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877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 3
HUNTING & FISHING IN ALABAMA & THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE
CONTENTS Remembering Charles Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . 7 by John E. Phillips Cat Fishing Tips for Flatheads. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 by D. Strickland Exploring the Best Bass Fishing Vacations in Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 by Ed Mashburn Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 by John E. Phillips Things to Do in Orange Beach When You Aren‘t Fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 by Angelo DePaola Summer Speckled Trout Fishing With Live Croaker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 by Capt. Bobby Abruscato
In Every Issue Best Bets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 by William Kendy Camphouse Kitchen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 by Hank Shaw New Gear for Outdoorsmen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 by William Kendy From the Commissioner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 by Chris Blakenship From the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 by Charles Sykes The Gun Rack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 by Craig Haney Paddle Fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 by Ed Mashburn Coastal Outlook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 by Chris Vecsey Pier & Shore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 by David Thornton Regional Freshwater. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 by Ed Mashburn Prime Feeding Times, Moon, Sun, and Tide Charts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Pensacola Motorsports Trophy Room. . . . . . 68 Great Days Kids Corner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Classifieds & Fishin‘ Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Fishing Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 by William Kendy A Great Day Outdoors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 by Jim Mize
4 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
PROPERTY PHOTO HERE
PROPERTY PHOTO HERE
The Holbrook Farm
Beloit Trophy Hunting Farm Timber and Catfish Investment
The Holbrook Farm located in the Akron community of Hale County, Alabama, has the ideal breakdown of essential property types that most outdoorsmen are looking for. The property has a HERE majority in mature hardwood PROPERTY TEXT timber followed by mature pine timber, open pasture, creek bottoms, a lake and topped off with a beautiful farmhouse. All of this is only 35 minutes away from downtown Tuscaloosa. The property has abundant paved road frontage, electricity, water, and utilities on site. The area is known for great deer and turkey hunting and the 7 acre bass lake completes this very nice recreational property. The farmhouse has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and a beautiful front porch overlooking a pecan grove. Part of the property was once used as a nursery and a oak tree grove remains that bears acorns yearly. Property has a current appraisal and is shown by appointment only.
Diverse, bank owned farm has it all: timber, agricultural land, catfish ponds, duck ponds, & a hunting lodge. In the fertile Alabama Black Belt between Orrville & Selma at Beloit, an area renowned for its abundance of trophy whitetail deer, turkey, dove,PROPERTY duck, & other hunting, enjoy easy access w/ paved frontage on Highway 22 & CR TEXT HERE 189, miles of internal gravel roads that rival many county roads, & an array of income producing opportunities from cattle, timberland, catfish farming, hunting, & row crop production, all on one tract. Previously used to host commercial hunts, 2BR hunting lodge w/sleeping loft has 3.5 BAs, stone fpl, open floor plan, & views of the surrounding farmland. Downstairs mud/locker rm could be an additional bed or bunk rm, & the walk-in cooler w/ conveyor. Bunkhouse w/a full BA outside the lodge can sleep 4-8, & brick farmhouse just to the East w/5 BR & 3 BA could be for guests, office, owner’s lodge, or caretaker’s home. 440+/- acres of timber consists of hardwood plantation, pine plantation, natural oak hammocks, & areas of mature, natural hardwood. 465+/- acres of open land includes both fenced and unfenced pasture that are flat to gently rolling, with multiple barns, silos, and sheds present, and the 28 catfish ponds w/power & pumps throughout encompass 367+/- acres. Several duck ponds & strategically placed food plots, and Tatum Creek flows through the property providing several large potential fishing lake sites. Two add. waterfront homes are available for purchase if desired & DIVISIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED.
Hale County, Alabama, 329+/-Acres
Dallas County, Alabama, 1283+/-Acres
FL Panhandle Listings
Alabama Listings COUNTY Autauga Autauga Autauga Autauga Autauga Baldwin Baldwin Baldwin Baldwin Baldwin Barbour Barbour Barbour Barbour Barbour Blount Blount Blount Bullock Bullock Butler Butler Butler Cherokee Chilton Chilton Choctaw
ACRES 535 375 371 298 210 1995 1339 1304 710 463 884 215 120 62 10 151 60 50 4000 167 395 85.16 77 2230 146 65.4 388
COUNTY Choctaw Choctaw Choctaw Choctaw Clarke Clarke Clarke Clarke Clarke Coffee Colbert Colbert Colbert Colbert Colbert Conecuh Conecuh Conecuh Conecuh Conecuh Coosa Covington Covington Covington Covington Covington Crenshaw
216 54 38 30 620 526 520 234 220 200 294 161 133 101 80 80 74 22 20 10 151 360 331 72 50 22 60
Cullman Cullman Dale Dallas Dallas Dallas Dallas Dallas Elmore Elmore Elmore Elmore Elmore Escambia Fayette Fayette Fayette Fayette Fayette Franklin Franklin Franklin Greene Greene Greene Greene Greene
ACRES 876.25 59 96 463.54 140 82.73 60 19.34 450 342 264 111 97 671.6 672 473 232 122 112 244 103 58 2590 2100 1135 965 490
COUNTY Hale Hale Hale Hale Hale Henry Henry Henry Henry Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson Jefferson Lamar Lamar Lamar Lamar Lamar Lawrence Lawrence Lowndes Lowndes Lowndes Macon Macon Macon
329 150 53.2 53 41 200 100 80 10 633 120 75 65 14 367 200 192 160 148 80 45 1013 793.5 783 2370 930 486
Macon Macon Marengo Marengo Marengo Marengo Marengo Marion Marion Marion Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Mobile Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Monroe Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Montgomery Morgan Perry
ACRES 396 163 6214 3000 1164 404 264 250 82 31 1800 308 299.1 260 192 790 298 269 129 110 858 697 623 469 430 76 386
COUNTY Perry Perry Perry Perry Pickens Pickens Pickens Pickens Pickens Pike Pike Russell Saint Clair Saint Clair Shelby Shelby Shelby Shelby Shelby Sumter Sumter Sumter Sumter Sumter Talladega Talladega Tuscaloosa
240.75 189 90.5 50 837 450 430 240.36 150 112 40 195 68.13 10 240 159 74 74 66 740 550 406.47 350 188 882 537 153
Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa Tuscaloosa Walker Walker Walker Walker Walker Washington Washington Washington Washington Washington Wilcox Wilcox Wilcox Wilcox Wilcox Winston Winston Winston
ACRES 152 120 120 80 203 100 82 73 61 480 240 190 160 160 1465 660 310 31 12 265 2.3 1.3
COUNTY
ACRES
Escambia Gulf Holmes Santa Rosa Walton Walton Walton Walton Walton Washington
257 55 93 680 188 60 39.75 35 24 22.5
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877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 5
BEST BETS
BEST BETS FOR JUNE These are our top targets for hunters and fishermen this month! BY WILLIAM KENDY
GET KIDS ADDICTED…TO FISHING
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the future of fishing, and hunting and shooting for that matter, lies with all of us adults “recruiting” kids into the fold. Unlike other sports, like track and soccer, fishing requires more than tennis shoes and a soccer ball and is a high involvement sport. Kids need a “mentor” who can patiently and responsibly shepherd and take them under their wing and instill a meaningful, engaging and, most importantly, fun experience that will grow into a passion for fishing and outdoor adventures. I reached out to some of our expert fishing captains and guides for their take on how to get kids hooked on fishing. See this issue’s “Fishing Tips” on page 73 for their responses and insight.
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 6 June 2020
PUBLISHED BY: Great Days Outdoors Media, L.L.C. PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Joe Baya MANAGING EDITOR: William Kendy CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Wendy Johannesmann ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Samatha Hester
SUMMER SHOOTING RANGE TIME
While June is a premier fishing month in Alabama, it’s not too early to get out shooting and do some self-evaluation on how well you actually did with your rifle or shotgun during the last hunting season. One of the biggest issues that affect the performance of shooters and hunters is the infamous “flinch”, which is largely due to recoil. When you dread the upcoming “slam” against your shoulder you can develop a tendency to “semi-shut” your eyes and jerk the trigger, which makes for lousy shot placement or misses. Craig Haney in this month’s Gun Rack column on page 52 presents different ways that you can minimize “getting beat up by recoil” and avoid making a bad shot or having a “half-moon” cut over your eye.
JUNE OFFERS PRIME ALABAMA RED SNAPPER FISHING
For all of you Alabama red snapper addicts, starting on May 22 you have a 35-day fishing season to fuel your passion. The new wrinkle for the 2020 season is that it consists of fourday weekends, Friday through Monday, until the projected closing on Sunday, July 19. Weekends are defined as 12:01 a.m. Friday through 11:59 p.m. Monday. The daily bag limit is two red snapper per person, per day with a minimum size limit of 16 inches total length. Alabama has probably the finest red snapper reef fishery resource in the country. Fish around hard structure, from 40 up to 300 feet of water with a chunky piece of menhaden, cigar minnow, or any other finfish.
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Great Days Outdoors (USPS 17228; ISSN 1556-0147) is published monthly at P.O. Box 1253 Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459 Subscription rate is $24 for one-year, $40 for two-years, and $55 for three-years. Periodicals Postage Paid at Mobile, Ala. and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Great Days Outdoors Media, LLC PO Box 460248 Escondido, CA 92046 SUBSCRIBERS: All subscriptions begin the first issue for the month following receipt of payment, if payment is received by the 15th. Great Days Outdoors assumes no responsibility for delivery after magazines are mailed. All delivery complaints should be addressed to your local postmaster. CONTACT US: EDITORIAL | JoeBaya@greatdaysoutdoors.com ADVERTISING | SamHester@greatdaysoutdoors.com SUBSCRIPTIONS | greatdaysoutdoors@pcspublink.com Great Days Outdoors Media LLC PO Box 460248 Escondido, CA 92046 877. 314. 1237 info@greatdaysoutdoors.com www.greatdaysoutdoors.com All rights reserved. Reproduction of contents is strictly prohibited without permission from Great Days Outdoors Media, LLC.
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Remembering
Charles Johnson
BY JOHN E. PHILLIPS
Charlie Johnson of Eastaboga, Alabama, was a longtime friend of mine, who passed away on April 8, 2020. I met Charlie in person about 10+ years ago, although I’d talked and corresponded with him for much longer. Charlie was a writer for Great Days Outdoors for many years and was dedicated to the task of learning all he could about hunting and fishing and then passing on what he’d learned to his readers in GDO. Charlie also was an exceptional photographer. He’d learned and studied his craft, and if you followed Charlie in GDO, you noticed that his photos became better, more exciting and more fun to look at as the years rolled by. Charlie was a family man and very committed to his wife of 36 years Ann Claire and his two sons, Hunter and Landon. You would know this information when you saw pictures of his family and grandchildren hunting and fishing with him in articles he wrote for GDO. Nothing pleased Charlie more than to be sneaking through the woods with a family member or riding in a boat to a secret place to fish and catch fish. A graduate of Auburn University in aviation management and a longtime employee of Alabama Laser, Charlie found a way later in life to take his love for the outdoors and share this passion with others through his pen and his camera. Charlie was the outdoor editor for The Anniston Star from 2002 until his passing. Charlie also served on the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association (SEOPA)’s Board of Directors and helped steer this organization through both good and hard times in the lives of many outdoor communicators. Charlie gave his life to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in 1988, and usually that was one of the first things he shared with folks. He spent his life telling family and friends about his love for Jesus and serving as a deacon at Pell City First Baptist Church. Most of all, Charlie was my friend. We talked regularly, and we depended on each other for advice, contacts and strategies for not only how to hunt and fish better but also how to write and photograph at a higher level. Charlie’s not gone – he’s just moved to a better neighborhood. You’ll find the spirit of Charlie in the woods and waters throughout the State of Alabama - on those still mornings, just before sunrise and even before the woodsbirds wake up. All that’s good in a man’s life lives on in his family and in all those who knew him and called him friend. 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 7
Cat fishing Tips FLATHEADS For
8 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
FISHING BY D. STRICKLAND
My family would often load up in my dad’s old push-button Dodge and drive the backroads of rural Greene County, Alabama, on Friday evenings to visit relatives. If it was nearing springtime and our destination was my Uncle Buck’s, we could anticipate the words of Aunt Wanda when we arrived: “Buck’s down at the creek with the boys catching some maul-heads.” After hunting season, when the nearby Sipsey River retreated back to within its banks, it was time to clean out the flat-bottom boat and get ready to put out some limb lines for yellow catfish. Flathead Biology Yellow cats are carnivores and cannibalistic. They are the only true predator among Alabama catfish. Their lower jaw protrudes beyond its upper and that’s why it’s called shovelhead by some. They are also called flatheads, appaloosa, mud and Mississippi cat, among other names. Its yellowish brown and black mottled appearance affords good camouflage as it lays on the muddy bottoms of streams and reservoirs. Its tail is not forked like most others, but has a squared appearance. Studies indicate that they fare as well in lakes and reservoirs as their native streams and can live up to 20 years or more. Their original range was the lower Great Lakes and Mississippi River system to the Gulf of Mexico and into the eastern rivers of Texas and northern Mexico that drain into the Gulf. Over the years they have been introduced to a much larger area east and west of their home range. Nesting occurs near structure when water temperature reaches 75-80 degrees and females can lay up to 100,000 eggs which hatch in 6-9 days. The male guards the eggs and the young fry for several days. The newborns feed upon insect larvae and advance to crawfish and small fish as they grow. Adults are somewhat solitary and prefer proximity to logs or other structure during the day. They move into the shallows as daylight fades and station themselves to ambush passing fish. Yellow cats over 20 pounds are fairly common but there are much bigger ones lurking in the inaccessible regions of most rivers. The Alabama state record for a yellow cat is an 80 pounder caught on the Alabama River near Selma, but the largest one recorded was from Texas at nearly 140 pounds. My uncle caught a 65 pounder off of a sapling pole sunk into the soft river bank near a creek mouth. Our family has had some good hooks straightened and an occasional pole pulled out of the bank. There are some really big catfish that swim our little river, but it takes a good hook and proper setup to keep them from pulling off. I’ve pulled up lines that had a dead catfish over five pounds that was mauled and partially skinned from a big yellow wanting a large meal. The best baits we have found for these catfish are longear sunfish, bullheads (maulheads) and bluegills.
Small Sipsey River flathead. Caught by the author and #1 grandson 4/11/20.
I was grown before I figured out maul-heads were more properly known as “bullheads”. It could have been Aunt Wanda’s thick German accent that accounted for our pet name for these small catfish. They thrive in the small feeder creeks that empty into the Sipsey River. Nearby cane thickets supplied the dozen or so short poles that we routinely stuck in the creek banks after dark. My cousins and I would tie a four to five foot length of monofilament to each tip and then tie on a bream hook. Two split shots were then squeezed onto the line just above it. We baited them with worms and usually fished them to near midnight. Our nearby campfire and an old Coleman lantern helped us watch the tips of our 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 9
Cat fishing Tips For Flatheads
64Lb.Sipsey River flathead caught by the authors Uncle Coondog Hall (on the right), in the 1940’s from a limb line
short cane poles for any movement. Digging Worms Worms seemed to be the best bait for bullheads and digging worms was a normal routine in those days. I had a worm bed made from some old boards and tin, but my cousin and I learned an easier way to get worms in a swamp adjacent to the Black Warrior River. We were bottom fishing one day when we noticed an older black man walking slowly in the nearby swamp. He had a cane pole in one hand and a small bucket and rusty axe in the other. We watched as he stopped and laid down the pole and bucket. He reached over and chopped down a small sapling about two feet above the damp ground. He picked up the fallen tree and pulled it away from the stump. He then took that old axe and laid it sideways on top of where he had cut. We listened as the vibrations echoed through the swamp. He picked up a small, rusty syrup bucket and then leaned over to grab a handful of damp leaves. He placed them in the bucket and began picking up the biggest worms we had ever seen. We later talked about what we saw with some old timers in our community. They told us it was known as grubbing or fiddling worms. This method along with some variations has been known for centuries and there have been annual worm gathering competitions around Alabama, other states, and even Europe. We would put our bullheads in an old Coleman cooler with just enough water to cover them. Next to a grinnel they are about the toughest fish I know of. They can live out of water for over two hours and if hooked properly are lively for up to a week on the hook. We speculated that big yellows might not eat for three or four days 10 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
between meals, and a good spot might need to be fished up to a week to catch those bigger cats. The smallest of our creek bullheads was three or four inches with the average being six to ten inches. We would occasionally catch a few up to 14 inches and around two pounds. Our best setups always got the biggest baits. Catfishing Gear Our set hooks were made with white braided nylon twine with a breaking strength of several hundred pounds. We used offset hooks from 4/0 up to 10/0 that were weighted with at least a one ounce weight. We carefully filed our hooks so that they had a rounded and reduced profile near its needle point. We discovered that if you take two small round chainsaw files and tape the two ends tightly, that a hook dragged lightly down that groove will form a near perfect needle like point. Because of the abundant trees along the river’s banks, there was usually a good limber tree limb to tie our lines to. If we found a good spot near a steep bank with nothing to tie to, we would search nearby for a young sapling to cut. After sharpening its base it was plunged deep into the muddy bank. Another option is purchasing some 8’ fiberglass tree stakes in 3/8” to 7/16” diameter and drilling a hole near one end for the line. The line can be wrapped around the pole neatly and a piece of rubber tubing slid to secure the hook. A dozen or so are easily carried and take up little room. Fishing Depth There was some dispute in our family about how deep to set our hooks. Most swore that dropping the weight to the bottom and then bringing it up 6-8 inches was best. I experimented and found that a bait fish
Cat fishing Tips For Flatheads
hooked just behind its top dorsal fin and set just below the surface of the water would cause quite a commotion and seemed to work as well as the deeper sets. I have friends that consistently had good catches with sets at one to two feet below the surface. We normally set our limb lines just off the current where a slight cutback allows the bait to hand vertically.
19 pound Sipsey flathead from limb line, May 15, 2015
Catfishing At Night The biggest problem we had was that other fish also liked the baits that we used for our yellows. If they were baited too early during the day the gar and grinnel would steal most of the bait. Sometimes we would pitch tents on the riverbank and fish throughout the night. We would set a dozen or so hooks and wait till just before dark to bait them. As we set around the fire we could often hear one of our limbs slap the surface of the water nearby. We usually checked and rebaited our hooks about every two hours up until midnight before we retreated to our tent. My dad used to say, “Don’t put out no hooks if you ain’t going to be checking them at daylight.” He was taught that a big yellow would often tire after awhile, but when the sun rose they would be invigorated and oftentimes gain their freedom with those last few surges. Channels, Blues and Muddy Water Fishing Some might ask, “what about the other types of catfish?” Channels, blues and flatheads are the most commonly
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 11
Cat fishing Tips For Flatheads
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Limb line catch from the Sipsey, May 12, 2015
targeted catfish in Alabama. We occasionally catch blues and a few channel cats with our live bait, but not often. We use smaller hooks for blues and channels in the 2 to 4/0 range because their mouths are smaller than the flathead. The baits are smaller and consist of cut bait from shad or bream for blues and stink baits, worms, trimmings from the deer we save and small frozen shrimp for the channels. Channels and blues are mostly scent feeders so muddy water doesn’t hinder catching them. Streams that muddy and rise after a rain are prime fishing periods for cats, especially in the Spring as the water warms. The muddy water doesn’t seem to affect the flathead bite either. The main places to present a baited hook is just off the main current where catfish seem to lie in wait for the current to send them a meal. It’s been a few years since I’ve hung some hooks, but this spring I’m taking my two grandsons and trying something new. A few years back a group of dedicated cat fishermen developed some specialty items specifically for yellow cats. They produced and sold seven foot fiberglass ditty poles. The concept is ancient, but their materials are high tech. I bought a dozen rigged fiberglass ditty poles. They are pointed on one end to make it easy to drive them into the riverbank. These are equipped with “Spectra” braided line, three ounce sinkers and a special 9/0 circle hook. I’ve kept these in my storage shed waiting for the grandkids to mature. I’ve shared some old catfish pictures along with their stories with my two grandsons this past winter and they want to run the river this spring to set some hooks with PawPaw. I told them, “We’ve got to clean out the old flat-bottom boat, sharpen some hooks, and catch a few maul-heads.” 12 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
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5/7/20 9:30 AM
The Black Belt of Alabama offers some top-notch big bass fishing on a wide range of different waterways.
Exploring the
Best Bass Fishing Vacations in Alabama THE BLACK BELT
14 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
FISHING
BY ED MASHBURN In the middle of Alabama is a vast region known as the “Black Belt” from the deep, fertile richness of the soil, and this special place needs to be on the radar for everyone who is looking for a great place to visit where they can catch some big bass. For those visitors who want to experience easy living and good fishing for some world-class big bass, the Black Belt of Alabama should be on the list of places to try. And a very great advantage to visitors who are wise enough to plan a vacation to the Black Belt, the region can be reached from anywhere in the state of Alabama in a very few hours’ drive and from Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee in just a little more driving. The Black Belt and its attractions- like the great fishing- are not far away, and don’t require a major travel plan and preparation. Pam Swanner, director of Alabama Black Belt Adventures recommends the area for big bass fishing and other family-oriented vacations for a number of reasons. “A backroads adventure throughout the Black Belt region of Alabama provides a restful respite from the hustle and bustle of the fast-paced everyday life, particularly in the large metro areas. Getting outdoors pro-
motes a healthy lifestyle and draws the youth away from their electronic focused world,” Swanner said. BASS FISHING VACATIONSTHREE DAYS OR MORE For those anglers who like a more inclusive trip with full amenities and great services, and who want to plan a big bass catching vacation, the possibilities of the Black Belt are almost endless. Several private lodges offer angling vacationers world-class accommodations, fine dining, and easy access to fishing. Many lodges offer private big-bass fishing lakes, and anglers who visit these lodges stand a good chance of catching the biggest bass of their fishing lifetimes. Some lodges which specialize in giving visiting anglers the chance of catching a bass of a lifetime are found in the Black Belt. Anglers might want to check with any of these fine places to see about a trip for a bass fishing experience. Alabama Lake Lodge This lodge features creek-fed lakes with lots of structure to grow and hold big bass. Annual memberships are available for anglers who want to visit more than just once. 205-568-2899 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 15
Exploring the Best Bass Fishing Vacations in Alabama
Dream Lake Lodge This lodge offers hunting trips as well as big bass fishing. The private lakes here are stocked with Florida Tiger largemouth bass as well as northern strain largemouth. 205-652-4545 Jug Branch Lodge This lodge offers some great big bass fishing and very comfortable lodging for visitors 205-652-2432 jugbranchlodge@hotmail.com Triple D Ranch This 3,000 acre facility has five lakes which offer big bass and lots of space to fish. 205-652-7407 According to Swanner, there are more than fifty full-service outfitters that offer both fishing and hunting packages in the Black Belt region.
A wide range of lodges provide excellent services to vacationers in the Black Belt.
16 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
“The activities available vary from one to the other such as hunting for whitetail deer, bobwhite quail, eastern wild turkey, dove, duck, and small game. Many provide well-managed lakes for fishing while visiting during hunting seasons,� Swanner explained.
Exploring the Best Bass Fishing Vacations in Alabama
Of course, anglers who want to visit some famous bass fishing waters are in luck with a trip to the biggest draw for bass anglers in the Black Belt.
Come prepared to catch the biggest bass of a lifetime
“Lake Eufaula proudly claims the title of ‘Big Bass Capital of the World.’ This lake is also known for its fine crappie and big catfish,” Swanner said. “This lake is an impoundment on the Chattahoochee River that flows between Alabama and Georgia. Lakepoint State Park offers full-service lodge, campground/RV park, cabins, lakeview cottages, and marina. Canoes and kayaks are available for rent, also.” Lake Eufaula is massive, and it holds some seriously big bass. The lake has a wide range of big bass fishing options ranging from grass beds for topwater fishing to deep ledges and drop-offs for jig and plastic worm fishing. Spinnerbait fishing around the many trees and docks can be outstanding. There is no shortage of different habitats and holding structure for anglers who are looking for some big bass on Lake Eufaula. The town of Eufaula is a very nice place to visit, and there are several shops and some very good restaurants for visitors there, also. BIG BASS FISHING TRIPS- DIY The Black Belt region is perfect for those traveling anglers who prefer a more “Do it Yourself” type of vacation. There are a number of state parks and private RV parks that make staying in the Black Belt easy and provide quick access to great fishing water. Both Lake Eufaula and Millers Ferry are large lakes with big bass, and both have state parks which make a do-it-yourself fishing vacation easy.
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 17
Exploring the Best Bass Fishing Vacations in Alabama
Roland Cooper State Park on Millers Ferry gives visiting anglers fine boat launch facilities, cabins, and paddle boat rentals. Especially for those who prefer to camp, either in RVs or tents and these state parks are places to come and have a ball with the kids and also have a good shot at catching some really big bass. A do it yourself big bass fishing vacation at one of these state facilities is affordable and easy to do. The Black Belt has some of the very best big bass fishing streams to be found anywhere. Several rivers, including the Pea River, the Chattahoochee, and the Choctawhatchee on the east end of the Black Belt are all excellent fishing streams. The Alabama River and the Tombigbee River on the western end of the Belt are also prime big bass waters.
of anglers allowed to fish the lakes at any time is also controlled. These private big bass lakes can give a visiting angler some memories that will last for the rest of their lives. OTHER NON- FISHING OPPORTUNITIES It may be hard for us anglers to believe, but some folks don’t want to go fishing all of the time on their vacations, and for these folks, the Black Belt is a wonderful place to visit and experience. Swanner says that some of the activities for non-anglers to enjoy while anglers are having fun include bird-watching, hiking, rafting, biking, golfing and more.
While big bass may be the major calling card, there are other kinds of fish to be chased in the Black Belt. All of the lakes in the Black Belt are prime crappie and catfish waters, and anglers who want to gather up the makings for a big fish fry won’t have to work hard. Visiting anglers have access to some fine smaller public waters that should not be neglected. There are several state fishing lakes which provide easy access to some very good fishing for large bass.
“The Black Belt has great bird-watching areas. The twenty-three county region footprint of the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association included four of the trails featured in the Alabama Birding Trails.” She adds that whitewater rafting and zip lining as well as biking trails and some fine golf courses can be found here. Black Belt artisans and craftsmen offer their products for visitors, and the cradle of the civil rights history is here,” Swanner said.
To date, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources operate Barbour County Lake, Lee County Lake, Crenshaw County Lake, Pike County Lake, Aliceville Reservoir, Lake Harding, and Robert Wehle Nature Center.
Of course, Tuscaloosa is located in the Black Belt, and in the fall a big bass fishing vacation just might be combined with a Saturday expedition to Bryant-Denney Stadium to cheer for the Tide.
A number of the lodges which offer vacationers stays in supreme comfort and style have their own private bass lakes. These lakes are especially controlled and managed to produce big bass, and the number
For more information: www.alabamablackbeltadventures.org 334-343-6173
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18 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
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BY KEN FROM CA
Recipe and image courtesy of Allrecipes.com
Root Beer Pork Chops These are great for outdoor grilling. Simple and very tasty. The glaze at the end gives them a lot of concentrated flavor Ingredients
• • • • • • •
4 (1-inch thick) pork chops 3 (12 fluid ounce) cans or bottles of root beer Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup beef stock 2 tablespoons brown sugar ½ teaspoon chipotle-flavored hot sauce 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
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Instructions
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2. 3. 4.
Place the pork chops in a dish; pour 2 cans of the root beer over the chops. Place them in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours. Remove the pork chops from the root beer; season with salt and pepper. Combine the remaining can of root beer, the beef stock, brown sugar, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce in a saucepan over medium heat; simmer the mixture until it reduces to about 3/4 cup. Set aside. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Grill the pork chops on the preheated grill until they no longer pink in the center, about 8 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Brush the chops generously with the reduction sauce and continue cooking for about 2 minutes more per side. Remove from the grill and brush with any remaining sauce. Season with salt to taste before serving.
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251-473-3176 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 19
Mark Daniels, Jr., of Tuskegee, Alabama, fishes the Major League Fishing (MLF) circuit today but won a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament with the Ned Rig. “Remember, big elephants eat small peanuts, and big bass will take little lures,� Joey Nania said.
20 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
FISHING
Catch More
Bass Ned Rig
by Learning to Fish the
“At first, most tournament anglers laughed at this little bitty worm with a goofylooking jighead and a wire hook. They didn’t think the Ned Rig would be a significant fishing lure for them to carry in their tackle boxes, but they were proved wrong.” Daniel Nussbaum, Z-Man Lures President
At several of the bass-fishing tournaments I’ve covered this past year, the hottest new lure is a goofy-looking, little-bitty jig head with a wire hook and a 1-1/2 to 3 inch long worm. As I investigated why this Ned Rig is being fished on spinning tackle by more and more tournament and recreational anglers, here’s what I’ve learned. • Most productive bass lakes may have from 20-30 bass tournaments or more being conducted on each of those lakes per week. Never before in the history of bass fishing has so much bass-fishing pressure been put on some of the most-popular bass-fishing lakes and rivers. • Power bait fishing in the past, using heavy line and big baits, has been what many anglers have used in hopes of catching a monster-sized bass. That’s why many big bass have seen all the power bait fishermen’s large lures and that’s what may have caused those bass to become resistant to biting those types of lures. • The term, “covering water,” which means fishing as fast as possible
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Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig
Many manufacturers now are producing hundreds of different Ned Rig soft plastics in all shapes, sizes and colors. Pictured are three different types of Ned Rig lures – a minnow-kind of soft plastic (top), a small fat soft-plastic worm (middle) and a creature type soft-plastic bait (bottom). 22 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig
and making as many casts in a day as you can, also is a style of bass fishing that’s been overfished. But little lures that fall slowly, sit on the bottom and have very little action are lures the bass seldom see and will investigate.
that most people use to fish a Ned Rig with,” Nania reported. “I rig the flat mushroom-shaped head just as though I’m Texas rigging a plastic worm. Then this hook on the Ned Rig is 100% weedless, and I can fish that Ned Rig anywhere.”
• The Ned Rig causes anglers to slow down their fishing, since they’re fishing lighter line, four to eight pound test, using smaller hooks and spending more time working a bait on the bottom than speed bassing and covering water.
Nania explains that when he rigs the Ned Rig like this that once the worm hits the bottom, it will stand at more of a 45-degree angle, instead of standing straight-up.
• The Ned Rig baits fall so slowly that the bass can look at them for a long time and there’s no reason for the bass not to eat the Ned Rig. * The Ned Rig worm “stands-up” when it hits the bottom, instead of crawling along the bottom like most soft plastic baits do. It resembles a small bait fish or a tiny animal feeding on the bottom’s debris. This bait moves so slowly that the bass can watch it, see it’s alive and realize it presents an easy meal. • The jig head on the Ned Rig is small and light, the hook in the jig is a light wire hook, and the line used to fish the Ned Rig is much lighter than braided, fluorocarbon or monofilament line that most anglers fish. That’s why anglers must be more skilled at playing the fish on a looser drag than the fishermen who simply haul a bass into the boat that’s been caught on a rod that looks like a pool cue, line that has the strength of rope and a reel that’s strong enough to almost pull a pick-up out of a mud hole. The Ned Rig angler must become comfortable fishing with spinning tackle, be willing to fight the fish with a much-looser drag than he’s accustomed to fishing and tire the fish down until it easily can be brought to the boat. WHY AND HOW STATE ANGLER JOEY NANIA FISHES THE NED RIG Joey Nania, from Pell City, Alabama, started fishing bass tournaments when he was 11-years old and won his first B.A.S.S Junior World Championship when 14 and then won again later. Nania fishes the Bassmaster Opens and has worked with numerous sponsors through the years. These sponsor relationships have enabled him to film a television show titled, “Sweetwater TV,” that airs on the Sportsman’s Channel and Fox/Sun Sports in Florida. He also guides on Logan Martin Lake and other Coosa River chain of lakes and says,
“I don’t believe that position of the Ned Rig bothers the bass and it allows me to fish where I can’t if I’ve rigged the Ned Rig open hook,” Nania mentioned. “I also fish the Ned Rig with a TRD BugZ, a finesse bait, on the Ned Rig head. This beaver-style bait made by Z-Man features a ribbed body that traps fish-attracting bubbles, and its oversized appendages trigger bites. It’s the best, darting crawfish-like lure I’ve ever fished.” Nania says that on the Ned Rig he’s caught tiny bass as well as bass weighing up to five pounds or more. “Remember that huge elephants eat peanuts, and big bass will eat little Ned Rigs just as quickly, if not quicker, than little bass will. My favorite color is Canada Craw, and on shad lakes, I enjoy fishing the colors of Mud Minnow and the Deal with a green-pumpkin tail and a blue belly.” To learn more about Joey Nania, check out https://www.bassmaster. com/anglers/joey-nania, http://joeyfishing.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/joey.nania.
Nature’s Lure for Adventure
Nania’s favorite head for the Ned Rig is a 1/6-ounce that he rigs somewhat differently than most anglers. Although the Ned Rig is most often used with an open hook, Nania prefers to rig it like a small, shaky head worm. “I use the new Z-Man Pro ShroomZ (https://www.zmanfishing.com/) hook that’s bigger and stronger, being a No. 2/0, than the wire hook
alabamablackbeltadventures.org
© Quincey Banks
“I fish the Ned Rig often in tournaments and also when I’m guiding. I guide about 150 days a year, and I really believe that the Ned Rig is one of the best baits on the market for catching bass, as well as for teaching youngsters and novice anglers how to bass fish,” Nania said. “The Ned Rig is a small, compact bait. For the Coosa River and other rivers and lakes that have healthy populations of shad, a 2 1/2 to 3-inch lure like the Ned Rig may resemble a small shad or a small crawfish. The Ned Rig falls slow and doesn’t move very much, so there’s no reason a bass won’t eat it.”
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Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig
Although the Ned Rig was initially designed to be fished with a small lead head and an open hook, there are many other variations of ways to fish this light jig successfully.
Another tactic for fishing the Ned Rig is with a weed guard to protect the open hook as it falls through grass or cover.
WHY AND HOW TEXAS FISHING GUIDE JAMES NIGGEMEYER FISHES THE NED RIG James Niggemeyer of Van, Texas, has won $1 million on the Bassmaster and FLW circuits and guides on Lake Fork in Texas. He’s a huge fan of fishing the shaky head worm and the Ned Rig. ”Because anyone can tie on a shaky head, go to a river, lake or pond, cast it out and catch fish. I’ll cast the Ned Rig out, let it go to the bottom and drag it slowly along the bottom for 1-2 inches, allow it to stop and sit still, drag it a few more inches and then let it stop and sit still - which should trigger a strike,” Niggemeyer advised. “As a guide, one of the reasons I like the Ned Rig is it doesn’t require a lot of skill to fish. I can tie this lure on a beginner bass fisherman’s line, and he or she can cast it out and start catching bass.” According to Niggemeyer, another type of retrieve is to use his rod tip to hop the jig jump off the bottom 4-5 inches, let it fall back to the bottom and sit still for about a ten count and then repeat that same action. “Since the Ned Rig is a super-subtle, slow-moving type of finesse bait, often the bass will eat it on the fall. The Ned Rig falls very slowly, making it easy for a bass to inhale. I like a 1/6-ounce. If I want to go lighter, I’ll fish a 1/10-ounce jig head,” Niggemeyer said. Although the Ned Rig comes in many sizes and colors, Niggemeyer 24 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
likes the 2-1/2 – 3 inch green pumpkin best. Since the Ned Rig has become so popular the past few years, many different companies are making various styles of heads and small worms to fit the Ned Rig. One of Niggemeyer’s favorite new worms is the Strike King Rage Ned (https://www.strikeking.com/) and the Strike King Zero, a 5-inch Senko type bait made of Elaztech, that he cuts in half to make two, 2-1/2-inch Ned Rig worms. “Since the Zero has some salt in it, I’ll pull one end of the worm hard and let it snap back to make most of the salt come out of it,” Niggemeyer explained. For more information, go to https://www.bassmaster.com/anglers/ james-niggemeyer and https://jamesniggemeyer.com/. WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF THE NED RIG DANIEL NUSSBAUM Daniel Nussbaum of Charleston, South Carolina, is the president of Z-Man Lures that makes the Ned Rig, one of the hottest new lures to come to the marketplace in recent years. Great Days Outdoors talked with Nussbaum to learn the history of the Ned Rig, how it got started, and why it’s so popular today. “Z-Man Lures has been around for about 30 years and first sold silicone skirts for fishing lures, Nussbaum said. “The name Z-Man came from the
Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig
original owners of the company who still own the company today whose last name was Zucker.
The Ned Rig is a finesse jig that oftentimes quickly and easily enables a fisherman to catch a limit of bass.
“A few years ago, Z-Man learned about Ned Kehde, who was cutting Z-Man’s five inch Zinkerz straight-tail worms in half and successfully catching numbers of bass. We kind of blew this news off for awhile because we decided that bass fishermen wouldn’t use a 2-1/2 inch worm that was so simple to fish. Then a fellow named Drew Reese contacted me. He and Ned were in the same bass club in Kansas. Drew nagged and harassed me, until I finally agreed to fish at the Lake of the Woods with him and try this little, goofy-looking worm technique out. When I went on that trip and saw how many bass Drew was catching on this tiny worm with a mushroom-type jighead, I was sold on the bait. Drew helped me develop the first Ned Jigs and the little Finesse TRD Wormz.” Although the people at Z-Man Lures knew the Ned Rig was one of the most bass-catching lures ever, the technique didn’t catch on with the bass-fishing community. Two or three years went by before enough people tried the Ned Rig and learned what a powerful fish-catching technique it was. According to Nussbaum originally The Ned Rig had organic growth because anglers tarted catching large numbers of bass with it and telling other people. “Then the enthusiasm for fishing this new tactic just grew and grew and grew. At first, most tournament anglers laughed at this little-bitty worm with a goofy-looking jighead and a light wire hook. They didn’t think the Ned Rig would be a significant fishing lure for them to carry in their
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For more info on the events or CCA Alabama www.ccaalabama.org 251-478-3474 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 25
Catch More Bass by Learning to Fish the Ned Rig
tackle boxes. And not until they were faced with really-tough fishing conditions and started getting bites with the Ned Rig when none of their other lures would produce bites did they come to believe that the Ned Rig was one of the hottest new lures in the marketplace. “Z-Man Lures uses either a size 1 or a size 2 hook in the Ned Rig jighead. Each of our finesse jigs has a very-light wire hook in it, which is one of the keys to the success of this little jig. That light hook with our ElaZtech plastic small worms allows the worms to float up off the bottom and then stand-up on the bottom. This light rig lets the Ned Rig worm fall much slower than many other jigheads and heavier hooks will. Z-Man Lures makes tiny Ned Mushroom Jigheads 1/20-ounce up to 1/5-ounce,” Nussbaum said.
HOG RUSH “THERE WILL BE BLOOD”
“Any time fishing gets tough, you need to give the fish a smaller lure that falls really slowly. Z-Man Lures manufactures more than 20-different colors of worms for its Ned Rigs. The green pumpkin seems to be the all-time best seller as well as numbers of crawfish colors like the Canada Craw, and the Deal and Smelt colors very popular too. The company’s most-popular jighead is the 1/10-ounce that’s especially productive in four to eight foot deep water,” Nussbaum added. Nussbaum also mentioned that he’s often asked how to retrieve the Ned Rig and pointed out that there is really no bad way to retrieve the Ned Rig. “One of my favorite retrieves is what we call drag and dead stick. You drag it two to three inches along the bottom and let the tail float up and sit still for a few seconds before you drag it again. You can hop it along the bottom and allow it to sit still until the tail floats up, and then hop it again,” Nussbaum said. “Another real key to catching bass on the Ned Rig is to fish very light tackle. Personally I like to fish ten pound test braided line with an eight pound test fluorocarbon leader on a spinning rod with a very soft medium-light tip. The hooks on the Ned Rig are small and you don’t want to put too much pressure on the bass you’re catching because that wire hook will bend straight if you try and horse in the fish. You have to back off that knob on the top of the reel that lightens the drag to play the fish more carefully than you will with heavy line. For a hookset, I recommend reeling the line tight and then giving the bait just a little jerk,” Nussbaum advised.
THERMAL NIGHT
HUNTS
IN ALABAMA
Nussbaum believes the Z-Man’s Finesse TRD Wormz was probably the best-selling finesse plastic in the bass-fishing world in 2019 and predicts that 2020 will be another great year for the Ned Rig. “Mark Daniels, Jr., of Tuskegee, Ala., actually won a Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the Ned Rig. We also had a Bassmaster Open tournament on Lake Oneida won by Grae Buck with the Ned Rig, and he also fished in the 2020 Bassmaster Classic,” Nussbaum said.. “Z-Man Lures also produces larger, heavier heads with heavier wire hooks. Not only is the Ned Rig a great bass fishing lure, but it also catches big crappie, along with many other fish, including trout, redfish and spotted seatrout,” he concluded.
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334-430-8111
www.HOGRUSH.com
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Six First Time Land Buyer Mistakes to Avoid
Things to Do in Orange Beach When You Aren‘t Fishing
BY ANGELO DEPAOLA THE COASTAL CONNECTION
28 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Six First Time Land Buyer Mistakes to Avoid
Whether it is in Orange Beach, Gulf Shores or anywhere on the beautiful Gulf Coast, one of the challenges of planning a family fishing vacation is satisfying everyone in the group who may not be as “gung ho” about fishing as you are. Dragging unwilling participants is no fun for anyone and can lead to stress and anxiety that can ruin a day of fishing, or even worse, an entire vacation. The good news is that if you’re planning things to do in Orange Beach or Gulf Shores when you aren’t fishing, there is plenty for the whole family to do. In this article we’re going to cover my recommendations for how to maximize your time when you aren’t fishing. Now before we get into my picks for things to do, I would be remiss to leave out fishing all together. Surf, pier, inshore and deep sea fishing in Orange Beach are second to none in the Gulf of Mexico. Few other areas offer the same access and options that coastal Alabama does. So if you’re planning a fishing trip to the area you will not go wrong, here’s how to make the rest of your time just as awesome for you and your family. FISHING TOURNAMENT WEIGH INS As I write this, I don’t know how the Covid-19 virus will affect fishing tournaments during the course of the year. I do know that the Flora Bama Fishing Rodeo (http://www.florabama.com/fishing-rodeo.), the “funnest” fishing tournament on the Gulf Coast has unfortunately been cancelled for 2020. The F.B.F.R is a great event for the family, couple or solo angler who wants to compete for great prizes and enjoy one of the best venues that Orange Beach has to offer, so pencil it for next year. While the Flora Bama Fishing Rodeo is out for this year, don’t rule out the Flora Bama Marina campus which offers several restaurants to choose from as well as a private beach on the always calm intracoastal waterway. You can come by car or boat! Regardless of what transpires with the virus scenario, keep in mind that fishing tournaments are great fun for the whole family, not only the overall experience but especially at the weigh-in activities. Everyone can see and “ooh and awe” at unique and cool catches that hit the dock and the fish are even on display where all can get up close and personal Be sure to check out my calendar of fishing tournaments all along the Gulf Coast. If you’ve never been to a Big Game Fishing Tournament weigh in, it’s an absolute blast for families. ECO-TOURISM You should really consider spending a day at the Flora Bama Yacht Club. They offer kayak and paddleboard as well as pontoon boat rentals and you can access miles and miles of kayak trails using the yacht club as the starting point. Speaking of “Eco-Tourism”, if you want an awesome family outdoor experience, consider walking or cycling the back country trail (http:// backcountrytrail.com/). The Hugh S. Branyon backcountry trail is made up of more than 15 miles traversing six distinct ecosystems through Gulf shores, Orange Beach, and Gulf State Park.
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Things to do in Orange Beach for Family When they Aren’t Fishing
VISIT THE TACKLE SHOPS ON CANAL RD Two area tackle shops will leave you with big smiles and potentially empty pockets if you love the latest, greatest, and hard to find tackle, equipment and apparel. J&M Tackle and Sam’s Stop and Shop (https:// www.facebook.com/samsstopnshop/) on Canal Road (https://jmtackle. com/) have literally everything you could ever want or need to gear up for your next fishing trip. For a little something extra, grab breakfast at Sam’s! If you need a little help gearing up with the best baits and rigging for the area, they’ll be happy to help point you in the right direction to be successful on your trip. THINGS TO DO IN ORANGE BEACH AND GULF SHORES FOR KIDS WITHOUT THE PARENTS I know all too well that sometimes the parents need a little time alone and sometimes the kids want it too! If you’re looking to give your kids some things to do in Orange Beach when you are having a couples experience (we’ll get to those in a bit) then consider these awesome options. The Summer Sailing Camp Wind and Water learning center (https:// www.orangebeachal.gov/facilities/wind-water-learning-center/youthsummer-sail-camp) put on by the City of Orange Beach Parks and recreation is a week long camp put on each week beginning in early June and running through early August. Camps start at six years of age, so just imagine what a week in Orange Beach would be like with just you and your wife and some FREEDOM! When things heat up, Waterville USA (https://watervilleusa.com/) is a great way to stay cool and let the kids make some waves on their own
TM
LIL SLICK = BIG
RESULTS
Effectively fished using several techniques including:
Suspended under a rattlin’ cork • Twitch & pause with swimbait hook • Tight lined on a traditional jig head
A versatile lure that is very effective in different water depths and conditions.
theslicklure.com 30 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Things to do in Orange Beach for Family When they Aren’t Fishing
while you head out for some adult activities. THINGS TO DO IN ORANGE BEACH FOR SPOUSES WHO DON’T FISH Whether you’ve got a charter booked, you’re bringing your boat down or you’re planning a trip with some friends or family just hitting the beach, there are plenty of options for your spouse to have some fun while you’re out chasing the big boys. Consider these options: Crafting at the Orange Beach Arts Center The Orange Beach Arts Center (https://www.orangebeachal.gov/facilities/art-center/about) overlooks scenic Wolf Bay and offers a fine art gallery where you can watch hot glass demonstrations and “MakeYour-Own” fused/blown glass. There are pottery demonstrations and Make-Your-Own clay items in The Clay Studio. For the kids, there are summer art camps and even kids birthday parties with art projects included. If you love arts and crafts you’ll really enjoy this inviting and scenic campus to enjoy your next DIY craft experience. Shop While You Deep-Drop If your wife loves to shop, she’ll have more than enough options for a day (or more) spent looking for her next great buy. The Wharf (https:// alwharf.com/shop-and-dine.php) offers shopping options close to the amphitheatre which features some of the best musicians in the country. Sanroc Cay (https://sanroccay.com/shopping) offers shopping options close to the charter docks. Both venues offer dining that is sure to please those looking for casual grub or fine dining alike.
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Things to do in Orange Beach for Family When they Aren’t Fishing
32 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Things to do in Orange Beach for Family When they Aren’t Fishing
Spend a Day at the Spa The McCollough Institute (https://mccolloughplasticsurgery.com/) offers surgical and non surgical procedures as well as a med spa and is staffed with some of the best plastic surgeons and skin health technicians in the country. If you’re looking for more of a relaxation day at the spa or a salon experience, check out the Beach Club Resort and Spa (https://thebeachclub.spectrumresorts.com/the-amenities/spa/) for massages, facial treatments, body treatments, nail services, and there is even a full suite of services for the men who want to get in on the pampering. THINGS TO DO IN ORANGE BEACH FOR COUPLES WHEN THEY AREN’T FISHING Maybe you’re without kids for the day or even week, if you are, do not fret because there are plenty of things to do in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores when you aren’t fishing. Here are some of my wife and my favorites when it’s just us two. Dine Out One of my favorite things to do in Orange Beach when it’s just us adults is start a “Bushwhacker Tour”. There are so many great options for bars in the area, but I almost always start mine at the Flora Bama. The rich history of the drink started there and it’s a great jump off point to many of the other dining and bar options the area has to offer. Speaking of dining out, that brings me to another one of my favorites, and that’s the Southern Grace Series. The Southern Grace Dinners take place at Fisher’s at the Orange
Beach Marina. Now in its seventh installment, the highly anticipated summer culinary series features award-winning and celebrity chefs from across the South. For 2020, James Beard Award nominee and Fisher’s Executive Chef Bill Briand will open up his kitchen to spotlight the talent and cuisine of notable chefs from across the region.These exclusive dinners allow guests the opportunity to mix and mingle with their favorite chefs at a cocktail reception, followed by a communal-seated dinner in Fisher’s laid back and relaxed signature style. A portion of the proceeds benefits The Fuse Project, a nonprofit 501C3 organization dedicated to providing the spark for innovation, funding, and implementation of projects benefiting children along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Also available for the girls when the boys are out fishing is a really awesome brunch menu at Fisher’s and La Playa. Stay In Sometimes, especially after a tiring day of fishing or a hot day on the beach, the best bet is staying in with your significant other. I have two options for those folks looking to stay in for the evening. Orange Beach Concierge Services (https://orangebeachconciergeservices.com/) and Island Epicurean (https://www.islandepicurean.com/gourmet-to-go) offers personal chef and dining services when you’re looking for “gourmet on the go”. Multi Course dining experiences for 2 or even 10 are available for you two lovebirds on your night in. If you want to go fishing in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores and make sure that everyone stays happy, give some of the above options a try. When everyone has a good time, you can guarantee you’ll be coming back for more great fishing in the future. 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 33
BY CURT POND
Recipe and images courtesy of Allrecipes.com
Surf and Turf - Gulf Coast Style “This is by far the best way to grill fish for a most remarkable and satisfying taste. Using a square closeable fish basket, place fish filets between layers of bacon and Vidalia onions and grill until done. Trust me, you cannot make enough once your friends taste it....” Prep: 15 mins • Cook: 15 mins • Total: 30 mins Ingredients
• • • •
1-pound sliced bacon 1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion sliced into rings 4 (4 ounce) fillets red snapper, bones removed 1 dash soy sauce, or to taste
ing, t n u H , e s n e f De l a c i t c a T , g n i t Shoo
Instructions
1. 2.
3.
Preheat an outdoor grill to medium-high heat Open fish basket, or similar wire cooking basket and line one side with strips of bacon, leaving a 1/2-inch space between slices. Cover the layer of bacon with a layer of onion rings. Place the fish fillets on top of the onion. Cover fish with more onion, then strips of bacon over the onion. Close the basket, and lightly sprinkle with soy sauce. Place the basket on the hot grill, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side, or until the bacon is just cooked through. Remove from the grill, and open the basket. Place a similarly sized plate upside down onto the food, and flip the basket and plate over so that the food is on top of the plate. Lift off the basket, and serve.
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36 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
FISHING
How To Fish Croakers For
Summertime Speckled Trout BY CAPT. BOBBY ABRUSCATO
By mid-summer, Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound are more loaded with forage species of bait than any other time of the year. Menhaden, also called pogies, are so thick at the mouths of passes, even a small cast net will yield enough bait for a day of fishing with one good throw. A small bait trawl will also get plenty of both croakers and shrimp with one well-placed drag. Of course, the tanks in all of the bait shops are always full as the real pros know how to catch bait. So, what does this mean to the speckled trout angler? Think of it like this. If you are driving down a long deserted highway and get hungry, you aren’t too picky about what you’ll eat. The 2-day old hot dog at the roadside gas station looks pretty good. That’s what winter fishing is like. The bait is scarce so the fish are more willing to eat that plastic imitation. However, if you are driving down Airport Boulevard in Mobile where restaurants line both sides of the entire road, you are way more selective about what you can eat when you get hungry. That’s the situation
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 37
How To Fish Croakers For Summertime Speckled Trout
with trout during the summer months. You had better have something real on the end of the line and present it in a pretty natural fashion if you expect to get bit. Here are a few tips on using live bait for speckled trout during the summer months. CROAKERS ARE KING As bait, croakers are king for me during the warm months. For some reason, trout don’t get a taste for croakers until it gets hot. Try one during the winter and it’ll die on the hook before a trout will eat it. Put it on during the summer and you’d better hide behind a tree because the trout will jump into the livewell to get to them. Go figure! The key to using croakers, first be sure they are lively. I like to catch my own on the day of the trip. I use a 12-foot bait trawl that has a dropped back lead line. This helps keep the croakers from going over the net before they realize they’ve been dragged up. My net does such a good job at catching croakers that I frequently have enough croakers for the day in the wings of the net that I just dump my bag. If I do buy croakers, I take a look at them to be sure the dealer has handled them properly. If the fins and bellies are red, don’t waste your money because they are going to die, probably before you even get them on the hook. Also, on that subject of money and time, croakers are expensive so you’ll want your croakers to stay alive. Be sure you have a good livewell system. I prefer recirculated water over raw because I can control the environment. I fill my livewell outside of the boat launch or marina areas where there can often be fuel or soap floating on the surface. I run out to some open water and fill the well so I know that I have good clean salty water in the well.
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I use a recirculation pump that picks up from the bottom of the well and sprays into the top. I also have a pump that forces air through two stones. The air not only adds oxygen, but also helps keep the water cool. Lastly, I throw a Ziploc baggie of ice in the well first thing in the morning and then add another during the day if I am still fishing. Cool water is magic on croakers and really keeps them frisky through the hot summer day. RIGGING TO FISH CROAKERS Just having a croaker on the end of the hook doesn’t guarantee success – at least not from big trout. You’ll need to present them in a natural fashion. Croakers are bottom dwellers. Thus, they look natural in the lower parts of the water column. I use three different rigs with croakers. The first is a simple tight-line rig. Mine is a Carolina rig with a couple of changes. I don’t use a leader, but simply use a small split shot to keep the sliding sinker up the line from the hook. My weight is bullet shaped rather than egg shaped. This minimizes the number of hang-ups since it’s the weight rather than the hook that catches on the bottom most of the time. The real key to the rig is the hook. I use a Number 4 bronze Kahle (suicide) hook. I hook the croaker through the top lip only. Be sure to catch just enough meat to make your cast because you want the croaker to come off of the hook when the trout bites. If you are missing trout and coming back with a mauled croaker, you are hooking the croaker too deep.
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How To Fish Croakers For Summertime Speckled Trout
Hooking the bait through the lip allows me to just leave the rod in the rod holder because the Kahle hook does such an incredible job of hooking the fish. As a matter of fact, I tell my charters not to even set the hook if they do want to hold it. Another croaker rig is a free line. This rig is a weightless one and I use a Number 8 treble. I use this when fishing structure with no current. Here, I hook the croaker just in front of the dorsal fin and toss it towards the structure. I leave the line slack so the bait can swim down on its own and that is the key. Don’t pull on the line or the croaker will not be able to breathe through his gills. If that happens, it will die shortly. This is a killer technique on big summer trout.
A slip cork can be a hassle to rig up, but once coupled with a nice live croaker, the results are well worth the effort
The third rig is a slip cork. This is a very cumbersome rig, but it so effective you’ll need to learn to use it during the hot months. There are a few different ways to rig one, but the key is to be able to adjust your depth so you can present the bait in the lower third of the water column. With croakers, I hook them just in front of the dorsal and allow the cork to drift feely with the velocity of the current by leaving the reel out of gear. That is the big key to being effective with a slip cork, yet so often I see it ignored. People will be set up perfectly, throw out the cork rig and stick it in the rod holder. By doing this the line will come tight and the bait will rise to the surface, definitely not a natural look! Pogies and shrimp both also work well and I use them on the same rigs as mentioned. My selection of bait is based on the conditions. I hope the ideas presented help you catch more summer trout if you decide to use them.
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BY HANK SHAW Photos by Holly A. Heyser
Corned Venison Corning venison at home is so good in fact that any deer hunter out there really ought to learn this technique — you will get far more enjoyment out of the leg roasts from your venison. I typically use whole-muscle roasts from the hind leg to do this. Big sirloin roasts, rump roasts, the “football roast,” and such. But any big hunk of venison will work. The advantage of the whole-muscle roasts is less sinew and connective tissue, which takes hours to break down. I suppose you could use the backstrap, but why would you? Lovers of hash might want to corn shoulder or neck roasts, then simmer them so long they begin to fall apart. The extra connective tissue in these cuts makes for a moister hash. The technique is simple: Brine your meat, then simmer it into tenderness. It takes several days, but it isn’t labor-intensive at all. Once made, corned venison is great hot or cold, with root vegetables, cabbage, cold in sandwiches (how I eat most of my corned venison), or chopped into hash. So obviously this recipe works with all cervids, antelope, deer, moose, elk, etc. It will also work with beef and lamb, of course, but also bear and even pork -- where the effect is essentially a boiled ham. A word on nitrites. I use them, for color, for flavor and for safety. Can you do this without pink salt? Yes, but your meat will be gray, you will lose some flavor, and there is an 42 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
ever-so slight chance you might pick up botulism -- not a large chance, but as botulism is one of the most toxic substances known to man, I’d say use the nitrite. You can buy it online here at The Sausage Maker. Once made, you can keep corned venison in the fridge for a couple weeks, or freeze it for a year. Prep: 20 mins • Cook: 3 hours • Total: 3 hours 20 mins Ingredients
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
1/2 gallon water 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 ounce Instacure No. 1 (sodium nitrite) 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper 1 tablespoon toasted coriander seeds 6 bay leaves, crushed 1 tablespoon mustard seeds 1 tablespoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon caraway seeds 1 cinnamon stick 5 chopped garlic cloves A 3 to 5-pound venison roast
Instructions 1. Add everything but the roast to a pot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and cover, then let it cool to room temperature while covered. This will take a few hours. Meanwhile, trim any silverskin you find off the roast. Leave the fat. Once the brine is cool, find a container just about large enough to hold the roast, place the meat inside and cover with the brine.
CAMPHOUSE KITCHEN
2.
3.
4.
You might have extra, which you can discard. Make sure the roast is completely submerged in the brine; I use a clean stone to weigh the meat down. You can also just flip the meat every day. Cover and put in the fridge for 5 to 7 days, depending on the roast’s size. A 2-pound roast might only need 4 days. The longer you soak, the saltier it will get -- but you want the salt and nitrate to work its way to the center of the roast, and that takes time. Err on extra days, not fewer days. After the allotted time has passed, you have corned venison. To cook and eat, rinse off the meat, then put the roast in a pot just large enough to hold it and cover with fresh water. You don’t want too large a pot or the fresh water will leach out too much flavor from the meat -- it’s an osmosis thing. partially cover the pot and simmer gently -- don’t boil -- for at least 3 hours and up to 5 hours. The meat itself will be cooked in an hour or less, but you want the sinews and connective tissue in the roast to soften and that takes time. Eat hot or cold. It is absolutely fantastic with good mustard and some sauerkraut on a sandwich.
Note: One final tip: When you are done with the corned venison, leave it in the cooking broth. Store that in the fridge. Why? The broth keeps the venison moist. Without fat, if you leave it out of the brine it can get very dry and even crumbly.
40 Clove Garlic Pheasant This dish is a slow cooked mix of garlic, chicken (or pheasant, or rabbit, etc.) pieces, olive oil, a little white wine or vermouth, plus onions, herbs and a few optional vegetables. It’s a one pot dish, a homey dinner. Since it is roasted for an hour or more, you will want to skip breasts here; they’ll get too dried out. I stick with pheasant thighs here, skin on. You can make this dish with skinless
thighs, too. If you are using store-bought chicken, you can use drumsticks, but skip this if you are using pheasant because the sinews in pheasant legs are too tough. Other than the traditional chicken legs or the pheasant thighs I mention, you can use rabbit, whole quail, halved Cornish game hens, chukars or Hungarian partridges, or even whole squirrels. Prep: 15 mins • Cook: 1 hour 45 mins • Total: 2 hours Ingredients
• • • • • • • • •
1/2 cup olive oil 10 to 16 pheasant thighs, see above for substitutions Salt and black pepper 4 celery stalks, chopped 2 cups white or yellow onion, sliced from root to tip 40 cloves garlic, peeled 1/4 cup chopped parsley 3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (optional) 1 cup white vermouth or white wine
Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or other large, lidded pot over medium-high heat. Sear the skin of the pheasant breasts until nicely browned. If you are using skinless thighs, skip this step. Remove the pheasant pieces as they brown. 2. Add the celery and onion and saute, stirring often, until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the garlic cloves, herbs, salt and black pepper and mix well. Pour in the vermouth. Nestle the pheasant thighs into this, skin side up and above the level of the liquid. 3. Cover the pot and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Uncover the pot and continue to cook until the top of the meat is browned, typically 20 minutes. Serve with lots of good bread.
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 43
Camphouse Kitchen
Caribbean Fish Stew For this stew, I went full coconut here, using coconut oil, water and milk. You could use another oil, and skip the coconut water if you want, but please try to find the coconut milk, which is pretty easy nowadays. Its flavor is essential here. You also need some zip, too. I used some Scotch bonnet but you’ll want as many hot peppers as you can handle. For some of you, that is a single jalapeno, and that’s fine. Beyond that, you want a starch or three. I happened to find tropical starches at my supermarket — given all the craziness lately, potatoes were sold out — so I used green plantains and yuca root. Yuca is the same thing as cassava or manioc. Both are fun starchy vegetables to use, but pick whatever you can find. Other options would be sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, turnips, or taro root. As for fish, use what you have. I used amberjack here, but honestly the sky’s the limit. Just remember that if you are using a delicate fish, add it in the last 5 minutes so it does not disintegrate. Garnish with Key limes (of course!) and lots of cilantro, or, if you can find it, culantro, This stew will keep in the fridge for a few days, but it doesn’t freeze well. Serve it with steamed rice if you want to bulk it up. Prep: 20 mins • Cook: 1 hour • Total: 1 hour 20 mins Ingredients
• • •
3 tablespoons coconut oil, or vegetable oil 1 white or yellow onion, minced 1 to 3 Scotch bonnet or other chiles, minced
44 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
• • • • • • • • • • • •
Salt 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, divided 1 quart fish, seafood or chicken broth 1 quart coconut water, or regular water 1 pint canned coconut milk 1 pound yuca root, peeled and cut into batons (or yam or sweet potato) 1 pound green plantains, peeled and cut into disks 2 pounds amberjack, chunked Lime juice to taste
Instructions 1. In a large, lidded pot such as a Dutch oven, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. When it’s hot, add the onion and chiles and stir well. Add some salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is translucent, about 4 to 6 minutes. 2. Add the garlic and cook another minute, then stir in the tomato paste, oregano and about 1 tablespoon of the chopped cilantro. Add a splash of tot coconut water (or regular water), mix well and turn the heat to low. This is your sofrito, your soup base. Cook gently for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. 3. Pour in the rest of the coconut water, the stock and the coconut milk, as well as the yuca and the plantains. Bring it to a simmer and add salt to taste. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes or so. 4. Add the fish, as well as shrimp if you have some. Cook this gently for about 5 to 10 minutes. Add the rest of the cilantro and serve with lime wedges. You can serve this over steamed rice if you want. Rice cooked in coconut milk is especially good with this stew.
Fish Cakes with Wild Rice I must admit the idea to mix wild rice with a fish cake isn’t original; I developed my recipe from one I read in Midwestern Living magazine. It’s a great idea, though, as the wild rice is both native to the region and adds a bit of color and texture to the fish cakes. Just make sure you cook the wild rice completely before adding to the fish cakes, because the cakes cook up quickly. You can use virtually any species for these fish cakes. You only need a half-pound for this recipe, so vacuum seal any extra and freeze for later. You’ll want to make these fish cakes again. Prep: 20 mins • Cook: 15 mins • Total: 35 mins Ingredients
• • • •
1/2 pound cooked, flaked pike or other while fish 1 egg 1 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup cooked wild rice
• • • • • • • • • • •
Camphouse Kitchen
1/4 cup minced onion, red if you have one 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon mustard, Dijon if you have it 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 1 tablespoon fresh chopped chives 1/4 cup butter, lard or vegetable oil for cooking Greens for a salad
Instructions 1. Make sure any little bones are out of the fish. Mix everything (except the oil and salad greens) together in a large bowl. Divide the mix into 8 roughly equal parts and form into patties. If you have time, set the patties on a cookie sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up. You can skip this step if you are rushed. 2. Fry the patties in the butter until golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Serve with a green salad with a nice vinaigrette, or try my saffron aioli.
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 45
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Now you can build an accurate and durable centerfire rifle, muzzleloader, shotgun or brush gun system all on the same frame. The Pro Hunter is a finely machined singleshot, break-action switch-barrel rifle that by switching barrels is suitable for hunting, target shooting and self-defense. Changing barrels is as easy as removing two forearm screws and the hinge pin. Multiple calibers and gauges are available. Suggested Retail Price: starting at $779.00 www.tcarms.com
SPRO Announces New BBZ-1 Swimbaits
Combining segmented hard bodies and replaceable soft plastic tails, the SPRO BBZ-1 swimbait produces a predator irresistible swimming action. Available in sizes from 2.5 inches up to 8 inches in 16 color schemes, these lures imitate a variety of baitfish. They work from the top down to the bottom of the water column, with floating, slow sinking and fast sink options in both fresh and saltwater. Suggest Retail Price: starting at $15.10 www.spro.com
Frabill Introduces Heavy-Duty “Beast” Net
The beefy Frabill Trophy Haul Predator net is built to handle some of the biggest species the depths have to offer, including stripers, redfish, snook and all freshwater species. The Predator features a heavy-duty large hoop, reinforced 72” sliding yoke handle, over-molded rubber grips, fish-friendly conservation netting and a lighted module and reflective hoop for improved visibility. It offers control and balance not found in standard fishing nets. Suggested Retail Price: $169.99 www.frabill.com
Outdoor Edge® Offers New Fixed Blade Hunting Knife Combo
The stainless-steel JaegerPair™ knife combo consists of a 3.9-inch drop-point skinning and deboning knife with a blade design that allows you to easily cut through layers when skinning without slicing through the hide. The 3.7-inch blunt-tipped gutting knife cuts underneath the skin for an effortless cut without piercing organs. Both knives feature full-tang construction with a rubberized handle ensuring a secure, non-slip grip. Suggested Retail Price: $33.95 www.outdooredge.com
StrikeHold® Lubricant for Gun Maintenance
Whether you use your firearms for hunting, shooting or self-protection you need to make sure that can be depending on to fire when you want them to and Strikehold® can make that happen. Strikehold is a cleaner used to remove residue and gum and it also is a lubricant that, once applied, acts like microscopic ball bearings to reduce friction. Its hard finish coating deters carbon build-up and corrosion. Suggested Retail Price: $16.45 www.strikehold.com 46 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
NEW GEAR FOR OUTDOORSMEN
PSE Thrive 400 Thrive Offers Efficiency and Affordability The Precision Shooting Equipment Thrive 400 Kryptek Highlander crossbow is engineered with reverse cam technology and it’s 175-pound draw weight allows it to shoot a bolt downrange at a sizzling 400 feet per second delivering 142 footpounds of energy. Weighting in at 6.7-pounds the package includes a 4 x 32 illuminated scope, string stops to dampen sound, a quiver, cocking rope and rail lube. Suggested Retail Price: $400.00 www.pse-archery.com
Millennium Marine Pro-M 100 Series Boat Seats
The adjustable and tight reclining Millennium Pro-M series boat seats incorporate breathable, mold and resistant ComfortMax fabric with anodized aluminum construction designed to withstand the harshest elements. The UV resistant seat offers unmatched lumbar support ensuring hours of sitting comfort. It weighs 13 pounds, has a weight capacity of 400 pounds, mounts to any standard boat seat pedestal and comes with a oneyear warranty. Suggested Retail Price: $125.95 www.millenniummarine.com
Hi Mountain Seasonings Introduces a New Pepperoni Sausage Kit
Now making your own house-cured pepperoni is easy with results that can rival the best butcher shop and you get to choose your meat cuts! The kit includes everything you need to make the perfect sausage time and time again, including seasonings, cure, citric acid, casing and detailed, easy-to-follow instructions that even a novice can follow. Each kit will season 18 pounds of meat. Suggested Retail Price: $21.99 www.himtnjerky.com
Viper Archery Offers New Charge Bow-Sight
The Viper Charge rechargeable 3-Stage Universal sight light offers long-lasting rechargeable battery life. Offering low, medium and high brightness, the Charge is waterproof and turns on and off with the press of a single button. It is rechargeable in less than an hour using an included Micro USB cord. It fits thread sizes ¼-28, 7/16-20, and 3/832 and comes with a limited lifetime warranty. Suggested Retail Price: $24.99 www.viperarcheryproducts.com
Baby your Crankbaits with Plano’s EDGE™ Master Crankbait Boxes
Make sure that your crankbaits, whether they are normal size, finesse, jerk or small profile get the respect they deserve with a Plano Edge™ Master Crankbait box. Available in two sizes, these boxes have soft rust inhibiting silicone fingers that gently cradle crankbaits and eliminate contact between lures, even when turned upside down. Your lures stay tuned and untangled. Suggest Retail Price: from $34.99 www.planomolding.com 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 47
Why Do You Fish?
Why do you fish? Do you fish to feed your family? Do you fish because you like being outside on the water? Maybe you like to fish because it gets you out of the house, and out of the “honey-do” list! Do you fish to spend time with friends or family? To make memories? Maybe you fish to kill time? Do you like to catch a limit or is your goal to catch “the big one”? Are you a tournament angler, fishing to win money or titles? Do you fish commercially? Again, why do you fish?
BY CHRIS BLANKENSHIP Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources
Before I go any further, let me say that, whatever your reason, I am probably good with it. Fishing is one of the best outdoor pastimes we have available to us. In Alabama, we are blessed with some of the finest fishing in the world. With unbelievable freshwater bass, crappie and catfish fishing as well as world-class inshore and offshore saltwater fishing, Alabama is a fisherman’s paradise. I ask the question because, during the Covid-19 chaos of 2020, I have spent time thinking about a lot of different things. One of those things I pondered is why do I fish? Or in other words, why is fishing so important to me that I would spend a good deal of my very limited free time and my hard-earned money to fish? The answer in one way is very simple—it brings me joy. It brings me a lot of joy, and
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who does not need more joy in their lives. A major part of the joy comes in spending time with family and friends. Most of my trips include my wife and children. A lot of times I fish with my dad. Other times it is with my friends, especially if I go really early or if it is forecast to be a little rough. On those days my usual family crew likes to sleep in, opening spots on the boat for friends. I like being offshore outside the reach of cell service. No calls, no emails, no interruptions from technology, except the technology in my Lowrance electronics. Nothing but spending time talking and having fun with the fine humans God has seen fit to place in my life. Sometimes it really is that simple. Other times, the answer to why I fish is more complicated. I like to tournament fish too. I like the competition. Once you get to be my age, there are only so many sports you can truly be competitive in anymore. The plaque for my third-place Spanish mackerel from the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo is proudly displayed in my house. By the way, I missed second place by only .01 pounds. My youngest daughter won the tripletail category in the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament in her last year that she was eligible to fish. She reminds me quite often that I finished third while she was first that year. My wife also reminds me she won the flounder category when she was a teenager.
FROM THE COMMISSIONER My oldest daughter tops the cake. When she was four years old, she was Master Angler in the Salt Water Sportsman Kids Tournament. She had the biggest speckled trout, biggest Spanish mackerel, second-place bluefish and placed in croaker or white trout as well. The photo of her little self with all the trophies and prizes is pretty cute. And, yes, she did really catch them all. She is married now, and the first time we took her husband fishing with us, she had to tell him all about her prior fishing accomplishments, just to make sure he knew what a fine catch SHE was! My son consistently catches bigger fish than all of us, but just not during tournament time, so far. As you can see, my whole family likes to fish, and we are pretty good at it. I also have realized I am spoiled by our great fishing in Alabama. I said I like fishing. I think what I really mean is I like catching. My lack of patience as a fisherman is only surpassed by my father’s distain for having a line in the water and nothing tugging on the other end. Thankfully, in the saltwater, and especially on one of our artificial reefs, you don’t have to wait long at all to catch a fish. The part about being in the outdoors really is great, but it is a lot better being in the great outdoors with your rod bent over and hearing the drag sing out! One of the only things I like better than catching fish is eating them. I am not much of a catch-and-release fisherman. I know that may not be what you were expecting, with me being the Alabama Conservation Commissioner and all. Now I am a firm believer in sticking to the size and creel limits set by sound science. But if it is legal, it is most likely going in the box because we eat fish year-round in my house. Nothing is better than a crispy fried white trout or Spanish mackerel fillet or a grilled piece of red snapper or tripletail with a little peach salsa or beurre blanc sauce. It is also nice to start a good meal with some fresh tuna poke or a West Indies salad made with flaked parboiled sheepshead. Oh, it makes me hungry just thinking about it. I eat a lot of fish, but I also give away a lot of fish. Not everybody
has the opportunity or ability to fish, but most everybody likes to eat fish. I take fish to my mother-in-law, my wife’s grandmother, my administrative assistant, some of my coworkers who hunt more than fish, and a couple of my really good neighbors. They all seem to like me more when I am delivering a bag or two of fish. When the store shelves were picked over pretty good back in March and April, we were eating good at my house with fish provided by God’s pantry in the Gulf of Mexico! Feeding yourself and family and friends is always a good reason to fish. I spend a lot of money on fishing. So does most everybody else who fishes. Keeping up a boat; buying and repairing rods, reels and tackle; buying gas, ice, bait, drinks and food all take money. So does fixing the stuff on the boat that seems to break every time we go out. It is nice to remember that all that spending supports many small businesses around our state and beyond. In the summer, it is so hot that we feel like we may die when the wind drops out. Sometimes in the winter you can’t feel your hands. Some days the wind is too strong or the current too swift, or not swift enough, and we come back with empty ice chests. But all in all, as the old saying goes, “A bad day fishing is better than a good day working anytime.” So, why do you fish? For me, the reason I fish all boils down to the pure joy I receive from making memories with family and friends and enjoying the wonderful bounty that we are so blessed to enjoy in Alabama. I think it really is that simple. I hope you can take some time this month to fish. Whether it is from a bank, on your boat or a friend’s boat or on a charter, just get out and find that joy for yourself! Also, for a good laugh, go to YouTube and search for Hank Patterson Catch and Release fishing video. You will be glad you did!
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877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 49
Life As We Know It Has Changed…. Will We?
Life after COVID-19 will be different; how will we handle it?
Our entire world, in Alabama, began a drastic change the first week of March 2020. Now one month into the pandemic (I’m writing this on April 6), we are wondering what is next on the horizon. It started out slowly. First it was suggested on March 17 to social distance through April 5. Then the end date moved to April 17. On April 3, the playing field changed again when the Governor issued a stay-athome order through April 30. So many times I’ve used the phrase, “We manage critters that either adapt or die.” However, we humans often have trouble with change, choosing to do the same things repeatedly. I was reminded of how well animals adapt to changing situations just last week on an early morning turkey hunt in Choctaw County. As we all know, hunting and fishing were deemed an acceptable social-distancing practice, so I took full advantage of my opportunities.
BY CHARLES “CHUCK” SYKES Director of the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF)
Let me set this hunt up a bit where you can see the entire picture and how it fits in today’s situation. I’ve been managing this property for more than a decade. It is approximately 1000 acres along the Tombigbee River. Each year, the river overflows its banks and submerges various portions of the property. Through the use of trail cameras, I have been
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able to document the rising floodwaters and how the local wildlife adapts. Most of the flooding events are mild, and the animals simply move to the highest ground for a few days; then, when the waters recede, they go back home. However, this winter we experienced near-historic flood levels. During the months of January through early March, at least 25% of the property was submerged, and for a three-week period approximately 80% of the property was submerged. When I say submerged, I mean 10-15 feet submerged. Food plots were inundated for more than three weeks. Floodwaters rose to levels where elevated shooting houses had water flowing through the windows more than 10 feet off the ground. Trail cameras placed 10-12 feet off the ground throughout the property in hopes of documenting the event were swallowed up by the floodwaters. Despite the fact that thousands of dollars of trail cameras were lost, thankfully the SD cards inside contained some incredible imagery of the property and the wildlife. I had pictures of wood ducks swimming in food plots. I had pictures of rabbits swimming by weeks after the water levels had reached four to six feet for hundreds of acres.
FROM THE DIRECTOR The cameras that weren’t eaten by the water also showed how quickly the animals went back “home” when the waters receded. So, this gets me back to the turkey hunt. We had trail camera photos of multiple gobblers throughout the property during the late fall and early winter. However, since the depth and duration of the flooding events, I didn’t have a turkey on camera since mid-January. I assumed that the hens had decided to stay on higher ground to nest in a safer environment and wouldn’t want to come back to the recently flooded property. And as you know during the spring months, where the women want to be is where you’ll find the men. I reluctantly checked the remaining trail cameras the first week of turkey season to find I still didn’t have photo confirmation that turkeys had moved back into the property. So, we hunted with friends the first ten days of the season. We decided to go to the property on the morning of April 1 just in hopes that a gobbler was at least roosted close enough to the property where we felt like we had a chance to call him up. My first shoot of the morning yielded a gobble. But it wasn’t from the neighboring property; it was from the middle of the property we were hunting. Not even an hour later, we were celebrating a successful hunt
where three gobblers and one hen were called in. The wildlife we manage are amazing creatures. These turkeys were forced to abandon their normal routine for more than two months. They were forced to live and find food elsewhere. They adapted and overcame the obstacles. However, as soon as they were able, they resumed their normal activities. I can’t help but ponder what some of the outcomes of this pandemic will be. Will teleworking become more commonplace? Will restaurants reopen fully, or will the new business model be takeout and delivery only? Will we as a nation bring back manufacturing and not rely so heavily on imports? Will we be more prepared for the next time something like this happens? It will be interesting to see just how we move forward from here. I truly believe life as we knew it will be different after the COVID-19 pandemic. Will we be like the wildlife that admirably adapted to challenges-but then move back to business as usual after the floods? Or, will we choose to adapt to the “new” world post COVID-19? Only time will tell.
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 51
Don’t Get Beat Up By
Using a recoil-reducing rifle rest at the allows more accurate sighting in of your rifle.
BY CRAIG HANEY Photo submitted by Craig Haney
Recoil!
Two of the four hunters, when they arrived at the hunting lodge in South Alabama, looked like they had been in a bar fight due to the cuts over their right eyes. When asked by the outfitter what happened one of them sheepishly answered, “We each bought a .300 Weatherby Magnum a couple of days ago for bean field shots and went to the range and took a lickin’ but we got ‘em sighted in.” The lodge manager shook his head and grinned when he told them they were going to have to go to his range and shoot them again to make sure they were still sighted in from their trip. The two hunters in the short time they had spent sighting in and “practicing” with their new magnum caliber rifles had unfortunately develop a “flinch” when they fired their rifles. They couldn’t manage recoil and it affected their accuracy in the field. Sensitivity to recoil affects many people and can be a result of factors such as an ill fitting gun, the firearm’s weight, an injury, a person’s physical size or age, the mass and speed of the projectile or the person just don’t like it. ACTUAL VERSUS PERCEIVED RECOIL Actual recoil occurs when the gun is fired and the bullet/shot and hot gases go forward and the gun recoils backward. This is an example of Newton’s
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Law from high school physics: “For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Perceived recoil involves the shooter’s perception of how his rifle, shotgun or handgun feels when it is fired and it really can’t be calculated. Shooters may flinch with recoil due to a loud muzzle blast, too heavy a load, improper stance or positioning when shooting. Anticipating recoil causes hunters to miss more deer than anything else; following are some tips to help manage recoil. 1. Proper Stance Make sure the butt of the rifle/shotgun fits into the pocket formed by you raising the rifle to your shoulder. If you don’t get the firearm to your shoulder, then your bicep will likely get bruised by the recoil. Don’t crowd or crawl the stock when shooting a scoped rifle or you may end up with a cut or bruised forehead. Taking a stance where your body is centered over your knees with a slight forward lean will give more stability and better recoil management.
THE GUN RACK Handgun shooters should take a firm, high two-handed grip to reduce muzzle rise when shooting.
for you. In that case, take your gun to a gunsmith and he can install a pad which should fit you properly making recoil more manageable.
2. Load Selection If your current rifle has more recoil than you care for, then shooting a smaller bullet weight in your rifle will reduce the recoil. For instance, changing the bullet weight in a 30/06 from 180 grain to 150 grain and the muzzle energy drops from 2913 foot-lbs. to 2801 foot-lbs. resulting in less recoil.
A strap-on recoil pad for the shoulder is another option. They are excellent when using firearms with steel or hard “plastic” buttplates. You should make sure that your length of pull doesn’t become too long if you have shorter arms.
Remington’s Managed-Recoil ammunition uses a specialized new bullet delivering 2X expansion and retaining over 75% bullet weight out to 200 yards. The recoil drops from 20 foot-lbs. in a standard 150 30/06 load, for example, to 10 foot-lbs. in the Managed-Recoil load. Turkey hunters that are sensitive to using 3” and 3 ½” loads should remember the 2 ¾” load is more pleasant to shoot and choked properly kills turkeys out to 40 yards. Another alternative for the turkey hunter is a 20-gauge with a turkey load and properly choked tube. In most cases, shooting a gas-operated shotgun is more comfortable to shoot than a recoil-operated shotgun. Benelli, in recent years, has developed the Progressive Comfort recoil reducing system for their recoil-operated shotguns that greatly reduces recoil. For handgun shooter’s, Federal’s popular Hydra-Shok ammo comes in Low Recoil loads making self defense loads more manageable for many people. 3. Recoil Pads Many rifles and shotguns come with hard buttplates which give the shooter no relief from recoil. Installing a slip-on recoil pad is simple to do and makes a big difference in recoil when shooting. However, if you have short arms, the slip-on pad may make the length of pull too long
BAY TRANSMISSION
At the range, use a recoil-reducing rifle rest like a Caldwell Lead Sled as these make a big difference in the amount of recoil felt with heavier calibers. 4. Use a Smaller Caliber Magnum calibers have their niche in hunting but in Alabama calibers with less recoil will certainly get the job done effectively. I’ve used a.243 for over 40 years with no concerns about making one-shot kills at the ranges for which it is designed. Other cartridges I’ve used successfully are the 7mm-08, 7x57, .270 and .280. The 6.5 Creedmoor is a relatively new cartridge with outstanding performance and lower recoil that may have become the most popular deer cartridge in Alabama the last several years. 5. Use a muzzle Brake or ported Barrel When you talk to hunters who have used a rifle with a muzzle brake or ported barrel, it is similar to talking to football fans about Alabama or Auburn, they either love them or hate them. Muzzle brakes and ported barrels redirect some of the hot gases from the burning of gunpowder in order to reduce recoil and muzzle jump. A downside is that they are very loud and hearing protection should be worn at the range as well as hunting. This is common sense but bears repeating. Once you learn to manage recoil, you will become a more accurate shooter and more successful hunter.
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4500 Hwy. 77 · Southside, AL 35907 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 53
CHOOSING THE BEST KAYAK FISH FINDER SETUP Offshore kayak anglers need fish finders to locate reefs and other bottom structure.
Modern fish finder units for kayak use are compact yet have many useful features.
DO I NEED A FISH FINDER ON MY KAYAK? In our opinion, unless a kayak angler is a true believer in super-simple, non-tech fishing, then a fish finder unit might be one of the very best add-ons to any fishing kayak. A fish finder allows a kayak angler to monitor water depth, water temperature, bottom structure, channel runs, and even schools of fish. Fish finders also provide a great deal of security for kayak anglers when conditions get bad. Most fish finders offered for sale today have a built in GPS (Global Positioning System) function, and for those of us who fish in coastal marshes and bayous, this ability provided by a fish finder unit to know where we are and how to get back to the launch point safely is a good thing. It is very easy when fishing in marsh areas to lose track of where we’ve been and how to get back the way we came. BY ED MASHBURN Photos by Ed Mashburn
In addition, when thick fog shuts down visibility, that fish finder’s GPS can be a real safety factor when it comes to making our way back. But let’s be honest, using a fish finder to find fish is a very good
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thing, too. Modern fish finders are compact, they install easily enough for most kayak owners to install themselves, and the cost of good high-quality units has gone down considerably. The “Big Three” fish finder systems that are well-suited for kayak use are the Garmin Striker 4, which sells for about $103, the Humminbird PiranhaMax 4 PT, which sells for $158 and the Lowrance Hook3X which goes for about $399. HOW TO MOUNT A FISH FINDER ON MY KAYAK Rob Baker, a very experienced Tallahassee, Florida area kayak fishing guide, has some advice when it comes to mounting your kayak fish finder. “My recommendation for mounting a fish finder on your kayak would be to go with the manufacturer’s supplied mount or an after-market
PADDLE FISHING mount from Ram Mounts or Yak Attack. Both make mounts for many makes and models of fish finders. I recommend using stainless steel hardware to secure the mount to the kayak,” Baker said. Most fish finder rigs will come with instructions on where to locate the units and how to install them and it’s not terribly difficult to do. Determining the optimum location for the fish finder screen will be totally up to the angler’s preference. In general, if the angler is right-handed, the screen might be better mounted on the left side of the kayak to avoid contacting the rod when the angler casts. Just the opposite placement might work better for leftys. Some anglers prefer the screen to be mounted directly in front on the kayak’s center line. It’s up to the individual angler. How high the unit is mounted is another personal preference call. In general, the lower the unit is mounted, the more secure it will be and the less likely it will be to interfere with paddling, casting, or landing big fish. One thing that is essential when mounting the display unit of a fish finder on a kayak is not to put the screen where the paddle will be! A fish finder display unit which gets bumped and whacked when the angler paddles or pedals the boat is not going to last long and it’s frustrating to constantly bump into a unit which disrupts the paddle stroke.
DIY FISH FINDER MOUNT According to Baker, “Do It Yourself” installation can be fairly simple with basic fish finders, but professional installation is recommended if you are not experienced with wiring up low-voltage systems. Basically, mounting a fish finder transducer involves either placing the sending unit securely on the bottom inside of the kayak hull so it will shoot through the hull down into the water or placing the transducer in a dedicated port with direct water access. Many recent models of kayaks have transducer ports built into the hull, so placing the transducer is easier by far. Some fish finder units have an extended transducer unit that can be placed in a drain scupper in the hull of the kayak and secured there. If the transducer is to shoot through the hull, it is essential to make sure the transducer is placed in a level position to get accurate depth readings. The water temperature reading feature will not work if the transducer is mounted on the inside of the kayak hull where it can’t contact the water, but all other features should work just fine. When installing a fish finder unit anglers will want to make sure that there is an in-line fuse on the power cable from the battery to the unit. If the battery gets wet and shorts out, this fuse can keep the whole unit from being fried. Kayak Fish Finder Accessories
THE KAYAK FISH FINDER BATTERY Battery selection and placement is of crucial importance to successful fish finder use on any boat, and it is even more true with kayak anglers and their boats.
“I would highly recommend a unit with GPS and some charts to navigate with. This is helpful when exploring new areas or if thick fog rolls in and you can’t figure out north from south. Not to mention saving your new fishing spot you discovered while exploring that new area,” Baker said.
Most fish finder units for kayak use will operate just fine with either traditional lead/acid cell batteries or the newer Lithium batteries. Like most things having to do with kayaks, there are advantages and disadvantages to both battery types. In general, the older lead/acid batteries are cheaper but much heavier in weight. Having to lug around a fifty-pound battery can get old fast for most kayak anglers. Also, the extra weight of a heavy battery can really affect the balance and paddling/pedaling requirements of a kayak.
“With today’s technology, the sky’s the limit as to what features you can get with a fish finder unit and that will be up to your budget. A basic unit will tell you depth and water temp. Middle of the road units will have the basics and have GPS and some use of charts to navigate. High end units will have much more like side-scan or live view along with WIFI and Bluetooth connectivity to work with other accessories on your kayak like a Micro-Power Pole.” from errant casts from the more experienced person in back. This is a much safer arrangement for kids when they’re just learning to fish from a paddle boat.
The Lithium battery of today is much lighter, smaller and easier to secure in a kayak. The technology of the new Lithium batteries is really quite amazing. These little batteries provide lots of power and long run time. Of course, the cost is considerably more. “I prefer the newer Lithium batteries because they are smaller and lighter than lead/acid and should provide you with more cycles over the life of the battery,” Baker advised. “The best location for battery placement on a kayak would be in the hull centered from bow to stern and centered left to right as to not cause the kayak to list and to stay trim in the water. The battery should be secured so it will not shift or slide while out on the water in rough conditions. You should try and keep the battery dry to prevent it from shorting out and possibly damaging your electronics.” If a kayak angler is using a lead/acid battery, good stable securing of the battery is crucial. These older style batteries will weigh upwards of fifty pounds and that much weight shifting around in a kayak can be dangerous in rough water conditions. Batteries need to be securely attached to the kayak with no possibility of moving in high wave conditions or if the angler shifts his or her weight while fishing.
Also, the paddler in back can help re-rig and get a less experienced angler back in the game when hang-ups and lost lures and bait happen. Sometimes in the paddle fishing world, two can be better than one.
Important Contact Information Rob Baker TnT Hideaway 850-925-6412 tnthideaway.com YakAttack 434-392-3233 info@yakattack.us Ram Mounts 1-800-497-7479 Rammount.com
Garmin 913-397-0872 www.garmin/en-US Humminbird www.humminbird.com 800-633-1468 Lowrance 800-628-4487 www.lowrance.com
877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 55
Gulf Coast Fishing Outlook Photo submitted by Captain Mike Foto with Fish Finder Charters. A nice mixed bag aboard the Fish Finder with Capt. Mike Foto
BY CHRIS VECSEY
Summer is finally here and the weather isn’t the only thing heating up! The majority of migratory fish have settled in to join the residents and there’s no shortage of action.
Capt. Andy McKinnell runs nearshore snapper trips with Tightline Charters. McKinnell will use many methods to take red snapper in Alabama’s state waters both on private and public structures.
ALABAMA Speckled trout and redfish will be thick in the coastal bays and waterways, but one of the biggest attractions to anglers fishing Alabama’s inshore waters will be tripletail, especially those hitting the waters of Mobile Bay. Targeting channel markers, pilings and crab pot buoys, tripletail will be fairly abundant and will take many different baits and lures. A large live shrimping under a float is a tried and true method for catching giant tripletail, but artificial shrimp and swimbaits also work very well.
“I’ll mostly fish lighter rigs instead of the typical bottom setup. I prefer using moderate spinning gear and rigging up with ‘knocker’ rigs, where an egg weight slides freely on the leader and rests right at the hook. I’ll use a 40-60lb leader depending on the behavior of the fish, scaling down to the lighter leader when needed,” McKinnell said.
Perhaps the biggest draw to gulf coast waters this month is red snapper. This year Alabama anglers will get an earlier start on reds, starting Friday, May 22nd, but big crowds will be stopping on Alabama’s immense number of artificial reefs through June and early July.
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McKinnell also mentioned keeping a drift rig deployed with either a live or dead bait to pick up cobia and king mackerel while sitting over bottom spots. “I’ll use a short piece of wire with a single treble hook and throw a bait out a ways from the boat while Snapper fishing. We also pick up many larger Snapper while doing this,” he said. McKinnell will usually troll from spot to spot while running these trips and besides the usual king or
FISHING OUTLOOK spanish mackerel, since it’s always possible to pick up mahi-mahi and other surprises that venture in closer to shore. “I always try to include various approaches in each trip. It adds to the variety and the experience, and that’s what it’s all about,” McKinnell concluded. MISSISSIPPI The state waters of MS will offer many of the same targets as Alabama this month and the barrier islands bordering MS sound will be red hot with speckled trout and redfish. Most anglers will fish the beach fronts on foot throwing a variety of artificial lures like topwaters, twtchbaits and soft plastics. The rigs and artificial structures just offshore will be prime targets for those after red snapper. Captain Mike Foto with Fish Finder Charters plans most days around getting a limit of red snapper and then working other species into the bag. “Red snapper are always the main target, but on many days we will get our limit and then switch to trolling and looking for bait school and debris,” Foto said. “We pull a lot of spoons and diving plugs while keeping our eyes on the depth finder for the abundant bait schools that show up this time of year. We will also see large frenzies on the surface that usually include redfish, mackerel, jacks, sharks and many others. Multiple hookups are the norm around these schools.” Foto says it’s possible to hook up on cobia and even tarpon while trolling the open waters of the sound and he constantly keeps his eyes out for shrimp boats. “The cobia migrating through the area are usually around some form of structure or debris but we do catch them in open water at times.” Tarpon will become common sights into June but hookups can be sporadic. Most who get bit by the silver king are those running and gunning and intercepting rolling fish,” Foto said. “Big sharks, jacks and cobia will usually follow the shrimp bait to feed on the bycatch as it is discarded over the side. There’s never a shortage of action behind a shrimp boat that’s sorting it’s catch!” Between the offshore grounds and the sound, there’ll be plenty to pull on through the month, weather permitting. FLORIDA June can be one of the best months to experience some exceptional big game action closer to shore in areas like the Nipple, Elbow and Spur. When clean, high salinity waters push in close, it’s common to take wahoo, mahi and even billfish within 30 miles of panhandle beaches. Trolling a spread of ballyhoo/lure combinations and other surface lures will usually do the trick. Be sure to check online satellite imagery providers like Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator to see where optimal conditions are for these pelagics.
Howell also likes to run night trips to beat the summer heat and take advantage of gamefish gathering around dock lights. “I fish live shrimp and other baits under popping corks with 15-20lb mono leaders.” On his offshore charters, Howell prefers to head to deeper water and focuses on natural bottom areas in 270-350 feet of water, initially targeting scamp and other grouper species before coming back in for red snapper. “First step of the day is finding quality live bait. I’ll use pinfish as a minimum, but cigar minnows, herring, sardines and other whitebait makes a huge difference in whether we see success on scamp. I like two hook rigs with 5/0 circle hooks on 80lb leader.” “Once we catch some scamp and a few others in deeper water we can move in for red snapper,” Howell said. However you tackle up this month, it certainly pays to think of plan B and plan C to get the most out of your time on the water.
Important Contact Information Tight Line Charters Captain Andy McKinnell 251-233-0251 Fish Finder Charters Captain Mike Foto 228-860-3299 Biloxicharterfishing.net Tradition Fishing Charters Captain Miles Howell 850-324-4464
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Capt. Miles Howell and his wife Laurie run Tradition Fishing Charters out of Perdido Key, Fl. Howell and his fleet of boats take full advantage of the June variety with both inshore and offshore charter options. “We do a lot of dock hopping through the month, targeting reds, trout and other species around deeper piers and boathouses adjacent to grass flats. I prefer to use a knocker rig with a one ounce egg sinker on 30lb leader and #1 and 1/0 Kahle style hooks with live shrimp or croakers,” he said.
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Pier & Shore Fishing Outlook
Speckled trout are commonly landed from the Gulf State Park pier in June.
BY DAVID THORNTON Photos by David Thornton
On the calendar, June is the end of spring and the beginning of summer. Historically that has offered many opportunities for shorebound anglers. This year has presented some unprecedented obstacles for this group of fishermen, most of whom were totally disenfranchised from their traditional spring pursuits along the white sandy beaches of the Emerald Coast. So depending upon the scope and progression of the “coronapocalypse” we will (hopefully) be looking forward to at least some normalcy returning to the fishing world as perceived from the beaches and piers this month! We know as the summer solstice approaches (June 20th) the length of daylight and the heat from strong solar rays will warm the nearshore waters through the lower to middle 80s. Many
58 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
fish species have already spawned (at least once) and some, like pompano may be vacating the surfzone for relatively cooler waters farther offshore. But the semi-tropical jacks and mackerels along with an increasing number of migrating tarpon swarm into these warm waters in search of prey and mates. PIER OPTIONS These vantage points above the water offer a myriad of opportunities to anglers this month. Pompano and cobia are way past “peak”, but still available. Mackerel are the most common target species now. The more plentiful spanish mackerel are caught pretty much every day in varying degrees of numbers dependent upon the weather and water conditions. Also hordes of blue runner (“hardtails”), ladyfish (“skipjack”) and bluefish collect around the piers. They offer
FISHING OUTLOOK almost endless hours of fishing action usually as a by-catch for mackerel fishermen. But they are nominally edible as well. As lures go, relatively inexpensive half ounce jigs (in white, chartreuse or yellow) used in single or tandem are very effective on these mid-sized predatory gamefish. The widely popular “Bubble rigs‘”are very effective on these fish as well. Offering hours and hours of casting and catching for pier patrons of any age or experience level. King mackerel are often available for pier anglers too, but their numbers tend to thin out during the brightest time of the day. The party usually begins before dawn on the end of the beach piers this month. Anglers eager to get a chance at king mackerel often get into position, rigged and ready before the eastern sky even turns pink. Usually the run starts between dawn and sunup, what anglers call “the magic hour”. ‘Snobbling‘ thawed “cigar minnows” (mackerel scad) is a time honored traditional way to catch king mackerel from piers all along the Emerald Coast. Nowadays many anglers use large hard plastic lures that resemble the natural baits in the water. So there is often a debate among the king fishermen as to which has been the better approach. A short leader (about 12” to 18” long) of 27# to 40# steel wire or cable is needed to protect hook or lure from being ‚cut off‘ by the razor sharp teeth of the fast swimming mackerel. A good king reel should hold at least 250 yards of 15 to 30 pound line and feature a smooth drag. Mackerel are “sprinters” and kings over 15 pounds routinely rip off even 300 yards of line before they are “spent”.
the six to eight foot deep range (depending on water clarity, current and available food). That‘s when a switch to sinking or suspending twitchbaits like MirrOdines or Unfair lures can get you back in the action. As well, these fish may also fall for four inch soft plastic baits like Fin-s or Zoom Fluke on a ¼ ounce jighead. Colors like pearl, baby bass and green ice seem to work best. Fishing lighted docks and piers after dark can be extremely productive for white trout, speckled trout and redfish. Live shrimp are the traditional bait of choice. But these fish are mainly feeding on small minnows. So they respond well to a finessed presentation of a small 3” soft plastic minnow imitation like the Zoom Tiny Fluke. Most colors work fine, but again, baby bass seems to be the fisherman‘s favorite. They can be rigged on a crappie jig head (1/16 to 1/32 ounce) or with a straight 2/0 bass hook. June presents so many fishing options even from shore. So here‘s to hoping (and praying) this crisis is behind us so we may once again enjoy our great days outdoors!
LIVE, DEAD OR ARTIFICIAL? Pier angling, especially to target king mackerel is a matter of choice. Everyone seems to have their favorite, and every day the fish seem to have a different “best” choice too. Savvy anglers decide according to what is available (or not available) in guessing what the fish may want. As always, tackle and tactics are important keys to success, but by giving the fish what they want will make you consistently more successful. BEACH FISHING OPTIONS Assuming open access is again available to surf casters by June, this month offers a wide variety of fishing options and target species. Pompano will still be on the mind of surf guides like Matthew Isbell (“Bama Beach Bum”) and Dusty Hayes (Liquid Force Inshore Charters). Though not nearly as plentiful as the numbers usually seen in the spring, pompano are still a prime target and catch.
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“As summer nears, the numbers and variety of by-catch species increase.” Isbell said. “But there are still ways to target them effectively, such as using jigs more when conditions allow.” “After I put out my set rigs with shrimp and Fishbites, I will often grab a nine foot rod with a pompano jig and cast it around in the surrounding area. It‘s a great way to find fish nearby that may not be roaming actively,” he added. Besides regular pompano jigs, the “Silly Willy“ and “Doc‘s Goofy Jig” setups can be very effective for finding and catching pompano in the calm, clear green waters usually encountered along the gulf beaches during June. Bycatch species most often are ladyfish or blue runners. But bluefish, redfish, spanish mackerel, “whiting”, and even flounder may be caught using jigs cast from the beach or wadefishing. SPEAKING OF WADE FISHING... Surf anglers along the Alabama coast from Little Lagoon Pass westward to Dauphin Island often encounter speckled trout this month along the beaches. They are a very popular target species for afoot anglers walking the beaches or back bay shoreline along the Fort Morgan peninsula or the western half of Dauphin Island. Topwater lures like Rapala Skitterwalk or Heddon Spook are better wake ups than a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. They elicit an explosive strike from trout, bluefish, ladyfish, mackerel and jack crevelle as entertaining as it is addictive. As the sun rises, these fish may slip into slightly deeper waters nearby in
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Regional Freshwater Fishing Outlook
The big bream will be very willing to bite in all Deep South waters in June.
BY ED MASHBURN Photos by Ed Mashburn
ALABAMA WATERS
LAKE WEISS Captain Lee Pitts is a long-time guide on the Coosa River chain of lakes and advises fishermen that while bass can still be found in shallow water they will be moving in deeper areas.
“After a great springtime top water bite, bass will still be found in shallow water but the first wave of bass, both largemouths and spots, will be moving off the shorelines and out into deeper water,” Pitts said. “Weiss is known for open water bass fishing and anglers should use their electronics to locate old house foundations and other hard material structures in deeper open water.” For crappie fishing, anglers will want to work docks. There will still be few late spawners holding under dock and shooting docks with jigs can produce strikes. Crappie will be breaking up from their spawning schools and going into a less concentrated pattern. The big crappie are still there, but they’re not found in big schools now.
White bass, stripers and hybrids will be busting on shad in open water in June. Anglers can throw shad-look top water plugs to attract these hard-pullers. “The whole lake should be really good in June- there’s no bad spots to look for fish,” Davis said. LAKE EUFAULA Captain Sam Williams from Hawks Guide Service earns his living connecting Lake Eufaula fish with fisherman “Look for bass in and around cover. Hydrilla patches will be very good. After winter, the water is back up to full pool level, and the grass is holding bait. Look for grass and you’ll find the bass,” Williams said. Anglers can find fish on early morning top water lures and then use shallow running jerk baits. Frogs and buzz baits will be good in June.
LAKE GUNTERSVILLE “The bass should be on shell beds in June. There will be a good top water bite along the grasslines. Anglers can use jigs, crank baits, and swim baits on these shell bed bass,” said Captain Jake Davis from Mid-South Bass Guide Service.
The Eufaula crappie will be on ledges in June around brush piles. The crappie don’t leave the brush.
Spinnerbaits will be good early in the morning on Guntersville.
Williams said that catfish will be red-hot in June and jug fishing using cut bait can result in some big fish.
A very good bite for anglers on Guntersville in June will be shellcracker bream. They’ll be spawning in two to four feet of water. These extra-large bream will respond well to worms fished close to the bottom. 60 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Trolling for crappie in open water around the deep brush piles can be very good for big crappie in June.
Anglers need to be aware that in June in case of stormy, heavy-rainfall weather, the south end of the lake clears faster because of its sandy bottom, but the whole lake should be quite good.
FISHING OUTLOOK “Shellcracker bream will be bedding, so get some pink worms, and find the big shell cracker bream. You’ll stop fishing when you’re too tired to pull them off the hooks, Williams said. MILLER’S FERRY Joe Dunn of Dunn’s Sports in Thomasville, told us that in the month of June, water movement is crucial for fishing success on the lake. The water is going to be clearing up from spring heavy flows, and when the dam is pulling water and making current in the lake, anglers can do some real good. “Bass anglers will want to work major creeks and out in the main lake in June. Crankbaits, Carolina rig soft plastics, and shaky head worms will work well. There will be a good top water bite early in the mornings around grass and on the points. Look for green trees down in the water on the main lakebass will always be around these,” Dunn pointed out.
Spinning gear anglers should be able to catch all of the trout they want in June by using small single-hook Roostertails in small sizes as well as Trout Magnet lures in 1/16 oz sizes. MOBILE DELTA According to tournament fisherman and guide Captain Wayne Miller, the water in the Mobile Delta should be down to normal levels, and that means all of the rivers will be tidal-influenced in June. The tide affects the river waters far up on the Alabama River and all of the other rivers which feed into the Delta and Miller advises bass anglers to look at the main rivers since the lakes off the rivers will be getting quite shallow with the lower water levels in June. Most bass tournaments on the Delta are won by anglers fishing the middle and upper areas of the Delta, and the lower Delta is just not as productive now.
For crappie, angler will want to look out in the main lake in deeper water. Most anglers troll for crappie using jigs, such as Road Runners and other weighted jig type lures tipped with live minnows in June. Jigs can be a bit larger in June than were used in early spring.
In June, anglers can expect a good early morning top water bite on big Spooks and large buzzbaits. As the day moves on, heavy spinnerbaits worked deep on wood cover in the main rivers will be best. Big soft plastic and crank baits worked near wood cover will be good, too.
Bream anglers should have great luck on Miller’s Ferry in June. They’ll be bedding, and they will be eating the huge willow fly hatches that will start in June.
Bass anglers need to find deep treetops and work the entire sunken tree structure carefully. These “tops” will require lots of casts to cover correctly to find the fish.
In fact, anglers won’t go far wrong on Miller’s Ferry in June by using bream pattern crank baits when the willow flies start their hatches. The big bass love to eat the bream that are too busy eating willow flies to pay attention to the big bass coming up below them. WILSON LAKE Guide and captain Brian Barton says that June can be a dynamite month for anglers looking for major catches of catfish below Wilson and Pickwick Dams. It’s one of the best months for catching lots of eating size and bigger cats. “I like big chunks of cut skipjack or shad. Worms, chicken livers and even shrimp will work well for smaller catfish”, Barton advised. ”My most memorable fishing trip was in early June about ten years ago. I pulled to the wall of Wilson Dam, and the catfish were schooling on the surface along the dam feeding on newly hatched shad minnows,” Barton recounted. “We filled a 120 quart cooler with cats and were home by 9:00. That was a day that every cat angler dreams of.” There will be lots of white bass, stripers and hybrids gathering below the dams when water is being pulled through, and anglers can use live shad or large minnows in the live water below the dams to have a ball catching these hard-pullers. Smallmouth bass will be holding along steep rocky shores and along the sheer rock bluffs. Soft plastics in crawfish patterns can be deadly on these north Alabama brown bass. Panfish anglers who work any of the major feeder creeks which empty into Wilson and Pickwick can catch their fill in short order by working worms and crickets close to the bottom where the bream will be holding on their beds. SIPSEY FORK “We’re going to see more hoppers by then. and when they’re flying around, hopper flies are really good. Also, beetle flies are good, even the big Japanese beetles will be eaten by the trout,” said Brandon Jackson of Riverside Fly Shop. Another good point of planning trout fishing trip to the Sipsey in June is that by then, the generation schedule of pumping water through the dam will have usually settled down and will be in the normal pattern. This means that during the week, water will be running hard in the afternoons, but water won’t be pumped hard on the weekends.
Crappie will be breaking up from their spawning schools and going into a less concentrated pattern.The big crappie are still there, but they’re not found in big schools now. FLORIDA WATERS
APALACHICOLA RIVER SYSTEM Tony Poloronis of Outcasters Bait and Tackle in Apalachicola said that down toward the mouth of the river, anglers should not be surprised if several kinds of saltwater game fish show up on any fishing trip. Reds, specks, and flounder are commonly found in the same waters that bass and bream inhabit. In June, anglers on the Apalachicola system should be able to find some great bream fishing for both bluegills and big shell crackers. These fish will still be bedding, and places on the main river and the smaller streams will work. Look for lily pads, and the bream on beds will be close. Anglers who fish the fingers of the river where it meets the bay will have good luck on bass in June. Soft plastics, crank baits, and spinner baits, especially Snagless Sallies, worked around reed beds will find plenty of bass in June. For some serious hard pulling, anglers might want to run up the river to the point where the Pinhook River enters the Apalachicola. Both hybrid bass and the big saltwater stripers often hold here, and they can get very big. Live bait including shrimp and flashy artificial lures will attract the attention of the big striped bass. LAKE TALQUIN In June, anglers can do very well on catfish using cut bait and stink bait in the creeks and ledges of the main lake says Jeff DuBree of Whippoorwill Lodge on Lake Talquin. Bream anglers will find lots of bedding bream in shallow water all over the lake and throwing a dark colored Beetlespin is a good way to find the hungry bream. For best luck, fish the full moon. 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // JUNE 2020 61
Regional Freshwater Fishing Outlook
Topwater bass will be hot in June, and be ready to fish the thick grass.
Important Contact Information Joe Dunn Dunn’s Sports 334-636-0850 33356 Hwy 43, Thomasville, AL Captain Sam Williams Hawks Guide Service 334-687-0400 Brandon Jackson/ Randy Jackson Riverside Fly Shop 17027 Hwy 69N Jasper, AL 256-287-9582 Riversideflyshop.com Bass at Lake Talquin will be moving from shallow spawning waters to deeper points and ledges in the main lake. Depending on how hot the weather gets, there can be a very good early and late top water bite. As the month goes along, DuBree tells us that anglers fishing at night can have very good results for bass around lighted boat docks using lipless crank baits. Crappie anglers do well fishing at night using lights attached to their boats and letting bait congregate below the lights. LAKE SEMINOLE Jody Wells guides out of Seminole Lodge and Marina and he advocates using soft plastics in deep water and cover. “It’s going to be good in deep water in June on soft plastics, and early and late throwing top water frogs. Fish over hydrilla, lily pads, anything you can throw over will hold fish,” Wells said. Bass at Seminole in June will average four pounds, with larger and smaller fish. The bream will be on the beds in June and all through the summer. Crappie, known as speckled perch at Seminole, will be very good all through the summer. June anglers can use live minnows or other minnow-look artificials to catch plenty of crappie. Anglers can find some good hybrid and striper fishing in June, but visiting anglers need to be aware that certain areas of the lake are marked and set off limits for fishing because these are spring areas where the big stripers congregate for water temperature protection. Hefty fines will occur for anglers trying to catch stripers out of these areas. 62 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
Captain Lee Pitts 256-390-4145 www.leepittsoutdoors.com Captain Brian Barton 256-412-0960 brianbartonoutdoors.com Captain Jake Davis Mid-South Bass Guide Service 615-613-2382 msbassguide@comcast.net Jeff DuBree Whippoorwill Sportsman’s Lodge Lake Talquin 850-875-2605 fishtalquin@gmail.com Jody Wells 850-209-2420 Tony Poloronis Outcasters Bait and Tackle 631 Hwy 98, Apalachicola, Florida 850-653-4665 Captain Wayne Miller 251-435-7404
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Nathan Rich caught this beautiful 28” speckled trout in April
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PHOTO of the MONTH Bailey Bumpers with a nice mess of Teal from the Mobile Tensaw Delta.
Jennifer Cotten caught this 11.9 pounder in a private lake in Monroe Co. Alabama
Josh Holland with his 14.5lb red fish from middle bay light house
KID'S CORNER
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Kennedy Wallace, 5, posing with her Tiger Bass.
Madison Crosslin,age 9, Red Snapper (safely released), Orange Beach, AL
Conner Hadley, 9, caught this one at Steve’s Catfish Pond
Allison Smith, 15, found a Blue Runner running the jetties.
Lane Milstead, 11 , with a respectable largemouth bass.
Brooklyn Rider, 17, brought a fine Kingfish over the rail.
Tyler Crosslin, 11 yrs, Trigger Fish, Orange Beach, AL
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FISHING TIP
Getting Kids Hooked on Fishing BY WILLIAM KENDY
What do you remember about your first-time fishing? I remember that I went with my dad to some lake someplace on a little boat really early in the morning. I remember the smell of the lake and the boat rocking in the small waves when he pushed it from the doc. I remember the mixed smell of the gas and the oil and the exhaust smoke when he pulled a cord to start the motor and the early morning mist and the cool wind on my face as we went somewhere. Then there was putting the dirty and wiggly worm on the hook and watching the red and white round bobber floating and how exciting it was when it got pulled underwater zig-zagging every which way and the throbbing of the rod while I was trying to figure out how to turn the handle of the reel. Then the boating of my “trophy” which was probably a six-inch bluegill that felt really slimy when dad showed me how to hold it without getting stabbed by the spines. First of many wonderful fishing adventures. We all know that the future of fishing lies with the kids. As anglers we know, having “been there” that the experience has to be easy, fun and exciting if we are going to instill a lifelong fishing passion. Kids that are forced to go fishing or get bored will just drop out and we’ve lost them to computer games. I asked some of our expert captains and guides what advice they had for getting kids into fishing.
BY: WILLIAM KENDY
“Kids are curious. They are easily amazed by the things we take for granted. Like seeing glow jelly in the cast net, the whiskers on a shrimp or the fang teeth of a speckled trout to mention a few. Slow down, answer the million curious questions and let them soak it all in. Don’t force the fishing part and if they want to fish, make every catch as exciting as possible.” Captain Patric Garmeson Ugly Fishing “Encourage but don’t force them to go fishing. Fish for species that are angler friendly and easy to catch like bream and catfish, etc. Provide gear and tackle that is simple and easy for them to use. Make casting, baiting, catching an easy, joyous experience and don’t stay out on water too long. When they are ready to go, leave.” Captain Brian Barton Brian Barton Outdoors “The key word for getting young people interested in fishing is “patience” and youngsters have little of it. Understanding that youngsters have a short attention span, I try very hard to make sure that there is going to be plenty of action. Of course, with that, the quality of the fish, or even the species, might be less than glamorous and that’s where the patience of the adults comes in. Specifically, fishing under a cork is a very easy and effective way to catch many inshore saltwater species and involves only watching the cork go down, come to think of it, a lot of older children still like seeing a cork go under also” Captain Bobby Abruscato A-Team Fishing Adventures “Keep it simple and get them hooked with bluegill and panfish fishing. Start a kid’s fishing clinic and work with state, natural resource agencies or even state parks who have programs already set up.” Captain Jake Davis Mid South Bass Guide Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Director Words of wisdom from the pros. We will be developing this in future issues of GDO so stay tuned. 877.314.1237 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // APRIL 2020 73
A GREAT DAY OUTDOORS
The Sun Also Sets in the Navy, so I didn’t want to look too timid. Also, I found some level of confidence that he’d spent so many years on the water even if it was on larger boats. But he took such great care making sure my personal flotation device (PFD) was snug that he seemed to be preparing for the worst. BY JIM MIZE
Two things about an offer to fish will get me excited. First, if the place is worthy of my bucket list due to beautiful scenery and fine fishing. Second, if the person taking me will teach me something about catching the fish then that clinches the deal. Both boxes were checked when I received an invitation to fish Lake Guntersville with Chad “Knot Right” Hoover, host of Kayak Bassin TV on the World Fishing Network. Just one detail caused me slight trepidation; Chad likes to fish from a kayak. Now I know kayaks have come light-years since my introduction to one on a whitewater river multiple decades ago. Still, you never get over those early memories. By anyone’s measuring stick, in those early days I was a novice. Kayak sounded to me like a Chinese word for “Gesundheit.” For the first thirty minutes of our class, every time the instructor said, “kayak,” I added, “Bless you.” The other kayakers thought I was a priest. And the sport appeared so simple. You can’t misspell kayak, since forward or backward it’s the same. The whitewater kayak takes after the word with little difference on either end and the paddle has two blades so you don’t even have to know which end to put in the water. So when Chad asked me if I’d ever done any kayaking, I pushed these early memories to the back of my mind and answered, “A little.” He probably took that to mean, “Not much” and gave me basic instruction. Chad is a big guy who spent twenty years
After basic instruction on loading without drowning and how to paddle, we headed off to find bass hunkered down in a creek bed. One key difference in modern fishing kayaks is that they are designed to be stable. The whitewater kayak I learned on was designed to roll over and then the kayaker had to right the boat to keep going. This maneuver is nothing to laugh at since laughing is serious business if you’re upside down and underwater. To right yourself on a whitewater kayak required learning a maneuver called the Eskimo roll. This was not an Alaskan breakfast food, but a technique for using your paddle and balance to flip back up before someone had to call 911. No doubt my flailings in those early days could have kept an entire village of Eskimos rolling and brought hysteria to their sled dogs as well. Still, I couldn’t help chuckling back then whenever my kayak rolled over. Here I was, a grown man, flipped like a child’s toy in a bathtub, and all I could think of was a repetitive jingle: “Weebles might wobble but they won’t fall down . . .” I felt like a flipped Weeble. Anticipating bites so hard that they would flip me like a Weeble, I braced myself with each cast. But Chad had cautioned that the cool temperatures led him to believe we’d mostly have a mid-day bite. Still, I kept my center of gravity low whenever my line was in the water. Every now and then Chad stood up to take a look around or just stretch. This gave me a little confidence that I might stay right-side up, even though I considered that our kayaks might be different. For instance, maybe he had some special mechanism like a gyroscope that kept his kayak balanced, but mine didn’t and since I was buoyant in my PFD, he could
74 JUNE 2020 // GreatDaysOutdoors.com // 877.314.1237
just paddle over and put me back in my boat or clip onto my PFD and tow me back to the dock. As the morning wore on, I admittedly began to relax and push those early kayaking days to the back of my mind. A pair of geese flew by, honking as if they were navigating traffic. Two mallards followed and the world seemed to be waking up. Now and then, a fish rolled close by, chasing minnows on the surface. The activity began to draw all my attention back to catching a fish. When the first one bit, I set the hook without flipping out of the boat. That felt like progress in itself. Then I noticed how much closer I felt to the fish sitting at water level with the bass just slightly below. The other thing I noticed about kayak fishing is that two fishermen don’t have to argue about where to go next when fishing together. One can explore the shallows while the other delves into the pockets. You can daydream, tilt your head back to catch the warmth of the sun as it rises over the horizon, and talk to yourself without embarrassment. Lake Guntersville proved to be a beautiful fishery, though instead of crossing it off my bucket list, it became a permanent line item. Chad did indeed teach me a few things, both about bass and kayaks. Best of all, I spent the entire trip right-side up and the only fish I communed with were on my line. Given time, the outdoors can feel just like home. The key is to convince yourself there is nothing outdoors to fear but fear itself. Well, that and buddies who believe in getting even.
JIM MIZE has fished right-side up long enough to write two award-winning books of humor available at www. acreektricklesthroughit.com.
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