Beaver Dam Lake at Beaver Dam State Park, 217/854-8020Madison: Highland Old City Lake, 618/651-1386Marion Co: Boston Pond at Stephen A Forbes State Rec Area, 618/547-3381Massac Co: Fairgrounds Pond, Fort Massac State Pk, Metropolis, 618/524-4712McDonough: Argyle Lake at Argyle Lake State Park, 309/776-3422Randolph: Randolph Co State Fish and Wildlife Area Lake, 618/826-2706Randolph: Derby Lake, World Shooting/Rec Complex, 618/295-2700 Rock Island: Prospect Park Pond, Moline, 815/454-2759St. Clair: Frank Holten State Recreation Area Lake, 618/874-7920St. Clair: Jones Park Lake, East St. Louis, 618/847-7920St. Clair: Willow Lake at Peabody River King SFWA, 618/785-2555 Saline: Jones Lake Trout Pond at Saline Co. SFWA, 618/276-4405Sangamon: Southwind Park, Springfield, 309/543-3316Sangamon: Washington Park Pond, Springfield, 309/543-3316Shelby: Forest Park Lagoon, Shelbyville, 217/345-2420Tazewell: Mineral Springs Park Lagoon, Pekin, 309/968-7568Vermilion: Clear Lake at Kickapoo State Recreation Area, 217/442-4915Wabash: Beall Woods Lake at Beall Woods State Park, 618/298-2442Warren: Citizen's Lake, Monmouth, 309/344-2617Wayne: Sam Dale Trout Pond at Sam Dale Lake SFWA, 618/835-2292Whiteside Co:! Centennial Park Lake, Rock Falls, Coloma Pk Dist, 815/625-0272

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the best times of the year to rid your prop-erty of nuisance `yotes is from mid-July oninto October, when the pups have grownlarge enough to fend for themselves, yet stillare too young to be wise to the facts of life.

When a coyote is tricked by a call, butmanages to escape, the coyote will not onlybe tougher to sucker a second time with thesame sounds, but may even pass the lessonon to other coyotes. The number of inexpe-rienced hunters in certain areas, all usingsimilar recordings of prey distress sounds,has definitely made a difference in thisrespect.

However, in such areas, the wise use ofthe same electronic call might just be whatthe doctor ordered. Better electronics pro-duce a wider range of believable coyotevocalizations, many more than can be madeby even a skilled caller using mouth-blownhowlers and calls. And, some of thesesounds can be deadly effective, even wherecoyotes turn a deaf ear to those ubiquitousrabbit squeals and squalls.

One thing for certain when hunting coy-otes is that nothing is for certain. Whatsounds that work perfect on one region ofthe state might not work at all in anotherregion. What sounds worked today mightnot get a single response tomorrow.

COYOTE…Cont’d. from previous pg.

040_001.qxd 10/25/12 12:36 PM Page 1


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Match your Tackle with the Conditions

Here we are finishing up another year onthe water and it seems as though each year isgetting shorter and shorter. This has beenone of the best fishing years we have had ina long time due to the early warming trendthat really got things going much earlierthan normal. A lot of seasonal patterns werefour to six weeks earlier this year. The fisher-man that picked up on this had some greatfishing trips. This turned out to be a greatyear for the bass hatch with actually fourmonths of spawning going on in a lot ofareas.

I want to give you a few tips to thinkabout over the winter or before your nextfishing trip. I see so many fishermen get inmy Nitro and have their rods spooled withthe same pound test line. This is fine ifyou’re going to fish one technique all day orone lure. But many days you have to make alot of changes in what you’re doing to catchbass due to the wind, water color, rain,

Study the lake before hand and learn a lit-tle history of the fishing and have severalExtreme rods with different size lines so youwill be covered for any situation that comesup. Many times I have been fishing the exactcrank bait my partner has and I’ll be outfishing him 10 to one simply because I’musing 10 lbs. test and he’s using 12 lbs. test.My XPS crankbait is getting down a littledeeper.

Then the situation has been reversedmany times, as my partner has been catchingfish right and left because he is using lighterof heavier line than I am. But believe me ifthat happens I’m going to have an Extremerod in the boat with the same test as himand I’m going to make a change quickly.Old saying when in Rome do as the Romansdo. If you are stuck in the boat with one linesize on all your reels, you’re history. Manytournament days I have stopped in the mid-dle of heated action and spooled a reel tomatch the situation.

Hooks and sinkers are also very importantespecially when fishing a Zoom Fluke,wacky worm or any plastic for that matter.The size of the hook or weight dramaticallychanges the fall of plastics and the action ofthe lure. You can fish a Fluke faster with aheavier hook across the surface or get a fasterfall with the lure. Then there are days youneed to fish it slower across the surface oryou want a slower fall so you need a smalleror lighter hook. This is the reason that youneed to look through a Mustad catalog.They have so many sizes and styles of hooksbecause they are made for each situation youencounter while fishing.

Sinkers are just as important as to the rateof fall of a lure, the cover or situation you are

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The reason there are so many differentstyles of rods on the shelf at Bass Pro Shopswith so many different actions is because wehave learned over the years different lures ortechniques work better with different rods.Big heavy rods for flipping, shorter lighterrods for top water, medium action rods forspinnerbaits and the list goes on and on.

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clouds, and temperature, etc. A few instances would be you are fishing

10 lbs. Excel line and a Zoom finesse wormout on points and the sun comes out andmoves the fish into heavy cover. Then youhave to start flipping where 10 lbs. test justain’t going to get it done or vise versa. A topwater bite happens and you have all braidline on your Extreme reels so basically youare done because you can’t work your lureproperly.

You’re up in the stained water in the riverwhere heavy line is working just great. Yourpartner moves down the lake 20 miles andyou can see 10 feet down and he pulls out aspinning rod with 6 lbs. Excel line and startswacking bass with a drop shot, again you aredone for the day if you don’t have light line.

041_001.qxd 10/25/12 12:39 AM Page 1


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As the booming,click-clack music ofclashing antlersechoed through thequiet timber, Iheard the telltale sound of crunching hoofsfrom across a brushy draw. My pulse immedi-ately became palpable, and I reached for mybow. Still unseen, I could hear the deer gettingcloser and I could only assume it was a buck. Inmy mind's eye, he was a B&C giant. Then I spot-ted movement as he snuck through a thick tan-gle of sumac, circling wide around my locationwhere he'd heard my mock sparring match.

His route would take him through an openingthat I had ranged earlier at 31 yards. Perfect.When he stepped into that opening, he'd bemine. He continued, as if on a string. I drew. Hestepped into the opening, stopped, and stoodstatue-like. He couldn't have been more broad-

side. And his antlers couldn't have been small-er. "Button Buck" for this guy was an over-statement, and I eased down the bowstring.Even though that animal wasn't what I wasafter, the entire event thrilled me in wonderfulways. There's nothing more exciting than rat-tling in a buck. It gets the adrenaline going, bigtime.

October marks the beginning of a buck'syearly cycle when he starts to really respond torattling. He will react to the sounds of sparringas soon as the velvet sheds and bucks begintickling antlers in late summer/early autumn.During this period, when bucks are still min-gling a bit in bachelor groups, their sparring ismore playful and seems to just establish anunofficial pecking order. They're not out to killone another - YET. That will happen as thebreeding season gets nearer.

As October advances, bucks get more soli-tary and testosterone levels steadily increase.Each day that goes by makes them more preoc-cupied by the upcoming rut, and boosts theirthirst for aggression and dominance. Huntersshould realize this and vary their rattling styleto match the seasonal disposition of the areabuck herd.So during early October in the northern states,rattling should be fairly gentle and non-threat-ening. Tickling the antler tips with occasionalheavier grinding works best during the "peck-ing order" phase of the pre-rut. Don't expecttoo many deer to come crashing in to watch the

fight or get involved themselves. They're morelikely to wander in with varied interest.

By mid-October, the fights you mimic withyour rattling antlers can get a little moreintense. Then in late-October, you can begin toemulate knock-down-drag-out battles to fireup nearby bucks and hopefully get them charg-ing in. Think of it like the temperature of a ris-ing fever. In early October it's 99.1 degrees.Mild. Nothing to get worked up about. ByHalloween, it's a 104° fever. It's not fright-night, it's fight-night and bucks will be hungryfor battle.

This is particularly true in areas where thebuck-to-doe ratio is pretty even. In that sce-nario, there's a lot of competition for availabledoes that are coming into estrus. If your hunt-ing region has far more does than bucks, thenbucks are less prone to spend their time fight-ing when there are plenty of girls to go around.

Regardless of the October period or thebucks' general rutting mood at the time, it'simportant to rattle antlers in the proper way.This includes setting up with consideration forwind direction. Bucks like to get downwind of afight and then come in following their noses.This gives them security and allows them tosmell "who" is fighting. Believe me, they cometo know one another by scent - the same wayyou can often identify friends, siblings, etc. bytheir unique smells. With wind direction inmind, it's a good idea to set up with shot open-ings flanking your downwind direction - so ifbucks try and circle downwind of your locationyou can intercept them with a shot.

When possible with available cover andambush opportunities, rattling is most effec-

tive when done from the ground - because veryfew bucks ever fight in a treetop. A dynamitetechnique is to hunt with a partner and posi-tion the primary shooter in a treestand whilethe rattler (who is also the secondary shooter)takes a position in good ground cover and doesthe rattling from there. The elevated huntercan get away with a lot more movement whenthe buck's attention is directed to a positionaway from the treestand location.

Begin rattling sequences softly, to avoidimmediately spooking a buck that might belocated nearby. Following the first short, softsequence and a few minutes of silence, the vol-ume and intensity of the rattling can increase.And don't forget, when bucks fight they justdon't stand there bashing antlers. They'removing on their feet like a couple of cage fight-ers, crashing into brush and breaking branch-es. It's a brawl! So make it sound like one byraking brush and thumping trees. Just be care-ful not to get spotted making all that visualcommotion.When everything comes together just right,that buck will come marching in and give youthe thrill of your life. And hopefully he'll be agiant monarch instead of my miniature buttonbuck.

Good Hunting!Babe Winkelman is a nationally-known out-

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again. He was a massive thug.The amount of bone he carried onhis head was mind blowing. Dayafter day reviewing topo mapsand pushing my body to the limithad brought me nothing morethan saddle sores and a bad atti-tude! “Where the hell did he go,”I thought to myself. He had lefthis marks all over. Eight inchtrees were ripped to shreds. Histrack was easily identified, widedeep, and long. I knew he wasstill here because he left mesigns, almost like he knew I waschasing him. I would hunt astand, then move. When I re-turned to that stand, there was hiscalling card. We had kind of alove-hate relationship he and Ibecause I loved to hate him!

I first saw him in late Octobercoming out of a thicket behind acouple of does, twisting and turn-ing his head to fit his rack downthe narrow trail. The wind was inmy favor. He had no idea that hislong reign as king was about toend. The does kept working theirway toward me, 60, 50, then 40yards. I slowly grabbed my Z7and snapped on the release. Thedoes passed a few yards behind

me. They had no idea that a preda-

tor was watching them from thetree canopy. The wind was in myface. I rolled my eyes to watchthe does pass. He was still com-ing. At 30 yards, he stopped atthe top of the ridge, slowly anddeliberately he scanned the drawlooking for any signs of danger.There was none to be seen. Rais-ing his nose, he checked the Oc-tober air. All was good. All Ineeded was for him to go broad-side. He stood in that spot forwhat seemed 20 minutes. Not amuscle did I move. He raised hisleg and held it in the air like a catwith a piece of tape on it. Helooked like a show pony posing

HeartbreakRidge!

by Daniel VinovichIt was the third straight day of

rain and wind. The buck move-ment had turned into a frenzy.The urge had set in, and the BigBoys were on their feet. Thewoods were alive with the soundof rutting whitetails. There wasno time for sleep, family, orwork. The magic time was here. Ihad put the word out ……Don’tcall me unless you are dying! Asteady diet of cold sandwiches,ibuprophen, and mountain dewhad turned my stomach into amess. I sat day after day in thestand hoping for a glimpse of him

for a photo. To the right, helooked. I drew. Come on buddy.Take that step.

My tunnel vision had set in. Ihad focused on the shoulder. Thesmall, yellow pin of my bowsight drifted back and forthacross his chest looking for a softspot to bury my full metal jacketaxis arrow tipped with a 100grain Rage. Then, it happened.Something I had never seen awhitetail do. He dropped his footinto the same track and slowlybacked himself back into thethicket, never offering me theshot. I have seen thousands ofwhitetails in my life, but neverhave I seen a whitetail walking

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there. I hooked my bow on the rope

and lowered it to the ground.Step by step, I climbed down thesticks. My legs felt weak, andmy stomach hurt. I picked up thebow and walked to the spot hewas standing.

Pulling the Nikon range finderfrom my pack, I ranged my standat 29 yards. I stood there tryingto see what he had seen. Thesetup was good. Nothing lookedout of place. Working my wayback down to my tree, I turnedand thought of an old movie line,“If this ridge don’t kill me, itwill surely break my heart!”

I never gave that buck a name,but that ridge will always beknown as HEART BREAKRIDGE! The memories we carryin our heart, good or bad, are allworth their weight in gold, andthis one deserved to be put topen and paper because when welay our head down each night it’sall we really have are the memo-ries of the hunt!

He is out there still. I justknow it, and you can be damnsure I will be waiting for himthis year at Heart Break Ridge.

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backwards. It was almost as if Ihad seen his movement towardme on rewind. He kept walkingbackwards until he disappearedinto the thicket.

I let off on the Z7 and grabbedmy grunt call. I hit the call 3times, and snapped back on therelease. Waiting, I panned overthe hillside looking for anymovement announcing hisreturn. There was none.

Turning to my right, I couldsee the does crossing the creektoward the other side of theridge. Panicking, I grabbed thecall again and brought out agrunt from down deep from mylungs, a loud growl followed bya snort wheeze. The does imme-diately turned and scanned thehillside, expecting to see a goodfight from their beau and theunseen challenger. I snappedback on the release and waited.

I soon got a reply, a longdrawn out grunt followed bywhat sounded like a tree beingup rooted. I immediately went tofull draw, watching the narrow

trail comingout of thethicket. Ic a u g h ta n o t h e rsight of himw a l k i n gback andforth, almostlike a personpacing. Hewanted afight, not inthe open, butin his sanc-tuary in thethicket.

Again, Ilet off theZ7 andgrabbed thegrunt call,pleading tohim to comeout andfight. Again,he answered, but this time a littlefarther away. The does had nowturned and were walking backmy way, directly under the treethey passed, and slowly disap-peared back into the thicket fromwhere they had come. I just

stared deepinto thedense brush.Several min-utes hadpassed be-fore I hungthe bow backon the holderand satdown. I wasdrained. Thetank wasempty.

Pulling offmy facemask re-vealed theface of abeaten man.I looked upletting themorning sunburn throughmy eyelids.With closed

eyes, I re-lived that encounterover and over. I had the favor ofthe wind, the sun was at myback, he had no clue I was there.I made a fist and drove it into thetree. “I had him,” I mutteredover and over. He was right

RIDGE…Cont’d. from previous pg.

Another Heartbreak Ridge buck!

044_001.qxd 10/27/12 11:32 PM Page 1


Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) – IL UpdateSPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural

Resources (IDNR) today announced updated results of monitoring ofdeer mortality in the state attributed to Epizootic HemorrhagicDisease (EHD). Since an earlier update on September 6, manyIllinois citizens have taken the time to make reports of sick, dead,and/or dying animals throughout the state. The IDNR Division ofWildlife Resources thanks those individuals who have taken time toprovide information on EHD-probable deer mortality in the state.

As of September 30, there were 2,043 deer reported as probableEHD deaths, with reports from 76 counties. The highest numberswere reported from Cook (326); Calhoun (181); Coles (138); Maconand Shelby (121). The attached color-coded map provides an indi-cation of the disease intensity, by county.

Hunters taking to the field in Illinois for archery deer hunting andthe Oct. 6-7 Illinois Youth Firearm Deer Hunt need not be concernedabout eating venison from animals that may have contracted EHDand survived. EHD has no impact on humans, pets, or livestock.

Lab testing has isolated EHDV-6 from several Illinois deer fromnorthwest Cook County. Results are still pending for other samplestaken downstate. EHD has been found throughout the Midwest,including neighboring Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, andKentucky.

Hunters and landowners who find sick or dead deer that they sus-pect may be related to EHD, especially in or near water, are asked tocontact their nearest IDNR field office or regional office to reportthem. Discoveries of EHD-related deer mortality may also bereported to Tom Micetich at 309-543-3316, ext. 231; or email:[email protected]. Anyone reporting dead deer shouldinclude their name and contact phone number, as well as the county,number of dead deer, and specific location of the deer(distance/direction from the nearest town).

Latest EHD maps are shown to the right.

045_001.qxd 10/25/12 2:55 PM Page 1


The seasonwas soon ap-proaching thetime when therut would be in-terrupted by theonslaught ofblaze orange in-truders withguns in hand!For those of uspreferring the bow, know our odds godown after the season of guns asmany of the species have been culled,the rut wanes and the survivors arenot as apt to roam the woods withouta heightened sense of wariness! Tomake matters worse, rain had fallenfor a number of successive days mak-ing time on the stand uncomfortableat best and difficult at worst. Mod-erate to hard rain has always been myexcuse to refrain from time on thestand. Rain and wind will get every-

thing wet despite the most expensiveof rain gear that will claim otherwise!This bow season of 2009 started withdifficulty. Usual preparedness wasabsent. My stands were not hung,shooting practice was limited, time inthe woods had been non-existent andmy expectations were not high! Theopening hunt involved my hangingmy stand prior to occupying it in myfavorite tree. Although shootingpractice had been nil, I knew my ex-perience would carry me if the prop-er shot materialized! Thankfully, Ihad the energy to climb and hang thestand on this hunt!

Two months prior to this openingday, I had completed thirty-six ses-sions of radiation to combat the reoc-currence of cancer! The mental an-guish of not knowing if the treatmentwould be successful overrode themental anguish, physical demandsand the financial drain also associat-ed with this activity. Preparedness inthe woods along with dogged perse-verance will yield the best chance ofsuccess, but this preparedness wasforgone in lieu of the seriousness of

I HATE RAIN!I HATE RAIN!by Dave Herschelman

my predicament. To make mattersworse, my overzealous consumptionof Ibuprofen had led to my bleedinginternally resulting in an anemic stateI wish to never experience again.Once the bleeding had been diag-nosed, just weeks before the seasonopener, my treatment yielded a quickrecovery and the radiation treatmentshad accomplished our goal – to becancer free!

Back in the saddle, the rains came!Normally, I will wait until the rainhas subsided to resume my hours onthe stand but this season yielded dayafter day of hard steady rain and eachday past not spent in the stand was awasted day! It was apparent; I musthunt in the rain or accept defeat! As my strength grew along with theeuphoric feeling of being alive andgoing forward free of cancer the sea-son progressed. In fact, one nicebuck was identified but he never of-fered a shot. In fact, this large buckwith tall tines presented himself inmid-November chasing a doe. Henever came closer than seventy yardsbut even with my poor eyesight – Icould tell he was the object of my de-sires! I hunted this buck or shall I saythe area in which we met to no suc-cess. I had a tall tined buck approach

but his left side did not match theheight on the right. Was this the buckI had seen earlier? I reasoned that itwas and I abandoned this area forgreener pastures.

The rain subsided somewhat thisunseasonable warm November morn-ing the day before the opening day ofthe gun season. I returned to my fa-vorite haunt to make one last attempt

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046_001.qxd 10/27/12 11:44 PM Page 1


at success with bow in hand. Fogenveloped the woods with no deeractivity at all for several hours.Thankful to be alive and well wasgood but a nice shot on a big white-tail would be welcomed but notdemanded based on my ability to dothe things I loved to do!

The rain and fog subsided whenstraight ahead at fifty yards a singlebuck approached with a determinedgait – it was without question, the talltined buck seen earlier in November!I had to react quickly! The frontalapproach was not to my desire, infact, he would walk directly undermy position only yards from my tree!The elevation of his approach washigher than that of the base of my treebut my high stand height should pro-tect my movement. Should I grunt tofreeze him? No – I reasoned hewould be able to identify the sourcewithout question! I drew and fol-lowed him until he was almost direct-ly underneath my position only twoor three yards distant! If I let him gofurther, I would need to reposition fora shot behind the tree. This was notgood under the circumstances! Iplaced the pin on the vital area select-ed and let her fly! The sound anddeer reaction seemed positive as the

completed in accordance with myfeelings toward this magnificent ani-mal and the respect they deserve.Like life itself, not all rainy days willturn into sunshine but for me, thisday will never be forgotten!

David Herschelman, Oct. 9, 2012

large whitetail wheeled and reversedhis direction for the safety of his pre-viously covered travel area. Hestopped about forty yards distanceand turned to examine the area vacat-ed for the source of all of this com-motion. He stood for what seemedlike eternity; in fact I nocked anotherarrow and attempted to connect. Theshot only put him in motion again ashe walked nonchalantly in the oppo-site direction of the earlier entry!Was it possible I had only shot dirt!Doubt entered my mind as his bodydisappeared from eyesight into thewooded section.

I climbed down to examine thearrow – it had completely exited theanimal but had signs of a potentiallylethal hit! My excitement level grew;I then very cautiously attempted tofind my second arrow to confirm ahit. The arrow had missed entirely!

Since I was on the path of the ani-mals retreat, I reasoned that with thequiet forest floor and very slow andmethodical stalk movement, I couldat least follow the very weak trail ofblood until I could see over into thelarger section of woods and if nothingcould be identified, I would back offfor a couple of hours before pressingon! There was no need as the buck

lay where he had perished only yardsahead!

The feeling of satisfaction wasindescribable. A tough season hadended with my goals met and withthe potential for more seasons tocome. The next few moments were

Congrats to Tyler

Tarpley fortaking hisfirst buck

in SchuylerCounty during Youth

Season.Thanks toproud dadAllen forsharingTyler’s trophy

with ASO!

047_001.qxd 10/27/12 11:44 PM Page 1


EXPLORINGTHE

YUCATANBy Bill Cooper

The Perfect Jungle CampExploring and hunting the deep jun-

gles of the southern Yucatan is a greatoutdoor adventure. My very fist trip,however, created a great deal of appre-hension. The jungle is a harsh environ-ment. Heat, humidity, insects, dense fo-liage, long days and the strain of great ex-citement puts lots of strain on the humanbody. Being in my early 60’s on that firsttrip, I secretly hoped that the outfitterwould provide a clean, comfortable campwith good food, beds and showers. Goodaccommodations would definitely makea difference in how well I would be ableto endure the extreme conditions of theYucatan jungle.

My apprehensions were laid to rest assoon as I saw the jungle camp providedby Maya Amazing Outfitters. A largecamp consisting of spacious, air-condi-tioned wall tents quickly convinced me

that everything would be OK. Separatetents provided living quarters for guests,staff and cooks. A cook tent and en-closed dining table occupied the center

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of the camp, with the other tents circledaround it. A large fire pit and comfort-able camp chairs sat to one side, castingan aura of good times to come aroundthe evening campfire.

Showers and bathroom facilities werelaid out just downhill from the maincamp, not over 30 meters away, easily ac-cessible via clearly marked trails.

Comfortable sleeping arrangementsare particularly important for long staysin the jungle. Maya Amazing Outfittersprovided oversized cots, which wouldtake care of any frame. I quickly fellasleep the first night in camp and neverhad a problem sleeping the entire fivedays I spent there. The air conditioningcertainly relaxed our tired bodies afterlong days out in the jungle heat.

Long, hot days warmed the water inthe storage tank which provided waterfor showers. Although the water filteringdown into the shower stall from the tankoverhead was not steaming hot, it feltmarvelous after being hot and sweaty allday. A great shower, a hot meal, a littlerelaxation around the campfire and acomfortable bed in a cool tent revivedeven the most tired folks of our huntingparty.

Proper food consumption in the jungleis very important. Maya Amazing Outfit-ters provided an mazing array of food

stuffs prepared by an expert chef. Break-fasts consisted of fruits, cereals, muffins,milk, coffee and juices. Guides packedwater and snacks for the morning hunt.

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We usually returned to camp by 10 or11 a.m., after having rolled out of bed at4:00 a.m. The morning heat picked upearly and everyone felt ready for a siestaand a hearty lunch well before noon.

Evening meals equalled those found inthe world’s finest restaurants. Well pre-pared and beautifully presented meatsand side dishes graced the dining table.Beef, wild turkey, wild boar, crestedguan and curasso all found their way toour dinner plates. The amazing chef pre-pared meals to meet the likes of everycamper’s palette.

Fancy desserts, fine wines and the afterdinner drinks prepared every campmember for relaxing and memorableevenings in the Yucatan jungles.

Sharing a jungle camp with huntersfrom all walks of life certainly makes forfabulous after dinner entertainment. Ibecame all ears as I listened to Mexicandoctors and lawyers tell their tall talesabout the great adventures that had ex-perienced in the Yucatan junglesthroughout their life times. I will neverforget the harrowing tales Senor Lachuga

told abouthis jaguarhunting es-capades inthe old daysof the Yu-catan. Ouradventuresof todaypale in theshadow ofthe grandexpeditions

into the jungles decades ago.Night after night I sat around the

campfire and listened to the stories toldby young and old hunters alike. A com-mon bound bought us together...our loveof the adventurous lifestyle and wakingto a new dawn each day in the wild jun-gles of the Yucatan.

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Congratulations toMichael Lucas only

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Exquisite meals of wild turkey, wildpig and jungle fowl were prepared

daily by the camp chef.

Evening meals in camp provided anopportunity for every camp memberto tell about his day's hunt in the

jungle.

A variety of jungle birds, including currasow made itto the dining table. It’s a black and yellow bird.

049_001.qxd 10/27/12 11:59 PM Page 1


Congrats to Tristen Bartlett, 12, from Mackinaw for taking her 1st deer during youth hunt season. GREAT SHOT! She is sporting aBuck Girl vest! Thanks to ASO Rep Terri Sweckard. Terri is also aRep for Buck Girl and had left the orange vest with Chad, owner of Goodtyme Charlie’s, who is an ASO sponsor & friend. Tristen’s dad

was at the bar, on his way to Wal-Mart to get her an orange vest.Chad gave him the Buck Girl orange vest and I think a little luck

came with that gesture! Thanks to Chad & KEEP HUNTING TRISTEN!

FISHING & HUNTING TROPHIES!

Wow! Way to go Martin Snow with this25 pound flathead! Thanks to Trevor

Miller owner of Big Red’s Bait &Tackle on Stevenson Dr in Springfieldfor sending Martin’s trophy to ASO!

Harold Brumley shows ussome of the wild hogs he shotthis year, 19 so far. He lives in the north central part ofArkansas. A couple of yearsago there weren’t any wild

hogs in their area. Then thehog population grew and

then they started becoming a problem.

Thanks to ASO friends

Bob & Pam Sider for sharing this photo!

050_001.qxd 10/28/12 12:38 AM Page 1


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Aug. 1stRegion 1

A Dist 7 CPO, while conducting ATV patrols on DeptLands in Tazewell Co. contacted 6 individuals riding ATVsand dirt bikes. 5 individuals were issued citations for oper-ating an off-road vehicle on public land without permission.The 6th individual (12-years-old) was given a verbal warn-ing for the same violation.

A Dist 7 CPO is investigating a case of bad checks beingwritten for camping fees at Rice Lake Fish & Wildlife Area byfollowing a process set up by the Fulton Co State’sAttorney’s Office.

A Dist 1 CPO took enforcement action on a Dixon manwho was observed operating a personal watercraft within150 feet of a public boat ramp at a speed causing a wake.This violation was occurring as other boaters were trying totrailer their boats. The PWC operator was also cited foroperating an unregistered watercraft.

A Dist 1 CPO was checking fishermen along theMississippi River in the Quad City area. The CPO watchedthe fishermen at lock and dam #14 in Hampton beforeapproaching. 4 fishermen were observed snagging fishalong the dam wall. The CPO then drove into the parking lot& walked out to the dam. By the time the CPO reached thedam, all subjects had switched locations, switched poles &ceased all snagging activity. The CPO ordered all 4 subjectsto come to the top of the rip rapped area, where IDs & fish-ing licenses were obtained. One subject was a 15 year oldboy. The CPO asked the youth who he was there with & hepointed to one of the men lined up along the wall and stated“that’s my dad”. The CPO informed the boy (within ear shotof the violators) that these men were setting a very badexample for him knowingly fishing illegally, by snagging. The

boy nodded his head & stated “I was doing it too”. The CPOstated he appreciated the youth’s honesty & told him heprobably wouldn’t have been doing it if he was with adultswho were obeying the law & acting responsibly. The boy wenton to say “snagging for fish was inhumane” and he didn’tlike to do it. The 3 adults received a citation for the snag-ging violation.

A CPO arrested 2 fishermen for fishing without permis-sion. The 2 men walked under & past a sign that said,“State Property/No Trespassing". When asked about itthey stated they saw the sign but went into the area anyway.

CPOs went on boat patrol at Lake Holiday in northernLaSalle Co & wrote a boating citation, several written warn-ings for boating violations.

Region 2A CPO arrested a subject on Grass Lake for operation of

a watercraft while under the influence of alcohol and opera-tion of a watercraft with a BAC over 0.08. The subject hada registered BAC of 0.169.

CPOs cited a subject on the Fox River in Kane County forillegal use of a commercial device to take sport fish.

Region 4A CPO investigated a personal injury boat accident in

Adams Co. A skier collided with a watercraft during a skishow in Quincy and broke his femur.

A CPO investigated a fatal boat accident in Greene Co.An older subject was found floating in a private pond next toa watercraft. No personal flotation devices were located inthe watercraft or around the pond.

A CPO was checking fishing licenses on the Illinois Riverwhen she checked a group of 4 individuals. 3 of the 4 indi-

subjects swimming and directed them to a CPO who waswaiting for them at their vehicles. Appropriate enforcementaction was taken and the gate was fixed.

Aug. 8thRegion 1

A Dist 7 CPO worked Woodford & Marshall State andWildlife Areas during the annual duck blind drawings. 2warnings were issued for operation of golf carts on a road-way. The CPO also assisted site staff with verification ofproper licensing and FOID cards during the drawing.

A Dist 1 CPO performed a side scan sonar search of theMississippi River at the request of the local sheriff’s dept.

A CPO in Henderson Co investigated a commercial fish-ing complaint on the Mississippi River. A commercial fisher-man reported that approximately $2000 dollars worth oftrammel nets were stolen in one night. This is the 2nd timein 2 weeks the individual has had gear stolen. The investiga-tion is ongoing.

A Dist 1 CPO cited a Lyndon man for taking a WhitetailBuck Deer from the wild & retaining it alive in captivity.

District 1 CPOs conducted a boat patrol on Pool 13 of theMississippi River resulting in various written warnings and acitation for violations of the Boat Registration/Safety Act &the Fish/Aquatic Life Code. Appropriate enforcementaction was taken on a Chicago youth for being in possessionof an illegal/undersized Largemouth Bass, which was pho-tographed & released back to the waters.


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AUG. 2012viduals did not have fishing licenses and 2 of the 4 werewanted on warrants for failure to appear.

A CPO started a title investigation after a boat accident.It was determined the previous owner sold the watercraftwithout transferring the title.

Region 5A CPO conducted a timber audit in Hamilton Co. & an

administrative investigation in Saline Co. A man was citedfor failure to tag deer & given a written warning for unlawfuluse of another's deer tag.

A CPO attended a hunter safety class in Jasper Countywith 56 students.

A CPO assisted the Union County Sheriff's Office and theIllinois State Police with a subject who fired a rifle in Annaand then fled "holing up" in his trailer with the firearm. Thesubject came out on the porch of the trailer with the firearmand then would go back in the trailer. At a later time the sub-ject came out without the firearm and he was subsequentlytaken into custody.

A CPO took a call of a llama on the loose in Trail of TearsState Forest. The llama was located but no owner could befound or came forward. The llama was removed from theState Forest.

CPOs, while on boat patrol on Kinkaid Lake, assisted aCPO in locating individuals who unlawfully drove their vehi-cles across IDNR property down to the lake. The subjectsfound a gate where the lock was broken off and unlawfullydrove through the Kinkaid Lake Wildlife management area toget closer to their favorite swimming hole. CPOs located the

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POLICE… Cont’d. from previous pg.Region 5

A CPO worked with an Indiana Conservation Detectiveinterviewing an Ind. man. The man was cited for unlawfultaking of a white-tailed deer, unlawful taking without a validpermit & failure to immediately tag the white-tailed deer.The violations took place during the gun deer season in2011. A mounted 17 point deer was seized.

A Dist Sergeant and CPO responded to a gathering ofapproximately 70 people in the tent camping area of Cave-In-Rock State Park. Enforcement action was taken for someviolations and they were issued fourteen separate campingpermits.

A CPO assisted the Anna City Police Department with alarge fight at the city park. It was reported that weaponswere involved but was not substantiated.

A CPO apprehended a subject running trotlines in one ofthe Pyramid State Park lakes in violation of the 2 pole & lineonly rule. Additionally, the subject did not have a fishinglicense.

A CPO responded to a report of a person who was injuredwhile diving off a cliff at Kinkaid Lake. The subject dislocat-ed his shoulder after diving from approximately 20-25 feetabove the water. During the CPO's interview with the sub-ject, it was learned he had dislocated this shoulder on atleast two other occasions. He also wanted the CPO to knowthat alcohol was not a factor in this incident but stupiditywas.

A CPO responded to 3 different locations in WilliamsonCo. this week with reports of blue tongue deer deaths. Oneof the deer was a 16-point antlered deer in velvet foundfloating in a private pond.

A CPO attended a boat safety class held at Kinkaid Lake

Marina and another CPO attended a hunter safety class inPinckneyville.

Aug 15thREGION 1

A Dist 1 CPO testified at a sentencing hearing that onNov 19, 2011 at approximately 5:33 am, a fatal firearmdeer hunting incident occurred in JoDaviess Co. in which anEast Dubuque man mistook another hunter for a deer. Theincident resulted in the death of an Inverness, Illinois manand the injury of that man’s juvenile son. All 3 were firearmdeer hunters. Sunrise on Nov. 19th was 6:55 am & legalfirearm deer hunting hours started at 6:25 am. On Jan 6,2012 a Grand Jury issued a 2 count indictment for theoffenses of Involuntary Manslaughter [Class 3 Felony] &Reckless Conduct [Class A Misdemeanor] against the EastDubuque man. Additionally he was issued citations by theIllinois Conservation Police for deer hunting prior to legalhunting hours [Class A Misdemeanor] & unlawful posses-sion of a loaded shotgun prior to legal deer hunting hours[Class B Misdemeanor]. On June 14, 2012 a plea of guiltywas entered on the charge of Involuntary Manslaughter. Allother charges were dropped. On Aug 2, 2012 the EastDubuque man was sentenced to 2-years probation, 180days of work release & ordered to pay court costs.

REGION 2A CPO encountered a subject fishing on the Fox River

with an over limit of smallmouth bass. The subject also wasin possession of a smallmouth bass under the minimum sizelimit. Appropriate enforcement action was taken.

CPOs arrested a subject fishing along the Fox River at the

Chain O' Lakes State Park for possession of cannabis lessthan 2.5 grams, possession of a controlled substance (141/2 Xanax pills), and unlawful use of weapon (metal knuck-les).

While checking fisherman for compliance along the I &MCanal, a CPO opened a tackle box and located a loaded .22caliber handgun. The subject did not have a valid FOID card.He was interviewed on his intentions with the firearm, butcould not present the officer with a valid, legal reason topossess the weapon. The pistol was seized & the subjectwas arrested on 2 counts of unlawful possession of afirearm.

A CPO approached 2 fishermen along the KankakeeRiver. Neither had a valid fishing license and was found to bein possession of 2.5 to 10 grams of cannabis & drug para-phernalia. Each were arrested on the possession charges &also cited for fishing without a valid license.

While patrolling a private quarry, a CPO observed sever-al individuals jumping off a high cliff into the lake. Contactwas made at which time several of the individuals werefound to be in possession of alcohol, despite only one sub-ject being 21 years old. 4 subjects were additionally foundto be in possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia.While searching the subjects, one of them took a prescrip-tion pill bottle out of his pocket and threw it into the lake.After recovering the bottle, it was found to contain fivesmall baggies with cannabis totaling 6.3 grams.Enforcement action was taken for criminal trespass toproperty, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession ofcannabis, possession of alcohol by minors, contributingalcohol to minors and pollution of waterways.

A CPO closed out several field reports. Dispositions wereas follows:

-A subject arrested for driving in excess of 30 mph of theposted speed limit, illegal transportation of alcohol andimproper lane usage pled guilty to two counts and fined

$500.-A subject arrested for possession of drug parapherna-

lia, possession of cannabis, illegal transportation of alcoholand improper license display pled guilty to possession ofdrug paraphernalia. He was fined $750.

-A subject arrested for illegal dumping pled guilty andwas fined $185.

-A subject arrested for careless operation of a water-craft pled guilty and was fined $300.

-A subject arrested for obstructing a police officer bypresenting a friend’s fishing license as his own upon theofficer’s request pled guilty and was fined $185.

-A subject arrested for driving without a license andimproper lane usage pled guilty and was fined $410.

REGION 3A CPO arrested a group of underage kids consuming

alcohol at the Mascoutin State Recreation Area beach. Thesubjects were proud of the large circle of empty beer cansthey had built until the CPO inquired about it. This area isalso restricted to possess alcohol.

A CPO is investigating a watercraft accident thatinvolved minor personal injury. The accident involved a per-sonal watercraft and a cabin cruiser. The injured partyreceived minor injuries to their ankle.

REGION 5A CPO inspected a timber buyer's records. The records

did not accurately reflect the timber activity and appropri-ate enforcement action was taken.

A CPO had an OUI disposition in Franklin Co. The man wasfined $1136.00 and given 24 months supervision.

A CPO conducted a timber buyer inspection in JeffersonCo. Violations of failure to report as required & failure to payharvest fees were noted.

CPOs checked corn fields that have been manipulated

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Aug. 22ndRegion 1

A District 1 CPO worked dept lands, sport fishing andboat enforcement in Whiteside/Carroll Counties. Variouswritten warnings were issued.

A CPO and District Sergeant patrolled Mississippi RiverPool #14 on Aug 10. The annual Port Byron “Tug Fest” (Tugof war across the Mississippi River with LeClaire, IA), start-ed off with a fireworks display, launched from a barge on theMississippi River. Another patrol occurred on Aug 11 whenthe actual rope was put across the river and the competi-tion took place. Several agencies were on the river stationedabove & below the rope to ensure no watercraft drove overthe rope. Illinois again retained the title beating Iowa.

A CPO in Winnebago Co resumed an on-going felonymotor vehicle burglary investigation that occurred in RockCut State Park over the Memorial Day Weekend. Victims ofthe vehicle burglary provided a copy of their cellular phonebill showing an unrecognized phone number used by the sus-pect of the stolen cell phone two days after the burglary. Agrand jury subpoena was applied for by the CPO through theState’s Attorney’s office to seek the identity of the individ-ual belonging to this cell number. The hope is it will lead tothose responsible for the offense.

A CPO in Boone Co investigated a complaint in which aman running a storage facility business sold a boat belong-ing to a customer who failed to pay storage fees. This busi-ness owner sold the customer’s boat illegally without title to

an out-of-state third party. This caused the customer to suethe storage owner in civil court. The CPO’s investigativereport is being reviewed by the state’s attorney’s office forconsideration of charges under the Illinois BoatRegistration Title & Safety Act.

A CPO was patrolling the campgrounds at Illini StatePark to enforce a campfire ban. While going through thecampground, the CPO noticed five vehicles illegally parked.When the officer went to the campsite where all the vehicleswere parked he was met by 25 individuals drinking alcoholaround a campfire. The group was going to an off-road parkin the morning. They decided to camp and have a few beersbefore going to sleep. Several citations were issued.

A CPO in Henderson Co investigated a theft of commer-cial fishing gear on the Mississippi River. Five hoop netswere stolen in one evening. This is the second such theft intwo weeks in the same area.

A Dist 7 CPO assisted central Illinois SWAT team withboat training on the Illinois River. Training consisted ofboarding an underway barge & engaging targets with simu-nitions & man overboard drills.

Region 4A Washington Co CPO received info from the Dist

Sergeant of a burglary that occurred at Frank Holten StatePark. The incident is still under investigation.

St. Clair and Madison Co CPOs responded to FrankHolten State Park in reference to a fatal kayak accident. Theinitial coroner’s inquest stated the subject had drowned.

A St. Clair Co CPO initiated a boat title investigation at a

titling business in Belleville.St. Clair & Clinton County CPO’s worked the Carlyle Lake

Patrol Boat on Aug 18. They issued multiple citations forwake & lighting violations.

A St. Clair Co. CPO charged two subjects for operation ofoff-road vehicles near the Rattlesnake burial mound atCahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

The same District 13 Sergeant & Monroe Co CPO were ina jon boat working the Kaskaskia River for fishing and boat-ing violations when they observed a jon boat approachingtoward them from upstream. The CPO operated his boatfrom the center of the channel closer to the east bank toallow more passing room. The approaching jon boat mir-rored their boat movements, headed directly toward themfor several seconds before cutting back to the west bank.This caused the CPOs some concern so they stopped theboat for a safety inspection. Open alcohol was present andthe operator was impaired, failed sobriety tests & recordeda BAC of .196.

A Monroe Co CPO was working late Sun night for coonhunters when he located a truck stopped on a back road.The driver was urinating in the roadway & the CPO couldclearly see open alcohol on the console through the opendoor of the truck. The subject’s wife & a friend were calledto drive him home due to his borderline condition. The CPOissued a citation to the truck driver for the illegal trans-portation of open alcohol while they waited for his wife andfriend to show up.

Region 5A CPO obtained a disposition for Goldenseal root digger

on Trail of Tears State Forest in Union Co. $615.00 fine &100 hours of public service.

A CPO took a report of a female deer that had died ofBlue-Tongue in a pond in Williamson Co.

A CPO responded to, and is investigating, a female deerthat was shot with a .22 caliber in rural Williamson Co. Thereporting parties had been squirrel hunting on private prop-erty & reported 2 subjects fled the property on ATV's whenthey had arrived to hunt squirrels.

A CPO conducted an inspection of a licensed taxidermistin Williamson Co. No violations were found.

A CPO responded to a fishing without permission com-plaint on private property in Williamson Co. The 2 subjectshad legal access from 1 owner of the strip cut. The CPOcaught the subjects fishing without permission, over thelimit of largemouth bass, no wearable life jackets, no licensein possession and no valid registration on the watercraft.Citations were issued.

Aug 29thRegion 1

A CPO observed 4 males in their early 20s fishing anddrinking beer in Bureau Co. After observing each individualfishing, the officer approached them through the woodsinstead of walking directly though the open area to their


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POLICE… Cont’d. from previous pg. Region 3A CPO arrested 2 Decatur men for removing scrap metal

from the Shelbyville Fish/Wildlife Area in Moultrie Co. He citedthe driver for operating a vehicle with suspended license plates& later had to tow the vehicle when they failed to remove it asagreed.

Dist 11 CPOs are responding to numerous complaints ofdead deer in, or around, water from EHD.

A CPO responded to a complaint of a pile of dead deerdumped with ear tags near Stewardson. It is assumed the cap-tive herd fell victim to EHD. The CPO is investigating withenforcement action pending.

Region 5A CPO caught a person in possession of short bass on Rend

Lake.A CPO responded to a call on a subject with a gun at the I-57

rest area in Franklin County. The male subject had an uncasedair rifle in the floorboard of the car and a Walther CP99 air pis-tol in the glove box. The person said he was shooting squirrelswith the air pistol. He was cited for hunting without permission,hunting without a license, transporting an uncased rifle andhunting squirrels without a habitat stamp. He was arrested by atrooper for obstructing a police officer.

A CPO and Dist Sergeant handled campers in a restrictedarea of the Ten Mile Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area. Severaladults and minors were camping and having a party on theGoshen Trail Unit late Wed. into early Thurs. morning. Citationswere issued for camping in a restricted area, minor consump-tion of alcohol & driving vehicles off the roadway. The CPO tookone camper to jail on a warrant. One truck was towed from thescene. McLeansboro Police Dept assisted, releasing the juve-niles back to their parents. A District 19 trooper stopped a cou-ple vehicles trying to leave and issued illegal transportation ofalcohol citations.

A CPO continued working on a timber investigation and a

trash dumping in Saline Co. A CPO completed a boat registration and title investigation

in the Lake of Egypt area. A CPO assisted with traffic control at two separate traffic

accidents that resulted in I-57 traffic being shut down. A CPO was in the village of Pittsburg looking for a subject

that had written two bad checks to Rend Lake State Park. A 911call for a medical emergency came across Williamson CoSheriff's frequency and the CPO responded to the home. Thedoor had to be forced open and an ambulance arrived for awoman that is in need of a heart and kidney transplant.

A CPO responded to a report of several subjects shootingdoves during the closed season. The CPO worked his waythrough some rough terrain and finally reached the east side ofa small field where the violations were reportedly occurring. Allthe subjects shooting were on the west side of the field shootingeast, the subjects were shooting clay targets.

A CPO was the first officer at the scene of a motorcycle acci-dent on Grassy road near the Little Grassy Lake Dam. The 20-year-old man was part of a poker run being held to raise moniesfor a cancer subject. The Williamson Co man suffered severehead injuries and was not wearing a helmet. The man’s fatherand mother were on a bike right behind their son at the time ofthe accident. The father was giving chest compressions on hisson when the CPO arrived. The man was pronounced dead whenthe EMTs arrived and the CPO then assisted in closing the busyroad for several hours.

District 16 CPOs completed fair duties at the DuQuoin StateFair.

A CPO arrested two fishermen on the Ohio River for fishingwithout a license.

A Dist Sergeant and CPOs assisted Region 4 with sonar in anattempt to locate 2 victims at Carlyle Lake. There was conflict-ing reports of where the accident occurred and no known loca-tion was able to be validated to begin the search leaving approx-imately a six mile search grid.

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location. The officer was able to walk within 20 feet of themundetected. He observed a male pull a bag of cannabis out of hispocket & shove it into a pipe. The officer walked out of the woodstaking all four individuals by surprise. The male tried to hide thecannabis and pipe, but knew he was caught and turned it over tothe officer. The group was walked back to their cars whereanother pipe & more cannabis were seized. 2 individuals wereissued citations for fishing without a license. One individual wascited for possession of drug paraphernalia, & possession ofgreater than 2.5 grams of cannabis.

A District 7 CPO worked the Illinois State Fair Detail. Manyfairgoers asked legal questions, requested assistance with boatregistration, or deer permit applications. Numerous cougarobservations and questions were taken. The most frequentquestion was concerning the recent law change for crossbowuse during the archery season. Low temperatures and niceweather saw higher attendance at both the fair andConservation World.

A Dist 1 CPO conducted a boat patrol on Pool 14 of theMississippi River enforcing the provisions of the BoatRegistration/Safety Act & Fish/Aquatic Life Code. While onpatrol, several boats were checked & various written warningswere issued for boating and sport fishing violations. One CedarRapid’s man was issued a citation and written warnings for fil-leting Largemouth Bass & disposing of the carcasses while onthe water.

A Dist 7 CPO is investigating an early morning deer poach-ing incident that occurred in Tazewell Co. A suspect has beenidentified.

On August 18, police received a call of a car which had strucka tent full of kids at Rock Cut State Park. Loves Park Police andIllinois State Police Sergeant responded to the scene. Once on-scene, police learned that there were three occupants (adult

male, adult female and a two year old child) in a tent onCampsite 1 in Hickory Hills campground at the time of the crash.A car, driven by white male, who was also camping in HickoryHills campground, drove into and over the occupied tent(Campsite #1). An adult male occupant of the tent sustained aminor leg injury (no broken bones) and was treated at a localhospital. The woman and child inside the tent were unharmed;however, the two year old was transported to RockfordMemorial Hospital for evaluation. Once the CPO completed anarrest at the jail for an unrelated traffic offense, the CPOresponded to Rock Cut State Park to assist ISP on-scene. Thedriver of the car was arrested by ISP for DUI and reckless driv-ing.

CPOs took part in the annual Floatzilla event detail on Aug18. This event is an attempt to set a world record for the mostcanoes and kayaks held together for 30 seconds without touch-ing the shore line. Hundreds of people make their way down theMississippi River in the Quad Cities area ending up in PottersLake at Sunset Marina in Rock Island. Multiple agencies are sta-tioned at different places on the river in boats to assist canoesor kayaks that overturn or run into other problems. Field sobri-ety tests were administered to one subject that fell out of hiskayak & was found to have several empty beer cans in his kayak.It was determined the subject was not legally intoxicated & hewas released.

Region 2A CPO found a subject fishing the Des Plaines River without

a fishing license. IL State Police advised the subject had an out-standing Lake Co warrant from 2008. The subject was trans-ported to Lake Co Jail & issued a citation for no fishing license.

A subject cited for an undersized northern pike was fined$290 in Lake Co Court.

054_001.qxd 10/25/12 3:20 PM Page 4


ready smile and plenty of guile. Hisname is John.

The first time after retiring thatJane and I were able to join them ona wilderness adventure, I expected tobe in for a bunch of razzing. That'sthe way they were when I led themand, because several years hadpassed since we'd been together, Isuspected they'd have a hemor-rhoidic backlog of machiavellianschemes with which to humble theirold guide and outfitter. That's thereason I decided a good offensemight be Jane's and my best defense.That first night in camp we took amodicum of verbal abuse--andreturned most of it in kind. But weknew they were merely warming totheir task, so Jane and I plotted tolaunch a frontal attack.

The next day dawned bright andsunny. After breakfast, the guys scat-tered to flyfish the nearby river.Meanwhile Jane and I saddled poniesfor a ride further upstream to visit thevast yellow pine forests growingthere. We tied life jackets behindsaddle cantles and stuffed bathingsuits and water shoes into saddle-bags.

Our plan worked beautifully. Onour way downriver in mid-afternoon,

we spotted John, alone, fishing belowa swift rapid, where the streamspilled into a deep pool. Quicklytying our horses and slipping intoswimming suits and lifejackets, Janeand I jumped into the water to"fanny-bump" downstream. As partof the prank, we both clenched cigarsin our teeth. Meanwhile John focusedon the drift of his dry fly atop the sur-face of the pool before him.

The flaw in our plan was Jane'sfaithful dog, Tess. No way was theloyal Brittany spaniel going to getmore than three feet from her mis-tress. But she did…

We surreptitiously approachedJohn through first one pool andanother, riding over a couple of mildriffles, with Jane bouncing behind meand Tess paddling alongside her mis-tress. Then we swept into the swiftrapid directly above the pool whereJohn fished. Though Jane and I coulddrag our feet and partially delay apell-mell rush down the rapid, Tess,though she turned upstream and pad-dled furiously to stay beside Jane,had no chance to do so.

Down we sped, with Tess, tail for-ward, now leading the charge.John had his back to us, standing inthe pool nearly to the top of his chest

C A M P F I R E C A M P F I R E C U L T U R E : C U L T U R E :

Tess the Talking Dog

by Roland Cheekwww.RolandCheek.comEarlier one fall, Jane and I visited a

camp in the Bob MarshallWilderness that was filled with oldfriends. It was a group I'd guided onfloat trips many times, first in 1978.When Jane and I retired from thetrade in 1990, the crew felt betrayed.As penance, I helped set up theirvacations in another outfitter's camp.Each time they return, Jane and I areinvited to join them.

Their leader--the guy instrumentalin getting the group together--is amuch-loved, pleasant man with a

waders, his rapt attention solely onhis caddis fly.

Jane and I were within ten feet ofthe man, bouncing swiftly and silent-ly upon him, cigars clenched in ourteeth, when Tess swept out into thepool and caught John's eye. That'sprecisely when I said, "Hey, buddy!Got a light?"

John, caught by surprise, shippingwater into his waders while flounder-ing for shore, thought the dog hadasked him for a light!

Next month? Another walk on thewild side…

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Roland Cheek wrote a syndicated outdoors column(Wild Trails and Tall Tales)for 21 years. The column

was carried in 17 daily andweekly newspapers in two

states. In addition, he scripted and broadcast adaily radio show (Trails toOutdoor Adventure) thataired on 75 stations from

the Atlantic seaboard to thePacific Ocean. He's alsowritten upwards of 200

magazine articles and 12fiction and nonfiction books.

Read his stories on his website.

055_001.qxd 10/25/12 6:31 PM Page 1


Shooters are often drawn to the prospect of doing firearm maintenance beyond the basiccleaning aspects necessary to minimize deterioration from bore fouling and other accumu-lation. Such work is not necessarily complicated for some designs, but there designs (morecomplex) that have quirks of disassembly and assembly that must be overcome to avoid partdamage going together, and sometimes, coming apart. The patience to tackle these situa-tions and the discernment to know when reference materials (or professional help) becomesnecessary will reduce the chances of these (and related) situations shown from occurring.Some long guns have trigger and fire control assemblies that are held in place by one or twopins or screws through the trigger plate and the frame. A quick look might suffice to thinkthat the removal of that assembly is merely a matter of removal of one or two pins or screws.If the assembly comes out by removing these parts, sometimes a loose part that is trapped

while the housing is still assembled may drop free of the trigger mech-anism and cause some consternation while trying to figure just howthat part should be placed for re-assembly. Another scenario the shoot-er may encounter is having no loose parts to worry about, but needingto understand the method of manipulation or “angle of the dangle” toallow re-insertion of the mechanism that will allow proper function tobe resumed.

This first picture set has a trigger mechanism that is held by a screwcrosswise through the frame (see at the black arrow). A normal attemptto remove the screw (while all else is as shown) will, in almost everycase, cause no end of grief and likely create damage to the screw slot asseen in the right image. This damage potential to the screw and frameis due to the stock being held against the back of the housing/frame(refer to the red and white arrows) by the drawbolt tightly holding thestock in place. The trigger housing is likewise pulled back against thestock and is restrained from sliding free of the frame by that crosswisescrew mentioned. The stock bolt tension pull on the back of the trig-ger housing is making an enormous load against the threads and screwhead ends in the frame, and along the shaft of the screw through thetrigger housing through-hole. Removing that screw is like pulling outa jackstand adjustment pin while the car is still supported by the stand– not easy and bound to be regretted afterwards.

A number of designs use removable pins to hold the trigger hous-ings in place, but just because a part is easily removed does not alwaysensure that things are so simple to put back in place. A few of the pinsshown in the second image set have white arrows pointing to the pinedge; note the first two have chamfered (beveled or rounded) edges tohelp insertion, while the third one noted has only the slightest edge

Gunsmithingwith Kirby SchuppThe Shotgun Shop • PO Box 212 • Arnold, MO 63010

[email protected] • theshotgunshop.net

C A P A B I L I T I E S A N D P A T I E N C EC A P A B I L I T I E S A N D P A T I E N C E

056_001.qxd 10/28/12 12:46 AM Page 1


break. The second pin has no arrow, but the edge deformities are prominent enough todemonstrate someone botched the installation or removal. The lower two pins show differ-ing amounts of end deformity due to the application of improper force levels as a substitutefor pre-determining proper alignment of the trigger assembly and frame holes. The one pinend is so deformed that the normal bevel edge is insufficient to prevent apparent enlarge-ment of the diameter. The flaring of the end is seen at the top point of the lower center pinimaged, and the measuring of the flare also made possible the visible gap in the micrometerface contact in the lower right image. The dotted bracket shows one side of the pin is basi-cally flat against the face, but the solid bracket shows a gap opening toward the bottom ofthe face and only having contact at the top edge. There is the mushroomed edge evidenceexposed by precision comparison.

Misalignment of the pin insertion may have little effect if the receiving end of the pinsleeve or trigger housing hole has a bevel that can assist the pin end (with or without a bevel)to correct any minor alignment errors, but large offset will fail to correct, so some installerstry the hammer approach to get the parts to bend to their will. Sometimes they do, andsometimes the parts just bend – or break. A pinched or burred fit of the trigger housing pre-vents easy shifting of the trigger assembly during initial alignment, so the hammer may cre-ate a deformed pin end, or as shown in the third image set here, cause deformity (see thefirst pin sleeve black arrow) i.e. bent, mushroomed edge (see the last two pin sleeves pairs ofwhite arrows), or broken structure element (see the top center pin retaining clip groove edgeis cracked off at the white arrows), but the clip groove is still intact on the top left and rightsleeves imaged. The right sleeve has had the edge deformity caused by pin impingementremoved by increasing the bevel amount that incidentally improves alignment possibilitiesfor future assembly. The hole edges of the remaining sleeves were also similarly altered toimprove the chances of satisfactory assembly efforts in future maintenance.

These two primary methods of trigger housing retention are present in millions offirearms, and many of them will have similar pitfall potential. Realize that a tight screw isnot necessarily calling out for a wrench to be applied to the screwdriver shank to increasetorque, since the screw and frame thread damage repair costs will more than cover theamount that a professional would charge to complete the job properly.

Maladies that arise from faulty pin insertion (and also removal of deformed parts) canmake future removal and installation unearth even more misery. Realize that if a deformedpin end is driven all the way through, rather than being the first end clearing the hole bydriving from the pin end in better condition, there may be a scrape all the way through thepin sleeve and far side frame hole that could have been easily avoided by some quick exam-ination before applying the hammer and punch. Also note that there is the possibility offrame hole edge deformity from unintended peening of the edge that would scrape theentire pin length if the pin was removed in that direction. Remember, a scrape can go bothways: from a deformed pin to the hole, or from the deformed hole to the pin. Avoidance ofthese simple errors will make maintenance procedures less likely to have inbuilt future prob-lems waiting to bite the next repairman.

See previous articles at the online archives of asomagazine.com back to 2006, and thanksfor reading.

057_001.qxd 10/28/12 12:44 AM Page 1


I’ve had the opportunity to travel toManitoba many times over the years andit’s always been an incredible experience. Ihave traveled the province from North toSouth and several places in between withevery new trip being an adventure in itsown right. So with great enthusiasm I be-gan packing for this most recent trip abouttwo weeks ahead of time. I did not want toforget anything!

My destination this time was once again

Waterhen, Manitoba and Agassiz Outfit-ters. I had been there before and experi-enced the incredible waterfowl hunting buton this trip a bear hunt had been plannedin advance. The plan was to film the huntfor my internet TV show www.hookand-hunttv.com. I had been bear hunting be-fore but what I was about to experience wasso different than any hunt I had ever beenon before. Bear hunting is a roller coasterof emotions and a thrill ride like no other

than became void of natural light the far-ther we went in. An eerie carnival ride setwith shadows, noises and things youthought you saw were all on the ride in.What I did see was some massive pawprints that Rick and Gerry both pointedout to me. These were “fresh” tracks in themud headed in the direction of our treestands. That’s when the “eerie” feeling re-ally hit me. It was game on!

Rick stated, “Your tree stand is about 60yards from the bait. Big bears are very cau-tious, wind direction and noise can kill ahunt. The wind is in our favor with this

hunt I have been on. As I was about to findout, this hunt would be one for the books.

Bear hunting is not a single man event.On this hunt, myself, cameraman MikeWyant and our guides, Gerry and RickLiske loaded up the Argo on the trailer, wehooked up to the truck and on the way dis-cussed the plan for the afternoon’s hunt.Rick told me that the area we were going towas an out of the way place he had foundyears ago and the Argo was needed to getback in there. For those of you who don’tknow, an Argo is a belt driven ATV thatcan get through just about anything in-cluding swamp terrain and hard to reachplaces. As I would find out, it was an es-sential piece of equipment for where wewere headed. Some big bears had beenseen through the trail cameras they hadplaced around the bait area. In Manitobabaiting is allowed due to the thick under-brush. In my opinion it also makes forsafer and more effective hunting. The baitwe were hunting over this time was simplya mix of oats and used cooking oil thatbears seem to love. The mixture is placedin an open area inside a large 55 gallondrum as well as some other smaller bucketsin the area and secured down to trees in thearea.

As we reached the hunting area, the Ar-go was unloaded and we climbed aboardfor a haunting ride back into a swampy area

Z518 Comanche

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Bear Down

By Jim

Crowley

058_001.qxd 10/28/12 1:27 AM Page 1


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bait, and it’s important you pay close atten-tion as sometimes a big bear will show upand only stay for a short period of time.We keep our hunters off the baited area.The bears are used to my smell and newones raise their caution level. Stay in yourstand and stay alert.” I had hunted withRick before and he knows his trade. If hesaid it, I would follow his lead. As it wouldturn out, that was the right decision tomake.

I was in the stand for about two and ahalf hours listening to and watching every-thing around me. The birds were makingnoises, squirrels running all over the placeand eagles soaring overhead. Then it allseemed to get quiet. I listened and becamemore focused on the area surrounding thebaited area. Everything was in place and itall ran through my head like a freight train.My gun, a Browning Maxus slug gun hadbeen sighted in and was dead on. I hadpracticed and was ready. I was focused onwhat could happen. I had checked myshooting lanes and knew where my perfectshot would be.

As I was going over scenarios in my head,something caught my attention. Yes I sawit, movement and then, he came in. A bigboar appeared out of the woods. I saw hisleft paw touch the ground from the woodsthen a big head and the rest of the bearfilled the area than was open to my line of

sight just seconds before. He moved everso carefully. Rick had told me that with a55 gallon drum lying on its side which wasthe bait can, if the head and shoulder are afoot over the top of the can, it is a goodbear.

This bear walked in and I could not seethe can behind him! This was my bear.His head was big and his movements weremeasured. Looking around and sniffingthe air checking everything for something,anything that was not right. He went tocircle the can and again he sifted the air. Icould see his nose sensing for something,anything that was not right. As his headwent down to smell the ground, I knew mytime had come.

The bear moved toward the can and hes-itated for a second when he did, I mount-ed my gun and his large body came intoview. My camera man signaled he was “onthe bear.” I placed the cross hairs rightbehind his right shoulder. The bear wentto take a step as if to leave the area. Isqueezed the trigger. The bear droppedwhere he had once stood. It was what Ienvisioned, one shot, one kill. My emo-tions were all over the place and we knew itwas a big bear. That is not the end of thewhole story, but it is the end of this one.

Watch Hook and Hunt TV.com to whathappened after this bear was down was notwhat we expected. What we got on film as

the night went on will have the hair on theback of your neck standing up. Please signup for our free newsletter at: www.hookandhunttv.com and we will send the showto you every Sunday. You won’t want tomiss this show as well as the rest of ourhunting season.

Special thanks go to Rick, Gerry andColleen Liske of Agassiz Outfitters who

run one of the best outfitters I have everexperienced. They have incredible water-fowl hunting as well as bear and whitetailalso world class walleye fishing. This iswhere your next adventure should be.Check them out at www.agassizoutfitters.com you can also find them on Face Bookand Twitter. Check out the pictures from

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059_001.qxd 10/28/12 1:29 AM Page 1


this past season as their success rate is al-ways high.

My black bear weighed over 350pounds and had a massive head. It willbe joining me as a rug in front of myfireplace sometime next year!

Bear hunting for me was an adrenalinoverload. My senses came alive and myawareness was heightened. Not only forthe chance at a big bear but the bearmeat I got to bring home! Bear steaks onthe grill, if you haven’t had it, it will sur-prise and delight you. It is another rea-son to have friends and family over to re-live an incredible adventure. I’m al-ready reliving this most recent hunt inmy mind and looking forward to thenext hunt where I can say bear down!

Jim Crowley is a free lance writer anda member of the Bass Pro Shops Red-Head Hunting Team. He is the host ofthe popular web show www.hookand-hunttv.com and co-host of Hook andHunt Radio. Listen at: www.1017the-bull.com.

Jim has traveled, hunted, fished andwritten about adventures in Canada forover a decade and his adventures contin-ue.

[email protected]

Oak Lawn High School Bass Tourney

The Oak Lawn Community HighSchool fishing team hosted the thirdannual Rayjus Outdoors-Oak LawnHigh School bass tournament on Oc-tober 13, 2012. We had 23 schools,45 boats, and over 175 kids fromacross northern Illinois take part inthe event. Despite the cold, windy,and rainy weather, the kids caughtmany fish.

Rayjus Outdoors organized goodybags for the kids which includedproducts from Mercury Marine, LakeFork Tackle, Power Team Lures,Custom Cast Lures, and Marine For-mula StaBil. Bass Pro Shops (Boling-brook) donated framed artwork thatwas awarded to the big bass winner.Rayjus also created a highlight videothat can be viewed at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lU4OKM289WE&feature=results_video

The Illinois Bass Federation Nation

along with Unique Bass-masters conducted theweigh-in for the event.

This year’s winningteam was from BrotherRice High School. JustinRomines, of RayjusOutdoors, the title spon-sor of the event. KevinMcLean, president ofUnique Bassmasters,conducted the weigh-in.

BEAR…Cont’d. from previous pg.

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Above: Oak Lawn Community High School fishing team membersJonathan Metelski & Andrew Jensen.

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Below L: Congratulations Big Bass winner Jimmy Ciurej! Way to go!

060_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:35 AM Page 1


Bumpin' Deep Wood for Crappie

By Tim Huffman

Late fall and early winter crappie are on the movefilling their bellies and enjoying the cooler tempera-tures. As the water continues to cool, you'll find themmigrating to their winter hang-outs in deeper water.Your job is to find the right depth and right structuresas fish make the transition from fall to winter pat-terns.

The BasicsWood is a prime cover. It can be a log hugging a

channel ledge or deep stumps where trees were cutbefore the lake was flooded. It could be manmade cov-er.

If you can find isolated wood it has a high potential

for producing crappie. So pick anisolated stump or bed when pos-sible. In areas with lots of cover,look for the biggest stump, asharp ledge or any other placewith cover that is different thanthe rest.

Getting started may be easyon your home lake or river butwhat about an unfamiliar lake?You can increase your chances bydoing a little homework. Checkthe newspaper, magazines, in-ternet and call marinas and baitshops. Combine this with whatyou know about seasonal fishmovements. Your goal is to antic-ipate the correct depth and ar-eas to fish before you get to the lake.

Get a contour map. Make copies and use a high-lighter to mark the depth zone. Once marked, look forspecific spots in the zone and mark them in red. Oldfencerows, stump fields and ledges are good places tocheck.

On the lake you can use your map and locator to pin-point and test-fish the potential spots. Try to form apattern so you can move from one similar spot to an-ther catching fish.

The PresentationVertical presentations are good in cool and cold wa-

ter. Holding a pole gives you maximum 'feel' of coverand bites. You can probe thick wood and have the ex-

citement of feeling the fish takethe bait.

A pole length of 8- to 10-foot isrelatively short for a long pole butthis length gives you better con-trol. Most of the time fish will bedeep enough that you won'tspook them with the boat. Onlyswitch to a 12- or 14-foot polewhen the water is clear or shal-low.

Thin line is important in thewinter. Use 4- or 6-pound testline for more bites. You'll obvi-ously lose some hooks in thewood when using the lighter linebut catching more fish is worththe trouble.

A simple tube jig is good for probing deep cover. Usea 1/8-ounce jig for mid-depth and deep water becauseit falls fast while the heavier weight helps to maintaincontact and control. If you need more weight add a bigspit shot 16 inches above the jig.

A minnow rig is another choice. A #1 or #2 extra-light wire hook and a couple heavy split-shot weights,or one 3/8-ounce egg sinker, are good for probingwood. Double-hook minnow rigs are ol' stand-bys but asingle rig on lighter line will give you versatility, causefewer problems and probably produce more fish whensticking the bait into wood cover.

You may want to tip a 1/8-ounce jig with a smallminnow. This gives a bulkier bait, the jig adds color andthe minnow gives a natural action, flash, look and

smell.Keep your bait in the strike zone. You can slowly

swim your bait along the tops of covers. Let the baitstraight down beside stumps or into brush. Lift itstraight up and continue to slowly move the bait.

Early winter fish will be active but mid-winter fishwill be sluggish. This is the time to use super-slow pre-sentations letting the bait rest for long periods oftime. Expect light bites and be ready to set the hook.

Final Thoughts--Early winter through late winter isa great time for crappie action. There are no waterskiers and sweat isn't running in places that are an-noying. Find the right depth, good wood cover andyou'll have some pole-bending fun.

Editor's Note: You can get an autographed copy of Tim Huffman'sbook, 'Winning Crappie Secrets', by

sending $12.50 to: Huffman Publishing, PO Box 26,

Poplar Bluff, MO 63902.MonsterCrappie.com

704 Main St. • Macon, MO 660-385-2516

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Julie Bethel-Welker landedthis nice crappie while fishing

near the mouth of a cove at Kentucky Lake.

A simple tube jig, like this pinksparkle by Southern Pro Tackle,

is great for probing cover by vertical jigging.

061_001.qxd 10/28/12 10:25 PM Page 1

BAI NewsB y E d D e V r i e s

NEW BOWFISHING SECTIONCOMING IN THE 2013 IDNRFISHING DIGEST!

As many here know the BAI hasbeen working with the IDNR to im-prove bowfishing opportunitiesand programs for quite a while.And the DNR has seen how muchour sport has grown and how bene-ficial it is to the waters, removinginvasive and overpopulated speciesas well as giving an outdoors per-son another way to enjoy the out-doors and get some food for thetable. And now we are reallypleased t announce that the 2013IDNR Fishing Digest will have acomplete section devoted to bow-fishing.

In it the bowfisher will find ex-panded rules and regulations thatwill spell out exactly what speciesare legal for bowfishing. They willalso find a complete list of watersstatewide where bowfishing is le-gal. And better yet, they will in-clude a bowfishing forecast forthose waters. These forecasts willtell a bowfisher where to find cer-tain species and was made using in-formation gathered from fisheriesshocking studies.

And all bowfishing records,record applications, rules and info

2013 OUTDOORS SHOWSWe are setting up our outdoor

show schedule for the winter showseason. Stop by and visit us at theChicagoland Outdoor Show/Chicagoland Gun Show in Rose-mont, the Southern Illinois Out-doors Show in Marion and the Tin-ley Park Outdoor Show in TinleyPark. We will have complete showinfo and schedules in the next cou-ple columns.

BAI SEASON ENDER FUNSHOOT RESULTS

Last month we held our annualSeason Ender Shoot on the De-sPlaines River. The temps reallytook a dive the day before the shootbut the wind dropped. And somesurprisingly big fish were shot forthe time of year. Winning the Big 5competition were Mike Dryhouts

on the program as well as otherbowfishing awards programs willbe included. A one stop place forbowfishers new and old to gatherany info or answer any questionsthey might have.

NATIONAL HUNTING & FISHING DAYS EVENTS

Last month BAI members werebusy promoting our sport on bothends of the state at the northern andsouthern H&F Days celebrations inYorkville and Cartersville. This isthe 8th year the BAI has set up onwater bowfishing ranges wherevisitors could take a few shots atsubmerged targets and learn aboutthe sport. We also has info boothsin both locations. Our thanks goesto all the club members and repswho ran these events!

231 West 1st Ave. • Milan, IL(309) 787-2244 • www.ezlivinsportscenter.com E-Z Livin' Sports Center is staffed by experienced outdoorsmen that

can assist you in maximizing your outdoor experience…Open 7 days!Archery: Mathews, PSE, Bowtech, Martin, Ten Point Crossbow Technologies

Muzzleloaders: Traditions' PerformanceWe sell live bait & carry a wide assortment of catfish bait. 100’s of hard & soft baits

including Berkley Powerbait, Gulp & Gulp Live. Our inventory is extensive with tackle & gear from Berkley, Shakespeare, Pflueger, Zebco, Eagle Claw, Gamakatsu & others.


Steve & Mike at The Season Ender Shoot

Frank Paulik’s Winning Big Gar!

Jeremy Pease at SH&F Days

062_001.qxd 10/28/12 3:12 AM Page 1


Schrock Repair, Inc.Schrock Repair, Inc.1422 US HWY 150 • P.O. Box 10 • Goodfield, IL 61742

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Trailer Repair, Boat & RV Winterizing – StorageJeff Schrock, Owner

309-965-2020 • www.SchrockRepair.com309-965-2020 • www.SchrockRepair.com

WELCOMENEW BAIAREA REPS!

The BAIwould likeeveryone towelcome AmyH a r r l e s o nYoung andJeremy Pease asnew area repsfor southernIllinois! Amyand Jeremyalong with our southern director JohnHacko did a heck of a job running thesouthern Illinois H&F Days events.Thanks to Jeremy & Amy for jumping inand volunteering for the position!

www . I l l i n o i s B o w f i s h i n g . n e tw ww . I l l i n o i s B o w f i s h i n g . n e tSAVE THE DATE!

Jan. 25, 26 & 27, 2013Interstate Conference Center • 2301 W. Market • Rt. 9 • Bloomington, IL

Larry Willmore at SIH&F Days

POT OR SLATE CALLS COME IN WALNUT, CHERRY ORMAPLE. SPECIALTY SLATE CALLS COME IN CEDAR,

SASSAFRAS, SYCAMORE, CURLY MAPLE OR BUTTERNUT.

BOX TOPS ARE WALNUT OR CHERRY, SIDESARE CHERRY, WALNUT OR CEDAR. SPECIALTYWOOD SIDES MADE OF SASSAFRAS,SYCAMORE OR BUTTERNUT

and Steve Bailey. Mike and Steve both shot grass carp thatwere close to 30lbs. And FrankPauliks won the longest gar awardwith a 49in. fish. We are alreadygetting the 2013 shoot scheduleready.

Hope to see many of you nextyear at the shoots!

John Hacko & Jeremy at SIH&F Days

VP Wayne Reed Steadies The Bow at NIH&F Days!Liz, Hanna, Lorie & Sarah at NIH&F Days

063_001.qxd 10/28/12 3:13 AM Page 1


PULL POSITIONWALLEYES

With Jason MitchellI am convinced that in order to

really catch walleyes through the ice,you have to be good at finding fish.The first people on a school scorebig. By the time word reaches the bar,the bite is over. People who arealways hitting new ice and checkingfresh spots are usually one step aheadof the crowds. By venturing out andfinding fish, you can also fish muchmore aggressively for a few differentreasons. In order to find fish, youhave to check locations and fishthrough spots fast. Typically, I stop

pull fish into you from a long dis-tance. The lure is a dinner bell andyou as an angler have to ring thatbell. You have to move enough waterand create enough flash to bring inaggressive fish. In some situationsespecially after dark or in stained andturbid water, noise can also call fishin. Aggressive fish or fish that areschooled in a way to create the com-petitiveness described above wantthe aggressive lure. These fish arelooking for a meal and want to gundown that meal before the rest of thefish around them. This is a hardadjustment for some anglers to make.Many anglers make the mistake ofnot jigging enough, call the fish in.Jig that lure like you are swinging ahammer. Seeing fish on the Vexilar ishalf the battle. By jigging aggressive-ly in these situations, you just seemore fish because more fish can feeland see you from further away. Oncefish arrive and you can see fish, youmight have to back off and get moresubtle and that is why you have to usea Vexilar so that you can watch howthese fish respond to every move youmake. So often however, these fishrespond to your attitude. What I meanby this is if you fish with a finessemindset, you will get subtle bites. Ifyou fish aggressively, you will getfish that come in and tear the rod outof your hand.

Aggressive lures basically fallunder three different categories: hori-

more aggressive because of howthese fish are schooled. Higher con-centrations of fish create a more com-petitive nature amongst each individ-ual fish. When working a lure aggres-sively in these situations, the fish thatare in the area find you. The raceeach other and attempt to beat eachother to your lure. The density of theschool often has more to do regardingthe level of aggressiveness thanweather or a lot of other factors.Fresh fish bite better.

Typically what happens after aschool has been worked over is thebig school gets broken up into rem-nant small pods of fish that are morescattered. Typically as well, the over-all size drops when a spot gets pres-sured because the big fish suppressthe actions of smaller fish. Take thebig fish out of the equation and thenthe small fish get a chance to get tothe lure. When these schools get bro-ken up and pushed around, theybecome less aggressive and harder tocatch. By now, word has reached thepub that the walleyes are biting onsuch and such point. At this point, theaggressive presentations often quitworking and the game becomes adead stick game where dunking shin-ers or minnows will keep picking offthese less aggressive fish. So if yousit on these good spots dunking min-nows, you are going to catch somefish but you can catch so many morefish if you put in the work to find newfish and fish aggressively.

What is fishing aggressively?Attitude matched with lures that will

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on a spot and drill holes over what Ibelieve are the best locations on aparticular spot. Drop down and fishaggressively just to see if anybody ishome. Don't bother setting up campwhen you are in search mode. Whenfishing fresh ice that hasn't been pres-sured, you can usually get some signof life relatively quickly. When I amlooking for fish, all I want to do ismark fish that I am pretty sure arewalleyes. After you find fish, you canslow down or make sure you are onthe spot during the prime windowsduring the morning and evening.Here is the other kicker however,regarding looking for fish. Fresh fishact much differently. When a schoolof walleye are set up on a spot andyou are the first line in the water infront of those fish, they are typically

The author Jason Mitchell with a tank of a walleye caught

using a prototype of the newNorthland Tackle Whistler Spoon.

064_001.qxd 10/28/12 10:19 AM Page 1


zontal swim lures, spoons and rattlebaits. As a general rule of thumb,super clear water often dictates alonger jig stroke higher off the bot-tom where fish can see the lure fromfurther away. Stained water oftenseems to dictate a tighter, harderpound that ranges from six inches toa foot to call fish in. Never be afraidhowever to occasionally rip the lurehigh off the bottom regardlessbecause a high lift often brings fishin. I cannot tell you how many timesa fish came in hot as I reeled my lureup fast and I dropped back down andcaught that fish. In stained water orafter dark, I personally like rattlebaits or lures that rise straight up anddrop straight down as the fish seem tobe able to hone in on these lures bet-ter. In water with really good visibil-ity, lures that wander or swing out onthe drop often work better for bring-ing in fish. Regardless of lure howev-er, I like to make the bait somewhatpredictable when a fish noses in.Make the bait predictable by keepingyour cadence the same where the lurekeeps landing right in the same spotor slowing lifting away where a fishcan find it. When a fish is right onyou, you do not want to rip the lureand have it fall behind the fish where

lure into the water andwatch it, there is a sec-ond or two where thelure hangs before itslowly spins. Typicallythe lure will spin slow-ly a certain directionand than stop andcounter turn the otherdirection after a fewmore seconds. Get amental timeline in yourhead of these two fac-tors on your lure. Thatfew seconds you havebefore the lure turns isthe first and mostimportant trigger mostdays, interrupt yourjigging cadence withjust a momentary stopthat you time in yourhead as just longenough before the lureturns. That usuallygets bit. If that doesn'twork, bobble the lurejust enough to rock thebottom treble hookand this also counters

some of the spin so that the lure stopsturning. For more difficult fish, holdthe rod still and pull the last move, let

the lure turn until it stops and thancounters, turning the opposite direc-tion. This last move takes a few moreseconds and when the lure stops turn-ing and starts to turn the oppositedirection, that moment is typicallywhen the fish will hit the lure. Here iswhere taking good care of your lineand using swivels can help you catchmore fish, it you have good line thatis not twisted, this counter turn wherethe lure stops and turns the otherdirection happens much sooner andyou are more likely to catch that fish.If you are using really twisted lineand are not using any swivel toabsorb some of the twist that is creat-ed by working lures aggressively,you have to wait much longer for thelure to stop turning before the lurestops and turns the other direction.When the lure turns for a long timebefore counter turning or turns fast,the fish drift off and your only optionis to catch that fish by keep jiggingthe lure aggressively after you pullthe fish in.

Jason Mitchell hosts the outdoorprogram, Jason Mitchell Outdoorswhich airs on Fox Sports North andFox Sports Midwest. Show timesand listings can be found atwww.jasonmitchelloutdoors.com.

they cant find it. Thishappens a lot wherefish come in hot and ifthey over shoot thelure, they cant see thelure anymore. When afish is right on top ofyou and acting weird,raise the lure back upand pound it to see ifyou can turn the fishback around. If a fishstarts to drift off, raisethe lure and pound ithard to get the fish toturn towards the lure.FIsh that are followingyou up and down andare all over you willoften punch the lurewhen the lure comes toa momentary stop.

How long shouldyou stop the lure? Hereis my tip. Drop the luredown the hole andwatch the lure as ithangs still. Even with aswivel above the lure,aggressively jigging alure will twist up the line enough tocause the lure to turn slowly when thelure is dead still. When you drop the

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One of the authorsfavorite tactics for

catching shallow waterwalleyes is hard pounding

a horizontal swim lure like the Chubby Darter,

causing the lure to bounce and shimmy.

065_001.qxd 10/28/12 10:18 AM Page 1


afraid to use a big jig and tube or solidbody bait for crappie. My crappie baits runabout two to three inches and I want a bigbait. The shad in the fall or big so the crap-pie are looking for a big meal. But it is theweight of these jigs that make them workyou can bump into brush and crawl it overa branch and once on the back side thecrappie just hammer it. I know they hit thisjig harder than any other I use because theycan see it and since we always use braidedline with no stretch the bite feels evenharder.

I have a special seat system in my boatthat allows three anglers to set on the noseof the boat and we all vertical fish a jig overthe front of the boat watching their ownindividual jig on my Lowrance Hds 10-inch screen. This way I can keep an eye onmy clients so I know if they are fishing theright depth over these brush piles. For yearsI was guilty of just pulling up on a brushpile and dropping my jig down in it rightto the bottom in the thickest part of that

November CrappieDeep Ledge Jig Time

By Steve WelchCrappie fishing is a cold weather sport

and they love to hit a crappie jig in coldweather. A couple of years ago my partnerAlan Corzine and I kicked around the ideaof developing a jig that was heavy enoughto fish vertical in heavy brush and be ableto bump it into branches on purpose andcreate reaction strikes from big crappie. Anoversized head with inset eyes that wereprism colored to reflect light and since theywere inset the eyes would stay on and witha clear coat over the whole jig that wouldalso insure that the eyes would stay on. I al-so wanted a small number four light wire

hook to aid in fishing heavy cover withoutgetting snagged. The Deep Ledge Jig wasborn. My partner is an engineer by trade sohe did all the solid works design and sentthem off to a machine shop to be cut on aC&C machine. We now have four differ-ent weights 1/4, 3/16, 1/8, and 3/32 andwe have a spinner model for the 1/4 thatuses the smallest willow leaf blade on themarket and this is my big fish jig that I useon Kentucky Lake. We offer all the jigs ineither number four or number two hooksor even number one so folks can use themfor walleye if they like.

It is the 1/4oz. that I use 90% of the timeeven fishing in four-feet of water when youcould get by with a lighter jig. Crappie cankey in on the big profile better. I preach atall my seminars in the winter on how goodthese jigs work and for folks not to be

www.LakeShelbyvilleGuide.combrush pile. I learned from fishing KentuckyLake how many times the biggest fish onthat brush pile take up residence right ontop and by going to the bottom you missedthat fish all together. Don’t get me wrong Istill fish the thickest parts of that brush pileon bottom I just don’t do it first.

November and early December are byfar my favorite two months to crappie fish.The crappie are bunched up on brush inthe ten to fifteen foot range and evenslightly deeper and by using a long 11 footcrappie rod you can fish the length of thepole for the most part and we just fish ver-tically down in brush. I tell folks you feel asolid pop on the rod you have a half-secondto pop back and then simply swing that fatcrappie in the boat.

I have tons of brush piles to just bouncebetween and the last time I checked I hadjust over two thousand waypoints on myLowrance so we won’t run out of places tocatch crappie. We tend to fish a brush pileabout ten minutes then move to the next.

After a full day of fishing, come to the Spillway MotelAfter a full day of fishing, come to the Spillway Moteland relax in one of our clean, comfortable rooms.and relax in one of our clean, comfortable rooms.

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Crappie jigs

066_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:03 PM Page 1


are not going to leave enough fish on it forit to restock.

The weather in November isn’t bad if

you have coveralls and warm boots. We al-most have the lake to ourselves and the pel-icans and eagles are soaring over head toadd to the serenity. So come on out andgive fall crappie fishing a try and you won’tbe disappointed. You can go to my websiteat www.LakeShelbyvilleGuide.Com foravailability and you can go to my on-linestore from the website to purchase theDeep Ledge Jigs.

My feeling on this is by that time you willcaught the biggest fish off that brush pileand by staying and pounding it more you

BOOK YOUR FISHING TRIP WITH STEVE TODAY!

217-762-7257 Cell: 217-840-1221

LakeShelbyvilleGuide.com

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Call Steve: 217-762-7257 • 217-840-1221

Logan Stehr with a 3-man limit of crappie and

holding an 18in. walleye thatwas caught with his dad, Tyson,

& Steve 09/21.

Dennis Skillestad and BillKulschbach with their stringerof 31 crappie & 44 white bass

caught on Shelbyville 9/16.

Mila Handler showing off a 14 1/2 in. crappie caught 9/18.

(right) Talon & Brooke Harden hefting a stringer of

21 crappie & 159 white bass that were caught along

with their dad, Dan, and Steve on 09/08.

067_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:02 PM Page 1


The feeling of car sickness is oneof those feelings from family tripsthat is hard to forget for me. Driv-ing long distance I usually got carsick and then would vomit. It ishumbling as a kid to hear the “BaBa Black Sheep…3 bags full sungin your honor. Envy my wife andkids as they can read while ridingin a car. This makes me very ill. Ican barely read my GPS. Myfriends let me drive or sit in thefront seat to avoid getting motionsickness. You can live with motionsickness with some understandingand planning.

Motion sickness starts when theparts of the balance portion of theinner ear are over-stimulated. Thiscan occur when the balance centeris stimulated by excessive motion

cause sedation. Less sedating anti-histamines like Bonine (meclizine)are also used but research demon-strates the less sedative the less ef-fective. These medications need tobe taken 30 to 60 minutes prior totravel.

Scopolamine patches (TransdermScop) is a prescription patch thatstays on for 72 hours. There aremany side effects including blurredvision, dry mouth and urine reten-tion. This is best used by peoplesensitive to motion sickness plan-ning a cruise.

Stay Healthy and Stay Outdoors!Dru Hauter, MD

Dru Hauter, MD is an avid sportsman and Central Illinois native. Dr. Hauter grew up in SanJose, Illinois and has hunted upland game in Logan and MasonCounties and waterfowl on the Illi-nois River for the last 40 years. Hiswife, Marcia, and his children, Emily and Ben, help him run SunnySlope Hunt Club and Lodge. Dr.Hauter practices OccupationalMedicine at the Illinois Work InjuryResource Center (IWIRC) in Peoria,Illinois. He can be reached [email protected]

Industrial Park

or when the brain receives contra-dictory information from thebody’s motion sensors; the semi-circular canals, the eyes, and thenerve endings in the muscles andjoints that report body positioning.

Symptoms of motion sicknessmay begin suddenly. Nausea,vague abdominal discomfort, coldsweats, and vertigo begin and ifcontinue, often lead to vomiting.Sometimes people feel weak andcan even faint. Symptoms tend tosubside with stopping the motionor leaving the vehicle.

Preventing motion sickness is thekey. Optimizing position may beall that is needed. Driving the ve-hicle rather than riding or sitting inthe front rather than the riding inthe back seat. Sitting over the

M OT I O N S I C K N ES S

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wing in a plane or staying in a cen-tral cabin can minimize motion andhelp prevent symptoms of motionsickness. Some people can preventsymptoms or even relieve earlysymptoms if then eat something.Eating soda crackers and caffeinat-ed drinks have been shown to helpby causing the food in the stomachto move on down the line. (Pro-mote gastric emptying).

Reducing sensory input can alsohelp reduce motion sickness. Withonset of symptoms some find lyingon their back, looking at the hori-zon in the distance or even justshutting the eyes will give relief ofthe symptoms. Adding a distrac-tion with a soothing odor of mint orlavender can also help. Some peo-ple use lifesavers or other flavoredlozenges. Using ginger lozengescan help by aroma and by promot-ing gastric emptying.

Some report use of acupressureor magnets on the wrists or the earscan prevent symptoms. Scientificproof that explains the benefit hasbeen lacking. Medications areprobably the best proven preven-tion for motion sickness. Antihist-amines like Dramamine (dimenhy-drinate) are very effective but

068_001.qxd 10/25/12 7:47 PM Page 1

cept, we have added five similar, independentcabin facilities!

Drawing only 4 inches of water, our Fly-InFloating Cabins enable our guests to move on adaily basis to un-fished river segments in air-con-ditioned comfort and style throughout our exclu-sive (privately leased) fishing grounds. Our highlymobile, shallow-drafting Fly-In Floating Cabinsovercome shallow-water barriers such as sandbars which block the passage of all other forms ofnavigation.

We take our intimate 8–12 guest parties fromManaus directly to our comfortable Fly-In FloatingCabins in charter planes to nearby landing strips.Our guests wake up every morning in their Fly-InFloating Cabin, along a Caribbean-like white-sandbeach, next to a remote, virgin lagoon in the heartof the savagely beautiful Amazon rainforest.

Although many well established land basedlodges, including our ex-Shufari and TaperaLodges, are situated past these natural barriers,they have no mobility to seek better water levels.Plus, more importantly, their areas become rapid-ly overfished 2 to 3 hours upriver or downriver.Our cabins, however, move daily to unfished riversegments, overnighting along Caribbean-likebeaches.

Walk-in at any time from the nearby secludedprehistoric-looking lagoons into the luxuriouscomfort of your 12’ X 15’ elegant and roomy cabin.It has a private full bathroom. The Cabins are fullycarpeted, tastefully decorated, and every detailhas been carefully considered.


OUTDOOR CONNECTION

By Gerald

A. Sampen

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Exclusive Permits - As from 2002, the Brazilianauthorities have granted our units the exclusiveentry permits to fish in various Indian reservesand government preserves, in reciprocity for itshumanitarian and financial commitments. This

means that you will not have to sharethe fishery with other outfitting com-

panies. We literally outdistance thecompetition. We fly directly to theremote mobile Floating Cabins,with not long riverboat rides, and

no time wasted in getting to primefishing areas.

Our unique mobility allows us to fishin areas above natural barriers: shallow waters,sandbars and rapids, which prevent the passage ofsport fishing yachts and commercial fishing boats.There are no crowded waters.

Travel times to fish each day are of an averageof 10-20 minutes. On the other hand, other opera-tors have approximately 1-2 hours of travel time,or even more, from the fixed lodges or large hotelboats.

We do not overfish, we move on to fresh waterevery few days. Our guests catch double or triplethe number of fish than guests with other opera-tors.

Our small groups, 12 anglers maximum, enjoypersonal service and access to pristine watersthat seldom see a lure. Other operators take asmany as 30 guests per week!

Fly-In Floating Cabins - The infrastructuralaspect that distinguishes our Peacock Bass fish-ing trips is our truly unique and highly mobile,deluxe, air conditioned Fly-In Floating Cabins,introduced in 1996.

Due to the roaring success of this lodging con-

Tri-Level Houseboat - Peacock Bass fishing withthe introduction of the Amazon Angel Yacht. InJuly 2007 it was replaced by the tri level house-boat.

We have spared no expense on our new 3 storyfloating hotel. Its shallower draft and wider beamwill allow us to better overcome shallow waters inorder to access low fishing pressure regions.Although the three story houseboat is designed toaccommodate 16 anglers, it will set a new stan-dard amongst all other available fishing trips ashaving the most spacious and comfortable yachtfor a maximum party of 8 anglers and being pam-pered by a crew of 14.

Upon arrival from the US, your party will betransferred direct to the yacht where you'll liveaboard the tri level houseboat during the entireweek, cruising within Indian Reserves. Sinceentries to the Reserves are limited, there is littlefishing pressure. Daily travel times to secluded

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069_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:08 AM Page 1


vous & white faced trees, rosie billed pochard, pin-tail, whitecheek pintail, red shoveler and chileanwidgeon. All are hunted over decoys in differentlagoons and rivers close to the hotel.

The Argentine perdiz is very similar to both thequail and chucker bird. These birds are fast andvery challenging to hunt. Our trained dogs makethis hunt a great experience. The season for thismixed bag hunt is from May 1 to July 31.

Combos - Upon request, different combinationsof dove shooting, pigeon and partridge huntingcan be arranged. You can also combine any of ourhunts with other activities such as golfing, takinga historic guided tour of the city of Cordoba orenjoy our unique combination of the best dovehunting in the world with great red stag, fallowdeer, black buck hunting during the famous stagrutting season at a very affordable price without lo

O.C. … Cont’d. from previous pg.

lagoons are only 5 to 15 minutes. (our companyfunds many philanthropic programs to compen-sate the locals to maintain these areas unfished).If placed outside these two Reserves, daily traveldistances could be up to 1 to 3 hours in our shallowdrafting bass boats; however, our prices are cor-respondingly lower.

In our spacious dining room you will be servedmeticulously prepared four-course meals overlinen table cloths while the large houseboat safely

States. They have a well trained staff of cooks,hunting guides, pick-up boys and housekeepers toserve you. From the moment they pick you up fromthe airport, you will experience an incrediblyenjoyable stay!

The mission is to provide the best wingshootingever by providing guests with personalized serv-ice, comfortable and refined lodges, offering thebest in traditional Argentine food and always pre-serving a friendly atmosphere. Make arrange-ments to visit them today!

Golden-Eared Doves - Bird shooting in Cordobahas no closed season. These birds are consideredto be a pest by local farmers because they con-sume up to 30% of their crops. You can very easilyshoot between 1,000 to 3,000 rounds per day onover 2,500 acres of farmland. This is truly thebest wingshooting in the world!

Spot-Winged Pigeon - The pigeons are locatedone hour and 50 minutes northwest of Cordoba.The season is open 365 day a year. These birds arelarge, fast and work very well with decoys. It is agreat and very challenging hunt. Many of our cus-tomers find this hunt a nice compliment to thedove shoot.

Dove, Duck and Partridge Hunting - The dove,duck and perdiz operation is located in the LaPampa Province. The dove roost is only one houraway from the capital city of Santa Rosa. Thequantity of doves is very similar to Cordoba andthe scenery is even prettier. Many different typesof duck are hunted in the area including cinna-mon, speckled, black headed & silver teals, ful-

cruises assisted with the finest state-of-the-artdepth electronics, global positioning, VHF-HFradio, satellite communication, etc.

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Anglers fish (2 per boat and one from fullyequipped, 21 foot shallow drafting bass boats.However, in order to navigate pass 2-4 inches

shallow waternatural entriesbarriers, wemust maintainthe size (weight)over outboardsat a maximum of40 HP.

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070_001.qxd 10/28/12 6:06 PM Page 1


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long transfers.Accommodations - Each lodge is beautifully deco-

rated and comfortable. Your every need will be takencare of. Their chefs will delight you with every meal.Starting with a delicious breakfast, to our most elabo-rate four course dinners, each meal surpasses thoseserved in the finest restaurants. The Argentine meatsare renown across the world and our talented chef pre-pares them like no other. Each dinner is accompaniedby the finest local wines and topped off with temptinghomemade desserts.

Big Game - La Pampa province offers excellenthunting for red stag. The legal hunting period for thisspeole is from March 15 to July 30, the first 20 or 30days being the most attractive because it’s the rutseason: it is at this time that the males fight for dom-inance over the females. The hunter is led by a guideinto the forests on foot or horseback early in the morn-ing and in the evening. The raring of the stages willmake it possible to locate them and make an approach.After the rut ends in mid-April, stag hunting continuesin the open fields where the deer come to feed, andwhere they can be observed at ease to assess trophyquality. More than 40 stags per season of up to 210points CIC and more than 10 kilos (22 lbs, cleanedhead weight) are obtained here. We recommend a 30-06 Springfield caliber (or similar) as a minimum;

shooting range is approximately 55 to 165 yards.This program is combined with a couple days shootingvolume doves in our roost in La Pampa (only 1 houraway from the big game lodge). The quantity of dovesis very similar to Cordoba, and the landscape is evenprettier. This program has become very popularamong our guests.

Horseback Riding - In our Siguiman Estancia wehave excellent Peruvian marching horses and specialsaddle room. You can enjoy rides along very nice pathsacross mountains surrounding Estancia.

City Tours - The Spanish founded the city ofCordoba in 1573. In 1599, the Jesuits settled andbegan educating natives and building the Jesuit Blocklocated in downtown Cordoba. Strolling along thestreets of the city, you can admire the colonial archi-tecture and get a feel for the true Argentine livingstyle. This program starts with downtown shopping inthe afternoon, followed by a Tango Dinner Show.Accommodations are in a 5 star hotel. The followingmorning you’ll enjoy a downtown tour to the SanMartin Square, the Calbido Historico (chapter house),Caraffa Museum, the National University Campus andother historical buildings. Before leaving for theInternational Airport for your trip home, we take ourguests to one of the nicest restaurants in town forlunch. AGH1/AGF1

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Visit the bustling historic waterfront communi-ty of Ketchikan in Alaska’s Inside Passage. Yourhotel is filled with local native totems and artisanartifacts. In July and August, salmon fill thestream as they swim up to their birth place tospawn. Your stay includes the choice of one of sev-eral local sight-seeing options, such as a flight-seeing plane trip of the Misty Fjords MonumentNational Park, a tour on the crab boat from the“Deadliest Catch” television show or a guided tourof one of the native totem parks. For the resort

part your float plane departs Ketchikan, enjoy 45minutes of breathtaking scenic aerial views of thefamous Inside Passage waters to Prince of WalesIsland. The 26 acre property of the resort is hometo the historic Waterfall Cannery, celebrating over100 years of incredibly productive fishing andsalmon processing. Enjoy the legendary sport fish-ing and don’t be surprised to take home more than50 lbs of frozen wild Alaskan salmon, halibut andother fish popular at the dinner table. The friendly,professional staff will make your stay a “luxury inthe wilderness!”

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071_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:24 AM Page 1


Muzzleloader Loads: 100 vs. 150 grainsDoes a 150-grain load of

muzzleloader powder really offerenough extra knockdown powerto justify the shoulder beating?

by Judd CooneyThe first deer — a 145-class mature

buck — had been shot with a load of 100grains Hodgdon Triple Seven and a 250-grain Hornady SST bullet broadside at 90yards. The stricken buck made it 150 yardsbefore expiring and didn’t leave a drop ofblood from the entrance hole. The secondbuck, shot a week later with the same bul-let in the same location at 140 yards with aload of 150 grains of White Hot pellets,only went 30 yards and left a blood trailfrom both entrance and exit holes. Sowhich load did the best job?

This isn’t the first time and probably notthe last time that I’ve seen a vast differencebetween muzzleloader performances ondeer with 100- and 150-grain powderloads. That said, both powder loads result-ed in good hits and a dead deer, and thereare so many variables involved that myanalysis of the results would be far from sci-

entifically valid. It’s only personal observa-tion based on many years of guiding andhunting whitetails with a muzzleloader. When I first started shooting muzzleload-ers, an 80- to 90-grain load of blackpowderwas considered adequate, while 100 grainswas a heavy load. When inlines hit thescene with superior materials and work-manship in the barrels and actions and bet-ter designed stocks, 100 grains became theminimum and 150 grains the upper end ofthe scale. So, which is best?

The first and foremost criteria I requirefor any deer-hunting muzzleloader is accu-racy. If it doesn’t shoot where I want it to,consistently, then it doesn’t make a darnbit of difference how efficient the load is.Secondly, I want a powder charge that givesme the most velocity possible while stillmaintaining pinpoint accuracy. Theincreased velocity means a flatter trajectoryfor longer shots and increased muzzle ener-gy for better bullet performance andincreased knockdown power.

Each and every muzzleloader has its ownset of idiosyncrasies when it comes todigesting powder and bullets and spittingthem back out, and the only way to get thebest out of a muzzleloader is by testing andtuning until you find the combination thatworks best. Then you practice until youand your outfit are both as finely tuned as

2 0 1 2 F o r F 1 5 0 X LT S u p e r C re w 4 x 4 E c o - B o o s t . . . . . . . . . . $ 3 3 , 73 02 0 1 2 F o r d F 1 5 0 X LT S u p e r C a b 4 x 4 E c o - B o o s t . . . . . . . . . . $ 3 0 , 5 0 02 0 1 1 F o r d F 2 5 0 F 2 5 0 X LT S u p e r C a b 4 x 4 , 6 . 2 L . . . . . . . . $ 3 0 , 9 8 02 0 1 1 D o d g e R a m 1 5 0 0 S LT Q u a d C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2 4 , 9 9 02 0 1 0 F o r d F 1 5 0 X LT S u p e r C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2 0 , 4 4 02 0 1 0 C h e v y 1 5 0 0 S i l v e ra d o LT C re w C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2 5 , 8 4 02 0 1 0 J e e p G ra n d C h e r o ke e L a re d o 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 7 , 4 4 02 0 1 0 F o r d E s c a p e X LT 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 9 , 3 3 02 0 0 9 J e e p P a t r i ot S p o r t 4 - d o o r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 3 , 3 702 0 0 8 F o r d F 2 5 0 X L S u p e r C a b 4 x 4 , V - 1 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 8 , 8 0 02 0 0 8 F o r d F 1 5 0 S T X S u p e r C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 8 , 4 6 02 0 0 8 F o r d F 1 5 0 X LT S u p e r C re w 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 9 , 5 5 02 0 0 8 F o r d F 1 5 0 X L Re g u l a r C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 4 , 62 02 0 0 8 J e e p L i b e r t y 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 4 , 9 9 02 0 0 8 F o r d R a n g e r X LT S u p e r C a b , 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 4 , 5 9 02 0 0 7 F o r d F 3 5 0 H a r l e y D a v i s o n C re w C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 9 , 5 0 02 0 0 7 C h e v y S i l v e ra d o LT C re w C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2 6 , 6 702 0 0 7 D o d g e R a m 1 5 0 0 L a ra m i e , Q u a d C a b 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . $ 1 9 , 9 2 02 0 0 6 F o r d F 3 5 0 K i n g R a n c h C re w C a b , 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 2 1 , 6 6 02 0 0 6 F o r d F 2 5 0 L a r i e t S u p e r C a b , 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 7 , 4 2 02 0 0 6 F o r d F 1 5 0 X LT S u p e r C a b , 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 1 3 , 5 0 02 0 0 5 D o d g e D u ra n go S LT , 4 x 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 8 9 5 0

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ow a few miles from the house, there are avariety of extenuating circumstancesincluding humidity, wind, etc., that cancause minor fluctuations in results asopposed to tests done under controlled lab-oratory circumstances.

In my opinion, the two most informativetests were bullet performance in ballistic geland actual drop rates under field condi-tions.

Surprisingly, the 250-grain HornadySST pushed with 150 grains of White Hotsat 2,052 fps only penetrated the gel 1/4-inch more deeply than the bullet from the100-grain loading at 1,750 fps. The 150-grain load penetrated 6 3/4 inches of gelwhile the 100-grain load penetrated 6 1/2inches. However, the wound channel of theheavier load was twice the width of thewound channel produced with the lowerpowder charge. This indicated more energytransmitted from the bullet to the gel,which would result in a larger wound chan-nel and more hydrostatic shock to a white-tail.

The highest difference in average veloci-ty was with White Hot pellets, and thisonly amounted to 302 fps — whichequates to approximately 50 ft./lb. of muz-zle energy. This is less than half of that pro-duced by a .22 long rifle bullet. This slightgain could easily be negated by a variety ofvariables under hunting conditions.

possible. I’ve had muzzleloaders that shot 100-

grain powder loads with certain bullets veryaccurately and wouldn’t group worth adarn with 150-grain loads. Others haveperformed better with 150-grain loads than100-grain loadings, and several of myinlines are equally accurate with eitherloading.

To get a comparison of the differences in100-grains versus 150-grain loadings, Istarted out using my super-accurate KnightLong Range muzzleloader with the superbHornady SST bullet and Harvester blackCrush Rib sabots, since I didn’t haveenough of the equally easy-loading andaccurate Hornady Easy Load sabots tocomplete the whole test. However, halfwaythrough the testing I experienced triggerproblems with my LR rifle and switched tomy equally accurate Knight DISC riflewith the same length barrel and twist rateto finish the tests. I used Hodgdon 777FFG powder along with the newBlackhorn 209 loose powder and myfavorite pelletized powder, HodgdonWhite Hots, in both 100- and 150-grainloadings for comparisons. (See accompany-ing sidebar.)

These tests produced results very similarto previous tests I have conducted on vari-ous powders. Since I do my testing on anopen range in my yard or in an open mead-

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072_001.qxd 10/28/12 6:09 PM Page 1

spends time to tune his shooting ability tomatch the loading. However, I’ll stick tomy favorite loading of 150 grains of loose


In my estimation, muzzle energy isoften overrated as a criteria for the killingpower of a bullet/powder combination.Bullet weight and design, sectional densi-ty and, most important of all, bullet place-ment, can be far more important deter-mining factors in how a critter reacts to ahit. Bullet trajectory under hunting con-ditions is the main criteria for consistentand proper bullet placement on that bigbuck, and this factor really separates the100-grain loading from the 150-grainloading.

I sighted my Knight for a dead-centerhit at 75 yards with a 100-grain chargebehind the SST and followed the 100-grain powered shot with a 150-grain shot.The two bullet holes at this distance werealmost touching with the 150-grain loadonly 1/2-inch higher. At 150 yards the100-grain load was only 1/2-inch lowerthan the 150 loading. The 150-grain loaddropped 5 inches below the center of thetarget compared to 5 1/2 inches for the100-grain load. Both are well withinacceptable and effective hunting accuracyand trajectory. However, at 200 yards, the100-grain load really fell off and was 173/4 inches below the center line on thebull’s-eye. The 150-grain load was only 91/2 inches low.

Given the results of these tests, I feel the

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100-grain powder load is adequate forwhitetails under most hunting conditionsout to 150 yards — provided the shooter

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powder or three Hodgdon White Hot pel-lets with either the Hornady 250-grainSST bullet and EZ Load sabots or theBarnes 250-grain solid copper, poly-tipped boattail TMZ bullet with aHarvester Crush Rib sabot. Both of theseloads will consistently shoot 1-inchgroups at 100 yards from several of mytuned deer muzzleloaders and are capableof consistent clean kills out to 200 yards.

The key to whitetail muzzleloaderhunting success lies not so much inwhether you choose the 100- or 150-grainload, but in how you hunt with the loadof choice. Spend sufficient time toacquaint yourself with every idiosyncrasyof your muzzleloader and find the bestpossible powder/bullet/sabot combinationfor your particular hunting situation.Then practice long and hard to consis-tently obtain the best results your outfithas to offer. Lastly, confining shootingand hunting tactics within the limitationspresented by your choices is bound togreatly increase your chances of whitetailmuzzleloader hunting success.

Thanks to Grandview Outdoors &WhitetailJournal.com

073_001.qxd 10/28/12 1:34 PM Page 1


Far-Bank RetrievesBy Bill Nichol

A serious challenge for many dogs iswhat's known as a far-bank retrieve,where the dog has to cross an expanse ofwater and then hunt on land for a birdthat has crawled into vegetation on theopposite shore. This may not seem diffi-cult, but it can be a confusing situationfor a retriever.

"If a dog has never been taught to getout of the water for a retrieve, he's notused to getting out on the opposite side,"says Mike Stewart, a professional trainerwho operates Wildrose Kennels inOxford, Mississippi. "But don't put a dogout on an opposite bank until he will han-dle. He needs to stop and cast. Otherwise,he'll learn to be out of control on anopposite bank, and there's not much youcan do about it."

The primary lesson for a dog to learnhere is not all birds are found in the water.

For this purpose, Stewart selects a com-mand during training to signal the dog tohunt on the opposite bank. He says a sim-ple command such as "get over" worksbest. He begins training by putting on hiswaders, placing a bumper on the far bank,and then wading into the water with thedog at his side. When the water is about

nose-deep on the dog (still shallowenough for the dog to get some footing),he sends it to the bumper. Gradually,Stewart progresses to sending the dogfrom one bank to the other, using large,easy-to-see bumpers placed near the waterat first and then progressively farther upthe bank. Having an assistant on the

opposite bank to toss the bumper can helpthe dog understand what it needs to do.

"You just want to train the dog so thathe handles easily from the opposite bank,"Stewart says. "You want to use a long butnarrow body of water, such as a slow-moving river, for your work, so that thedog doesn't cut corners."

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A few years back he blew a disk in hisspinal cord and Canterbury’s were toldRocky only had two choices to fix hisback, surgery or a wheelchair. Theychoose a wheelchair and sure enoughafter a few months in the chair Rockyhad rehabilitated his back and was ableto walk again without the chair.(www.Wheelchairsfor Dogs.com) Overthe years Rocky uses the wheelchair from

time to time and it helps to keep himgoing.

Back to Rocky’s arrest…heescaped from dog-sitter’s back-yard and was found by a distantneighbor who called PAWS. Anemployee from PAWS pickedRocky up took him back to theshelter and was quickly able toidentify Rocky because he had achip in his neck. Cathy receiveda phone call at 4 a.m. in Hawaii,which is about 9 a.m. CSTreporting Rocky was at PAWS.He was picked up later that dayand returned to her home. Butwithout the CHIP in Rocky’sneck he might not have beensaved and returned home.Everyone should CHIP their

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B y G a r y Ko e h l e rMany years ago, while living in northernmost

Illinois, a friend and I would make an annual pilgrimageto a public hunting area with the intent of chasing put-and-take pheasants provided by the state.

I had a German shorthaired pointer at the time. AndNick doubled as my duck hunting companion, excepton the coldest of days. Without fail, on each pheasanthunting trip we'd come across a couple of guystrailing behind a Chesapeake Bay retriever. Somehow Ithought that odd.

But even though there was no water to contendwith, I should not have been surprised at the number ofLabs and golden retrievers pressed into service. Justas I relied on my shorthair to occasionally retrieveducks, these other hunters got double duty byemploying their dogs in the uplands.

Then, and now, the majority of active hunters live ineither a city or suburb. And few have the space or thetime to maintain a large kennel with numerous dogs.Retrievers that adapt to hunting different types ofbirds double their value.

John Pease, who has raised and trained retrievers,(hillTopKennelIowa.com), for more than 30 years in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, says that only a little additionaltraining time is required to transition your dog fromwaterfowl to upland game. "I have always hunted mydogs for both ducks and pheasants," Pease says. "Myretrievers were all adaptable to upland gamehunting."

"For most people," he continues, "it makes a lotmore sense to have one dog—if they do it right. Themore dogs you have, the less time you spend with eachone of them."

Assuming that your retriever has undergone basicobedience training, there is not a lot more to addbefore turning it loose in the pheasant fields. "A littlepreparation helps a lot," Pease says. "You know, workon things that you are going to encounter in the fieldbefore you take the dog into the field.

"It's the same with a duck dog, where you get itused to getting in and out of the boat, retrievingbumpers ... that kind of stuff. To prepare your dog forupland birds, you have to first get it ready. Otherwise,you can expect the worst."

Steadiness is one consideration. Anyone who hasever hunted upland game likely has a horror storyabout a dog who took off on a dead run and didn't stop

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until every bird in the field flushed—hundreds ofyards ahead of the hunters. "I get that phone call everyyear the night before the pheasant opener," Peasesays. "People will call and ask me how to keep their dogunder control. It's too late at that point. The dogprobably isn't going to be under control the next day."

Pease demands that his dog stays close to him andany other hunters who may be accompanying them sothe birds are within shotgun range when they flush."There's a place for a retriever being steady to wingand shot, and I insist on that when I'm hunting ducks.

But when you're hunting pheasants with a big group ofpeople and there are other dogs around, whistles areblowing, and guns are going off, it's tough," he says."It sounds good, but in the real world it's tough to pulloff."

Pease conditions his retrievers to stay close duringthe off-season. "I take them for walks and get them ina routine," he says. "I let them get out a ways and I'llcall them back. I work on that until it's second naturefor them to stay close to me. It's all about routine.They learn how far they're supposed to range and theystick to that.

"It's all about the dogs knowing the rules. If youdon't have any standards, the dog's not going to haveany standards. Be consistent and the dog will figureout what you want it to do."

Pease also works on getting his dogs used tofences—something that retrievers may seldomencounter while hunting waterfowl. "When I amtraining a dog, I get him used to going over or underfences," he says. "I start with something low, like aplastic pipe or hog wire panel, and get him to jump overit and retrieve from the other side on command.Fences can be dangerous. Dogs have to be introducedto fences or they won't know how to handle them."

Wise Words"The best way to learn to train a dog is to let a dog

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075_001.qxd 10/28/12 2:14 PM Page 1

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!The Deer-Creek Legion is Hosting

a FREE Thanksgiving Day Dinner!Complete Traditional Menu.

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B a n d : C a d i l l a c J a c k 8 p m - 1 2 M i d n i g h tS u n . 4 B re a k f a s t 6 : 3 0 - 1 0 : 3 0 S a t . 1 0 T u r ke y S h o ot 1 1 : 0 0 a . m . A l l D a y

P a n F r i e d C h i c ke n D i n n e r s e r v e d 5 - 8 p . m . P r o c e e d s go t o W o u n d e d W a r r i o r s .

S u n . 1 1 T u r ke y S h o ot 1 1 : 0 0 a . m . - A l l D a yS a t . 1 7 S t e a k F r y 5 : 0 0 – 8 p . m .

B a n d : M ot o w n J u n k i e s p l a y 8 – 1 2 M i d n i g h tW e d . 2 1 S A L m e e t i n g a t 7 p . m .

T H A N KS G I V I N G E V E B a n d : C a d i l l a c J a c k 8 - 1 2 M i dT h u r . 2 2 T H A N KS G I V I N G D I N N E R 3 p . m . S a t . 2 4 B a n d : F a r f r o m O v e r 8 p m – 1 2 M i d n i g h tW e d . 2 8 L e g i o n M e e t i n g 7 p m

Turkey Shoot Nov 10 & 11, Food Served All DaySundays kitchen will be serving comfort foods.

Every Tues. is Mexican Night featuring Homemade Chicken Enchiladas!Stop by & check out our kitchen. Great Food, Great prices!

PUBLICALWAYS

WELCOME!GRILLOPEN

NIGHTLY!

Deer-Creek American Deer-Creek American Legion Post 1276 Legion Post 1276

NewsNews && EventsEvents

An American Legion for ALL Americans…

PUBLICWELCOME!

Public Always Welcome!31473 American Legion Dr.

Deer Creek, IL 61733309-447-6776

We Need Your Help!FAMILY COAT EXCHANGE

Donations are Welcome NOW, ExchangeBegins Sat. Nov. 24th at 12noon

CANNED FOOD DRIVEDonations Needed to benefit

the Veterans Assistance CommissionFREE THANKSGIVING DAY DINNER Enjoy All your favorites 3 p.m. Thurs. 22

Sundays now serving Comfort FoodGreat Food, Fun Folks & Very Low Prices!

Please Join us for Dinner. PublicWelcome, Donations Accepted!

FAMILY COAT EXCHANGEDonations are Welcome NOW Exchange Begins Sat. Nov. 24th at

12noon.Bring in your cleaned and gently

used coats & jackets, includingaccessories. Donate them to familiesin our community or swap them outfor bigger sizes for the kids or a newstyle for yourself.

All kids need an outside play coatin addition to their school one; theygrow so fast in a year. Clean out yourclosets & drop off unwanted items atthe DC Legion during normal busi-ness hours. Tell your friends & thosefamilies that may benefit from thisevent. All items will be donated tocharity after Dec. 20th.

For those interested, you can shop

for your needed items beginning onSat. Nov. 24th at noon. Come out forlunch & find a treasure.

We are accepting donations ofCoats, Hats, Gloves Scarves, SnowPants & Boots for Kids, etc. Men’s,Women’s, Teens, Kids, InfantsOuterwear Items are All Welcome!

Please have your items to us by Fri.Nov 23, before the exchange startingday on Sat. 24. Call us with any ques-tions on how to get your donation tous! Thanks!

CANNED FOOD DRIVE FORTHE VETERANS ASSISTANCECOMMISSION

With the holidays fast approachingmany veterans will be in need to helpfeed their family. So when you areshopping, pick up a few extra itemsthat will help out a veteran. Someitems needed include gas cards thatare very popular, non-perishableitems, macaroni & cheese, peanut

butter, canned veggies, tuna, cannedchicken, soup, etc. Donation itemsare welcome & needed at allAmerican Legion Post Homes! Stopby with a donation today…Thanksfor your Support!

SAT NOV. 10TH WE WILL BESERVING PAN FRIEDCHICKEN DINNER between 5-8p.m. Proceeds from the dinner saleswill go to Wounded Warriors.

SAT & SUN NOV. 10 & 11TURKEY SHOOT starts at 11 a.m.Kitchen will be open serving a greatvariety of Delicious Food all day.

THANKS TO ALL WHOHELPED WITH THE RIVERCLEANUP!

076_001.qxd 10/28/12 2:57 PM Page 1

The weekend of September 29, 2012 marked thesecond annual Cesar Millan Foundation Family PackWalk at the National Mall in Washington, DC. Thefoundation's cause is to raise awareness for the res-cue, rehabilitation, and re-homing of abused andabandoned dogs. The Family Pack Walk is a one and ahalf mile dog walking event and expo, with a lot ofactivities for dogs and kids as well. There were10,000 people and their dogs in attendance this year,while many more attended smaller pack walks aroundthe world. I was fortunate enough to attend the eventwith my German Shepherd, Jax, and it was a greattime.

I had a chance to enjoy and appreciate Jax one-on-one, which reinforced mutual trust and respect. I alsogot to meet some great people and dogs, includingCesar Millan.

As an invitee of the International Association of


Canine Professionals, Jax assisted with crowd controlby escorting the walkers on the walk path. I recom-mend participation in dog walks because it's a chanceto reinforce good manners and socialization in yourdog. You can really see your dog's respect and traininglevel by his response to your commands and encour-agement in a situation where there are so many stim-uli redirecting his attention. Jax was calm, and heenjoyed meeting other people and dogs during theday's events. In fact, he did so well that I treated himto a Canine Rib Eye Steak and Bowzer Beer after thelong day was over. The Liaison Hotel in DowntownWashington DC is a beautiful 5-Star hotel that wel-comes dogs (and it actually has a canine menu.) Hehad his morning food at the outdoor bistro, and yes-the waiter did refill his water bowl!

The people at the walk and expo were very friendly,and there were no reports of any altercations betweenpeople, or dogs, for that matter. You might at leastexpect some friction between a few dogs at an eventwith this many attendees, but it was a peaceful event. It was an honor to meet Cesar Millan. We chatted forquite a while about training technique and style. Ithink he was as impressed with Jax's behavior as Icontinue to be.

If you ever get a chance to involve your socializeddog in a dog walking event, try it. It's good practice inmanners in new surroundings, and another opportuni-ty for bonding with your pet. For more information onthe Family Pack Walks or Cesar Millan's foundation,visit: www.cesarway.com or millanfoundation.donor-drive.com

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077_001.qxd 10/28/12 4:08 PM Page 1


California Artist Robert Steiner Wins2012 Federal Duck

Stamp ContestRobert Steiner, an artist from San Francisco, Calif.,

is the winner of the 2012 Federal Duck Stamp ArtContest hosted by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Theannual art contest is the only juried art competitionsponsored by the federal government.

WATERFOWL WATERFOWL 20122012

“Whether you buy a Duck Stamp to hunt waterfowl,add to your stamp collection, admire in a frame, orcontribute to conservation, you are buying a piece ofhistory,” said Jerome Ford, the Service’s AssistantDirector for Migratory Birds. “For nearly 80 years,hunters, wildlife watchers, and millions of other peoplewho purchase Federal Duck Stamps have made adirect contribution to wildlife conservation throughthe protection of wetland habitats.”

The judges for this year’s Federal Duck StampContest were: Dudley Edmonson, a wildlife photogra-pher, filmmaker and author; Paul Higgins, an outdoor

This is Steiner’s second Federal Duck StampContest win. His art previously appeared on the 1998-1999 Federal Duck Stamp.

Steiner’s acrylic painting of a common goldeneyewill be made into the 2013-2014 Federal Duck Stamp,which will go on sale in late June 2013. The Serviceproduces the Federal Duck Stamp, which sells for $15and raises about $25 million each year to provide crit-ical funds to conserve and protect wetland habitats inthe National Wildlife Refuge system for the benefit ofwildlife and the enjoyment of people.

Of 192 entries in this year’s two-day competition, 17entries made it through to the finalround of judging.

"I congratulate Robert Steiner on hissecond Federal Duck Stamp Contest win,and my appreciation goes out to all of theartists who entered the contest thisyear,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceDeputy Director Rowan Gould. “I look for-ward to seeing this beautiful artworkadorning the 80th Federal Duck Stamp– one of our nation’s oldest and mostsuccessful conservation programs –when it goes on sale next June.”

photographer whose work has been displayed in gal-leries and appeared in national outdoors magazines;Don Paul, a wildlife biologist who served 34 years withthe Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Marjory Sente,a stamp collector specializing in first day covers; andChristine Thomas, dean and professor of naturalresources at the University of Wisconsin-StevensPoint. The alternate judge was John Cornely, a retiredFish and Wildlife Service waterfowl biologist.

Waterfowl hunters age 16 and older are required to

Paul Bridgeford of Des Moines, Iowa,placed second with his acrylic painting

of a pair of northern shovelers.

Gerald Mobley of Claremore, Okla.,took third place with his acrylic

painting of a pair of northern shovelers.Mobley’s art appeared on the

1985-1986 Federal Duck Stamp.

078_001.qxd 10/28/12 4:42 PM Page 1

purchase and carry the current Migratory Bird Conser-vation and Hunting Stamp – commonly known as theDuck Stamp. Conservationists, stamp collectors andothers may also purchase the stamp in support ofhabitat conservation. A current Duck Stamp can alsobe used for free admission to any National WildlifeRefuge open to the public. Refuges offer unparalleledrecreational opportunities, including hunting, fishing,

bird watching, and photography.Ninety-eight percent of the proceeds from sale of

the $15 Federal Duck Stamp go to the Migratory BirdConservation Fund, which supports the purchase ofmigratory bird habitat for inclusion into the NationalWildlife Refuge System. Since 1934, Federal DuckStamp sales have raised more than $850 million,helping the Service purchase or lease 6 million acresof wildlife habitat on hundreds of Refuges in nearlyevery state. There are 560 National Wildlife Refugesspread across the 50 states and U.S. territories.

Wetlands serve a number of important functionsand provide benefits to humans and wildlife. Manyspecies are dependent upon wetlands for all or a por-tion of their life cycles. For people, wetlands supportvegetation that acts as a flood buffer and reducesstream bank erosion during floods. Wetlands improvewater quality by filtering polluted runoff from citiesand agricultural lands, and provide recharge toaquifers. Finally, wetlands serve for recreational pur-poses such as hiking, bird watching, wildlife photogra-phy, and hunting. These activities bring tourism dol-lars into rural communities in the U.S. and providecritical support to local economies.

Eligible species for this year’s Federal Duck StampContest were the brand, Canada goose, common gold-eneye, Northern shoveled and ruddy duck.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service isworking with others to conserve, protect and enhancefish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continu-ing benefit of the American people. We are both aleader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conser-vation, known for our scientific excellence, steward-

ship of lands and natural resources, dedicated profes-sionals and commitment to public service.

For more information on our work and the peoplewho make it happen, visit: www.fws.gov


Harry ran into these kids whohad a great hunt at SanagnoisConservation Area WaterfowlYouth Hunt. L-R: Jewel Reed,

Taylor Hamin, AustinCrowhurst, Jon Culbertson,

Betty the Dog & Bryce Altman

Alexis Finchum, 11 & MorganAlbertin, 13, holding a nice

Canada shot Sat. Oct. 20 duringWaterfowl Youth season at

Central Gun Club. Both girlsare from Atlanta. Way to Go Girls!

079_001.qxd 10/28/12 4:41 PM Page 1


Duck Blinds, DIY StyleLavish blinds with lots of

amenities are great, but they’re notan option for everyone. Here’s how

to make your own duck blindsthat’ll work for your unique

hunting situation.

By Mike Lambeth

In the predawn blackness, the guide navigated ourduck boat through a maze of cypress trees and duck-weed. His spotlight illuminated our duck blind, shroud-ed by fog, in the distance. Light rain began falling aswe pulled into a covered boat slip before stepping upinto an incredible blind.

Resembling a modified baseball dugout, the blindwas spacious, featuring amenities such as amplebench seating, a kitchen area and a gun rack to hand-ily position shotguns. Hunters sit back and relax whilesipping coffee between flights of the abundant gad-walls that converge here. This wasn’t going to be yourordinary duck hunt.

Mike and Lamar Boyd operate a first-rate guideservice on Beaver Dam Lake in Tunica, Miss. Theirhunting grounds were made famous by novelist NashBuckingham, who fondly wrote about the abundant wa-terfowl wintering there. Buckingham chronicled manyhunts on this Mississippi River oxbow lake, one of thegems of the Magnolia State.

At theother end ofthe blind,Lamar, theyounger oft h i sfather/sonduo, oper-ates the nu-merous Mojodecoys with a control panel at his fingertips. Huntersare positioned to shoot through holes in camouflagedburlap where their swing is restricted, much like asporting-clays station. The burlap also serves to con-ceal zealous hunters, while helping to block wind andrain.

In short order, amidst great camaraderie, we hadseven limits of gadwalls. We cased our shotguns,loaded our gear and headed in for a Southern-cookedbreakfast. Truly, the waterfowling at Beaver Dam wasgolden, providing memories for a lifetime.

The keys to our success were being where the duckswanted to be and being well concealed. Due to our abil-ities to stay comfortable and sheltered from the ele-ments, our duck blind proved to be a handy tool.

It’s undeniable — hunting from a duck blind canincrease your waterfowling enjoyment and success.But what if such a lavish blind is not in your future?Well, don’t fret. Below are some duck blinds you canmake without breaking the bank.

Boat BlindsHunting from a boat blind is an exciting option when

hunting from land isn’t a possibility. Several compa-nies such as Beavertail and Avery make duck-blindsystems that adapt to almost any duck boat. Theseblinds fold down while motoring and can be erected inminutes.

For do-it-yourselfers, boat blinds also can be fash-

ioned from PVC pipe and camouflage netting. PVC pipecan be obtained from local hardware stores, whilecamouflage netting or 3-D leafy camouflage can bepurchased from Cabela’s and Hunter’s Specialties.

Pack-In BlindsSome distant waterfowling spots might require car-

rying a bag of decoys along with the rest of your gear.Toting in a layout blind is generally not an option, butI’ve had excellent success using portable stake-typeblinds. These blinds range in height from 2 to 4 feetand are generally 6 to 12 feet long. Because they arelightweight, they roll up and can easily be carried witha shoulder strap.

Best of all, these blinds are versatile and can beplaced near the edge of a pond or stretched aroundtrees to form an excellent blind.

Building a Duck BlindIn spots where you will be spending a fair amount of

time hunting, a temporary blind might be in order.Words to the wise: Seek permission before construct-ing a more permanent type of blind. Most landownersare receptive if asked, providing the blind can be tak-en down later.

First off, consider the wind direction when select-ing a blind location. Normally, the north wind prevails,so I try to set up my blind near the north end of a pondor lake because ducks and geese always land into thewind.

Secondly, if the pond or lake is subject to waterfluctuations, build the blind accordingly. A friend ofmine once built a blind 20 yards from the water’s edgeand, upon returning, the water had receded, renderinghis blind too far away for a clean shot.

One of my favorite blinds is constructed from a rollof 48-inch-tall, welded wire and six T-Posts. I set threeT-Posts a few feet away from the water’s edge spacedfour feet apart. Five feet behind the front three T-Posts, place the rear three posts spaced four feetapart. The welded wire then can be stretched aroundand attached with black wire ties. Leave the last pieceof wire unattached for side entry into the blind. Fold-ing chairs or 5-gallon buckets painted with dull earthtones work well for seating.Reeds or native grass can be woven into the wire frameto complete the camouflage effect. Cedar boughs alsocan be used to brush in the blind and give it a morenatural look. Keep in mind this type of temporary blindhas no roof, so hunters should wear face paint or usehead nets while keeping their movements to a mini-mum.

Hunting from a duck blind can provide hours of wa-terfowling fun. Remember to hunt safe and introducea new hunter to our sport this fall.

www.Ducks.org

LOOKINGFOR A FEW

GOOD MEN!

EXCELLENTHUNTING!

HISTORIC LAKEWOODDUCK CLUB

IN BATH, IL

HAVE (2) 4-MAN BLINDS ACROSS FROM GRAND ISLAND

CALL BOB: 309-546-9199 • 825-5575

080_001.qxd 10/28/12 5:29 PM Page 1


4136 Pontoon Rd. • Granite City, IL [email protected]

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1-1/2 miles of shoreline on Stewart Lake and 5 miles of shoreline on Illinois River

Membership Includes:• Use of lodge with private bedroom• Use of boats and decoys• Use of picking shed • Use of kennelsAlso Included:Deer, Turkey, Squirrel & Dove Hunting Fishing on a Private Lake

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B u i l d i n g aB u i l d i n g aH o m e m a d eH o m e m a d eB o a t B l i n dB o a t B l i n dGeorge Hill was at Menards in Pekin one day in Oct and

ran into Harry. He was gettingall the parts to build a duck

blind for his boat. George tooka few photos of the basic blindbuilding process to share with

ASO. He travels to varioushunting spots with his boat

blind and is very successful onmost trips. Thanks to George

for sharing his blind building with ASO.

Good luck this waterfowl

season!

081_001.qxd 10/28/12 5:35 PM Page 1

"Pintails numbers increased innortherly habitats such as Alaska," saysJohn Devney, Delta's senior policy directorof U.S. policy. "This suggests sprig over-flew the prairies this spring. Research haswell documented that in average or dryconditions, many pintails head north tothe boreal forest. The survey's ability todetect them is reduced."

Significantly, the biggest decline inwetland conditions has occurred on theU.S. prairies. The pond estimate for theDakotas and Montana is 1.7 million, whichis 49 percent below the estimates fromlast year. Only the Coteau Region of Northand South Dakota is rated good for 2012.No areas are rated excellent.

"The Dakotas have carried a dispropor-tionate load of continental duck produc-tion over the last few years," says Devney."If we get dry here and lose the wetlandsand upland nesting cover, the U.S. prairiesjust won't be able to produce at the amazing levels wehave seen since the mid-1990s, and that will have areal impact on hunters almost everywhere."

Conditions across the Canadian prairies have alsodeclined this year. Temporary wetlands, crucial to suc-cessful breeding, retained little moisture because of ashallow frost seal and below-average participation.Last year, most of Saskatchewan and Manitoba wasinundated with water. May pond estimates for 2012 inprairie Canada have dropped 21 percent, from 4.9 mil-lion to 3.9 million.


D U C K P O P U L AT I O N S D U C K P O P U L AT I O N S H I T A L L - T I M E R E C O R D H I T A L L - T I M E R E C O R D

Breeding Survey estimates 48.6 million ducks; Mallards at

highest level since 1999! North America's total spring duck population is the

highest ever recorded, according to the annual Water-fowl Breeding Population and Habitat Survey releasedtoday.

Conducted each May by the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService and the Canadian Wildlife Service, the surveyputs the duck population at 48.6 million birds. Thatrepresents a 7 percent increase from 2011's recordnumber of 45.6 million.

"This is the highest duck count since we started thesurvey in 1955," says Dr. Frank Rohwer, Delta Water-fowl's scientific director. "We had excellent wetlandconditions in 2011, the second-highest pond countever. So last year, we made a pile of ducks. This year,we're counting them."

Mallards, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, gad-walls, canvasbacks, northern shovelers and scaup areall up significantly from last year, with both species ofteal and shovelers at all-time highs. Blue-winged tealare estimated at 9.2 million, green-winged teal num-ber more than 3.4 million and shovelers now top 5 mil-lion.

Mallard breeding numbers sit at 10.6 million, a 15percent increase over 2011 and 40 percent over thelong-term average.

Gadwall increased 10 percent over last year, and

now total 3.5 million. The population is nearly doublethe long-term average for gadwalls.

American wigeon are up slightly to 2.1 million, butare still 17 percent below their long-term average.

Scaup numbers are up 21 percent to 5.2 million,the seventh-straight year that the bluebill count hasgone up. Scaup are at their highest breeding popula-tion since 1991.

Redheads declined slightly to just under 1.3 million,but still registered the second-highest population esti-mate in the history of the survey. Canvasbacks jumped10 percent to 760,000, the fourth-highest count onrecord.

"All in all, this is a great duck count," says Rohwer.

Pond Counts Down While the total breeding population is strong, the

news is different for breeding habitat. The survey iscalling 2012 an "average to below-average" year formoisture. The total pond count for prairie Canada andUnited States combined has dropped 32 percent, froman estimated 8.1 million ponds last year to 5.5 millionthis year.

"The ponds that are dry are the important ones forducks — the temporary and seasonal wetlands," Ro-hwer says. "We kept the large ponds, but lost the smallponds."

Drier conditions may account for the one speciesthat shows a significant drop in the survey area.Northern pintails are down more than one millionbirds, from 4.4 million birds last year to 3.4 million.One possible explanation is that pintails didn't like thelook of the drier conditions and just kept flying north.

The overall pond count is still 9 percent above aver-age, but as the prairies dry out, you can expect a directimpact on hunting, says Joel Brice, Delta's senior di-rector of conservation.

"Let's not forget that we hunt the fall flight, not thespring count," says Brice. "Lots of ducks jammed intofewer wetlands negatively impacts breeding success.There's a good chance we won't see as many juvenilesas last year, and those are the birds that are easiest todecoy. Still, it promises to be great year. We may justhave to work a bit harder."

082_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:32 PM Page 1


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New WaterfowlAmmunition

Check out these waterfowl loadsfor the 2012-2013 season

The importance of shooting well in the blindcannot be stressed enough. Choosing the cor-rect ammunition for you, your situation andyour firearm is the first step. Here are a fewnew ammunition options for the 2012-2013waterfowl season.

Black Cloud Ammo Of fers Close-RangePatterns

Federal Premium has introduced BlackCloud Close Range, which is designed to pro-vide more open patterns for duck gunnershunting in tight spaces, such as flooded tim-ber. Featuring Flitestopper cutting-edge steeland Flitecontrol wad technology, these shellswill be available in 12-gauge, 3-inch, 1 1/4-ounce loads of 2s, 3s, and 4s, as well as 20-

gauge, 3-inch loads of 2s and 4s. Flitecontrolfeatures a unique and patented wad designthat stays with the shot longer, keeping pat-terns tight and velocity high.FederalPremium.com

Remington Hypersonic Steel Includes 10- and20-Gauge Loads

Remington has expanded its HypersonicSteel lineup to include 10-gauge, 3 1/2-inch, 11/2-ounce loads of BBBs, BBs, and 2s. In addi-tion, new 20-gauge, 3-inch, 7/8-ounce loadsof 3s and 4s will debut this year. At the heartof the Hypersonic Steel load is the XeleratorWad. This newly designed wad features aunique ignition chamber that produces highvelocities—up to 1,700 fps. remington.com

Winchester Blind Side Broadens Its ProductLine

Winchester Ammunition continues to buildon its Blind Side ammo line, loaded with stack-able six-sided steel shot. Packing densityallows Winchester to load up to 15 percentmore pellets per shotshell. Its Diamond CutWad delivers consistent patterns and increas-es the kill zone. This new hinged wad system

also reduces peak pressure, increases veloci-ty, and reduces felt recoil. New to the BlindSide lineup this year are 12-gauge, 3 1/2-inch,1 5/8-ounce loads of 1s and 3s; 12-gauge, 3-inch, 1 3/8-ounce loads of 1s, 3s, and 5s; 12-gauge, 2 3/4-inch, 1 1/4-ounce loads of 2sand 5s; and 20-gauge, 3-inch, 1 1/16-ounceloads of 2s and 5s. Twelve-gauge loads arerated at 1,400 fps, while 20-gauge loads arerated at 1,300 fps. winchester.com

Hevi-Metal High Speed Introduces New LoadsThe folks at Environ-Metal have been busy

this year, introducing Hevi-Metal High Speed10-gauge shotshells and a new look in its 12-gauge ammo line. Ten-gauge cartridgesinclude 3 1/2-inch, 1 1/2-ounce loads of BBs,2s, 3s, and 4s. Twelve-gauge ammo will beavailable in 2 3/4-inch, 1 1/8-ounce loads of2s, 3s, and 4s. Velocity for both 10- and 12-gauge loads is rated at 1,500 fps.Complementing the company's varied water-fowl loads is a new series of Hevi-Shot choketubes in 12- and 20-gauge designs.hevishot.com

Fiocchi Tundra is Made for WaterfowlingFiocchi's Tundra loads, made from a tung-

sten-steel composite material, are designedspecifically for waterfowling. The companyactually offers two weight densities—onedenser than bismuth and the other denserthan lead. These shotshells are available in 12-gauge, 2 3/4-inch, 1 1/4- and 1 1/8-ounceloads; 3-inch, 1 3/8- and 1 5/8-ounce loads;and 20-gauge, 3-inch, 1-ounce loads. Shotsizes range from BBs to 6s in 12-gauge andfrom 1s to 5s in 20-gauge. fiocchiusa.com

Rio BlueSteel Game Loads Go Super MagnumRio Ammunition has added the BlueSteel

Super Magnum to its steel shot lineup. This12-gauge, 3 1/2-inch shotshell is available in 13/8-ounce and 1 9/16-ounce loads of BBBs,BBs, 2s, 3s and 4s. The 1 3/8-ounce loads arerated at 1,550 fps and the 1 9/16-ounce loadshave a velocity of 1,300 fps. EconomicalBlueSteel loads are also available in 12-gauge,2 3/4- and 3-inch cartridges in a variety ofshot sizes. rioammo.com

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083_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:38 PM Page 1


of cracked, dry soil. Despite the grim conditions we face at

the marsh, geese are thick. Thicker thanthieves and during our scouting trips wehave noticed changes in habits that areworth mentioning here, as many of youhunting in drought stricken areas arelikely to notice the same behavior.

Geese, being creatures of habit oftenreturn to the same fields to feed, overand over, until the waste grain disap-pears. The impact of the drought on thecorn crop not only reduced the harvestrate but also impacted the amount ofwaste grain left in fields and competitionfor that little grain that remains is high.As a result, geese are changing fields of-ten. Late flying flocks seem to be avoid-ing the crowds, traveling further and us-ing more fields. In addition, the numberof ducks using those fields appears to beabove average as well.

That said, opportunity is abound ifyou are willing to step out of yourwaders and the safety zone of traditionmethods and hunt were the birds are. Asyou are scouting and seeking land access,be aware that many states require you tocarry a signed permission slip from thelandowner to hunt. Even in states thatdo not require a consent form, it is agood idea to have one with you. Use thelink below to access a standard form

from the Ohio DNR or visit your state’swildlife management website to down-load, print and store blank copies foryour travels.

PACIFIC FLYWAY: Hunting in the Pacific Northwest is

fair to good in Washington, Oregon andIdaho, with duck numbers rising andgoose numbers normal for this time ofyear. Pintail numbers are above averagefor this time of year in northern Califor-nia with Gadwall numbers increasingfrom western Montana to the Great SaltLake. Teal numbers are steady in thesouthern portion of the flyway but belowaverage for this time of year.

CENTRAL FLYWAY: Excellent hunting continues in

Saskatchewan and Manitoba with ducknumbers slightly below average for thistime of year in Dakotas. Low water anddry conditions continue to impacthunter success across the U.S. PrairiePothole region as ducks continue to mi-grate south and few birds trickle downfrom Canada. Duck numbers from Col-orado to Nebraska are fair with goosenumbers good. Teal and other early mi-grating birds continue to drift south pastdry areas as numbers slowly build in thesouthern most wintering grounds.

2012 Migration

UpdateAnother weekend approaches and

“Opening Day” slides further southalong with the migration. Canada goosenumbers continue to build in the upperMississippi Flyway and Pintail numbersare building from the Klamath Basin tothe Sacramento Valley. Increased rainfallhas supplied much needed moisture toareas to parts of the eastern Central Fly-way and The Great Lakes, though muchmore is needed to recharge the bulk ofshallow wetlands.

Hello folks, and, as always, welcometo Waterfowler.com.

It’s mid-October and folks around theoffice are still wearing shorts here innorthern Illinois. Opening Day is lessthan seventy-two hours away and themarsh where we normally hold the an-nual WFC Opening Day hunt is achoked with dried canary grass on beds

MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY: Above average temperatures and

drought conditions continue to fuel earlyseason lull for hunting in the northernmost portion of the flyway. Hunting pres-sure has dropped slightly since openingday in far northern states and the relief isgood for those trying who are happy toscratch out a few birds during the lull.Goose numbers continue to increase fromMinnesota to Northern Illinois in prepa-ration for the next round of season open-ers. With more rain on the horizon,hunters are hoping for any relief they canget from the coming precipitation.

ATLANTIC FLYWAY: Sea duck numbers continue to rise

along the coast of Maine and Massachu-setts. Goose numbers are increasing fromSouthern Ontario to southeastern Penn-sylvania and above average for this time ofyear. Duck numbers are slightly above av-erage for this time of year throughout theNew England states with teal good andwood ducks excellent. With habitat con-ditions good to excellent compared to thecentral United States, a better than aver-age season is expected throughout the At-lantic Flyway.

www.Waterfowler.com

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084_001.qxd 10/28/12 11:41 PM Page 1


Bad HabitsLapses in proper shooting form

usually lead to missed shots

By Aaron Fraser PassMy last column dealt with what might

be called the psychology of shooting—specifically, how subconscious mentallaziness and loss of focus can lead toshooting slumps. In this column, we aregoing to get down to the nitty-gritty anddiscuss specific bad shooting habits thatare all too easy to acquire but often dif-ficult to lose.

Lifting your head as you fire is one ofthe most common bad habits. Since youreye is essentially the "rear sight" of yourshotgun, raising the eye raises your pointof impact and causes you to shoot high.

Perhaps the main reason shooters lifttheir head is to see the effect of the shoton the target. Unfortunately, lifting yourhead often results in the shot having noeffect on the target. Also, hunters tryingfor a double lift their head when theywant to verify a solid hit with their firstshot, but of course missing the first shotis not the easiest way to get a double.

My solution is to use shotguns with aslightly high point of impact. I prefer a

60-40 pattern—60 percent above and 40percent below the point of aim. Thisprovides me with a good, clear view ofthe target above my sighting plane. Ex-cept for very steeply rising targets or veryfast incomers, I don't have to cover thetarget with the gun muzzle.

Another common bad habit is slowingor stopping the swing as the shot is fired.One reason for this is the shooter tries torecheck his sight picture one last time tomake sure he's dead on. This invariablyslows the swing and usually wrecks theshot. The other reasons are simple lazi-ness or fatigue.

There is no cute technical trick to curethe slowed or stopped swing. The cure isrelentless discipline. "Push the gun, passthe bird, pull the trigger, push the gunsome more." Make it a mantra.

The flinch is one of the most distress-ing shooting problems around. It usual-ly develops slowly and is suddenly justthere—a full-blown miss machine. No-body wants it, and once acquired, it isdevilishly difficult to get over. The pre-vailing theory is that a flinch is thebody's subconscious reaction to painfulstimuli, be it stiff recoil, fierce muzzleblast—or both. The body wants toshrink away from pain.

Americans have an unholy fascinationwith powerful ammo. Whether for rifles,

s h o t g u n s ,or pistols,"biggest isbest" is theA m e r i c a nway. Andsadly, weseldom askourselves ifwe can han-dle thatk i c k i n g ,b e l l o w i n gr o u n d .Even sad-der, manyshooters re-fuse to ad-mit they can't, and shoot their way intoa perhaps incurable flinch.

I once saw a fellow show up for an ex-pensive plantation turkey hunt with abrand-new magnum shotgun and thebiggest, baddest turkey loads on themarket. To check the guns, the targetwas set at 30 yards.

That shooter flinched so badly that hisshot load plowed (literally) into theground 30 feet in front of his firing po-sition—five consecutive times! He wentback to the lodge loudly protesting thathe had been sold a bum gun. After hewas gone, one of the guides banged the

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target dead on with it.To cure a flinch, back off the big stuff.

Frequent but brief practice sessions withthe lightest loads in heavy guns are theticket. Remove the pain from the shoot-ing equation. You have to convince yoursubconscious that you won't hurt your-self anymore. When you resume hunt-ing, use the lightest loads that will getthe job done.Fowl Fact

HEAVY HITTERS Many modernmagnum shotgun loads produce recoilcomparable to that of the ammo used inAfrican big game rifles.

085_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:00 AM Page 1


f lows, al lowing sediment to settle and f i l lditches over time. The cut grass also serves asa seed source to help new grass become estab-lished once ditches begin to fill with sediment.Protected and restored tidal salt marsh willprovide foraging, migration, and winteringhabitat for a variety of waterfowl, includingblack ducks, pintai ls, mallards, gadwalls,American wigeon, Atlantic brant, and Canadageese.

Make Sure Your Shotgun Fits Shotgun fit" is a term of vague familiarity to

most duck hunters. They've heard it, butthey've never really understood what a propershotgun fit entails and how it can af fect theirshooting ability.

Instead, most hunters select a factory gunof f the rack, and if it "feels right," they pur-chase it and start hunting with it – imprecise,but ef fective for the majority.

This is because most mass-produced shot-guns come with factory stocks made for theshooter of average size, and the shooter adaptsto the shotgun. Still, hunters should have anidea of what fit is all about and how to tellwhether or not their gun might, indeed, needmodifications to provide a better fit. Some-times it's necessary to adapt the shotgun tothe shooter instead of vice versa.

Here's the concept. A shotgun that fits isone that feels comfortable to its shooter, andwhen mounted, is a projection of the naturalsymmetry of his arms, head and eyes. In other

DU Explores New Salt MarshRestoration Technique

In early 2010, DU received a $75,000 NorthAmerican Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA)grant and partnered with the U.S. F ish andWildlife Service to test experimental tech-niques to restore ditched tidal salt marshes onthe Parker River National Wild l ife Refuge(NWR) in Massachusetts and the Rachel Car-son NWR in Maine. Located less than 40 milesapart, these refuges were established to pro-vide important migration and wintering habitatfor waterfowl and shorebirds along the northAtlantic coast.

Unfortunately, coastal states from Virginiato Maine have lost up to 74 percent of theirhistorical wetlands. By the 1930s, more than90 percent of the salt marshes in the north-eastern United States had been ditched formosquito control. Ditching reduces habitat di-versity in marshes by eliminating natural pondsand pannes that provide open water for forag-ing birds. This practice also drains marsh poolsand lowers water levels, allowing shrubs andexotic vegetation to replace valuable wetlandhabitat.

This project wil l permanently protect 33acres and restore 14 acres of tidal salt marshhabitat on Parker River NWR and restore anoth-er 20 acres of tidal salt marsh on Rachel Car-son NWR. Marsh restoration techniques includemowing existing salt marsh, rolling cut grassinto log-shaped bundles, and staking the bun-dles in ditches. The grass structures slow tidal

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words, when a shotgun fits, it rises fluidly tothe shoulder and cheek with the shooter's eyesaligned naturally down the barrel without himhaving to think about it. This causes the shot-gun to f low and point precisely where theshooter is looking. In contrast, a shotgun withimproper fit feels clumsy in the mount and failsto achieve proper sight alignment naturally.

Steve Felgenhauer is a factory gunsmith forBrowning Arms, and he of fers practical adviceabout fit for hunters buying a factory shotgun."F irst, when you mount a shotgun, check to seehow much distance there is between yourthumb and your nose as you're looking downthe barrel. You need at least an inch of separa-tion. With any less, there's a likelihood of re-coi l (especial ly when shooting heavy duckloads) causing your hand to strike your nose.This obviously breaks a shooter's concentra-tion and negatively impacts his accuracy."

Felgenhauer says stock length is another im-portant consideration. "A shotgun with a stockthat's the right length in warm weather whenyou're wearing one thin layer of clothes may betoo long when it's cold and you're wearing sev-eral layers of heavy clothing. This can be reme-died by adding a recoil boot in warm months toincrease stock length and then taking it of fduring cold months."

Felgenhauer says another way to adjuststock length is to add or remove spacers thatcome with most guns in front of the recoil pad.He also notes that in extreme cases, a woodenstock may be shortened by cutting it to a de-sired length.

When it comes to getting a proper sight pic-

ture, Felgenhauer says this is a matter of per-sonal preference. "Some hunters like to seepart of the rib and the bead. Others want to seethe bead only. This is a matter of whateverworks best for the individual."

Felgenhauer says the best way to discernwhat works best is to take a shotgun to a traprange and shoot straightaway targets repeat-edly. "Just see what feels right and what sightpicture is working best.

Then make whatever stock adjustments youneed to to get that sight picture without havingto think about it."

Overall, Felgenhauer says most hunters canget a reasonable fit by making their own ad-justments to their shotguns. However, a dis-criminating shooter may consider working witha qualified gun fitter to alter the stock on ashotgun or to replace the factory stock with acustomized, made-to-fit stock. Obviously thisoption requires more expense on the shooter'spart to achieve the high quality he demands.

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086_001.qxd 10/29/12 5:37 AM Page 1


son I choose yellow. Black labs are great in the timber,brush, plowed fields, stubble, etc., and are the primarychoice of most hunters. So really it’s up to you andyour hunting situation.

Now what size dog do you want? A small 50lb dog?75-80 or a bruiser 90-100? In my opinion and expe-rience if I am primarily duck hunting, the small dog isfine. Head to Canada where the dog retrieves 40 largeCanada’s a day or Colorado where the limit is 4 andthat’s a workout for a small dog. I prefer a 70-80lbdog. It’s big enough for all geese and small enough tohide. So be sure to check out the parents to find thesize.

So now start the process of training, pups chewingup everything in sight etc. Start training right away,just hope you have the time and patience for this! Itwill take all of it. So when do we send the pup to thetrainer? A lot is according to the size of your wallet.Trainers are from $400-$1200 a month. I would per-sonally do all I could until 6 months (or when they losetheir baby teeth) and send them there.

Force breaking should start then. I personally thinkthat’s the #1 most important thing a dog should gothrough and it’s the toughest! Usually that’s when youfind out if he or she is going to make it after that. If thedog’s spirits aren’t broke after that and is full of lifeyou got a good one. If after 30 days the dog just does-n’t have the drive, best to put it up for sale. Thatsounds cruel, but stop and save yourself a lot of moneyor make yourself a great house dog.

After force breaking the dog usually kicks into gear.It takes a lot of time everyday or a lot of money at agood trainer. So to finish the dog plan on a fewmonths.

There is nothing like experience for any dog. Put-ting ducks and geese in their mouths is actually whatmakes a dog. I’ve seen some of the best bumper/trialdogs be totally lost in the field. Its just lack of experi-

Duck Hunter Dream Dog

by Jeff FoilesFirst of all I’ll say I have been blessed with my last 5-

6 dogs! They say you will get one good dog in his yourlife. Well I beg to differ; it’s like anything else if youwant it bad enough you can get it.

There is a lot of difference between “man’s bestfriend” and the dog that is used basically as a “tool ofthe trade”. Now don’t get upset by that, but outfit-ters, guides, and people like myself making DVDs etc,have to have a good one! Not just the fat one who lieson the couch and eats crumbs and table scraps. A re-al go getter!

It can all start a lot of different ways:Buying & Training a Pup. That absolutely can be

very rewarding, but be prepared, there is a lot thatgoes into that! Most of the time more than we expect.You start by finding a good breeder, checking out theDam & the Sire. Bottom line, you breed curs you getcurs. This doesn’t always mean you will get the bestone but your chances are so much higher. You can ex-pect to pay from $300-$1500 for a well breed pup.

Color - Black, Yellow, or Chocolate? I’ve had themall and I have both black and yellow now, but I lean to-wards yellow as they blend into my type of hunting ter-rain better. If you are hunting corn, barley, wheat,etc, yellow blends right in and black stands out like asore thumb. Even though I have them in a box, MuttHutt, etc., sometimes they get caught retrieving a birdto you and geese are coming. If you have the dog justlay down he blends in way easy! So that’s the only rea-

ence there. I can’t tell you how many so called “greatdogs” I’ve seen show up at the club and make com-plete fools out of their masters and ruin a good huntfor the owner, only because they hadn’t been in the en-vironment. For example, if you hunt on the river, make

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sure the dog takes plenty of prior boat rides, sits oncommand, so he’s not running all over the boat.

Next month more on training a good duck huntingdog. Good Huntin, Strait Meat Jeff

My trainer is: Bill Leitner, 309-357-1622

087_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:30 AM Page 1


Only 1000 Tickets available!$25 each or 3 for $50

GOOD LUCK!!!!

24 Days of Christmas2012 Raffle

ALL Proceeds to Benefit Our Local Youth Programs!

24 Days of Christmas2012 Raffle

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including the RangerGrip, EvoWood and EvoGrip Se-ries’.

The Ranger-Grip 90 builds onthe successfullaunch of theRangerGrip Seriesin 2009, and fea-tures the firstever Ranger knifecomplete withhighly functionalpliers and a wood saw. This nine implement, 15 func-tion knife is also equipped with needle nose pliers, awire cutter, screwdriver and adapter bits, cuttingreamer and awl with sewing eye (developed for globaladventurer and Wenger Ambassador Mike Horn), ametal saw and a single hand opening blade with safe-ty-lock. The RangerGrip 90 has an MSRP of $179.95.

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The popular EvoWoodSeries, first introduced in2010, has been updatedwith three new models, allof which offering thesame distinctive SwissWalnut Handles. TheRangerWood 55 is theepitome of safety,strength and versatilityand is designed to be asfunctional as it is aesthetically pleasing. This knife of-fers seven implements with 11 different functions in-cluding a wood saw, corkscrew, screwdriver and largeblade. The RangerWood 55 has an MSRP of $124.95.

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Wenger 2012 Knife CollectionGreat for Holiday Gift GivingNew Blackout Series Of fers Stylish Design & Exceptional Functionality

Wenger, Maker of the Genuine Swiss Army Knife,has introduced a new family of highly durable and styl-ish knives, the Blackout Series, here at the 2012 Out-door Retailer Show. The three-knife Blackout Serieswill also feature the popular EvoGrip and RangerGriphandle designs, and a variety of tool configurations forusers from the knife enthusiast to the outdoorsmen,and everyone in between. With as many as nine imple-ments and 13 different functions, the Blackout Seriesincorporates the exceptional functionality and Swisscraftsmanship found in every Wenger Swiss ArmyKnife.

Aptly named Blackout, each of the three models inthe series is encased in two black gloss EvoGrip han-dles with non-slip, flat-black rubber inserts. Open anytool and the black PVD coating quickly becomes thecenter of attention. The Physical Vapor Deposition(PVD) finish on every implement is non-reflective,durable, very hard and scratchproof. Chosen by someof the best watch makers in the world, as well as high-performance engine manufacturers, PVD is as attrac-tive as it is re-silient.

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The final addition in theSeries is the BlackoutRangerGrip 52 which utilizesthe signature RangerGriphandle and provides a textur-ized non-slip rubber inlayembedded in four areas ofthe knife where the handlemakes contact. This versatileknife offers three implements serving three functions,including a large PVD coated blade, which makes thisknife a perfect addition to the already successfulRangerGrip collection. The Blackout RangerGrip 52has an MSRP of $87.95.

Additionally, for 2012 Wenger has added a varietyof new knives to several of its existing product lines,

088_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:41 AM Page 1


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This fall I finally was able to realize my life-long dream of hunting for moose

in Alaska. I went with friend KevinBoyer and met up with 2 other friends,

Phil Lincoln who lives in Anchorageand Alan Stewart. We took a float

plane in to a remote lake on Sat. Sept15 and shot this bull. He may look bigin the photos but I promise he is even

bigger in person. Just imagine a Clydesdale horse with 100 pounds ofantler on his head and you have an

Alaskan moose; words and pictures justcan’t do it justice. Hope you all have

a great hunting season!

Well The Lord keeps sending blessings myway! I shot this 176-inch 6 year old 6x6

buck on the evening of Friday Oct. 5 andhave it all on video. I have watched this

buck grow up on my farm since he was a 2year old. I passed dozens of shooting

opportunities at him for 4 years and havemost of those on video. I also have

hundreds of trail camera photos and 3complete sets of shed antlers from him. Hadgood friends Kevin Boyer, Al Foster, Kyle

Heuerman and Lee Mitchell with me todaywhen we found him. There will be bigger

bucks killed this fall but very few will have the kind of history I have with thisold warrior. Congratulations & thanks to Don for sharing his trophies with

ASO. Wow a beautiful Alaskan moose and a monster buck…way to go!

092_001.qxd 10/29/12 6:20 AM Page 1


mid-lake rock humps and transitions (rockto mud) are also popular. “Fall is trophytime,” he said. While fishing for walleyes,he expects to contact numerous pike, withmany of the “teeners” eating everything insight in late October and November.

Al Freidig, past president of the LakeRegion Anglers fishing club agreed withCandle and said most of his biggestwalleyes come every fall. He favors trollingleadcore with crankbaits on rock piles andridges of roadbeds. He was instrumental ina community wide effort to create one ofthe few 4-seasons fish cleaning stations inthe country. “This effort involved manyorganizations, with anglers benefitingtremendously,” he said.

The fish-cleaning station will be open byChristmas, in time for the famous DevilsLake perch ice fishing season. “Hey, wall-eye and pike anglers flock to Devils Lakewhen it’s hard, also,” Freidig said. Located

just south of Ed’s Bait Shop on Hwy 20(south of the city of Devils Lake), the 20 x32 building will be able to handle 15anglers at one time. It has two grinders, aseparate clean-up sink, a handicappedbathroom, will be heated (A/C for sum-mer), plenty of parking for trucks and trail-ers, will be well-lit, and be accessed with acoded entry.

The code will be available at Ed’s BaitShop between 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. “Bestaspect of the new cleaning facility is thatit’s free for all to use!” he said. The LakeRegion anglers donated 25 percent of thecost; the North Dakota Game and Fishdepartment added the remainder of themoney. The Greater Ramsey WaterDistrict did the sewer and water connec-tions. Assistance also came from the DevilsLake Chamber of Commerce, the City ofDevils Lake, Ramsey County and the ParkBoard.

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FALL IS TROPHYWALLEYE TIME FOR

DEVILS LAKE WALLEYES

by Kevin BonhamDevils Lake Convention

& Visitors Bureau

“Walleye dreams become a reality everyfall here on Devils Lake,” said NorthDakota guide and professional anglerJohnnie Candle. “All my biggest fish havecome in the fall; it’s what I call trophy wall-eye time.”

Open water fishing usually runs untilmid-November, with all areas of the lakebecoming very productive. “The manyyear-classes of fish are equally distributed,but the 26 to 30 inchers show up now,” theworld champion said. Devils Lake hasexpanded in the past 30 years to some200,000 acres, consisting of many “lakeswithin lakes.” He urged anglers to select anarea and stick to it, “Launch and fish thatpiece of Devils Lake. The fish will bethere.”

When compared to the heydays of sum-mer, Candle said the typical 100-fish daysmight drop to 35 walleyes in a day, withmost measuring more than 20 inches.“The fish profile changes in fall,” heemphasized. That’s why he breaks icemany mid- to late-November mornings topound away at the fish.

Candle’s fall walleye fishing has beennarrowed down to a few simple points:

** Fish the steepest drops nearest deepwater;

** Many of these are flooded road beds;** 14 to 22 feet of water are good depths;** Where the steep break meets the mud

basin, expect walleyes;** Roadbeds and main-lake points with

rocks can be the best;** Use a GPS map to locate roads (or

watch the shoreline);** Troll crankbaits – Salmo Hornets,

Rapala Shad Raps and Berkley FlickerShads are tops.

Candle trolls straight behind the boat,trying to keep lures in the exact zone wherethe steep break transitions to the bottom.“Walleyes love to eat ‘em, and we coverwater,” he said. Some of the roadbeds and“spots” run for miles. Watching sonarunits helps anglers concentrate and circleback on active schools of trophy walleyes.

Candle also fishes the many bridges,especially when any breeze creates a currentflow. He works the downstream side ofbridges, vertical jigging with Gulp! or min-nows, much like he would in a river. Deep-water jigging and rigging major points and

093_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:19 PM Page 1


problem. This tree stand is designed for crookedtrees.

Simple hardware is used tomake setup quick and easy. Easi-ly adjustable.

Comfortable seat rotates 360degrees to facilitate safe entryand exit from the stand.360 degree rotation al-lows you to silently turnto view your surround-ings. Allows full mobilitywhile in the stand. Seatpost is adjustable foryour height and is de-signed to allow your feetto rest comfortably on the platform. When properlyadjusted, this stand allows you to take your shot seat-ed or standing.

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Attach the 3rd Link to the mounting bracket andraise the platform and attach to the platform. You cannow level the base left to right and tighten the 4 boltsto 30 foot pounds so they are secure. The mountingplate will no longer move. Next, adjust the 3rd Link tolevel the platform front to back.

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The Johnson 360 Tree stand is the first and onlytree stand built for crooked trees up to a 45 degreeangle. Nearly every tree stand available prior to this in-novation required a tree that was nearly vertical. Thisseverely limited your selection of hunting locations.

The Ultimate one of akind tree stand. Fully ad-justable horizontally andvertically. Fits in virtuallyany tree. Comfortableseat is adjustable to re-duce fatigue.Seat ro-tates 360 degrees forsafer entry and full visi-bility. Doesn't limit your mobility. 100% AmericanMade. Designed to handle crooked trees.This stand makes the difference between a 50 yardshot and a 15 yard shot. The Johnson 360 is puttingyou exactly where you need to be.

Johnson Tree Stands are developed by Jeremy John-son, an avid archery hunter from North Central Ne-braska. After 20 years of hunting from various blindsand tree stands he learned that there are none thatwork well in the gnarly trees of Nebraska. They forceyou to lean forward fatiguing the back and they limitmobility when taking a shot.

Tired of the laundry list of defects with the various

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Jeremy began producing units for his friends andfamily and working out the bugs to produce a treestand system that is unique among all of the standsavailable. He figured when people started stealing hisstands, they had to be good enough to share with oth-er hunters.

The Johnson 360 allows you to place your treestand where the game is. Our unique mounting systemallows you to level the tree stand platform on a tree orlarge limb up to 45 degrees and our rotating seat al-lows you to more safely use the stand as well as viewyour area in all directions.

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095_001.qxd 10/29/12 9:20 AM Page 1


son, Jeremy Meyers, Club President Nate Hoffman,and Ashley Lathrop.)

I was hoping to write this story with pictures oftheir Elk hunt. However, this hunting trip for the clubwas filled with a lifetime of memories with family andfriends. I’m hoping next year the club will be back to goafter the elk of their dreams.

High Altitude Hunting Keli Meets Sugar Hill Archery Club

Most of elk hunting occurs above 8,000-feet, themajority of the animals you’re hunting are going to beat higher altitudes. Starting in August, thousands ofhunters from east of the Continental Divide convergeon the Rocky Mountains to hunt elk. Most will experi-ence the hunting trip of a lifetime, whether they tagout or not.

However, some will spend the first couple of daysfeeling terrible. And, though it’s rare, a small percent-age could succumb to much more serious health prob-lems associated with the high country. Hunters whorush from their home at lower altitudes into the moun-tains run the risk of suffering from acute mountainsickness (AMS), more commonly known as altitudesickness.

AMS generally manifests itself in symptoms such as

by Keli Van Cleave

I spend a lot of time checking out the latest andgreatest gadgets, widgets, and what-have-you’s thatwill make a hunt easier or better. Bringing the rightgear on a high altitude hunt can make or break yourtrip. Maybe writing for this magazine provided thebest tool this year as I met a great bunch of hunters.You can find Sugar Hill Archery Club on Facebook.

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headache, shortness of breath, nausea and loss of ap-petite. Generally, its consequences are not much moreserious than losing the first couple of days of the hunt.

Cell phone coverage is unreliable at high alti-tudes.!Coverage may be inconsistent, and in case of avehicle problem, some drive to the nearest Midasstore. This is where this story really begins. Sugar HillArchery Club members brought their truck in for serv-ice at the Fort Collins, Colorado Midas and sat in thelobby to find a copy of ASO Magazine. The Sugar HillArchery club is from Goodfield, IL which is around thecorner from ASO magazines birth place.

As luck should have it, I was also at Midas and metthe Sugar Hill Archery Club members. (From left toright in the Midas van photo; Mike Lathrop, Kyle Wat-

Contact Keli at: [email protected] www.PinkOutdoors.com www.KeliVanCleave.com

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While we were packing up our fishing gear, Fabioreappeared to get the fishing report. A quick glance athis poles to make sure they were intact and he asked,“You catch Piranha Preta?” holding his hands approxi-mately 12 to14 inches apart to demonstrate the size ofthe fish. I shook my head and gave him a puzzled look.He said, “Good to eat, very big piranha.” When Ishowed him the pictures of our catch a big smile spreadacross his face and said, “I need glasses, those fish aretiny” and started laughing, slapped Skip on his backand walked into the jungle. What was the PiranhaPreta? I was now on a quest to catch this elusive fish.From the view on the rope bridge, my husband and Ispotted a sandy point on the beach where the Rio NegroRiver ran into a small canal and lagoon. As any anglerknows, the point where two bodies of water meet usu-ally indicates a good fishing spot. Tomorrow we wouldventure out of the canopy and into the lagoon in searchof this mysterious fish.

After our morning ritual of coffee and breakfast onthe porch with the squirrel monkeys in the AmazonRainforest, we put on our hiking boots, packed the fish-

ing gear and headedinto the jungle.Upon emerging fromthe dense foliageand into a clearingwe discovered a hid-den jewel. It was apristine beach sur-rounded with

marshes and a canal from the Rio Negro leading into asmall lagoon. Exotic birds were feeding in the grassbeds along the water’s edge and the murky water wasalive with activity. My eyes quickly scanned the muddybanks for any sign of caimans. Sure enough, I spotteda couple of trails along the water’s edge. We weregoing to have to be cautious.

With baited hooks of raw meat, we cast along aweed line not more than four feet from the shore.Immediately we had action and landed a red-belly. Thewater was churning and the piranha were in a feedingfrenzy. It wasn’t long before we had another stringer ofbrightly colored piranhas. I decided to cast out beyondthe weed bed but, using the cane pole, I just couldn’treach it. With my love for wading, I decided to ventureinto the shallows in my hiking boots. Not a good idea. Iimmediately sunk in mud up to my knees. At the sametime, I heard my husband shout “Caiman on your left!Get out of the water!” I saw the familiar triangle ofeyes and nose sticking out of the weeds watching mefrom about a 15 foot distance. I had invaded his terri-tory and he was keeping a vigilant eye on me. I peddledbackwards as quickly as I could, safe again on land.Okay, wading was not going to be an option today. All of

this additional commotionin the water set the pira-nha on fire. More churn-ing and boiling, however,this time it was different.I now spotted black finsrising out of the water.Could it be the black pira-nha? Skip and I gave eachother a look and startedcasting. There were notime for words. The piranha preta suddenly arrivedand were churning right in front of us. They attackedimmediately, aggressive and strong, this was going tobe a good fight. No problem setting the hook on thesemonsters. I had to drag the fish through the weed bed,hoping and praying all the time that I wouldn’t have tofight with the caiman over my prized catch. When itfinally landed on shore, I stepped on it, gently releasingthe hook and keeping my fingers as far away from themouth as possible. Vicious and aggressive by nature,their mouths are lined with rows of sharp teeth thatcould easily take off a finger.

With no bucket for our fish, Skip dug a deep hole inthe sand, threw the fish in it and covered them for pro-tection from the birds. We kept fishing and he landedtwo more. Then, just as quickly as it began, the boilingand churning stopped and our window of opportunityhad disappeared. The blazing heat from the jungle sunwas bearing down on us and the fish had retreated todeeper waters.

I can only imagine what a sight we must have beento the newly arrived tree house guests as we returned

from the jungle. I was caked in mud up to my knees,slinging a makeshift stringer of red and yellow pira-nha. Skip had his hands full of black piranha and bloodwas running down his arm from an incident with sharpteeth. Fabio met us with a proud smile on his face. Ihanded him the poles back with a hug of gratitude.Mission accomplished, I had conquered the PiranhaPreta. That evening we dined on delicious piranhasoup.

When we returned home to Florida, one of our firstpriorities was a trip to the local bait and tackle shop.We put together a care package for Fabio. It includeda new spinning rod and plenty of extra hooks, weightsand line. With hopes and prayers that it would arrive inthe jungle safely, we mailed it to Brazil. About a monthlater, I received a post on my Facebook page. No noteattached, just a blurry picture of Fabio holding his newspinning rod in one hand, tackle in the other, andwearing a very big smile. No words necessary.

Nici Haerter is a professional musician,freelance writer and avid angler.

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The Adventures of Anita Williams…

The Wild WestI step off the plane and into what can

only be described as a scene in a Westernmovie. An Indian on horseback pulls hisbow and is frozen in time. Art mimickinglife from years gone by. Will I be able toduplicate the scene? I wait for my bow andthe rest of my luggage to circle on the con-veyor belt. Billy waves to me and we pickup my gear and head to his truck.

I watch the Gillette airport get small inmy rear view mirror and I know my WildWest adventure has begun. Dust swirls be-hind us as we pull into the driveway andmake our way to the ranch. Billy informs

me that Ryanwill be myguide. I am in-structed to un-pack my thingsand get dressedin my huntingclothes. I madeit just in time tohit the badlandsfor the eveninghunt.

The sun isstarting to looseher strength as Iprepare to sit in the blind for the eveninghunt. Ah, Wyoming! Known as the Equal-ity State, a state where women have knownmuch success. I am hopeful for my firstmule deer buck and I feel confident know-ing that Wyoming has a long tradition ofpaving the way for successful women. Thefirst female governor was elected here andalso the first female justice of the peace.

I pull my cap over my blonde ponytail asI jump in the truck. Ryan continues to tellme that Wyoming is so sparsely populatedit ranks second least populated in the Unit-ed States and more than 40% of the land isowned by the US government. That is whythere are wide open spaces here. It is a greatplateau broken by many mountain ranges.

The smell of sage brush and dry earthswirl around my face as we near the ridgewhere I will be hunting. We get out and

Ryan unzips the camouflage pop up blindand I enter the blackness inside. I havehunted with Ryan before. We move quick-ly and quietly to organize my bow and setup my Ozonics Scent elimination unit.This is important for me as I did not havetime to take a no scent shower after travel-ing. The machine will neutralize my scentallowing me to be un-detected amongst themule deer.

I see a doe and her fawn pop over theridge and head my way. My guide sits mo-tionless and nods in the direction of thedeer. Moments pass and a buck comes stot-ting (he appears to bounce as he puts allfour feet down together) in my direction.

Mule deer are known for their large earsand they differ from whitetail deer not onlyfrom the size of their ears but by the colorof the tail. They have a black tip on the tail.The buck’s antler rack is configured differ-ently. They are bifurcated, in other wordsthey ‘fork’ as they grow rather than branch-ing from a single main beam. I look at therack and then at my guide. He shakes hishead back and forth signaling to me thatthere will be a larger one. I must be patient.

He is beautiful and I take a deep breathto gain my composure. I pick up my bow

and peer into thehorizon as I watchseveral more deerapproach. Darkcomes quickly nowand the sun is set-ting. I sit motion-less and watch.The chill in the airwraps around mealthough I refuse togive way to theshiver working itsway up my spine. Igaze over my

guides shoulder and notice large shadowylike bodies pass three feet from our huntingblind. I look at Ryan with eyes wide openas I hook my release onto my string. Thereare two large bucks right in front of me.My guide gives the signal that one is a 4 by4 with tall tines. I pull my bow back and re-lease the arrow.

Thwack! A solid hit. We watch as thebuck runs toward the valley. “It is darknow, let’s get something to eat and get agood night’s rest and come back to get himin the daylight’. My guide spoke with con-fidence. My exhaustion over took the ex-citement of my first mule deer hunt.Morning would come quickly and I said aprayer of thanksgiving as I closed my eyes.

The men were up at day break and sad-dled their horses. They would navigate thevalley on horseback. I waited patiently. Igot the call a while later from Billy that hehad my buck and would bring it home.

I couldn’t help thinking about this vastcountry and the many opportunities forEquality that all started right here inWyoming. And as I look across the bad-lands I feel a sense of accomplishment too.I arrowed a mule deer buck in the WildWest!

Anita Williams & Jim ZumboSHE HUNTS, HE COOKS

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098_001.qxd 10/29/12 10:23 AM Page 1


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MULE DEER WITH GINGER

by Jim Zumbo

Mule deer often get a bum rap because theirflesh is often considered to be “gamey.” This isespecially true of rutting bucks. This recipewas developed to counter the “off” taste. Theingredients easily neutralize any wild taste.This recipe can be applied to any venison,whether it’s gamey or not.2 pounds deer steak1/3 cup peeled, minced ginger root.2 medium onions, sliced2 cloves garlic, minced1 teaspoon sugar3/4 cup soy sauce3 TBSP olive oil 2 TBSP cornstarch

Slice steaks across the grain into 1/4 inchstrips. Put venison, minced ginger, slicedonions, and garlic into glass bowl. Combinesugar and soy sauce and pour over meat, mix-ing meat thoroughly. Cover and allow to mar-

inate for at least a half hour. Heat oil and cook meat mixture in wok or

skillet. Cook until well done. Add cornstarchand continue to cook, stirring constantly until

most liquid is cooked off. Add additional soysauce to taste.

This dish can be served over cooked noo-dles or rice.

Connie Boyd shot this turkeywith her bow back in Oct.

2002. It was her first turkeytaken with a bow. The Tomwas an 11-pound jake taken

in Rock Island County. Not abig one but since it was herfirst taken with a bow it waspretty big deal! So she wasreally excited…This one

came to a call which is kindof rare in the fall.

Congrats to Connie…Way to go with

this 2002 archery kill.Connie is the assistantmanager at E-Z Livin'Sports Center in Milan.Stop by for supplies and

accessories for the outdoor world, either hunting or fishing.

MEMORIES…

099_001.qxd 10/29/12 10:49 AM Page 1


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RECIPERECIPEFOR A FOR A

BOWHUNTERBOWHUNTERBy paying atten-

tion to all the ingredi-ents and following somehelpful hints—creat-ing a bow huntress hasnever been easier.

Selecting the rightperson is paramount insuccessfully complet-

ing this recipe. Look for someone who exhibits some ofthe following characteristics:

Shows an interest in the outdoorsLikes to eat wild game or at least try itBelieves in conservationWilling to try something newKnows someone who huntsThe following characteristics are helpful but not

necessaryHas hunted with a gunThinks camouflage is a colorDoesn’t faint at the sight of bloodIs willing to sit with someone in a blindAfter the person has been identified it is important

to introduce programs or classes designed to furtherexplain the art and skills needed to be a bow huntress.

Add then mix well after each addition several of thefollowing:

Seek out community education classes that offer

archery instruction.Check out newspaper announcement for introduc-

tory archery events sponsored by a local archery shopor a sportsmen’s organization.

View movies like the Hunger Games or televisionseries like Revolution or Arrow that promote the use ofbows and arrows by the main characters.

Sporting events, deer classics and turkey exposoften have shooting booths whereattendee can be shown proper form andtechnique in a fun but controlled envi-ronment.

As interest rises cream togethermore structured events:

Weekend workshops hosted byBecoming and Outdoors Woman orWomen in the Outdoors that are avail-able throughout the year.

Attend an International BowhunterEducation Program.

Fold in a mentor who will take time to show how touse various turkey or deer calls, equipment and scout-ing techniques.

Sprinkle in large amounts of encouragement fromfamily and friends.

Katrina and Sharon are two bowhunters new to theoutdoors. Both took advantage of state, local and pri-vate opportunities which brought them successes this

year. For the past two years Becomingand Outdoors Woman, ChilakootBowhunters Club, North CountryBowhunters Chapter of SCI and A-1Archery worked together to put a bow inwomen’s’ hands and worked with themto become confident archers. For thewomen who wanted to step over theshooting line and into the woods theyprovided mentored deer and turkeyhunts. The icing on this 2-year recipewas a semi-guided hunt with

Tombstone Creek Outfitters located in northernMissouri. So get cooking and see what comes out ofthe oven.

Until next month, don’t forget to take your daugh-ter, granddaughter or niece bowhunting.

by MarleneOdahlen-Hinz

Katrina’sfirst turkey

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Sharon’s1st

turkey &

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100_001.qxd 10/29/12 11:07 AM Page 1


River OtterTrapping Legal

Again After 83-Year BanBy Chuck Sudo

Illinois furbearer enthusiasts takenote: For the first time since 1929, youcan legally dust off those otter traps.Legislation this week authorized thestate’s first trapping season for riverotters in 83 years.

Lontra canadensis was abundant inthe region before European settlement.Habitat loss and unchecked harvestingcut the mustelids down to vanishinglysmall numbers by the 20th century,but reintroduction in 1994 produced adramatic recovery. Once classified“state endangered,” with fewer than100 estimated statewide, Illinois' riverotters could number 30,000 withintwo years.

Their rebound has been so successfulotters have even returned to theChicago area — an idea one IDNRbiologist said, “would have beenunheard of just a few years ago.”(Perhaps sic ’em on our invasive carp?)

The DNR is authorized to establish atrapping season between Nov. 1 andMarch 31 during any year; this year itwill begin Nov. 5 in areas north of I-72, and Nov. 10 to the south. Ottersare born between January and May andcan breed when they’re just one yearold.

River otters can grow to more thanfour feet in length, including the tail.That yields a pelt worth up to $100.They’re also cute enough to merit theirown Facebook group. But if you canresist anthropomorphizing the semi-

aquatic weasels, trapping season awaits.Thanks to: www.chicagoist.com

Interesting Facts About River Otters At 35 to 53 inches from tip to tip,

the river otter is Illinois' largest mem-ber of the weasel family. A stout tailmakes up about 30 to 40 percent of itstotal body length. An otter uses its taillike a rudder while swimming. Adultsweigh 10 to 25 pounds; males areabout one third larger than females.Otters have a broad, slightly flattenedhead, large nosepad, stiff, bristlywhiskers, small black eyes and smallrounded ears. Their bodies are muscu-lar and torpedo-shaped, allowing themto move easily through water. The legsare short and have five fully-webbedtoes on each foot. The fur is darkbrown or reddish brown on the backand light brown, tan or silver on thethroat and belly.

Distribution & AbundanceRiver otters were common and found

throughout Illinois during earlyEuropean settlement. Unregulated har-vest and habitat loss caused their num-bers to decline during the mid-1800s,and sightings were rare by the early1900s. The trapping season was closedbeginning in 1929, but this didn't helpmuch. Pollution was a major problemuntil the 1970s, when many laws wereenacted to improve water quality in ourstreams and rivers.

River otters were listed as a state threat-ened species in 1977. Their status wasdowngraded to state endangered in1989. It's likely that fewer than 100otters existed in Illinois at this time.The largest concentration lived alongthe Mississippi River and its backwa-ters in northwestern Illinois. A smallerpopulation occurred along the CacheRiver in the southern tip of the state.

The IDNR started working on arecovery plan in the early 1990s. Thechances of success seemed goodbecause habitat and water quality hadimproved in many parts of the state.Also, the state's beaver population wasat near-record numbers (beaver damscreate excellent otter habitat) and thestate was engaging in some majorefforts to conserve wetlands and wood-ed areas along streams and rivers.

From 1994 through 1997, 346 otters

were brought from Louisiana andreleased in southeastern and centralIllinois. The populations expandedtheir status was upgraded from stateendangered to state threatened in1999, and they were delisted in 2004.

Recovery efforts have been wildlysuccessful. A study by Southern IllinoisUniversity estimated that the numberof river otters in release areas grew tomore than 8,400 in 2009 (about 1 otterper 5 square miles). This estimate doesnot include parts of western and south-ern Illinois where releases were notmade because otters had colonizedthese areas naturally. DNR estimatesthat nearly 11,000 otters occurredstatewide in 2009. This is expected togrow to more than 30,000 by 2014 ifleft unchecked.

Problems caused by otters havegrown along with the population. Mostproblems stem from predation of fishin stocked ponds or aquaculture facili-ties. Effects of predation on natural fishcommunities have not been document-ed in Illinois, but the possibility existsgiven findings of studies in Missouri.Predation by otters was a major sourceof mortality for small alligator snap-ping turtles released in a stream insouthern Illinois as part of an effort torestore this endangered reptile.

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101_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:30 PM Page 1


when the little rodent, who I named Strawberry as perthe pattern on the towel she loved to sleep in, began toopen her eyes and then eat raw foods. She fell in lovewith Nectarines. If I offered her a slice of this delicatefruit she went nutty. Speaking of nuts, we soon foundout that she adored pecans. This change in diet took afew weeks until she was eating only fruits, nuts andvegetables and completely refused the formula.

Now she was a squirrel. For certain she was nolonger the adorable blind baby, but now a full-fledgedtree rat with claws and teeth – not that she ever meantto scratch anyone, only that she could not help thatnature had made her that way – with what felt liketalons gripping your skin where they should be grippingtree bark. I’m no Hickory, I enjoy lotions and perfumesand soft skin, so I stopped handling her. For one, I fig-ured it would be better in the long-run to have lessphysical human contact, and for two, I was tired of thepaper-cut thin scratches she was leaving on my armsand hands.

Jesse Dale, on the other hand, had been taken by lit-tle strawberry. He had no problem letting her jumponto his shoulder and eat her breakfast there. All of thesudden I was chop liver. Never mind the late nights andearly mornings – Jesse was it. So it was that the babyhad chosen the affections of papa over momma. Thefinal few weeks before we released her were filled withcountless happy moments watching her antics – thecat trying once again to “play” with her and watchingher like a hawk in her cage, the squirrel attempting toleap from Jesse’s shoulder onto our kitchen cabinetsonly the find that after humans get done with a tree itis nothing more than a smooth, flat surface with no

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squirrel.What uncurled in front of my eyes after unwrapping

the thing from one of my camo jackets we used tosnatch the creature from the cat, was about the mostpathetic-looking few ounces of adorable I’ve everseen. And I’ve seen puppies and kittens and chicks andducklings, etc., etc. What I’m telling you: baby squir-rels are cute. You are powerless to their pink belliesand fuzz—they are all arms and legs and a large nog-gin at first—so awkward, so irresistible.

With no-telling where the cat had retrieved the poorcritter from, I knew it would certainly die if I just put itback outside, so pretty instantaneously I knew that Ihad another animal to add to the menagerie. The thingis, about two weeks before I caught the dog, Cody, witha box turtle in the driveway, its shell chewed to ajagged edge and some of its meat exposed. The turtlewas a little too far-gone and technical for me to mend,so I took him to Bev at Free Again Wildlife Rescue. Shegladly took him in and told me she’d fix him up and letme know when to come pick him up to release backinto our local creek. I thought to myself, “there’s noway I’m going to show up and dump another critter onthis woman so soon,” and after some online research Idecided this was something I could do: raise a babysquirrel.

It began as many late nights and early mornings,waking every 4 to 6 hours to feed the tiny squirrel pup-py milk replacement, which it loved and ate heartily.After a few weeks of that business I was about ready togive up on the prospect of ever having children (nowunderstanding what it means to totally give up yoursleeping pattern to a baby), but things soon got better

grip.Our little one was finally ready to get back to

nature, so we took her cage outdoors during the day soshe could get used to the smells and sounds of her truehome. Finally, one blustery morning we decided it wastime to open the cage door and let her explore. Jessewas afraid she might run off never to be seen again,but little Strawberry took her time and ran back to himevery time he called. Her first two nights out alone sheslept in her cage, but by her third day out she had builta fine nest (isn’t instinct amazing?), and was sleepingin the boughs of a Pin Oak.

We haven’t seen little Strawberry for a few daysnow, but I couldn’t be happier. I assume she has takenup with a pack of yard squirrels, perhaps a brother orsister who recognize their own kin, and she’s tellingthem her wild story of being raised (gasp!) by humans.Little Strawberry was a genuine fun Dirt Church expe-rience. Although trying at times what with scratches,sleepless nights and the expense of formula andpecans, much like parents of children that were fussybabies, when asked, “Would you do it again?,” I’d haveto say, “In a heartbeat.”

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Fall has arrived it’stime to turn on theoven and start makingone of our favoritemeals lasagna. Withour garden full of cab-bage I thoug ht thiswould be a great way touse it up. It’s very sim-ple you can put togeth-er at the last minuteand pop it in the oven and in 30 minutes youwill have a family meal that everyone will enjoy.

Mule Deer & Cabbage Lasagna1 med head of cabbage (cooked & sliced intowedges)1 pound ground mule deer1 med onion (chopped)1 jar Ragu spaghetti sauceCherry TomatoesFresh Basil (cut into strips)Parmesan cheese ( shaved or shredded)

Mozzarella cheese (shredded)Layer in greased 9x13 pan, enough cabbage

to cover bottom set aside. Brown meat &onions in skillet, stir in Ragu spaghetti sauceheat together and pour over cabbage. Sprinklewith mozzarella cheese. Bake 30 minute in 350degree oven. Remove pan from oven addparmesan, tomatoes and basil serve with toast.With grouse season starting I am always tryingnew recipes. This one the family said write itdown and put this one in the recipe book it's akeeper. Serve with wild rice and a fresh veg-etable.

Grouse Devine4-6 grouse breasts (tenderized)1 med onion (quartered and sliced)1 package fresh mushroom12 mild pepper rings6 capers4 Tbsp ButterOlive oilPepper and garlic salt to taste

Saute onions and mushrooms in skillet withbutter and olive oil just until tender removeplace on dish. In same skillet add peppers andcapers sauté for 1 minute add breast seasonwith pepper and garlic. Cover and simmer forabout 10 minutes over medium heat. Removecapers, turn grouse breasts add mushroomsand onions. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Before the walleye season over give thiscreamy soup a try. It's over the top with flavor.


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Serve we warm bread and butter.

Wild Walleye Rice Soup1 Cup wild rice (cooked)1 Can evaporated milk2 Cans Cream potato soup2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup1 Cup cooked bacon (cooked & crumbled)1 1/2 Cup Velveeta cheese1 1/2 Cup Walleye (flaked)Salt and pepper1 Tsp Lemon F ish seasoning1 Tsp Garlic Pepper seasoning1 Can Chicken Broth

Place rice, milk, soups, bacon, fish, andcheese in kettle. Add more milk if to thick or 1can chicken broth.

Serve in bread bowl, sprinkle with parsley.I'm sure you have one more family picnic

before the leaves start turning. This saladshould be called Dreamy instead of Creamy it'sthat good. It's so simple and you can mix it upand add your fresh vegetables from your gar-den.

Creamy Walleye SaladDressing:1/2 cup sour cream1/2 Mayo1 Tbsp lemon juice1 Tbsp honey1 Tbsp mustard1 Tbsp fresh dillSalt & pepper12 oz medium shell pasta (cooked, rinsed &cooled)3-4 walleye filets (cooked & flaked)1 diced red pepper1 diced green pepper1 bunch green onions1 Cup shredded cheese

In small bowl combine: sour cream, mayo,lemon juice, honey, mustard, dill, salt and pep-per.

Place shells in serving bowl: Add cheese,walleye, peppers, onions and pour dressingover top mix well and refrigerate before serv-ing.

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103_001.qxd 10/28/12 3:46 AM Page 1


other words, is the rigging. Each piece of technologycan be employed in seconds, with no setup to speak of.That’s the difference, he says, between putting thingsinto action or deciding it’s too much work.

“The things we’re tinkering with now,” he says,“have to do with being able to easily move our equip-ment from shore – when we pull up to the lake – ontothe ice, so we can start fishing. We’ve mounted theFish Traps up on racks on our snowmobiles or ATVs.We’re not dragging them behind anymore.

“We get to the lake and our shelters are alreadyloaded onto the machines, packed with stuff like rods,jigs, heater, and a bucket for fish. There’s no time in-volved at the truck loading things. We pull the ma-chine off the trailer, pop skis under the trailer tires ifwe’re going to use it to haul people and gear, and offwe go.”

Simply put, it’s eye-popping how fast Genz is offdown the lake, once he pulls up to an access point.

Rods for TightliningToday’s best ice rods are pretty close to complete

in their evolution, with amazing feel and flex that al-lows them to fish “like long rods in miniature,” one ofGenz’s favorite sayings.

Wrapped with increasingly small and lighter weightguides, more of the blank’s natural properties remainafter the rod is built. Used with fresh line that’sstretched before you begin fishing, matched up with alure that’s not too light or heavy for the rod, almostanybody can learn to feel the cadence of their lurebouncing.

Recognizing when the cadence is interrupted is thekey to detecting bites, something previous genera-tions of anglers had a much harder time mastering.

Comfort Catches FishRecent advancements in clothing have allowed

Genz to fish ‘outside’ most of the time, either on theseat of his snowmobile or kneeling on the ice. Thattranslates directly to more holes fished in the courseof a day, while remaining comfortable and effective,which means more fish.

“Now,” says Dave, “a nice day is any day the wind’snot blowing. Temperature really doesn’t make any dif-ference, because our clothing is so much better than itused to be. But if the wind is blowing, your hands get

cold, so you have to find a way to get out of the wind.“It’s hard to maintain the feel that you need, if

you’ve got heavy gloves on. So when it’s windy, that’swhen the Fish Trap comes into play. You take the FishTrap down off the rack and fish out of it whenever youneed to get out of the wind. And for sight fishing, too,let’s not forget about that.

“The fish houses are easier to pull around from spotto spot than they used to be. The sleds are nicelyshaped for pulling, and we put runners underneaththem that make the pulling easier.”

Today’s clothing and boots have also been engi-neered for less bulk and weight, and that is a huge ad-vantage, according to Genz: “One of the things that re-ally helped the system move forward is the lightness ofour Ice Armor clothing. Our boots aren’t big and heavyanymore. They’re light, so it’s easy to get around outthere.

“Especially as I’ve gotten older, it’s harder for me topick my feet up high to clear the top of the snow. Ineeded a lighter boot. But lighter and warmer is thekey, so we’re able to spend more time outside whilestaying comfortable.”

There will be additional refinements as the years goon. Perhaps even major breakthroughs. But for manyanglers, there are existing elements of the ice fishingrevolution that remain undiscovered.

Note: Dave Genz, known as Mr. Ice Fishing, was theprimary driver of the modern ice fishing revolution. Hehas been enshrined in the National Fresh Water FishingHall of Fame and Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame for hiscontributions to the sport. For more fishing tips and in-formation on the new book, go to DaveGenz.com

for biters.“My GPS is right there in front of me,” he begins,

“so I can go right to the spots. The GPS with the mapchips is not new. It’s been around for a while, butthere’s still a lot of people who haven’t taken advan-tage of the GPS.”

(If you haven’t used this technology, it’s downrightamazing. Your location is shown superimposed overcontour lines that reveal the underwater structure ofthe lake. As you move across the ice surface, your lo-cation updates. It becomes easy to stop right out onthe tip of a point, nestle yourself into an inside turn, orwork the edges of an offshore hump.)

“To me,” says Genz, “the size of the GPS screen isimportant. I struggle when I’m looking at a handheldGPS and trying to figure out where I am on the lake, be-cause (the display is) so small. Once I get to the spot,then it isn’t quite so bad, but you just can’t blow it upenough to get a good clear picture. A bigger screen,mounted on the snowmobile, is what I prefer.

“I have my Vexilar (flasher) mounted right up onthe dash with me, too. I really like to fish right off theseat of my snowmobile unless it’s windy. I pull up, drillsome holes, and start by dropping the Vexilar (trans-ducer) to check depth, to look for weeds or some oth-er type of cover, and to see if there’s fish down there.

“My underwater camera is mounted right there al-so, so if I’m struggling to see what’s down there – likeif I’m fishing in the weeds – it’s really easy to whip thecamera out and drop it down the hole.”

The secret to Genz’s latest version of the system, in

Ice Fishing’s Future is Now!by Dave Genz

During the course of multiple interviews for his newbook, Ice Revolution, Dave Genz spent many hours dig-ging through his memory banks, recounting the yearshe and his friends transformed ice fishing. Near theend of the process, he was asked to look into the futureand envision what might come next for the sport.

Are there more major breakthroughs on the hori-zon? Or have we settled into a period when evolution-ary refinements will mark forward progress?

Dave surprised himself by how quickly he begantalking about compelling advantages today’s ice an-glers can have right now, some of which have been slowto make their way into the mainstream. “You can al-ways wish for new things,” he said, “but there’s somepretty cool stuff a lot of people haven’t tried yet.”

He came away energized about the idea of stressinghow he uses current state of the art to take ice fishinginto a realm most people have not experienced.High Speed, High Tech

Look closely at Genz’s snowmobile and the fabulousstate of current technology becomes evident. His is abig-time, high-powered machine, but he says you canset up the same gear on any snowmobile or ATV thatwill get you around out on the ice.

A look around the dash, handlebars, and other partsof the machine reveals creative mounting of electron-ics that allows Dave to fish efficiently as he searches

Dave Genz,shown here witha dandy crappie,

uses every advantage madepossible by the

ice fishing revolution. Formany anglers,

who haven’t fullycapitalized on

available advancements, the ‘future’ canbe now, if they do the same.

(Photo: davegenz.com)

INVENTORY LIQUIDATION SALE! STORE CLOSING!

104_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:39 PM Page 1

nace will not heat the house properly, whichmakes the unit very inefficient.

3. Control valve turned open?Is your furnace producing no heat and

you can't figure out what's wrong? A com-mon problem when getting a gas furnace torun properly is that the control valve isturned off, if the valve is turned off the fur-nace will not produce heat.

4. When have you changed the air filter?Regularly changing the air filter is an

important part of gas furnace maintenancethat should be addressed regularly. Air fil-ters can be purchased at almost any hard-ware store, and they are not expensive. Adirty air filter will make the gas furnace pro-duce less heat and make it incredibly ineffi-cient.

5. Does your gas furnace need cleaning?Cleaning is a regular task for proper gas

furnace maintenance. Clean blower assem-bly, belts and pulleys to blower, and motorhousing. Cleaning blower is critical if fur-nace has a squirrel-cage fan, because open-ings in this type of blower often becomeclogged with dirt. To clean blower, removepanel that covers filter to gain access toblower or panel on front of furnace. Thispanel may be slip-fit on hooks or held byseries of retaining screws. Access to inside ofblower is usually gained by sliding out fanunit, which is held on track by screws.If power cord to fan assembly is not longenough to permit fan unit to slide all theway out, disconnect cord. Mark wire con-nections first so you'll be able to reassembleunit correctly. With toothbrush, clean eachfan blade and spaces between blades. Then,


Real Estate ChatterBy: Mary Ann Vance

We are now coming intothe busy HOLIDAY sea-son!!! Where has this yeargone!! Harvest is behind usand we are thinking aboutThanksgiving! We wantedto provide you with sometips on your furnace for winter—you mayeven be running it but please schedule yourmaintenance if you have not already doneso. Have a truly wonderful Thanksgivingwith all of you family!!!

PREPARE YOUR FURANCE FORWINTER

Gas furnaces are relatively easy to operateand maintain, but they do require regularmaintenance to stay in good condition. Gasfurnaces can be dangerous if they are inneed of maintenance and you neglect them;for instance if there is a gas leak it could bevery dangerous if not addressed early. Thisarticle will take a look at 10 maintenancetips for gas furnaces.

1. Check for gas leaksGas leaks on gas furnaces are easy to spot,

you can tell from gas build up on the flooror from the smell of gas around the furnacearea. Gas leaks require a professional to fixthe furnace to ensure the safety of the unit.

2. Thermostat working properly?Have you noticed the house is either real-

ly warm or really cold, but the thermostat isset at a comfortable temperature? When athermostat is not working properly the fur-

with vacuum cleaner hose, remove all dirtand debris loosened by brushing. Vacuumbelts and pulleys. Wipe motor housingclean to prevent heat buildup in motor.

6. When was the last time you checked thetension belt?

If your gas furnace is running loudly andyou can't seem to figure out why the ten-sion belt may be a possible cause.

7. Have you checked the pilot light?If the pilot light is out the furnace will

not work, therefore make sure the pilotlight is lit and working properly. The pilotlight should be a deep hot blue, but if it isanother color then it is not working proper-ly.

8. When was the last time you oiled themotor?

Oil is necessary for proper maintenanceon a gas furnace; all you have to do is add acouple of drops, nothing too much. Oilshould be added to the motor every season,and when you think the motor needs it.

9. Check the venting regularlyThe venting that is hooked up with the

gas furnace should be checked regularly forblockages and debris. If the ventilation isblocked it could pose a variety of healthhazards including carbon monoxide poi-soning.

10. Shutting the system off post cold season

Gas furnaces do need to be shut off afterthe winter season, and ideally they shouldbe cleaned and the air filter should bereplaced. All the above tips should beapplied at the beginning of every season fora proper working gas furnace.

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I maintain a staffed office inTremont, Monday through Friday,8:00 to 4:00. Evenings and weekendsare available by appointment.

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105_001.qxd 10/29/12 12:55 PM Page 1


THE SOUTHWARD

JOURNEYBy: Dan Gapen, Sr.

Looking down a family of snow geese recog-nized the soft, lush marshes along the edge ofsaltwater near Churchill, Manitoba. The parentshad been here before. Below they’d find stems ofgreen eel grass necessary to sustain them dur-ing their flight south to Whitewater Lake, alarge watery resting area in southwesternManitoba.

Without further hesitation the gander, a full-plumed blue phase of the snow goose familybegan a descent. By tipping sideways, then flip-ping completely upside down an act which sawhim plummet rapidly towards earth. Behind himhis family of eight instantly followed.

With this act, hundreds of geese families fol-lowed the pattern of those first to descend.Their cries and yelps became deafening as theflock of 2,000 birds dropped towards themarsh’s fresh waters.

Their flight formation had begun of f theArctic tundra near Wager Bay hundreds of milesto the north. Now within visual sight of world-

famous Churchill, a shipping port at the south-ern end of James Bay, they’d rest and feed forthree or four days. Next a flight south on theirannual migration would see a 200 mile hop toWhitewater Lake where the golden wheat ker-nels, by-product of the year-end wheat harvestawaited them.

Four days later after gathering their fill of eelgrass and other aquatic plants they began torise skyward as a cold southeast wind began to

The Ol’ Man with a brace of hisfavorite geese.

‘Bobber’ Anne points out a flock ofgeese to Thumper--as she displays a

pair of honkers she shot.

Who Must Take A HUNTER SAFETY Course? On January 1, 1996, a State law was passed that anyone born on or afterJanuary 1, 1980 may not be issued a hunting license unless: 1. they present a valid Hunter Education Certificate ofCompetency issued by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Safety Education Division; or 2. they present

evidence he or she has held a hunting license issued by the State of Illinois or another state in a prior year;or 3. Many states are now requiring adult hunters to furnish evidence of having completed a

Hunter Education Course prior to issuance of a non-resident license.w w w . d n r . i l l i n o i s . go v / s a f e t y / P a g e s / H u n t e r S a f e t y . a s p x

106_001.qxd 10/29/12 2:23 PM Page 1


blow in off the bay. With the wet wind came aseries of low hanging storm clouds with intermit-tent snow showers. It was time to leave with idealwind conditions.

The blue gander and his family of eight werefirst to lift off and head southeast. Behind themhundreds of white flashing wings followed. Soonthe migrating flock numbered 7,000 birds.Excitement could be heard as each ascending flockjoined the hundreds of birds now covering the sky.Their yelping cries blanketed the marsh flats fromwhich they came.

Hours later with help from the northeast windsthe lead family passed over the Nelson River whereit exited Lake Winnipeg. Minutes later the freshcut fields of harvested wheat passed below them.Three hours later, far ahead, the blue waters ofWhitewater Lake showed on the horizon. To theirsouth the small prairie town of Boissevain slippedby. Then, once again, the lead gander deployed thebrakes, flipped over and rocketed towards the

lake’s central region. Beneath him 100,000 bluesand snows raised cries of greeting. These birds hadarrived two days before directly from the north.

It was here, along the north edge of Whitewaterthat my companion, ‘Bobber’ Anne and I wouldenter the picture. On the very night the blue gooseand his family arrived Anne and I sat along a fenceline where our dear departed friend and huntingbuddy, Ross George, had last shot together. It washere that I last laid Ross’s ashes to rest 8 yearsago. It was here that we’d always return to remem-ber that grand old man and the goose huntingknowledge he bestowed upon us. It was here thatwe’d come face-to-face with the family of geesewhich had just arrived from the north.

Beyond the fence row geese began to clamor,then suddenly1,000 birds burst from the water’ssurface. They raised 200 feet into the air and set-tled back to surface. The clamoring disappeared toa dead silence. Then minutes later the yelpingbegan again and small bunches of snow geese

climbed above water and headed our way.“Anne, hold up on the first couple flocks which

come over us. Let them pass to set a pattern. I’llsay when to shoot.” I instructed as the lead flockneared 40 yards high.

Unbeknownst to me the blue goose and his fam-ily, hungry and eager to eat, followed the firstflocks which left that evening when evening flightto the fields began.

Above, came a flock of 25, then a family of nineand finally another family of eight. In the lead ofthe third flock was a beautiful full-plumed blue.

“Now, Anne, take ‘em,” I heard myself saying astrigger was pulled on the big blue. The blue col-lapsed, life snuffed out instantly. Then two birdsback, a younger bird jolted hard and headed forground. My second shot killed a young blue at theflock’s rear end while Anne dumped a young snowwhite goose next to him. The family was down tofive birds with the large white female snow nowtaking over the leader’s position.

My love of harvesting big blue geese had undonethe leadership position in the family. But beforethe next season the three year old female wouldcollect another mate, this time a huge white male,half her age. The union would take place in Texas,in the marshes along the Gulf of Mexico.

Anne and I went on to harvest 15 more geesethat evening, half blue phase and half white phase.During the next three days we’d cut the snowgoose population by 53 birds. In all we’d take home68 snow geese, 5 honkers and limits of mallard.The geese would be made into sausage, the mal-

lards breasted and hot smoked in a Weber kettlewith a bite of barbeque sauce topping.

Two weeks later as the waters of the Whitewater froze up the family, now down to 5 birds, leftwith a large flock of 400 birds as migration con-tinued. This time a stop on the Missouri River wasin order. Along with 2,000 other birds they’d makethe flight overnight.

After a week of feeding on South Dakota cornthe family would head south once again. This timethe panhandle of Texas. Here, they lost one moreyoung to a decoy set-up

The family, now down to four, would leave weekslater and spend the short winter on the tidemarshes of the Gulf of Mexico.

Their northern migration would begin in mid-January as a migration north retraced the stepstaken during the fall. The three young, one maleand two female would pair up and ready to raisefamilies of their own. The mother would choose asecond all white male to union with. And the lifecy-cle of the snow goose would continue.

Note: Snow geese, more than any other goosespecies, have the ability to flip upside down, an actwhich sees them lose the normal air lift to theirwings. This act causes them to ‘drop-like-a-rock’thus gaining the ability to descend vertically.

Until next month this is The Ol’ Man, Dan Gapen,Sr., hoping you RELAX---SAVOR and ENJOY ourGreat Outdoors it’s yours to protect and save.

www.Gapen.com

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Thumper protects her retrievesof snows and blues shot

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To Cull InferiorBucks, or NotAll this deer management advice about shooting spikes and bucks with wimpy-looking antlers just

might be wrong after all.

By Dr. Dave SamuelAs bow seasons get under way, those who hunt

farms or leases debate whether to use one of theirbuck tags to remove inferior-looking, poorly antleredbucks. Why do hunters think that shooting such “infe-rior” bucks will help their herds?

There are several possible answers. First, for yearsand years hunters have heard that yearling spikebucks are genetically inferior and will pass those poorgenes on to their male progeny. The best thing to do isshoot them, right?

Does It Work? The concept of culling bucks is controversial and

complex. There are no easy answers, and even in Texasthere is a divergence of opinion on whether to cull ornot to cull. However, in recent years, several Texasstudies have provided some answers. Before we look atthem in detail, let’s consider what we do know. Insmaller fenced areas (3,000 acres or less), over time

you can improve your antler quality byremoving management bucks. Someuse this data to extrapolate to larger,unfenced tracts, believing that if itworks in a small, controlled herd, it willwork on larger areas. But that mightnot be true, and here’s why.

Dr. Mickey Hellickson, culled inferi-or bucks for eight years on one large Texas study area,but did not cull on another similar site. He culled allyearling bucks with less than six points and all olderbucks with less than nine points. You would think thatafter doing such removal of management bucks foreight years, antler size would have improved in theculled area. Nope. Didn’t happen.

Dr. Hellickson felt that the main reason culling didnot work in larger, unfenced areas was dispersal. Weknow that yearling bucks disperse in the fall, with asmany as 70 percent moving five or more miles. In openfarm country, the dispersal distance of yearling buckscan be as much as 12 miles. In more forested areas,five miles is more common.

Of course, via this dispersal your property will belosing some yearling bucks, but those from the neigh-bors down the road will disperse to your property. Thatmight not equal out though, especially if you’ve spenta lot of time, energy and permits to cull the inferioryearlings, and your neighbors have not. Guess what?You’re getting smaller-antlered yearlings and yourneighbors are getting the benefits. They get your bet-ter yearlings.

Then there is the simple fact that bucks that areinferior as yearlings might well blossom into fantastic

bucks when they get older. Might notbe true for all, but it definitely is truefor some. Another complicating factoris the fact that there’s no such thingas a “management doe.” Even if theremoval of inferior bucks positivelyaffected the antler size of your bucksin years to come, what about the infe-

rior genetics of does?There is another reason that genetically things are

a bit muddled. We now know that all ages of bucksmate does. True, the 3 1/2-year-old bucks do themost breeding, but the young bucks do some. Thenthere is the problem of deciding what bucks are inferi-or. Culling a buck that has weird-looking antlers couldbe a mistake, if that buck has an injured hip or shoul-der. Such bucks often develop asymmetrical antlersfor one year, and then back to normal the next.

What The Studies SayAt the last Southeast Deer Study Group meeting, in

San Antonio in February 2010, deer researchers pre-sented four years of data from a new culling study onthe Comanche Ranch in South Texas. This study is thelargest culling study ever attempted. There were threeareas studied. One area was 3,500 acres, and herethey culled all yearlings with less than six points, 2-year-old bucks with less than eight points, 3- and 4-year-old bucks with less than nine points, and allbucks more than 5 years of age with a gross score ofless than 145. On this site they captured 107 bucks infour years and culled 98 of them. Whew! Of 107 buckscaught in four years, only nine were not culled.

They had a 2nd area that was 18,000 acres. In thisarea they did not cull any yearlings or any 2-year-oldbucks, but they took out all 3 & 4 year-old bucks withless than 9 points, and all 5-year and older bucks thatscored less than 145 inches. On a 3rd area of 5,000acres, they did no culling.

So, on one site there was culling of all aged bucks,and there they culled one buck per 12.6 acres. On a2nd site they only culled inferior older bucks, andthere they culled one buck per 37.9 acres. We won’thave the final results for this 10-year study for 6 moreyears, but after 4 years, there was no change in theantler size of yearling and 2-year-old bucks on eithersite.

They suggest you turn your energy and attention tofactors that you can control, such as overall age ofyour buck harvest and creating lots of forage and goodhabitat. Do that and forget about the question ofculling inferior bucks. From what we know today,unless you have a small fenced area, it isn’t worth theeffort.

GrandViewOutdoors.com

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108_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:03 PM Page 1


Little “D”Adventures to

Arkansas

Drake Taylor headed south to Stuttgart,Arkansas to share in Mack’s Prairie Wings Fall

Festival and introduce the new Duck’s UnlimitedPendant Jewelry. Little D Designs, LLC and

Mack’s Prairie Wings has coordinated with theDuck’s Unlimited Association to create a unique

line of hand crafted DU jewelry, exclusively available in Mack Prairie Wings 2012 catalog.

Drake had an opportunity to meet up with the Duck Commanders and share some of the new DU jewelrywith Uncle Si. The necklaces are made with natural bone and horn beads on leather cord and come in

various lengths. Check out Mack’s Prairie Wings website at mackspw.com to see all the DU stylesavailable. For other great gift ideas this holiday season go to littleddesigns.com to check out the hunt-

ing and wildlife jewelry created by Drake & Little D Designs, LLC.

Duck Unlimited necklace. Notice the DuckCommanders are each wearing a necklace.

Drop Tine Skull Necklace with beads on leather. Buck in an Arrow Necklace with beads on leather.Paracord necklace comes in various colors with

Drop Tine Skull pendant

109_001.qxd 10/29/12 2:34 PM Page 1


write andwill be 22 byS a t u r d a ym o r n i n g !Snow hasfallen inn o r t h e r nMinnesota.Winter cancome earlyto the NorthC o u n t r y .One year theweek afterwe closedgardens wereunder threeinches of wetsnow!

During September we had somechilly, windy days, and the heat was on!One morning I was cruising across the lakeagainst a 15 mph north wind with a tem-

perature in the low 30’s. Reaching theshelter of the north shore seemed to takelonger, and gloves and hunting clothes feltvery good. But for the most part weenjoyed very pleasant weeks. Flowers werestressed but not yet killed. Even night-timebullheadin’ was comfortable – and no mos-quitoes!

The most obvious change betweenJune and September was the lake level.Revisiting my earlier memoirs, I devotedmuch time to the “record” rain totals andhigh water, with flooded, soggy groundbeing a major problem. Again, we raisedthe dock several times, and my boat was sohigh on the lift that I had to climb up intoit. But be careful what is wished. By thelast weeks of the season, the lake level haddropped by 20 inches, and my lift was use-less. I had to secure my boat to a neigh-bor’s dock.

Anyway, the grounds were dry, andparking was no longer a problem. Bootsand rubber shoes were not required. Thebest result of our “drought” was forMaudie. Not until the last weeks was sheable to wade freely in the shallower water;and she was in dog bliss. She was in thewater all day looking for fish, and withmud and occasional algae blooms, shedeveloped an “aroma.” At least she didn’thave to perch on rocks and think aboutgoing in. Her favorite part of Nokay final-

ly arrived.Considering the summer as a whole,

it was rather unusual in that Katie missed amonth of Nokay time with trips west. InJune she went to San Diego for ournephew’s high school graduation andenjoyed two weeks there with sister Janetand family. Her sister Jean was there aswell, so some quality family time wasshared. In August she returned toCalifornia and then to Hawaii with Janet,Doug, and Nathan. Needless to say that“paradise” was especially wonderful forthem. Nice way to enjoy a “milestone”birthday, but I’m not saying which one.

“It seems like only yesterday.” Myobservation always as we turn fromHighway 18 onto the Nokay Lake Road.And wasn’t it only yesterday that I wasanticipating and then celebrating anotheropening weekend for the Leeward ShoresAssociation? Now October has arrived,and the cabins have been closed, docks andboatlifts are now arranged on the shoreline,and the happy greetings of late Aprilbecame farewells with “Have a good win-ter!” Everyone trusts that we will all beback for another summer – next year. Iknow that five months don’t last as long asseven, but how can those five months fly byso quickly? And they always do!

When we closed on September 29th,only the early sunsets and fall foliage weresigns of the season. The sky was a cloudlessblue, and we reveled in temperatures remi-niscent of a summer day. Couldn’t wehave delayed for one more week? But thetemperature in Brainerd is 38 degrees as I

MINNESOTA MEMOIRSby Dave Evans

“Endless Summer Ends”

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attached 36x100 stable completewith 12 box stalls. This home has 5 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, Geothermal heating & cooling, an abundance of

large Anderson windows, plaster walls, 9 & 10 ft. ceilings with 8 ft. doors &

several rooms of Brazilian Tigerwoodflooring. Fabulous gourmet kitchen with

granite countertops, center island & top-of-the-line appliances. Custom crafted cabinets built in Arthur, IL.

Terrific Floor plan...Over 5000 finishedsq. ft. for a qualified buyer to enjoy!

Dave & Karen

FOR SALE!48.55 Acres • Stark County, ILMostly timber with some pasture. Located on good blacktop road. Borders Rock Island Trail. Spoon River runs through the east end. Lot line electricity across the road from property. $3500/Acre.

Contact:John Leezer, ALCManaging Broker with Maloof Farm & Land (309) 286-2221 [email protected] www.illinoisfarms4sale.com

110_001.qxd 10/29/12 3:37 PM Page 1

And while California and Hawaii offercharms far different from Nokay’s, I knowthat she felt her lake time was too brief thisyear.

Because of an unpredictable calendarthis season, our guest list was very short.But we were able to host my cousin TerryDeppert and Vicki Walker over Labor Dayweekend. Good weather, good fishing, andgood company! We had a fine time withthe usually cooperative bass. And we dinedon some of Nokay’s finest with Doug andKristi Sampson joining us. Since Katie andKristi had caught bullheads (Kristi’s first-ever), we made sure that Kristi enjoyed thefine cuisine provided by her own efforts.She agreed that the “lowly” bullhead is verytasty. Harry would agree.

ported for a winter’s fare. Good seasonbut, as always, too short. I receive no sym-pathy from those who would like to be ableto do what we do, nor should I.

Next year will be sixty. Sixty years ofmaking the drive to our own piece of para-dise. I’m already looking forward to thefirst “It seems like only yesterday” when weopen in 2013. Aside from the comfort andtranquility of the cabin and the privilege offishing every day, Nokay is much more. Itis the fellowship of long-time friends work-ing and “playing” and sharing. And it isNature’s blessings: the full moon rising; thesun appearing over the morning mists andfog; the artist’s pallet of colors in a sunset;the cries and wonder of loons in all their

change their fussy feeding patterns. Asmentioned in another memoir, extraordi-nary vegetation growth caused some prob-

lems all sum-mer. As afishing sum-mer, evenwith weather-related issues,I would ratethis one asvery good.Lots of fishwere caught,r e l e a s e d ,shared, eaten,etc. Somewere trans-


Crappies began to appear in some of theusual haunts, but not in great numbers. Idid enjoy success near an “ancient” sub-merged treethat used tobe the crappiemagnet foryears. Large‘gills werethere, too.And EarlJohnson’s bayfinally at-tracted crap-pies, until thenext coldfront causedthem to Cont’d. on next pg.

111_001.qxd 10/29/12 3:36 PM Page 1


activity; the dozens of goldfinches at ourgarden’s feeders, the hummingbirds danc-ing in the air; the visits of woodpeckers,warblers, waxwings, and nuthatches; theflights of geese in the spring; the feeding ofduck families and keeping track of numbersas they visit and mature; the howling of sleddogs across the lake; the eagles and ospreys

circling over the water; even the rabbits,chipmunks, and squirrels being unwelcomepests; the sighting of doe and fawns; the oc-casional appearance of otters and thebeaver; and it is the memories of the waythings were and wistful thoughts of allthose who were there.

Especially it is Katie “putzing” in hergardens and always needing just one or twomore additions to annuals or perennials.And of course it is the reason for the begin-ning and continuation of a summer tradi-tion: Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Copyright: 2012

You can reach Dave & Karen at:

[email protected] &[email protected]

PICTURESQUE COUNTRYSIDE HOME & FARM ON 40 ACRES

Many improvements & upgrades on home features warm woodworkfrom the floors to the trim to cabinetry throughout.

Located in a secluded area for privacy with 2 fully stocked ponds! Apple trees on rolling meadows. An equestrian dream, perfect for

livestock or horses. Numerous grain bins and a machine shed. A Recreational Paradise with Tillable Acres for Added Cash Flow…

Scarlett Palm309-246-5020 • cel. [email protected]

865 E. County Rd. • Lacon, IL 61540 • MLS# 1138143

MN… Cont’d. from previous pg.

112_001.qxd 10/29/12 3:35 PM Page 1


M U Z Z L E LO A D E R S : M U Z Z L E LO A D E R S : Are Big Bullets Better? Part 1

Many modern muzzleloaders think that light,fast bullets are the only option for deer

hunting, but this veteran shooter and hunter begs to differ.

By Randy SmithThe current trend in big-game muzzleloader

hunting is toward the use of sabots and 240- to260-grain belted bullets. Advocates talk of rela-tively high velocities exhibited by these projectileswhen used with 150-grain powder charges andassociate those velocities with improved perform-ance. The sabot has become so popular that it issometimes difficult to locate conical bullets atmany local retailers.

If I am going after big game with a muzzle-loader, I will invariably choose a heavier conicalbullet over a lightweight bullet in a sabot. In near-ly 30 years of muzzleloading I have witnessedmuch more impressive kills and physical traumadelivered by conicals than by any smaller bullet. Infact, at most practical whitetail shooting ranges,patched round balls in .54 and .58 caliber can beexcellent. When I hunt deer with a sabot projectileI prefer at least a 300-grain projectile weight. Ialso do not shoot any .50-caliber powder chargesover 120 grains. That is because I don’t buy intothe high muzzleloader velocity argument at all. Ibelieve in the concept of the “Balanced Load.”

An effective muzzleloading rifle load is a bal-

ance of Accuracy + Knockdown Power + RifleManagement. What is the most accurate load thatI can shoot from my rifle? How much contamina-tion am I getting from fouling? Are there enoughft./lbs. of kinetic energy in that load to kill the ani-mal efficiently? Can I comfortably manage therecoil generated by this load and will my rifle holdup under sustained shooting? A balanced load hasthe best accuracy possible, with minimal fouling,and will take game humanely with the most accept-able recoil. That is why I like a 400-grain conicalwith a 90- to 100-grain powder charge in a .50-caliber muzzleloader and a 425- to 430-grainconical with an 85-grain powder charge in a .54-caliber muzzleloader. Year in and year out, thesehave proven to be versatile whitetail deer loads.The performance of these big-bullet loads can bestunning.

Big-bore soft-lead conicals and round ballsdeliver relatively modest rifle recoil, excellentaccuracy, heavy trauma, massive blood trails andbone-breaking incapacitation on whitetail deerwhen compared to lightweight sabot loads. Atpractical whitetail hunting ranges, big-bore muz-

zleloaders can put a buck down for keeps.Alas, there have not been many new conicals

placed on the market in the last decade.Thompson/Center still markets the Maxi-Ball forpenetration and the Maxi-Hunter for expansion.Precision Rifle markets several good conical andheavy sabot loads. Buffalo Bullets also markets anumber of fine conical bullets and some outstand-ing heavy lead sabot loads. The most commonlysold conical is the Hornady Great Plains bullet. Ihonestly haven’t seen much performance differ-ence between the brands. Some conical bullets willload quite differently in different brands of rifles.The easier it is to load a bullet, the better theaccuracy potential, as long as the bullet is theproper caliber.

Many hunters have trouble understanding why aheavy lead conical bullet is so effective on gamewhen the velocities are relatively slow and 100-yard energy figures seem so poor. Normally a con-ical is fired at velocities between 1,200 and 1,600feet per second (fps). A 370-grain .50-caliberconical with a 100-grain charge will have a veloci-ty of about 1,450 fps. The muzzle energy of such aload is 1,727 ft./lbs., but at 100 yards, only 825ft./lbs. My .58-caliber 260-grain round ball witha 100-grain blackpowder charge will have a veloc-ity of around 1,300 fps. The muzzle energy of sucha load is 967 ft./lbs., but at 100 yards that dropsto only 455 ft./lbs. On the surface, that doesn’tlook very impressive compared to a 240-grain.45-caliber pistol bullet traveling at 2,200 fpsfrom the muzzle.

While a light bullet might have higher velocityand therefore greater muzzle energy than a coni-cal, it will also shed that energy much faster. Themomentum of the heavier conical allows it to shedits energy more slowly. That same momentumretention remains when the bullet strikes biggame. A combination of bullet weight, diameterand velocity increases both penetration and trau-ma to an animal. Pure lead projectiles exhibit thetrait of excellent molecular cohesion. Lead projec-tiles expand beautifully and retain nearly all oftheir original weight when passing through thebody of a whitetail.

Many will cite the differences in velocity ofsmokeless-powder rifles as a means of justifyinghigher velocities in muzzleloading, but the mostvelocity that can be expected from a blackpowderrifle is about 2,300 fps using a 240-grain projec-tile. Blackpowder energy limits mean that if youwant additional power to increase trauma to ananimal, you must fall back on bullet weight anddiameter to get it. A misunderstanding comesfrom two commonly held performance fallacies.One is that velocity alone is a measure of a bullet’sability to deliver trauma. The problem with muz-zleloaders is that 2,200 fps using a lightweightprojectile is not a significant advantage over amuch heavier lead projectile traveling at 1,600fps. The second is based upon a poor understand-ing of relatively slow blackpowder velocities andhow to make of the most of that trait. The oldmaxim of the bigger the hole, the more damage tothe body is especially true in muzzleloading.

113_001.qxd 10/29/12 3:06 PM Page 1


Recreational Ground…To Buy or Not To Buy? PT. 15BEWARE THY NEIGHBORBy Jack L. Hartph. 309-888-4071 [email protected]

A fewmonths ago Igot a call froman individualwho had beenreading myarticles aboutr e c r e a t i o n a lground. “Mr.Hart, have youever had any

problems with neighbors?” This wascertainly an interesting question &one that had never been asked of mebefore. My response to him was“no”. Fortunately my son & I hadnever had problems. This individualthen proceeded to tell me he owned alarge piece of recreational ground inFulton County & was having lots oftrouble with one of his neighbors. Ithad gotten so bad that it ended up in

court costing him thousands of dol-lars & was never resolved to his sat-isfaction.

That call & a recent follow-upphone conversation with that indi-vidual is what has prompted this arti-cle. Yes, his situation is an extremeone & it is very unfortunate for him.In fact, he stated that he now has asomewhat negative feeling about hisproperty that will probably nag himfor the rest of his life & preclude himfrom enjoying it fully. He also doesnot have much respect now for themembers of the legal society &admits he should have done moreresearch in finding legal representa-tion.

The purpose of this article is to try& educate & point out important fac-tors to be considered when contem-plating buying recreational groundrelative to any neighbors. I am surethat some of you reading this couldpossibly write a book about prob-lems you have experienced. Whenconsidering buying ground, be sureto see if you will have neighbors &,if so, how close will the neighborsbe.

If you will have neighbors & theyhave property that lies next to yourproperty, I would strongly advise

this individual & will either feelgood or be somewhat apprehensiveabout this individual. You can alsotake this research one step further byinterviewing his neighbors to seewhat they have to say about him.The last thing you want is to have abunch of kids roaming your propertywho totally ignore the No Tres-passing signs you have posted.Getting answers to your questions iseven more important if you don’tplan on residing on the property.You might also seek legal counsel tofind out how stringent the laws areregarding trespassing. In otherwords, will the law back you up ifyou decide to prosecute trespassers.

Remember, buying recreationalground is not to be taken lightly &one must diligently do his/her home-work so that, ALL THE QUES-TIONS ARE ANSWERED!!

you to meet the owners & introduceyourself & attempt to find out asmuch as you can about them. Youdo this before you even begin tothink seriously about purchasing theground. Why? Because there arequestions you should have that needanswers. Such as: Approximateage? A farmer? Any children? Anyof them live at home? How muchground owned? Is the owner an out-doors type person? Does hehunt/fish? Are their grandchildren?Does the owner take themhunting/fishing? Is his property linemarked? How?

It is not that difficult to get theanswers to your questions providedyou use a tactful approach as ameans of doing your homework.Simply introduce yourself & informthe prospective neighbor that youare considering buying the ground.You can ask him what he knowsabout the party owning the groundyou are con-sidering buying. Much info can beobtained by listening closely & theneighbor will probably reveal thingsabout himself & his family as hetalks to you. He will also have somequestions for you. In that initial con-versation you will get a good feel for

PRIME HUNTING LAND FOR SALE WITH HOUSE!!! 70 ACRES +/- IN FULTON CO. IL !!!Just one mile West of Smithfield IL. Located off E IL RT 95.

Excellent deer & turkey hunting…butted up to over 1000 acresof private timber. Old farm house needs TLC and comes withfurniture & appliances. Old wooden barn, two sheds with silo,

planted food plots, nut & fruit trees. Asking $4000 an acre.

TO VIEW PROPERTY CALL DAN: 708-522-6054

114_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:11 PM Page 1


wanting to sweat that’s one thingthat will speak volumes to thewhitetail’s nose about what andwhere I am. Of course hunters cannever have too much equipmentbut then again carrying too muchmakes the hunt more of a burdenwalking in and out of the field.

Anticipation runs high withexpectations of the best deer sea-son this hunter has ever had. Thisis a season that very well might nothave happened had I not went in tosee the doctor. I had been havingchest and jaw pain when I walkedup hills and after three months ofnot doing anything about it I final-ly decided it might be a good ideato see the doctor. Several tests laterthey found an artery in my heartwas 90% blocked and the cause ofthe pain.

I soon found myself on an oper-ating table with two stents beinginstalled into my clogged artery.God was with me and the doctordid his job flawlessly and I feelbetter than I have for some time.The doctor said if I had let it go Iwould have had a heart attack andwho knows I might not be here towrite this story. Like I said Godwas with me. Take it from me don’tever wait as long as I did to go tothe doctor.

Being able to bow hunt is some-thing I cherish. It’s not all aboutgetting the deer, heck most of thetime I go to my truck empty hand-ed but when I do connect what asweet celebration in my heart! Somany things that normally go

unnoticed in our everyday rushbecome visible treats when I amsitting still in my camo huntingoutfit. Things like birds landingright in front of me and even on myhead, or the time I hunted with agrand old owl. He flew into the treenext to me and turned his headnearly half circle and looked at meand I at him and then we both hunt-ed our own separate quarry contentin sharing the late afternoontogether.

It’s great seeing formations ofgeese and ducks on their fallflights to places I have never beennot worrying about directions toget there. Bow hunting is indeedmedicine for the soul, a time ofreflection and hope and the compa-ny with one’s self a time of healingfrom the noisy world and all of itscomplexities.

Yes fall is here and I will pick upthe bow as I have so many timesbefore and head out to the timberand field edges then transform into

a young boy full of wonder andanticipation. Now in a world full ofmystery and beauty, then when Ireturn I feel a little calmer, a littlewiser, and thankful that I havebeen allowed to enjoy yet anotherbow hunt. Such are the life andtimes of a bow hunter.

THE LIFE ANDTIMES OF A

BOWHUNTER

By Bob HendricksFall bow hunting is here finally,

it’s a time of year that all bowhunters look forward to all year. Itis a season that calls to our heartsto come and partake of the bounti-ful buffet to the senses. Crisp freshcool air, flaming yellow and redleaves some falling slowly to theground and the hunter blood in usall that seems to yell Whitetaildeer.

I have busily been putting togeth-er my equipment trying to decidewhich grunt call to take, which ofmany hunting outfits to wear notwanting to get cold but also not

LEASE NOW AVAILABLE!GREAT POTENTIAL FOR BIG BUCKS

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Great for fishing and hunting deer, turkey & ducks

Located on Illinois River & Emiquon Complex

CALL: 309-370-5508

Ralph Woodard Trust Farm

Jasper County, ILRecreational Land with

Large Lake & Home• 160 Acres, Crooked

Creek Township• 78 Acres Tillable as per FSA• 28 Farmed, balance in

CRP & Timber• Includes Large Lake & Home

RONALD R. PIERCE715 6th St.

Charleston, IL 61920Office #: 217-348-1746Cell #: 217-254-6306

[email protected]

SAVE THE DATE FOR A LADIES NIGHT OUT!

Hosted by River City DuckettesFriday, Nov 2nd, 2012

Doors Open at 5:15 p.m.

Tickets $35Unlimited Game Play

Wristband $20

Sponsors $250 or Table of 8 = $400Contact Sarah at:

[email protected]

115_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:23 PM Page 1


2 H U N T E RS K I L L E D I N M I S S I S S I P P I R I V E R B O AT C R AS H

A BOAT CARRYING SEVEN DUCK HUNTERS CRASHED INTO A BUOY ON

THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER BETWEEN IOWA AND ILLINOIS, KILLING

TWO OF THEM AND INJURING THE OTHER FIVE. MUSCATINE, Iowa. Authorities say a boat carrying

seven duck hunters crashed into a buoy on the Mis-sissippi River between Iowa and Illinois, killing two ofthem and injuring the other five.

Rockland County Illinois Coroner Brian Gustafsontold the Quad-City Times that Saturday's pre-dawncrash happened near the county's southern border,not far from Muscatine, Iowa.

Authorities didn't immediately identify any of thehunters.

Gustafson says one of the hunters killed wasthrown into the buoy and the other was thrown fromthe boat. He says four of the injured were airlifted toIowa City hospitals and were in serious condition.

Sgt. Laura Petreikis of the Illinois ConservationPolice says the fifth person was taken to a Davenport,Iowa, hospital. His condition was unknown.

The Iowa duck hunting season started Saturday. Information from: Quad-City Times, qctimes.com

D E E R H U N T E R FAT A L LY S H OT I N N O R T H E R N I N D I A N A

AUTHORITIES SAY A DEER HUNTER WAS FATALLY SHOT IN NORTHERN

INDIANA WHILE WITH A 12-YEAR-OLD DURING THE STATE'S

YOUTH HUNTING PERIOD.ROCHESTER, Ind. Authorities say a deer hunter

was fatally shot in northern Indiana while with a 12-

Keltner Auction ServiceFARM LAND • REAL ESTATE

ESTATES/HOUSEHOLDS • ANTIQUE SALESAVAILABLE FOR AUCTIONS…CALL TODAY!Mike & Bonnie Keltner • Carlinville, IL

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year-old during the state's youth hunting period.State conservation officers say 28-year-old Ken-

neth Moore of Rochester was shot in the head Sundaywhile a group was hunting on private property inwestern Fulton County.

Cpl. Ashlee Jackson says Moore was among fourhunters who had split into two groups. Jackson saysMoore was walking with the youth in a cornfield whenhe was shot by another adult.

Moore was pronounced dead at a Rochester hospi-tal soon after the shooting.

The DNR designated Saturday and Sunday as thisyear's youth hunting session during which onlyhunters younger than 18 are allowed to haveweapons. The deer archery season begins Mondayand the firearms season on Nov. 17.

A I R P O R T T R A F F I C H E AV Y FO R P H E AS A N T H U N T I N G O P E N E R

IT’S THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE BAGGAGE CLAIM AREA AT

SOUTH DAKOTA'S LARGEST AIRPORT IS FILLED WITH DUFFEL

BAGS, SHOTGUNS AND COOLERS. It's the time of year when the baggage claim area

at South Dakota's largest airport is filled with duffelbags, shotguns and coolers.

It's also known as pheasant hunting season. Many out-of-state hunters fly into the Sioux Falls

Regional Airport and then disperse throughout thestate to shoot birds. Airport officials say the pheas-ant opener rivals Thanksgiving and Christmas fortraffic.

About 1,800 passengers landed in Sioux Falls on

Friday, about 700 more than a typical day, said DanLetellier, the airport's executive director.

“It's certainly one of the busiest days of theyear,'' Letellier said.

Wildlife officials say overall bird counts are up byan estimated 18 percent and this year's pheasantseason could draw more than 100,000 out-of-statehunters. One of them, Tom Tilley of Albany, Ga., ar-rived Friday and planned to be in the state for fivedays, shelling out money for a hunting license, am-munition, lodging, food and drinks.

“I'll spend whatever it takes to have a good time,''Tilley told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

The season opened at noon Saturday. It continuesthrough Jan. 6.

Another hunter, Kevin Kodzis, flew in from Califor-nia on Friday. He said he expects to spend about$1,000 a day during his stay.

“My business partner and myself are meetingsome customers. It's awesome, you hunt all day andplay a little poker at night,'' he said. “It's all aboutthe hunting. If it's good, we'll definitely be back.''

Information from: Argus Leader, argusleader.com

M O R E T H A N 8 , 0 0 0 M I C H I G A N D E E R D E A D F R O M D I S E AS E

A DISEASE HAS KILLED MORE THAN 8,000 MICHIGAN DEER THIS

YEAR, CAUSING SOME HUNTERS TO POSSIBLY SKIP THE SEASON AND

DEALING A BLOW TO SHOPS THAT SELL HUNTING GEAR.A disease has killed more than 8,000 Michigan

deer this year, causing some hunters to possibly skipthe season and dealing a blow to shops that sell hunt-ing gear.

The number of dead whitetails has climbed signif-icantly since summer when hundreds were reportedin just a handful of counties. Deaths now have oc-curred in much of the southern Lower Peninsula,west of Interstate 75, the result of a disease trans-mitted by a biting fly, according to the state Depart-ment of Natural Resources.

“Something has changed that has allowed thisvirus to persist in the environment,'' Brent Rudolph,head of the DNR's deer program, told The DetroitNews.

The disease is not a threat to humans. It is trans-mitted by a midge fly and causes internal bleeding,high fever, loss of appetite and weakness. Summerdrought and high temperatures are contributing tothe high number of deaths, which stood at 8,671 asof Oct. 8.

Michigan has more than 1 million deer. Officialsbelieve the number of deaths is certain to climb asfarmers harvest corn and discover more carcasses.Brian Bouwkamp said 9 were found on his family's 60acres of hunting ground near Muskegon.

“You can smell more dead deer out there,'' hesaid. “But you just can't get in to investigate. Forevery one we've found, there are probably a lotmore.''

At Al and Pete's Sport Shop in Hastings, employeeJeff Schantz said purchases of guns, arrows andcrossbows are down. The traditional deer seasonstarts Nov. 15.

“We want to give whatever deer are left a chanceto repopulate,'' he said.

Information from: The Detroit News, detnews.com

116_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:31 PM Page 1

so provides a link to the Adventure SportsOutdoors website. While at my site besure to click on the Fran Riley Featurevideo from KWQC, on which I was invit-ed to be a guest and take Fran on a shortfishing trip.

Until next time, get out on the water,and enjoy a great day of fishing.


“Giving a Kick to a Jig”

For many years a jig with apork trailer was a favorite ofbass anglers. This combina-tion was one of the first choic-es for big bass, and especiallyin cooler water conditions.Now plastic has worked itsway into the jig trailer marketin a big way, and has given a“kick” to jig fishing.

There are several advan-tages to the plastic “frog”trailers. One of the most no-ticeable is the ability for man-ufacturers to design many dif-ferent kicking actions. A bigadvantage is not drying outwhen out of the water. For anglers wholike to do a lot of experimenting, the end-less possibilities of colors makes it almostimpossible not to find the correct jig andtrailer color combination.

A couple of disad-vantages have beenfound. Being plasticthe pork flavor, and“meaty meal” is notthere. True, many ofthe plastic trailershave added flavor andscent, and while inthe last few yearsthese have becomemuch better, it still is-n’t the same. Someplastic trailers have a tendency to rip out,and pull off much quicker.

Several plastic trailers are designed onthe same principle as the old Number 11Pork Frog. This is rightly so, in that theNumber 11 was one of the best jig trailers.

I’ve used a few of these plastic frogs, andmy two favorites are Gambler’s NinjaClaw and Mann’s Auger Frog. These aretwo completely different designs, but un-fortunately are no longer manufactured.Fortunately I still have a few of these in mystockpile, and some may be found in old-er tackle shops.

In the past few years I’ve come across afew others that have been great producers,and have the kicking and swimming ac-tion that is perfect. These are Stanley’sItza Bug and Y-Not; and Berkley’s Chig-ger Craw and Havoc Deuce. While nor-mally I have the Deuce on a Road Runnerhead, it also works on the regular skirtedjig, with a twin tail swimming action quitesimilar to the old Auger Frog. Most of the

time I have two Stanley jigstied on, with one having aChigger Craw and the otheran Itza Bug. Both of thesecombinations have caughtseveral bass over the 5-poundmark.

All of these trailers addbody, length, and swim-ming/kicking action, whileflaring the jigs skirt. With allof these attributes it can beseen why plastic trailers shotup quickly in the fishing mar-ket.

If I were going to swima jig, I would rather use theDeuce, with its curl legs, or Y-Not, with the straight, flexi-ble ring legs, but if it were go-

ing to be a case of a crawl, bottom bump,flip/pitch or any sort of hop retrieve, thenthe Itza Bug, with claws and smaller swim-ming legs, and Chigger Craw, with flat,kick-swimming claw type legs, would be

my first choice.The next time you want to give a kick to

a jig, pick up a plastic trailer, try some ofthese techniques, and see what happens.

If you and any questions about this oranother fishing subject drop me a linethrough the Dan’s Fish ‘N’ Tales® web-site at www.dansfishntales.com, which al-

DAN’S FISH ‘N’ TALES®By Dan Galusha

This bass hit a Stanley Jig with a

Chigger Craw,flipped into a logjam

near a tube joining two lakes.

On top is a Stanley Jig

rigged with anItza Bug. Beloware 4 trailers thatwill give a “kick”to any jig – Itza

Bug, Y-Not, Havoc Deuce,and Chigger

Craw.

117_001.qxd 10/29/12 1:39 PM Page 1


Canadian fishingadventures withASO Rep. FloydGreen & some

local action too!

ASO rep & friend Floyd Greencaught this nice 11.5 inch, 1.27

pound redeye caught on a 2 spot andwax worm in Fulton County 7/26/12 Sunnyside Camp, Winnipeg River,On, Canada. Sept 8 – 14, 2012

Smallmouth and walleye fishing was

excellent. The water temperature was in the mid 60’s and the northerns were just starting to move into swallow

water and were a little harder tocatch. We did manage to catch

and release a few large northerns. Shore lunches were greatand all of us managed to bring homelimits of smallmouth, walleyes andnortherns. Plus we also brought

home several ring perch and some mooneyes.

Harold Marteness caught a smallmouth over 20 inches long thatwas released to earn a co memorable

hand towel from the resort.

RickTurley holding a couple nicesmall mouths.

Floyd with a typical Canadian walleye.

One of the northerns caught andreleased by Rich Turley.

A northern caught and released by Floyd Green.

Rick with 2 more nice smallies.

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR AWESOME TRIP WITH ASO READERS!

118_001.qxd 10/29/12 2:59 PM Page 1

4,400 passengers and most often de-parted the levee with capacity crowdsaboard. With its huge air-conditioneddance floor, popular bands, maindeck arcade and numerous restau-rants, the Admiral became a popularSt. Louis icon for nearly fourdecades. With a nod to the past,Streckfus placed the four-barrelwhistle fromthe sidewheel-er J.S. atop theAdmiral, alongwith the 32-note Nicholcalliope fromthe excursionsteamer Capi-tol.

In 1974, thepropulsion ofthe Admiralwas changedfrom steam todiesel, with the installation of threeMurray-Tregurtha units, each with900 hp., placed in the boxes formerlyoccupied by the huge sidewheels andone at the stern.

During a Coast Guard inspection inthe spring of 1979, the 74-compart-ment hull was found to have signifi-cant problems, and the huge boat


THE BIG SILVER BOATBy Keith NorringtonAmong the most recent losses of

vintage riverboats is the excursionsteamer Admi-ral, scrapped in2011 after alengthy careeras a St. Louiswaterfront at-traction.

O r i g i n a l l ythe railroad fer-ry Albatross,the steel hullmeasured 308feet, with anoverall width of90 feet, whenconstructed atD u b u q u e ,Iowa, in 1907.Four boilers, two on each side, sup-plied the steam, and the engines had26-inch cylinders with a 10-footstroke. Owned by the Louisiana &Mississippi Valley Transfer Compa-ny, the boat operated at Vicksburg

and was capable of carrying 16 rail-road cars. During the winter of 1921,the boat was taken to the Ripley BoatCompany at Alton, Ill., where the hullwas lengthened to 365 feet.

Sold to Streckfus Steamers of St.Louis in 1937, the superstructure ofthe ferry was stripped down to thehull in the shadow of the Eads Bridge

for transforma-tion into themost stream-lined excursionboat of alltime, at a re-ported cost of$1 million. Theinterior of thefive-deck ves-sel was de-signed byMazie Krebs, afashion illus-trator for Fa-mous-Barr de-p a r t m e n tstores, who

named the spacious powder roomsafter famous women of the time suchas Sonja Henie and Deanna Durbin.

The Admiral made its initial trip onJune 12, 1940, with Capt. JosephStreckfus as master. It was allowed

never ran again. Proposed plans forhull work in New Orleans, and possi-ble use at Pittsburgh, did not materi-alize.

The boat was tied up at Paducah forsome time before being sold and con-verted into a permanently moored en-tertainment center at St. Louis, open-ing in 1987. This venture was short-

lived and theo p e r a t i o nclosed by late1988.

F o l l o w i n gyet anothermulti-milliondollar renova-tion, which in-cluded the re-moval of thesteam enginesand the art decofurnishings, theAdmiral began

a new life in the early 1990s as agambling casino, laden with some1,200 slot machines and 59 gamingtables. In 2010, the greatly alteredand once proud vessel was sold to St.Louis Marine, departing the St. Louiswaterfront for the final time on July19, 2011, for dismantling at Colum-bia, Ill. Cont’d. on next pg.

Seen from the Eads Bridge, the stripped-down hull of the Albatross is prepared for the construction of the

Admiral in 1937. Upbound in the distance is the Army Corps of Engineers towboat

Penniman, formerly the Mamie S. Barrett.—Keith Norrington Collection !

The Admiral in!its glory days, landing alongside the Streckfus wharfboat at the foot

of Washington Avenue on the St. Louis waterfront. —Keith Norrington Collection !

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Museum ProgramMemories and memorabilia of the Admiral will be featured at the Howard

Steamboat Museum, Jeffersonville, Ind., on Saturday, August 11, when Capt.Jim and Ann Blum present “The Big Silver Boat: Remembrances of the Excur-sion Steamer Admiral.” It will be the eighth offering in the annual “River Ram-blings” educational lecture series. The Blums, both of whom were crew mem-bers on the boat, will present first-hand accounts, accompanied by numerousimages, many of them taken by Capt. Blum. The program begins at 3 p.m.

BOAT… Cont’d. from previous pg.

The Albatross ferried 16 railroad cars at a time for 30 years at Vicksburg. –Keith Norrington Collection

The calliopefrom theStreckfus excursionsteamer

Capitol atopthe Admiral,July 1961.

–Photo by Judy Patsch

(EDT) and admission is $5 per person, which benefits the museum operating fund.Further info available by visiting www.steamboatmuseum.org

“Went back to help the guy in this boat just before theDNR pulled up just outside Barto Landing in Spring

Valley. Never know what you will see on the IL River!”

Thanks to Nic Keegan of Hennepin Marine for sharingthis photo with ASO. Nic will line you up with a new or

used boat and offers a great service department!

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adventure sports outdoors nov. 2012

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