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FEATURES
11 Springtime Get Ready For Your Boat
5 Bobber Jigging For Shallow Water
by Ken McBroom
Slabs
Floating a jig with a bobber can be deadly on those big slabs prowling the shallows to spawn. by Ken McBroom
12Early Spring Flatheads
These tips will help you this spring put more and bigger flatheads in the boat this spring. by Ken McBroom
13 Locating Bass Before They Spawn
Largemouth bass will use migratory routes to their spawning flats. Find out how to intercept those big females while other anglers pound the banks. by Ken McBroom
18Heavyweight Pike On Lightweight
Tackle
Catching big northern pike on light tackle is a blast but it takes a little finesse. by Johannes Bulfin
11Building Your Own Crappie Attrac-
tors
Simple ways to atttract more crappie to your fishing hole.
11Springtime Turkey Fever
There is no better cure for cabin fever than turkey fever. by Ken McBroom
Tips for preparing your boat for another great fishing season.
11 Tent Camping In The Rain
Rain is enevitable in the spring. Here are a few tips to make your camp dry when the raindrops fall.
DEPARTMENTS
Bobber Jigging Deadly On Shallow Water Slabs Springtime is here and the crappie are on the banks. Most people will employ the ever popular minnow and bobber. There are those however that prefer to use artificial only presentations and for those this technique could be of interest. Early spring is a great time to be on the water in search of crappie. Crappie tend to take up residence in some impenetrable brush that can be hard to present a crappie jig effectively, without hanging up. These brush piles can be tough to fish but they also tend to hold a lot of crappie because it is so hard to fish and many anglers just do not risk hanging up to fish the thickest part of the brush leaving behind a gold mine for the bobber jiggers. Many of you have probably heard of or read about the float and fly technique, a great presentation for lethargic smallmouth bass when the water is cold. This same method is deadly on springtime crappie whether they are active or not. A crappie tube or grub is tied below your favorite bobber at a depth that fits the situation. Usually in the spring
the crappie can be found in one to two feet of water unless a cold snap hits then the crappie are still there just back out a little deeper to find them. You might have to use a slip bobber in this situation but it works just the same. When bobber jigging in deep water you should pull the bobber toward you then allow it to sit. The first sign of a bite set the hook as the crappie will spit the jig quickly if it doesn’t taste right. This is one time you should not wait until the bobber goes under to set the hook like when fishing live bait. This method works great but this article is directed more to the shallow crappie in thick cover. Slip bobber jigging is another presentation that deserves its own article to fully explain it and I will touch on that in the future when the crappie begin to suspend in deeper water. For now let’s talk about bobber jigging in thick shallow brush. You can see the rig in the image above. Simple right? It is, but this rig can do many things important to catching a limit of crappie from heavy cover. Normally the jig is set only one to two feet from the bobber. When the crappie are moving up they are usually in water this shallow but even if they are four to six feet deep they will come up and get it as long as the color and size is right which is very important. The size of the jig you use can usually be determined by two things. Water temp. and size of crappie your lake produces. I have caught some slabs on tiny tubes but to catch numbers you should adjust the size accordingly. As for color it has been my experience that a certain color seems to just work better on certain lakes. You probably already know what color works best on your home waters and if not just experiment with many different colors until you find that magic combination. On one of the lakes I fish red flake body with chartreuse tail is the ticket. Sometimes it is a tube and sometimes it is a curly tail. It all depends on what the crappie want that day. Usually
the tube works best when the fish are a bit sluggish after a cold front while the curly tail grub works best when the fish are active. Now finally the benefits of bobber jigging over just a straight jig. The beauty of bobber jigging for crappie is the ability to place your tube or grub smack in the middle of the thickest brush but from a distance. The amount of water that covers the brush determines the depth you should set your jig or tube. You want your jig to penetrate the brush without getting hung up. Crappie will come up and get a well placed jig especially when it is jigging in the same spot for several seconds and this can be accomplished with the bobber and jig combo. My favorite way to bobber jig is to throw into thick brush placing the jig into a hole in the brush. I let the jig soak in this hole for a few seconds. Many bites come on this pause, especially if the color is right, without ever moving the jig. After a few seconds you should twitch the bobber ever so slightly. Many times the crappie will strike as soon as the jig jiggles. If the fish are sluggish you may want to twitch and pause in this spot for up to a minute before moving to the next hole in the brush. No need to reel in and cast. This rig allows you to pull the jig out of that hole and place it in another. By pulling steady the jig will glide up and over the limbs allowing you to set the jig in another hole in the brush where you can begin the twitch pause sequence again. A 10’ cane pole or crappie pole works great for this technique and is loads of fun. This technique is very effective for springtime crappie and can help you catch crappie that other angler may not have even tried for. Presenting your jig from a distance is key when the crappie are so shallow. The bobber allows you to present your jig vertically and keep it there indefinitely allowing for a slower presentation. Pulling the jig from one hole in the brush and presenting it to another takes some practice but can be mastered in no time. Another great thing about this rig is that you can use a very light jig head. The weight of the bobber allows you to cast or pitch from a distance and the selection of bobbers on the market today can definitely help adjust for some very long cast. The lighter jighead makes it easier to move it from one hole to another as it will lift in the water much easier as you pull the bobber toward you. Be sure to drop the jig in the hole and
not the bobber as the jig is trailing the bobber and will hang on the limbs you are attempting to clear. Springtime crappie fishing is a popular pastime in the midwest and the lakes can become fairly crowded with anglers probing the very brush piles that you plan to fish. Bobber jigging can be your ace in the hole and will help you pull crappie from seemingly impenetrable brush that has been pounded for hours before you even get there. Be patient and learn this technique this spring. You won’t be disappointed.
Spring brings some of the most exciting fishing of the season and crappie is one of the most sought after panfish for good reason. Crappie taste great, are plentiful and usually easy to catch. Here are some tips to catch more crappie this spring using the bobber and jig technique that works great and allows you to cover more water which will help in your search for those scattered slabs.
• Using a fixed float allows you to cover more water without worrying about the jig slipping through your bobber but when the slabs move out due to conditions a slip bobber is the way to go. • When crappie are super tight in the cover the bobber jigging technique is great for allowing your jig to linger in the strike zone long enough to entice a bite and helps to probe tiny holes in the cover without hanging up. • Experiment with colors, styles as well as size jigs and don’t hesitate to tie on a tiny ice fishing jig. Sometimes micro is the way to go.
Early Spring Flatheads Spring is just around the corner and so is good fishing. There is a growing number of catfish anglers around the country and many enjoy chasing big flatheads when the water starts to warm up. These tips will help you this spring put more and bigger flatheads in the boat but remember keep the small ones to eat and release those big mommas so they can continue the cycle. SMALL WATERS FIRST: You can extend your flathead catfish fun if you focus on small bodies of water first. The smaller lakes and streams will warm up a lot faster than larger bodies of water. Keep track of water temps on your area waters and when the surface temps reach the 50’s the flathead catfish begins to feed-up for the upcoming spawn. These small waters, that have flathead catfish in them, is your best bet early and they can warm up weeks before larger waters. Extend your flathead fun with this tip and remember as the small water flatheads begin to spawn and refuse to bite those big waters are just getting warm enough for more flathead action. AMBUSH POINTS: Flathead catfish are known to be buried in thick cover but during early spring flathead catfish love ambush points to gorge on baitfish and worms and any other food that washes by. Look for flathead catfish to position themselves in current breaks behind boulders or around channel swings in the creek, river or stream. A real good spot to find early spring flatheads is at the mouth of incoming creeks. Flathead catfish will hang in the slack water next to this moving water waiting to engulf any type of food that washes by.
have much slower metabolism. Flathead catfish, like other fish, know from instincts how much energy it will use to first catch the prey and then to also digest that prey. You can increase your bites during the early spring by downsizing your bait. Cut-bait will also work on early spring flathead catfish. It seems that the best way to present cut-bait to flathead catfish is throwing into moving water allowing the bait to wash into slack water where the flathead lies in wait to ambush its prey. Flathead catfish, that are in these ambush spots, will engulf the cut-bait without knowing it is dead so take advantage of this during your early spring flathead hunts. UP THE CREEKS: Flathead catfish, more than any of the other catfish species, seek calm water. If you hunt flathead catfish on big rivers flatheads will migrate up smaller tributaries to get out of the turbulent flow from the snow melt and early spring rains. These tributaries may be flowing strong but they will have less turbulent water and more ambush points to hide behind. There have been many big flathead catfish caught in very small tributaries during early spring. They are there you just have to believe and search for them and it is great fun pulling a 30 pound flathead out of a creek 50 feet across. STEEP BANKS: During your hunt for early spring flatheads look for steep banks. Flatheads will move up to feed-up in preparation for the spawn and they will do this near spawning areas. Flathead catfish spawn in holes that they can protect. Steep banks that have large boulders, root wads and even mud that the flathead can dig into is where many of the flatheads in lakes will spawn. Flatheads will spawn in brush in shallow water but the steep banks with a lot of available cover will attract a larger number of flathead catfish. Fish these banks or nearby flats where dead shad, from the winter kill, wash in during early spring. This is another reason cut-bait will work on flatheads in the spring as they are focused on these dead shad this time of year. These are just a few tips on catching more flathead catfish during the early spring season. I hope this helps you think outside the box when it comes to hunting flathead catfish. These tips are just a starting point for you to help you think about the possibilities you might not have thought of before. I love to hunt flathead catfish and it took these tips from much better flathead anglers than me to help me extend my flathead season. Good luck this spring and get out there a little sooner this year and let me know how you did.
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Turkey Fever
There is no wonder so many folks have caught the turkey fever across America. Turkey fever has become the remedy to cabin fever for many outdoors people and for good reason. There are few things greater than to see a big gobbler strutting along a ridge-top on a cool spring morning especially if they are heading your way. The woods is greening up and the birds are singing as you hit the slate lightly to keep them coming and two of the old strutting toms let out a gobble then swell back up. Another begins to spit and drum as they slowly approach. Getting outdoors after a long winter can be exhilarating but add the above mentioned and you have the ultimate cure for cabin fever. This article will touch on a few tips and tactics to filling your tag this season and finally get springtime rolling in the right direction.
Locating The Gobblers: Locating gobblers is a whole other lesson to learn and time in the woods is your best teacher but here are a few things to consider when you are trying to locate gobblers. There are owl calls, crow calls, and gobble calls and any of these will shock a turkey into gobbling and it is important to carry all of the above calls. One of the calls may fail to work at all or sometimes a turkey will just stop responding to a call if you use it too much but a different call could fire them back up. I use a crow call, a gobble call and a big maglite flashlight as my shock calls. Yes you read that right my favorite shock call for locating gobblers is a big maglite that I hit on the side of my aluminum jon boat as I search along the shoreline for active birds. I usually always hunt public land and most have lakes around them so I use a jon boat to access the turkeys.
The flashlight method works great and I have used it all times of the day and it will get a gobble when other calls won’t. I do use the crow call once I have located some gobblers and I leave the boat to try to “get in their way.” I will crow call to the turkeys once I’m in a position where I think one more gobble should line me up with their route and then I set up and wait several minutes before I begin to call with my box call or slate. I try to refrain from using the gobble call unless I just can’t get the gobblers to respond to anything else. It seems as though the gobble call can spook some turkeys especially a young tom. The gobble call will also call other hunters and that’s no good. The gobble call even when it works can pose another problem. Turkeys have keen eyesight and the last thing you want or need is a big mature tom actually looking for you and the gobble call will pinpoint your position and you become the hunted. To Call Or Not To Call: Many turkey hunters love their calls and they should it is a big part of the
hunt and to some more important than harvesting a turkey. I have hunted with guys that had every call known to man, and knew how to use them all, and I have hunted with guys that only used a box call or only used a slate call. I’m not a great caller but I always seem to get one into range when I hunt and all I use is a box call and a Turkey Thugs® glass call. I say this only to make the point that calling a turkey can be as simple or as complicated as you want and I would say that under some circumstances the hunter with a call in his mouth, one on his knee and a push/ pull call strapped to his shotgun will be more successful but for the most part simplicity rules, at least for me. Oftentimes not calling at all is the best decision when hunting highly pressured gobblers. An old timer once told me, when I first started turkey hunting, that if you could determine which way the gobblers were traveling you would eliminate 80% of the calling. If you are able to quickly decipher the terrain or you already know the terrain that you’re hunting you can usually tell where the turkeys will be traveling. Setting up near where the turkeys will be makes calling them to you much easier and with much less calling. Just remember that most often if a gobbler responds once to your call he has you pinpointed and is probably heading your way so keep this in mind before over-calling and sending him the other direction. Decoys Or Not? Again this is a question that gets about as many yea votes as nay. Personally I like to use decoys. They give me confidence and I just like to use them; however, all of the old timer turkey hunters I have ever hunted with snickered when I pulled out my decoys before a hunt. I always left them behind when I hunted with these guys because I knew they knew what they were doing and I usually harvested a gobbler without the hassles of setting up decoys. These guys suggest that decoys are just a hassle and exposes you to an interested gobbler way too much. To set up decoys they have to be in sight of the turkey you’re calling therefore you must expose yourself and possibly spooking a gobbler without even knowing it. We were mostly hunting pressured turkeys and these guys really believe that these turkeys are way too smart to put out a plastic replica to fool it. Again I like to use decoys myself and it’s a personal preference. Maybe one day, when I’m a bit wiser turkey hunter or a better caller, I too might leave the decoys behind but for now they are a part of my system.
If you do use decoys there are a couple setups that has done well for me over the years. I always carry two hen decoys and a jake decoy. I rarely use the jake decoy and here is why. Hen decoys will do the job 90% of the time. If the area I’m hunting has a lot of jakes running around then I don’t want to set up the jake decoy. It seems to spook other jakes. On the other hand if I am seeing a bunch of mature gobblers then I might set up the jake decoy with the two hens. A strutting tom decoy is a great way to bring in a mature gobbler looking for a fight but since I am not a trophy tom hunter and enjoy harvesting jakes as well as gobblers, I just never use a strutting decoy for fear of running off the jakes. There is one trick that works well when you think the turkeys are decoy shy. Sometimes after the turkeys have seen several decoy set-ups and barely survived a couple they can really shy away from decoys. If this is happening in your hunting area try using a burlap sack or camo mesh to cover the decoys until you need them. Tie a length of fishing line to the sack or mesh and If you have the gobblers coming without showing the decoys then great but
as soon as they hang up out of gun range just slowly pull the string uncovering your decoys to see if they will come on in. If you use a stationary blind this is also a great way to leave your decoys set up for the next hunt. You don’t want turkeys seeing your decoy set while you’re not there so just cover them when you leave. Now you can ease into your blind and pull the string to uncover your decoys without exposing yourself to nearby roosted gobblers. You might need to place a couple rocks on your cover to keep the wind from blowing them off. Turkey hunting has always been my cure for cabin fever and this season after the long winter I can’t wait to get out there. Some say that a long winter will delay the turkey breeding and if that’s the case the second half of this season should be the best. So get out there and enjoy a great turkey hunt and take a kid along. Turkey hunting is a great way to hook a youngster on hunting for life. Good luck.
Article And Photos Johannes Bulfin
Recently I was out fishing with my younger brother. We were spin fishing for perch and pike on the River Shannon in Ireland. The problem is that Perch and Pike are very different fish (although both are predatory) and require different approaches to catch each species successfully. For example when targeting pike one should use sufficiently strong line, rod and reel accompanied by a wire trace and generally large bait or lures. Perch on the other hand respond much better to a delicate approach of light rod and thin lines along with small spinners and jigs fished without a metal trace. PERCH WITH SPINNER IN ITS MOUTH Quite often though a large pike will fancy snatching at something more bite sized that was intended for perch. This will usually result in the lure being bitten clean off the line and the pike being left with a lure in its mouth, not a desirable outcome for either party. On this particular day though, a large pike
grabbed my brothers little perch spinner (a Mepps 2) and got itself hooked right on the edge of its mouth. This meant we were in for a long and nervous fight as my brother played out a pike of at least 15lb on 4 lb line, needless to say the rod and reel were tiny too. The fish surged around ripping line off the reel and pretty much doing whatever it wanted, thankfully however there didn’t seem to be any snags in the area and my brother was able to play out the fish until it could be netted. His relief was immense! PICTURE OF EDDIE HOLDING PIKE This incident reminded me of the fact that my largest ever pike (around 25lb) was also caught on tackle intended for perch! I was using a light rod and 6lb line. Again there was no trace on the line. I am not advocating using tackle that is too light to deal with the intended quarry nor am I saying not to use a trace when fishing for species that are easily capable of biting through your fishing line.
What I am saying though is; that clearly the delicate presentation was enticing to even big fish and this is worth remembering. Often when I am targeting pike I find myself using big baits and big lures, this makes sense as big fish are what I am after. However in the process the presentation of the bait often suffers. So what we want to do is find the balance between the best possible presentation while still having strong enough tackle to deal with the fish we intend to catch. Personally in the near future I am going to experiment with some traces and leaders that are intended for fly fishing for pike. This is because these wires are supple, thin and can even be knotted easily. I usually use only one treble hook these days, this was because I witnessed a loose extra treble hook embed itself deep into a friends hand whilst unhooking a pike. One hook also gives better presentation if you are using a small bait fish.
PICTURE OF ME HOLDING PIKE! Using well balanced and well-presented baits and lures will also make your fishing much more enjoyable. You would be surprised at the number of times I have met anglers using beach-casting rods beside a trout stream and wondering why they are catching nothing?
PICTURE OF ROACH WITH TREBLE HOOK In the above photo we can see good and bad points of what I am trying to illustrate. The good points are that the setup is very simple; the bait fish has simply been threaded onto a wire trace and a hook added. The trace is tied directly to the main line. This is ideal for fishing over shallow, weedy water because the bait won’t sink quickly and can be retrieved and wobbled back enticingly. This is a deadly method of taking pike. It also however demonstrates a failure in the fact that the hook is too large, this might cause the bait to wobble unsatisfactorily or simply put a fish off. Interestingly I used this method and caught a pike less than half the size of my brothers, just goes to show that bigger isn’t always better!
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Your Own Build There are several reasons to make your own bass jig but one being that you can create jigs that the bass are not familiar with. Whether it be the materials used or the profile created bass do get conditioned to the off the shelf products that most anglers throw at them. This is an important aspect of creating your own bass jigs but my favorite reason is that it is so much fun. I spent many years fly fishing and not only tied my own flies but also sold flies throughout Alaska. When I started bass fishing again I found it hard to give up fly tying. I built a fly tying desk and set up all my tools and books but it all just gathered dust until one cold winter day I decided to dust it all off and work on creating a jig that was different and hopefully catch more bass come spring. It felt good to put those tools, my long lost friends, back to work. Since that day, several years ago, more and more companies have recognized that anglers like to create their own jigs. With this recognition came products that allow a nearly endless array of skirt materials, jigheads, rattles, paint or powder coatings. It’s amazing what flexibility these products allow for the angler to design a jig that not only helps them through the winter but also catches fish. The following is tips on how to build and enjoy your personally created bass jigs this spring. Jigheads: A custom designed jig starts with the jighead. There are many choices for sure but the jighead you use will be determined by the type of fishing you do. Do you fish for smallies when the water is still a bit chilly? If so you might choose a ball style jighead which is great for fishing vertically for suspended fish or in a float-n-fly presentation that is so effective for those cold water smallmouth. You might want a football head for rocky points or an arkie style head for heavy cover. I like to fish a football head jig in heavy cover for just the reason you’re not supposed to and that is because the head sticks to wood easily. I like to flip my jig into very heavy cover and work the jig through the brush until it gets stuckthen yo-yo the jig in that spot. I can hear the knocks as I hammer the jig into the wood cover over and over. I have watched many bass come from out of nowhere to hammer the jig even right on the surface. This is just one example of coming up with a custom jig that relates best to your fishing style and I have only talked about the head so far.
Skirts: Jig skirts come in so many colors you could never use all the color combinations available. There are many types of materials as well. The old deer tail hair, squirrel tail hair or calf hair are all still great skirt materials and probably always will be. Other materials that have been around the fly tying world a long time consist of tinsel, flashabou, marabou and other synthetic materials that can lend the angler an endless array of possibilities. There are silicone skirts that are your standard skirt material but living rubber adds bulk and action that silicone can’t. The downside to rubber is they can breakdown when stored in a box for very long so I always just build
a few living rubber jigs when I think they might be needed, that way I don’t have too many stored away. Another great skirt material is the frog hair skirts which are fine cut silicone that maintains a small profile on the fall but still gives you that strike provoking flair when it hits the bottom. Frog hair moves easily with the current and is great skirt for cool water or anytime a more finesse type presentation is needed such as on highly pressured waters. As you can see the options are almost endless. Check out fishingskirts.com for quality components to build your custom jigs. Fishingskirts.com has everything you need to build your jigs and punch skirts and everything they offer is of the highest quality and priced right check them out. Rattle or silent: There are plenty of rattles to choose from. I don’t throw a jig without a rattle but it is definitely a personal preference. Rattles come in all types, shapes and sizes but for a jig there are a few standard rattles you can add to your jig a few different ways. One such rattle has a band just like the skirt band and slides over the flare collar and is retained there with the band. This is a great way to fix a rattle to your jig.
Jigs My favorite rattle is a rattle made by Northland Fishing Tackle called the Buck Shot Strap Rattle. The strap has a knob on the end and allows you to tie the rattle in on your jig. You can either tie it in as you tie in your skirt or wait until the skirt is secure and go over the thread wraps to secure the rattle. This not only ensures your rattle will last the life of the jig but the wire wrap only adds to the durability of the skirt tie.
As you can see there are so many options and products to make your own bass jigs. These are just a few examples of your options but many more exist. There are swim jigs, punch skirts and flare bands to name a few. This article was to familiarize you with the options that exist and get you thinking about building your own jigs. There are a few tools you will need to build custom jigs. The list is short and can be very inexpensive. Websites like fishingskirts.com and others can provide you with all the tools and materials you need. Have fun and catch more bass.
STEP 1: The first step to tying your own bass jig is laying in the skirt materials and securing them with thread or wire. I like heavy thread but sometimes use light gauge wire. I use wire to secure the rattle as you will see in step 5. Tying bass jigs requires at least some basic fly tying tools and knowledge to tie a quality jig. This is where you will lay in strands of flashabou or tinsel if you want. Secure your jig skirt wraps with epoxy or fly head cement. There are many other glues that work and a quick google search will give you those options. STEP 2: Trim your skirt if you use a pre-made skirt tab for your jig. To separate the rubber or silicone fibers pull the strands tight before trimming. You can use single strands to build a more custom mixture of fibers. I usually add flashabou and tinsel for custom colors. You can also use pre-made jig skirts and just add a couple different skirt colors for your jig. You can trim your jig skirt at this point to the desired length but I leave the jig skirt full length until I’m on the water unless I’m tying the jig for a particular tournament or day on the water. STEP 3: At this point you should decide if you want a rattle or not. If you do decide to tie a rattle to your bass jig there are two places you could tie it in, either up on the head collar or below the jig skirt on the trailer keeper. A great rattle to use is Northland Fishing Tackle strap rattles. These rattles have a strap that is perfect for tying onto your jigs. These rattles still have enough strap left to allow the rattle to wiggle, creating a great rattle sound.
STEP 4: Use some wire to tie the jig skirt out of the way so you can tie the rattle onto the jig. You can see in the photo to the right there is a little trailer keeper barb exposed to add a trailer to the jig. You can also see how the strap rattle is tied onto the jig with plenty of strap left to allow it to really rattle as you drag it through the cover.
Rubber Boot Repair There’s nothing worse than ripping a gash in your rubber hunting boots during your hunt especially if you have to wade creeks to access your favorite hunting areas. With turkey season just around the corner now is the time to check your rubber hunting boots to see if you have any leaks. This is a simple but effective way to repair your expensive rubber hunting boots and help you save a few bucks and you can pack the patch material in your pack and it will work to get you back to camp where you can do the complete repair explained in these directions.!
ITEMS TO REPAIR RUBBER BOOTS
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Tear-Aid produces many types of repair patches. Type B shown here is for vinyl repairs. They make a patch strictly for rubber but the vinyl sticks fine to rubber boots. Make sure the boots are clean and dry by wiping with an alcohol pad that you can pack with the patch material. You will cut the patch material to extend an inch beyond the damage all the way around. If there are any seams within this area trim the patch so it doesn’t extend over that seam which can compromise the patch and cause leaks. !
CLEAN DAMAGED AREA
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Once you have your patch material trimmed to shape remove the backing and place onto your rubber hunting boots. Be sure to lay the patch evenly over the damage making sure not to have any voids. When the patch is cleanly attached with no wrinkles or bubbles then use your finger to push the patch firmly onto your damaged rubber hunting boots. !
PLACE PATCH OVER DAMAGE
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After the patch is securely on the boot then use something like a knife handle or penny to firmly press the patch or burnish the patch to get max adhesion and to remove all air. Use your free hand to press from inside the boots to allow for max pressure while doing this. Now apply your shoe goo thinly over the patch. Using your finger or another toll spread the goo thinly over the patch. Make sure your spread the goo 1/4 to 1/2 inch beyond your patch. Once this dries apply a second and then a third layer of shoe goo to your repair. !
APPLY SHOE GOO OVER PATCH
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WILDGAME COOKING
great recipes and more
Crappie Chowder Gumbo I remember, as a young boy, watching Julia Child’s cooking show. There was one particular show that would cause me to only eat fried fish. In the show Julia was making Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise. I was motivated to try a fish chowder after viewing her show and knew if I didn’t like it my wife would. Coincidentally this recipe has become one of my favorite dishes and was derived from surfing the web for fish chowder recipes and as usual I added a little here and there to fit my taste more closely and I encourage you to do the same. The name suggest gumbo but I added the word gumbo because I added the smoked sausage which really adds to the chowder that personal flavor I mentioned so you can leave it out for a more traditional chowder if you like.
Ingredients
*1 lb crappie fillets, or other firm white fish, tilapia works great, cut into 2-inch pieces *1 ½ cups heavy cream (warm separate before adding to pot) *3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes *1/2 lb smoked sausage cut ¼ inch thick rounds *2 medium yellow onions, chopped *2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley *1/2 lb imitation crab meat *1 teaspoon dried thyme *1/2 cup dry white wine *2 cups clam juice *Olive oil *Salt & pepper to taste *Flour
Directions: In a large pot add a little olive oil and white wine and bring up to a boil. Now add the onions
and simmer until translucent. Next add potatoes and enough water to cover and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and allow potatoes and onions to simmer while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Maintain water level in the pot as the potatoes and onions cook. Now, in a skillet, sear the smoked sausage and set aside. You can add each ingredient to the pot as you go or set them aside while the potatoes and onions simmer. I like to sear my sausage even if it is fully cooked out of the package. It not only heats them up before adding to the pot but it also leaves those flavorful crumbs in the skillet. These crumbs are packed with flavor and are left in the skillet when preparing the roux. The sausage is what made me add gumbo to the name and prompted the making of the roux. The Roux: This step is one I added and while it is a roux it isn’t a dark roux like you would make for gumbo. This roux is used to help thicken the soup a little and again I think it helps with the ease of just adding water to get the proportion right at the end and still maintain a thick soup that will continue to thicken as it simmers. I did find recipes that called for a blonde roux so there is such a thing as a white roux but this is how I make the roux for my Crappie Chowder Gumbo. In the same skillet you seared the sausage, along with the little bit of fat and crumbs, add about a tablespoon of olive oil and another tablespoon of the white wine. Now pour a little clam juice in for taste. You can use water in place of the wine if you prefer. Bring the liquid to a boil then introduce the flour slowly as you stir. Stir in enough flour to create a thick roux the proportion being about the size of a golf ball. This roux not only thickens the chowder but it also grabs all that sausage flavor and adds it to the chowder as well. Cook the roux only until the flour taste is gone or if you don’t want to taste the flour just cook until thick and until it takes a light yellow color. Add a little olive oil if needed to get the amount you want.
The Cream: In a sauce pan slowly warm the heavy cream just until hot then turn off the heat. It is import-
ant to warm the cream before adding it to the pot. If you add the cream cold it will separate and curdle and you will not have a creamy chowder. This is especially important if you choose to use a light cream or milk for your chowder. Most chowders call for just the cream and clam juice but since I use the water that the potatoes and onions are cooked in I like to use heavy cream and it works great. I just add water at the end if I need more soup.
Putting it all together: By now the potatoes and onions are tender do not strain. Slowly pour the warm
heavy cream into the pot while stirring. Now add the sausage. Allow the heat to come back up to a simmer and then add the rest of the clam juice. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by an inch or so and allow to come back up in temperature. Now is a good time to add the spices. The imitation crab meat is fully cooked and can be added now and stirred into the chowder. Now add the crappie and stir. The light meat of the crappie takes the least amount of time to cook so I add it last. The fish will break apart unless you have some really thick chunks but that’s OK. Once the chowder has simmered for a few minutes add the roux in small amounts and stir. Wait a minute or two before adding more because it takes a minute for the thickness to show itself. Add roux until the desired thickness is reached and remember the chowder will thicken more as it cooks. Crappie Chowder Gumbo is just another excuse to get out there and do a little fishing this spring and another way to extend the outdoor experience into the night. This recipe is great at the campground and since it is simmered to perfection you can just set a pot on the grill outside and relax as other campers enjoy the aroma. Serve this chowder with your favorite breadsticks or crackers and it will last several days in the fridge if you can keep from eating it all at once.