Feathers and Fins

I hear that about Beaver all the time that it is hit or miss. Yet its one of the best lakes I have ever hunted and very diverse in species. I think the problem most guys have with Big lakes is they have no clue how to set up on it. Deep water means most spreads are very near shore. I solved the problem by running Long Lines Now my spread goes from shore to 35 yards out with no problem and setting out a big spread looks like a raft on big water.

Hope you enjoy

Dad says they are in the back yard. Literally when he says back yard he means open the door and there they are. Stupid birds as well. My wife and I have a Basketball game with them each year. I park my big red truck on the levee and we try and knock them into the bed of it. Its amazing how stupid they are when they get no pressure. I was sitting in a lawn chair on dads roof last year pass shooting them. Now if they were only that stupid up here.

Hey Ducky, This is the family farm in Se Ar I spend more time down there with my camera in hand then the gun. then again it dont take long as no one else hunts the farm. Papa likes that his grandkids and thier spouses have a place to enjoy hunting so he rejects all offers to lease it. Someday his great grandkids will get to enjoy it as well because it goes to all of us his wish for a place for the family. Deer, Turkey and lots of waterfowl.

Oh man, Jerky, Summer Sausage, Roast. Poppers I can go on and on. Mine when i roast them come out like a Roast I have had people swear at me and tell me no way they are geese. Between regular season and Conservation Order I normally get into the thousands of them. No birds ever go to waiste I have a lot of friends and people that are needy this time of year and a goose donation is always appreciated. Makes you feel good too.

Here is my thoughts! With beaver and grand so near both with them in it WHY? BV could have done so much better and unique, walleyr, pike, musky all would be better choices or even lunker brown trout...Fish that will draw attention and revenue

this is how snows should look lol

The honkers are there year round. I have a friend who beats up on them pretty good. Snows have been moving good the last couple days. Around Grove you may get treated to the migration of the White Pelicans pretty neat site this time of year.

I have caught them in the creek to the swim beach, If the wind stops and if we get some sunlight you will see subtle signs of them surface feeding. Water pushes and slurping sounds. They are in skinny water right up to the bank but the weather is the big problem sight fishing them right now. largest concentration at dusk has been where the old road bed goes into the lake just east of the dirt ramp.

Is Homer Simpson in charge??? Talk about a stupid mistake

The wourse thing people can do is troll with the big motor running do to how shallow they are. When i use to do a lot of Diving I would watch stripers scatter when a boat came through in water under 25ft. The best thing a person can do is go to the back of the cove catch a net full of shad and set up drifts. As to lures, I have been throwing pencil poppers when there is no wind and doing very well on them. 1/2 Rattle traps work well but the hands down best is a White Bucktail. The fish are locked in on the shad bite though so that is what im using 99% of the time right now.

Yes it is loaded. Stripers were on the North Shore today off the old road bed. Caught a couple nice LMB as well. Trick was to stay on the edges of the big bait balls, Sidescan works great for doing that.

13 stripers and a day watching snow geese migrate and none came low enough dang it... But I was treated to some nice sites. This one taped out to be around 25lbs This big girl taped out 48in deadnut estimated 40lbs I think this was the highlight of my day. I love Bald eagles and this one treated me to a good show.

Summer is the deep bite right now stripers are moving into shallow waters and will remain there till next summer. 20ft and under is the target range. I have been speaking to friends over there who are telling me to get over they are surface feeding in the morning and moving onto shallow flats in the afternoons.

Duck hunting sucked!!!! 0 birds and i dont mean i didnt get 0 i mean I saw 0 as did 10 other parties i talked to. All of us were in disbelief, Thursday there were rafts of 1000;s of birds and today NONE. Gave up any serious duck hunting by 10am and swithced to Stripers { with the gun on deck of course } Gun didnt get used but Prairie Creek is still red hot for stripers and the bigger jobs are in for sure. 14 Stripers 12 hybrids { up to 10 pnds } and 4 whites. Key for big stripers is BIG Bait and it is easy to get right now. Freeline the bait 100ft behind the boat and hold on. Wind was insane again today never letting up bt did not matter.

I know 4 people who have been draw for the AR Elk. Funny they are all lifetime license holders! MDC could manage the lands alot better and as i said before for multy species. They just get to narrow minded IMO. 100 acres heck 40 acres is alot of land if managed correctly. It takes the money for initial purchase and then for periodic maintenance but is possible. I have seen first hand what people can do on small tracks of land under 100 acres. I have seen ponds with hardwood hamock and riperian habitat on it. Sounds like a busy little area but some of the best bucks ive taken and deer hunts were on lands like that. Great Habitat in miles of farmland will attract game species and enhance peoples ability to use the land and more import will encourage the use by its productivity. Maybe that would get more kids off the Play Stations and X-Boxes and out in the woods with thier family.

As dry as it is north the big lakes should be excell this season. Ive got 9 dozen divers and 6 dozen puddlers ready for AR opener tomorrow, thats about the biggest spread i use solo hunting. Cant wait till next weekend when my brother gets back The BIG spread goes out for fun. I found some good spots on beaver yesterday but with 30mph wind and possible rain i may have to rethink the spots;

Lacrosse Brush Tough. They lasted me about 5 years. I just bought some Drake's if they last 5 years i feel I got my money. I dont expect waders to last more than 4 years and did the math on them awhile back. Cheap Neos run about 75 bucks so 75 x's 4 = 300 bucks for a new set every four years or a 300 dollar set every four years. Either way im spending money. But I learned the 300 dollar waders offer more warmth and accessories then the cheapies so i go for them bells and whistles. Only must have is 5mm and at least 1600gr for the boots.

Chicken liver is one of the top baits out west. Drift it behind the boat and they will zero in on it. Anchovies, Sardines and Cut Mackerel all work well. I have pulled eel immitation baits here and had a couple hook ups but I think its more reaction then actual predatory. Eel on the east coast are deadly.

Chief, anytime you want to shoot over to Beaver for some striper or Duck let me know I have Coffee always and good cigars, I would enjoy the conversation. sounds like we both have a lot of the same feelings toward how conservation should work. Now if only we can convince the powers to manage for multy species not just singular.

I completely agree, Shawnee should be managed for Chickens no doubt, what gets me is as often as I have hunted it I have yet to see even one, now a few miles away is Red Wing and I actually stoped taking people quail hunting there because I do not want to see one killed. Managing Shawnee for DOVE is a joke they are there at most a week after season opens, It would be a far better use of money and energy to manage it for Quail, Turkey, Chicken and Waterfowl. I do have to disagree with you though on the smaller areas. 100 acres is more than ample if managed properly to support Waterfowl habitat, Better quail and chicken habitat and even turkey and Deer. It doesnt even have to be managed just enhanced to bring the full potential to life. MDC is so keyed in on Chickens on so many areas it is blind IMO to the high potential small tracks can produce. Its one of the complaints I have with MDC, They are blind by potential for multy specie land enhancment for the sake of one.

Chief, I know many of the areas you speak opf and do hunt them. Heck i am sitting at Browning as i type this, have to go to KS for a bid today and thought what better way to start a day then to leave early and drive up here to see the lake come alive.. Anyway my point was we need managed areas not areas that are just maintained.

I said it before that you do not need a million lures to catch them but there are some fun ones to use and with a practical use. 1ST Is the Wahoo Bomb! I first learned of this lure back in the late 80’s or early 90’s on Long Range trips to Clipperton and Clarion Island for Yellowfin and Wahoo. When I first saw the lure I had to chuckle at it and think to myself this guy has got to be kidding. He pulled out a 6oz Egg Sinker, Took a piece of Mylar out of his tackle box and then cut small slices up it pulled off the sticky tape and wrapped it around the Egg Sinker. He then ran a length of 100lb mono trough the egg crimped on a 9/0 J-Hook and then crimped on a 3/0 ball barring swivel to the front. He cast it out and instantly was on a 60lb Wahoo. I was standing there in amazement, here I spent hundreds of dollars on wahoo lures and this guy had a $1.00 egg sinker a 30cent hook and 20 cent swivel and 2 minutes of his time and was catching wahoo! I was looking at them a few weeks ago and they sure have come a long way from their humble start and the price sure has gone up for the fancy factory bombs that outlast the old egg sinker but the sinker still works and works on stripers. Yes I said it works on stripers, I still on rare occasion use them. Same principle only I use a 2 to 4oz egg sinker . The advantage of this lure is simple DISTANCE! I can cast one of these bombs well over 100 yards and some days distance is needed This is where a surf rod with 30lb test is very much needed or a good 8 foot heavy action baitcaster. 2nd Is another favorite of mine because you look at it and say NO WAY! A simple Cedar Plug, Those who have fished Bill Fish and Tuna know how deadly this cigar is and for some reason landlocked stripers will eat it as well. Don’t expect a ton of bites but it’s one they for some reason do bite. The trick to it is troll it behind the boat at 2 to 3mph, it skips in and out of the water and is a schoolie catching machine. I run them 100 yards behind the boat or I will run them out on a planer board 100 yards out near shore lines. 3rd Another Saltwater Lure Iron Jigs Size 2 and 4 in Blue and white, it’s a Jig and a Swim Bait. They are fish catching machines and have been used on the West Coast for years for Saltwater fishing. I was getting annoyed with fish in a spillway out of casting distance of most lures and had one in my box and figured why not. Tied it on and a limit of stripers later decided I better always keep these in the box. Just throw it out and reel it in or in deep water vertical jig them. Now these are not common baits by any stretch but fun baits none the less. Especially when guys are watching you throw these big heavy baits out and think no way you will catch a fish. Then the look on the face when they see you hooked up to a big striper and you know they are just busting to ask what the hell is it!

What gets me is why is there noplace in the southwest region that is managed for waterfowl? Nearest is 4rivers and Schell which is a 2.5 to 3hr drive for me. You would think with Springfield and Joplin's populations the MDC would have a managed area in the region. Shawnee Trail could easily be turned into a managed wetlands with a little effort.

One of my good friends gave me this site a few years ago. It is the devil for waterfowlers torture some days even. http://www.bartonccc.edu/community/relationships/cheyennebottoms.html