The fishing and hunting thread

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by worm

Its actually St Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Was there a few weeks ago on the bike and heading back for a backcountry camping trip this Thurs.

If you are heading East down Going to the Sun road.....look for the Wild Goose Island turnout. That was where this pic was taken. You can see the island in the foreground and Logan Pass in the distance.

Great, great place to go OU if you haven't been. One of favorite places in the World.

Google Wild Goose Island in Glacier and you will see many, many similar pics...but none of them do it justice.

Yep....looks like you are right.

Good call.

Those tricky Canadians tried passing it off as their own on this link:

http://www.canadahotelsmotels.com/ho...da/cities.html

[Bronx33]

I have been messing around with these vintage sniper rifles and you can get them pretty cheap only thing is you have to build them yourself ( which i did) just having fun with these and wondering if anybody else was messin with em.

[oubronco]

Originally Posted by worm

Its actually St Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Was there a few weeks ago on the bike and heading back for a backcountry camping trip this Thurs.

If you are heading East down Going to the Sun road.....look for the Wild Goose Island turnout. That was where this pic was taken. You can see the island in the foreground and Logan Pass in the distance.

Great, great place to go OU if you haven't been. One of favorite places in the World.

Google Wild Goose Island in Glacier and you will see many, many similar pics...but none of them do it justice.

Awesome thanks I will surely check it out when I take our Ride out that way

[Bronx33]

This was walking around in front of my parents house early this week in lakewood jewell and kipling

[oubronco]

Me and a buddy took our two boys (both are 14) and went fishing on a river trolling for sand bass this past weekend. We caught a boatload but only brought home 23. The highlight was my buddy's son caught 2 at the same time on 1 lure, it was awesome the look on his face was priceless. The lowlight was when my buddy caught a fish and brought it in the boat and my son slipped and dropped his mom's camera in the river with all the pics we took. Mom was PISSED so I get to buy her a new one

All in all it was one fun day with the boys

[AK Broncomaniac]

It's Silver Salmon Derby time here in Alaska! Come on up!!!

[BMF Bronco]

Originally Posted by worm

Its actually St Mary's Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana.

Was there a few weeks ago on the bike and heading back for a backcountry camping trip this Thurs.

If you are heading East down Going to the Sun road.....look for the Wild Goose Island turnout. That was where this pic was taken. You can see the island in the foreground and Logan Pass in the distance.

Great, great place to go OU if you haven't been. One of favorite places in the World.

Google Wild Goose Island in Glacier and you will see many, many similar pics...but none of them do it justice.

and that my friend is why I live here

[SouthStndJunkie]

Here is a picture of the 11 steelhead we caught on Wednesday.

They had a lot more color to them when we first caught them, but they lost a lot of it, sitting in a cooler most of the day.

Most of them were in the 7-8 pound range.

[Meck77]

Nice work SSJ. That's some serious poundage. Did you smoke some of those?

[schaaf]

I had a pretty good year of fishing/hunting, was able to shoot my first elk in an Elk reduction program in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Shot an above average mule deer, got my turkey in the last week. As for fishing, I was .5 inches away from a new Montana state record in the Kokanee Salmon out of Fort Peck Lake. and also caught a 12 lb Walleye... any other hunting stories from this year

On to Calling in some Coyotes

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by Meck77

Nice work SSJ. That's some serious poundage. Did you smoke some of those?

Yep....we had enough for a little over 2 steelhead for each of us....we had 6 of them smoked and we split that all up.

I cooked my other steelehead on the grill.

[oubronco]

Overlooked Spring Bass Hotspots

Retaining walls. Flooded roadbeds. Semi-submerged fallen trees on channel banks. Warm-water runoff in the backs of tributaries. Just some of the places you probably aren’t fishing this spring, but should be. Wirth explain why, and gives pro tips for fishing ‘em.

Mississippi pro Cliff Pace rooted his crankbait around some submerged crappie bushes and caught this 7-pound largemouth.

Where will you be fishing this spring? You could take the no-brainer approach and get in line with all those other bass fishermen casting to the bank. Or, you could do what pro tournament anglers do, and load your boat with big bass on these key springtime spots that weekend fishermen usually overlook!

Crappie Cover for Big Bass

Description: Later on this spring, crappie will gang up on submerged brushpiles and stake beds to spawn. But right now, while the water is still chilly, these future crappie attractors can be loaded with bass, and chances are, nobody’s fishing them.
Importance to spring bass: Prespawn bass often stage around crappie cover in the 8 to 12 foot zone, using the cover to ambush baitfsh.
Best approach: Locate these fish attractors visually or with your graph, then run a crankbait or spinnerbait around them, making sure the lure bumps the cover. If the water is muddy, flip a jig into the attractor.
Inside tip: Large brushpiles intended as crappie attractors are often broken up and scattered over a wide area by panfishermen who hang up anchors in the cover. The biggest bass in the area may hold on the outer perimeter of this scattered cover, so when approaching a brushpile, start at least two cast-lengths away from the structure by fan-casting a spinnerbait, then move gradually toward the main concentration of brush.
Retaining Walls

Description: A sharply vertical man-made structure designed to shore up an earthen bank and protect it from erosion due to wave action. Often associated with shoreline residential developments, retaining walls may be
made of cement blocks, wood pilings or poured concrete.
Importance to spring bass: Bass moving from deep to shallow water in early spring often stage in open water adjacent to retaining walls in water temperatures ranging from around 48 to 58 degrees. These fish can be found suspending in the water column when inactive, or cruising the structure feeding on shad that are eating algae growing on the wall.
Trees extending from the bank into the water are a huge bass attractor in spring.

Best approach: Go for active bass first by casting a deep-diving crankbait parallel to the wall. If this doesn’t produce a strike, move your boat away from the wall and cast a suspending jerkbait directly to the structure. Work the lure very slowly in the coldest part of the temperature range indicated above, a little faster in the upper portion of this range.
Inside tip: In clear lakes, bass action on retaining walls is usually best when a stiff breeze is causing waves to crash against the structure.
Fallen Trees on Deep Bank

Description: A tree that has toppled from the bank into the lake; the top portion is laying in water at least 8 feet deep and the trunk is resting on the bank.
Importance to spring bass: This structure acts as a bridge from deep to shallow water. Bass swimming along a deep ledge or creek channel will encounter the top of the tree, then follow it up into water shallow enough for spawning. Also serves as a bridge from the shoreline to the water for insects, mice and other small creatures upon which bass feed.
Best approach: Slow-roll a spinnerbait lengthways down the tree, making sure the lure contacts the structure. Or, swim a jig ‘n pig through the branches.
Inside tip: Make repeated presentations to the tree, taking care to have lure contact where major branches jut off from the trunk – this is where bass are most likely to be holding.
Flooded Roadbeds

Oklahoma pro Terry Butcher knows that the first aquatic vegetation to emerge in early spring can hold plenty of bass.

Description: A flooded road leading into a reservoir. The roadbed surface may be made of asphalt, gravel or earth; asphalt roads were often broken up prior to being flooded. The roadbed may be elevated off the bottom and lined with stumps or chunk rock.
Importance to spring bass: Another “highway” which bass follow from deep to shallow water as the water warms. Bass may spawn on some submerged roadbeds.
Best approach: Run a deep-diving crankbait parallel to the structure. Hit the top of the road first, then root the lure through rock rubble or stumps on either side.
Inside tip: Unpaved roads such as old logging trails are less obvious than paved roads, and are therefore more likely to be ignored by anglers. Scan the surrounding terrain for indentations indicating an old road leading into the lake.
Warm Run-Offs

Description: Water entering a lake via tributaries, ditches, culverts, etc. draining the surrounding terrain following warm spring rains.
Importance to spring bass: The body temperature of a bass matches that of its surroundings. In the cold water typical of early spring, bass are sluggish, but their activity level picks up quickly when the temperature of their surroundings rises following a warm spring deluge. Run-off also flushes worms and insect larvae into the lake, jump-starting the food chain.
Best approach: Move to the extreme back-end of an inflowing tributary and fan-cast a spinnerbait or deep-diving crankbait.
Inside tip: An unseasonably warm rain in early spring can trigger a mass emergence of crayfish from hibernation. Root a craw-colored crankbait across the bottom in run-off areas.
Early-Emerging Vegetation

Description: The first green aquatic vegetation to appear in spring.
Tennessee bass expert Steve Dodson caught this nice largemouth in a shoreline pocket.

Importance to spring bass: Weeds are considered by most bass pros to be the #1 cover for bass. They provide hiding and ambush places, and attract a variety of forage species including shiners, crayfish and bluegills. Weeds also filter impurities from the water and produce oxygen through photosynthesis.
Best approach: Look for emerging vegetation in shallow areas of quiet coves and tributary arms, where solar penetration is maximized. Cast a tube bait or plastic worm doused in liquid fish attractant (so it can slide more easily through the cover) to the thickest past of the grass and work it to the outer perimeter. If the water is clear, try twitching a silver or gold floater/diver minnow around the grass.
Inside tip: Weeds usually appear first in the northwest corner of the lake. This is the area most protected from cold north winds, so the water will be warmest here.
Shoreline Pockets

Description: Indentation in the shoreline, usually oval shaped, with a depth of at least 8 feet in the middle.
Importance to spring bass: Bass often suspend in the middle of these structures after making their initial move toward the shoreline from deep water.
Best approach: If the water is clear, fan-cast a suspending jerkbait around the pocket.
Inside tip: This is a great spot for a lipless crankbait. Look for baitfish flipping in the pocket, then fan-cast the crankbait around the structure.

[That One Guy]

Gosh those natural lakes look so awesome. I've recently finally gotten into the south Florida fishing and the bigger fish are nice but the fact that everything is man made and almost all cleaned up and pristine takes away the obvious spots. Thankfully the banks are solid with homes and everyone has docks or there'd be nothing to fish at all...

[SouthStndJunkie]

Found a few small morels tonight....still early around here.

I don't like tramping in my good spots while they are still small and under the leaves.

This is easily a few weeks earlier than I've ever started finding them around here....warm spring.

[SouthStndJunkie]

[oubronco]

Nice haul there Junkie

[That One Guy]

I love mushrooms but I'd never risk collecting them myself as I know nothing about them. I've heard of Mushroom classes. I should look into those.

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by oubronco

Nice haul there Junkie

Thanks....made an awesome batch of Cream of Morel Soup with those last night.

Its been a very early morel season so far.....I normally don't find them until the end of April and the season usually lasts around 3 weeks.

I'll find 400+ on a good year, pretty sure I'll find over 500 this year.

You hunt them as well?

[SouthStndJunkie]

Originally Posted by That One Guy

I love mushrooms but I'd never risk collecting them myself as I know nothing about them. I've heard of Mushroom classes. I should look into those.

Morels are very easy to identify....the closest mushroom to them looks wise is the false morel and they really don't look much alike at all to me.

This time of year, I'll also pick some Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) as I see a lot of them while morel hunting.

I know my puff balls pretty well, as well as Hen of the Woods, Shaggy Manes (in the fall) and a few other species.

If I don't know what it is for certain, I won't eat it.

[SouthStndJunkie]

Another 18 morel mushrooms today....plus some wild asparagus.

Banner year for ticks....I bet I've picked 8-10 off me in the last few days.

[SouthStndJunkie]

Nice haul of morels this afternoon:

[SouthStndJunkie]

Found these 13 morels earlier today....I think it's going to be an early season that is almost finished around here.

I was hoping for an extended season that lasts into May, like usual.

I'm not b****ing though, the morels were out about 3 weeks early this year.

There are a few big yellows in this picture.

[oubronco]

[oubronco]

Next year the boy's going for to go for it! He's got a buddy who fished this year but didn't do to good

http://www.highschoolfishing.org/new...set-for-may-6/

WAGONER, Okla. (April 9, 2012) – The Bass Federation (TBF), in partnership with FLW and the Wagoner Chamber of Commerce, has announced that the 2012 Student Angler Federation (SAF) Oklahoma High School Fishing State Championship will be held Sunday, May 6 on Fort Gibson Lake at Taylor Ferry Marina & Resort in Wagoner, Okla.

[myMind]

Going fly fishing for the first time ever tomorrow. Gonna fish the Arkansas is what Im being told. Im totally stoked, Ive been rod and reeling my whole life and cant wait to learn the finesse of the fly rod.