Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Game & Fish West

Targeting largemouth and small-mouth bass while they are on their spawning nests is an exceptionally popular, if somewhat controversial, early-season pursuit. Bass are fervent nest guardians, protecting their eggs, larvae and fry from a myriad of predators, including crayfish, panfish, gobies and even other bass. As a result, anglers that locate spawning beds can frequently trigger reaction strikes from bedding bass, making the nest susceptible to predation during the angling process. Bass anglers from coast to coast know that we can easily catch bass while they are on the beds, but the question is, should we? The importance of bass fishing as a recreational pursuit, as well as a driver of considerable economic activity, has focused the attention of fisheries scientists across North America on the question of targeting bass…

I’ve had a Kansas farm for 15 years. For the past decade, neighbor Chuck Herbel and I have pooled our properties and operated “Timber Trails” whitetail hunts. We have a lot of deer and a high buck-to-doe ratio. I’m convinced the population has increased over time, and I think our buck numbers have gone up. The state’s 2021 rifle season spanned the traditional 12 days, and in two rotations of six, our 12 hunters took 12 bucks. I took an “ugly” cull buck to make it 13 for 13. A few seasons ago, I would have said such results were impossible. It may never happen again, but our 2021 season was so exceptional—without ideal weather—that it’s worth examining. Whitetail rut movement being so random, was it blind luck or did…

Riprap isn’t sexy. Few anglers would describe seemingly endless stretches of granite or broken concrete as “bassy.” And I’m certain that no bass has ever sent another bass a postcard with a picture of riprap and the words, “Wish you were here.” But riprap is bassy, and it holds fish all year long. It might not be flashy like standing timber or lily pads, but it’s like the fleece hoodie of the bass world—comfortable and reliable. By the time you finish reading this, you might even agree. WHAT IS IT? Riprap is chunk rock, often granite or broken concrete block, that’s been placed by construction workers or property owners to prevent erosion. Dams and bridges are common places to find riprap, but you’ll often see it along homeowners’ shorelines, marinas…

By now, many anglers have started stashing away their short rods, shelters and tip-ups. However, ice season is not necessarily over—at least not everywhere. Any place you find safe ice conditions right now, you’ll probably find a trove of fish. This late-winter window—from the last feeble days of February all the way through March—can be an incredible time of year for ice-anglers. In many places, you’ll have opportunities at a wide range of species gathering in pre-spawn concentrations under ice that has only a few weeks to live. We’re talking egg-laden perch, voracious pike and walleyes, spawn-minded rainbows and cutthroats, as well as panfish, kokanee salmon and even lake trout. This bite occurs on the West’s high-country honey holes, some of which we’ll share here. Mostly, though, we want to…

It wasn’t that long ago when the .410-bore shotgun was considered a turkey gun only for kids or as a last resort for recoil-shy hunters. With a really good .410 load and gun, neither of which were particularly made for killing turkeys, the effective range on gobblers may have been 25 yards. Specific turkey loads packed with super-dense Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) changed all that in a hurry, and now the .410-bore is enjoying popularity in the springtime woods like never before. Shotgun manufacturers offer .410 models built just for turkey hunting, and with these guns firing TSS loads, patterns are lethal at 35 yards and beyond. Likewise, high-density turkey loads extend the range of 20-gauge shotguns as well. Game & Fish staff have hunted with 20-gauges that threw lethal…

It wasn’t exactly a medical emergency, but the piece of bark that had somehow worked its way into my right eye had the potential to make my day a disaster. I was more than a mile from my vehicle, a turkey was gobbling and the morning had showed great potential until my dominant eye teared up and began to feel scratchy. I blinked and blinked, but the bark or leaf or whatever it was wouldn’t come out. Luckily, I had a small bottle of saline solution in my first-aid kit, and a few blasts rinsed the debris from my eye. I didn’t kill the gobbler that morning, but at least I was still able to hunt. Of all the things we carry into the woods or onto the water with…

Trout fishing typically kicks off around the West in the middle of March, and this is one of the best times of the year to be on the water. The fish are coming off the lean winter season, and the first hint of warming weather triggers their desire to feed. On top of that, the rivers are generally uncrowded, and since the trout have haven’t seen an abundance of lures and flies for quite some time, bruiser-sized browns and rainbows are less finicky and cautious than they will be later in the year. Of course, early-season weather can be incredibly unpredictable, and the conditions on any given day likely will play a large role in determining how and where you need—or will be able—to fish. WATCH THE WEATHER March weather…

Do you need a lot of sophisticated electronics to fish riprap successfully? Absolutely not. But good sonar can help you identify key spots in the riprap that other anglers miss. For that, both downscan and sidescan capabilities are useful. Traditional downward-looking sonar is all you need to spot isolated rocks that slid down the incline a little farther than the rest. Remember that these rocks were unceremoniously dumped from a higher elevation. Most settled pretty quickly along the slope, but some kept rolling. Sonar can help you find them. Sidescan is just the ticket for looking at the riprap as you parallel the bank. It can show you the small depressions or projections that you can’t see from above the water. It will also reveal any submerged brush or debris…

Trying a new shotgun reminds me of the old days when I was still dating—there are going to be some attributes you like immediately and others you need to investigate further. A mixed-bag duck and goose adventure with the Saskatchewan Goose Company (saskgooseco.com) was the perfect place to put Mossberg’s new 940 Pro Waterfowl to the test. The first morning out, a flock of mallards and pintails broke the ice, and when the call came to shoot, I shouldered the gun and swung on a drake, dropping it clean, then doubled on a second bird climbing fast while trying to escape. It was duck dinner for two and love at first sight. A quick look down the blind proved it to be a wall of smiles. With shooters from 5…

The great gun writer and backwoods hunter Townsend Whelen once wrote, “A man will travel farther, hunt over more country, have a better chance of coming on game, and be in better condition when he does if his weapon is light.” This is undisputed fact, but most hunters seem too obsessed with shooting precision to worry much about rifle weight. It’s also easier to build heavy rifles that shoot well, and they cost less. Many hunters, particularly those who are targeting whitetails, hunt from their backsides in blinds, shoot houses or treestands. They are stationary for the most part. In those situations, rifle weight is of little consequence. However, for those who trek deep and hunt “off their hind legs,” as my friend John Barsness says, rifle weight matters. New…

Eric Thompson laughs at the notion that the trail cameras he uses on his Missouri farm give him an advantage over the whitetail bucks he loves to hunt. “I’ve been dabbling with trail cams since their resolution got good enough that I could tell the difference between a deer and a raccoon,” Thompson says. “I’ve used pretty much all the brands, and the one thing they have in common is they give me an unnaturally high expectation that I’m going to kill a big buck.” Deer that consistently show up on Thompson’s cameras in the summer and early fall vanish once hunting season starts. Bucks that demonstrate high fidelity to patterns captured by his cameras go nocturnal, or they start deviating from their habits when crop harvest ends or shooting…

Being able to make really long casts is a big advantage in many fishing situations, like when fishing from a pier or the shore or when wading. It is also advantageous when the water is calm, clear and shallow. The farther you can throw a crank-bait, the deeper it will run. And, of course, the farther the cast, the more water you can cover. That all sounds great, but how do you go about it? Here are some tips to get you reaching out the next time you hit the water. GEARING UP Former U.S. national casting champ David Roberts knows how to cast great distances. Roberts competed for years, and along the way he learned how to get the most out of his equipment. While his equipment for casting…

It had been 40 minutes since I first heard a distant gobble echo through the forest on my opening-day hunt. Suddenly, a split-tailed tom appeared among the trees as if from nowhere. The bird approached silently, slinking through the timber, weaving in and out of tall ferns and briars. When he paused to study my hen decoy at 20 yards, I fired and dropped him. From the time I first saw him until he walked right into my setup, the longbeard never strutted or made a sound. I had first located this mature bird, lacking a few tail feathers, two weeks prior when walking a 40-year-old growth of Douglas firs in search of elk sheds. Although I’d been scouting turkeys for nearly two months, I had yet to see a…

One afternoon in March Shane and his father drove to their hunting club’s new lease to scout for deer and turkeys. Shane was full of anticipation over what the land might hold, and he had a big goal in mind. “I want to find the perfect place to hang a deer stand of my own, Dad,” he said on the drive to the property. “One that nobody knows about except me.” Shane’s father nodded, understanding. No sooner had they pulled onto the club grounds than Shane spied an obvious deer trail. He bounded out of the truck and followed it into the woods. “Meet back here in an hour or so,” yelled his father after him. Shane scanned the leaf-littered ground while continuing on the trail. It led him down…