july '12 ion

CURVES IN CAMOPAGES 10-11

SHOOTINGPAGE 14

FISHING REPORTPAGE 6

HOT WALLEYE BITEPAGE 8

GONE AFIELDPAGE 12

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HILDRETHS BEST FIELD ATCRAPPIE USA QUALIFIER

PRELIMINARY SPRING TURKEY HARVEST RESULTSDNR Report -

Despite warmer than normal temperatures, pre-liminary results put the 2012 spring wild turkey har-vest at fourth highest on record at 12,594 birds. Only2010, 2009, and 2006 spring season harvests rankedhigher.

The 19-day regular season (April 25-May 13)accounted for 10,993 birds harvested. Adult gobblersmade up 85% of the total harvest, followed by juve-niles (14%) and bearded hens (less than 1%).

Youth hunters harvested 1,592 birds during thetwo-day special youth season (April 21-22). Nine birdswere harvested during a special Wounded Warriorturkey hunt at Camp Atterbury Joint ManeuverTraining Center.

Hunter-reported harvest through the free CheckINGame online system accounted for 2,160 (17 percent)of the total harvest. This was the first time hunterscould report their turkey harvest online instead of driv-ing to a traditional check-in station. Hunters will havethe option of visiting a traditional check-in station orusing the online CheckIN Game system for the upcom-ing fall turkey and deer seasons.

By using their unique Customer Identification(CID) number, which is found in the upper-left cornerof their hunting license, hunters can quickly completethe CheckIN Game process. Lifetime license holderscan search for their Customer ID number on theCheckIN Game online system, and those exempt fromneeding a license to hunt can fill out the required infor-mation online and a CID will be automaticallyassigned to them.

The final report of the spring turkey season will beavailable online later this month.

COMPLIMENTS OF:

Continued on Page 15

Indianas Choice for Outdoor News & Information Since 1994Indianas Choice for Outdoor News & Information Since 1994

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Inside: Special Summer Edition

VOL. 2012 NO. 6 JUNE/JULY, 2012

POSTMASTER: Please deliver by July 9

Crappie USA held a qualifyingevent June 9 at Mississinewa andSalamonie Lakes in WabashCounty. Anglers competed for cashand prizes along with a chance toadvance to the prestigious CabelasCrappie USA Classic to be heldOctober 24th-27th, 2012 on theBarkley/Kentucky Lakes at Cadiz,Kentucky.

Temperatures ranged from 68to 90 degrees over the course oftournament day, with sunny skiesand light winds. Salamonie was 13feet low with stained water whileMississinewa was 7 feet low withstained water. Water temperatureswere 74 to 78 degrees.

Semi-Pro Division ResultsTaking first place was the team

of Charlie Hildreth of Gaston,INand Paul Hildreth of Muncie with aweight of 7.97 pounds and earning$1,000.00. Charlie and Paul werespider rigging on Salamonie usingpurple/chartreuse and orange/char-treuse Southern Pro Tubes tippedwith shiners on ledges at 4 feetdeep to catch 75-100 fish for theday. Team Hildreth also wonthe Ranger Cup Award and an addi-tional $500.00 in the Semi-ProDivision.

Second place went to Don

Licht of Indianapolis and DougSikoora of Noblesville, weighing in7.9 pounds and earning $600.00.Don and Doug were also fishingSalamonie on the upper end in 2-4feet of water on wood using bladedCrappie Pro jigs on bottom andplain hooks on top tipped with shin-ers, slow trolling to catch 75 fishfor the day.

In third place was theAnderson team of Don Mandrelland Ron Bilbrey, weighing in 7.28pounds and earning $400.00. Donand Ron were fishing near the mid-dle of Salamonie spider riggingwith most of their fish caught 2 feet

BASS BLITZ

ION reader, Craig Stanley, dis-plays a 5.03-lb. largemouthcaught June 9th in a Zone 1District 3 Top 8 tournament onKosciusko Countys LakeWawasee. The big bass ate a 5Hula Grub. Indianas bassanglers are reporting good actionthroughout the state, despitewarm temperatures and lowwater levels. Check out pages 6,7 and 11 inside for more bassfishing stories and information.Upload and share shots of yournext lunker catch atwww.IndianaOutdoorNews.net.

Many Hoosier turkey hunters like Matt Dauscher didwell this past spring season, despite the unseasonableweather. Matt took this exceptional Tom April 25th innortheast Indiana and checked in at the Angler BaitShop in Helmer. The big tom weighed in at an even 30pounds, sported a 9-1/2-in beard and had 1-1/4-inspurs. Photo provided.

Charlie and Paul Hildreth ofGaston and Muncie took 1st placein the Semi-Pro Division with atotal weight of 7.97-lbs. CrappieUSA photo.

Upcoming Reserved Hunt OpportunitiesBeginning July 1, hunters can

apply for the following reserved huntopportunities: Dove, Military/RefugeDeer Firearm & Archery, State ParkDeer Reduction, and Pheasant Drawhunts. Go to www.in.gov/dnr/fish-wild/5834.htm to get specific details.

The Pheasant draw hunts are atGame Bird Habitat Areas in Benton,Newton and White counties. These areas were purchased or leasedwith funds from the Game Bird Habitat Stamp that is required whenhunting pheasant, quail, dove, wild turkey, and ruffed grouse. Thegame bird habitat stamp is included in the resident youth hunt/traplicense and the comprehensive lifetime hunting licenses.

2012-13 Hunting and Trapping GuideA full-version, 52-page, Indiana Hunting & Trapping Guide is

coming back and will be available at retailers in late-July. This isslightly later than usual, but its worth the wait. In addition to theprinted guide, an online version will be available in multiple formats.

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS 2012 2012 Special Summer Edition

JOSHLANTZ

Niagara Falls gets a lot ofattention. And rightly so. Itsnamesake falls are one of theworlds most beautiful and stun-ning natural wonders. Its seeming-ly endless list of family-friendlyattractions provides unique andmemorable experiences for anybudget. And, of course, theres thethrillseeker factor. Occasionally,someone does something crazy atNiagara Falls like walk across thegorge on a 2 wire, which is prettyspectacular stuff -- even if he iswearing a safety harness.

But the area surroundingNiagara Falls, NY doesnt get near-ly enough attention from mostanglers, even though -- in my opin-ion -- it is the finest and most-unique freshwater fishery in thelower 48.

Consider the angling happen-ings during my latest visit toNiagara last May.

I was playing ringleader for agroup of my outdoor-writingheroes at one of the Association ofGreat Lakes Outdoor Writersannual events. I was one of six-teen media anglers and a handful ofindustry representatives fishing thewaters surrounding NiagaraCounty, NY over 4 half-day ses-sions.

The lower Niagara River isindeed a mighty torrent, rushingsome 14-miles from the falls down-stream to Lake Ontario. But the

river widens enough below the his-toric Village of Lewiston that it canbe fished from almost any craft --something I got the chance to doduring the first morning of ourevent.

I was fortunate to be one ofthe first members of the outdoormedia to fish out of Hobies newMirage Pro Angler 12 -- a brandnew, tricked out version of thecompanys larger and highly suc-cessful Pro Angler 14. The MirageDrive is unique to Hobie andemploys a super efficient peddledrive system that leaves an anglershands free for fishing and netting -- something I did plenty of thatmorning. The lower Niagara is ariver smallmouth fishery onsteroids, and we caught severalnice bronzebacks between 2 and 5pounds while twitching a RapalaX-Rap along the edge of the riverchannel. It was a brilliantly uniqueexperience and I still cannotbelieve how effortlessly the MirageDrive Hobies moved -- evenagainst a steady 3 mph current.

I jumped into Captain FrankCampbells Lund after lunch withShimano American rep KevinFahey. We were given the choice ofheading up into Devils Hole forsteelhead, lake trout and small-mouth, or turning downstreamtowards the famed Niagara Barwhere wed catch who knows whaton any given cast. The emeraldshiners were literally pouring outof the river, serving up a non-stopbuffet to the three species ofsalmon, three species of trout,lamp-sized smallmouth bass andmore which were all bellied up tothe bar. We opted for the down-stream option. The X-Rap hadworked well that morning, and Ididnt want to ruin my mojo. Sowhen Kevin handed me an ultra

sweet 7 G.Loomis NRX spinningrod spooled with PowerPro line onan equally sweet 2500 ShimanoStradic CI4 spinning reel, thatswhat I tied on -- a classicsilver/blue X-Rap. We went on theattack with our high-end light tack-le and Captain Frank delivered.My most memorable catch was achunky brown trout in the neigh-borhood of 10-pounds, whichabsolutely murdered my lure justseconds after it hit the water.

The next morning broughtmore stellar smallmouth fishing --this time on the other end of theriver, upstream of the falls whereLake Erie becomes the NiagaraRiver in the shadows of downtownBuffalo. I was fishing with myfriends, Captain Jeff Draper andCaptain Pat Kalmerton. Jeff is anexperienced Niagara Region guideand Captain Pat represents Frabilland operates Wolf Pack Adventures-- a significant sportfishing andhunting operation out ofSheboygan, WI. We were drop-shotting live emerald shiners insideBuffalo Harbor, where the smallieswere in all phases of the spawn. Icaught two bass over two poundson my first two drops and theaction continued all morning long.While most of the bass were small-er (relatively speaking, of course), Idid manage one 4-pounder, andCaptain Pat put one in the Frabillthat nudged 5.

Lake Ontario currently has thehealthiest forage base of any of theGreat Lakes, a fact punctuated bythe deep bellies on the trout andsalmon youll catch there. I wassupposed to venture out of the Portof Olcott the afternoon of our sec-ond day, but a strong Northwestwind slammed the door on myplans. Thankfully, there is alwaysanother spot to fish in Niagara

The Jamoca Almond Fudge ofFishing Destinations

Volume 2012 Number 6

Publisher: Brian E. SmithAssistant Publisher: Mark C. Smith

Editor-in-Chief: Joshua D. LantzSportsmens Rights Editor: Rick Story

Field Editor: John Martino, Central IndianaField Photographer: Bill Konway, www.BillKonway.com

Graphic Design: [email protected] & Editing: Sand Creek MediaOffice Manager: Shannon E. SmithAdvertising Sales: (877) 251-2112

Editorial Submissions: [email protected] Info: [email protected]

Web Site: www.IndianaOutdoorNews.netBusiness & Publication Office:

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 69, Granger, Indiana 46530Phone: (877) 251-2112 Fax: (800) 496-8075

INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS is the official publication of Raghorn Incorporated, and is pub-lished monthly at the address listed above. For home delivery and subscription rates, look for thesubscription card in this publication. Editorial contributions may be submitted to the aboveaddress. No material can be returned unless accompanied by a stamped, self addressed envelope.Photographs are accepted and greatly appreciated. All materials submitted become the propertyof Raghorn Incorporated and are subject to editing to meet the objectives of this publication. Theviews and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors, not the edi-tors, staff or any other representative of RAGHORNS INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS orRaghorn, Inc. Raghorns Indiana Outdoor News is a registered Trademark of RaghornIncorporated. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be used or copiedwithout prior written consent of Raghorn Inc. Violation of copyright laws will be prosecuted.POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RAGHORNS INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS, P.O.Box 69, Granger, Indiana 46530.

Copyright 2012

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Continued on Page 14

P.O. Box 40, Knox, Indiana 46534

Brent Wheat Photo.

County. I launched my own boat at

Lewiston with friends Curt Hickenand Rick Story, and we made theshort run upriver to Devils Hole, ascenic and superb fishing spotthats the end of the line for mostcraft -- unless you happen to beaboard one of the 7,000 horsepow-er Whirlpool Jet tour boats. DevilsHole is aptly named. Much of thewater coming down the NiagaraRiver from Lake Erie is bypassedaround the falls through giant chan-nels on both the U.S. and Canadian

sides of the river. This water re-enters the lower Niagara at scenicDevils Hole, where both countriesoperate massive hydroelectricpower generating facilities. Theflows and treacherous currents aremagnets to all manner of gamefishthroughout the year, whilewhirlpools and giant boulders addto the danger of this famous spot. Idont recommend bringing yourown boat into Devils Hole unlessyouve fished it enough to learnwhere and where not to put a boat.Ive fished Devils Hole dozens oftimes, but it still took all of my con-centration to keep the boat off ofthe rocks and in position for Curtand Rick to catch fish. Mostanglers drift fish with three-wayrigs tipped with spawn bags orminnows in Devils Hole -- a greatplan if youre targeting steelhead orlake trout. But we simply couldntget enough of the areas giantsmallmouth, so -- you guessed it --we cast to the banks with our X-Raps, catching several nice bass inthe process.

While the fishing at both endsof the Niagara River on Lake

2012 Special Summer Edition INDIANA OUTDOOR NEWS 2012 Page 3


Hoosiers interested in pre-serving Indianas bowhuntingheritage can attend a July 26workshop at Atterbury Fish &Wildlife Area that will teachthem how to plant the necessaryseeds. The program is from 10a.m. to 3 p.m.

The target audience isadults who work with children,ages 11-17. This includes schoolteachers, after-school teachers, outdoor educators, parks and recreationprogram leaders, scout leaders and camp counselors.

The workshop, called Explore Bowhunting, is designed not onlyto help adults teach bowhunting skills but also instill a respect for andcomfort with the outdoors to preteens and teenagers. It is being offeredfor the first time in Indiana, run by the DNR Division of Fish &Wildlifes Hoosier Outdoor Heritage Program.

Participants do not need prior experience with bowhunting.Explore Bowhunting is free and is funded through a partnership

between the Archery Trade Association and DNR Division of Fish &Wildlife.

For more information and to register, contact Amanda Wuestefeldat (317) 547-2075 or [email protected].

DNR REPORT When a Fort Wayne angler caught two odd-looking fish from the

Pigeon River in LaGrange County, he thought they were snakeheads,an invasive species that biologists fear could wreak havoc on nativefish.

But as has happened with other reports of what someone thoughtwere snakeheads, the dark green, slimy, toothy fish that 27-year-oldJeremy Hennen caught were not the exotic predator from Asia. Theywere run-of-the-mill bowfinor what some anglers call dogfish.

The mistake is easy to make. Bowfin and snakeheads look alike.Both have round tails and long dorsal fins that stretch along theirbacks. They each have teeth. Both live in similar habitats and arecapable of breathing surface air by using the air bladder as a lung.Each can survive dry periods by burying themselves in mud.

In contrast, bowfin are generally greener and have a short analfin. The anal fin on a snakehead extends more than half the length ofthe dorsal fin. The head of a bowfin is more rounded than a snakeheadand, unlike a snakeheads, the bowfins upper jaw is longer than itslower jaw.

Bowfin also have a large spot in front of the tail. The bulls-eyesnakehead does too, but the giant snakehead and Northern snakeheaddo not.

Bowfin are native and common in lakes and rivers throughoutIndiana. Snakeheads are present in several states, particularly alongthe East Coast, but have not been found in Indiana. DNR officialshope to keep it that way.

To reduce the risk of snakeheads escaping into the wild, it is ille-gal for anyone to possess a live snakehead in Indiana, even in anaquarium. Anyone who catches or possesses a snakehead is also obli-gated to kill it. The DNR will provide euthanizing assistance if need-ed.

Hennen, who has fished since he was 7 years old, caught thebowfin while fishing for catfish and using hotdogs as bait.

He had never caught a bowfin before and was unsure of what hehad. So I let them go. I didnt want to kill them, he said.

Thats OK, said Jed Pearson, DNR fisheries biologist. Bowfinevolved as a natural part of fish communities and dont pose any eco-logical danger. But fishermen need to be on the lookout for snake-heads and know what to do if they catch one.

Hennen forwarded two photos of his fish to Pearson for identifi-cation.

More information on bowfin and snakeheads can be found at:dnr.IN.gov/files/SNAKEHEADS.pdf.

CALLS AND EMAILS TO U.S. SENATORS CRITICAL TO PASSAGE OFSPORTSMENS HERITAGE ACT

BOWFIN MISTAKEN FOR SNAKEHEADS

NATIVE CISCOES THREATENED BY NORTHERN PIKE

BOWHUNTING WORKSHOP HELPS ADULTSTEACH OUTDOOR SKILLS TO KIDS

by Bill Horn, U.S. Sportsmens Alliance

In March and April, bi-partisan majorities in theHouse Natural Resources Committee and the full U.S.House of Representatives passed H.R. 4089, theSportsmens Heritage Act of 2012 -- the most signifi-cant fishing, hunting, and shooting legislation passedin the last 15 years, the bill included two primary fea-tures: (1) confirmation of federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) rulings that the agency doesnot have authority to ban lead in ammunition or fishinggear and (2) game changing new law establishing thatBureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. ForestService lands (totaling more than 700 million acres ofpublic lands) are open to fishing, hunting, and shootingunless and until the agencies take specific action toimpose closures or restrictions. And closures andrestrictions must be necessary and based on sound sci-ence and evidence.

Now its the U.S. Senates turn. Unfortunatelythe gridlocked upper chamber is highly unlikely toallow the bill to pass as a stand alone bill (i.e., goingthrough committee to the Senate floor). Instead, thefishing and hunting community is working together toadd a Sportsmens Heritage package to the pendingSenate Farm Bill S. 3240.

At press time, the precise content of thisSportsmens package remains unresolved. SenatorsJon Tester (D-MT) and John Thune (R-SD), the Senatechairmen of the Congressional Sportsmens Caucus,have put together a set of fishing/hunting/shooting bills Amendment No. 2231 to be added to the Farm Bill.This amendment package includes the important provi-sion protecting traditional ammunition and fishinggear. And the need for this protection was demonstrat-ed anew by yet another lawsuit just filed by the usualsuspects (Center for Biological Diversity et al.) toforce EPA to ban traditional ammunition, lead fishingsinkers, etc.

Unfortunately, the Tester/Thune Amendment doesnot include the other cornerstone provision of theHouse bill making BLM and Forest public landsopen until closed to fishing/hunting/shooting.Intransigent opposition from some environmentalistsand anti-hunting interests, coupled with continuingopposition from Senate Committee Chairs, kept theopen until closed designation out of the Amendment.

This language is absolutely critical to the future ofhunting, fishing and recreational shooting on public

land. Without it, anti-hunting groups will continue tobring one frivolous lawsuit after another to preventlands from being opened to sportsmen, bleeding theagencies dry of money, and making them much morereluctant to make new opportunities available. TheOpen Until Closed language puts a stop to this non-sense, and that is what USSA is unwilling to let it beleft out without a fight.

Fortunately some of our best friends in the U.S.Senate, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Jim Risch (R-ID) are supporting us in thiseffort. Late last month, Senators Murkowski andManchin dropped in Amendment No. 2423 seeking toadd the open until closed language to the CaucusAmendment. We will be working hard to secureSenate passage of open until closed, along with thecrucial EPA lead provision, as part of the overallSportsmens package. And individual anglers, hunters,and shooters need to be pressing their Senators immediately to strongly support the Murkowski-Manchin amendment (No. 2423) as well as theTester/Thune amendment (No. 2231).

The outlook is fuzzy. There are over 200 otherproposed amendments to the Farm Bill. SenateLeadership may not allow amendments to be offered.Or they may not allow the Senate to consider theTester/Thune package or the Murkowski-Manchinamendment. Because the Farm Bill carries a nearly$1 trillion price tag, and includes programs likeincreases in food stamps, the whole bill may not passat all.

USSAs plan is to stay focused on the hunter-friendly amendments and get them through the Senatein some manner shape or form. Were convinced thatwill set the stage for negotiations with the House lead-ership (Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and NaturalResources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) yielding a final version of H.R. 4089 that willprotect traditional ammunition and protect fishing,hunting, and shooting on BLM and Forest publiclands.

Now is the time for sportsmen and women to act.Get on the phone, email or fax machine and tell yourSenators to support Murkowski-Manchin(Amendment No. 2423) and the Tester-ThuneAmendment (No. 2231) to protect hunting, fishing,and recreational shooting on public lands. You canfind their phone numbers by using the USSALegislative Action Center.

DNR REPORT --A catch of two Northern pike during a

recent DNR fish survey at Crooked Lakenear Columbia City is increasing concernthat the predatory fish may harm the lakesfragile cisco population.

The Northern pike measured 27 and 29inches long and marked the third time infour years that pike have been detected inthe 206-acre natural lake.

Pike can grow more than 3 feet longand typically prey on suckers and perch.Ciscoes, where present, can make up an important part of their diet.

In Indiana, the cisco, a close relative to trout and salmon, is classified as a species of special con-cern due to a drastic decline in numbers. Only 13 Indiana lakes still contain ciscoes, down from more than40 lakes in the 1950s.

Although most of the cisco decrease in Indiana lakes has been linked to declines in water quality, pred-ator fish may play a role in limiting cisco numbers.

Crooked Lake still contains one of the largest remaining cisco populations in the state. Before 2009,however, no Northern pike were known to occur in the lake. Five pike have since been netted in the lake:two in September 2009, one in June 2010 and two this month.

Biologists speculate that anglers may have caught Northern pike elsewhere and illegally released themin Crooked Lake.

According to Indiana law (IC 14-22-9-8), anyone who stocks a fish in public waters under state con-trol must first get a permit from the DNR. Catching fish in one lake and releasing them in another lake with-out an approved permit is a Class C misdemeanor.

Livewells on boats filled with water make it easy for anglers to transport fish but difficult for conser-vation officers to control illegal stocking.

Although the current number of Northern pike in Crooked Lake is apparently low, they could repro-duce and become a dominant cisco predator.

Biologists say it is too early to tell if pike are spawning in the lake. They wont know unless and untilthey begin to catch small, young pike.

Two illegally stocked Northern pike were also netted in 2009 at Loon Lake, located about two mileswest of Crooked Lake. None were found at Loon Lake during a recent survey.

Native Bowfin

Invasive Northern Snakehead


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ACROSS1 A young turkey6 Good bait for muskie fishing9 1 down is classified as this11 A species of squirrel12 term for an in-hole fireplace14 Code for a type bullet15 Act of carrying canoe or kayak

overland16 A small game18 Wingshooting is ____shooting19 Shotgun type: ____ by ____21 A species of the duck22 Name for the chinook salmon24 A species of squirrel26 Code for a type bullet28 He hunts with arrows30 Gun system that activates the

shell31 To stalk a game's trail32 Code for a bullet34 Good time to hunt whitetails35 A shot that misses the target38 To pull the bowstring39 A species of the quail42 A game behavior pattern43 A type bait good for smalmouth46 A game's pathway47 Most populated elk State48 A species of duck49 A reticle in a gun scope50 A wood used for arrow shafts

DOWN1 A tasty pan fish2 Shotgun model, over and _____3 The fur seeker's equipment4 A very good breed of gundog5 Another wood used for arrow

shafts7 A device in a gun receiver8 A darting bait, jigging _____10 A trail bait, scent ____13 A species of deer17 Thrown out of the boat19 A type sport fishing20 Act of preparing a fly lure23 This removes a fired case24 A type of hunting blind25 Sound made by the wild turkey27 A group of pheasants29 Wilfowl haven for rearing32 Act of fish to migrate/lay eggs33 A duck species36 A marsh and swamp species of

this37 Brings a big catch into the boat39 A duck hunters lure40 A type of icefishing auger41 A shooter's practise area43 A leading commercial fish44 An anglers exclamation when

he figures out the pattern45 A name for the sea bass

Indiana Outdoor Calendar- July -

June 30-July 1: Skamania Mania Fishing Tournament in Michigan City (more info athttp://mcsummerfest.org/index.php/summer-festival-events/6-skamania-mania-fishing-tournament)

July 10-13: Wilderness Day Camp at Mounds State Park (more info athttp://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2977.htm)

July 14: Hunter Safety Course at Portage Bass Pro Shops store (call 219-787-6800 topre-register)

July 14: Reelman Patoka Lake Open Fishing Tournament (more info athttp://www.fishin.com/forums2/showthread.php?t=93898)

July 15: Indiana Bass Federation Tanners Creek Invitational Tournament (more info athttp://indianabass.com/tournaments/invitational-trail/)

July 16-20: Accelerated Master Naturalist Class at Ft. Harrison State Park (call 317-327-7180 or email [email protected], or visit indianamasternaturalist.org for more info)

July 21: Fly Fishing Workshop at the Clarksville Bass Pro Shops store (call 812-218-5500 tosign up)

July 24-27: Naturalist Day Camp at Mounds State Park (more info at:http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2977.htm)

July 26: Bowhunting Workshop at Atterbury FWA (Call 317-547-2075 or [email protected] for more info)

A variety of Hunter Education courses are offered around the state this month. For details,visit www.in.gov/dnr/lawenfor/4812.htm. For current information about Ducks Unlimited banquets and events throughout Indiana thismonth, visit www.ducks.org/indiana. For a list of National Wild Turkey Federation events in Indiana this month, go towww.nwtf.org/in_your_state/banquet.php.

2012 A.M. A.M P. M. P.M.July Minor Major Minor Major Sunrise Sunset Fishing Quality / Notes01 Sun 3:07 10:43 6:19 ----- 6:20 9:17 Fair02 Mon 4:07 11:42 7:18 ----- 6:21 9:17 Fair03 Tue 5:14 12:16 8:11 12:42 6:21 9:16 Poor04 Wed 6:24 1:17 8:54 1:39 6:22 9:16 Fair05 Thu 7:33 2:13 9:32 2:32 6:22 9:16 Fair / Full Moon06 Fri 8:42 3:07 10:05 3:23 6:23 9:16 Fair07 Sat 9:47 3:56 10:35 4:11 6:24 9:15 Fair08 Sun 10:50 4:55 ----- 4:56 6:24 9:15 Fair09 Mon 11:50 5:26 ----- 5:40 6:25 9:15 Poor10 Tue ----- 6:10 12:50 6:25 6:26 9:14 Poor11 Wed ----- 6:54 1:48 7:09 6:26 9:14 Fair / Waning Half Moon12 Thu 12:31 7:38 2:46 7:55 6:27 9:13 Fair13 Fri 1:05 8:23 3:41 8:42 6:28 9:13 Fair14 Sat 1:43 9:09 4:36 9:31 6:28 9:12 Fair15 Sun 2:26 9:56 5:27 10:20 6:29 9:12 Fair16 Mon 3:14 10:45 6:16 ----- 6:30 9:11 Fair17 Tue 4:08 11:34 7:00 ----- 6:31 9:10 Good18 Wed 5:06 12:03 7:39 12:22 6:32 9:10 Good / New Moon19 Thu 6:07 12:53 8:15 1:11 6:32 9:09 Good20 Fri 7:09 1:42 8:48 1:58 6:33 9:08 Good21 Sat 8:14 2:31 9:19 2:46 6:34 9:08 Good22 Sun 9:18 3:18 9:50 3:34 6:35 9:07 Fair23 Mon 10:25 4:07 10:21 4:23 6:36 9:06 Fair24 Tue 11:31 4:56 10:53 5:12 6:37 9:05 Fair25 Wed ----- 5:46 12:40 6:04 6:38 9:04 Poor26 Thu ----- 6:39 1:49 7:00 6:38 9:03 Poor / Waxing Half Moon27 Fri 12:11 7:34 2:58 7:58 6:39 9:02 Fair28 Sat 12:59 8:32 4:05 8:59 6:40 9:01 Fair29 Sun 1:54 9:30 5:06 10:01 6:41 9:00 Poor30 Mon 2:57 10:28 6:00 ----- 6:42 8:59 Fair31 Tue 4:04 11:25 6:47 ----- 6:43 8:58 Fair

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action in the Portage area thismonth. Willow Sough is still pro-ducing some nice bluegill action.Wolf Lake is the spot for walleyeyou can take them with jumboleeches. If you want some chi-nook or coho salmon action trytrolling with small spoons ordodgers and purple flies.

Saint Joseph RiverDick Parker from Parkers

Central Bait and Tackle inMishawaka says the walleye fish-ing in the upper river from TwinBranch to Elkhart is the best hesseen in years. To get your shareuse crawlers, minnows or smallcrankbaits.

East Central IndianaEd Gipson at Peacepipe Bait

& Tackle in Andrews reports goodwhite bass fishing around the 105bridge using night crawlers.Theyre taking some huge catfishin the area on trotlines. Crappieaction is good but getting the keep-er size is kind of tough. Bluegillare still going strong with beemoths and wigglers.

West Central IndianaTerry Raines at Twin Lakes

Fish & Game in Monticello sayseven with the low water fishing isgood. The silvers and wipers arehitting on swim baits, gay bladesand Cleos. The best action seemsto be at the dam using gay blades.Bluegill are still hitting on beemoths, wigglers and crickets. The

Area is a good spot to catch somesmallmouth bass with goldenroach minnows or whatever youwant to try! Horseshoe Bend justSouth of LaCrosse is the place tohook yourself a crapppie orbluegill with a jumbo redworm ora cricket. Theyre taking some nicecatfish on yoyo limb lines out ofthe river using cutbait. Frog sea-son opened recently and Penny haseverything you need to get your-self a nice mess of frog legs. Ifyoure going for frogs, try the riveralong the Ten Mile Road.

Southwest IndianaDedra Hawkins at the Fishin

Shedd in Bloomington reportssome great catfish action atMonroe Reservoir. Dedrasays they are bringing in catsweighing upwards of 40pounds! If you want takeone try night crawlers, chick-en livers or chubs. The bassare also hitting especiallywell on spinnerbaits in shal-low water. Walleyes are stillbeing taken from the bigwater by trolling with night

crawlers and spoons. Thebluegills and crappies are stillplentiful, so head down toSouthwest Indiana and catch yourlimit.

Well, have a happy and safefourth of July. Enjoy the familypicnics and gatherings, then slipout later and head for your favoritefishing hole. In this warm weath-er be sure and take plenty of wateror other cool drinks. And its notwimpy to use sun screen. Well,Im out of here for now, so remem-ber what Ol JB always says, nomatter what the weather, the fishwill be biting somewhere and itsyour job to find that place. Goodluck and Ill see you next month.

large and smallmouth bass are hit-ting on tube style baits and jigs.Some really nice sized bass havebeen taken in the recent bass tour-neys. Catfish action is so stillgoing strong . Sounds like youcant go wrong unless you donthave a line in the water!

North Central IndianaJim Housmen at Ye Old

Tackle Box in North Websterreports great bass action onWawasee using soft plastics,wacky rigs and top waters.Musky action is slowing down inthe area but theyre still taking afew. Catfish action is picking upin the area and bluegills are stillhitting the wigglers.

Central IndianaRichard McCalla at the Bait

Barn in Indianapolis says the fish-ing is getting pretty tough in hisarea. However, they are gettingsome nice smallmouth with min-nows and worms. If you try fish-ing the rivers or creeks in the arealook for the pools of deeper waterif you want some action. Crappieand bluegill are still hitting and thewhite bass are providing someaction in Eagle Creek.

Northwest IndianaPenny Boisvert at Greenwood

Bait Shop in English Lake says theKankakee is low but still fishable.The recent rains will certainly be awelcome relief. The Ten MileRoad at Kankakee Fish & Wildlife

I think the early warm weath-er this year has affected the biolog-ical clocks of the deer around myplace. For the past two weeks Ihave watched them browsingunder the apple trees in my back-yard. I know they are checkingfor fallen apples. I guess they feelit has been warm long enough thatthe apples should be there. I amalmost tempted to dump someapples there just to keep their spir-its up.

I am a little confused by theweather myself, as it feels like thedog days of summer already.Many areas are experiencing lowwater but everything is still fish-able and hopefully we will getsome more rain soon.

Lake MichiganGlen Cajewski at Mik-Lurch

Tackle in Hammond tells me thehotspot for trout is the pier atMichigan City. Glen says theyretaking Skmania steelhead onshrimp under a bobber. You couldalso try a Little Cleo or otherspoon. Expect some good perch

Spoiled for life...7 year-old Gavin Kole caughtthis 23-inch largemouth inLaPorte County on a YUMHoudini Shad. It was Gavinsfirst time bass fishing. Way togo, kid! Josh Lantz photo.


Indiana's approval of a newbass slot limit for Hoosier riversand streams went into effect in lateMay, much to the chagrin ofMichiana bass groups.

Several have let it be knownthat they were surprised the DNRproposal passed, yet admit theydidn't speak up when the DNRrolled it out.

Shame on them. The proposal has been covered

repeatedly in this space, includinga column in which we raised con-cerns about the section that makesyoung bass legal table fare.

Apparently, no one took theDNR seriously until the law wasapproved. According to DNRrecords, less than a handful ofnorthern anglers submitted com-ments during the comment period.

So, the proposal sailedthrough DNR channels with littlefanfare and went into effect in lateMay. That's how democracy works.

As a result, no bass 12 to 15inches may be kept and only twoover 15 inches may be kept perangler. The five fish bag limit

remains the same.Previously, the law allowed

anglers to possess five bass thatmeasure of a minimum of 12 inch-es in any species.

The new regulations apply tomost Indiana streams; the 14-inchsize limit on lakes remains thesame.

And while most bass clubberssay the slot limit will bugger uptheir river tournaments, I'm moreconcerned about how many lil' basswill get filleted now that it's legalto keep them.

The DNR believes the slotlimit will afford increased protec-tion, particularly for smallmouthbass populations, and may increasethe quality of smallmouth bassfishing opportunities in certainstreams.

Initially, the NRC asked for ablanket 14-inch bass size limit forrivers to match that in most lakes,which, to those of us in the north-ern part of the state, makes moresense.

But some biologists, especial-ly southern Indiana fish managers,objected. They had two concerns:1) that small bass would be stock-piled and create an imbalance insize structure, and 2) that 14 inchesgave unnecessary protection fornon-native and prolific spottedbass that compete with smallmouthbass. Spotted bass rarely grow larg-er than 12 inches in streams and are

Is a slot limit good for the St. Joe?

LOUIESTOUT

more prominent in southernflowages.

While I agree that the slotlimit should produce a few biggerfish, one has to question the ration-ale of allowing small bass to bekept. That may not be a major issuein southern Indiana, but it could bea detriment to rivers like the St. Joethat receive a lot of urban fishingpressure.

As any experienced bassangler will tell you, catching smallbass, especially smallmouth, is nota problem. They'll bite a wormdangling from a bobber or anythingelse you put in front of them.

And to those who like to keepfish, small bass are tastier thanlarger ones. A lot of 10 inchers willgo home in buckets and land inskillets.

Besides, the former 12-inchsize limit offered adequate protec-tion and there's been no stock-pil-ing on the St. Joe.

Furthermore, there are few ifany spotted bass in the St. Joe.

So, why not limit the slot pro-tection to smallmouth?

The DNR says that limitingthe regulation to smallies or pro-viding special restrictions on dif-ferent bodies of water would com-plicate the law even more, yet itimposed exceptions for the OhioRiver which borders Kentucky.Ohio River anglers will fish underthe current 12-inch minimum size

River SmallmouthSt. Joe River Float TripsAll Tackle / Call Today!

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limit and 6-fish bag limit to matchKentucky. However, on tributarieson the Ohio River within countiesthat border theOhio River, thesize limit is 12with a bag limitof five. If that'snot confusingenough, the slotlimit doesapply to OhioRiver tributar-ies once theye x t e n du p s t r e a mbeyond thatcounty line.

If they canset special reg-ulations on theOhio, why notimpose specialregulations forthe popular St.Joe (which,frankly, didn'tneed thesechanges in thefirst place)?

Biologistssay they willmonitor basspopulations inthe St. Josephover the nextfew years toevaluate theeffects of the

new regulations.Let's hope they prove me

wrong.

Eddie Campbell and his father drive from the Chicagoarea a couple times per year to catch and releasesmallies on the St. Joe River. Big ones like this 18-incher are what they come for. Time will tell ifIndianas new black bass river slot limit improves whatis already a super fishery. Josh Lantz photo.


by JOSHLANTZ

Located just south of FrenchLick and West Baden Springs at theintersection of Dubois, Orange andCrawford Counties, the 8,800 acrePatoka Lake is one of eight Indianareservoirs designed and constructedby the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers. Young by lake stan-dards, Patoka was opened to thepublic in August of 1980. Here youwill find expanses of calm, sap-phire waters protected by rollinghills and dense forests.

Such beautiful waters deservebeautiful surroundings. There isvery little private development onPatoka Lake. Instead, it is sur-rounded by over 25,000 acres ofstate and national forest lands.There are four separate StateRecreation Areas -- Lick Fork,Jackson, Tillery Hill and Newton-Stewart -- in addition to portions ofthe Hoosier National Forest andother federal lands controlled bythe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.All of these lands are public andoffer great amenities like a 1,200foot-long beach, nearly 600 camp-sites in three different camp-grounds, ten public boat ramps, andmiles of hiking trails. All of thiswild land is a mecca for wildlife.

Eagles and Ospreys soar overhead,while deer and wild turkeys feedalong the shore.

Patoka is a boaters andanglers dream. It is one of thecleanest, least-crowded lakes in thenation. The lake is known for itsgreat fishing for largemouth bass,catfish, bluegill, redear, small-mouth and trophy striped bass, butmay be best known for its excep-tional crappie fishing. But Patokasangling story has gotten even betterover the past few years. Five yearsago, you see, the IndianaDepartment of Natural Resourcesbegan stocking walleyes intoPatokas productive waters. Andtoday, some truly remarkable catch-es are being made.

If all of this sounds good, getout your September calendars andstart planning your getaway; per-haps during your kids fall break?

Chances are youll get toPatoka on a single tank of gas, andI havent even told you the best partyet.

The Place to Be on Patoka LakeJeff and Shellie Dukes own

and operate Hoosier Hills Marina -- a clean and friendly place tuckedneatly into a cove on the west endof Patoka Lake. The marina has

everything youd expect from a fullservice marina, plus a lot more.They offer rental slips from 20-to-80-feet, small boat rentals, fuel, aconvenience store and -- theirmost-recent addition -- Patoka LakePizza and Wings, a welcomed addi-tion on the lake serving great pizza,wings, sandwiches and breadsticks.Just hail them on channel 69 onyour marine radio and your orderwill be ready in no time!

Perhaps the best part ofHoosier Hills Marina, however, istheir fleet of beautiful and well-appointed houseboats. Think total-ly self contained cabin right on thewater. Then add an outboard motor.

Hoosier Hills Marina offersaffordable houseboat vacations on afleet of clean and comfortable, self-contained houseboats ranging from58-feet to 72-feet in length.Economical and easy to operate,each houseboat contains all theamenities of home -- comfortablebeds, multiple bathrooms, fullkitchens, gas grills and entertain-ment systems. Tow along your ownfishing boat or rent one from themarina and youll be experiencingPatoka Lake in the very best waypossible. Fish or play all day, thenanchor in a secluded cove for apeaceful nights rest like you

World class fishing, family fun, relax-ation and value await visitors onPatoka Lakes pristine and uncrowdedwaters this fall and late summer.


havent had in years. The kids canhave their own bedrooms.

Patoka Lake is never crowded,but there are a lot fewer visitors tothe area after Labor Day. Combinethis with Septembers beautifulweather and great fishing andyouve got yet another great reasonto plan a late-summer Patoka get-away. Even better, Jeff and Shellieare offering some great special sav-ings for folks coming in after LaborDay, including 20% off any house-boat rental. While the houseboatsare easy to operate and the HoosierHills staff will go over all aspectsof their use and operation, manyvisitors prefer to keep the house-boats dockside and use them as sta-tionary, floating cabins. In recogni-tion of this, Hoosier Hills will renthouseboats as floating cabins afterLabor Day for as little as$250/night for a 4 bedroom boat!There is a lot of room on theseboats, so think about sharing theexperience (and the expense) withanother family and a good deal getseven better. Rent one of HoosierHills versatile fishing boats for anadditional $50/day, and your vaca-tion package is complete!

Patoka Lake Fishing UpdateI spoke with Jeff recently

about Patokas unique fishery. Hesaid the bass, bluegill and whitebass fishing has remained consis-tent, and also mentioned that thestriper fishing is good too -- as longas you can find the fish. Septemberand October are good months forstriper fishing, as they often followthe shad into the creek arms wherethey can often be found busting theschools of bait on the surface.

Jeff told me that this pastspring provided some of the bestcrappie fishing on Patoka he canremember, with multiple catches of1-1/2 to 2-lb. crappies being madein March. While the crappie actionslows a bit in the summer, Jeffexpects this fall to be as good orbetter for giant crappies as it wasthis spring.

Of course the biggest anglingnews at patoka is its booming wall-eye fishery. Weve seen folkscatching a large number of fish inthe 24-26-inch range, says Dukes,with several fish between 25 and28-inches also being caught that aretipping the scales at up to 8-pounds. Sounds like the place tobe if you are looking for heavywalleyes in Indiana. AndSeptember/October is certainly thebest time of year to target these tro-phy fish as they look to fatten up

for the winter.

Unique Area AttractionsAs if this beautiful piece of

water and its first class outdoorrecreation werent enough, a num-ber of exiting attractions lie justminutes from Patokas shores. TheFrench Lick Hotel and Casino, andthe historic West Baden SpringsHotel lie just to the north in historicFrench Lick. Exciting caves includ-ing Wyandotte Caves, BluespringCaverns and Marengo Caves arealso nearby and beg exploration.And the Holiday World AmusementPark -- another national attraction -- is only a short drive south of thelake.

Late summer and early fall is agreat time to visit Patoka Lake, anda houseboat getaway from HoosierHills Marina is the best way toexperience this Indiana outdoorjewel -- a recreational dream withgreat fishing and great wildlifeviewing, without the crowds. Thislargely undiscovered region of thestate has so much to offer. GiveJeff and Shellie a call today at 866-678-3313, check out their websiteat www.hoosierhillsmarina.com, ore-mail them at [email protected].

A recent two-person limit of walleyesbrought into Hoosier Hills Marina.


The Great Lakes beckon thistime of year. The pull of openwaters promises the king of freshwater fish, the salmon.

Traveling for my first time toNew York, Niagara USA steeredour group into the capable hands ofCaptain James Gordon of CaptainJim's Charters.

As we headed out of Olcott theweather looked ideal for fishing.We had a light chop and slightlyovercast skies. Ready to get ourbite on, Nort Johnson of the BlackHills, Badlands, and LakesAssociation and my cameraman,Mark Smith of Angling the GreatLakes TV were my fishing team.

Water temperature is impor-tant to the bite on Ontario and run-ning through 100 foot of water thefish seemed to congregate at about60 feet. Captain Jim set the down-riggers, trolling with his secretweapon spoons in a north southpattern.

Fishing in New York is differ-ent than fishing other places. If a

captain is not on the bite, they callother captains to try to get to whereit is. While they are in competitionfor clients they realize that it'sgood for everyone to have happyclients that will come back to NewYork.

Our first bite came quickly.Taking the large tackle in hand Ibegan playing the fish. Keeping theline tight the fish made a run. Ipulled back and reeled. The bigfish broke, jumping out of the bluewaters of Lake Ontario. I had aking on.

I muscled the rod back and feltthe king respond to my insistence.He would tire before I would; Iwould make sure of that. I reeledthe line taking up slack. Musclingthe rod back again, the king beganto tire. Finally at the back of theboat, I held my breath as CaptainJim netted my fish. Nothing is forsure when you're fishing salmon,having one on the line and landingit can be two very different things.

I had landed my first LakeOntario King. It was a beautifuldeep silver color, and put up a heckof a fight. It was time for Nort tohook up. We didn't have to waitlong. He worked the fish to theback of the boat as it jumped andcrested putting on a show. The fishwas netted and it was a rarity, awild Atlantic salmon.

Lake Ontario was once thelargest freshwater habitat of theAtlantic salmon. While they arenow making a comeback, pollutionand habitat loss had all butdestroyed the wild population in

these waters. Captain Jim said dur-ing his long career guiding on thelake he has only boated ten Atlanticsalmon. Silver, with deep greentones, reminiscent of the Atlanticdepths it originated in, Nort had atrophy.

Our day of fishing was farfrom over. We continued trolling,and there were other species ofsalmon to catch. Ontario promisedto keep us guessing with everyhookup.

One of the rods off the back ofthe boat dipped low in response toa heavy fish finding the spoon irre-sistible. It was another good fight-er. I reeled and played the big fishthrough the cold blue waters. As Iworked, avoiding the other lines atthe back of the boat, I was remind-ed of my childhood fishing inMichigan. Pulling fish nearly aslarge as myself from the coldwaters and then enjoying the fishfrom a friend's homemade smokerstill makes my mouth water 30years later. I know most peopletalk about the fight and the act oflanding the fish. I think about howit will taste. Captain Jim netted my big King. Iwas so thrilled with the haul I hadto kiss the fish. Nothing like a lit-tle bit of salmon flavored lip-glossto keep inspired to catch more.Another rod on the back of the boatbent over. Nort hooked into a bigKing. It crested, jumped androlled. Diving deep the salmontried to create slack in the line andspit the hook tethering it to the rod.Again it crested the water jumping

into the graying sky. Nort kept histension steady reeling the big fishcloser to the boat. The wily salmonjumped then rolled in quick pro-gression. The combinationallowed the hook to lose its pur-chase. The large fish dove back tothe depths of Lake Ontario to fightanother day. Kings are great fight-ers, one inevitably spits the hookon every trip I have taken, that'swhat makes it exciting to fishthem. There are no sure things nomatter thefishing skillson board.

The skiesbegan to dark-en to the west.Captain Jimkept one eyeon the horizonand the otheron the lines inthe water aswe continuedt r o l l i n g .Another lineplayed out. Itwas my turnto reel again.It felt like amuch lighterfish, but theaction wasstill lively.The smallerfish dove androlled like hisl a r g e rbrethren. Ihad him glid-ing on top of

the water in short order right toCaptain Jim's net. I landed a Coho.

Captain Jim said we had timefor one more pass. Soon Nort washooked up again. It was a lighterfish than the last few hook ups.Reeling to the back of the boat ajack, or immature king salmon,crested the water. Nort releasedthe young fish so someone elsecould have the opportunity to catchhim when he matures.

The dark clouds had descend-ed onto our fishing grounds. Theimpending front turned off the biteand it was time to head back to portand call it a day.

Lake Ontario produced strongfighting fish and a couple of sur-prises. I was captivated fishing theclear cold waters, sharing theopportunity with others who appre-ciate the bounties offered in thewilds whether it is the deep watersof Lake Ontario or the majesticbadlands.

Hunting, fishing and all things outdoors for women by women.

Kiss the Fish and Make Them Cry

D.L.SMITHCurves in Camo

My FirstWild Boar HuntSTACYYOUNGCurves in Camo

Ill be honest. A wild boarwas never in my top five animalsto hunt. Had it not been for acouple great friends at the Buckand Boar in South Carolina, Iwould never have given this hunta chance.

I took a week off work andmade the twelve hour drive toSouth Carolina. I knew nothingabout boars except that they arenasty looking and very mean.All that was going through myhead on the trip was that thesepigs were going to be too easy tokill because they are slow andfat.

When I got to the lodge, Iwas amazed to see how beautifulit was. I didn't want to leave. Iwent to bed early so I would bewell rested for the next morningwhen Scott and Ronnie wouldcome to take me out.

They arrived around seven

so we could be in the woods byeight. They started teaching me alittle about hogs; how they are inthe daylight and how they are atnight. What they told me was a lotdifferent than I had thought.

I always thought a boar wouldcharge as soon as it saw you at anytime day or night. This is not thecase at all. During the day, if a hogcharges, most of the time it'sbecause you're between a sow andher babies. Most of the time theyrun away. Now, at night, it's a dif-ferent story! They are not afraid ofanything at night. They will try toeat you! I got to see how true thiswas when we walked through thewoods during the day. The hogswould smell us and take off run-ning in the opposite direction.

I did all the scent free soap,shampoo, and detergent, but noneof that mattered. Those pigs couldsmell better than any other animal Ihad ever been around. At one pointwe were 70 yards away from a nap-ping pig and we could see its nos-trils flare from smelling us before ittook off. Those darn hogs areFAST! One minute you would seethem; the next all you saw wasdust.

We tried to play the wind butin the mountains, all it did wasswirl. This happened about twentytimes the first day, and I started torealize how hard these things wereto hunt. That's when I started totake this game a little more serious-ly. I am not going to be outsmartedby any freaking pig, I told myself!Scott, my guide, took me around allday long and we came up to manydifferent herds of hogs, but theywould either hear us, see us, or --most of the time -- smell us.

I had brought my recurve bowbecause I thought it would be easyto shoot a big hog the first day andI could spend the rest of the weektrying to shoot one with my bow.Boy was I wrong again! I spottedand stalked for two full days tryingto get the perfect opportunity to killa hog. Don't get me wrong, therewere many hogs to shoot, I justkept screwing up the chances I wasgiven.

During my last day, Scott and Iwalked up on a couple big hogsthat were coming our way. We justhappened to have the mountainwinds blowing in our favor at themoment, so the hogs could not getwind of us. Scott said, Don'tmove and they won't be able to seeus. Get your gun ready and shootthe one in front, it's the biggerhog.

My heart started pounding assoon as I put my scope on the pig'sface. I squeezed the trigger andnothing happened. What? Scottsaid in a whisper. You forgot tocock the gun. Well crap! I hadhunted these pigs for three daysnow and finally got a chance to getone and all of my common sensewent out the window. So, I cockedthe gun and didn't have a shot at thehog in the front, but I could still getthe one in the back. By the time Ishouldered the gun these hogs wereonly about 15 yards in front of us.Again, I squeezed the trigger andnothing happened. They heardsomething and took off. There Istood, confused again, like always.Scott looked at me and reluctantlysaid, The safety is still on.

So of course, what does a girldo? I let a couple tears fall out ofmy eyeballs. Scott stood there and

told me we still had all day toregroup. I was so bummed. Ithought I had just ruined the one,actually two chances I had atkilling a hog. We walked for about45 more minutes then came up onfour hogs sleeping.

Scott said, stop right here,don't move. About that time a pigstood up at 40 yards. Hogs can'tsee very well so if we didn't movethey might not know what we were.I stood so still I didn't even want tobreathe. It stood there staring at usfor what felt like half a day, then itstarted walking across in front ofus. That gave me a chance to getthe gun up and cocked with thesafety off. I wasn't screwing thisone up.

The hog turned broadside andI squeezed thetrigger. BOOM!Next thing Iknow, we haveabout 150 hogsrunning right atus! I startedyelling at Scott,Get your gun,get your gun, getyour gun! Thecloser they got tous they started tosplit and ran onthe left and rightsides of us. Thatwas a heck of arush! After thedust cleared Ilooked at Scottand said, Did Iget it? He saidhe saw the dustfly off his bodyso he knew I gotit. When he said

that, I hit the ground and startedbawling! We walked up to the hog and Ihugged Scott and jumped up anddown. I just could not believethat I actually got one.

It took me a total of 26hours of stalking to get my 248-pound European hog. This huntturned out to be one of the bestof my life. I would recommendeveryone go on a hog hunt evenif you don't think it sounds likefun. Trust me, it is a blast! Ofcourse, it certainly helps going toa place like the Buck and BoarOutfitters in South Carolina.Ronnie and Scott will do every-thing in their power to get you ahog and make it a great experi-ence.

CCUURRVVEESS IINN CCAAMMOO

Mark Smith Photo.


Fly Fishing Offers aNew Challenge

KRISTENMONROECurves in Camo

Have you ever experiencedsomething in your life and won-dered why you waited so long totry it? Maybe it was fear of theunknown. Perhaps no one youknew did it.

Before I tried fly-fishing Ihad the preconceived notion thatyou need a stream full of trout,casting was impossible, and a tonof cash to get started (elitist atti-tude included). Back in March,however, I saw legendary fly-fish-erman Lefty Kreh's seminar at theWoodstock Great Outdoors Expoand my attitudes began to change.

I am blessed to have manyfriends in the outdoors industry,so I started asking around forsome guidance. Josh Lantz, fel-low outdoor communicator andprofessional fishing guide, offeredto teach me the sport. He quicklyput my misconceptions to bed byteaching the basics of a cast.Before long I was fighting a

smallmouth into the drift boat witha huge grin on my face.

Casting fears resolvedBefore I took the first cast, my

nerves got the best of me. I wascertain I would fail miserably. Thelesson began by practicing movingthe fly rod back-and-forth without afly attached. Josh wanted me to getthe feel of loading the rod, orbeing able see the rod bend slightlyat the tip and feel the tug from theweight of the line on each forwardand back cast. It is imperative notto use the rod like a whip. To max-imize your cast, be sure to keepyour wrist firm while starting andstopping the rod abruptly betweenthe forward and back casts.People think they need to reallywhip the line and tend to overworkthe fly rod, said Lantz. Today'sfly rods will do all the work for youonce you learn to feel and harnesstheir power, he continued.Overworking the rod decreases thedistance of the cast and quicklybecomes tiresome to the fly caster.A tailing loop will also cause knotsin the leader when the rod is beingused like a whip.

Fishing from the drift boat onan eight-mile stretch allowed us toget close to the bank which helpedbuild my casting confidence.While taking the first cast I spokeout loud talking though all the keypoints Lantz taught me. I reallyhad to think about my every movesince I normally fish with tradition-al spinning gear. It only took a fewminutes before my timing andmotion created a decent cast, andwe moved on to the retrieve of theline and fly.

Keep the rod tip low andpointed straight down towards thewater, said Lantz. Stripping theline was easy to learn. It's basical-ly getting into a rhythm of short

strips with pauses in between -doing what is necessary to make thefly appear like live prey. The slow,short cadence worked best to catchsmallmouth that day, but therhythm may change based on thefish's mood.

Sneaky smallmouths-a-plentyI continued to cast towards the

bank, working the line and mycrayfish pattern fly back to theboat. My confidence slowly beganto build. Then it happened. Asneaky smallmouth grabbed theolive colored fly. Setting the hookwas different as well. It was mere-ly a matter of giving it a secondthen lifting the rod. Since thesmallies often creep from behindand eat tail first, it can be surpris-ingly tricky to notice the bite. It'simportant to watch the end of thecolored fly line where it meets theleader. According to Lantz, this isyour bobber when fly fishing forsmallies. Watch to see if the end ofthe fly line does anything unusualduring the retrieve. If you don't,you're going to miss a lot of fish.

Even though my first fish onthe fly was not a record small-mouth, I felt proud to put it in theboat. I think my teacher was a tadproud as well.

The good news about fly fish-ing is you don't have live near thestream featured in A River RunsThrough It. Here in the Midwest,we have limited trout streams butsmallmouth bass are very accessi-ble and anyone can find them.They swim in nearly every river inour region, fight incredibly hardand are really fun to catch, saidLantz. They really are built for flyfishing, he continued.

Affordable gearThe more I learned about fly

fishing, the more intrigued I

became. Many more questionscame to mind, especially about thegear. Fly-fishing gear is all aboutnumbers and there are endlessoptions for flies. Lantz tied someof the flies we used the nightbefore, and his favorite for ourlocation was the olive colored cray-fish fly. We also used some whiteand chartreuse Clouser minnows.The 9-foot, 5-weight fly rod I wasusing was a perfect size for small-mouth, with a matching 5-weightfloating fly line and an eight-footmonofilament leader tapered downto 8-pound test tippet. If you areserious about getting into the sport,Lantz recommends purchasing twooutfits -- a 5-weight and an 8-weight - for fly fishing in our area.The 5-weight would work well forsmallmouth, trout and panfish,while the 8-weight would have youcovered for largemouth, steelhead,pike and salmon.

Despite the elitist stereo-type, the fly fishing industry haschanged a lot in the past ten yearswith manufacturers finally produc-ing affordablee q u i p m e n t .Expect to pay$150 to $280 fora decent pre-matched combo,which includesfly rod, reel, lineand leader. Youcould invest in apair of waters, oreven a drift boatbut it's not neces-sary. Anyonecould simplythrow on a pairof old tennisshoes, shorts andhit the localwaters. Whengear is reason-ably priced, more

people are willing and able to tryit out.

Thanks to Josh for sharinghis knowledge and expertise. Iam now definitely ready to getmy own fly gear. I do have abirthday coming up this month,and I look forward meeting moredown-to-earth fly-fishing friends.

If you go...World Class Fly Fishing

with Josh Lantz operates inNorthern Indiana and SouthwestMichigan and is headquartered inNew Buffalo, a great little townon Lake Michigan just across theMichigan line. Contact Josh at219-728-8996. Those looking tomix fishing with a little pamper-ing can do no better than theHarbor Grand Hotel located righton the New Buffalo Harbor andjust steps from great shopping,dining and the New BuffaloBeach. Call them at 888-605-8800 or visit their website atwww.harborgrand.com.

Alpen Optics Offers No-Fault Binocular & ScopeGuarantee

One of the best-kept andmost valuable secrets in outdoorgear is Alpen Optics. Thefounder of the company is a for-mer executive with one of thehousehold name sports opticsfirms. He just knew he couldoffer a better product for lessmoney. Fifteen years later, AlpenOptics of Rancho Cucamonga,California is leading the pack when it comes to an extensive line of topproducts that rival the European scopes and binos at prices that under-cut the also-ran optics firms, world-wide.

Alpens newest innovation is its No-Fault, No-Blame, No-ProblemWarranty. Say you drop your binoculars out of your treestand. If theybreak (and you recover them and ship them to the firm) Alpen willrepair or replace them at no charge! You dont even need to send asales receipt.

Check out this companys line of products at http://www.alpenop-tics.com. Phone (877) 987-8370 Toll Free. Their products are availableat retailers, nationwide and at many web-based retail outlets.

LifeProof Presents Only Case on the Market to Both Protect and Enhance AllFeatures of iPhone 4/4S

LifeProof presents its next generation case for the Apple iPhone 4/4S.It is waterproof, dustproof, snowproof and shockproof and is the only suchiPhone case on the market that form fits and lets users take advantage ofevery innovative feature of the phone.

LifeProof is more than just an accessory. It is a technical piece ofequipment to both protect and enable users to stay connected while captur-ing the outdoor experience taking pictures or shooting video, even under-water, listening to music while enjoying a sport or outdoor activity or sim-ply everyday use.

The LifeProof case offers the following protection and enhancementfeatures and benefits for full use whether in a boat or kayak, on the trail orcrossing a field, in the mountains, riding on pavement or on any other out-door adventureall contained in a slim profile, sleek case that easily slipsin and out of pockets.

Unlike other cases, LifeProof's open screen face allows unrestricteduse of all features. An ultra-flat screenprotector makes operating and interacting with the iPhone 4/4S highlyresponsive without the need of a separate screen protector. CrystalCleardouble anti-reflective coated camera-grade glass lens delivers the sharpesteight megapixel images possible, with perfect camera flash operation. HD videos can be taken everywhere - underwater, in dirt, on snow -

with full shock and impact protection even on pavement. Underwater protection up to 2M/6.6' depth. (Optional adapter even

allows for use of waterproof headphones.) The case is tested to military specifications for shock and impact

resistance. Patent-pending Sound Enhancement System (SES) improves the bass

and mid-frequency speaker response by utilizing the back of the caseas a sub-woofer for a richer, fuller sound.

Optimum performance and reception of the iPhone 4/4S dual antennadesign is ensured.

Some key accessories areavailable to further enhance theoutdoor experience of theLifeProof case. They include theAdapter Compatible withGoPro mounts, Belt Clip, Bikeand Bar Mount and anArmband/Swimband.

LifeProof cases are avail-able for sale at $79.99 on thecompany's website at www.life-proof.com and Best Buy, AT&Tand RadioShack retail outletsacross the U.S.

Completely cleaning your firearm is aseasy as 1-2-3 with Birchwood Caseys 1-2-3Aerosol Value Pack. This simple three stepprocess cleans and protects firearms for moreshooting adventures. Included in the 1-2-3Aerosol Value Pack is Bore Scrubber, GunScrubber and Barricade.

Step 1: Bore Scrubber. Clean out lead andcopper fouling, powder residue and plasticwad residue with Bore Scrubber. This solutiondissolves all residue from shots fired to cleanout the barrel of any gun.

Step 2: Gun Scrubber. Completely cleanall the components of the firearm with Gun

1-2-3 Aerosol Value Pack From Birchwood-Casey: Gun Cleaning Easy as 1-2-3!Scrubber. This solution removes dirt andpowder residue for a more reliable perform-ing firearm.

Step 3: Barricade. Protect all metal partsfrom rust with Barricade. Barricade is alsoused for removing light surface rust.

To watch the complete process of clean-ing a firearm with the Birchwood Casey 1-2-3 Aerosol Value Pack, click on the video.Log onto the Birchwood Casey website atwww.birchwoodcasey.com, write to 7900Fuller Road, Eden Prairie, MN 55344-2195or call 800.328.6156 x7933 for more infor-mation.


Gone Afield monthly photo contest. . .Its EASY! Its FUN! Fill out this form and send it in with your favorite outdoor photograph.

A winner will be randomly selected each month to win a great outdoor prize!

Entry Information:

Person submitting the photo:

Name(s) of person(s) pictured:

Other information describing the photo:

If Im selected as this months random winner, please send my prize to:

Send your photos to:Gone AfieldP.O. Box 40

Knox, IN 46534E-mail submissions welcome at: [email protected].

If mailing photos, please include a SASE if youd like us to return them to you

CONTEST RULES: Raghorn, Inc. shall retain the right to publish or not publish any images submitted in anyof its media outlets. Winners chosen at random. Prizes are subject to change and contest may cease withoutnotice.

This months answers FromPuzzle on Page 5

THIS MONTHS WINNER!THIS MONTHS WINNER!

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Clockwise from below. . . 1) Jack Gill took this gob-bler on opening day of Indianas youth season. The turkeyweighed 18-lbs., had a 4" beard and 1/2" spurs. 2) ArthurCollier from Orleans, IN caught some nice crappies on PatokaLake with J & R Guide Service . The fish were caught in tim-bered coves on the main lake on 1/8 oz. Southern Pro Jigs andHot Grubs. 3) David Kessen and his kids had a great time fish-ing recently on Lake Wawasee. 4) Kolton Graves, age 11, ofStar City, IN shot this nice bird during the youth season inPulaski County. The tom weighed 21 pounds. 5) 16 year-oldJustin Fox of Hebron, IN with his first deer! 6) Bobby Nevitt,Laura Nevitt and Bob Nevitt Sr. had a memorable opening daythis past spring, scoring these three super Indiana Gobblers!

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Believe it or not, the techniquefor shooting a rifle or pistol accu-rately is very simple: you merelyobtain proper sight alignment,properly squeeze the trigger andthen follow through on both things.

Regardless if the weapon ispappys old horse pistol or atricked-out .50 BMG sniper rifle,these rules are proven and invio-lable.

However, as combat shootingguru Ray Chapman is alleged tohave said, Shooting is simple. Itjust aint easy. In other words,the concepts are basic but the appli-cation of those concepts can be dif-ficult. Thats why very few peo-ple leave the shooting range with asingle ragged hole in the target.

The goal of marksmanship isaccuracy. A missed shot is utterlyworthless and can even be danger-ous to your self-esteem, wallet,freedom or life. Though the defi-nition of accuracy is somewhat sub-jective depending on the weapon,distance and shooter, the end resultcan always be improved through

Trigger Control: Simple but not Easy

The Straight ShooterBRENTWHEAT

attention to the basic fundamentalsof shooting.

While sight alignment and fol-low-through are worthy topics thatwill likely be covered sometime inthe future, this month we are goingto focus on trigger pull as it isarguably the single most importantpart of the whole shooting process.

But why? you ask. Itspretty simple; you pull the triggerand the gun goes BANG! End ofstory, right?

Nope. Though it might seemimprobable, it has been proven thatyour actions on the trigger have sig-nificant effect upon the flight of thebullet. This is because when youslap or slam the trigger, you areactually setting the gun into motionbefore the bullet leaves the barrel.

For example, suppose you vio-lently jerk the trigger. This causesthe gun to move in an impercepti-ble, ever-so-slight downward arcand by the time the bullet reachesone hundred yards downrange, it isgouging some nice furrows in frontof the target. Anybody want toplant tomatoes?

Most of the time things arentquite so dramatic but concept is thesame. As you will seldom fire thegun in exactly the same mannerevery time, your shots end up allover the place.

The perfect trigger pull is onethat allows the gun to remainmotionless throughout the firingcycle. In order to develop this typeof perfection, you must develop the

ability to steadily squeeze the trig-ger without starting, stopping, jerk-ing, mashing, yanking, slamming,jamming or otherwise varying inthe effort.

On some firearms the triggerbreak will come as a surprise, muchlike a glass rod cracking. On others,it will feel like you are pushing aconcrete block up a long sandyramp. Regardless, you must striveto pull the trigger with a steady,unwavering motion. Anythingelse simply wont work.

With some practice you will beable to almost tell the exact instantthe hammer will fall on your partic-ular weapon. Avoid the tempta-tion, as Staging the trigger andanticipating the shot are commoncontributors to poor accuracy.Dont worry about exactly whenthe gun will fire, just start and keepsqueezing the trigger properly untilit happens.

If you are having trouble withthis, think of single overripe grapeplaced between your finger and thetrigger. Your goal is to fire the gunwithout making grape juice.

Finger placement on the trig-ger is important. With most riflesand single-action pistols, placingthe pad of your finger on the triggeris all that is necessary. Putting anymore of your digit onto the triggerwill likely cause the weapon tomove in some unintended directionas you fire it. You also want toplace your finger so that it engagesthe trigger at precisely a 90-degree

angle to the bore of the gun. Thisis especially critical in long-dis-tance rifle shooting.

When shooting a double-action weapon such as a revolver,youll need to place the first joint ofyour finger on the trigger to haveenough strength to pull the heaviertrigger. Its more challenging tomaintain proper trigger squeeze butis possible.

Another common problem isallowing your finger to fly off thetrigger after the shot. This willcause difficulties with the follow-up shots because your finger gets arunning start from somewhere outin left field, then slaps the triggerand youve missed again. Instead,just allow the trigger to gofar enough forward to resetthe action and no further.

Dry-firing practice is anexcellent way to hone yourtrigger control. After mak-ing triple-sure your gun isunloaded and pointed in asafe direction, practicepulling the trigger on theempty chamber. If the gunmoves at all, start over. Anold trick is to balance a dimeon the barrel and see if youcan pull the trigger withoutdisturbing the coin.

One caution: NEVER attemptto lighten or otherwise clean up atrigger yourself. Though someskilled gunsmiths can perform anaction job to make the triggercrisper, allowing a buddy to light-en-up the trigger pull or, God for-bid, taking a file to the action your-self can result in a smoother trigger.It can also end up in tragedy whenthe gun fires at an unintendedmoment. Just dont mess aroundwith trigger assemblies!

Though it might seem like asmall thing, trigger pull is the key-stone to the entire shooting process.If you can master this simple butnot easy task, you will be lightyears ahead of many shooters.

The perfect trigger pull is onethat allows the gun to remainmotionless throughout thefiring cycle.

Hands On Nature:Grasshopper Olympics

Here is a math activity to learnmore about grasshoppers amazingability to jump. You need a flatgrassy area, a tape measure andsome slender sticks to use as mark-ers.

Place a stick on the grass foryour starting point. Standing ontwo feet, see how far you can jumpforward. Mark your landing placewith another stick and measure thedistance you jumped. Repeat this 2more times. Did you go farther thesecond or third time?

Add the three distances for each of the jumps and divide by 3. Thenumber you get is your average standing long jump distance. Thestanding long jump was an Olympic event until 1912.

Do you think a grasshopper can jump as far as you? Maybe not inactual distance, but in relation to their size grasshoppers are superjumpers. Some can jump 20 times their own body length.

To figure out how far you would have to jump to be as good as agrasshopper, measure your height in inches. Multiple that number by20, then divide by 12. That will give you the number of feet you wouldhave to jump to be as athletic as a grasshopper. By the way, the worldrecord for the standing long jump (by a human) is 11.4 feet.

CCrree aa tt uu rr ee FFee aa tt uu rr ee :: aa ss uu rrpprr ii ss ii nn gg gg rr aa sssshh oopppp ee rrGrasshoppers are good at what

they do: eating plants and hopping,but some can also fly. The Carolinagrasshopper is one of our largestgrasshoppers. The females arenearly two inches long. Their drabtan and brown colors makes thenperfectly camouflaged for dustyfields and dry grass. This disguisekeeps them safe from predatorssuch as snakes and kestrels whowould love to eat such a fat morsel!However, when danger is near andblending into the background is notenough, the Carolina grasshopper springs into action. It leaps into the airand flares out its usually folded wings. It makes a crackling noise as itseemingly explodes out of the earth. Its outspread wings are black with ayellow band. This color contrast adds to the startling effect. During thisdisplay they are often confused with a butterfly. When the Carolina landsit seems to disappear back into the soil.

After grasshopper eggs hatch, the young molt several times as theygrow, shedding their exoskeleton for a new one. Young Carolinas do nothave wings until their final molt, usually by mid-summer.

Besides using flight to alarm predators, the males use their showywings to attract females. They fly straight up three or four feet and hoverfor several seconds before fluttering back to the ground, repeating thisdance until a female grasshopper hops over!

Did you know? When ground temperatures soar,Carolina grasshoppers crawl up on ablade of grass and face the sun. Thisreduces the amount of their body's sur-face exposed to the rays of the sun andhelps to keep them cool.

Natures AlmanacJULY

Bright orange ButterflyWeed, also known as OrangeMilkweed is flowering now.This cheery native plantattracts butterflies because theflat-topped flower clusters areeasy for a butterfly to probewith its proboscis.

Red elderberries are ripenow.

Wood frog tadpoles haveabsorbed their tails and arelittle froglets now.

Where have the orioles gone?By July, Baltimore oriolesstop visiting backyard nectarfeeders and orange slices, andinstead forage high in thetreetops for protein-richinsects.


Captain John pulled the throt-tle back to neutral and allowed theboat to drift close to the bridgeabutment. I wasn't really surprised.A half hour earlier I'd crossed theAlabama Point bridge that spannedthe inlet which connected the openGulf to the south from the protect-ed harbors between Orange Beachand the mainland. When I saw thebridge and noticed how close itwas to the marina where we wereto meet our guide, I thought tomyself, "I bet we stop under thebridge to fish for some trolls."

That's a thought from an oldmemory dating back a couple ofdecades to when I'd take my kidsfishing. One of their favorite fairytales was the one about the BillyGoats Gruff; and if you rememberthe story, there were trolls livingunder the bridge across which thegoats had to travel. Since then, Ialways think of trolls living underthe bridges I cross.

I also think of the trolls when-

Fishing for Trolls

ever I fish under a bridge and I fishunder bridges a lot. I learned longago that in addition to bridgesbeing prime territory for trolls, theymake great fish habitat, as well -and for some of the same reasons.

Bridges are often positionedstrategically in a narrow place sothe structure doesn't have to be anylonger than needed. That meansany water coming under the bridgetends to accelerate as it forcesthrough the narrows. The accentu-ated current attracts fish. If you arefishing under a bridge that has adistinct current, concentrate on thedown-current side. The fish willposition themselves there, waitingfor food to come flowing by.

The current often scours thebottom of the lake or stream deeperunder or near bridges. Boatingchannels that run under bridges areoften kept dredged. Whether natu-ral or man-made, those deep spotsattract fish. Lower a likely bait intothe depths and soon you'll find outwhat lurks below.

There's also shade under thebridge. If there's much current, theshade won't work to cool the watertemperature much, but bridgesacross slack-water lakes can pro-vide enough shade to temper thewater a few degrees. In the sum-mer, a few degrees of coolness canbe a powerful fish attractant.

Whether or not the water iscooler from the shade, the shadeitself is important since many fishinstinctively seek out shady areas.From a bait fish's point of view, thedarker the water, the better thechance of not being eaten. From apredator fish's point of view, ashaded area can offer better con-cealment and an improved chancefor an unsuspecting minnow toswim into striking distance.

Then there are bridge abut-ments. Not all bridges have them,but those that have pilings or abut-ments extending down into thewater for support along theirlength offer additional attraction tofish. The abutments provide thefoundation for both the bridge andthe food chain under the bridge.

Algae and water bugs at thebottom of the food pyramid takeroot on the concrete or steel struc-ture under bridges. That life attractsfish and other organisms that feedon algae and bugs. Predators cometo eat the algae and bug eaters andfishermen come to catch the preda-tors.

Ive fished under bridges fromthe Florida Keys to Alaska. Theyare fish magnets wherever you find

The Last ThoughtMIKESCHOONVELD

them. John handed me a light spin-

ning rod with a simple, hook, lineand sinker rig attached. I impaled alive shrimp on the hook and flippedit close to the piling, letting the baitsink down to the bottom. The oth-ers in the group sent rigs of theirown into the water and soon wewere each fast to some of the trollsliving under that bridge.

Regardless of where bridges occur,consider them prime fishing areasPhoto by author..

Jamoca Almond Fudge -- Continued from Page 2

Ontario and Lake Erie remains great throughout the summer, the best fish-ing months on the Lower Niagara River are September through May, withgiant, Lake Ontario king salmon taking center stage September andOctober and steelhead, brown trout and lake trout providing unbelievableaction from November through May.

Ive been blessed to fish throughout much of North America, and Isimply havent found a more exciting and rewarding fishery than the onein and around Niagara County, NY. The guides are refreshing too. Ofcourse they are knowledgeable, butthey are friendly too -- even enter-taining at times -- and all seem towork together for the good of theindustry. They want every visitinganglers to catch fish and have agood time. They become extreme-ly apologetic if they dont put atleast a dozen trout in the Frabillduring an afternoon of fishing. Itshilarious. A dozen steelhead is aslow afternoon for them.

I tell folks that the fishingaround Niagara Falls is like Baskin-Robbins. Theres an astoundingvariety to sample, and everyonelikes it once they get there. Yeah,its really that good.

Okay, maybe they weren'ttrolls, but the bluefish, redfish,sheepheads, catfish and rays wecaught under that Orange Beachbridge were better than any fairytale.

To hook up with some trolls ofyour own contact www. sanroc-cay.com. To plan a trip to thyeOrange Beach area, contact www.gulfshores.com

The run through Devils Hole on the lower Niagara River is a wild ride.Dan Stefanich/danstefoutdoors.com photo.

For more information onaccommodations, fishing char-ters and other attractions in theNiagara Falls region, visitwww.niagara-usa.com. Forfirst-class accommodations onthe historic Lewiston water-front, check out the Barton HillHotel and Spa at www.barton-hillhotel.com. Contact CaptainFrank Campbell or Captain JeffDraper through their websitesat www.niagaracharter.com orwww.niagaraguides.com.

Crappie USA -- Continued from Cover

deep in 4 feet of water usingorange/chartreuse Jiffy Jigs tippedwith shiners to catch 75-80 fish forthe day.

Amateur Division ResultsFirst place in the amateur divi-

sion was the St. Louis, MO team ofDaniel and Steve Gentz weighingin 7.38 pounds and earning$600.00. Daniel and Steve wereslow trolling jigs and minnows in10 feet of water with their fish sus-pended just 1-1/2 feet deep. Theteam used Stubby Steve's bait oneach of their jigs.

Second place went to the 3-person team of Stephen Moss ofWarren, IN and Melvin Shuler ofElwood, IN and Jayden Brewer ofAlexandria, IN with a weight of

6.82 pounds and earning $400. Theteam like all others were fishingSalamonie 10-12 feet deep using adouble rig with clip on floats fish-ing at 3-4 feet deep in standing tim-ber.

Taking third place wasMichael Bledsoe of Noblesville,Indiana and Bret Cunningham ofSeymour, Indiana with a weight of6.76 pounds and earning $200.Michael and Bret were spider rig-ging double minnow rigs and jigs in10 feet of water with their fish sus-pended in 3-4 feet of water andholding tight to wood.

Big Fish AwardTaking big fish of the

event was the team of Don Licht ofIndianapolis and Doug Sikoora of

Noblesville with a 1.55-lb. crappiewhich earned then an additional$245.

Congratulations to all theteams fishing this event. For a com-plete list of tournament standingsand downloadable photos for thisevent visit www.crappieusa.comthen go to Tournament Results.

A special thanks goes out tothe Wabash County CVB and Ryanand Fletcher at Bozarth CountryStore for all their help with thetournament and for hosting theFriday night seminar", saidTournament Director LarryStephens. For more informationon the area call: (800) 563-1169 orvisit their website at: www.wabash-countycvb.com.

Hidden Fall Delicacy...Indianas mushroom hunting season ended a few months ago, you say?Wrong. Cooler temperatures are right around the corner and edible (bymost people) mushrooms like the shaggy mane and the shaggy parasol(above) provide mushroom aficionados with new sport and new table fare.Photo by Wallace Pritz.

Bear Lake Bluegills...Bear Lake, near Albion in

Noble County, has long been afavorite lake among northeastIndiana bluegill anglers, and afish survey conducted there lastsummer by DNR biologists con-firmed why.

Among all fish caught in lastsummers Bear Lake survey,bluegills ranked first in numberand overall weight. Largemouthbass ranked second in numberand overall weight. Sport fishmade up 93 percent of the totalcatch and 78 percent of the totalweight.

Based on the survey catch,84 percent of the bluegills inBear Lake were 7-inch and larg-er, a size anglers generally con-sider big enough to eat.

A DNR public fishing sitewith a boat ramp is located on thelakes east side.

july '12 ion

Documents

spring turkey season

online checkin game

feet of water

total harvest

thecheckin game online

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day regular season

feet low withstained