Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2024 i Game & Fish

Anyone who is hunting elk has plans well underway by August. Drainages, slopes and basins that show promise have been noted and scouted, either in person or via app. Access and camping spots have been identified. Used gear has been checked and new gear has been ordered. Bows and rifles have been shot, tuned, zeroed and adjusted. Drives—especially those that cross the county—have been planned. Vacation has been confirmed. OK, maybe there are a few tasks left on the to-do list, but a large amount of time and effort has already been put forth into making sure the hunt comes together as planned. But then what happens when life gets in the way? Maybe it’s work, maybe it’s family, maybe it’s just plain bad luck that you crack a tooth…

With bow season just a month or so away for many whitetail hunters, preseason scouting efforts are in full swing. Because of this, I’m far more likely to fill a few tags this fall. There’s an important distinction to make here ... my success will not come because of my preseason scouting efforts. It’ll come as a result of yours. I have no preseason plans aside from continuing to spend the last few weeks of summer chasing smallmouth bass around. My preseason whitetail scouting efforts will be minimal. And that’s by design. STAY OUT OF THE WOODS After spending a couple of decades preaching the merits of the importance of preseason scouting, I’ve finally wised up and looked objectively at the results of those efforts. In those seasons when I…

Imagine this scenario: You are tracking a wide and heavy mule deer buck over a low ridge somewhere in the sagebrush ocean of public land in eastern Oregon. The minute you crest the ridge, though, you are greeted not by the buck of your dreams within rifle range, but rather an industrial complex of high-tension power lines, chain-link fences and access roads. The buck has vanished into a labyrinth of modern machinery. It’s not a gas field or a mine; it’s a solar farm, converting the abundant sunshine of the prairie into kilowatts. But to a public-land hunter, the effects of a shallow-gas well, a wind farm or a solar installation are the same. Each fragments habitat, introduces invasive weeds, promotes off-season travel and shatters the pristine experience that our…

August often brings the peak of summer heat, and fishing midday can be brutal across much of the Midwest. Retreating to cold-water rivers and fishing after dark are two ways to make time on the water bearable. Hunting opportunities are limited now, though there are a few early waterfowl opportunities available, as well as predators and other game animals to hunt if one can’t wait another month or two. With many school summer vacations ending this month, you might try to squeeze in one last outdoor adventure with your kids. Consider booking a cabin on the water somewhere and let them swim and enjoy the outdoors … including a heathy dose of fishing, of course. 1 WHITEWATER RIVER SMALLIES Indiana’s Whitewater River is loaded with smallmouths. From Brookville to the…

Several bass look up to see a baitfish-sized silhouette drifting by overhead. A jig tipped with a soft plastic floats along stealthily over the target zone until one of the fish, drawn by the bait’s subtle action, ascends to inhale it. This scene is quite different than what occurs with a wobbling, rattling crankbait or a thumping, flashing spinnerbait. The technique, called “moping,” is one Jeff “Gussy” Gustafson employed to win the 2023 Bassmaster Classic on the Tennessee River. He’s quick to state that he didn’t invent the method and that it’s been around for a long time. However, in recent years—in large part due to Gustafson’s and other anglers’ effective use of it on the tournament circuit—it’s become an increasingly popular tactic. It especially shines in cold water, but…

Larger cities like Fargo, N.D./Moorhead, Minn., and Grand Forks, N.D./East Grand Forks, Minn., border the Red River’s shores, as do several other smaller towns. If planning to visit or bring the family, the bigger towns have all the amenities you could ever want beyond trophy catfishing, from hotels to dining to shopping. In North Dakota, boat ramps can be found in Wahpeton, Fargo, Grand Forks, Drayton and Pembina. On the Minnesota side, you’ll find access at Moorhead, Halstad, East Grand Forks, Oslo and west of Hallock. Some years the Red River can be quite shallow, so do a little research and planning if bringing a boat. If water is too shallow, there are areas above many of the river’s dams that can accommodate just about any boat. If searching for…

Suppressors—now legal for hunting in 41 states—are becoming increasingly popular for big-game pursuits. Beyond reducing noise (and corresponding noise complaints) and protecting the shooter’s hearing, they also offer other benefits, like reducing recoil and flinch due to muzzle blast. Among the latest suppressors developed for hunters is Savage Arms’ new AccuCan series, which comprises three models—the AC22, AC30 and AC338—and covers most popular hunting calibers. The rimfire-rated AC22 works with .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR, while the AC338 handles up to .338 Lapua Mag. and .338 Win. Mag. The AC30, which I used in New Mexico, is rated for .300 PRC, .300 Win. Mag. and .308 Win., among others. The AC30 performed exceedingly well in New Mexico. While the suppressor didn’t make shots whisper quiet—that level of sound…

DOVE HUNTING SUCCESS If you’re going on an early September dove hunt, read Keith Sutton’s advice on how to set up in “Choose the Best Hunting Spot at a Dove Field.” BOWHUNTING’S OPENING BELL Early fall delivers opening day for whitetail bowhunters. To fill an early-season tag, give Adam Moore’s “Fab Four Opening-Day Strategies for Deer Season” a careful read. ICAST INTEL To get an inside look at the best new fishing tackle and gear before it hits the shelves, see our online stories, videos and social-media channels for coverage from this year’s ICAST trade show. CICADA CIRCUS How did this year’s cicada emergence affect the fishing? Lynn Burkhead chronicles the event in “Here They Come: Cicadas Arrive to the Delight of Gamefish, Anglers.” NEW REEL OPTIONS In our “Tackle…

Made it with 10 minutes to spare. Glancing up from my watch, I soon located the craggy rock pile I had discovered on an earlier exploratory hunt into the basin. It would be my base to watch the nearly vertical, open slope above for signs of elk at first shooting light. Adding another layer and gulping down an energy bar finalized my setup as I settled prone with my rifle nestled in my backpack and pointing upward. After a few zaps with my SIG Sauer KILO6K HD rangefinding binocular, I felt confident that no shot would extend more than 450 yards. Relaxing my eyes for a moment, I lifted the binocular back to my eyes to begin scanning through the gray haze of daybreak. That’s when I saw the first…

The herd of bison milled in the noonday sun. The South Dakota prairie grass offered little cover, and time was running out for me to get a good shot opportunity. Finally, a mature cow edged toward the outside of the herd and I brought my bow to full draw. The arrow, tipped with a four-blade broadhead flew perfectly through the still air, driving deep into the animal’s chest. Having shot my hunting arrows religiously over the previous summer, and nock tuning them to perfection, there was never a worry about their performance at the moment of truth. WHY NOCK TUNE? The final step to ensuring accurate arrow flight prior to each season is—or should be—nock tuning. Many archers take the time to tune their bow by shooting through paper and…

A grasshopper takes off on a poorly logged flight. Typical. It lands in the stream with a barely audible splash. Barely audible to us anglers, maybe. The clumsy landing is a dinner bell for trout. The hapless hopper drifts a foot in the current before disappearing in a vicious swirl. It’s one of the most exciting visuals a trout angler can witness on the water. That’s because hopper time, lasting from July to October in most states, is when trout throw caution to the wind. Usually picky and spooky, trout lose their crafty little minds when big, juicy hoppers start plopping down on the surface. Hoppers offer stream-based trout better protein than most available forage. They can’t fly off the water and are easily captured. And that sound—that “plop”—might draw…

Science has repeatedly shown that humans have a clear negativity bias. Our brains process negative emotions differently, and we tend to remember bad experiences more vividly than positive ones. The death of a loved one. The end of a relationship. Moments of extreme physical pain. Financial blunders. Trying setbacks. Abject failures. All are recalled more clearly, and longer, than happy moments or successes. Perhaps this explains why, crouched behind a rolling hill in northeastern New Mexico, I was still hung up on a bad shot I’d made on a pronghorn buck two years prior in Wyoming. That had been my first pronghorn hunt and my first time hunting big game in vast, wide-open terrain. I’d stalked a decent buck for some time, even crawling on hands and knees the last…

In 1985 a West Virginia high-school shop teacher named Melvin Forbes introduced a bolt-action rifle weighing less than 5 pounds to the world. Between then and 2022, Forbes handcrafted and sold more than 7,000 of those rifles and set the bar for rugged, lightweight hunting rifles so high that no other maker—factory or custom—could touch it. But as Forbes aged, he knew he could not continue, so he sold his knowledge and the rights to his New Ultra Light Arms (NULA) rifle to Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat. The company tweaked the design and now offers a modernized version that builds on Forbes’ legacy of lightweight performance. The Wilson Combat NULA Model 20 is a push-feed bolt-action design perfectly sized to the cartridge it’s intended to fire. There’s no excess…

Hornady introduced the 6.5 Creedmoor in 2008 and only a handful of long-range competitors really cared. But in 2014, after the movie “American Sniper” came out, Chris Kyle was vaulted to John Wayne status, and instead of a cowboy hat and a six gun, everyone wanted a sniper rifle and a tattoo. Today, the Creed is phenomenally popular, and that movie, along with those aspiring to have sniper-like skill, have influenced our hunting rifles and the way we use them. Some of these influences have been good. Others, not so much. GOOD GIFTS One benefit long-range shooting has brought to the hunting rifle is the adjustable length of pull, which is now quite common. Steyr incorporated it into the Scout Rifle in 1997, but custom builders have been crafting rifles…

My first hunting dog had ectro-pion—saggy lower eye lids that caught every seed, leaf, stick and bug that he ran past. I quickly learned to do an eye check and lid dump frequently in the field. Fortunately, he was tolerant of my ministrations, and I didn’t do anything stupid to endanger his vision. I’m sharing the following tips so you don’t do anything stupid around your dog’s eyes, either. After his nose, a hunting dog’s eyes are his most important sensory organ. Eyes keep him from running off a cliff, help him mark shot birds as they fall and guide him to you when you call him back. Taking care of them helps ensure that your dog will have good days afield for the rest of his hunting career. How…

By summer standards, the day was not a pleasant one. Frequent spells of wind and rain continually interrupted brief periods of blue skies. My first three spots—all submerged portions of embedded trees scattered near a creek channel—had produced only one smallmouth bass and a yellow perch. The crappies I had been seeking were thus far uncooperative, even though the sonar screen displayed clear evidence of their presence. As I motored though the blustery weather to my next spot, I decided it would be the day’s last one. Here, I’d either be a hero or a zero. If fish were showing, I’d camp out, offering them a variety of presentations. Found near the mouth of the lake’s largest bay, this tree remnant sat in 30 feet of water with branches extending…

At first glance, the Red River of the North doesn’t necessarily look like much. It’s a decently long river at around 545 miles in length, with about 300 of those lying within the United States and the remainder extending into Canada. In most places, it spans 50 to 150 yards wide and appears to be a typical Midwestern river. It’s forms much of the border between North Dakota and Minnesota, and to the average person, it’s perhaps as famous for its flooding as its fishing. However, among those in the know, it is legendary for the giant channel catfish that call it home. In fact, it’s one of the few places in the U.S. where an angler can expect to catch channel cats in the mid-teens to mid-20-pound range with…

Many big-game hunters, particularly those who frequent open country with a rifle or any type of country with a bow, consider both a binocular and a laser rangefinder to be essential equipment. An animal must first be found, and then the distance to it accurately determined, before a shot can be taken. Optics do a much better job of revealing game and measuring range than the naked eye. Since both will be on the trip and used almost simultaneously at times during the hunt, it makes sense to combine a bino and a rangefinder into one unit. A rangefinding binocular streamlines gear and eliminates fumbling from one optic to the next in those tense moments of preparing for a shot. Hunters can go from finding an animal or confirming it’s…

School had been in session for a couple weeks, and most evenings the conversation at the dinner table centered on classes and activities. After Shane’s younger sister expressed her excitement and trepidation about trying out for a singing role in the middle-school play, it was Shane’s turn to tell about his day. “Kevin Watson and Danny Simmons got suspended for fighting in the bathroom,” said the high-schooler. “Oh yeah, and I got into a pretty good argument with Mrs. Hanson during biology class.” “Shane!” snapped his mother. “You shouldn’t argue with a teacher! Are you in trouble?” “No, Mom. It was really more of a debate. She brought it up, and I couldn’t let it slide. She said in modern times with grocery stores full of food, there’s no good…