FISHING by Brandon Butler, driftwoodoutdoors@gmail.com
October has it all for sportsmen
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f only there were six Octobers. With so much opportunity available this month, trying to cram it all into a mere 31 days is an unfair test of any outdoors enthusiast. The fall fishing bite is hot across the Midwest and big game archery seasons are in full swing. You can’t overlook the incredible wing shooting, but waterfowl hunting is also calling. If you are an all-around sportsman, October is when you travel with a bow, shotgun and fishing rod in your truck at the same time. This is it. The prime time. Make the most of it. Here are a few of my top suggestions.
Bay de Noc is a 30,000 acre bay on Lake Michigan near Escanaba known for its robust walleye population. If you are looking to catch a giant, trophy size walleye, then Little Bay de Noc is place to go and October is the month to be there. Walleye are gorging themselves in October to prepare for the long winter months. Trolling around river mouths is a best bet.
Kentucky – Early Muzzleloader Whitetails The idea of Daniel Boone making his way across KenPic: Fishing for brown trout at Lake Taneycomo are just tucky with his muzzleloader in one of the many adventures for sportsmen in October. For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast hand inspires a sense of noson www.driftwoodoutdoors.com or anywhere podcasts talgia, and a longing to try your are streamed. South Dakota – Pheasant luck at taking a buck under Opener the same limitations centuries The South Dakota Pheasant later. Yet, if buckskins and Opener is one of the biggest deals in North American hunting. flintlocks are aren’t your bag, you can skill pursue whitetails This year, it takes place on Saturday, October 16. Shooting bewith modern smoke poles in Kentucky during the early muzzlegins at 10 a.m. and lasts until sunset. With plenty of public lands loader season taking place October 16 and 17. Hunters may and private lands enrolled in the state’s Walk-in-Area Program harvest a deer of either sex in Zones 1, 2 and 3. Hunters may (WIA), hunters should be able to find a place to hunt without only harvest antlered deer in Zone 4. needing an outfitter. That said, the state is home to many topnotch guides and private lodges catering to all of a pheasant Missouri – Taneycomo Brown Trout hunter’s needs. In 2019, nearly 500,000 pheasants were harThe Missouri state record for brown trout changed hands vest in South Dakota. twice in 2019, with the new record being a behemoth 40pound, 6-ounce fish that fell just shy of the world record by less Indiana – Patoka Lake Crappie than two pounds. In October, brown trout leave the depths of At 8,800 surface acres, Patoka Lake is the second-largest the lower lake and push up to Table Rock dam to spawn. Tarreservoir in Indiana. This lake is an amazing fishery, with quality geting them with jerkbaits this month will produce many of the bass, bluegill and catfish. But with deep coves and standing tim- largest fish of the year. With each cast, there is a realistic possiber scattered throughout, it’s best known for crappie fishing. bility of hooking the next world record brown trout and returnCrappie are fun to catch and great to eat. Using minnows under ing that honor back to America from New Zealand where the slip-bobbers is a common tactic, but jigs often work just as well. current record of 42-pounds, 1-ounce stands. This time of year, you’ll catch fish consistently in 10-15 feet of The Missouri Department of Conservation stocks approxiwater. Use your sonar to locate brush piles and you should be mately 750,000 trout in Taneycomo each year. These stocked in the money. The crappie bite should remain strong all month. fish allow for the lake to actively serve trout anglers who want to keep their fish for eating. While focusing on targeting big Michigan – Little Bay de Noc Walleye browns, you can still fill a cooler up with eating sized rainbows The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a special fishing destifor the skillet. nation. Squeezed between two Great Lakes and littered with rivers, stream and inland waters, the U.P. provides a diversity See you down the trail… of angling opportunities tough to find a comparison for. Little 14 VACATION NEWS
October 15-November 4, 2021
