Great Days Outdoors - June 2023

Soggy Bottom Lodge -

World Class Hunting Fishing & Shooting Resort

Marengo County, Alabama, 1,224+/-Acres

• Perfect for a family retreat and commercial hunting, fishing, and event business

• Hunt monster bucks, elk, fallow deer, ducks, quail, pheasant, turkey, and dove

• Fish multiple large, trophy managed lakes

• Network of large, year-round food plots with shooting houses

• Duck ponds with blinds

• Miles of paved or improved internal roads

• 2 custom lodges

• The Soggy Bottom Lodge sleeps up to 18 with 3 expansive bedroom suites, en suite bathrooms, a commercial kitchen, an open dining room, game room, and den, and just outside is an outdoor kitchen and dining area that can seat up to 40

Selma Duck Hunting Retreat

Dallas County, Alabama, 933+/-Acres

DUCKS, DUCKS, & more DUCKS! 933 +/- acres featuring a magnificent Louisiana-style brick two-story home, a 5-acre lake with a pier, gazebo, metal shop, and an additional home that provides more space for extended family. This spectacular property offers hunting, fishing, and recreation! The terrain is rolling to gently rolling containing open pasture land, hardwood, and pine timber with an interior road system. The deer population is excellent, with established green fields, and the Blue Gurth Swamp, located on the north end of the property, brings in ducks and geese. Public utilities are available and include county water and electricity. The main house was built in 1967 and has 5,184 sq. ft. of living space, including 5 BD and 5.5 BA. Other additional structures include the swimming pool and tennis courts. The second home on the property was built in 1965 and has 2,100 sq. ft. of living space, including 3 BD and 2 BA. Call today to schedule your private tour!

Over 700 more tracts across 47 states available...

COUNTY ACRES

BEST BETS FOR JUNE

These are our top targets for hunters and fishermen this month!

BY WILLIAM KENDY

KIDS AND FISHING

If you are a fisherman, odds are good that you were taught how to fish by an adult, most likely by your dad, grandpa, a relative or family friend.

While fishing is not as intensive as shooting and/ or hunting, fishing is a high involvement sport and it helps kids to learn from a “mentor” who can help them understand a fish’s environment, how to tie knots, the basics about fishing tackle and even how to cast.

Don’t get me wrong, nothing beats getting a young person out on the water to have the experience of an “outdoor adventure” and creating the memories that will last a lifetime, like catching your first “giant” bluegill or the smell of oil and gas mixed when your mentor started the outboard early in the morning.

The bottom line is us anglers need young people fishing and they are the future of our sport.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE AND PRACTICE

June in the south is a beautiful month. While it can be hot, it isn’t the stifling heat of high summer and it is a good time to get some practice in for the upcoming hunting seasons.

Whether your hunting passion is deer hunting, turkey hunting, dove or quail hunting it certainly doesn’t hurt to get some quality shooting range time in. Testing out some new deer loads, patterning your turkey gun or shooting some rounds of skeet, trap or sporting clays can only sharpen your skills and build confidence and don’t forget about going “plinking” and knocking over some cans with your .22.

If you are a bowhunter it is a good time to get your compound tuned and fling some broadheads at a target just to see how they fly.

ALABAMA RED SNAPPER SEASON SET

According to Outdoor Alabama (www. outdooralabama.com), state and federal waters will open to private and state-licensed charter vessel anglers for red snapper harvest on Friday, May 26, 2023. The season will consist of four-day weekends, Friday through Monday, beginning on Friday, May 26, and continues until the private angler quota is projected to be met.

The season dates only apply to anglers fishing from shore, private recreational vessels and statelicensed Alabama commercial party boats that do not hold federal for-hire fishing permits

The Alabama red snapper bag limit is 2 fish per angler (not including the guide or crew) at 16 inches minimum length.

Tip – Dead bait works pretty much for all sized Red Snapper. Pogies, squid and cigar minnows are successful and frequently used.

PUBLISHED BY:

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Everyone enjoys catching big catfish like this giant blue, but to get one to the boat, you must use heavy tackle, strong reels and stiff rods .

Catfishing Reels Specifications to Consider

BY JOHN E. PHILLIPS

One of the best authorities I know to talk with about what’s the best reel for catching catfish is Phil King of Corinth, Mississippi, who started his career as a commercial cat fisherman and then became a guide before fishing in and winning catfish tournaments regionally, nationally and internationally. King has fished all over the U.S. as well as in Spain as a part of the 2011 U.S. Catfishing team. His primary home waters are on the Tennessee River, which flows north from Alabama – especially Pickwick Lake, above Pickwick Dam, and Kentucky Lake below Pickwick Dam. King emphasizes that, “Using the correct casting reel and tackle are critical to your success as a catfisherman.”

Although more than 3,000 species of catfish are swimming in the world’s waters, the only catfish in King’s world are the two types of catfish he names,

“Eating-size catfish, which are cats weighing from 1-1/2 pounds up to 10-pounds each, and tournament cats, which often will weigh 50 to 100-pounds plus. I rig and bait differently to catch these two kinds of catfish.”

One time King and a friend caught 450 pounds of eating-size blue cats, weighing 1-1/2 to 2 pounds each, between 8:00 am – 2:00 pm in one day.

WHAT REELS KING USES TO CATCH EATING-SIZE CATFISH

“When I’m fishing for eating-size cats, I’ll use a 5500 or a 6500 LC Ambassadeur aluminum casting reel made by Abu Garcia,“ King explained. “The ‘LC’ stands for Line Counter. The Line Counter reel is so important because if I’m fishing for suspended eating-size cats, I can set the line counter on my reel to keep my baits at the depth (the strike zone) where the cats are. I also like the Abu Garcia 5500 or 6500 LC because of their gear ratios of 5.3:1 and their light weights of 11.3 and 13.1 ounces. They don’t wear me out when I’m fishing all day like a heavier reel will.”

(Other companies offering Line Counter reels include Bass Pro Shops, Fenwick, Okuma, Quantum and Shakespeare).

WHAT BAITS, DEPTH FINDER AND RODS KING FISHES FOR EATING-SIZE CATFISH

King’s favorite baits for eating-size catfish include shad guts or cut chunks of hickory shad and/or smaller cut shad. He’s learned that when catfish are suspended behind Pickwick Dam in June through September, his Humminbird depth finder will show him those eating-size cats, and at what depth they’re holding. He then can set the depth on his LC reel to keep his baits generally at that depth.

“Oftentimes in the summer, there isn’t much current iin Pickwick Lake above the hydroelectric plant’s dam, since the water to produce electricity is being released from the bottom of the lake,” King explained. “A 40-60 foot deep ther-

mocline will be in the almost-still water near the top of the dam that shows-up as a heavy green line on my depth finder. This thermocline is formed by cool water coming from the bottom of the lake and the warmer water at the lake’s top. Along the edge of thermocline is where catfish feel the most comfortable, and that’s where the baitfish will concentrate too. I’ll also locate catfish suspended along the main river channel, creek channels and creek mouths above the dam. Often I’ll troll through those schools of catfish. I’ve learned that you must use a line-counter reel to make sure you’re putting your baits just above and in front of the direction the catfish are facing. You never want to have your bait below where the cats are feeding, due to their not being able to see or smell the bait.”

King fishes with a medium-heavy action to a heavy-action rod like an IM7 Graphite Rod that you can find at Bass Pro Shops and from other retailers to fish for eating-size catfish.

“I like either a 7 or a 7-1/2 foot rod. I’ll fish a medium-action rod above a dam and a heavy-action rod when I’m fishing below a dam. If you use a heavy-action rod on a lake above a dam, the catfish will take the bait, feel the resistance of the rod and turn loose of the bait before you can set the hook. However, if I’m fishing below a dam, I want a heavier rod because I’m fishing with a heavier weight in that 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 mile current to get my baits down to where the catfish are feeding.”

WHAT LINE AND HOOKS CATCH THE MOST “EATING-SIZE” CATFISH

On his rod, King uses 80-pound-test SpiderWire Ultra Cast braided line that he ties to the top eye of a three-way swivel. Next he ties on 24 inches of 60-pound-test monofilament to the middle eye of the three-way swivel and a No. 3/0 Daiichi circle hook. Then he ties on eight inches of 60-pound-test monofilament line to the bottom of the three-way swivel and attaches his lead sinker to the tag end of that leader.

If King’s fishing a double-catfish rig, he has, “Three feet of line between the two, three-way swivels, and sets each rig up as before. I want to have a rod, reel and line that’s strong enough to pull eating-size cats from the water into my boat without using a dip net.”

WHY KING USES A DIFFERENT REEL AND SET-UP TO CATCH TOURNAMENT CATS

When King’s fishing for tournament-sized cats, he prefers a Shimano Tekota 500 LC reel that features self-sealing ball bearings and offers him 27 pounds of drag. This heavier-built, line-counter reel is primarily used by King to fish for Mississippi River cats.

“I prefer this reel for catching catfish in the Mississippi River,” King reported.

According to longtime catfisherman, Phil King, “Using the correct casting reel and tackle are critical to your success as a catfisherman.”

Pictured here is Phil King (far right) and his

team with

Phil King’s best day of catching eating-size catfish was when he and another angler caught 450 pounds of blue cats between 8:00 am and 2:00 pm.

“The Tekota is a very-durable reel and is meant for catching offshore saltwater fish. The current’s so strong in the Mississippi, I’ll put 600 – 800 feet of 60-pound-test braided line on this reel and attach it to 8 inches of 60-pound-test monofilament line that’s tied to a three-way swivel with 16 ounces of lead on the bottom of the swivel to hold my bait in the right depth of water. Next I’ll tie a 24-inch leader line going to the middle swivel with a No. 3/0 Daiichi circle hook on it.”

King fishes for tournament catfish with a salmon-style IMC heavy-action rod made by Berkley and large chunks of hickory shad for bait. All catfish caught in tournaments are returned to the water after being weighed. The biggest cat King’s ever caught in a tournament weighed 103.10 pounds. But the heaviest one he’s caught out of the country was in Spain in an international tournament sponsored by Bass Pro Shop and Pure Fishing that weighed 134 pounds.

King no longer guides for catfish but instead pleasure fishes for eating-size cats and competes in catfish tournaments. He knows for certain that fishing with Line Counter reels has played a major role in his catching eating-size cats and heavy-weight tournament catfish.

BY MAKINZE GORE Recipe and image courtesy of delish.com

Baked Catfish

While we love fried catfish, this baked recipe is quick, easy, and way less messy. We dredge our catfish in cornmeal and flavor it with plenty of Cajun seasoning, resulting in a crisp and extra-flavorful fish we can’t get enough of. The best part of our dish? It’s the perfect base to build on and experiment with what you have on hand!

The dredge.

While some recipes combine cornmeal and flour for the dredge, we went with just cornmeal. It gives an added crunch to our catfish breading that we need when baking. We season our cornmeal with Cajun seasoning for added flavor, but feel free to add in your own favorite seasonings.

How long should you bake catfish.

For us, our catfish fillets were done in around 15 minutes in a 425° oven. Depending on the size of your fillets, they could need longer—keep an eye on them! The best way to tell when your catfish is done is when the crust is nice and golden, and your fish flakes easily with a fork.

Prep: 5 mins • Cook Time: 20 mins • Total: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• 1 cup cornmeal

• 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning

• 4 catfish fillets

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Lemon wedges, for serving

Instructions

“Catfish Like a Pro”

To learn more about fishing for catfish whether you’re sitting on the bank or in a boat fishing calm waters or turbulent waters, John E. Phillips’ book, “Catfish Like a Pro” https://tinyurl.com/yc5xd2p4, available from Amazon, contains advice from some of the nation’s most-productive catfishermen. To learn about any outdoor subject, check out Phillips’ 100 books available on Amazon at www.amazon.com/author/johnephillips).

1. Preheat oven to 425° and drizzle 2 tablespoons oil on a large baking sheet. On a large plate, combine cornmeal and Cajun seasoning. Season catfish with salt and pepper, then dredge fish in seasoned cornmeal, pressing to coat.

2. Place fish on prepared baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Bake until golden and fish flakes easily with a fork, 15 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Red Snapper Season 2023 Keys to Success

BY FRANK SARGEANT

Ready for some snapper fillets? Here’s what you need to know about the regulations.

Since the Harte Research Institute reported last year that there are tons of red snapper age two or more in the Gulf of Mexico, previously overlooked by federal fishery managers, Gulf Coast anglers have chomped at the bit for longer seasons and more relaxed bag limits.

We’re getting a tiny taste of relief in some states this year—and the opposite in others.

NOAA has increased the total annual catch limit by 300,000 pounds to 15.4 million pounds for 2023, and the overfishing limit from 15.5 million pounds to 25.6 million pounds.

Of the annual catch limit, the share dedicated to commercial fishermen will move from 7.7 million pounds to 7.854 million pounds, representing 51 percent of the catch limit, and the recreational share will increase from 7.399 million pounds to 7.546 million pounds, or 49 percent of the total limit. Charter fishermen will receive 42 percent of the recreational catch limit, or 3.192 million pounds.

Under the new limits, Alabama will be allowed to catch 558,200 pounds, Florida will receive 2.069 million pounds, Louisiana gets 882,000 pounds, Mississippi gets 59,000 pounds, and Texas gets 270,000 pounds whole-weight equivalent.

Alabama is particularly impacted by the new regulations because NOAA says the state’s anglers “overharvested” the resource the last several years, according to their formula for counting the fish taken. In 2020, Alabama’s quota for private anglers was 1.122 million pounds, and 1.145 M in 2021, so the cut this year is dramatic, to say the least

Colonel Scott Bannon, Director of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division, calls the 2023 allocation unfair and based on faulty data.

“Alabama and Mississippi both have very accurate reporting systems, and we feel the harvest estimates from NOAA are inflated and unreasonable,” quoted Bannon. “Utilizing the abundance estimates we receive from the University of South Alabama each year, nearly 25% of the red snapper that occur off Alabama live among artificial reefs, and we think our red snapper stock is continuing to replenish itself at a sustainable rate. We feel very strongly that in the Alabama reef zone the stock is very stable. Recruitment is good as there are

enough young fish moving up through the reef system.”

Bannon also said the quota could see some adjustment during the season, depending on reported catches.

“While I am disappointed that we are having the Alabama quota reduced, it is not the end of the world. We will potentially see an increase during the season from 558,200 pounds to 591,185 pounds and we are working through the Gulf Council process to adjust the calibration ratio to one that is more favorable to our anglers,” Bannon said.

“That change may occur before the end of the year. We encourage anglers to fish on the days that work well for them based on their schedules and weather and we will fish through the summer based on the four-day weekend, Friday through Monday. Our fishing season begins Friday, May 26. I would like to remind anglers that reporting their red snapper, greater amberjack and gray triggerfish catch through the digital Snapper Check program and participating in our dockside surveys are vital to our effort to provide the best access possible.”

The reduced harvest for Alabama will severely impact marinas, tackle shops, coastal motels and other businesses depending on the recreational snapper anglers that flood the coast during the annual seasons, but apparently there’s not much help for it this time around.

NOAA ceded some control of the fishery to the states under Amendment 50, which was adopted in 2019. This has allowed the states to choose when recreational anglers will fish and what the state waters limits will be, which permits more convenience for anglers who can choose their fishing days rather than participating in a brief “gold rush” type fishery which may close within a few days of opening, and also avoids open seasons coming on unfishable days.

If the set summer days happen to fall during a hurricane period, for example, there would be no harvest under the gold rush system, while a more adjustable season basis allows states to set the dates that work best for their anglers.

The average size of individual fish in the catch is sure to decline as the large fish that grew up during the years of virtually closed seasons are harvested, but the overall mass of adult or spawning age

fish does not appear to have declined, anglers and local scientists say. So, while the 20 pound red snapper may become very hard to find, the harvestable 8 pounders remain abundant.

A 16-inch fish could be anywhere between two and seven years old, a 24-inch fish could be three to nine years old, and a 32-inch could be from 5 to over 35 years old, scientists say.

Obviously, there are going to be fewer 32” fish in a hard-fished population, but that doesn’t mean the population is not healthy in terms of long term production of adult fish. A 16” fish may weigh only three pounds, but there are many, many five to eight pounders caught regularly.

The IGFA world-record red snapper, caught off Grand Isle, Louisiana in 1996, weighed 50 pounds, 4 ounces. Scientists said it was slightly less than 20 years old—nowhere near the max for the species, proving habitat trumps longevity for the species’ growth.

Both sexes grow relatively rapidly and at the same rate until about 8 years old and 28 inches in length. At age 25 males average a bit less than 36 inches, females 38 inches. Very little growth occurs after age 25, even out to over 50 years of age, scientists say.

LIKELY 2023 SEASONS AND LIMITS

Alabama: Opens Friday, May 26, 2023 for private and state-licensed charters. Fishing will only be allowed on four-day weekends (Friday through Monday), and will continue until the private angler quota is reached. The season for anglers fishing from federally-permitted charter boats will be announced by NOAA Fisheries in the near future. Florida: Dates not finalized but 2022 season was June 17-July 31,

with the season reopening for Veterans Day Weekend (November 1113) and the weekend after Thanksgiving (November 25-27.)

Louisiana: Seasons not finalized but 2022 season opened May 27 with fishing only allowed on weekends. The season closed September 19 when the quota was met.

Mississippi: Last year’s season opened May 27 and closed July 10. Fishing was allowed seven days a week with a daily bag limit of two fish per person.

Texas: State waters opened last year January 1st. The state’s federal waters opened June 1 and closed September 2. Daily bag limits are set at 4 fish per person in state waters and 2 fish per person in federal waters.

HOW TO CATCH ‘EM

Red snapper are nearly always found near bottom structure, but usually hang well above it, sometimes forming the legendary “Christmas tree” image on sonar. With good sonar imaging, it’s possible to watch your bait drop to just above the fish, hold it there, and start cranking when one takes hold. (Just don’t drop the bait through the school— they almost never go down to get it.)

While “keeper” size snapper will grab anything from a jumbo shrimp to a squid strip, fish eight pounds and up are much easier to catch on live baits like pinfish, scaled sardines, threadfins and menhaden in the four to five inch range.

Remember you MUST use only non-stainless steel circle hooks for red snapper and all other reef species. Hook sizes of 6/0 to 10/0 are

preferred, depending on the size of red snapper you target. (For nearshore fish just over the minimum size limit, most anglers use smaller hooks, typically 5/0 to as small as 3/0.) You must also have a venting tool or descending device, but both are recommended to have aboard to assist in successful release of unwanted fish.

Most anglers use either a knocker rig, with the weight separated from the hook only by a bead to protect the knot, or a Carolina rig, with the weight above a leader three to four feet long. The latter is better in clear water or where the fish are picky. Weights from three to eight ounces are typical, depending on depth and current—use enough to get down to just above the fish quickly.

Leaders as light as 30-pound test are good inshore, while offshore most use 60 or heavier.

Thirty-pound-test tackle is adequate for inshore fish and gets more bites than heavier gear, but of course you never know when a giant might latch on so most anglers opt for 50-pound-test gear or more, particularly as they move farther offshore.

For anglers who have larger boats and are willing to run, the bigger red snapper are usually more than 30 miles offshore where pressure drops off. (If you have a spot-lock type trolling motor on your bow, you have a huge advantage offshore because you can easily stay on the fish without handling hundreds of feet of anchor line.)

Keeper red snapper are frequently found on modest relief bottoms, that is on small rock piles or other structure that may stick up only a couple feet from bottom. This is probably not because that’s their preferred habitat but because all the large fish on the more obvious bottom get caught out. The smaller structures are harder to see unless you have a sharp eye and big-screen sonar, plus the willingness to invest hours in prospecting.

Seasons this year look promising, even for the states with reduced limits, so if you’re in the mood for a red snapper dinner—and who isn’t?—head to the Gulf Coast the last week of May and you’ll soon be firing up the grill.

SUPPORTING THE LOCAL ECONOMY & ECOLOGY

Admiral Oysters are now available for retail by the dozen at Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc. in Bon Secour, Alabama.

Fresh, raw oysters can elevate any event. From a simple, nutrient dense appetizer at home to a shucking party with friends, Admiral Oysters will steal the show. Call 251.949.7411 for pricing and availability

Oysters grown at our farm are consistent in size and flavor profile. Frequent handling and wave energy at our unique location creates a sustainable environment in which our oysters thrive. This combination results in the perfect half shell presentation of the Admiral Oyster.

We are located near Fort Morgan AL, in an untouched wild stretch of beach that will be immune from development. The site has witnessed centuries of history including the Battle of Mobile Bay as Admiral Farragut charged into the Bay with the iconic line “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”. That motto comes in handy on cold rainy mornings and when the winds get high!

Visit Us at AdmiralShellfishCompany.com

BEST TSA APPROVED GUN CASES 2023

And tips on how to legally fly with firearms

BY JOSH HONEYCUTT

Those who fly with firearms have a bit of hassle ahead of them. Sure, the process can be quite easy and smooth. It might even flow swimmingly. But it certainly won’t if you don’t have a TSA-approved gun case. Here is why.

There are numerous restrictions and requirements when it comes to what is approved, and what is not. The TSA, which is the security arm of our nation’s airports, requires certain standards be met to enter an airport and travel with a firearm. Fortunately, if you follow the rules, it doesn’t have to be that difficult.

TSA-APPROVED GUN CASE FEATURES TO CONSIDER

Obviously, firearms are not permitted in carry-on baggage, or on your person, while in an airport or on a plane. It must be in a locked TSA-approved gun case which must be a checked bag. Remember these consideration points when picking the best gun case for travel needs.

Those traveling must select a hard-shell case that can be locked. The case should also be designed specifically for travel, preferably flight; be able to hold its form under pressure (weight); to not open wide enough for a hand under the use of short-shank locking devices; and have plenty of foam to secure the firearms and ammunition from moving around.

Additionally, it must only be accessible to the owner. It must not be easily forced open. It also must remain locked unless a TSA agent is inspecting it.

Naturally, most gun cases will require multiple locks, depending on functionality. Generally, that means every lock hole must have a lock to secure it. This prevents any area of the case from being pried open without first removing the lock.

While owners can technically use any padlock of their choosing, a TSA-approved lock is best. This is because TSA agents have keys that can open these locks without breaking them. If TSA decides to inspect the contents of the case—which they have the right to do—they will likely cut off your locks if these are not TSA-approved locks they can work with. This is not only possible, but likely probable to happen.

Strict rules apply to ammunition, too. Obviously, guns must remain unloaded within their case. Magazines should not have ammunition in them, even if removed from the gun. All ammo must remain within its original packaging and must remain within the locked case. Loose ammo within the case is strictly prohibited.

Individual airlines might also have their own rules and regulations on flying with firearms and ammunition, so, check with both organizations prior to traveling with a firearm. Furthermore, study up on state and local regulations for the areas you might be traveling through (flight connections) and to (destinations). You must also adhere to the laws in these areas, and sometimes, restrictions do apply. For example, some don’t allow certain guns. Others require guns and ammunition to be locked in separate cases.

Additionally, for those flying outside of the United States, a form 4457 is required. This is obtained from the nearest Customs and Border Control office. It is needed to declare your firearm to be able to bring it back into the United States on the return flight home. Do this a few weeks before the trip.

Of course, once ready to travel, before arriving at the airport, make sure the gun is unloaded, action is open, and bolt (if bolt action) is removed. Breaking the gun down into an un-ready form is a good faith gesture that you are mustering the utmost caution. Upon arriving at the airport for departure, you must “declare” your firearm. The TSA agent will ask you to remove the locks, will inspect the contents, declare it as a firearm, and place the proper documentation inside of the case. This document must remain within the case with the gun and ammo. The agent will watch you lock the case up, and then they will tag it and place it on the belt. Sometimes, they will ask you to take additional steps, such as an x-ray process.

Once you reach your destination, your gun case might appear on the baggage claim carousel. However, it’s more likely to appear in the oversized baggage area, or even the baggage claim office itself. These are for security purposes. Obviously, keep your baggage claim ticket, and never throw these away until you have your firearm and return home.

Pelican V800 Vault Double Rifle Case

The Pelican V800 Vault Double Rifle Case is excellent for those looking to check off the right boxes. It is crushproof, dustproof, and weather resistant. It comes with heavy-duty handles, ergonomic handling, four layers of protective foams, and six push-button latches. The interior is 53” by 16” by 6” and weighs 19.6 pounds. It’s available in black, green, or tan.

Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP): $229.95

https://www.pelican.com/us/en/product/cases/double-rifle-case/vault/v800

Boyt H-Series Hard-Sided Travel Case

The Boyt H-Series Hard-Sided Travel Case provides ample protection. It has four all-steel powder coated draw latches. It includes egg crate foam, but it is not customizable. It also incorporates a carry handle, steel hinge pins, and a pressure relief valve. It’s constructed with 120D no-break polypropylene and features dust-proof O-ring full-length gaskets. It meets most standard airline and TSA requirements. The case is 48” by 9” by 4”. This case is also offered in single handgun, double handgun, carbine, tactical, and double long gun configurations. MSRP: $145.58

https://www.amazon.com/Boyt-H48SG-Single-Long-Case/dp/B004WHFRSM?th=1

Pelican 1755 Air Long Case

The Pelican 1755 Air Long Case gets high marks, and comes equipped with what travelers need. This option is crushproof, dustproof, waterproof, etc. It includes a two-hand XL over-molded top handle, press-and-pull latches, and pressure valve. It has built-in wheels, pre-configurable capabilities, and more. This case is 55” by 14” by 8” and weighs 25 pounds.

MSRP: $489.95

https://www.pelican.com/us/en/product/cases/long-case/air/1755

Plano All-Weather Tactical Gun Case

The Plano All-Weather Tactical Gun Case comes with pluck-to-fit foam, is watertight, dust-proof, and airline approved. It offers a rugged industrial design, easy customization, and more. It is 55” by 13” by 7”, but also comes in 36” and 42” lengths. It weighs 20 pounds. Made in the USA.

MSRP: $167

https://www.amazon.com/Plano-Watertight-Dust-Proof-Protection-Approved/dp/B07B7ZB484

Cedar Mill Iron Clasp Long Rifle Case with Cam Latch

The Iron Clasp Long Rifle case with Cam Latch by Cedar Mill is an excellent offering. It offers a lot of features, including being waterproof, dustproof, shock-proof, and more. It includes double foam, is double-locking, interlocking, and easy to clean. Of course, it’s airline certified. The case is 48” by 9” by 4”. MSRP: $169.99

https://cedarmillfirearms.com/firearm-cases/rifle-cases/iron-clasp-camlatch-long-rifle-case/

FAQs

Q: What do I look for in a gun travel case?

A: Choose a hard-sided gun case that is lockable (can’t be accessed), durable, protective, impact-resistant, has wheels, has ergonomic handles, and includes desired extra features.

Q: Why is it important to fly with a TSA-approved Case?

A: This is required by law, and failing to adhere to these laws will result in serious legal ramifications.

Q: What can happen if you don’t use a TSA-approved gun case?

A: Failing to use a TSA-approved gun case, and following all associated laws, can result in serious penalties, fines, and incarceration.

Q: Can Ammo be in your TSA gun Case?

A: Ammunition must be declared and remain locked up in a checked bag, just as the firearms are done so. Ammo cannot be loose within the case. It must be contained, and preferably in its original packaging. Ammo cannot be in the firearm, or even in a magazine. And in some states, it must be locked up in a separate case away from the firearm.

Q: Can I put my TSA-approved gun case in my suitcase?

A: This is not advised for long guns, such as rifles and shotguns. However, handguns that are locked up in a TSA-approved case can sometimes be placed within a suitcase, so long as all TSA, state, and local laws and rules are followed.

Q: Do gun cases require TSA locks?

A: TSA-approved locks are advised, as TSA agents might have to cut off padlocks they don’t have direct access to open.

Q: How much earlier should I arrive at the airport to finish the gun declaration process?

A: It is best practice to arrive about one hour earlier than you would if not traveling with a firearm. Sometimes, the process is much faster than this, but it’s better to be safe.

CONCLUSION

Overall, flying with a firearm can seem like a lot. And there certainly is some stress involved. But it isn’t something to avoid just because of the procedures that must be followed. Rather, it’s best to study the rules, follow them, and enjoy the trip. And always be polite to the TSA agents, even if they aren’t being nice to you. That’s called being a good person. Furthermore, if you aren’t polite, they can make life hard for you.

Landlocked property can be a good option if you’re willing to do some legwork .

Should You Buy Landlocked Property

BY STEPHANIE MALLORY

You’ve found the perfect piece of property. It’s in the general location you want. It’s the right size and is loaded with wildlife, making it ideal for hunting, or it has plenty of timber making it ideal for harvesting. But, there’s one big issue. The property is landlocked. For many prospective landowners, that piece of property would no longer be an option. For the potential landowner who’s willing to think outside the box and do a bit of legwork, that landlocked property could end up being a very wise investment.

What constitutes landlocked property? It’s typically a piece of land that has no legal access road. The land is surrounded on all sides by property owned by others, and the only way to get to the property is by crossing through a neighboring property. In other words, it is inaccessible via public thoroughfare.

Ben Elliot, VP relationship manager at Alabama Ag Credit, says to think of landlocked property like an island, but without the ocean.

“You may have 40 acres that sits off the road and it’s surrounded on all sides by other landowners. It’s just a spot that does not have road frontage. And, even if it’s got a road to it, there’s not an easement or a firm legal way to get to it,” Elliot said.

DO THE LEGWORK

A lot of people think, “If I can’t get to it, I don’t want it.” Elliot said he’s seen landlocked property pay off for many people who are willing to take the steps and go through the process of gaining access to that property.

He pointed out that sometimes the owner will sell landlocked property at a discount. And if you can get it financed and figure out a way to gain access to it, you have the potential of making good money on that piece of property when you decide to sell it later. Or, you and your family can enjoy the recreation opportunities on the property for years to come.

“You go out and talk to or even make friends with that adjoining owner. Or you may find something that you can use to your advantage and end up working out something where you end up getting legal access. When you do that, you’ve got a success story. and if you’re looking to resell it, then you’ve created a lot of equity by making that now a very marketable property. So, if you’re willing to take the chance, and it is the property that you’re willing to put that time and effort into, then you may be able to really improve it with just making the right phone calls,” Elliot said.

When it comes to legwork, there’s a number of steps you can take when you’re considering purchasing landlocked property. First, he recommended doing your due diligence to determine who owns the property surrounding the landlocked property.

“You’ve got to do your research and find out who the other landowners are,” Elliot said.

You’ll want to meet and talk to the other landowners to make sure that everybody’s on the same page. You may be able to work out a deal to gain access to your land through another property owner’s land. There may also be a way that you can attain an easement to the landlocked property.

“There’s a lot of legal things to consider if that’s a piece of property you want,” he said.

Elliot advises speaking to an attorney to fully understand all of the legal aspects and what your options may be concerning the landlocked property.

If you’re willing to do that work on the back end, and figure out some of the nuances and intricacies, then you may just end up with your dream property at a discounted rate.

FINANCING LANDLOCKED PROPERTY

Some prospective buyers don’t realize that landlocked properties can be financed. There are hurdles, but they’re not hard to overcome.

Elliot explained the factors to consider when attempting to finance landlocked property.

If a potential buyer is interested in a landlocked property and wants to finance it, he said that first the land’s use needs to be determined.

“Is it pasture land? Is it timber? If it’s timber, there are more options to get in there and log it. You also need to know who are your joining owners? What’s been the understood way to get back to the property? You’ve got to do some research there,” he said.

When it’s time to finance the property, Elliot says they’ll likely require the buyer to provide a larger downpayment than he or she would need for land that has legal access.

“We want to get some more equity in it, because it is a unique property. And along with that, you may have a special relationship with the owner, but somebody else might not. So, we’re going to require a little more equity in that and some more just understanding about what we’re dealing with,” Elliot said.

But, once you’ve provided that larger downpayment, you most likely will be able to receive a typical loan for the property without being penalized for its landlocked status.

“If the loan structure is outside of the downpayment, we’re gonna treat it like anything else. We’re not going to hit you with a big rate. Acknowledging the issue with the property with that additional requirement for downpayment, you’re not going to be penalized. If you qualify for the loan, you’re going to get market rates,” Elliot said.

Elliot said you also don’t necessarily have to obtain legal access before you get financing on the property.

“When we’re dealing with the landlocked property, we know going in that access is going to be something that comes up. We can often go ahead and start working on it.,” Elliot said.

He said, first they must determine if a loan can be provided knowing there’s an

access issue.

“We’ve even gotten down to the point where we’ve sent the appraisers out to actually look at what it is. What does it look like? Is it really that bad or is there a road that goes back there that hasn’t been used in forever?” Elliot said.

He said sometimes they’ll discover there is a road that goes to the property, but it’s not a legal access. And sometimes, they’ve discovered a dirt road that no one owns. The lenders will often research the property themselves before granting a loan.

“There are just a lot of factors to see where we may be and what we can offer on it,” Elliot said.

DON’T OVERLOOK LANDLOCKED PROPERTY

When searching for that perfect piece of property, look at every available plot of land, including landlocked properties. If you’re in the market in a certain area at a certain price range or acreage range, whatever it may be, look at all the opportunities and analyze them as they sit and try to determine if this property is going to be right for you. If you find the right property for you, it’s never a bad time to buy. You’ve just got to make the numbers make sense.

Remember that with landlocked properties, you may have a seller who understands their property is landlocked, and therefore less desirable to the market, so they’re willing to trade that land at lower-than-market prices. If you are willing to find these types of properties and are willing to do the legwork it takes to obtain that legal access, you can build immediate equity.

Take the opportunity that everyone else won’t take and go for it. If you do the work, you may be able to make that property into something that you can resell at a profit or valuable to your friends and family as the perfect recreation spot.

Sometimes you can get landlocked property at a discount .

Surf Fishing Rod and Reel Details to Think About

BY DAVID THORNTON

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

Probably the most common questions about surf fishing rods and reels center around price and quality but proper care and maintenance also work into the equation.

Newcomers to the sport are especially curious about what they are getting themselves into. Fortunately, surf fishing has been around for a long time. It has evolved a lot of different facets which provide niches for each angler to uniquely develop and explore what they wish to accomplish and use their gear to its fullest potential.

Decision factors that mean the most to surf anglers often include cost, quality, performance, reliability, and upkeep. No single combo is going to suit every angler, or any angler for that matter, in every situation. The answers will always be subjective, with the bottom line being what can any combo do to make you more successful while surf fishing. It behooves anglers to give forethought to what requirements their intended quarry species need, then do some research to choose their tackle wisely. (See Great Days Outdoors magazine for December 2021 “Selecting the Best Surf Fishing Rods”.)

Certainly every budget-minded angler looks at the price of a rod and reel before buying it. Most are just about as concerned with the length of the rod, and maybe even the action and power rating. Perhaps they even consider the specifications of casting weight range and line ratings on a specific rod. Still, most pay far less attention to the component features which make that rod a good buy or a good performer and if it has quality guides that will last more than a few seasons.

Similar investigations into reels will reveal a plethora of options that should fit every angler’s desires and budget. Making the right decision is so much more than simply cost, line capacity, or size. All these, plus other pertinent considerations will determine if this reel is a good fit for what you intend it to do. Just about every rod and reel manufacturer provides a listing of their available products on the internet. They list the size options, features, components, and specifications of each series so you can comparatively shop which model or combo suits you best. All of these choices can be viewed together online simply by opening new windows on your computer or phone to compare options between different manufacturers to make the most informed choice. Sure it takes a little time and effort. But odds are you will make a much more satisfactory decision in the long run, and may well save yourself some money in the process.

SIZE DOES MATTER, SOMETIMES

A common situation sooner or later faced by surf anglers is getting their baited rig out beyond the breakers, and keeping it there. Casting distances over 50 to 60 yards requires longer, heavier duty rods which can safely handle heaving heftier weights 100 yards or more. These long rods are balanced with larger reels rated to handle enough strong line to do the job. Even though the target species may be pompano weighing only one to

three pounds, the situation may require using tackle of a far heavier line class just to reach them.

So a 12 or 13 foot rod rated for three to six ounce weights and 20 to 50 pound braided line on a 6000 to 8000 size reel just might be necessary to do this. Such a rod performs even better when targeting red or black drum too, with just a change in terminal rigging. Even sharks up to about 150 pounds can be landed on such gear when properly handled. But if smaller quarry like pompano is the intended species, the rod tip needs to be sensitive enough to do that job. 9 to 11 foot medium heavy action rods with a fast taper typically fill the needs of most Panhandle surf anglers. The beauty of having so many options of rod types is that every fisherman should be able to find their preferred combo based on all the factors mentioned so far.

Fortunately, the geology of Emerald Coast sandbar configurations frequently allows surf anglers to reach target areas with shorter, more limber rods and lighter tackle. Balanced medium heavy to medium class (15 to 10 pound) spinning tackle in the 7 to 10 foot range will perform best in this situation plus offer a lot more fun for the anglers.

Surf anglers often find it necessary to differentiate their assortment of combos in order to more effectively fish a variety of target distances from shore. Light and even true ultralight tackle (10 pound down to 4 pound line class) can be employed when target species like pompano are running close to the beach. Many anglers even target “whiting”, “ground mullet” (Gulf, Northern and Southern kingfish), along with croakers and “white trout” with such tackle. Designated “panfish” tackle like so-called crappie and steelhead rods are often well suited for surf fishing in this line class because of their length (7 to 10 feet) and sensitivity. But guide components become an important factor when considering long term resistance to corrosion balanced with cost.

Still, vacationing anglers may consider bringing some of their “freshwater” tackle to use in this manner. The only difference between freshwater tackle and designated “saltwater” tackle is that the components and engineering are designed to better resist corrosion and keep salt water out of the essential reel components. Unless a reel is dunked in the surf, or dragged through the sand, a simple light rinsing will remove most of the salt clinging to the outside. Then wipe down the rod and reel with a paper towel to remove any remaining salt spray in the excess moisture to help stave off corrosion. Take care to properly clean and lubricate the line roller, handle, bail joints, and drag washers before you leave home, and after you return, or store it for an extensive period. Local anglers who use their surf tackle continuously should inspect, lubricate and repair on a regular basis. At least thoroughly check your tackle after every trip to keep small problems from becoming big ones. Visiting anglers without sandspikes can lay their tackle on a beach blanket to keep sand out.

No matter the size rod or rigs used, surf anglers should take special care

not to cause unnecessary damage to their gear. A very common mistake anglers make is to leave weights on the rigs while transporting their tackle. An egg sinker can smack against a rod causing unseen “bruising” to the carbon fibers. When tension is applied down the rod into the damaged fibers, it can cause a catastrophic failure and the rod “breaks”. Pyramid sinkers are notorious about doing this while the rods are standing upright in the rod holders of a beach cart while it is in motion. Every time the cart jars from side to side, the suspended sinker smacks into the rod like a wrecking ball. At the very least that will chip away at the clear coat poly finish on the rod, but it can easily cause internal or external damage to the rod.

An even more common “faux pas” that surf anglers (all anglers) make is using their rod guides or guide feet as a hook keeper. When doing this even momentarily, the hook scratches away some protective paint and poly finish from the guide. Even on a microscopic scale, this allows salt to attack and degrade the metal of the guide. And ceramic inserts can get cracked or chipped by hooks or weights. The best way to care for the rod and guides, is to remove or immobilize the sinkers and hooks before transporting, even if you are just relocating the cart to another spot 50 yards down the beach. Pass the snap swivel at the end of the leader through a guide brace and hang it on the first hook of the terminal rig. This safely stores the rig under tension with the softer leader line on the guide feet, and not the hook. When storing a rod for long periods, remove the rigs completely and tie the line around the rod below a guide brace. Then wipe the rod down with a product like Salt Away or Real Magic which helps restore the slick finish by repelling moisture.

Beach fishing takes place in one of the most beautiful and harsh environments on the planet. With just a little forethought surf anglers can avoid common sense pitfalls so they can best protect their investment. We hope this article will aid them to make the right purchase, and maintain their gear to get the most value from it.

Products mentioned in article:

https://www.saltaway.com/light-use-spray-sa04

https://ttiblakemore.com/order/product/blakemore-accessories/ real-magic/86-real-magic-6-0z-pump-bottle/

BY GALTON BLACKISTON Recipe and image courtesy of www.greatbritishchefs.com

Whiting with Melting Herb Crust

Ingredients

• 6 whiting fillet, each weighing 110g, skinned

• 3 oz of unsalted butter, softened

• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 2 1/8 oz of fresh tarragon, finely chopped

• 1 oz of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• 1 oz of chives, chopped

• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

• olive oil

• salt

• black pepper

Instructions

1. For the herb crust, place the butter, garlic, tarragon, parsley and chives, with some salt and pepper, in a food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed

2. Scrape the mixture out of the bowl onto a sheet of greaseproof paper. Lay another piece of greaseproof paper on top, then using a rolling pin, roll out the crust as thinly as possible. Chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour to firm up

3. To cook the fish, heat a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Pour in a splash of olive oil, then lay the whiting fillets in the pan, season with salt and pepper and fry for a few minutes to lightly color each side

4. Preheat the grill. Remove the herb crust from the fridge and peel off the greaseproof paper. Cut out pieces of the butter the size of the whiting fillets - any leftover herb crust can be frozen to use another time. Press a piece of herb crust firmly on top of each whiting fillet, then cook under the grill until the butter has melted

5. Press a piece of herb crust firmly on top of each whiting fillet, then cook under the grill until the butter has melted

6. While the butter is melting, heat some olive oil on a pan and add the spinach. Allow to cook, turning frequently, for about a minute or until wilted. Serve the whiting fillets with melting herb crust over a bed of spinach

One of the worst things you can do to your rod is place hooks in the guide ring or feet

Deciding on the Best Small Bass Boats in 2023

BY DAVID STRICKLAND

Catching fish from a riverbank or the edge of a pond can be fun and rewarding but a small boat sure comes in handy to access water not accessible by foot.

A smaller bass boat is perfect for getting into those little coves and backwaters that the larger ones just can’t reach. You can find all sorts of hidden gems in those waters that most folks don’t even know about. And if you’re anything like me, you relish exploring and discovering new fishing spots.

My Dad’s first boat was a 14’ aluminum flat bottom that my cousins and I would slide into the back of our truck. We often tied Hawaiian Wigglers onto our bait casters and headed to nearby small rivers or farm ponds to take advantage of unpressured fish.

SMALL BASS BOATS

That old flat bottom was relatively inexpensive, easy to store and transport, required little maintenance and was a good fit for my area’s smaller streams and ponds. Matching a fishing rig with one’s budget and the waters you fish is still a fundamental consideration when deciding how much boat you need.

Smaller boats mean less length, width, and weight which leads to requiring less horsepower. However, for those that mostly fish alone on smaller bodies of water, this decrease in weight usually translates into easier launches and better shallow water access.

Many anglers target smaller rivers and lakes and don’t necessarily need the roominess and speed of a 22’ fiberglass model pushed by a 300 HP outboard. In addition, they often fish alone or with a friend and don’t have room to properly store a larger model. They also mainly fish when the weather’s nice and don’t fish large impoundments with waist-high waves.

This group of anglers represents a large segment of the boating population, using what many in the industry call Small Bass Boats.

I spoke with Katie Grell about defining small when applied to bass boats, and we discussed several examples that fit into this category.

SMALLER BOAT BENEFITS

Katie is the sales & marketing manager at Buck’s Island Marine, adjacent

Avid’s 18XB is proof great design & functionality can be achieved in smaller packages

to the Coosa River, about an hour east and a little north of Birmingham, Alabama. She shared the specs of several of their smallest and largest bass boats to help me better compare the potential benefits of owning a small bass boat.

1. Maneuverability- Smaller bass boats are typically more agile and easier to navigate than larger boats, allowing you to get into tight spaces and shallow waters where larger models can’t go.

2. Affordability- Small bass boats are generally less expensive than larger boats, making them an excellent option for first-time buyers or those on a budget.

3. Easy to transport- Most can fit on a single-axle trailer. Less weight means easier towing and the ability to launch in more remote locations that may lack a decent boat ramp.

4. Lower maintenance costs- Small boats require less maintenance than larger boats, saving you money in the long run.

5. Fuel efficiency- They typically use less fuel than larger boats, resulting in more savings.

6. Versatility- Smaller boats are usually easier to modify for catching various species besides bass.

Overall, a smaller bass boat is a great option for anglers who want an affordable, easy-to-transport and versatile fishing vessel that can handle a variety of waterways.

DEFINING SMALL BOAT

Now, down to the 64-dollar question- how to properly define a small bass boat. Grell’s job is helping fishermen zero in on the right boat for their fishing style. She knows past and current market trends and has tons of customer feedback, so naturally, she was able to help create a realistic definition.

Therefore, our working description will be boats in the 14-18’ range, plus or minus a few inches. Those old 14’ aluminum flat bottoms are still popular for smaller rivers and ponds. However, modern kayaks designed specifically for bass fishing are hard to beat for the serious bass angler.

Let’s review a few of the boats in Buck’s Island inventory that fall into the small category:

KAYAKS

Grell insisted that kayaks should be on the shortlist as one of the better small-boat options. She mentioned that Hobie and Jackson include multiple peddle-drive options with rudder steering and even reverse for the ultimate in hands-free propulsion.

Hobie Pro Angler- 13’8”- As the name implies, Grell said these are the preferred choice by many anglers on the professional kayak tour. It’s a fantastic piece of engineering designed with ample room for storage, tackle, and rods that offers an array of features in a ready-to-fish package that will make any fresh or saltwater fishing trip a breeze. $5,799.00

Jackson Knarr- 13’9”- The Jackson design team worked with big water tournament anglers to redesign its hull for maximum speed and stability to take on the surf and waves with excellent tracking. Its patented foot drive and luxury seating are convenient and it has ample rod and tackle storage. $4,199.00

ALUMINUM BOATS

G3 Sportsman 1710 - This 17’ 10” model provides plenty of room for chasing bass. The .100 gauge hull has a 92” welded beam and a limited lifetime warranty. In addition, its three-across seating and innovative under-deck storage carry a 5-year bow-to-stern limited warranty.

A 90-hp Yamaha and Minn Kota 55 Edge provide power and maneuverabil-

ity, and a Humminbird® HELIX5® Chirp DI GPS helps locate your target. It includes a two-bank battery charger for around $31,000.00.

Options include dual console, power poles, and Hummingbird Helix or Solix 5, 7, 9, or 10.

Avid 18XB- The 5052 aluminum alloy hull has a .100 gauge 5052 aluminum alloy hull measuring 17’ 10” and a 97” beam that allows a draft of approximately 11”. An ergonomic color-matched fiberglass console comes standard with push-button LED switches, USB charge, and room for 12” electronics. The boat comes equipped with a 115hp Yamaha four-stroke, and the hull has a limited lifetime warranty. $37,999.00

FIBERGLASS BOATS

Skeeter ZX150

With an 18’6” length and 95” beam, the draft is approximately 16”.

Yamaha 150HP Four Stroke Outboard Motor

Minn Kota Edge 70 Trolling Motor

Humminbird Helix 5 G2 Sonar/GPS

12” Manual Jack Plate

Hot Foot/Pro Trim

Tilt Hydraulic Steering

Minn Kota 10x3 Precision On-Board Charger

Interior Lights

2 - Bike Seats

$44,395.00

Falcon F185

Length- 18’9” Beam- 93 1/2” Draft- 16”

Mercury 150hp Pro XS Four Stroke Outboard Motor

Minn Kota Maxxum Trolling Motor

Lowrance Hook 7 Reveal at Console

Lowrance Hook 5 Reveal at Bow

Hydraulic Steering

2 Bank Battery Charger

Courtesy/Compartment/Live-well LED Lights

1 - Fold Down 1 - Bike Seat

Gas Lid Assists

$49,999.00

CONCLUSION

Smaller bass boats are a good option for various reasons, including affordability, maneuverability, and versatility. Their smaller size makes them easier to maneuver in tight spaces and allows better access to shallow areas that larger boats are often unable to reach.

So, if you’re thinking about getting a new or used boat for fishing, I’d highly recommend a smaller bass boat. It may not be the fanciest boat on the water, but it’s got everything you need for a great day of fishing and adventure. And who knows, you might discover new fishing spots and make memories that’ll last a lifetime.

A smaller bass boat can provide an affordable option for anglers looking to hit the water without breaking the bank.

But, before making your final decision, why not visit Buck’s Island and test drive a few models to see how they handle and perform in different conditions?

When fishing multiple lines, it’s important to use the right rigs on the right areas of the boat to prevent tangles .

4 Red Snapper Rig Setups for Bottom Fishing

BY ED MASHBURN

There’s more than one way to do most jobs, and some jobs have multiple ways to accomplish the goal. This is especially true if the job at hand is catching big, hard fighting red snapper from our northern Gulf waters.

Not only can different live baits work to tempt the red snapper to bite, but also different ways to rig the bait can make a big difference in the red snapper bite.

It’s a good thing for an offshore angler to have multiple snapper rigs in mind for when conditions change in order to give snapper what they want in the way they want.

Captain Delynn Sigler is a veteran captain and guide who is regarded by many here on the Gulf Coast as one of the premier experts when it comes to catching red snapper, and consequently, rigging for the big reds. Delynn shared some advice based on his long experience.

RIGS AND WHEN THEY WORK

There are a number of effective live-bait rigs intended to catch red snapper, but through the long years of fishing the Gulf for snapper, a limited number of leader and hook rigs have proven to be most productive.

The Carolina Rig

This is the same rig bass anglers use when fishing soft plastic lures for freshwater bass, but it’s tied on a much heavier line for big snapper. Basically, the Carolina Rig is made by sliding an egg sinker on the main line, then a plastic bead is put on the line and a swivel is tied securely to the mainline. This allows the sinker to slide up and down the line as the bait is lowered to the bottom. The bead protects the connection of the line and swivel from abrasion as the sliding sinker moves. Then a leader is attached to the other end of the swivel and a required reef-fish circle hook is tied on the end of the leader. Some snapper anglers use fluorocarbon leader when the snapper are being finicky and line shy, but mono works most of the time.

Carolina rigs work very well for sending live bait to the snapper and equally well when using chunk bait or frozen bait.

“That’s my ‘go-to’ rig. This is the rig most people use, and you can use one with a leader from one foot to fifteen foot long leaders. I use about a six-foot leader, and I think that’s pretty good. I get to my snappers that way,” Sigler said.

The Chicken Rig

More red snapper have been caught on the chicken rig than any other bait rig. This is the standard party boat rig, and for sheer numbers of snapper caught, this rig will certainly produce. In fact, it is quite possible for an angler to catch a limit of red snapper on a single drop using a chicken rig.

This rig is a bit more complicated than the other snapper bait rigs. It starts with a bank sinker, the weight will change from day to day, but eight ounces is the starting weight for most chicken rigs which is tied to the end of the leader. Then up the leader about a foot or so either a three- way swivel is tied in or a loop is tied in the line. Then another foot or so up the leader a second hook is either loop-tied in or another three-way swivel is tied in. then up the leader another couple of feet a two-way swivel is tied on, and this is attached to the main line. Reef fish circle hooks are put on the “dropper lines” and the rig is ready to be baited and sent down to the fish. A third loop and hook can be added.

Chicken rigs are very effective when triggerfish and other bait stealers are thick over a reef structure because the multiple baits allow the snapper to have a chance to eat while the triggerfish are working on the other bait.

“You can catch three snapper at once- or however many hooks you want to put on. This rig is great especially for catching the smaller snappers.” advises Sigler.

The Knocker Rig

The knocker rig is constructed the very same way as the Carolina rig, but instead of the sinker sliding above the swivel and away from the hook, the knocker rig has its weight on the leader itself so that the weight can slide all the way down to the hook.

This rig is very handy to use when there’s a lot of current running because the weight running down to the hook doesn’t allow the bait and hook to swing wildly in the current as the bait drops which can create some massive tangles and kill a good bite.

The knocker rig can be deadly on big snapper. The biggest red snapper this writer has ever caught came on a knocker rig which sent a big butterflied pigfish to a strong-current artificial reef. A very nice twenty-pound red snapper just could not refuse this offering.

“The knocker rig just lets the sinker slide all the way to the hook, and put your bait on there and let it down. This rig is kind of like a big jig head that the hook is swinging free,” Sigler pointed out.

The Flatline Rig

This rig is the simplest and while it is simple, it often produces the biggest red snapper of any trip.

Basically, a flat line rig is a circle hook tied to the end of the leader which is then tied to a swivel and attached to the main line. That’s it. Most of the time, a flatline will be fished on a heavy spinning rig.

A flatline allows a live bait or a chunk bait to drift freely with no unnatural movement. It seems that many times, the biggest snapper are not holding tight to the bottom near the structure but instead are at a level

much higher in the water which is often right at the surface. These big snapper don’t need the protection of the structure on the bottom, and being higher in the water puts them in closer contct with bigger food sources.

Often a flatline can be cast out and then put in a rod holder so the snapper angler can get on with other business. When a big red snapper hits a flat line, there’s nothing delicate about it, and the angler will be able to grab the rod and enjoy the struggle that’s coming.

“Just reach for a spinning rod and ease the bait over the side and let it drift down. Those big snapper will often get behind the boat fifteen to thirty feet down and you can catch some really big snapper like that and at the same time catch a limit of snapper by fishing other rigs on the bottom- limit out catching three-pounders for the kitchen while catching twelve to fifteen pounders on top on the flatline,” Sigler said.

“I use either a one-ounce lead or no lead at all for a flatline rig. Here’s another thing too- If you can’t get the bait to sink to the level the big snapper are holding, just throw your bait as far up the current as you can and it will sink as it gets closer to the boat. The flatline bait will be sinking and there’s no lead at all. This will get you down there twenty to thirty feet a lot of times by the time the bait gets right behind the boat,”

says Sigler.

HOW MUCH WEIGHT IS NEEDED?

Conventional wisdom says that snapper anglers should use only enough weight to get the bait to the desired level. In other words, keep the weight as light as possible. Conditions such as water depth, rate of current flow, and wind and wave action can make a full arsenal of weights for the various snapper rigs part of every snapper angler’s gear. The weight found to be perfect to get the bait down to the snapper one day may not be what’s needed at all on the very next trip.

“People say, and most magazine articles you read say to get away with the lightest sinker, lightest swivel you can get away with tied on the lightest leader. I’m the exact opposite. I say get away with the heaviest rig. If an eight-ounce sinker will work in 100 feet of water let’s go with a twelve-ounce sinker and get the rig down and get hooked up and get back to the boat. So I go a little heavier than most people,” he said.

“I would say eight ounces would be the minimum weight and go up from there. I’ll go with sinkers up to twenty-ounces, but if you need more than twenty ounces to get to the bottom, then it’s really deep or it’s a bad current, so you’re in trouble. But you can always double them up, and a lot of people do.”

The Carolina rig allows anglers to quickly and easily add more weight if needed .

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Brandon Lester, has qualified eight times for the Bassmaster Classic, using Lowrance electronics . As soon as Lowrance introduced ActiveTarget, Lester learned how to use this feature to make money with it as a tournament angler .

Forward Facing Sonar Details to Evaluate

BY JOHN E. PHILLIPS

As in most other sports, the equipment that an angler chooses is often most likely due to brand loyalty and personal preferences rather than comparing the features and benefits of that equipment. “GDO” spoke with several pros and avid fishermen to learn the reasons they use the brands of forward-facing sonar they select.

LARRY NIXON

Larry Nixon from Bee Branch, Arkansas, has fished competitively in the Bassmaster, Major League Fishing (MLF) and Forrest L. Wood (FLW) circuits for 46 years, winning many tournaments. He’s also won the 1983 Bassmaster Classic and the coveted title of Angler of the Year for two years.

“Forward-facing sonar is what all the tournament fishermen are talking about right now. I’ve seen and used all the different depth finders from flashers to down-scanning to side-scanning and the other GPS and mapping features that have evolved in the electronics industry for bass fishing,” Nixon said. “However, forward-facing sonar has been the biggest change and made the biggest impact in the way we fish.”

“In 1976, when I was guiding bass anglers, I started fishing with Lowrance depth finders because that equipment never broke down, and I never had to send a unit in for repair. I told myself then, ‘Larry, you should never buy any other depth finder than Lowrance,’ and I’ve held to that belief ever since.

“The Lowrance depth finder I use has mapping, down-sonar, side-scanning, GPS and a water-temperature gauge, all on the dash of my boat. On my boat’s front, I have two Lowrance HDS Live 12s, one for my forward-facing sonar and one for split-screen with mapping, down-imaging and the ability to keep up with the day and the time. The HDS Live 12 comes: preloaded with C-Map Contour; plus mapping and integrated support for high-resolution ActiveTarget Live Sonar that lets you know what fish are doing in real time and tracking them in every direction; Active Imaging 3-in-1 with Lowrance CHIRP that’s sonar for fish targets; SideScan/DownScan Imaging and Fish Reveal. That covers everything I need from sonar when I’m fishing and I know I can depend on Lowrance.”

HANK CHERRY

Hank Cherry of Lincolnton, North Carolina, the winner of two Bassmaster Classics is a huge fan of the Garmin Panoptix LiveScope that’s on the end of his trolling motor. With the LiveScope and his Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 126sv, Cherry can:

* spot suspended bait fish and bass;

* determine the lures to use, the depths to fish and the places to fish; * use the mapping screen to pinpoint the subtle drop offs on the bottom; and

* know the depths where bass are holding and learn how they’re positioned.

Cherry said that he’s often asked why he runs four depth finders on his boat.

“I have two on my console and two on my casting deck. I use the two on the console for side scanning. I want my depth finders to be full screen. On my right side, I want the depth finder to scan the right side of the boat, and the depth finder on the left console to scan the boat’s left side. Of the two depth finders on my boat’s front, of my boat, I have one that’s a full-screen map, and the other that’s my LiveScope,” Cherry explained.

“On tournament days, I always have the two depth finders on the front of my boat running the entire time I’m on the water. I’ll have the mapping function up on the back depth finder,” he said. “Depending on how windy the day is and the clarity of the water, I like to pan out with my LiveScope from 70-100 feet in front of me, around me and on the bottom. I don’t need total clarity; I just need to see the markings of the fish I’m trying to fish for and learn how they’re reacting to my lure moving past them.”

PHIL KING

A longtime, avid catfisherman from Corinth, Mississippi, King has won many regional, national and even international tournaments fishing for catfish. He uses a Humminbird depth finder and recently fished with a friend who had a Humminbird Mega 360 Imaging that:

* swept up to 125 feet;

* provided very-clear images in every direction of structure, the bottom and the fish, even when sitting still;

* gave a 360-degree view under the water that was constantly updating;

* offered maps and other sonar views to see the big picture;

* zoomed up to 10X to show fish, structure and vegetation; and

* had Range Rings to show the distance from an angler’s boat to the target.

The picture that King’s friend showed him on his Mega 360 was so accurate and precise, that King reported, “I even could see the fins on the catfish swimming nearby.”

All of these anglers depend on their forward-facing sonar to fish better and catch more and bigger fish, no matter which species.

BRANDON LESTER

A professional basser for 10 years Lester, from Blaine, Tennessee, says he uses his Lowrance ActiveTarget to pinpoint brush piles,

“Since most reservoirs we fish were built in 1940 – 1960, and most of the natural underwater cover is gone. The manmade brush shelters are on underwater stumps, points and bottom structures. You must have a quality depth finder to pinpoint these brush piles,” Lester noted.

Lester uses his side-imaging feature on his Lowrance ActiveTarget to mark the brush he sees underwater as waypoints and takes advantage of its forward-scanning feature.

“That new development in sonar has changed the way I fish dramatically. That feature allows me to stay 60-80 feet away from an underwater brush pile but still make accurate casts,” Lester said. “I can see how-many bass are on an underwater brush pile, identify any bluegills and watch my lure go down and fall right into the brush pile. I can see that same lure go over the top of that brush pile and determine if the bass are chasing my bait.”

Lester uses the ActiveTarget to tell the difference between bass,

crappie, bluegills or other fish that may be holding on structure like stumps, logs, rocks, points with no cover, underwater humps and/or bottom breaks.

“The more you use forward-facing sonar, the easier you can determine the species of fish holding on that structure by the way the fish act or don’t react to your lures. When you pull a bait in front of a catfish or a carp, they won’t even look at your bait but the bass will,” he said.

RYAN AND DARIN YOUNG

These two brothers from Eufaula, Oklahoma, have fished crappie tournaments the past 20+ years, winning state, regional and national tournaments.

“We couldn’t have won many of these tournaments the past three years without our Garmin Panoptix LiveScope,” Ryan Young explained. “We’ll move into trees out in a lake and start looking for crappie on our LiveScope. Often we’ll locate crappie holding in-between trees, perhaps in 13-15 foot deep water. Darin and I have the advantage of the knowledge we’ve learned from the crappie trips we’ve guided and the 400+ hours we’ve spent studying and learning how to use the LiveScope more effectively to catch bigger crappie.”

Land Financing Interest Rates

BY GREAT DAYS OUTDOORS STAFF

Alabama Ag Credit is affiliated with the over 100-year-old nationwide Farm Credit System and is a stockholder owned cooperative. That means that when someone obtains a loan with Alabama Ag Credit they become a stockholder of the association and a portion of those earnings is returned to them through the AGC patronage program, as determined by their board of directors.

At closing you make a one-time Alabama Ag Credit stock purchase and that stock ownership entitles you to share in the co-op profits, lowering your loan’s total interest cost. When your loan is paid off, the cost of the stock is refunded to you.

In other words, when you borrow from Alabama Ag Credit, you become a stockholder and part owner in the cooperative, entitling you to a portion of the earnings (patronage) when the association does well financially The more you borrow, the bigger your share of earnings.

Alabama Ag Credit doesn’t sell its loans on the secondary market like a lot of other financial institutions. When you have a 20-year loan with Alabama Ag Credit, it owns your loan for 20 years and that loan stays with them.

As part of the farm credit system one of AAC’s missions is to service rural Alabama and provide financing for people who want to buy acreage, be it 20 acres for a homestead or more acreage. While it specializes in financing rural and farm land they can finance a residence as long as it is outside of city limits and meets other Farm Credit System requirements.

One of Alabama Ag Credits popular financial products is their 20-year fixed rate loan with a 15% down payment. For rural homesites, the standard is a 15 year loan with 15% down.

At AAC, the terms of a land and rural residential loan, such as interest rate and down payment, depend on the applicant’s unique underwriting factors and a number of components, including credit, financials, loanto-value, the type of property, the length of term, the market conditions and other factors.

One of the things that differentiates Alabama Ag Credit is that they have a complete sheath of services which makes life easier for the customer and ensures a shorter buying and closing process. For example, one of those benefits that AAC offers is that it has its own appraisal department, which results in a shorter turn-around time for the whole transaction and is also economical.

Alabama Ag Credit is headquartered in Montgomery and has nine offices across the state.

Alabama Ag Credit Land Finance Rates (5/10/23)

AAC has terms up to 30 years with rates between 7.5% to 9% depending on the fixed rate period.

Proper choke selection is an important step to ensure you can consistently break clays on the course .

What Are the Best Chokes for Sporting Clays?

BY NICK WILLIAMS

Choosing the best chokes to use for sporting clays is a multivariate equation that can be extremely hard to solve for. Peruse a shotgun chat forum and you can find thousands of pages discussing the impact that barrel length, bore diameter, choke constriction, shot size, shot type, and powder charge can have on your pattern. Compounding the confusion, many views on these variables can be contradictory to each other, and a lot of truth is obscured by various choke manufacturer’s “marketing speak.” For example, you may have an idea of the differences between a modified and an improved cylinder choke, but how does one company’s improved cylinder compare to another’s “midrange choke,” or “clay choke?”

Sorting through all the literature available on the topic can be enough to make your head spin, and patterning multiple chokes through your shotgun to account for all of these variables can be an expensive proposition that will leave you hundreds of dollars poorer and with a mighty sore shoulder. Is there an easier way?

To find out, we spoke with Jimmy Muller, who is a NSCA Master Class Shooter, an avid waterfowler and the inventor/founder of Muller Chokes. Muller’s journey to build the perfect choke started at the ripe age of five years old. His dad and older brother were avid shooters and hunters, and he grew to love days in the duck blind or at the clay range. As he grew up, his dedication to wing-shooting grew as well.

In his own words, “I started duck hunting in 1975, and come 1990 I wanted to become a better wing shooter. So, I decided to get into sporting clays. Fast forward to 1992 I really dove into sporting clays and became a much better shooter. But I realized that the chokes on the market were flawed. They didn’t shoot the way they were marked. They rusted. They build up with plastic and carbon fouling. They came loose between stations. It was just the same sort of thing across the board. To make a very long story short, at the time I was an aerospace defense manufacturer, so I basically went into the shop, made my own chokes, and never looked back.”

Muller initially made his chokes for his own personal use as a serious target shooter, but eventually realized their commercial potential after years of testing and shooting his early models.

“I knew 100% that I had invented the most even patterning choke in the world, the cleanest choke in the world, the lightest choke in the world. So, I was like, you know, let me patent this, bring it out of the closet, and see if it’ll help pay the bills. And I did so and it basically revolutionized clay target sports in two years’ time,” Muller pointed out.

Muller chokes stand out in a crowded market in many ways. Perhaps the biggest difference is how evenly they pattern, and how true to their declared constriction range they are. Anybody who has ever patterned a shotgun knows how time-consuming and meticulous the work is, but Muller said he did most of the work for his customers himself so that they don’t have to.

“What I did with my chokes is I created gun-specific pattern geometry. I took every gun on the market with every different bore diameter, with every barrel length, with every ammo on the market, and I basically kept changing the choke geometry,” Muller explained. “I started with one gun, and I changed every geometry you could imagine until I got a picture-perfect pattern out of that gun, and when I had achieved that for that gun, I drew the blueprint for that choke, and I moved on to the next gun to start all over.”

Due to the very consistent and even pattern Muller chokes produce, Muller claims that you don’t need as many chokes in your choke case in order to cover all the shooting situations you may encounter on the clay course. You may even be able to get by with just one!

When we talked to Muller about the best choke constriction for sporting clays, he was confident and concise in his advice. “You don’t want a tight choke,” he said. “On most ranges, 90% of your shots are gonna be inside of 35 yards. You want a large, forgiving pattern.”

For shooters who like the simplicity of a single choke in their gun, Muller recommended his Ü1 constriction. This constriction does the work of both a traditional skeet and improved cylinder choke in a single tube and offers well-rounded performance across stations.

For shooters who prefer to have multiple chokes on-hand to optimize performance at particular stations, Muller recommend adding their Ü0 and Ü2 to your lineup. The Ü0 functions as a cylinder and skeet choke and is ideal for close, fast-moving stations such as rabbits. The Ü2 serves as a light-modified and modified constriction and is perfect for longer shots.

What if you’re shooting an over-under? Should you use a different choke for each barrel? Muller’s answer may surprise you.

“If you’re shooting an over-under, I’d recommend a Ü1 in each barrel,” Muller said. “Keep it simple. You don’t want to have to think and remember which choke is in which barrel and decide which to use when

the clay is flying.”

While a consistently even and accurate pattern is perhaps the most important criteria to meet when selecting a sporting clays choke, that alone doesn’t make a perfect choke. Shotgun chokes constrict fast-moving pellets as they exit the barrel, and this puts incredible stress on them as the shooter fires round after round. In addition to pressure, choke tubes are subject to extreme heat, caustic gasses and powder contaminants, and abrasive forces. A cheaply made choke’s performance can suffer as a result of these stressors, which can impact your score.

With a background in aerospace engineering, Muller is familiar with these problems. In order to make sure that his chokes stand up to the rigors of high-volume shooting he uses a high strength Aerospace Aluminum that is infused with a Military Ceramic This combination makes for a choke that is lightweight, hard-wearing, and extremely resistant to fouling.

This is good news for clay shooters. Lighter chokes dissipate heat quickly, which results in less thermal expansion that can lead to both stuck chokes and loose chokes that must be tightened between shots. The more resistant to fouling a choke is, the more rounds you can shoot before you must clean it. So, a well-designed and well-built choke in your gun translates to less time “messing around” with your gear and more time busting clays.

Even patterns, quality construction…what else should you look for in a choke? I asked Muller if he had further advice for folks selecting a new sporting clays choke. Or, to look at it from another point of view, what should buyers watch out for when shopping for chokes?

Muller pointed out the thing to be leery of is a ported choke design. Ported chokes are easy to spot on a store shelf. Instead of being a solid tube, the section that protrudes past the barrel has holes machined into it, somewhat reminiscent of Swiss cheese.

“Some choke manufacturers will tell people that porting does two things: it reduces felt recoil and it reduces muzzle jump. But that’s not true,” Muller explained. “Recoil happens before it gets to the choke. So how can porting at the end of the choke reduce felt recoil? It can’t. Okay, that’s number one. Number two: in order to force the muzzle downward with porting, you’d have to force the discharge gasses upward. But how can something ported 360 degrees direct gasses upward and force the barrel down? It can’t.”

“The other thing that people don’t realize when they buy a ported choke is that number one, it becomes filthy with plastic and carbon buildup, which affects your pattern consistency from when it’s cleaned to when it’s dirty; and number two…you’re eventually gonna muzzle blast your buddy standing next to you!,” he said.

I ended our conversation with a final question. I asked Muller what would be the one choke he recommended if a shooter wanted one, a general-purpose choke that would serve not just on the clay range, but in the field? If he could only shoot one of his chokes, what would he shoot? After all, sporting clays was originally conceived as preparation for the shots a hunter could encounter in pursuit of game.

“I’d say my pick for that would be our H20 series in the ‘decoy’ constriction,” he said. “It’s basically a Ü1.5, I’d say. I shoot it all the time on the range, at upland birds, and obviously ducks. It’s a good all-round performer.”

Old-Fashioned Roasted Racoon

Prep: 30 mins • Cook: 3 hrs 30 mins • Total: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 1 raccoon skinned & butchered into 4 legs & a back section

• 2 quarts water

• 1/2 cup kosher salt

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

• 1 pound of small red potatoes skin on halved

• 1-pound carrots peeled

• 3 purple top turnips washed peeled and quartered

• 2 medium yellow onions peeled and quartered

• 4 cloves garlic peeled

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 2 cups beef or venison stock

Instructions

1. Clean the raccoon and removing the glands. I’m not a big fan of raccoon fat, so I trim away as much as possible before cooking. Soak the sectioned raccoon overnight, refrigerated, in a mixture of 2 qrts water, 1/2 c kosher salt, and 2 tblsp apple cider vinegar.

2. Rinse the soaked raccoon, then add to a pot with enough clean water to cover. Add the bay leaves. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and par boil the meat for 30 minutes. This step both helps to tenderize the raccoon and removes more of the leftover surface fat that didn’t get trimmed during processing.

3. After simmering the meat, remove it to a platter to cool. In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, and garlic. Season well with salt and pepper.

4. Layer the parboiled raccoon over the veges. Season the meat with additional salt and pepper. Add the brown sugar, rosemary, & red pepper flakes. Pour in the stock & place the lid on the pot.

5. Transfer the pot to a preheated 300-degree oven. Bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender and falls from the bone. Serve with the cooked vegetables and spoon over the cooking liquid as a gravy.

By Michael Pendley author of Timber 2 Table wild game recipes Recipe and image courtesy of www.realtree.com

Choosing the Best Sabiki Rig for the Bait You Are After

BY DAVID THORNTON

SETTING THE STAGE

As our nutrient rich emerald green coastal waters warm through the spring, the food web explodes with all manner of sealife. Sunlight sparks the rapid growth of innumerable marine plankton which in turn are fed upon by scores of filter feeding fish species. The most widely utilized of these baitfish species include several types of jacks like Round scad “cigar minnows”, and Atlantic bumper (“crazy fish”). False and Scaled herring (“LYs”), and Atlantic thread herring (“threadfin”), and Round sardines (“Spanish sardines”) which are in a class all their own. Some of the herring species commonly called “alewives” or “LYs” are more prominent farther to westward along the Emerald Coast, while the “cigar minnows” and “sardines” are more numerous in the eastern region along the Florida Panhandle. It seems every pier or port along the coast has their favorite baitfish (and a name for it) which just about ensures success.

Semi-resident filter feeding fish along the Gulf Coast have been used extensively as live and fresh dead bait since recreational fishing started gaining increased popularity after World War Two. Initially anglers had to catch their baitfish either with a cast net, or use a hook and line to catch them (one-at-a-time), as is often still the case. During the 1960s pier anglers became adept at tying several small gold Aberdeen hooks into a chain to create “the gold hook rig”. The use of these rigs soon spread through the burgeoning charter fishing fleets of Destin, Pensacola, Panama City, and Orange Beach to catch bait. “Making bait” soon evolved as part of the charter fishing experience, and it still is today.

But tying up the gold hook rigs was meticulous and time consuming for the boat mates until the introduction of the sabiki rig into our coastal fishing culture in the 1970s. The term “sabiki” (pronounced “sa-bee-kee”) originated in Japan in the middle 1970s. (See “Choosing the Best Sabiki Rig to Make Bait” GDO mag March, 2023). Since then, sabiki rigs revolutionized the live bait gathering process, making it possible for even inexperienced recreational anglers to more easily catch their own bait. Subsequent improvements to the technology have increased the effectiveness of sabiki rigs to target specific baitfish species under differing conditions.

These basically defenseless “baitfish form large shoals (schools) for protection and for breeding. They become prey for larger carnivorous fish species like mackerel and jacks, which are ultimately consumed by apex predators like sharks and dolphins. In turn the eggs and fry of intermediate carnivorous fish become part of the macroscopic biomass which are fed upon by the very prey species they may someday grow large enough to eat. One of nature’s ironies.

A basic form of fishing involves the process of catching small fish to be used as bait for larger fish. Along the Gulf Coast this may mean live bait like cigar minnows used for king mackerel or Spanish mackerel for marlin. Or it could mean LYs or pin fish to catch reef fish like red snapper or amberjack. These baitfish are known by a host of colloquial names to boat and pier fishers which probably mean more to fishermen than their common name, or certainly the scientific names do. All that matters is they catch fish! Any way you go about it, or what you call them, the process of catching your own live bait ensures you have access to the friskiest available bait for whatever species you are trying to catch.

ONE SIZE DOES NOT CATCH ALL

Often overlooked details of hook size along with profile and color of the flies have huge ramifications in successfully using sabiki rigs. Think of them as mini-lures which pretty much need to easily fit inside the mouth of the baitfish you intend to catch. Some of these fish (like cigar minnows, LYs, and pinfish) have relatively small mouths, less than a half inch wide. While other species like ladyfish, spanish mackerel, sand perch and white trout have a relatively large mouth that can open two to three inches.

So having a variety of different size sabiki rigs on hand will give you more options to catch different baitfish. Sure it is possible to occasionally foul hook a smaller mouth baitfish with a larger sabiki fly, but that is not very efficient or dependable. Ideally you want the hook to set in the corner of the baitfish’s mouth where it will do little harm. That allows easier unhooking and ensures your bait will stay livelier. A sabiki dehooker is a useful tool to minimize handling live bait which increases its longevity in your bait tank.

Conversely, you don’t want to use a sabiki rig with hooks and line that are too small. A school of yellow-tail jacks can destroy a light line sabiki by tangling it into a useless ball of mono. Large hardtails might even break the lighter branch lines. Small Spanish mackerel are notorious for easily snipping the tiny flies from light branch lines with their scissors like teeth. Though the rigs should be considered as single-use tools, thus disposable, you still want to get your money’s worth.

Using the rig correctly will increase your catch and effectiveness of your sabiki. Don’t leave the rig in the school for too long after you hook one or two baits. They quickly entangle one another, and the struggling activity of several hooked baitfish soon attracts any nearby large predators which may attack your rig.

“Sabiki rigs revolutionized the live bait gathering process, making it possible for even inexperienced recreational anglers to more easily catch their own bait.”

Having the proper amount and type of weight to keep the rig in the strike zone of the baitfish school is very important. If the baits are schooling on or near the surface you need a lighter weight which will land softly and not spook the school. Also, this gives you a slower sink rate, giving the rig more time in the school’s field of view. Plus it helps to stay above hungry predators like toothy mackerel and bluefish, and rig wrecking hardtails which lurk beneath the baitfish shoal.

This has to be balanced with the weight necessary to cast to the bait school depending on their distance from you and the amount of wind and current.

Baitfish suspended below the surface but above the bottom can be particularly problematic. They are constantly moving and easily spooked by any sudden movements from outside the school. Care should be taken to ease your sabiki into these schools so they accept it as potential prey and don’t perceive it as a threat. A slower, more methodical cadence to “jiggle” the sabiki flies is often more effective and less intimidating.

Baitfish schools of filter feeding species hugging the bottom are less likely to be actively feeding, thus may be more difficult to get to bite. But this is the preferred area to catch small finfish like pinfish, croakers, silver perch, mojorras, grunts, sand perch and other bottom hugging baitfish. Being versatile by adding a very small piece of cut shrimp, squid or even a sliver of Fishbites makes the sabiki offering more enticing to these small “nibblers’ ‘.

In all these cases, matching the size weight to do the job you want is at least as critical as the size of the hooks. That is why it is best to carry an assortment of styles and sizes of weights for sabiki rigs. In every case of catching bait it is all about presentation, just like the presentation of this bait is to hooking a gamefish.

son said. “Hunters’ purchases of hunting equipment also helps

Contact Information

Product Links

Wild Turkey Cost-Share Program

https://hayabusafishing.com/product-category/saltwater-sabiki-fishing/ https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/offshore-angler-red-veilskin-sabiki-rig

Florida State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF)

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)

Florida Forest Service (FFS)

https://www.eagleclaw.com/202-214-aberdeen-hook

Green Swamp Wildlife Management Area (WMA)

Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership

https://mustad-fishing.com/us/product/3261?hookSize=10

Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program

5 gallon bucket with aerator keeps baitfish alive for hours .

A GPS equipped trolling motor can hold a boat’s position perfectly in place .

Spot Lock Trolling Motor Points to Consider

BY ED MASHBURN

Of all the technological advances made recently for boat anglers, perhaps no single tool has made a bigger difference than the position holding trolling motor. This marvel which uses satellite information relayed back to Earth to precisely mark and hold a fishing boat in position has made fishing in wind, current, and wave action a much easier and more profitable situation than ever before.

The advantages of GPS position hold trolling motors are many. First, there are no heavy and hard to handle anchors and lengths of anchor rope to contend with. Secondly, the GPS position lock motor works much better and more precisely around bridges, docks, jetties and there’s no boat swing as you would have with an anchor. Finally, once a boat’s position has been set on the GPS holding motor, the boat can easily, safely, and quickly be re-positioned using the motor to move the boat to a better position.

HISTORY OF “POSITION HOLD”

About 2009, anglers discovered a new product which provided a position holding ability never before achieved. A trolling motor system which used GPS satellites which continually broadcast location specific information so anglers did not have to rely on the ancient technique of anchoring to hold a position. Since this earliest release of GPS equipped trolling motors, a wide range of features which make fishing much easier for boat anglers have been developed.

WHO NEEDS THIS POSITION HOLD SYSTEM?

Anglers who fish big water, as in major lakes, bays and the open Gulf benefit most from this modern marvel. The GPS equipped motors permit anglers to locate and then precisely hold position on fishing areas.

Veteran fishing guide Yano Serra of Coden, Alabama was one of the first local guides to use a GPS position holding system.

“I use my GPS trolling motor system 100% of the time that my PowerPole won’t reach the bottom. This system is great when I’m fishing with inexperienced anglers. It allows me to set up so that my clients can throw where they need to throw.” Serra said. “I use every bit of the system. I use this thing to help me make my living.”

INNOVATIONS

GPS position hold trolling motors do a lot more than just set and hold a boat’s position. Most of these super-trolling motors also have some sort of tracking system which records a boat’s path and allows an angler to backtrack to hot fishing spots. Most good position hold motors have an autopilot feature which allows anglers to choose a heading and speed of the boat and then the motor will use GPS tracking to follow that chosen path exactly Finally, GPS equipped trolling motors will allow the angler to come off a selected position hold point and reposition the boat.

KAYAKS CAN USE THE SYSTEM TOO

Kayak anglers have just as much need as powerboat anglers to hold their position while fishing and actually, maybe even more.

Old Town makes a GPS trolling motor equipped kayak, the Old Town Sports-

man with autopilot. This kayak uses a MinnKota unit with 45 pound thrust and a stow and deploy system with Ipilot remote control. This “built for the boat” system looks very attractive for kayak anglers.

Motor Guide offers the X13 Kayak Model trolling motor set up which can be applied to a range of kayaks. This unit has a 35-inch-long shaft with 55 pounds of thrust and uses a Pinpoint GPS system.

POINTS TO CONSIDER

Each angler will have specific needs to consider when choosing a GPS position holding system. There are limits in boat size that can use a bow mounted trolling motor. Generally, the GPS position hold motors will work with most boats 30 feet long or less.

Also, not every GPS equipped trolling motor is rated and built for saltwater use. Those anglers who plan on using their GPS units in marine conditions need to make sure the trolling motor is rated for saltwater anti-corrosion use.

HOW MUCH THRUST

It’s pretty simple. The bigger and heavier the boat, the more powerful the position holding trolling motor needs to be. GPS motors come in a wide range of power outputs, and from the following chart, anglers can see that there is probably a unit which will work on just about any fishing boat. There are many other specific brands and models of GPS trolling motors; this chart is just a representative selection of popular brands and models.

SHAFT LENGTH TO BOAT

In order to work well any boat motor must have its power unit well below the surface of the water. Older trolling motors had shafts which were often too short to allow their use on big, higher bowed boats. This has changed, A wide range of motor shaft lengths have been developed.

MOTOR

CHART

Rhodan specializes in good GPS motors and person to person service

Rhodan

28-72 inch shaft

12, 24, 36 volt system

48- 120 lb. thrust $2, 599

POWER SOURCE/VOLTAGE

If there’s a point about GPS positioning systems that anglers need to be aware of to take into account, it’s the power source for these systems. GPS positioning systems work on 12 volt- that’s a single battery, or 24 volt which is a two-battery bank or 36 volt set up with a three-battery bank. These batteries will require a reliable charging system, and they must be very well secured and located in the boat. Having two or three fifty-pound batteries come loose and banging around the boat hull in rough conditions is not a good thing to have happen.

WARRANTY

For most of the better-known brands of position hold trolling motors, a twoyear warranty comes standard. Along with the warranty, most companies building and selling these motors also have service centers around the country in case repair or service is needed

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

For most anglers, buying into a GPS positon holding trolling motor system will be a major investment. To be honest, these systems are not usually owner-install set ups. These are sophisticated and expensive systems that require skilled and trained talent to properly install.

By far the most common situation will be when an angler contacts a sales and installation service and has the GPS point hold system installed.

All of the GPS system manufacturers have nationwide service and repair sites, but potential buyers should check ahead and make sure that a local store or shop can both install and later repair a GPS trolling motor system. These are very sophisticated systems, and they will require repair and adjustment.

FAQ

Can

position hold be added to an existing unit?

In general, GPS positioning is built into a trolling motor system and can’t be added on. However, Rhodan offers its Gateway system which allows certain Simrad and Lowrance units to have GPS added on. Anglers will need to check with Rhodan if this add-on system is a possibility for an existing trolling motor.

How does GPS position hold work?

GPS position holding systems work by using very accurately placed satellites in geocentric orbit to triangulate a specific point anywhere on Earth. This system is not usually disturbed by local weather conditions, and it works well day, night, sunny or stormy.

How accurate is position hold?

Most anglers are amazed when they first learn and use their GPS positioning system. Unless problems develop in the system, a GPS positioning system will hold a boat stationary within six or seven feet of its assigned position in most fishing conditions.

Some governments offer subsidies to farmers and ranchers who produce certain crops, such as corn

How to Make Land Pay for Itself

BY JOE BAYA

Land is a valuable asset that can generate income for its owner in various ways. Much of the information you will find when searching for information on “how to make land pay for itself” is geared towards your active involvement in a business that uses the land in its operation. If you are looking for a creative guide on how to make money with land using your own labor, take a look at my article, How to Make Money With Land. In this article, we are going to dive into how to make passive income from land.

WHAT IS PASSIVE INCOME?

Passive income is income that is earned without active involvement or effort from the recipient. In other words, passive income is money that is earned from an investment or business that does not require regular time or effort to maintain. Passive income can come from a variety of sources, including rental properties, dividend-paying stocks, interest on savings accounts, and royalties from books or music.

It can also come from land ownership. The key characteristic of passive income is that it continues to generate revenue even if the recipient is not actively working. This makes passive income a popular goal for people looking to achieve financial freedom and reduce their dependence on traditional employment.

HOW TO MAKE LAND PAY FOR ITSELF OPTION 1: LEASE IT TO HUNTERS

Making land pay for itself through hunting leases is a popular option for landowners who have tracts of land in areas with abundant wildlife. I spoke with Connor Hermesch at Base Camp Leasing, a full-service hunting lease management company, and he had this to say about the steps to get started when leasing your land for hunting:

1. “Determine if your land is suitable for hunting: If your land is located in an area with a healthy population of game animals, such as deer, turkey, or waterfowl, it should be suitable for hunting.

2. Establish your lease terms: You’ll need to decide how you want to structure your hunting lease. This can include setting the price, determining the length of the lease, and outlining any restrictions or requirements for the hunters. Make sure your hunting lease agreement has a release of liability clause.

3. Advertise your hunting lease: You can and should advertise your hunting lease through various channels, including social media, hunting forums, and word of mouth. To get the best lessees and the best price, you should be prepared to advertise your property to multiple states and to a wide audience.

4. Screen potential lessees: It’s important to screen potential lessees to ensure they’re responsible and safe hunters who will respect your property.

5. Collect payment and sign the lease agreement: Once you’ve found a suitable lessee, you’ll need to collect payment and sign a lease agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of the lease.

6. Make sure you are protected in case of liability: Work with your lessees to insure that a liability insurance policy is purchased that protects you.”

OPTION 2: LEASE IT TO FARMERS

Farmland Leases are another way to make land pay for itself. Farm rents alone will not make the land pay for itself but coupled with additional streams

of income, you can be well on your way. Companies like Acretrader have capitalized on this and even offer investment-grade farmland for sale in shares as small as 1/10th of an acre. Like hunting leases, it is important that you do your homework and create a rock-solid lease agreement, protect yourself from liability, and screen your lessees so that you end up with a tenant farmer who will treat your property, and your soils, as if they were theirs.

OPTION 3: LEASE IT TO GRAZERS

If farmland and grazing land leases were enough to make the land pay for itself, farmers and grazers wouldn’t lease, they’d buy. That being said, grazing income, much like farming income, is an attractive option for landowners who own acreage that isn’t suitable for tillage or timber production. Leasing land for grazing can offer several benefits for landowners, including:

1. Reducing property maintenance costs: Grazing can help maintain the land by keeping the grass and weeds under control, which can reduce the need for mowing and other maintenance.

2. Improving soil quality: Grazing can help improve soil quality by adding organic matter through animal waste and trampled vegetation.

3. Building relationships with local farmers and ranchers: Leasing land for grazing can help build relationships with local farmers and ranchers, which can be valuable for networking and potential business opportunities.

4. Supporting local food systems: Grazing can support local food systems by providing a source of locally raised meat and dairy products.

Overall, leasing land for grazing can offer several benefits for landowners, while also supporting local agriculture and conservation efforts. However, it’s important to have a clear lease agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of the lease, including grazing rates, duration of the lease, and any restrictions or requirements for the lessee.

OPTION 4: LEASE IT TO PINE STRAW COMPANIES

I recently recorded a podcast with Dr. Becky Barlow of Auburn University and I was floored at the income potential from pine straw. In the right areas with the right species of trees, landowners are generating as much as $150 per acre in pine straw, per year! This rivals the income potential of farmland and timberland in some areas. Additionally, this is being done on working cattle farms or in conjunction with timberland production, or both! There are some factors to consider, however, such as choosing the right tree species, site preparation and maintenance, etc. Have a listen to the podcast for a deep dive! https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/how-to-make-land-pay-for-itself/

OPTION 5: LEASE IT TO FISHERMAN

Fishermen need access to fertile waters, just like hunters are looking for game-rich lands. Landowners with lakes and rivers have the ability to offer fishing leases in the form of fishing clubs, day passes, and exclusive lease agreements. The amount of income that can be generated from leasing fishing rights will depend on several factors, including the location of the water body, the species of fish present, and the demand for fishing access in the area. In some cases, leasing fishing rights can be a lucrative source of income for landowners, especially if the water body is known for its high-quality fishing or is located in an area with a high demand for recreational fishing.

According to a report by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the average value of recreational fishing trips in the United States in 2018 was $113 per

day, which includes expenditures on fishing-related equipment, transportation, and lodging. If a landowner were to lease fishing rights for a lake or river for, say, 50 man-days during the fishing season, and charge $50 per day, they could generate $2,500 in income for that season. If you are managing a private lake or pond, fee-based fishing can help deal with too many small bass in your pond by providing a means to take out predator fish who have overcrowded the body of water.

OPTION 6: LEASE IT TO SOLAR POWER COMPANIES

If you’re considering leasing your land for solar power generation your land must be located in an area with adequate solar resources, which means it must have enough sunlight throughout the day and year to generate electricity. You’ll need to conduct a solar site analysis to determine the feasibility of a solar power project on your land. You’ll also need to negotiate a lease rate with the solar developer, which can vary depending on the location and solar resource of your land, the size of the project, and other factors.

It’s important to understand the current market rates and ensure that the lease rate is fair and competitive. You’ll need to determine the length of the lease term and any renewal options. Solar power projects typically have a lifespan of 20-30 years, so you’ll need to decide if you want to lease your land for the entire lifespan of the project or for a shorter period.

Solar power projects can have environmental impacts, such as land-use change, habitat fragmentation, and impacts on wildlife. You’ll need to consider these impacts and ensure that the project complies with all environmental regulations. The solar developer will need access to your land for the construction and maintenance of the project. You’ll need to ensure that there is adequate access to the site and that the necessary infrastructure, such as roads and transmission lines, is in place. Leasing your land for solar power generation can have tax implications, including property tax assessments and income tax on lease payments.

You’ll need to consult with a tax professional to understand the potential tax implications. Leasing your land for solar power generation can be a viable option for generating income, but it’s important to carefully consider these and other factors before entering into a lease agreement. It’s also advisable to consult with a lawyer and other relevant experts to ensure that your interests are protected.

OPTION 7: LEASE IT TO COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESSES (CELL TOWERS AND BILLBOARDS)

Leasing your land for cell towers or billboard companies can be a lucrative source of income, but it’s important to carefully consider many factors before entering into a lease agreement. It’s also advisable to consult with a lawyer and other relevant experts to ensure that your interests are protected. You’ll need to negotiate a lease rate with the company, which can vary depending on the location, size, and height of the tower or billboard, as well as the demand for infrastructure in the area. It’s important to understand the current market rates and ensure that the lease rate is fair and competitive. You’ll need to determine the length of the lease term and any renewal options.

Cell tower leases typically have a lifespan of 20-30 years, so you’ll need to decide if you want to lease your land for the entire lifespan of the tower or for a shorter period. Both cell tower and billboard infrastructure can have environmental impacts, such as visual impacts, and the company will need access to your land for construction and maintenance. You’ll need to ensure that there is adequate access to the site that you are comfortable with allowing the company to ingress and egress. You’ll need to consider liability and insurance issues associated with the structures, such as potential damage to your property or injuries to third parties. You may need to obtain additional insurance coverage or require the company to provide additional liability protection.

If you have a lake on your land, consider leasing it out as a fertile fishing ground.

OPTION 8: RENT IT TO GLAMPERS

Glamping (glamorous camping), can be another way to generate passive income from your land. Just because you offer it doesn’t mean there is demand, however, so you’ll need to assess the market demand for glamping in the area, including the number of visitors and the types of accommodations they are seeking. You’ll need to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place, such as water, electricity, and waste disposal systems. You may also need to provide additional amenities, such as showers, toilets, and cooking facilities. You’ll need to comply with all local and state regulations related to land use, building codes, and safety standards. This may include obtaining permits for structures and adhering to zoning and environmental regulations.

You’ll need to consider liability and insurance issues associated with glamping, such as potential injuries to guests or damage to property. You may need to obtain additional insurance coverage or require guests to sign liability waivers. You’ll need to develop a marketing and advertising strategy to attract guests to your glamping site. This may include creating a website, social media presence, and other marketing materials. Companies like Tentrr and Harvest Hosts offer marketing, advertising, booking, and even construction management for landowners looking to generate passive income from recreational visitors.

OPTION 9: RENT IT TO PHOTOGRAPHERS

The amount of money you can make leasing your land for photography will depend on several factors, including the location and natural beauty of your land, the demand for photography in the area, the number of photographers interested in leasing your land, and the terms of the lease agreement. Photographers may be willing to pay several hundred dollars per day to use a scenic and photogenic location for photography. The rates can vary depending on the location, the length of the lease, and any additional amenities or services provided.

In some cases, photographers may be interested in a long-term lease agreement, which can provide a stable source of income for the landowner However, the amount of income that can be generated from leasing your land for photography will vary depending on the factors mentioned above, and it may be necessary to conduct market research and assess the potential demand before determining the lease rates. It’s important to note that the income generated from leasing your land for photography may not be as high as other types of leases, such as cell towers or solar power generation, but it can still be a viable option for landowners who have scenic and photogenic land. It is very common to see photographers shelling out big bucks to be able to photograph your sunflower field or your scenic vista.

OPTION 10: LET THE TREES GROW

Timberland can be a stable and profitable investment over the long term, but like any investment, there are risks and uncertainties to consider. The demand for wood products can fluctuate, but it is generally steady and predictable. The good news is that you generally have a 3-5 year window on when you harvest timber, thus allowing you some time to “time” the market. Timberland can be a hedge against inflation, as the value of timber can increase over time as the cost of living goes up.

Timberland can be a good diversification strategy for investors who are looking to balance their portfolios with assets that are not closely correlated with other investments, such as stocks and bonds. Timberland investments can offer tax benefits, such as deductions for property taxes, management expenses, and depreciation. There are also risks associated with timberland investments, such as natural disasters like wildfires and pests, as well as economic and market risks. The value of timberland can also fluctuate depending on factors such as supply and demand, interest rates, and changes in government regulations.

Overall, timberland can be a stable and profitable investment to make land

pay for itself over the long term if managed carefully and with a clear understanding of the risks and uncertainties involved. It’s important to conduct thorough research, work with experienced professionals, and consider all factors before making an investment in timberland.

OPTION 11: SUBDIVIDE IT

As a general rule, as land acreages increase, the price per acre decreases. This is a simple supply/demand equation, there is more money competing for land that is offered at a lower price point. In addition to this, buyers of smaller acreages are typically purchasing with a residential or recreational mindset first, and an investment mindset second, so they are not scrutinizing the property as an investment. Consider subdividing your property as a means to help you make your land pay for itself, let’s look at a simplified example.

Jim purchases 300 acres of timberland at $2,500 per acre. 40 acres of Jim’s land sits on a paved county road in a good school district and is ripe for development into 5-acre mini-farms. Jim sells these 40 acres for 10,000 per acre to a developer. Jim now owns 260 Acres of land that is worth $2,500 per acre, but he only has around $1,200 per acre invested. As you can see, given you have the capital and find the right property, buying a large tract and breaking it into smaller tracts can be a great way to make your land pay for itself.

OPTION 12: RECEIVE SUBSIDIES FOR IT

There are several ways to make land pay for itself with subsidies, depending on the specific subsidies that are available in your area and the type of land you own. Some government programs offer subsidies to landowners who implement conservation practices on their land, such as planting cover crops, installing riparian buffers, or using controlled burns to create better wildlife habitat and timber value. These subsidies can help offset the costs of implementing these practices and can also improve the health and productivity of the land.

Many governments offer subsidies and tax incentives to landowners who install renewable energy systems, such as solar panels or wind turbines, on their land. These subsidies can help offset the costs of installation and maintenance and can also provide a source of passive income by selling excess energy back to the grid. Some governments offer subsidies to farmers and ranchers who produce certain crops or livestock, such as corn or beef.

It’s important to research the specific subsidies that are available in your area and to work with experts who can help you navigate the application and implementation process. It’s also important to carefully consider the longterm benefits and costs associated with each subsidy option to ensure that they align with your goals and values as a landowner and can truly help you make land pay for itself.

Letting the trees grow on your land can, in time, lead to a timber harvest that will net you income .

OPTION 13: AVOID TAXES WITH IT

Albert Einstein is famously quoted as saying, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” This quote highlights the power of compounding, which is the ability of an asset to generate earnings, which are then reinvested to generate even more earnings over time. Einstein recognized that compounding is not just a financial principle, but a fundamental concept of the universe. Compounding allows small gains to accumulate and grow over time, leading to significant returns in the long run. This is also true for tax avoidance and in the case of land ownership, the 1031 exchange.

A 1031 exchange, also known as a like-kind exchange, is a tax-deferred transaction that allows a real estate investor to sell a property and reinvest the proceeds into another property of equal or greater value without paying capital gains taxes on the sale. The investor sells their existing investment property, and the proceeds are held in a special account by a qualified intermediary. The investor identifies a replacement property within 45 days of the sale and completes the purchase of the replacement property within 180 days.

The proceeds from the sale of the original property are then used to purchase the replacement property, and any capital gains taxes that would have been owed on the sale are deferred. By using a 1031 exchange to purchase land, investors can defer paying capital gains taxes on the sale of their investment property, allowing them to reinvest the full amount of the proceeds into a new property. This can provide significant tax savings and can also allow investors to grow their real estate portfolio more quickly.

It’s important to note that there are specific rules and requirements that must be followed in order to qualify for a 1031 exchange, and investors should work with a qualified intermediary and tax professional to ensure compliance with all regulations. For more information, check out this recent podcast where we covered this topic in detail. https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/how-to-make-landpay-for-itself/

OPTION 14: BUY IT…RIGHT

I recently helped a client purchase 200 acres of timberland in Alabama. The land was listed for $2,500 per acre and at the time, this was higher than most properties of similar quality sold for in the area. We purchased that property at the full asking price, just 3 days after it hit the market. Why? Well, after a timber cruise was finished on the property, it was determined that there was approximately $1,800-$2,000 per acre in standing timber.

This means that the landowner could cut all of the timber from the property and have a basis of approximately $500-$700 per acre. At the time of purchase, cutover tracts in the area that have not been replanted were selling for $1,300 to $1,500 per acre. What does that mean? If the landowner wanted to, they could cut all of the timber from the tract and sell it for a $600-$1,000 per acre profit. Thankfully, they are choosing to responsibly and sustainably manage the timber for both income and wildlife habitat and this property will pay for itself over time with responsible silviculture practices.

OPTION 15: RENT IT TO BEEKEEPERS

The amount of money you can generate from leasing land for an apiary will depend on several factors, including the size and location of the land, the demand for honey and beeswax in the area, and the terms of the lease agreement. Beekeepers may be willing to pay several hundred dollars per year to rent a location for their hives, and rental agreements can range from short-term to long-term, depending on the needs of the beekeeper.

The exact amount of income that can be generated will vary depending on factors such as market demand, competition in the area, and the quality of the land. In addition to the rental income, there may be other benefits to leasing your land for an apiary, such as improved pollination for crops, increased biodiversity, and the production of honey and beeswax that can be sold for

additional income.

OPTION 16: LEASE IT TO EXTRACTION COMPANIES

Land that has accessible and significant deposits of sand, clay, gravel, and hydrocarbons can provide significant lease income to the landowner. The amount of money that can be made from leasing land to oil an oil company, for example, will depend on several factors, including the size and location of the land, the quality and quantity of oil reserves on the property, and the terms of the lease agreement. Oil companies typically pay landowners a signing bonus when they first lease the land, which can range from a few thousand to several hundred thousand dollars, depending on the size and quality of the land.

In addition, the landowner typically receives a royalty payment based on the amount of oil produced from the well, which can range from 10% to 25% of the total value of the oil produced. The actual amount of income that can be generated from leasing land to these types of extraction companies can vary significantly, and it’s important to consider the potential risks and costs associated with resource extraction, such as environmental damage, legal liability, and the potential impact on neighboring properties.

Overall, leasing land to companies that extract these types of mineral resources can be a lucrative source of income, but it’s important to carefully consider the risks and potential rewards before entering into a lease agreement. It’s advisable to work with a qualified attorney and other relevant experts to ensure that your interests are protected.

OPTION 17: CONSERVE IT

Conservation easements can make land pay for itself in several ways. By placing a conservation easement on their land, landowners may be able to receive significant tax benefits, including income tax deductions and estate tax reductions. These tax benefits can provide immediate financial benefits to the landowner. In some cases, placing a conservation easement on the land can increase its value, as it may make the land more attractive to conservation-minded buyers. This can allow landowners to sell their land for a higher price than they would otherwise receive.

Landowners who donate a conservation easement to a qualified organization may be able to receive a charitable tax deduction, which can provide significant financial benefits. Some government programs and private organizations offer financial incentives for landowners who place conservation easements on their land. These incentives can include grants, subsidies, and other forms of financial assistance. Overall, conservation easements can provide significant financial benefits to landowners while also protecting the natural and cultural resources of the land.

OPTION 18: LEASE IT CARBON OFFSET BUYERS

On a recent episode of the Huntin’ Land Podcast, we sat down with NCX for a primer on Carbon credits. What we learned is that there is a growing market of companies who are interested in paying landowners significant per acre annual payments for them to engage in practices that sequester more carbon from the atmosphere, thereby mitigating the carbon that their business practices are releasing. Contracts last only one year, there are no fees to start, and there are no acreage minimums to enroll. https://greatdaysoutdoors.com/how-to-makeland-pay-for-itself/

CAN LAND PAY FOR ITSELF?

In my opinion, land ownership is the most fulfilling asset class to invest in. In addition to the income opportunities, the memories you make on your own dirt pay dividends that you can’t measure in a bank account. If you are trying to determine how to make land pay for itself, look for properties that will allow you a combination of income streams I’ve listed previously and you will be well on your way. As with any investment, it is important that you develop a team of trusted advisors that can guide you in the right direction when purchasing, managing, leasing, or selling your land.

Homemade verses purchased fish structure

BY WILLIAM KENDY

It is pretty safe to say that if you own a pond, high up on your list of priorities is adding to your fish structure inventory. That structure can take the form of either being homemade or commercially manufactured items.

Fish structure has the ultimate goal of attracting and harboring fish and creates a place where both predator and forage fish can hide from each other on a dayby-day basis. Depending on the structure, it can even provide an area for fish to spawn and a sanctuary for newly hatched forage fry to avoid being gobbled up by aggressive and ravenous bass, which contributes to the health of that forage base. The result is that it means more food for bass to eat which equates to bigger and healthier bass, maybe even a bragging size wall hanger.

By doing this right you eliminate the potential issue of creating a “predator crowded” pond where you have too many undersized “skinny bass” and not enough forage fish to adequately feed them. That remedy to this scenario is removing a bunch of bass and increasing the forage base, which can be an expensive proposition.

I do want to emphasize that fish habitat and fish structure are the same thing…only different. Fish attractors and structure, either homemade or natural products (like trees, rocks, etc) and artificially constructed products are all meant to draw, hold and provide shelter for fish. Fish habitat, on the other hand, is more about creating and maintaining spawning areas, developing and maintaining the correct “predator to prey” ratio, building a healthy and growing forage fish food supply and providing a quality aquatic environment for all fish.

Norman Latona is president of Southeastern Pond Management (SEP) headquartered out of Calera Alabama, with offices in two other states and covers the southeastern US. SEP offers a wide range of pond and lake management services, including pond stocking, pond design and construction, liming, and lake mapping, just to name a few along with a range of various products.

Latona believes that well designed new ponds need to be “fisherman friendly”. “By fisherman friendly I mean design the pond around elements that will attract and concentrate fish so it will be easier to target them,” Latona said. “Shape the bottom with contours, dig some deep holes and drop off, create shelves and benches so the water doesn’t just drop off to the bottom and fish have a place to hold. Create humps, rock piles, shallow water spawning areas and create a diverse environment.”

HOMEMADE & NATURAL FISH ATTRACTORS & STRUCTURE

Pond owners can create their own structure out of Christmas trees, concrete rip-rap, pallets, old lumber, logs, whole trees and shrubs, and all different kinds of materials depending on how creative the depositor is and how effective they are at scavenging stuff. Keep in mind that it is a big job sinking all of that material and unfortunately, much of the time they don’t last more than a few years and it is a continuous and strenuous effort.

In a lot of established ponds, especially those older bodies of water, cover and structure which abounded isn’t always available. It may have been there back in the good old days but nature has run its course and now they have eroded down to a shadow of what they were originally.

For example, I know of an avid crappie angler who takes old Christmas trees or multi-stem bushes and sinks them in a few pounds of concrete in a bucket and sends them down to Davy Jones’ locker. The trees might not last long but the plastic buckets will and something on the bottom is better than nothing.

Homemade fish attractors and structure doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive to be effective. To get ideas, just Google “homemade fish structures” or “artificial fish structures” and it is kind of amazing what will pop up. In the homemade fish structure game five-gallon buckets, with holes drilled on opposite sides with rubber hose, pvc pipe, or other tubing material or rods pushed through along with a cinder block or a few pounds of redi-mix concrete to insure it is seated on the bottom seems to be big player.

PURCHASED FISH STRUCTURE

There are a number of companies in the marketplace that manufacture quality fish structure but Latona has developed a working relationship with Texas Hunter products.

Texas Hunter has been a well-known name in the deer stand/blind and feeder industry for years and also offers a comprehensive line of fish feeders, accessories and even small bass boats.

In the last few years, they have been working “hand in glove” with SEP along with Auburn University to develop fish structure and attractants to enhance the fish habitat.

“Fish are pretty adaptive and don’t necessarily care what the cover or habitat look like, they just know that they can hide in it, ambush forage fish from it and escape predators in it,” Latona said. “Texas Hunter has taken a scientific approach in developing habitat structure that is easily deployable into the lake and very angler friendly in that it is almost snag proof, lasts a long time and is very effective in attracting and holding fish.”

Chris Blood, of Texas Hunter, said that working with the Auburn and said that working with the Auburn University school of design resulted in 185 different fish habitat and structure designs which was then whittled down to six new products. “We’ve boiled it down to about six new products that we’re proud of and feel like they’re very effective and we’ve got a little bit of everything including top water, midwater shallow water, there’s even a spawning device. So, this is our initial launch into the fish habitat market.”

“Our products are made out of the same materials as kayaks and floating docks and are environmentally friendly and they are easy to assemble so you can get them out on a boat, put them together, drop them in the water knowing that you won’t have to do this job again for a long time,” Blood said. “They are basically lifetime products and once you get them in the water, they aren’t going anywhere.”

One of the new Texas Hunter fish habitat products is the “fish pyramid”. The best way to describe it is that it looks like a pyramid but squared on the top. It is full of slots similar to a colander, so forage fish, like shad or bluegill, have a place to escape from predators and it offers insertable “shade blades” that provide shady spots for fish to hold in. The unit has teeth on the bottom that anchor it to the ground to keep it in place or, since it is constructed of floatable material it can be attached to a weight, such as a cylinder block and be suspected at different depths.

“We make two sizes of fishing pyramids. The first one is about three and a half feet tall and an extra larger version that is about four and half feet tall and four feet wide at the base and is collectively about 146 square inches,” Blood pointed out. “You can suspend them by just simply attaching them to a cinder block and dropping them off the side of the dock or the side of the boat. Or you can attach the cinderblock inside

Latona emphasized the importance of structure, especially in shallow water. “The issue all revolves about “lake stratification” which basically means that the water starts to warm up in the late spring and early summer and by the time we get to the heart of the fishing season most of the fish are living in the upper several feet of the water column because that is where the oxygen is. While they would prefer to be in the cooler water, unfortunately the colder the water is the less oxygen there is for the fish. They might make an occasional dash into the colder water to attack a forage fish but there is not enough oxygen in the water for them to survive, “ he said.

“Larger items like the pyramids, with the ability to keep them up off the bottom ensures that fish can use them year-round You could take these pyramids and rather than drop them in 10,15 or even 20 feet of water, where in the summertime, that depth probably doesn’t have many fish, if any, we can take that pyramid and suspend it in 6, 8 or even 10 feet of water,” Latona added.

Venison Chili

Prep: 30 mins • Cook: 3 hrs • Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 pound pinto or black beans (optional)

• 12 to 16 combined total of dried ancho, guajillo, pasilla, or mulato chiles

• 1/2 pound Mexican chorizo or chopped bacon

• 2 to 3 pounds venison, ground or diced1 large yellow or white onion, diced

• 6 to 8 cloves garlic, chopped

• 2 tablespoons sweet or smoked paprika

• 2 tablespoons cumin

• 1 tablespoon ground coriander

• 1 tablespoon chipotle powder (optional)

• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

• 1 cup black coffee

• 1 quart Beef or venison broth

• Salt to taste

• Cilantro and shredded cheese to garnish

Instructions

1. Soak beans in water overnight. If you have forgotten this, pour boiling water over them and soak for 4 hours, changing the water after 2 hours.

2. Remove the stems and seeds of chiles and tear them into pieces. Cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes. Grind to a puree with the consistency of gravy, adding about 1 cup of the soaking water and the coffee to do so.

3. Meanwhile, break up the chorizo or chop bacon and fry over medium heat in a Dutch oven or other large, lidded, ovenproof pot. Once the chorizo has browned or the bacon is crispy, remove it and set aside. Add the venison and brown over high heat. You want the highest heat on your most powerful burner here, because the meat will want to steam and stew and not brown. If you are doing a big pot of chili, brown the meat in batches. Stir occasionally as it browns. Salt it as it cooks.

4. Once all the meat is ready, add the onion to the pot and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. If you are using chorizo, return it to the pot; if you are using bacon, leave it out for now. Add the garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute. Add the beans, paprika, cumin, coriander, chipotle powder and salt one at a time, stirring to combine each time.

5. Add chile puree and tomato paste and stir to combine well. Add the molasses and enough beef broth to cover everything – you want it to be thin like a soup. I typically need at least a pint of broth, sometimes a quart. Stir to combine all this well, bring to a bare simmer and cook gently for 3 hours or so, stirring occasionally. Put the lid halfway over the pot as it cooks. You want it to eventually cook down and be thick.

6. Once the beans are tender, you’re good to go. If you are using canned beans, now’s the time to add them. Return the bacon to the chili if you’re using it. Serve the chili with rice or cornbread, and top with cilantro, cheese and maybe some pickled onions.

Pan Seared Red Snapper with Cherry Tomatoes

As you can see, the red snapper a) has the skin on (although it contracted a lot when I cooked it), and b) is really only cooked on one side. That’s on purpose. First, the skin. The skin on a scaled bass-like fish is usually tasty. Red snapper is one of those fish. I like to scale these fish, then fillet and leave the skin on because, when properly cooked, the skin gets crispy like a potato chip. These are usually lean fish, so the small amount of fat under the skin adds a touch of richness, too.

To address the second point, pan seared red snapper, or whatever fish you use, is a great way to cook any fish so you get that crispy side —  and yes, you can do this with a skinless piece of fish — and you don’t overcook the inside of the fish because you are just basting the other side with the hot oil or butter.

Prep: 10 mins • Cook: 1 hr • Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

• Olive oil to coat tomatoes

• Salt

• 4 red snapper fillets, skin on or off

• 1/4 cup clarified butter or vegetable oil

• 2 to 3 ears of sweet corn, kernels cut off (about 2 cups)

• 3 tablespoons minced parsley, cilantro or mint

• Black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Soak the minced onion in the lime juice with some salt. Set this aside as you proceed.

2. Trim all silverskin away from the meat. Cut it into pieces a little larger than you’d want in a taco, so maybe 1 inch square, more or less. (They shrink when fried.) Salt the pieces well and set in the fridge for 15 minutes while you chop cilantro, slice limes and get your oil hot.

3. Put the oil in a heavy pot — you certainly can use more than a quart if you want to fry everything all at once. Heat it to 350°F. As this is happening, put a cooling rack over a baking sheet in the oven and set the oven to “warm.”

4. Take the meat from the fridge and pat it dry. Fry in batches so you don’t crowd the pot. Fry, stirring the meat around, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until it’s pretty and browned on the outside. Drain and put on the rack in the oven. Let the oil temperature return to 350°F before doing the next batch.

5. When the meat is done, heat the tortillas and make some tacos! At its most simple, you can go with just the meat, onions and cilantro. But I like starting with guacamole or refried beans — the meat will not roll off this way — then salsa, then the onions and cilantro.

Notes

If you want to just make this a lightning quick weeknight meal, skip the drying part on the cherry tomatoes and just toss them in at the last minute.

NEW & Cool gear

BY WILLIAM KENDY

Bixby J-2 Outboard Kit

The Bixpy J-2 is a versatile and ultra compact water jet propulsion system designed to motorize your kayak or small boat. It weighs less than 10 pounds, including lithium battery, motor and rigging and can power your kayak for more than 80 minutes at continuous full speed and it delivers 10+ hours in trolling speed. It is “wall chargeable ‘’ and the remote control offers 12 forward speeds and 3 reverse speeds.

Suggested Retail Price; $1,199.00

www.bixby.com

“Glow in the Dark” GLOMAX D-Loop Glow Cord

Whether you have poor eyesight or hunting at the edges of daylight, the super tough GLOMAX D-Loop Glow Cord will help you connect with whatever you are hunting. Available in highly visible, in both daylight and at night, the bright orange and Chartreuse colors the D-Loop is perfect for bowhunters who have some difficulty in hooking up a release in poor light.

Suggested Retail Price: $17.99

www .jaktgear .com

Antler King’s Deer Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy by Antler King is a cottonseed-based deer attractant providing 20 percent protein, 14 percent fiber, and 11 percent fat. Besides cottonseed, Cotton Candy also contains corn, roasted soybeans and protein pellets which are packed with minerals and vitamins. n It contains AMP, Antler King’s proprietary health supplement that promotes digestive efficiency along with immune functions—making it not only a powerful attractant, but a healthy one.

Suggested Retail Price: $17.99 – $29.99

www .antlerking .com

Shakespeare Ugly Stik Bigwater Surf Rod and Reel Combo

Regardless if you are pursuing pompano, redfish, speckled trout or other big fish the rugged Ugly Stik Bigwater Surf Rod and Reel Combo is a top-notch choice at a reasonable cost. The Ugly Stik Clear Tip construction features a combination of graphite and fiberglass for durability, strength and responsiveness, with one-piece stainless-steel guides for extra strength.

Suggested Retail Price: starting at $62.95

www purefishing com

ATSKO Rapid Rod

The ATSKO Rapid Rod is made of lightweight aluminum and collapses to seven short pieces with an internal cable to keep everything together when the handle is screwed tightly and can be stored in its nylon case when disassembled. It can be used to clean a gun barrel, remove obstructions or probably roast a chunk of venison over a fire if necessary. It can save your hunt.

Suggested Retail Price: $19.95

www .atsko .com

Outdoor Edge Razor Guide Pak

The Razor Guide Pak from Outdoor Edge combines a RazorBone 3.5-inch drop point blade, gutting blade and 5-inch boning-fillet blades. The RazorCape’s 3-inch blade helps cape trophies and skin hides. The Flip N Zip saw easily powers through bone or helps clear a trail, shooting lane or remove a limb near your stand. The replaceable blades are all surgicalsharp, easy to replace and fit in a waxed cotton canvas roll pack.

Suggested Retail Price: $19.85

www .outdooredge com

Thermacell Rechargeable Mosquito Repellent

The Thermacell repellent heats and activates scent-free invisible repellent creating mosquito free outdoor spaces. With the E-Series it can provide a 20-foot mosquito free zone, which is 80% larger than our older models and is rechargeable, long lasting and environmentally friendly. Powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the E55 provides 5.5 hours of continuous mosquito protection on a charge and it is whisper quiet and scent-free.

Suggested Retail Price: $39.95

www .thermacell .com

The Cool Ruger Ruger Max-9® 9 mm

Designed for “conceal and carry” the 9 mm Luger black oxide hardened steel alloy Ruger Max-9® is optics ready and has a12+1 capacity. It features a 3.2inch barrel, adjustable rear sight and tritium fiber optic front sight with an overall length of six inches weighing only 18.4 ounces. It has a high-performance glassfilled medium-textured nylon grip frame and manual safety. Included are two E-Nickel Teflon® coated magazines.

Suggested Retail Price: $439.00

www ruger com

Vortex ranger® 1300 rangefinder

Capable of ranging targets to 1,300 yards, the Ranger 1300 and it’s primary HCD (Horizontal Component Distance) mode displays an angle-compensated distance reading and is easy and simple to use. Lightweight and compact, weighing in at just 7.7 ounces, the ergonomic Ranger 1300 is easy to pack, hang around your neck or via the adjustable utility clip mounted on your belt, pocket or any other flat edged surfaces.

Suggested Retail Price: $449.99

www .vortexopics .com

Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Jig

If you are looking for a bass lure that will get down and dirty in heavy and thick cover the Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover Jig is for you. It is tough enough to penetrate the thickest cover and get those lunkers safely out. It is available in 3/8, ½, ¾, 1, and 1 ¼ ounces and key colors including Black/Blue, Candy Craw, Texas Craw and more.

Suggested Retail Price: $10.68

www .strikeking .com

Grab Your Gig and Enjoy Rebounding Flounder Population

BY CHRIS BLANKENSHIP Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources

When you talk to inshore anglers along Alabama’s beautiful Gulf Coast and check social media, it appears a rebound in the flounder population is definitely underway.

In Alabama, we have two species of flounder, the Southern flounder and the Gulf flounder. Southern flounder get larger, have more muted colors and are more abundant in the bays and estuaries for most of the year. Gulf flounder have more vibrant colors and prefer waters with sandy bottoms.

Although research is being conducted, we don’t have definitive answers on why the flounder population plummeted in the 2010s, and we’re not taking all the credit for why those fish numbers are increasing now. We’re just happy they are.

One of the actions taken by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Marine Resources Division (MRD) to mitigate the downturn was

to protect spawning flounder. Flounder live in the bays and estuaries most of the year but migrate into the Gulf of Mexico in the fall to spawn. Those migrating fish were heavily targeted by fishermen, and MRD concluded that closing flounder fishing for the entire month of November would be the best course of action. It appears that move is paying dividends. Several years ago, the bag limit was also reduced to five per person and the size limit was increased to 14 inches total length.

MRD has commissioned Dr. Sean Powers at the University of South Alabama Marine & Environmental Sciences Department to conduct a flounder stock assessment to determine the health of the species.

In another effort to bolster the flounder population, the MRD’s Claude Peteet Mariculture Center in Gulf Shores is raising flounder fingerlings from broodstock and releasing those fingerlings at various points in

Photo by David Rainer

coastal estuaries.

MRD provides special permits for several inshore tournaments to capture live flounder to be used for broodstock at the mariculture center. Most flounder that reach the 14-inch minimum length are females. Most males don’t reach the 14-inch size limit, so MRD provides permits for anglers to bring in undersized and legal-size flounder alive. MRD provides tank trucks to collect the live, wild-caught flounder and transport them to the mariculture center. By exchanging those brood fish, it provides the genetic diversity needed to ensure the flounder population remains viable.

Once the fish are delivered to Claude Peteet, they are quarantined for three to four weeks to make sure they don’t bring parasites or bacteria into the facility. After the quarantine, the fish are introduced to the breeding population.

The hatchery staff facilitates the spawning process and then separates the good (fertilized) eggs from the bad (unfertilized) eggs. The viable eggs go into specially made containers called incubators to hatch out. The water temperatures in the incubators are kept at about 62.5-64.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

After hatching, the larval fish feed on a yolk sack until they form eyes and a working mouth to start feeding. Once they start feeding, the fish are moved into tanks with a much lower density of fish, transitioning from 1,000 fish to about 15 fish per liter of water. When the fingerlings reach 1 inch in length, MRD takes the brood to an estuary with the right water conditions and salinity and releases them into the wild. Last spring, MRD released more than 100,000 flounder fingerlings.

One of the great things about growing up on the Gulf Coast was the opportunity to head out into the shallow water in the spring and summer to gig flounder along the areas with sandy bottoms.

The best nights to grab your flounder light and gig are those with little to no wind to allow you to spot the fish a little easier. Flounder are masters at camouflage, so don’t be surprised if you spook a fish before you spot it. A rising tide also seems to be the best time to head out. A falling tide causes the fish to move into deeper water, which makes them harder to locate.

Plus, the deeper the water, the better your aim with the gig will have to be. The refraction of the light through the water’s surface gives the illusion the fish is farther away than it actually is. Therefore, aim low. I’ve also learned from experience that it’s best to keep your gig off the bottom while you’re searching because the fish can pick up those vibrations and spook.

If you have a successful gigging trip, flounder provides some of the best eating fish around with its mild flavor and flaky texture when cooked. It’s hard to beat fried flounder, either whole or fillets. When I want something different, I’ll take a 14- to 18-inch flounder, scale the fish before scoring it all the way to the backbone with a sharp knife in a diagonal pattern about an inch apart. I then take whatever seasoning I’m craving, from Tony Chachere’s to Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, and sprinkle liberally over the fish. Then I get the grill hot and place the fish on a doubled sheet of aluminum foil. When the fish flakes in the thickest area, I’ll add a few pats of butter or a drizzle of olive oil. Bon Appetit!

Of course, flounder are not the only great-tasting fish available in late May and June. The season for Alabama’s signature reef fish, red snapper, opens on Friday, May 26, 2023. The season will consist of fourday weekends, Friday through Monday, and continue until the private

angler quota is projected to be met.

As many saltwater anglers know, the Alabama private angler quota for 2023 was reduced by half for the 2023 season. The private angler quota was set at 558,200 pounds as a result of NOAA Fisheries’ calibration of the difference between state and federal harvest landing systems www. fisheries.noaa.gov/bulletin/final-rule-implement-two-framework-actionsgulf-mexico-red-snapper.

We have full confidence in the Alabama Snapper Check as a method to monitor shore, private vessel and state charter angler landings during the season. Weekly updates will be available at outdooralabama.com.

Despite the reduction, the 2023 quota is still more pounds of red snapper than was landed by private anglers during the 2022 season, which lasted until the end of the year. The size and bag limits remain unchanged at a 16-inch minimum total length and two-per-angler limit.

We are still pursuing other options to increase the quota. In the NOAA Fisheries final rule that implemented the calibration, there was an increase in the red snapper allowable catch limit (ACL) from 15.1 million pounds to 15.4 million pounds. The new overfishing limit was set at 25.6 million pounds, up 10.1 million pounds from 2022. We hope those new numbers will increase our quota.

Whether that happens or not, anglers should have ample opportunities to enjoy our great red snapper resources off the Alabama Gulf Coast this season.

If you can’t head out into Alabama’s vast artificial reef zone for red snapper, pick a good night to do some flounder gigging along the state’s beautiful sandy beaches.

What Does the Future Hold for Wild Turkeys?

Whether the decline is real or perceived, many states are making changes .

I began writing this article last June after participating in a meeting of commissioners and directors from six Southeastern states. The agenda contained 18 discussion topics that impacted the participating states. Not surprisingly, the number one topic was CWD, and we had a thorough discussion on it. Again, not surprisingly, after hearing status updates from each state, we found we are all following similar guidelines and promulgating similar regulations.

BY CHARLES “CHUCK” SYKES

Director of the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF)

Topic number two on the agenda was wild turkey decline and challenges. Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock should have a pretty good understanding of the ongoing

debates over the turkey population in our state as well as throughout the Southeast. The first time members of the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board (CAB) asked about issues with the turkey population was at the May meeting in 2013, only five months after I became director.

Later that same year, the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) brood survey results indicated recruitment rates at the lowest point in the past 24 years. So, WFF assembled a “Turkey Committee’’ consisting of WFF biologists, a biologist from the Alabama Wildlife Federation, a biologist from the National Wild Turkey Federation,

and researchers from the Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (ACFWRU) at Auburn University to discuss what was needed to make informed decisions on how to handle the perceived decline.

As a result of this collaboration,WFF commissioned a research project with ACFWRU at Auburn University in 2015 to gather scientific information on the status of Alabama’s turkey population. Fast forward six years and $3.4 million later, and the study was completed and presented to the CAB on March 6, 2021.

Combining the department’s historical data with the Auburn Study, WFF staff recommended to me a start date of April 1 for most of the state, a one bird bag limit for the first 10 days of the season, and kept a five-bird bag limit, and this is what I proposed to the CAB at the meeting.

The whole purpose behind the WFF recommendations was to delay the harvest of mature gobblers until closer to peak nest initiation, which is around April 16, to better ensure successful mating and egg fertilization. Over the past several years, Game Check data has shown that more than 50% of our harvest occurs during the first two weeks of the season. That is approximately one month too early. Our hypothesis is that reducing the number of gobblers taken early in the season will improve the reproductive opportunity of our turkey population.

After hearing the presentation, the CAB proposed to move the season forward five days to March 25. They also voted to reduce the bag limit to four birds per season and make the use of decoys illegal the first 10 days. Alabama isn’t the only state to make changes to the historical southern turkey seasons.

South Carolina started things off in 2020 by reducing their bag limit to three birds per season for residents and two birds for non-residents. In addition, they only allow for one bird to be harvested during the first ten days of the season.

Georgia was the next southern state to make changes. The 2022 season started on April 2, which is one week later than normal. The bag limit was reduced from three to two birds and only one bird per day.

Tennessee made the most progressive changes when the Commission voted in May of 2022 to move the opening day from April 2 to April 15 for the 2023 season. They also reduced the bag limit from three to two birds and only one of those can be a jake.

All of the new state regulations are founded on one hypothesis: Reduction of gobbler harvest in the early part of the season will increase the productivity of the population. It’s important to remember that we, WFF, don’t make knee-jerk reactions or make recommendations based on one year’s data. However, we can rely on trend data that can help guide our recommendations.

Let’s look at the past two years of Alabama Game Check data for the period of March 25 through April 3. I picked those dates because it was the new opening day for 2022 and 2023. From March 25, 2021, through April 3, 2021, 3808 hunters reported 4488 turkeys. During that same time frame for the 2022 season, 6062 hunters reported 7391 turkeys. During the first 10 days of the 2023 season 7845 turkeys were Game Checked by 6325 hunters. So, it is quite evident that simply moving the season opening dates didn’t accomplish the desired outcome of fewer gobblers taken out of the population prior

to peak nest initiation. It did, however, push harvest back a few days which is part of the goal. But was that push far enough?

What if we had followed South Carolina’s lead and gone to one bird during the first ten days of the season? We would have saved 680 birds (15.1% of the first 10 days harvest) during that time period of the 2021 season, 1,329 birds (17.9% of the first 10 days harvest) of the 2022 season, and 1,538 birds (19.6% of the first 10 days harvest) of the 2023 season. Are those percentages enough to slow the decline?

So, will Georgia see any reduction in harvest by moving the opener to April 2? Based on Alabama data, I’m betting no, but we will see soon enough. What about Tennessee with a starting date of April 15? I’m betting they will see a bump in recruitment if we are correct in our hypothesis.

More than 95% of the land mass in Alabama is privately owned, and similar percentages can be found in the other Southeastern states I’ve discussed today. State agencies can’t mandate proper management activities to improve turkey habitat. Therefore, the only course of action we have is to adjust the season and bag limit.

I want to commend all the directors and commissioners of the states, including Alabama, that have implemented steps to help slow the decline of turkeys throughout the southeast. Hopefully, hunters are going to support these decisions and know that they were made to protect the future of turkeys and turkey hunting. Next month, I’m going to dive into what I feel is the 800-pound gorilla in the room that very few will consider as one of the main reasons for the decline in turkeys. Stay tuned.

Power Up That Kayak

BY ED MASHBURN

Although it is one of life’s true pleasures, paddling a kayak gently, easily and quietly along a small stream or bayou, there are times when a more powerful and less strenuous propulsion system for a fishing kayak is a good thing.

When fishing far offshore in the open Gulf or way across the big lake or even working against a strong current flow of a river, a kayak angler sometimes needs a strong, reliable way to move the boat which doesn’t involve a paddle.

ELECTRIC POWER FOR A KAYAK

Gasoline powered small engines are not good choices for kayaks. There’s just too many moving parts, and there’s really no effective way to attach a gas motor to most kayaks, and it’s easy to see how a gas motor could present some serious safety and operation hazards.

From very early in the kayak fishing revolution, anglers knew that electric powered trolling motors were the way to go when preparing an auxiliary system for kayaks and there have been many owner-done trolling motor setups using traditional batteries for fishing kayaks. Some were done well,

and a lot were done poorly.

STANDARD OFF THE SHELF TROLLING MOTORS

Standard long shaft electric trolling motors have been adapted for kayak use for a long time. I’ve done this kind of home-rigging myself. It must be admitted that some of these “add-on” set ups work pretty well, but there are some undeniable problems with most standard trolling motors used for kayaks.

First, attachment points provided by most kayaks are not usable for most standard trolling motors. Some sort of secure, flat surface needs to be found or added so a standard trolling motor can be used.

Steering trolling motors used on kayaks is one of the biggest problems which is tough to solve. Steering a standard long-shaft trolling motor can require the angler to twist backwards to reach the steering handle and control, and this gets unpleasant quickly.

Even though it can be a bit of trouble to create an

Photos by Ed Mashburn

The Torqeedo system can put anglers offshore and in the big fish.

attachment point for a kayak to use a standard trolling motor, that’s not the biggest drawback which kayak anglers face when trying to set up a regular trolling motor for use on a kayak.

The biggest drawback? That battery. That big old fifty pound or so box which supplies the power is a real pain to locate in a kayak and to then secure.

Having to lug a standard 12 volt auto battery to the water defeats one of the primary advantages of a fishing kayak, which is easy launch and load. Finding a secure and well-balanced point to store the battery on a kayak is difficult.

Standard trolling motors are just not the perfect solution to the need for push on kayaks.

LIPO BATTERY SYSTEMS

There are so many advantages to electric powered kayak motors that it’s not an easy system to give up on.

Some smart people with a lot of technology and knowhow have come up with a power system and super-light motors and batteries that are amazingly good for kayak anglers.

In particular, Li-Po batteries can push a kayak over the water for hours and hours, recharge overnight, and push the kayak the next day for day after day.

In addition these batteries are remarkably light weight- and some even float.

These Lithium-polymer batteries were first developed in the 1970s, and have been very well researched and developed since then.

These modern trolling motor systems are truly a thing many kayak anglers should consider and two companies in particular have intriguing battery systems especially designed for fishing kayak use.

TORQEEDO

We have seen and used the German-based technology Torqeedo System on the water, and it works extremely well for those kayak anglers who need long distance travel with small effort.

The Torqeedo Ultralight 1103 AC unit weighs 15.3 kg complete with battery, provides the equivalent of three horsepower output, and the battery floats.

This impressive electric motor system comes with battery charger, throttle, onboard computer, GPS-based range calculations, and emergency magnetic skill switch. Of course, the powerful but very lightweight battery comes with the unit.

The Torqeedo Ultralight 1103 comes with the new Angler Mount with tilt and park mechanism plus simple integration with nearly all kayaks’ steering units.

This Torqeedo unit provides up to fifty km range, and the entire unit is completely waterproof.

I’ve used this system for fishing purposes, and it is an amazing set up. Price- $2,899.00 accessories extra

BIXPY

A recent but very interesting entry into the kayak power game is the Bixpy Company of Sand Diego, California. This company offers a power system for kayaks that looks to be quite adaptable and useful for a wide range of

kayaks. We spoke with Houman Nikanesh of the Bixpy company, and he offered us the following information.

When asked about the size of the Bixpy system battery Nikanesh said,” At the moment, we pair our motor with a smaller battery (PP-378) and larger battery ( PP-768). The motor itself weighs just over two pounds and the batteries weigh 7.3 pounds and 25.7 pounds respectively. The range the batteries provide really depends on the water conditions and if the user puts the pedal to the metal. But on average, the smaller battery will provide about seven to ten miles of distance and the larger battery about fifteen to twenty-two miles.”

Rigging the system to a wide range of kayaks is an important point for potential electric motor buyers to consider,

“We offer about twenty different adapters for various watercrafts and we’re constantly making more. By the end of 2023 we will have another three to four adapters on the market. We have fin box adapters, through hull adapters, rudder adapters, transom adapters, and a variety of specialty adapters for specific kayaks like the BonaFide Dry Pod adapter or the FeelFree Pod adapter or the Nucanoe adapter. In fact, we host a website dedicated solely to listing all the major brands and Bixpy Adapter that best fits those watercraft,” Nikanesh tells us.

As far as control of the unit goes, the Bixpy system offers twelve speeds forward and three reverse speeds. Both of the Bixpy batteries charge in about five hours. The larger battery has a much larger charger to allow for a quicker recharge cycle. The smaller batter runs for about an hour at full speed and up to eleven hours at trolling speed. The larger battery runs the motor for two hours at full speed and up to twenty-four hours at trolling speeds.

Price- $1199 accessories extra

Although neither of these motor and battery systems are cheap, they offer kayak anglers a world of range and fishing possibilities that were simply out of reach previously. Especially for anglers who take their kayaks into far-away places or who venture out on the big water, these lightweight marvels are very well worth a long look and consideration.

Contact Information

Bixpy LLC info@bixpy.com 1-866-249-7910

Torqeedo 1-815-444-8806 usa@torqeedo.com

Gulf Coast Fishing Outlook

BY CHRIS VECSEY

Summer is here! The weather is hot and so is the fishing. June is a prime month for big fish, with the majority of larger, migratory fish in the area and water temps being favorable for most species, both inshore and offshore.

MISSISSIPPI

Running and gunning will be a big deal this month, as tripletail begin stacking up around inshore debris and channel markers.

Tripletail will hang around any form of structure, floating or fixed, so it pays to inspect anything that can offer refuge to the ambush predators. Live shrimp, finger mullet and other small baitfish will work. Baits can be fished under a float or freelined.

Many artificials will take tripletail as well. Plastics like the DOA shrimp, Vudu Mullet and Matrix Shad are top picks and can be fished at various depths.

Cobia may be found around some of the same floating debris and gas/oil platforms further offshore. Cobia can be sight fished near the surface or fished deep with jigs and live baits.

Speckled trout and redfish will be thick around the barrier islands. The best fishing will be along beachfront troughs, points and any structures that hold ample amounts of bait.

Check tide tables and fish these areas during the first couple hours of tidal swings. These fish will be feeding on mullet, sardines and croakers and bait/lure choices should match. Lures with slightly larger baitfish profiles are usually best.

ALABAMA

Surf fishing is still hot through June along Alabama beaches. Pompano can still be found through the first half of the month but the action will slow as water temps creep closer to 80 degrees. Whereas pompano will slow down, there’ll still be plenty of whiting, spanish mackerel, speckled trout, redfish and several others to keep the action going.

The best locations will be inlets like Perdido Pass and the mouth of Mobile Bay, both at Fort Morgan and Dauphin Island. Bite times can vary, but low light hours like dusk and dawn are generally best.

Tim and Mitchell Payne cashing in on summer swordfishing!

Photo courtesy Chris Vecsey

Just offshore, mackerel will keep rods bent for nearshore trollers. Both king and Spanish mackerel will be in abundance and can be found in open water just off of the beaches or around wrecks/reefs and gas/oil platforms near Fort Morgan.

Pulling a spread of lures like spoons, diving plugs and cigar minnow/lure combinations will work. Mackerel can also be taken slow trolling live baits or drift fishing.

June marks the opening of gag grouper season. These bottom brawlers can be found on both artificial reefs and natural bottom structures. For bigger grouper and less “bycatch”, it’s best to fish deeper, natural bottom areas in depths of 200 feet or more. Live and dead baits along with various jigs, will take trophy gags.

Bluewater fishing will be on fire through June. Popular areas like the Nipple, Elbow, Spur and the Steps will be great spots to pull trolling spreads.

To know where to go, ask the experts in your local tackle shops and subscribe to an online satellite imaging service like Hilton’s RealtimeNavigator. Hilton’s will help you locate better water conditions and prevent anglers from running the wrong direction.

FLORIDA PANHANDLE

June means red snapper in the waters off of the Florida panhandle. Thousands of anglers will gear up and head offshore from panhandle inlets to target these popular reef fish.

Snapper can be taken on a wide range of baits and lures, but as the season progresses, terminal tackle may need to be downsized to elicit bites from heavily pressured fish.

Along the beaches, tarpon will be in ever growing numbers through the month. These legendary sportfish will be cruising just offshore and can be found rolling and tailing as they migrate to the west.

Tarpon can be caught with live baits like Lys (scaled sardines), cigar minnows and other live baits local to the beaches. They will also take large swimbaits like the Hogy protail.

Tackle for beachfront tarpon should be heavy, as these fish will average 80 pounds or better and many well into triple digits.

The Okaloosa County fish aggravating devices (FAD) will be popular trolling spots and action should be consistent with mahi, wahoo, billfish and both yellowfin and blackfin tuna. Check www.hiltonsoffshore.com for current water conditions around the FADs.

Trolling mixed spreads of surface lures and subsurface plugs will take a variety of pelagics around the FADs. Live baiting and jigging are also very productive around them.

Swordfish will be reliable targets around areas like the spur. The best action will be in depths of 1200-1500 ferret. During the day, baits should be fished deep, within 50-200 feet of the bottom. At night, swordfish will rise to the surface to feed and a spread of baits should be deployed from 100-400 feet deep. The best baits will be whole squid and bonito strips.

Contact Information

Hilton’s Realtime-Navigator www.hiltonsoffshore.com

Pier & Shore

Fishing Outlook

BY DAVID THORNTON

Summer-like weather prevails along the Emerald Coast long before the Solstice occurs on June 21st. Pier and shore anglers have learned to adjust to increasing heat and humidity as cold fronts become only distant memories. In the Gulf, water temperatures continually rise through the low to middle 80s this month, setting the stage for summer fishing at its finest.

Huge shoals of herring, sardines and other baitfish pervade the surfzone intent on spawning and seeking refuge from hungry predators. Baits are pressed from below by schools of ravenous mackerel, bluefish, red drum, and jacks, while pelicans, gulls and terns attack from above. The ensuing melee is a sight that sears into the memory of pier fishermen, enticing them to return each June and try their luck every day they can.

Scores of anglers stream onto the gulf beach piers each morning, even before dawn to stake their spot in hopeful anticipation of a good run of fish. As daylight spreads across the eastern sky, schools of hungry mackerel often push panicked bait schools before them. Sometimes baitfish even jump out of the water as predatory mackerel slash at them. Then in a silvery flash, a shower of silvery scales slowly sinking through the water column signals: the run is on!

Miles of empty white sand are interrupted only occasionally by a bay or inlet, or a pier. The beach piers offer a unique “oasis” along an otherwise nearly barren Gulf beach. These are the “reefs attached to shore” which attract all kinds of baitfish and predators alike. In anticipation all manner of anglers from near and far follow.

Since air and water temperatures are so mild, June is a good month to try wadefishing.

Photos by David Thornton

Pier anglers like Stephanie Langston live for king mackerel fishing in June.

The piers give land based fishermen opportunities to catch species often well out of reach from shore, including pelagics like mahi, blackfin tuna, and sailfish. On a “good day” for the pier fishers, numerous predators are keyed in on the baitfish trying to use the pier as a haven. Often all they have to do is put a bait in front of the fish, and the game is on! Live or dead bait, or artificial, it may not matter to the fish. Still, there are tried and true methods with better performance records that at times can make a difference.

LIVING IT UP

Each gulf pier attracts schools of different baitfish, but “cigar minnows’’ are the overall favorite. Live or dead, these scads will be eaten by something, though not always the intended species.

The first order of business is having a “king leader” tied on and ready to bait up and cast as soon as walking on the pier. Anglers who bring a box or bag of frozen cigar minnows have them already thawing out on their way to the pier. Some days a bite starts right away, other days it takes a while to get going, and sometimes it just doesn’t happen at all. That is pier fishing. But using a live bait on slow days can make a difference to get a finicky fish to bite. A frisky live bait can be hard for such fish to resist.

Most pier anglers carry a minimum of two or three rods for different purposes. The “king rod” is seven to nine feet long with medium heavy action and a fast taper. The reel is a 5000 or larger that holds at least 250 yards of 20 pound monofilament. The second combo is a “bait rod”, usually seven feet long, medium action with a fast taper. And the reel is about a 3000 size that holds around 200 yards of eight pound mono. This is the combo to usually tie a sabiki rig onto. The optional third rig is a seven or eight foot medium heavy action rod for tossing smaller live baits, jigs, or plugs intended for spanish mackerel, Little tunny (“bonita”), or “schoolie” king mackerel. The reel is a 4000 or 5000 series that holds 250 yards of 12 to 15 pound mono or 15 to 20 pound braided line. This is a very versatile combo that can catch a variety of fish when larger fish are not around.

THE LURE OF PIERFISHING

Basic lures used from piers tend to come in three sizes to match the general target species. Larger plugs and jigs intended for cobia, king mackerel, jack crevelle, tarpon, and other big game need a rod with plenty of length and backbone. This provides good casting range and power for hook sets, and preventing a large fish from diving under the pilings. The large reel and line capacity need to balance on the rod to complete the task.

Medium sized plugs weigh one to three ounces and have a length of four to six inches. The rod, reel, and line are scaled down versions of the heavier equipment to better target mid-range weight species like school kings, large spanish mackerel, bonita and such. Braided line is often utilized to get a little more casting distance and line capacity.

Small jigs and plugs, weighing less than an ounce and generally less than four inches long are used to target smaller bonita, spanish mackerel, pompano, bluefish, ladyfish (“skipjack” and blue runners (“hardtails”). Combos for this kind of work are like that of the “bait rod”, in the 6 to 10 pound class spinning tackle.

WADE FISHING FOR MORE SUCCESS

Since air and water temperatures are now so mild, June is a good month to try wadefishing. Whether to cast bottom rigs farther out from shore to reach pompano, or jigging to catch mackerel over the longshore sandbar, there is no doubt that wading will garner you

more fishable water.

There is also wadefishing to cast topwater plugs and suspending lures for speckled trout along the Gulf beaches of Alabama and Mississippi, or along the back bay shorelines of the Florida Panhandle. This method will provide you with much greater range to get a lure into deeper water or along drop offs where trout and other gamefish like to wait to ambush prey.

Speckled trout, slot-sized redfish and flounder feed primarily on small finfish along the coast. Mullet, LYs, “pogies” (menhaden), croaker, pinfish and other forage species make great live bait for the “inshore slam”. Artificial lures that imitate these baitfish work well too. Though exactly which ones work best is open to debate among wadefishing anglers. Everyone has their favorite “confidence bait” that works best for them in more situations than any other. Some even say lure fishing is 90% confidence and 10% hardware.

Meanwhile, the surf zone just off our sandy white beaches, will provide plenty of action for pompano fishermen using set rigs. But the bite is quickly becoming dominated with more and more bycatch as the water gets warmer and the days longer. Ladyfish, blue runner, spanish mackerel, and other species have crowded out the pompano for the most part. Anglers may clean up the bite a bit by fishing early and late in the day, and by making use of Fishbites in addition to, or in place of softer, totally organic bait.

June is still a great month for shorebound fishing. It offers anglers a wide variety of species options to target as they spend their great days outdoors.

REGIONAL FRESHWATER

Fishing Outlook

BY ED MASHBURN

June will bring some very nice bass on area lakes and rivers .

Photos by Ed Mashburn

FLORIDA WATERS APALACHICOLA RIVER SYSTEM

It’s getting hot in summer now, and anglers can expect to meet a wide range of freshwater species in the rivers and lakes of coastal Florida.

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 according to 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.

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

“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,” says veteran guide Jody Wells.

Bass at Seminole in June will average four pounds, with both 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.

ALABAMA WATERS

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

Spinnerbaits will be good early in the morning on Guntersville.

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. 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 WEISS

The cool spring weather will be leaving us, but the summer bite will just be getting started.

“After a great springtime top water bite, bass will still be found in shallow water. The first wave of bass, both largemouths and spots, will be moving off the shorelines and out into deeper water. Weiss is known for open water bass fishing. Anglers should use their electronics to locate old house foundations and other hard material structures in deeper open water,” said long-time Weiss guide Lee Pitts

For crappie fishing, anglers will want to work docks. There will still be few late spawners holding under docks, and anglers will have good luck shooting docks with jigs. 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.

LAKE EUFAULA

Captain Sam Williams Mid-South Bass Guide Service Captain Sam Williams said to look for the bass in June in and around cover and hydrilla patches.

“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.

The Eufaula crappie will be on ledges in June around brush piles. The crappie don’t leave the brush.

Trolling for crappie in open water around the deep brush piles can be very good for big crappie in June.

“Catfish will be red-hot in June and I like jug fishing using cut bait,” he said.

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 goo

“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,” he 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.

Dunn said, ”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 lake- bass will always be around these.”

For crappie, angler will want to look out in the main lake in deeper water. Most anglers troll for crappie using jigs, 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.

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.

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

“I like big chunks of cut skipjack or shad. Worms, chicken livers and even shrimp will work well for smaller catfish,” explained Captain Brian Barton, who has been connecting anglers with catfish for years.

“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. 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 fill up an ice chest 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,” Brandon Jackson of Riverside Fly shop.

Another good point of planning a trout fishing trip to the Sipsey in

June is a great month for some hot bream fishing.

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.

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

The water 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 according to Captain Wayne Miller.

Miller advised 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.

In June, anglers can expect a good early morning top water bite on big Spooks and big 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 also be good. 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.

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

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

PRIME FEEDING

This chart is specifically designed for fishing times in the Mobile/Tensaw Delta & other tidally influenced waters of South Alabama.

MOON TIMES June 2023

This chart is specifically designed for game movement for the state of Alabama & fish feeding times in non-tidal waters in the state. Inclement weather or rapidly changing temperatures can adversely affect feeding times. Moon Over & Under is the best feeding times for game animals & fish in non-tidal waters

Fowl River

Fort Morgan

Mobile River

Perdido Pass

Pensacola Bay

Destin East Pass

Navarre Beach

Pascagoula

KID'S CORNER TROPHY ROOM

Brodie Morgan killed his first turkey on the opening morning of the youth season in Baldwin County.

Jed DeFee with a nice whitetail buck!

Brayden Willis showing off his speckled belly geese aka “ribeye in the sky”

1ST Turkey

Hannah Clair Rossler holding up a pretty red snapper

Briggs & Carter Townley, ages 5 & 11, fishing in weeks bay with their dad, Darrell Townley. Best Catch of the day was a 22” Flounder!

Landon Hadley with a

Amberjack on a slick calm day in the Gulf of Mexico

Dealing with Sargassum and June Grass

BY WILLIAM KENDY

Sargassum is a brown colored seaweed that is not harmful to humans but if there is a large quantity on the beach, it rots it smells.

Slimy June grass shows up sometimes as early as April and disappears then reappears throughout the summer, commonly in June…thus the name. This algae isn’t harmful to humans but also smells as it rots.

Both make surf fishing a bit difficult.

Weldon Hall, owner of Sand Flea Outfitters in Destin, Florida, is an expert surf fishing guide well versed in dealing with June Grass and Sargassum. Here are some of his tips for dealing with pesky June Grass.

Hall advised anglers to do some scouting and avoid those areas with heavy grass concentration. He also said that a good wind tide combination to help move grass out helps and he prefers a north wind and an incoming tide that normally occurs early in the morning around first light.

Using a braid line helps cut the grass and using a single dropper doesn’t accumulate as much grass as a double dropper rig and he tries to stay away from swivels and tying knots instead.

“Don’t have your line run straight out as you normally would and leave a little “bow” in it and

some slack to allow the grass to work around it and let it go back and forth with a large accumulation,” he said.

Hall also pointed out there are a lot of beach cameras continuously filming the sand and water and they are under-utilized. He pointed out that it pays to access them to find areas with light or even no grass presence and make sure to check them consistently during the day.

Brandon Barton from Emerald Water Kayak Charters in Pensacola says he taps his fishing buddies and uses Facebook pages to see where June grass is a problem and steers well clear of that area.

He also said that it doesn’t hurt to fish the edges of a “grass bed” and that most surf fishermen would be surprised what it harbors.

Just another fishing wrinkle that the Gulf sends your way.

Contact Information

Sand Flea Outfitters & Surf Fishing Charters

Weldon Hall

(850) 974-7919

Destin, Florida

www.destinsurffishing.com

sandflea.850@gmail.com

Warming By the Fire Ants

To make matters worse, fire ants can sting multiple times, so it’s not enough that there are 250,000 in a mound, but each one stings more than once. What I’d like to know is whose job was it to figure that out? Probably the new guy. I can imagine how that went.

“Joe, we have a job for you. We’re going to put this fire ant down your shirt and you tell us every time you feel something. Ok, go. One, two, three . . . eight . . . twelve, hold on Joe, you’re jumping around too much. Are you clogging? Be still. Now look what you made me do, I’ve lost count. We need to start over.”

BY JIM MIZE

Fire ants are like taxes; there always seems to be more of them and no one likes them. In general, fire ants are less welcome than a kudzu salesman.

At least we are not alone in our opinions of them. Fire ants infest millions of acres in the southeastern states. With fire ants apparently making every effort to take over the world, it pays to know all you can about them. Though I can’t help much in this arena, I can at least help you have a chuckle at their expense.

For starters, one odd thing about the fire ant’s range is that it roughly coincides with the area where clogging is popular. Maybe this is no coincidence. Perhaps these people aren’t dancing, they’re stomping ants.

Fire ants are not originally from around here and it’s not just their accents that give them away. Supposedly, they slipped in from South America on nursery or agricultural products, probably poison ivy, coming in by boat. Ant historians figured this out because the sailors were seen dancing and swatting their ankles as they made port.

The range of the fire ant continues to expand. Entomologists estimate that fire ants move westward at a rate of 120 miles per year. If these scientists really wanted to be useful, however, they would concentrate on crossing fire ants with the highway department. Either our roads would be finished sooner or the spread of ants would be slower.

No one knows yet how far north fire ants will march. Scientists are unsure whether the ants are kept in the South by the temperatures or the hospitality.

Fire ants build mounds that measure up to three feet in diameter, eighteen inches in height, and contain up to 250,000 ants. Talk about cramped. This could explain their bad mood.

To locate a site for their mounds, fire ants prefer areas exposed to the sun, providing one more good reason to fall asleep in the shade.

When fire ant mounds are disturbed, the ants swarm to the surface and sting their victims. Everyone knows this. Yet it is virtually impossible to walk by one of these mounds without kicking it, even when there are 250,000 good reasons not to.

Fire ants have a varied diet. They feed primarily on insects and plant seeds, and secondarily, on feet, legs, and anything protruding from open-toed shoes.

“What? No, you can’t quit, not without a two-week notice. We should be done with the study by then. Just a couple hundred more ants so we can get a good average.”

Other studies have shown that each year as many as 58% of those in infested areas are stung and a high percentage of those stung are kids. This makes a lot of sense, if for no other reason than the kids are easier to reach.

Kids are not the only ones, however, bothered by ants. In the wilds, fire ants may have an adverse impact on nesting birds, turtles, and frogs. I would think turtles get the worst of it. They are close to the ground, have twice as many legs to bite, and could never outrun anything moving west at 120 miles per year. They don’t even know how to clog.

For those of you in infested areas, experts recommend a few precautions to avoid stings. First, wear socks. Second, avoid opentoed shoes. Third, try constantly moving west, preferably at least 130 miles per year.

If you are stung, elevate the affected limb and apply cold compresses to reduce the swelling and pain. It also helps to moan a lot and elicit all the sympathy you can. With a little luck, you might be able to finagle a pair of closed-toe shoes.

To remove fire ants from your yard, you have several options, including insecticide sprays, granules, or stomping 250,000 times.

Fire ants also have a significantly negative impact financially. For instance, homeowners spend millions per year in fire ant control. And in some areas, fire ants have just about killed the sale of open-toed shoes.

All this sounds somewhat bleak. Fire ants are numerous, spreading rapidly, and bite vociferously. Luckily, fire ants do have their own predators. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, for instance, has tests underway using phorid flies to control these ants. The phorid fly essentially does this by decapitating the fire ants. This study has a lot of support from those who would like to get even.

In parting, you might be interested to know that the fire ant gets its name from the burning sensation of its sting. Either that or it’s because they spread like wildfire and they’re hard to stomp out, leaving way too many of us warming by the fire ants.

JIM MIZE is a victim of fire ants, one with overwhelming sympathy for turtles. Jim’s new book, The Jon Boat Years, is now available at uscpress.com/The-Jon-Boat-Years or you can order autographed copies at www acreektricklesthroughit com

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FISH LIKE THE BOAT’S ON FIRE.