LUKE CLAYTON OUTDOORS



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Monday, May 24, 2010
The Fly Fishing Bug has bitten!  Luke Clayton

Until recently, I couldn't tell you the difference between an Elk hair Caddis and a Prince Nymph. In case you might also be a bit fly fishing challenged, these are the names of a couple famous flies used by fly fishermen the world over. Fly fishermen definitely speak a language known only to their ranks. Double hauling, tippe, backing are terms that roll from the tongues of fly fishers like water down the streams in which they fish. Learning to fly fish can be complicated, even for an old rod and reel angler like myself but, as I've recently discovered, the sport is FUN!

As a youngster growing up in very rural northeast Texas, I was fortunate to live close to many small lakes and ponds that were chock full of bass and sunfish. I had a couple of uncles that were devout fly fishermen and they came to visit often, especially when the weather was good and the fish biting. I usually tagged along on their fly fishing excursions, using a cane pole I cut from the stand of switch cane behind the house, and dunked worms and minnows. Granted, I usually caught as many fish as my uncles and to be truthful, I thought all that swishing of fly lines in the heavy cover required much more skill than I ever cared to learn. At about the age of 10, my Uncle Jack presented me with a fly rod and reel but I never used it for the intended purpose, except when I was fishing with him. I usually put a floater on the leader, a hook and doodle socked the baits around shoreline cover for bass and bream.

When I discovered the bait casting reel and Texas rigged plastic worm while in my early teens, I became a devout bass fisherman and abandoned my early training in the fine art of fly fishing. Somehow though, I always knew I'd eventually go back to my roots and attempt to master the style of fishing that my uncles were so proficient at. About a month or so, I placed an order with Bass Pro Shop for a fly fishing reel and a couple of inexpensive rods. For around $100, there are a couple of very well made combos available for the beginner fly fisherman and, after a couple weeks fishing with both, I can attest they work just fine. White River Fly Shop is the Brand for Bass Pro Shop fly fishing gear. I ordered the Hobbs Creek combo and one of the Dogwood rods. The Dogwood is a two piece rod and the Hobbs Creek comes in three sections. I've found them both very easy to cast and extremely sensitive for detecting the slightest nibble of even the smallest sunfish. The rods also have the backbone to handle bigger bass and, I've even caught a couple of catfish on my new rig.

One of my fly fishing uncles had a saying, “It's good to know what you know but even more important to know what you DON'T know”. I've thought about this old adage many times and found it a very valuable and, very applicable when learning about fly fishing. A few things about the sport, I KNEW but, it was what I DID NOT know that was tricking me up. There is only so much one can learn from watching videos and reading books. I needed some instruction from a pro, someone who could help steepen my new learning curve.

Enter Joe Bauman, fly fisherman extraordinaire. I met Joe several years ago when he was guiding upland bird hunts on the W.B. Ranch near Whitney. Joe is as passionate about bird hunting and training bird dogs as he is fly fishing. He's one of those guys that doesn't just scratch the surface but rather, digs deep and learns his interests from the inside out. I watched Joe use his fly rod a few years ago on the stretch of Brazos adjacent the W.B. Ranch to outfish myself and some other pretty darned good spinning rig fishermen. Joe's in college these days in Lubbock but he found the time to give me some much needed one on one instruction there at the ranch last week.

Fly fishing pro Joe Bauman shows off one of many sunfish he and Luke landed with their fly rods.  Photo by Luke Clayton

The Brazos was running strongly thanks to recent heavy rainfall above Lake Whitney and Joe determined the fast water fishing was not conducive to teaching me the nuisances of fly fishing. We opted to fish in a beautiful little pond with sections of open banks. Fly fishing in heavy cover is definitely not for the beginner!

Joe Bauman casting for bass in the Brazos River.   Photo by Luke Clayton

I was full of questions about his favorite flys and was pushing, hard, my assortment of small popping bugs. “Luke, when bass and sunfish are hitting bugs on the surface, those surface popping bugs will be worth their weight in gold but I want to show you a fly that will catch many species of fish, subsurface, under all kinds of conditions.” says Joe as he fished out a little olive looking fly. “This is known as a Wooly Bugger. The bait has many variations and they all catch fish. If you have only one fly in your tackle box, it needs to be a Woold Bugger. It's tried and proven, world over.”

The little olive colored fly didn't really look like much to me. By design it was pretty simple. When Joe added that the size we were using would do double duty on bass and bream, my confidence began to build. It soared when, on my third cast, a hand size bluegill nailed it when it slowly sank on the outside edge of a shoreline vegetation. About that time, Joe used an identical bait to land a chunky little black bass.

Sunfish make great starter fish for the beginning fly fishermen. This big one went for an olive Wooly Bugger cast with this White River Hobbs Creek combo.   Photo by Luke Clayton

I'm sure we could have rigged with smaller versions of the bait and caught more bream or, larger versions and enticed some of the bigger bass but Joe's goal was to keep his charge for the day in the action and his fly choice was perfect.

I'm sure on future fly fishing trips, I'll be fishing with dry flys, popping bugs, streams and other but I can guarantee I'll always have several of Joe's hand tied Wooly Buggers in my arsenal. In olive color, of course! They work!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Summer fishing equates to spending hours out in the sun. By mid morning, the sun begins to make spending time on the water uncomfortable. Protect your skin by wearing sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat and lightweight long sleeve shirts. An umbrella isn't a bad idea, either.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, May 17, 2010
Menu from the wild  Luke Clayton

Hunting season wrapped up with the close of spring turkey season. Many of us will be hunting wild hogs and exotics through the summer. Let's concentrate this week on turning all that game meat in the freezer into some tasty meals! The standard method of preparing venison in Texas has long been chicken fried steaks or, possibly venison wraps with jalapeno and bacon. These tried and true recipes are excellent eating but how about learning a few new ways to put this tasty and nutritious meat to use?

I grew up on a farm in northeast Texas and from a very young age, watched my dad cure hams and bacon from domestic hogs we raised. He also devoted a day to 'sausage making' and cranked out not only breakfast sausage but smoked links as well. Most of my adult life, I've regretted not paying closer attention to the methods he used to create those tasty home cured hams and sausages. I've been making breakfast sausage and smoked links for many years, thanks to some hands on instruction from my friend Ashley Gorman, who comes from a long line of German butchers and sausage makers. A few years ago, I enlisted the expertise of Mike Pullen with Frisco Spices (www.friscospices.com) and began curing hams, and bacon and even learned to can venison with a special Au Jus sauce his company offers. Mike teaches classes in the art of meat curing and sausage making and is a storehouse of knowledge on the subject.

GETTING STARTED- Breakfast of 'pan' sausage is the easiest of the sausages to make. All that's needed is ground meat and seasonings. I much prefer to use pre mixed seasonings rather than buying all the spices in bulk and mixing them myself. For a few dollars, one can order enough of the seasonings to make 25 pounds of sausage. Some of the mixes contain more 'hot' in the form or red pepper others, more sage. It's fun to experiment with the different mixes until you discover which best suites your taste. Exact rations of pork to venison can also vary to suit your taste. If you prefer a very lean sausage, a blend of 75% venison to 25% pork might be best. I've also made many pounds of breakfast sausage from quality cuts of wild pork. If you have a meat grinder, you can grind the meat at home, if not, your game processor can do the task for you and supply you with 1 or 2 pounds packages of ground meat. In a large mixing bowl, I blend the prepared spice packet with the ground meat then wrap in one pound packages and freeze until needed. It's a good idea to 'test' fry a sausage patty after adding some of the seasonings. Remember, you can always make your sausage more spicy by adding more seasoning but once added, you can't take it out!

ON TO SMOKED SAUSAGE- Next time you're at the grocery, check the price of specialty sausages such as Kobasa or Bratwurst. You can crank out sausage just as good, or better, at home. You'll need a sausage stuffer (funnel) for your meat grinder when making the smaller links and some way of slow smoking the meat once it's in the casings. When slow smoking at low temperatures, you will need to use a cure with your seasonings, it's usually included with the seasoning packets. It's best to mix the seasonings/cure with the ground meat the day before you plan to stuff the sausage into casings and place it in the refrigerator. This gives the meat time to absorb the cure and become well flavored with the seasonings. Like breakfast seasonings, these seasonings come pre packaged, usually one packet makes 25 pounds of sausage but instructions are on each packet. I use a Smokin Tex electric smoker for all my sausage making. I simply put the wood pieces in the smoke box, set the thermostat at the desired temperature, and let my sausages slow smoke. I begin at around 140 degrees, the increase the heat slowly until the meat reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Usually after five or six hours at low heat, I increase the heat to 180 degrees for an hour to make sure the meat is at, or just above 160 degrees. Wood fired smokers work just fine for smoking sausage, they just require a lot more attention than the electric models to keep the temperature right.

Once your sausage is removed from the smoker, it must be 'bloomed' or sprayed with cold water. This helps to avoid air bubbles between the outside of the sausage and the casing it's stuffed in. If you don't want to worry with stuffing the smaller links, purchase a few larger casings (the size baloney comes in) and stuff the meat by hand into the large casings. These larger pieces of sausage will have the same great flavor but require a bit longer on the smoker to reach 160 degrees. I usually make several sticks of baloney and chopped ham (seasonings are available at Frisco Spices), then cut the 'lunch meat' into one pound pieces and freeze; they come in handy while on the water during summer fishing trips!

CURING HAM- I was intimidated by the thought of curing ham at home for years but found the task easy to do, actually much easier than making sausage. Rather than cure whole hams, I cut the ham and backstraps of wild hogs into 2 to 3 pound pieces. Simply rub the appropriate amount of cure on each piece, add some brown sugar and place in zip lock bags in the refrigerator to cure. A 2 pound piece of ham meat needs to cure 3 days; likewise a 3 pound should cure 4 days. I often let them cure 5 days with good results. Make sure and use only the amount of cure recommended for the size piece of ham you’re working with. Too much cure results in a salty tasting finished product.

Once the meat is cured, I slow smoke it in my electric smoker eight hours or so, until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. Then, I place the cured, smoked ham pieces back in the refrigerator a couple days and then wrap and freeze until needed. The finished product is excellent. Once you enjoy a big breakfast of ham you cured and smoked, eggs, hashbrowns and biscuits, chances are pretty good you will become 'hooked' on curing ham at home!

Luke uses his Smokin Tex electric smoker to cook this ham from a wild hog he harvested.  Photo by Luke Clayton

CANNNING VENISON- About this time last spring, I canned my first venison. Pullen with Frisco Spices emailed me step-by-step instructions that greatly simplified the process. I ordered a jar of the Au Jus paste which is added to each jar of cubed venison before cooking. After the meat is pressure cooked the prescribed time and allowed to cool, the meat is thoroughly preserved and keeps well for well over a year, IF it lasts that long. The canned venison tastes very much like the best roast beef and makes great sandwiches. I've even taken the canned venison along on duck hunts this past season and used a portable stove to heat the jar in a pot of water. If you've got a pressure cooker, chances are very good it came with instructions for canning meats, if not, the information is available for free from Frisco Spices. The flavorful Au Jus base is key to flavoring the venison which, by nature is very dry.

It is recommended to trim all the fat and sinew from the venison and cut the meat into small cubes. Make sure and pack them into the jar tightly; during the pressure cooking process, the meat will settle down into the jar.

JERKY- I've made jerky from just about everything from ducks and geese to wild pork and it all turned out very tasty. I begin by slicing the meat pieces about a quarter inch thick and marinade it overnight in McCormicks Grill Mates seasonings and a little Worchester sauce. The Grill Mates seasoning contains bits of various seasonings that absorb moisture during the marinating process.

The trick to tasty jerky is drying the meat pieces rather than actually 'cooking' them. Care should be taken not to make the jerky 'too' smoky flavored. It requires only a small amount of wood in an electric smoker to impart that 'just right' smoke flavor. I usually add only an ounce or two of wood to my electric smoker when preparing jerky. Jerky can also be made in an oven with the door opened slightly to allow the moisture to escape. Liquid smoke can be added to the marinade to add flavor to oven made jerky.

Hopefully these tips will help you put some of those tasty wild game cuts to good use. Remember, in a few months, it will be time to hit the woods again and restock!

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, May 10, 2010
The outdoors offers many opportunities  Luke Clayton

My love and passion for the outdoors has provided me with a lifetime of enjoyment and given me an education of the natural world that cannot be learned just from a textbook. Spending time in the woods or on the water has always been an adventure to me and after a half-century of 'being there', I learn something new every time I venture out afield or on the water.

I have noticed that I have to look a bit closer these days to discover new sights and sounds than I did as a youngster, after all, after fifty years, I've experienced a great deal of what Mother Nature has to offer. Rather than just being a hunter and fishermen these days, I've noted that I have subconsciously become a student of what I see and hear. Just about the time I begin to think I've experienced all there is to see, Mother Nature opens another page in her amazing book and shows me something new. For instance, this past winter, I was heading to a bow blind I had set in the edge of a pin oak flat in east Texas. Along the trail, I noticed a particular weed was covered with cotton candy looking white 'fluff'. I'd never seen this sight before and was amazed at how the trail was lined, on each side, with weeds that appeared to have been decorated with white ornaments. Since first discovering these plants covered in white, I've experienced the sight a couple more times, each time on very cold mornings. Could it be that somehow the frigid temperatures pulled moisture out of the plant stems and caused the sap to fluff out into white cotton looking balls? Guess I'll have to wait till next winter to find the answer! Chances are pretty good that I surely have witnessed this sight in years past but was probably was more intent upon getting into my stand and killing a deer than I was taking the time to observe the 'big picture'. I wish now that I would had my camera along and photographed the phenomena so that I could have identified the plants and learned exactly what caused them to be adorned like mini Christmas Trees.

It seems to be the trend these days to be a 'bass fisherman' or 'deer hunter' or 'fly fisherman'. While all these endeavors are challenging and great fun, why limit oneself to a particular aspect of the outdoors? Why not enjoy as much as possible? As a young sportsman, I became a devout deer hunter. I read every book I could find on whitetail deer and spent countless hours in the fall woods with veteran hunters learning about scrapes, rubs and the habits of the whitetail. I hunted only with a rifle and, later when I managed hunting leases, demanded that the other hunters on my lease hunt only with rifles. Bow hunting was not allowed! A few years later, a good friend introduced me to shooting a bow and I became hooked. My love for archery and bow hunting became an obsession and in a few years, I was accepted as a member of the Mathews Pro Staff and have been bow hunting ever since. Had I been more receptive to new ideas younger in my outdoors career, I am positive I would have become an avid archer at a much earlier age.

There's much to do in the outdoors. Give some thought to trying 'something new'. Mark Balette (pictured) is bow fishing for rough fish.  Photo by Luke Clayton

Even at my advanced stage of addiction to the outdoors, I still find new activities. I was exposed to fly fishing at a young age by two of my uncles who were avid and accomplished fly fishermen. At the age of ten, I was accompanying them on trips to catch farm pond bass and bluegills. When I discovered the bait casting reel and plastic worm as a young teenager, I joined the ranks of 'bass fisherman' and abandoned the sport of fly fishing. Why couldn't I have fished with conventional bass tackle and, on occasion, Fly rod? Are you beginning to get my drift? We really miss out when we become too deeply involved in one particular aspect of the outdoor life. This past week, I placed an order with Bass Pro Shop for an economical, fly fishing kit that comes complete with 6 weight fly rod, reel, line, etc. I also ordered a few popping bugs for catching bass and bream. I'll certainly have to work at my casting skills, it's been decades since I fished with a fly rod but, I welcome the challenge of doing something 'new'. I even found myself recently on YouTube, searching for instructional fly fishing videos! I might not be classified as 'proficient' when that flyrod arrives but feel positive I will fall into the 'adequate' category! Besides, bedding bream are not all that particular about bait presentation, they will nail anything that resembles a threat that falls anywhere close to their nests.

Regardless whether you decide to begin shooting a muzzleloader or compound bow or, fishing with a fly rod, learning the basics has never been more easy. Even if you don't have the luxury of an uncle or family member skilled in a particular aspect of the outdoor life, there is always the internet. You can 'Google' anything from 'trapping hogs' to 'trout fishing' and instantly be bombarded with more information than you can digest in a month!

So, if you discover that you fit into that category of sportsmen or women that engages in only one outdoor endeavor, I challenge you to think 'outside the box'. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised when you discover that with today's modern compound bows, you can become a proficient archer in no time. Likewise with shooting a state of the art inline muzzleloader or, for that matter, learning to shoot sporting clays or skeet with a shotgun. There's lots to do, so if you begin to feel the least bit bored or complacent with a single outdoor sport, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself! It's how you learn and HAVE MORE FUN!

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, May 03, 2010
CATCH EM WHILE THEY'RE SHALLOW   Luke Clayton

BREAM- The full moon of May is widely accepted as the peak of the bream (sunfish) bedding (nesting) season. This month's full moon occurs near the end of the month but I can guarantee you that right now, bream are guarding nests in shallow water. If you enjoy ‘action’ fishing, catching bream on nests is right up your alley! Most water bodies from farm ponds to major lakes enjoy this natural occurring phenomena this month.

Bream fishing can be as simple or, complicated as we wish to make it. I've caught coolers full on bream using nothing but a bit of earthworm under a cork floater; I've also used lightweight flyrods with small popping bugs to trick these feisty little battlers. They are great sport regardless the tackle used and although relatively small, excellent eating.

Locating concentrations of bream on beds is easy if you wear polarized sun glasses. Most of the nesting takes place in water 3 feet or less and it's easy to spot these ‘nests’ which often appear as dark elongated circles on the lake bottom. In ponds or reservoirs with a heavy population of sunfish, nests often overlap and consist of hundreds of highly aggressive bream that will readily strike any bait, natural or artificial, that comes within the confines of their nest.

I've enjoyed bream fishing my entire life and was fortunate to be exposed to fishing for them from an early age. Two of my uncles were devout bream anglers and both were accomplished with their fly rods. Uncle Luke owned Carefree Kamp on Horseshoe Lake near Hughes, Arkansas. Like many of the oxbow lakes off the Mississippi River, Horseshoe was chock full of what my uncle called ‘shellcrackers’. When mature, these panfish regularity grew to weigh one-half pound, or more. Early every summer they invaded the shallow coves around my uncle's marina and he taught me how to use his 6 weight flyrod to catch them. Small popping bugs in shades of green or yellow are exiting to fish with. It's possible to see and hear aggressive sunfish nail these little top water baits on the surface.

I've also caught lots of bream with my Uncle Jack Conner. Uncle Jack was a master fly-rodder and loved to fish little Lake Crockett up near Honey Grove, Texas, especially this time of year. My uncle would either anchor the boat or tie up to an old duck blind situated in shallow water and we'd always catch plenty for bream for a huge fish fry. Bream are best filleted with a thin-blade fillet knife, too much of the tasty meat is lost when using using electric fillet knives with bigger blades.

Lake Fairfield, situated just outside Fairfield, Texas is home to some of the biggest bream I've encountered, anywhere. I believe they are Georgia Coppernose bream and it's common to catch fish here that weigh three-quarters of a pound, and bigger.

Chances are pretty good you live within easy driving or, walking distance from a great place for catching bream. Consider rounding up your kids, or recruiting a few neighborhood youngsters and take them out for some of the most fast paced fishing of the year. Equipment need not be elaborate, an inexpensive spin cast reel, some biscuit dough, long shank bream hooks, crickets or worms and a floater is all that's needed for a couple hours of ‘catching’ rather than just fishing. Bream fishing is just that dependable, especially now while these little battlers are on guard protecting their nests!

CHANNEL CATFISH- Catfish are cavity spawners, they lay their eggs in and around rock rip rap or logs and brush laying near bottom. Channel catfish are now right in the middle of their spawn and catching a limit is usually as easy as locating the kind of cover they prefer for nesting and, shallow water. Rocks along bridges are prime areas for catching spawning channel catfish. Drive by your favorite lake this month, you'll likely see plenty of bank fishermen with Calcutta poles or fiberglass jig poles, dropping everything from small shrimp to punch bait into the shallow rocks and, many of them will be pulling out some of the best eating fish in the lake: channel cats weighing between 1.5 and 3 pounds.

Willows in shallow water are especially good spots to catch spawning channel cats. Concentrate on water 4 feet or less and if you don't have a boat, not to worry. Wade fishing is a highly successful method of collecting a big stringer of catfish when they are in the shallows. For tackle, it's hard to beat a lightweight spinning rig. Ten to 12 pound test line is perfect and treble hooks, #6 or #8 work best. Conventional floaters work well but if you plan to do much casting, rigging with slip floats makes casting much easier. Slip floats have gained in popularity the past decade, the float slides down the line all the way to the hook and a 'keeper' set 18 inches or so above insures the bait is positioned at the desired depth. A few range cubes or a little soured grain tossed into likely areas 30 minutes or so before you plan to fish will help concentrate catfish but, if you're using a smelly catfish bait, when the scent disperses into the water, hungry spawning catfish will soon arrive on the scene.

Whether you target bream or catfish, rest assured that the shallows will be full of both species this month. Place the fillets in a freezer bag with buttermilk and Louisiana Hot Sauce (equal amounts of each), batter them in cornmeal/flour (also 50-50 mixture) and drop them into hot grease for a couple minutes. Of course, your fish dinner will taste much better if cooked outdoors, on the shores of the pond or lake where you catch your fish!

Channel catfish and bream are spawning this month, providing fishing fun for young and old alike.  Photo by Luke Clayton

Outdoor Tip of the Week- If you're a bow hunter, chances are good you're always searching for the latest in gear to make you time in the woods more enjoyable and successful. I'd like to you check out the most awesome broad head I've ever hunted with, it's called The Inverter and was developed by well know outfitter Steven Ward (www.wardsoutfitters.com) in Arizona. Steven has a lifetime of bow hunting experience and many years guiding hunters to trophy class elk, deer, javelina and turkey. Steven spent several years developing The Inverter and after shooting them for several months, I can attest to the fact that he ‘got it right’. These heads are by far the toughest I've ever hunted with and because they are new, they don't carry the price tags of more highly advertised products. Stephen has a youtube video that I'd like you to watch, it tells it all about this innovative new broadhead. Just go to www.youtube and search for 'Inverter broadhead test'. Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, April 26, 2010
VINTAGE LURES STILL CATCH BASS  Luke Clayton

You might say I trained as an apprentice fishing guide as a kid. My Mother was an avid bass angler but back in the fifties and early sixties, her fishing tackle was limited. She fished with a steel rod and level wind reel. Her only lure was a battered old Baby Lucky 13 plug. If my memory serves me correctly, it was red and white. I was a regular tag-along on these bass outings, I was usually dunking live minnows under a floater for largemouth and crappie. When Mom's lure wound up in the limbs of a willow or snagged on a stump, I was her on-board retriever. She was a pretty good caster but even in the best of hands, those old level wind reels were hard to cast accurately. I spend a good amount of time retrieving the lure and placing her bass on a stringer! Through the years, she caught a ton of bass on that old lure and Dad regularly sharpened and replaced the hooks.

Just this past week, I had the opportunity to head down to Trinity County to spend a couple days hunting, bass fishing and photographing wild hogs with my buddy Mark Balette. Mark offers hunts for hogs and exotics on his ranch and fishing for trophy bass on a 20 acre lake situated back in the woods. Mark and I usually engage in a good natured fishing ‘contest’. We do keep track of who catches the most bass and the winner enjoys bragging rights around the evening campfire.

We arrived at the lake just after sunup, screwed the Torqeedo electric motor on the transom of his aluminum boat, and headed across the lake to a stump field that was situated a few yards from the deep creek channel that feeds the lake. The setting called for top water fishing. I watched a heron take wing from the shoreline, there was obviously baitfish up shallow; the bass should be receptive. “Let's tie on some top waters and see what happens,” Mark suggested. As an outdoors writer, I am kept pretty well supplied with the newest innovations in fishing lures and as I removed a brand new ‘sure fire’ top water plug from its container, Mark grabbed a vintage old plug from the bottom of his tackle box. He added “Think I can outfish you with this old antique?” It was a Baby Lucky 13, red and white, just like my Mother used to use! I replied with something like “No way, these modern day bass won't ever go for that old antique, they want ‘cutting edge’ baits, like the one I've got tied on!”

My plug hit the water first. I let it set about 30 seconds then, began a ‘walking the dog’ retrieve. About the time I was making my second cast, Mark's plug hit the water. One jerk of the rod and the lakes tranquil surface exploded! My buddy was hooked solidly to a chunky 5 pounder. During the next couple hours, until the bright skies pushed the surface feeding bass into the vegetation, I watched the old plug catch 3 bass for every one I caught with my ‘state of the art’ lures. Feeling a bit sorry for me, I guess, Mark insisted I fish with his vintage lure. I was happy to learn it was the bait, not the fisherman's presentation that the bass preferred. My Mom's favorite old lure worked just as well last week as it did a half-century ago on the farm ponds where we fished.

Mark Balette used an old Baby Lucky 13 plug to prove vintage lures still catch bass.  Photo by Luke Clayton

Lake Fork guide Larry Large concurs that old lures still catch bass. “Many plugs such as the Jitterbug and Hula Popper are in production today. The old baits still catch fish, most modern-day bass anglers stick with the more highly publicized and advertised ‘modern’ lures. It could be that today's bass are attracted to the old baits simply because they haven't gotten accustomed to them.” says Large.

Large uses a wide variety of baits to keep his clients in the action but says he still prefers the old Devil's Horse, manufactured by Smithwick Lures. “I've fished with the Devil's Horse since I was a kid. You never see anyone fishing with them here on Fork but they are absolutely deadly when bass are on a top water bite.”

The Jitterbug is another old but productive top water plug that I am pretty sure is still in production. With a concave cup or bill in the front, the Jitterbug creates quiet a ruckus when retrieved. When pulled through the water at a fast clip, the bait stands up in the front and wiggles from side to side. I no longer have any of my older Jitterbugs but plan to order a few for my next trip bass trip. I remember well hard a surface feeding bass hammers these noisy little plugs.

If you are a newcomer to bass fishing (when you've fished as long as I, a newcomer is someone that has taken up the sport in the past 20 years!), give these old lures a chance to prove themselves. Chances are pretty good they will work as well for you as they did for my Mom 50 years ago. My buddy's Lucky 13 did a great job making this point crystal clear last week!

Outdoor tip of the week: Baitfish are spawning now in shallow water along the shoreline. During the first couple hours of daylight each day, a smorgasbord of gamefish move shallow to feed. A ‘sure fire’ method of collecting enough white bass or catfish for a big fish fry is to use a small throw net during early morning to catch shad. Simply thread the baits on a wire crappie hook with a split shot crimped about 8 inches above and keep the baits within a few yards of shore. I use 17 pounds test for this type fishing; the wire hooks are easy to pull loose when they hang up on brush and roots. A 4 foot castnet (opens to 8 feet) is pretty easy to learn to throw and makes catching bait easy. As a rule, game fish move shallow in schools, they push the shad into and out of the shallows into deeper water. Spinning rigs work well for this type fishing. It's important to make long casts when the baitfish/white bass or catfish move out from shore. Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, April 19, 2010
TAKE THE HUNT TO THE TURKEYS  Luke Clayton

Regular readers of this spot might remember an article I did last fall about returning after more than 20 years to hunt Squaw Mountain Ranch, located north of Jacksboro, Texas in Jack County. The ranch, now owned and managed by the Weiser family, produces gigantic whitetails; a buck scoring 224 BC was harvested during my hunt. While bow hunting last fall, I noticed several longbeard gobblers and vowed to return for a spring hunt. Last week's hunt proved what I suspected last fall: the ranch is every bit as good for hunting turkeys as it is for deer!

To be a successful turkey hunter, one must be able to ‘read’ the terrain and adjust positions to intercept a gobbler. There are several schools of thought as to the best techniques for hunting turkeys. I've known guys that set up in an area they know is frequented by gobblers and stay put, sometimes for many hours. Their success is based on the fact that the birds will eventually work into the area and be coaxed within bow or shotgun range by their decoys and calling. I prefer to remain mobile and if the gobblers won't come to me, I'll take the hunt to him. There are many reasons that a distant gobbler might not close the distance to your calling and decoys. Geographical features such as mountains, fences, streams or rivers or heavy cover might distract a bird 400 yards away from coming to you. But, if you ‘read’ the terrain and cut the distance in half by heading to the bird, it's often possible to entice him to come to you.

Luke harvested this fine gobbler in Jack County last week at Squaw Mountain Ranch (www.squawmountainwhitetails.com)   Photo by Luke Clayton

The bird I harvested earlier this week was a good example of how ‘closing the distance’ can often result in a bagged bird! This run-and-gun style of turkey hunting requires a lightweight, portable blind, especially if you do your turkey hunting with a bow. The GhostBlind (www.ghostblind.com) I use is ideal for providing instant, total camouflage. It weighs about 15 pounds and sets up in a matter of seconds.

The author likes to hunt from his GhostBlind which is lightweight and with its mirrors on the outside, always provides the perfect camouflage.   Photo by Luke Clayton

The gobbler answered my series of hen yelps, but he was obviously at least 600 yards away, in the direction of the West Fork of the Trinity River, which traverses the north side of the ranch. I stayed put for about 10 minutes and continued calling. He responded by gobbling each time but was not interested in traveling such a great distance for a chance encounter with what he thought was a receptive hen.

I use a portable GPS when hunting area that I am unfamiliar with. With a GPS position locked in so that I could easily find my way back, I make a bee line for the turkey. When I was within an estimated 200 yards of where I thought the gobbler was sounding off, I quickly set up the GhostBlind, got behind it and began a series of plaintive hen yelps. At the first strike of the box call, he boomed his answering gobbles back in the bottoms. I waited another minute then called again, much more softly. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when he responded. He had closed the distance quickly and was gobbling his head off what appeared to be about 60 yards back in the brush. It's amazing how precisely a turkey gobbler can pin point sound. He had traveled well over 200 yards and was heading straight for me. With a couple of hen and a gobbler decoy set 25 yards in front of the blind, I was ready for him.

When a bird is this close, it's often best to remain silent and watch closely for his appearance. Sure enough, in a matter of seconds, I watched his head and neck bobbing back in the brush. Once he spotted the decoys, the deal was closed. He came trotting in, stopped and gave the gobbler decoy the evil eye. The shot was close and easy, the way I like it! My mine fast-forwarded to turkey fajitas from breast meat and turkey soup from the dark meat! My bird went down about a quarter mile from the spot our oldest son, Matthew took his first gobbler over 20 years ago. That's the time I instructed him to shoot a Jake when a boss gobbler with a 10 inch beard was lurking just around a bit of brush but... that's another story!

To learn more about hunting trophy whitetail, exotics and turkey at Squaw Mountain Ranch, call Keith Weiser at 214-769-3151 or visit www.squawmountainwhitetails.com.

FISHING ROUND UP

TEXOMA STRIPERS- Bill Carey with Striper Express (www.striperexpress.com) reports stripers have been on a good top water bite the past week. “We're throwing big Pencil Poppers into shallow water around the mouths of creeks and pockets off the main lake at first light. On cloudy days, the top water bite is holding up until mid morning. When the fish move out of the shallows, we following them to the nearby ledges and drop offs and catching them close to bottom with Sassy Shad bodies on a half-ounce jigs head. We're already picking up some of the fish holding near bottom on slabs. The spring bite is on!” tips Carey.

TAWAKONI CATFISH- Guide George Rule (www.trophycats.com) says the channel catfish spawn is underway. “We caught 50 keeper in 2 hours yesterday from water 14 inches deep. A good, smelly punch bait fished on a #6 treble hook works best. We prefer using slip floats that make casting much easier. In a few days, the fish should move into areas with standing willows in water 2-4 feet deep.” tips Rule. Fishing around the rock rip rap is also a good way to land a good ‘mess’ of catfish. Rule suggests dropping baits vertically to avoid getting snagged in the tackle eating rocks. Regardless whether one is fishing the rip rap or shallow water vegetation for spawning catfish, it's important to keep on the move until a concentration of fish is located. Once you find them, it's common to limit out of fish in the 1.5 to 4 pound range from the same area.

LAKE LAVON CRAPPIE- Guide Billy Kilpatrick (www.straightlineguide.com) says now is prime time for catching shallow water crappie. “Minnows or jigs work fine right now, but it's easier to fish with jigs. I'm concentrating on water 2-5 feet deep around weed beds or any shoreline cover. The best action has been early morning and late afternoon and into the evening. Shad are shallow now and white bass, catfish and crappie are feeding heavily on them during early morning.” tips Kilpatrick. Freshly caught shad, threaded onto a #2 crappie hook works well for catching the white bass from the bank. A small split shot crimped about 6 inches above the hook/bait makes casting easier and keeps the bait near bottom.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, April 12, 2010
“TURKEY CAMP”  Luke Clayton

There was a nip in the air last week up in Red River County in northeast Texas. I had spent the day at Mike and Lori Ford's Rio Rojo Rancho in pursuit of the most elusive eastern turkey. A couple days earlier, Gibb Lewis, the former Speaker of The House in Texas had harvested a huge 34 pound gobbler with a beard that measured almost 11 inches about 600 yards from where Mike was preparing the evening meal. The smell of mesquite wood smoke was in the air and hunters were gathered around the campfire. Had we not known better, we'd have sworn it was the opener of deer season rather than the onset of warm weather! With ribeyes sizzling on the grill and buffalo backstrap as an appetizer, life was good on the Rio Rojo. The anticipation of the morning hunt added magic to the evening.

Mike Ford working on the grill at “Turkey Camp”.   Photo by Luke Clayton

Red River County was the first to receive stockings of eastern turkeys several decades ago and the birds, once introduced to their native hardwoods and pines, flourished. I grew up about 10 miles from Ford's ranch in the fifties and sixties before the reintroduction of the birds and the knowledge of having wild turkeys around my boyhood home gives me a huge feeling of satisfaction. My friend outdoors writer Bob Hood joined us on this hunt. Bob has harvested an estimated 110 wild turkeys during his long hunting career but never an eastern bird from his home state of Texas.

Well before a hint of dawn the next morning, Hood and I were driving through the ranch to the area we were to hunt. Mike had given us a pre hunt scouting trip the previous day and the area was working alive with turkey tracks and areas where the birds had scratched the soft ground. Bob planned to hunt near a fence corner with an open field on one side and pine clearcut on the other. I was to hunt an ‘edge’ area where a pine plantation joined a big stand of hardwoods. The area was higher in elevation than where my buddy hunted and traversed by two creeks. My hopes were that a gobbler or two had roosted along one of the creeks; when he flew down from his roost, I would be set up close enough for him to hear the hen yelps from my old box call.

The early spring woods in this part of the state is a site to behold. Things were coming to life after a long, cold winter. Pale green leaves were emerging from the hardwoods and occasionally I would spot the brilliantly white blossoms of the dogwood. It was the type morning that makes one feel happy to just ‘be there’. After a short series of soft, plaintive yelps on my turkey call, I hear a gobbler boom back from somewhere along the creek, he sounded to be about 400 yards back in the woods. Like Hood, I was on a quest for my first eastern gobbler. I'd shot a truck load of Rio's through the years and am accustomed to hunting these birds that live in the more open country. Ford had advised us that eastern turkey were a lot different to hunt; usually a lot less vocal. I found that to be an absolute truth as this morning hunt unfolded.

But so far, this particular gobbler was reacting just like the Rio's I'd hunted. I called, he answered. But then, the EASTERN showed up in his actions! After a period of about a minute, I called softly again. No response! I was afraid I might overcall him so remained silent. A couple minutes later, he gobbled again. By the sound, I ascertained that he was not coming toward my location but rather away on a diagonal that was taking him through the more open pine country. I decided to take the hunt to the turkey and quickly walked several hundred yards ahead of where I though he was heading. I set up my Bob N Tail gobbler decoy by Redhead and a couple of hen decoys in the long opening in the pines. I guessed to be higher in elevation than the turkey, he should be able to instantly spot my decoys when he crossed the long opening. For a good 30 minutes, I played a game of cat and mouse with the gobbler without ever getting sight of him. Each time I changed locations in anticipation of his travel route, he threw me a curve and went the opposite direction. I tracked his movements by the distant gobbling. This bird finally traveled out of earshot and, out of my life.

About the time I gave up on this lone gobbler, I heard Bob's old single shot, lever action 12 gauge boom down in the vicinity of the fence corner. We regrouped at the appointed spot around mid morning. Bob had harvested a young gobbler and was beaming from ear to ear. “For once, I've found an eastern bird that responded to calling and decoys like he ought to!” says Hood. “ Every time he heard my hen yelps, he stopped to strut and gobble and quickly closed the distance to my decoys. Once he saw my decoys, he made a bee line to them and I shot him at just under 20 yard.”

Bob Hood (Lt) and Mike Ford admire a nice eastern wild turkey taken on the Ford's Rio Rojo Rancho in Red River County.  Photo by Luke Clayton

Again, those sneaky eastern turkeys had outfoxed me but I came away with the Rio Rojo with the feeling that I'd learned a thing or two about hunting these most wary of wild turkeys. The season is still young and I am already planning round two!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Black bass have locked down on beds in the shallows of lakes all across the state. The spawn was a couple weeks late getting started on many lakes. A good tip from veteran Lake Fork guide Larry Large is to use a Carolina rig rather than Texas rig when fishing with plastic lizards. “I've learned that the slack line in a Carolina rig gives the bass more time to mouth the bait before it feels resistance. ” says Large. “I usually fish with a 20-24 inch leader on the rig and work it very slowly. The egg weight moving along bottom ahead of the plastic lizards alerts bass and the lizard often entices the strike.” Says Large. Larry also favors buzzbaits over shallow grass beds this time of year. Nothing is more exciting than watching and HEARING a big shallow water bass blow up on a buzzbait!

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, April 05, 2010
LIGHTWEIGHT TRAPS MAKE TRAPING HOGS EASY & FUN  Luke Clayton

If you're a landowner that is forced to deal with hay meadows that wild hogs turn into mini mine fields, I probably owe you an apology for the statement I'm about to make: I LOVE wild hogs. I love hunting them for sport and eating them for food! Now, Since my apologies are out of the way, maybe I've got a saving grace in your eyes: I hunt them year-around and, since the hogs in my area have become almost entirely nocturnal, I am now trapping them! I do my share to reduce their numbers, of this you can rest assured!

Maybe I love having wild hogs around because of the fact that I was raised on a farm in northeast Texas back in the 50's and 60's when pork was a staple meat for my family. My dad always raised six or eight hogs each winter and usually butchered half of them for our winter's supply of meat, the others he sold as a cash crop. Pork was a commodity and hogs were highly revered. There were a few wild porkers in our area of the state at the time, mostly along the river drainages but they were not nearly as plentiful as today. I'm sure if my dad was still around, he would look at all the hogs roaming the wilds of Texas today as free meat on the hoof. So, don't be too mad at me for LOVING wild hogs, I'm doing my share to reduce their numbers.

I have a couple of feeders set within a mile of my home and have monitored the hog's movement closely the past several months via trail cameras. In the past 3 months, I've seen only one hog's image on the trail camera during daylight hours. They are almost entirely nocturnal but they are extremely plentiful. Back in February, I began seeing sows with 8-10 piglets around the feeders. One image from the trail camera contains 22 hogs and there is no telling how many were just outside the camera's view. I've shot several at night using a Feedlight (www.ultramaticfeeders.com) which is a light that attaches to a feeder or nearby tree and comes on automatically when the sun goes down. My friend Karl Harmon invented this innovative light years ago and there is no telling how many hogs have been killed over them at night. I've even shot a couple using a night scope on my .22 Hornet rifle.

Wild hogs are extremely plentiful and trapping is a good way to reduce their numbers and put fresh pork in the freezer. Luke's trail camera caught 22 hogs at his feeder recently.  Photo by Luke Clayton

A month or so ago, I decided I wanted to begin trapping hogs for meat. The more I checked into traps, the more disappointed I became. I wanted to trap along a well used hog trail back in heavy cover and every trap I found weighed far too much to transport into the backwoods. My search finally led me to Air-Lite Aluminum Hog Traps (www.gaterboy.com), a company in Florida owned by Kent and Nancy Collins. After looking at the traps on the internet and visiting with the couple on the phone, I decided they made exactly the trap that I was looking for. I chose a 6 foot trap that is 34 inches wide and weighs about 50 pounds. Because of their light weight, these aluminum traps are economical to ship. My desire was to catch one or two hogs at a time. I had no need for a huge trap for catching multiple hogs. When my trap was delivered, I broke out my ratchet and seven-sixteenth inch socket, a box end wrench and had the trap assembled in 20 minutes. I could have just as easily packed it into the woods and assembled it on the spot, but I knew a route where I could snake the trap through the trees and place it near my corn feeder.

Luke's aluminum hog trap by gaterboy.com weighs about 50 pounds and is highly portable, making it idea for catching hogs in the heavy cover in which they live.   Photo by Luke Clayton

I brought along a tape measure and easily located a couple of small saplings that measured 36 inches apart. I lucked out and found another small tree three feet behind these two. I had three very permanently anchored ‘supports’ to wire my lightweight trap to, a T Post insured the trap would stay in place, even if I did catch a 200 pound boar. For added security, I cut a cedar limb and placed it across the top of the trap, wiring it to the two saplings.

I used a game cart from Bass Pro Shops to transport the assembled trap the quarter mile or so to the feeder. There's nothing wrong with using an ATV but I like and need the exercise that walking affords. Besides, I like the idea of slipping quietly into and out of an area where I am hunting or, now, trapping.

The door on my trap has a hole into which fits a tapered pin. A string or wire is attached to the pin, once the gate is up, the other end of the string is attached to a horizontal ‘trip’ wire near the back of the trap, about 18 inches up from the ground. I baited a string of corn into the trap and piled up plenty more in the back of the trap, just behind the trip wire. I added a little raspberry flavored Kool Aid to make the food source even more enticing. The trap was placed and set yesterday and I aimed my trail camera to photograph the front of the trap.

This morning, I checked my trap and found the trap door still up and no images on the trail camera; the hogs decided not to visit my set up last night. I left the spring woods quietly early this morning but my expectations are high for tomorrow. Those hogs seldom stay away from that corn feeder more than 2 nights. I can already taste the pulled pork on my Smokin Tex electric smoker!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Transporting hunting and fishing gear into remote areas can be a challenge. I hunt and trap wild hogs close to my home and find these wary critters a good bit off the beaten path. I don't own an ATV, and I've had some tough times dragging the larger hogs out; I've even quartered a few of the larger hogs in the woods and packed the meat out in pieces. While fishing for spawning white bass a few years ago, a buddy taught me that a wheelbarrow makes a good means of getting all the fishing equipment and catch back out. But wheels are small on a wheelbarrow and pushing one through uneven terrain is tough. I've recently discovered the answer to my problem. I've been using a Magnum Game Cart by Redhead. With oversized tires, this lightweight but strong cart makes transporting gear and game into and out of the back country easy. I recently used my cart to transport a 6 foot hog trap a quarter mile and, 2 days later, easily hauled the meat from a 150 pound hog I trapped. Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, March 22, 2010
TURKEY HUNTING PRIMER  Luke Clayton

My friend Bob Hood is one of the best turkey hunters I know. Bob logs in many days hunting spring turkey each season and has a saying that I've come to agree with whole-heartedly: “Patience kills more turkeys than anything.” Hood is one of the most patient turkey hunters I know and he always fills his turkey tags during the spring season. Here's a few tips for Hood and myself that will hopefully help you put that boss gobbler on the ground in the next few days:

Outdoors writer Bob Hood with a nice gobbler harvest on last year's hunt with Luke on Sam Henderson's Ranch (www.mesquiteriveroutfitters.com) in Schleicher Country.  Photo by Luke Clayton

PATTERN YOUR SHOTGUN- Make sure and spend the time necessary to know where your shotgun is shooting. I either use a turkey head-neck target or, make my own by touching my thumb to the finger tips on the same hand (the outline closely resembles a turkeys head and neck) and use a felt tip marker to draw the outline on a piece of paper or feed sack. At a paced 30 yards, I aim at the center of the head/neck and determine where the center of my shotgun's pattern is shooting. After a couple of ‘test’ shots, I determine exactly where to hold the bead in order to center the pattern at the bulls eye (turkey's head). A heavy load of #4 lead shot works well for anchoring turkeys out to about 40 yards.

FIND THE BIRDS- Before you can call a gobbler within shotgun range, you must first locate an area holding birds. Try to get into the woods about sunset the day before your hunt and ‘roost’ your gobbler. I either walk or drive slowly along the ranch road and stop every few hundred yards to call. Once a gobbler responds by gobbling from his roost, I look the terrain over closely and locate a spot to set my decoys up the next morning. If you're in good turkey country, It's often possible to locate multiple gobblers on their roost.

CALLING THEM IN- Camo from head to toe is a must when hunting spring turkey. Always break your silhouette by backing up against a tree trunk wider than your back or, use brush to conceal your location.

DECOYS ARE HELPFUL- This year I will be hunting with 2 hen decoys and a full body Bob N Tail gobbler decoy by Redhead. Turkey have excellent eyesight and can spot decoys from several hundred yards. The tail on my gobbler decoy moves in the wind to add realism to the set up. Make sure and place your decoys on a field edge or opening in the woods so they will be visible to approaching gobblers.

CALL THEM IN- I begin calling softly in case gobblers might be close by. Then, after ten minutes or so, I increase the volume. When turkeys are ‘hot’ and responding well to the call, turkey hunting is simple. The hunter creates a series of hen yelps, a gobbler stops back in the woods, gobblers and struts, then makes a beeline for your set up. Sometimes, this ‘text book’ situation occurs, more often it does not. I've had many gobblers sneak in to my calling and decoys silently. One minute I'm starring at the decoys, wondering if I need to change locations, the next second, I'm watching a gobbler strut 20 yards in front of me. Situations such as this are where patience really pays off. If you know you are in an area with good turkey sign and numbers, stay put at least 30 minutes at each location. When I'm looking for a new place to set up, I stop frequently and call with a series of hen yelps. If I get a gobbler to respond, it's time to quickly set up the decoys and blend into the brush.

BE READY- It's important to pull the shotgun up and point it in the general direction you expect the gobbler to approach from. This lessens the chance of spooking the bird at the last minute by moving the shotgun. If you are bow hunting spring turkey, as I often do, it's important to use a blind of some sort. I will be hunting from a lightweight GhostBlind (www.ghostblind.com) this season. The blind weighs about 14 pounds and, sets up in a matter of seconds. With mirrors on the outside and conventional camo on the inside, it blends well into any type terrain. Shooting ports are built into the top of the blind which allows the bow to be drawn behind the blind and eased up into shooting position. The blind will also be awesome for hunting with a shotgun on field edges and in more open cover.

Hunting spring gobblers is a very challenging, exciting endeavor and one in which there are no exact formulas to success. Every hunt is different, which is why I believe I love turkey hunting so much. Hopefully these basic turkey hunting tips will help you anchor a big boss gobbler this spring!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- I've been on a quest to locate a lightweight, very portable wild hog trap that one man can handle easily in the woods. After searching the internet for a couple weeks, and finding companies that make heavy, commercial type traps, I finally located a company that manufacturers a trap from aluminum. These very strong traps weigh about 50 pounds and bolt together in a matter of minutes. Kent and Nancy Collins, originally from Texas, moved to Florida a few years ago, where they now operate www.gaterboy.com and sell their traps to hunters and sportsmen that trap for meat. “Our traps are designed for the hunter that wishes to trap hogs to eat. We've caught 200 pound boars in our 6 foot trap but mostly we target hogs weighing 100-150 pounds, they are better eating.” says Nancy Collins.

More on trapping hogs in an upcoming article. I plan to have my new trap set in the woods by the end of the week! Luke Clayton

FISHING UPDATE- White Bass-It seems the stage is set this spring for an awesome white bass run; plenty of water in the creeks and enough rainfall to create current, but the widespread good fishing is just getting underway. Last week, scattered reports of good fishing came from the East Fork River in the vicinity of Hwy 78 and Kings Creek above Cedar Creek Lake. Guide Mike Rackley says the Sabine River above Tawakoni is holding a lot of pre spawn white bass. With the warming weather this week, many are expecting the white bass spawn to kick into high gear. Top baits for fishing streams and currents for white bass include white or chartreuse minnow imitation soft plastics, one-eighth ounce jigs rigged in tandem and live minnows. It's usually best to ‘bump’ the soft plastics along bottom and fish the jigs under a float, twitching the rod tip to impart movement.

Crappie- Male crappie are moving into the shallows on most area lakes but the majority of females are staged in deeper water. Most of the better catches last week came after dark. The Hwy 515 Bridge at Lake Fork has been a hotspot for catching big pre spawn females. Best action is coming on live minnows fished 10 feet deep around bridge columns in water 16-20 feet deep. Two or three days of temperatures approaching 80 degrees should greatly improve crappie fishing.

BLACK BASS- Guide Larry Large at Mustang Resort on LAKE FORK says bass are moving into the creeks and many are expected to lock down on beds within the next few days. Carolina rigged lizards are Large's favorite bait for fishing early during the spawn but he says his big bass favorite is a buzz bait fished in water 3-5 feet deep. Large suggests positioning the boat out in water 12-15 feet deep and casting back toward the shallows. This allows the bait to work from shallow to deep and attracts fish in various stages of the spawn. Luke Clayton

STRIPERS- At Lake Whitney, guide Randy Routh (www.teamredneck.net) says he is fishing water 4-5 feet deep relatively close to deeper creek channels and enjoying great success on stripers up to just over 20 pounds. “We're using pieces of fresh cut shad on a short Carolina Rig and targeting the big stripers that have moved into the warmer, shallower water where they are staging for the spawn. Fish in the 8-10 pound range are very common and most trips are producing at least one of the trophy size stripers.” tips Routh.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, March 22, 2010
A LITTLE ‘TURKEY’ TALK  Luke Clayton

With the opener of spring turkey season quickly approaching, it's time to turn our thoughts to hunting this most challenging and beautiful bird. I am often asked exactly what I enjoy most about the outdoors. As a long time outdoors writer and lifelong sportsman, I hunt and fish year around. So, what is most most exciting? Is it hunting waterfowl, deer, hogs, elk, or catching fish? I usually reply with something like, “ I enjoy it all, it depends upon what I'm doing at the time”. If I'm catching crappie during the spawn, it's crappie fishing. If I am bow hunting whitetail in the fall, it's bow hunting deer.

But, after a bit of deep soul searching, I believe I can truthfully say that if I had only outdoor endeavor to enjoy, it would be pursuing turkeys during the spring season. I have some very good reasons to back up my love for the sport. Hunting spring turkeys is the essence of hunting. One actively takes the hunt to the birds, it's a run-and-gun type of hunting that has a smorgasbord of built in challenges. Are the gobblers vocal during the hunt or do they sneak into the caller silently? What is it that causes gobblers to sound off at every sound they hear one day and become totally silent the next?

I've often commented that I've never had two turkey hunts unfold exactly the same way. Year before last was a good case in point. I was hunting The Holt River Ranch up in Palo Pinto County and around mid morning, had what sounded like two gobblers responding to my hen yelps across a fair size stream. As I walked down off the mountain from which I was calling, it became clear that the birds were responding from the far side of the stream. They were hidden from view by a long row of driftwood that had stacked up from previous flooding.

I quietly approached the water's edge, concealed myself in some shoreline brush and began a series of plaintive hen yelps, attempting to entice the gobblers to fly over the obstruction of driftwood and close the distance to my hen decoys. Nothing doing! By the sounds of their gobbles, I ascertained that the birds were walking back and forth on the far side of the brush line. They were NOT coming over to my side. Turkeys are often like that, they like taking the easy route and often distain crossing obstructions like fence lines and water courses but, not always. I have had gobblers fly across streams immediately after hearing my hen yelps. But not this time! I was afraid my gobblers would soon lose interest in what they perceived to be a hen looking for love. I had to make a decision and make it quickly. That's what I like about spring turkey hunting, it's a game of cat and mouse and the mouse (gobbler) usually has the upper edge!

I walked downstream a hundred yards, waded across a shallow stretch of the stream, and found a small opening in the row of driftwood. No time to set up a hen decoy, the birds were gobbling their heads up about 60 yards behind the brush. I backed into a brushy cedar and began calling. With each series of yelps, both gobblers sounded off. They were heading my way, and fast. Within 2 minutes, I watched the two mature gobblers round a corner in the brush and strut! If there is a more beautiful sight than a brilliantly colored turkey gobbler strutting with a pale green background of early spring shoots of grasses and leaves, I've yet to find it! I had my shotgun pointed in the direction of the approaching birds. BOOM, a heavy load of #4 shot anchored the biggest gobbler in his tracks. Last spring, early in the turkey season, I was again on the Holt River Ranch and an entirely different scenario unfolded.

This hunt was textbook spring turkey hunting. I was bowhunting and had a couple of hen decoys set out just outside a big live oak with low hanging limbs. My position at the base of the ancient tree was an excellent vantage point. With my first series of yelps, I had a gobbler sound off what sounded like 300 or so yards down the slope, from the direction of the Brazos River. I yelped, he gobbled. In a matter of five minutes, he was strutting between the hen decoys within 18 yards of my position. I drew my Mathews Drenalin bow to full draw while the gobbler was strutting with his back to me, when he turned sidewise, I released the Grim Reaper mechanical broadhead. I had my first gobbler of the season on the ground within fifteen minutes of when I made my first call!

Turkey decoys help close the distance with a boss gobbler. Luke plans to incorporate his Bob N Tail Gobbler decoy by Redhead with his hen decoys this season. This realistic decoy with fan that moves with the wind is visible to turkeys at a great distance.  Photo by Luke Clayton

These two very different hunts from the past two springs pretty well sum up what turkey hunting is all about. It's a thinking game and can be likened to a game of chess played out on the hills and valleys inhabited by spring turkeys. Yes, come to think of it, I DO enjoy hunting spring turkey best of all. Well, maybe until those channel catfish move into the shallows to spawn!

TURKEY HUNTING OPPORTUNITIES- At last check, John Bryan at the Holt River Ranch near Graford in Palo Pinto County, had a few openings for turkey hunters. Bryan can be reached at 940-452-3415 (www.theholtriverranch.com). If a hunt for eastern turkeys is in your plans this spring, contact Mike Ford ( 903-674-3750) at the Rio Rojo Rancho in Red River county.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- The opener of spring turkey season is quickly approaching. I've always been challenged by packing all the gear I use for turkey hunting into the woods. Years ago, an oversized turkey hunting vest work fairly well but it's just too small to accommodate all the gear I require today. My set up includes three turkey decoys, (a strutting gobbler and 2 hens), calls, portable stool and lightweight GhostBlind to conceal my movements. The real challenge is transporting the turkey decoys. The hen decoys fold to save space but the gobbler decoy is more rigid. I needed a bag with back straps to carry all my gear, something I could use like a field pack over my shoulders and keep my hands free to carry the lightweight blind. After looking around at several outdoor retail stores without success, I discovered I had the perfect ‘turkey pack’ in my storage building! You probably have at least one in your garage as well! Remember that camo ‘dove hunting chair’ that you bought for the dove field? It probably came with a camo carrying bag complete with back pack straps! These elongated bags are perfect for carrying multiple turkey decoys and all the gear necessary for spring turkey hunting. If you don't have such a chair with carrying pack, they are readily available, economical and will solve the problem of carrying all your turkey hunting gear. Luke Clayton

CRAPPIE SPAWN UPDATE- Lake Lavon crappie guide Billy Kilpatrick (www.straightlineguide.com) says last week's blast of Arctic air slowed the crappie spawn by a few days. “Just before the cold front, we had started catching a few male crappie from shallow water.” says Kilpartick. “ The cold weather/water pushed the spawners back to deeper water but it will only take 2 or three sunny afternoons with the temperature near 70 degrees to trigger a major movement of spawning crappie back into the shallows. Once this shallow water action begins, it should get progressively betters through mid April. Once the males show up, the females usually begin heading into the shallows with a few days.” (Note: This report is from Lake Lavon, situated about 30 miles NE of Dallas but these patterns should be accurate on all the lakes in the region.) LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, March 15, 2010
CRAPPIE MOVING INTO SHALLOWS  Luke Clayton

When the late winter/early spring water temperature begins approaching the high fifties, male crappie begin moving into the warmer, more shallow water and those barndoor, egg laden females are quick to follow. I've been keeping tabs on the water temperatures in the shallows on several lakes the past week and my sources are all telling me they've found water as warm as 60 degrees on sunny afternoons. In the mornings, the shallow water is chilled to the mid fifties but, from all accounts, about the time you're reading this, the shallow water crappie bite will be on!

Lake Lavon crappie guide Billy Kilpatrick hoists a barndoor crappie from shallow cover.  Photo by Luke Clayton

Jay Don Reeve, with CATS (www.crappieanglersoftexas.com) was on the water at Cedar Creek when I interviewed him for this article and he verified the morning water temperature in the shallows was 58 degrees. “By afternoon, the water I'm now fishing should rise to the low sixties and that's the trigger crappie need to move shallow. By the time your readers get this information, I'm predicting the shallow water bite to be on, big time.” Tips Reeve.

Reeve suggests fishing around standing beds of cattails or any shallow water cover that will attract spawning crappie. “I like to fish with one-sixteenth ounce jigs under small floaters.” He added. “The best colors usually are black/chartreuse or black/pink. The water is usually stained this time of year and the darker colors usually produce better.”

Reeve suggests using a good jig pole, such as the B&M Pole, and drop the jigs vertically into heavy cover in water 2-3 feet deep. “When the water is really off color, it's not uncommon to find spawning crappie in water as shallow as 12 inches but most are caught from depths of around 24 inches. ”

Now is a great time for anglers without a boat to fish from the bank and enjoy great success. The same jig or live minnow fished under a light weight floater works for anglers fan casting from the bank. Richland Chambers guide Troy Spruce with Guranteed Guide Service (www.nofishnocharge.com), says he's caught lots of shallow water crappie by locating a good spot along the bank that provides easy access to cover and making repeated casts to the crappie attracting brush or reeds. “The trick is to cast past the targeted cover and crank the jig back to the where you expect the fish to be.” tips Spruce. “When the bait reaches the cover, lightly twitch the rod tip causing the jig to move slowly to entice a strike.” Spruce added that it's also very common to catch crappie in what appears to be open water. “Crappie are cruising the shallows this time of year, male crappie will actually ‘herd’ females into nesting areas. Keep tension on your line at all times, and be ready for that floater to disappear. What looks like open water from the surface often has submerged cover. A large area of cover is not necessary to attract spawning crappie. I remember last year about this time, a client and I pulled 10 barndoor crappie from around a single stick up situated near a retaining wall from water 2 feet deep. When crappie find cover they like, they keep coming back to it.” As a successful crappie angler, you'll learn to repeatedly hit these likely bits of cover. It's common to fish a spot, pull multiple crappie from it, then return in a couple hours and catch that many more.

Veteran crappie guide Billy Kilpatrick (www.straightlineguide.com) at Lavon says he often fishes his clients from the boat but when they are willing, he prefers wade fishing. “There is no better way to sneak up on shallow water spawning crappie than by wade fishing. We catch a lot of crappie from the boat this time of year but if my clients are willing to put on a pair of waders, I always prefer wade fishing. I use the boat to get us to the hotspots then I tie the boat to some brush, we get into the water and actually stalk the crappie. It's lots of fun and, very productive!”

Kilpatrick suggests using a floating fish basket to keep his catch rather than a fish stringer. Lightweight waders are often punctured by the fins of crappie kept on a stringer. The fish basket floats easily along as we wade and it's already handy.” he added.

Kilpatrick prefers using a 12 foot jig pole. Once he is in position, it's possible to cover a 24 foot diameter circle. “I remain as quiet as possible and drop the jigs vertically into the cover. If I don't get a bite within thirty seconds, I then pull the bait straight up out of the water, this helps getting hung up on brush and loosing jigs. Even when using this technique, expect to lose tackle, especially if you're fishing in the heavy cover where crappie spawn.”

Kilpatrick predicts the male crappie to begin moving into the shallows within the next few days and by the end of the month, and the females will shortly follow. But, as the guide mentioned, all crappie do not move shallow at the same time. The shallow water action that so many anglers look forward to usually continues through much of April.

Outdoor tip of the week: From recent reports, it appears the spring turkey breeding season is underway. John Bryan on the Holt River Ranch (www.theholtriverranch.com) in Palo Pinto County near Graford says he's been watching gobblers strutting for the past week and hearing gobbling all over the ranch. “It appears our turkeys made it through the winter in good shape. We're expecting a great spring season. For more information, call Bryan at 940-452-3415.Mike Ford, on the Rio Rojo Rancho in Red River County, says there was an abundance of jakes last year and this spring, the birds are sporting beards. “Gobblers have been sounding off the 2 weeks now. This country is still very wet from late winter rains but there's plenty of pine knolls and higher meadows. I think that these areas will be the places to target this spring. Contact Ford at 903-674-3750.

Red River County was the first east Texas county to receive stockings of eastern wild turkey several decades ago and this area has become the premier spot in eastern Texas to hunt them. Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, March 8, 2010
Cold winter alters fish & wildlife's schedule  Luke Clayton

Everything in the natural world is on somewhat of a schedule which is dictated by various factors, the weather being a primary player. The white bass spawn occurs during early spring about the same time each year, the trophy blue catfish bite which is so dependable in the dead of winter usually slows about now, water fowl begin their migration, etc. etc.

With the much colder than average winter across much of Texas, I'm convinced that the patterns of fish and game are running at least a couple weeks behind schedule. From recent reports, large flocks of snow geese are still staged along the coastal prairies; usually the birds have already begun their migration back to their nesting ground in Alaska and Canada. Wild turkey usually have begun pulling out of the draws and creek bottoms where they spend the winter months. By now, they are usually dispersing into fields and higher ground where they nest and rear their young. A rancher friend of mine near Eldorado down in Schleicher County says the huge flocks of turkey that winter on his place are staying in the deeper draws and creek bottoms; typical of their habit during the winter.

Mike Ford, who owns the Rio Rojo Rancho in Red River County in NE Texas says turkey flocks in that area continue to stick with the low country and heavy cover; their wintertime haunts. Crappie have yet to move into the shallows on most reservoirs, when conditions are more normal, they begin moving into and out of shallow water by early March. The trophy blue catfish bite is definitely still underway. This past week, Bro. Terry Terry guided his daughter, Maddie to a new Eagle Mountain Lake blue catfish record in the Junior Anglers division, the big blue tipped the scales at 32.1 pounds. This will all change and, change quickly with a few warming days of sunshine. Mother Nature might be a little slow this year but her schedule is always flexible, she will soon notify the fish and wildlife that it's time to get on with their annual springtime job of procreation!

Bro. Terry Terry and daughter Maddi show off Maddi's new Eagle Mountain Lake Junior Angler record blue catfish that weighed 32.1 pounds.  Photo by Luke Clayton

GETTING ORGANIZED- This is the time of year when I and most sportsmen are transitioning from fall and winter hunting seasons. I recently stored my duck decoys, calls and all the other paraphernalia needed for hunting waterfowl. Rather than simply toss all my gear into the shelf in my storage room, I took the time to place my waterfowl clothing (washed and folded neatly) into plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Inside this large plastic box, I placed my calls, lanyard, etc. On the outside I used a felt tip pen and wrote WATERFOWL GEAR. Next fall, I won't have to scramble around looking for all my duck hunting gear and clothing. I'll find it well organized in a waterproof and, mothproof box.

It's time to start getting ‘things’ organized for spring turkey season. ‘Things’ include a smorgasbord of items including calls, decoys, light camo clothing with shades of green that didn’t fit into the landscape back during waterfowl season. Before the beginning of the season, I plan to ‘box’ all my turkey hunting gear and have it ready to go. Then, when it's time to head out on that first spring turkey hunt of the year, I will have everything ready to go.

Likewise with fishing tackle. I have begun categorizing my fishing gear for the species for which I fish. Within the next couple weeks, I plan to have boxes marked ‘crappie gear’, catfish terminal tackle, soft plastics for bass, etc. etc. Granted, I'll have to turn my back on the chaotic manner in which I've always prepared for an upcoming outing for bass, catfish, crappie, white bass or stripers. No more last minute scrambles to find those one ounce chartreuse and white slabs needed for the upcoming white bass trip or, those black and chartreuse lizards for fishing the black bass spawn. And where in the heck are those #4 treble hooks for catfishing? There'll be a place for everything and everything in its place. Well, folks, that's my plan and I'm sticking with it. I'll let you know how it's working for me in a month or so!

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UPCOMING CRAPPIE TOURNAMENTS- Cabela's Crappie USA is hosting a couple of crappie tournaments in Texas on March 27, one at Toledo Bend and the other at Lake Wright Patman. For more information, go online to www.crappieusa.com or call 270-395-4204. These events are one day qualifiers for the Cabela's Crappie USA Classic scheduled for next October.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- About a decade ago, the use of turkey hen decoys started to become popular. Today, few spring turkey hunters venture forth without at least one turkey decoy, usually a hen or sometimes a hen and jake. The most recent trend in turkey decoys is the use of lifelike mature gobbler decoys. Bass Pro Shops offers a very realistic mature gobbler that comes with a fan (tail feathers) that closely resembles the real thing. The affordably priced Bob N Tail gobbler is visible to turkeys from a great distance and I'm convinced will be a big help this spring in closing the distance with a boss gobbler. My plan this year is to make my turkey decoys as visible as possible, I truly believe that sight is possibly as important as sound when attracting turkeys. Using these lifelike and highly visible gobbler decoys, placed near a couple of hen decoys should be a big help this spring. Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, March 1, 2010
Catfish tournaments gaining popularity  Luke Clayton

If you think there is only one species of freshwater fish popular enough to draw a crowd come weigh in time, better think again. Catfish tournaments are gaining rapidly in popularity, as last weekend's contest at Lake Tawakoni attests.

According to Cabela's King Kat Tournament Trail director Tanner Tabor, the event held on this well known trophy blue catfish lake attracted 82 anglers from 9 states. “Actually, over fifty percent of the contestants were from out of state. We normally see between 350 to 500 people watching the weigh in. With 1st place paying $3,000 and prize money going to the top 5 places, it's easy to see why we have such good turnouts at tournaments. Catfish tournament anglers in general are just good sports and although they are all out to win, the love they all share for catching catfish seems to bond them together. ” says Tabor. First place went to the team of Ryan Gnagy and his partner C.J. Blankenship, both from Kansas. The team weighed in 120.6 pounds of catfish, the largest tipped the scales at 46.85 pounds. The fish came from the southwest corner of the lake in water 12-14 feet. Large shad heads was the team's bait of choice. Second place went to Chris Taylor and Jesse Pantlick, an Oklahoma team. These guys weighed 109.95 pounds and took home a check for $1,300. The Oklahoma's team's fish also went for cut shad, but in more shallow water, 6-7 feet deep, near the dam.

Ryan Gnagy (Lt) and C.J. Blankenship traveled from Kansas to win the Tawakoni Cabela's King Kat Catfish tournament last weekend.

Big fish for the tournament weighed 53.45 pounds and was landed by Paul Miles from Lake Dallas, Texas. Miles teamed with Don Miles from Irving . The biggest fish of the event went for, again, cut shad, this time from a hump situated in 20 feet of water on the south side of the lake.

Tawakoni has gained national recognition as a destination for catching trophy blue catfish and this year's tournament was planned to coincide with the cold weather bite that usually stretches from October until spring. Tabor rates Tawakoni in the top 5 lakes in the nation for catching big blue cats. “I was happy that we could schedule this year's tournament during the peak of the cold weather bite. Of the 39 teams that competed, 28 weighed weighed in fish. That's a pretty good showing. It's a good bet that some of the no-shows at the weigh in also caught plenty of fish, just not enough to place in the tournament. We had 12 blue catfish weighing 40 pounds or more weighed in. That's saying something, regardless the waters one fishes.” added Tabor.

Paul Louderback, president of The United States Catfish Association (USCA) says, “With over 20 catfishing tournaments partnered with the USCA (www.catfish1.com), and over 10 years directly involved on the business side of catfishing, it's easy to see that catfish tournaments and on the brink of something immense. Today's Catfish tournament angler is a new animal and understands the dynamics between the principles of catfishing and how they impact the sport. From small, loosely organized events to the National Trail which are widely publicized, anglers are put to the ultimate test. A small group of catfish anglers are making their primary living within the total demographic of catfishing, and there is plenty of room for growth. A few years ago, this was unheard of.”

Louderback invites folks interested in learning more about catfishing to go online to www.catfish1.com/catfishinsider. With more than 33,000 members that freely share their knowledge of the sport, this organization has become the ‘go to’ source of information for catfish pros and novices alike.

To learn more about Cabela's King Kat Classic Tournaments, go online to www.kingkatusa.com.

If doing battle with a giant blue catfish is your goal the next few weeks and you live or travel to Texas to fish, Tawakoni should certainly be on your hit list but, there are other lakes that are well stocked with blues. Cedar Creek, Lake Lewisville, Eagle Mountain and, of course, Texoma all provide good blue cat action right now. For baits, nothing beats a fresh, bloody, oily piece of cut bait. There's been a controversy for years about prepared baits vs. natural baits. My answer to this question is this: Do a poll of pro catfish anglers targeting trophy class blues and ask them what they use for bait. Most will answer, hands down, FRESH CUT BAIT.

Prepared baits do have their place, they are hard to beat for catching numbers of channel catfish over baited holes during the warm weather months and, yes, a big blue will sometimes grab a hunk of cheese bait but, day in and day out, it's that fresh cut bait that entices the strikes. Some anglers swear that shad heads produce the better action, other prefer the mid sections. When shad are hard to locate, fillets from rough fish such as bullalofish, drum or carp will suffice. Just remember the fresher the better. Some pro catters like to locate baitfish and accompany blues holding on bottom structure, anchor their boats upwind and cast multiple baits into the hotspot. Drift fishing with a ‘Santee’ rig is also a good way to cover lots of water and eventually, hit the jack pot. The Santee rig is a basis Carolina rig with a small floater pegged about six inches up from the hook. Hang ups are reduced using this rig and many fishermen believe it's easier for a catfish holding near bottom to grab bait in the water column a foot or two above bottom.

Although monster blues are sometimes landed during late spring and summer, if a ‘big un’ is your goal, better plan your trip within the next few weeks, your success rate will increase exponentially!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEKS

The stage is set for an awesome white bass spawn this year. Rivers, creeks and tributaries above most of the reservoirs are full of water and all it will take to trigger the white bass spawn is a few days of warming weather and a little more rainfall to create current. Now is a great time to do a little scouting and locate some good spots to enjoy catching these spawners from the bank. Or, if you plan to navigate some of the smaller streams, check out the availability of boat ramps. Google Earth can be extremely helpful when exploring new creeks and streams. Simply pull down a few GPS coordinates, plug them into your hand held GPS and you'll feel a lot more comfortable when you round that big bend in the creek and head into unexplored waters! Luke Clayton

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, February 22, 2010
A VISIT WITH AN OLD OUTDOORS WRITER  Luke Clayton

I try not to write much about myself. After all, I'm just an old outdoors writer and broadcaster with a passion for writing and, more importantly, spending time in the woods, fields hunting or on the water fishing. Through the years, I've had favorite writers that I read on a regular basis. It's human nature for a reader to wonder what makes his or her favorite writer ‘tick’. I'm sure many of you have been reading this corner of this fine publication for quiet sometime, I've been here a long time and I thoroughly enjoy coming to you via the written word each week. Hopefully, some of the experiences and people I meet and write about will help provide you with helpful information and cause you to reflect upon outings you have enjoyed.

Now, about Ole’ Luke! If you ran into me while fishing out on the lake and didn't recognize me from my mug shot, you'd probably think “Heck! I'm catching more fish than that old boy but he seems to be enjoying himself, even though he's obviously not the best fisherman!” Should you walk into one of my hunting camps or into a hunting lodge with a big fire going in the fireplace and see me warming up from a cold stand in the woods, you'd never know the unassuming old guy setting by the fire was me and, I'd probably never tell you that I make my living writing about the outdoors. If I did, I'd be afraid you might ask me something about hunting or fishing that I could not answer! In truth, I'm not the most technical of guys, I couldn't tell you where the sear is on a shotgun's trigger any more than I would know how to repair a hole in a fiberglass boat. I'd rather sit there by the fire with you and listen to YOUR stories. I've know few outdoor writers that I considered ‘good’ that weren't great listeners.

Bob Hood, a veteran outdoors writer from Texas that was outdoors editor for the Fort Worth Star Telegram for over 40 years is one of the best listeners and outdoor writers that I've known. Bob and I are great friends and we've hunted and fished together on many occasions through the years. I've watched Bob ‘interview’ pro anglers and guides in a manner that was very relaxed. He gleans the information he needed for his article through casual conservation and he has excellent recall. If you walked up on Bob and I at deer camp, you'd probably find a couple of old guys that share your love for just being ‘out there’, enjoying the simple life. It just so happens we earn our living writing about the outdoors.

Veteran outdoors writer Bob Hood with a gobbler he harvested in west Texas on a spring turkey hunt with Luke. All good outdoor writers must have a passion for the outdoors and enjoy being ‘out there’.   photo by Luke Clayton

Before you begin to get the idea that I'm a greenhorn Nimrod, I better set the facts straight. You need to know that I have some knowledge to pass along! I've been tramping the fields and wood for fifty years now, (I just turned sixty) and could tell you story after story about my adventures in the outdoors through the years. I've bass fished in Japan, hunted the Rockies and big deer, upland birds and waterfowl up on the Canadian border and, went south of the border in quest of game and fish. When it comes to spending time in the outdoors, I've been around!

I love bow hunting and for years have been on the Mathews pro staff. I'm a pretty good bow hunter and do much of my hunting from the ground. To be good at anything, whether it be writing or shooting a bow, one has to be actively involved and I shoot a bow, just as I write, on an almost daily basis. As a full time outdoors writer, I write about myriad topics and in order to write from an authoritative prospective, I need to be out there ‘doing it’. Sometimes ‘doing it’ equates to hunting with a muzzleloader or hunting hogs at night, trying out a new night vision rifle scope.

I might be learning a new catfish catching technique from a pro or hunting with a predator pro and learning new tricks to call coyotes in close. Regardless, It's a pretty good bet that I was ‘out there’ actually doing what I'm writing about. I can quickly pick out a writer that is simply relating details from one that is personally knowledgeable on a given topic.

I'm really no different that you (assuming you love the outdoors)! I have a tenacity to stretch the truth about the size of that bass or catfish that broke off or the B & C score of that buck that walked by my bow stand last fall with affording that standing broadside shot that I need. My son kids me every time I hold up my outstretched arms, showing the length of the last bass or crappie I landed. I've got long arms and he says the dimensions I span more closely depict the length of an adult tiger shark than a keeper crappie!

So, should we cross paths at the boat ramp out a hunting lodge, try not to expect too much from me. Please don't ask technical questions about parallax of rifle scopes or the best way to install a new impeller on your outboard engine. But, if you want to talk about patterning wild hogs or possibly bow hunting elk, I'm your man. Get me off to the side of the campfire and I'll talk your ears off about how to bait a hole for channel catfish or tighten those groups with your hunting bow. But, put me in front of a crowd and my reclusive nature comes to light. I've found most outdoors writers, when I finally met them face to face, to be pretty quiet, introspective folks. Keep in mind the fact that we are accustomed to spending a lot of ‘quiet’ time in the great outdoors or, back at the desk hammering out our next article. Don't expect the majority of us to enjoy being in the limelight, after all, we're WRITERS who accomplish our work from quiet places, rather than in a setting with bright lights in our faces!

I sincerely hope you will continue to read about the outdoors in this space my editors provide. I promise to continue to ‘keep it real’ and write only about topics that you and I can relate to. When I hit on a new outdoor endeavor in which we both are learning, I'll make it a point to let you know the tips are from a bonified pro. When I'm writing about a facet of the outdoor life that I feel well qualified to share with you, well, I hope you will be able to know through my writing that I have truly been ‘out there’!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK: It's less than a month until the opener of spring turkey season. Now is a great time to break out the turkey calls and make sure they are in working order. For most of us, it's probably been months since we practiced mimicking those plaintive hen turkey cuts and purrs that are intended to entice a boss gobbler with bow or shotgun range. Have you checked out some of the realistic new turkey decoys? They've come a long way since the basic hen and jake collapsible decoys that were so popular a few years ago. I'm planning to put to use a very realistic strutting gobbler decoy that comes with a detachable fan (tail feathers).

The conservation snow goose season is in effect and I've noticed flocks of geese on the move, especially after this last blast of cold weather. There are few juvenile snow geese this, most flocks are made up largely of mature birds which are extremely wary, especially after months of hunting from Canada to south Texas. These migrating flocks of snows are on the move and often stay on a winter wheat or rye field only a couple of days before moving on. Setting out big decoy spreads can actually do more harm than good on these late season birds. I've enjoyed some red hot pass shooting on late season migrating geese, simply by scouting the fields the birds were frequenting, and gaining permission to hunt them (most farmers do not relish the idea of geese eating the green wheat they planted for winter forage for livestock). Try locate a fence row of other place to conceal yourself and get in position well before sunup. Hopefully the birds will return to the field from their night's roost site on a nearby body of water. Remember, the birds will take off into the wind. Position your ambush spot accordingly. LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, February 15, 2010
IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT  Luke Clayton

I arrived at the spot where I have been baiting hogs about 6 pm. The sun had dipped over the horizon and as I made the walk back into the bottoms where my ground blind and corn feeder awaited, I had that ‘feeling’ that this was going to be an exciting night. Wild hogs often become almost entirely nocturnal this time of year; they've been exposed to hunter pressure for several months and, being the highly intelligent animals they are, they prefer to feed under the cover of darkness when they have the woods to themselves. The critters eyesight is not so good but they can smell a kernel of corn under six inches of leaves!

I have my Predator Trail Camera mounted to an oak sappling a few feet from the corn feeder and images it had captured indicated there was a smorgasbord of wild hogs coming to my feeder. Most of the activity was between 8 and 10 pm. I took a buddy to this spot a couple weeks ago and we harvested a nice size boar that made excellent pork chops and cured ham.

Buck Criner with a good eating hog he and Clayton harvested on a recent night hunt.   photo by Luke Clayton

I settled into the blind about the time darkness descended on the remote stretch of bottomland; stars begin to twinkle from the heavens and a sense of tranquility settled over the dark woods. There's something very exciting about spending time in the woods anytime, but especially so on a cold, quiet winter's night. Thanks to the images on my trail camera, I felt almost positive that wild hogs would be disturbing my peaceful setting, assuming I stayed put for a couple hours. Every little sound was magnified by the darkness. I heard a distance pack of coyotes open up with their evening serenade and a couple of owls shared greetings somewhere back in the blackness.

This was my first hunt with using the ATN Aries 350 night vision scope I ordered from Bass Pro Shops. Night visions scopes are available in 1st,2nd and 3rd generation with costs escalating steeply from the 1st generation models, which are affordable priced at around $400. I've found that for the night hunting I do, 1st generation technology is more than adequate. I set up to shoot hogs at 40 yards or less and on a moonlight night, it's easy to see and shoot at much greater distances. The scope has the ability to generate infra red light on nights with little or no ambient light. If there's at least a half-moon, the scope provides good visibility without using the infra red feature. I mounted the scope on a .22 Hornet which many might consider a bit light for hog hunting but I've taken lots of hogs with this fast little caliber and if the bullet is properly placed, I've found the caliber excellent for close in work on wild hogs, regardless their size.

Luke used his ATN night scope from Bass Pro Shops mounted on a .22 Hornet for his night hog hunting.   photo by Luke Clayton

I set my bipod up and cradled the forestock of the little rifle on the shooting rest. Peering through the scope, the blackness turned to a green hue and I could easily see everything within 40 yards without the use of the onboard infra red light system. The red crosshairs were bright and I knew they were adjusted correctly for the yardages I planned to shoot. I'd spent plenty of time making ready for this hunt and the sharp, bright images I saw through the scope sent my confidence level through the roof.

The first critter coming into view was a couple of raccoons. I watched their eyes ‘bouncing’ through the woods until they approached my feeder then, through the night scope, they became crystal clear. As the pair crunched away on the corn the feeder had scattered on the forest floor, I tested the scope. Absolutely NO problem seeing or shooting an animal as small as a raccoon; this night scope was going to be perfect for night hog hunting. Next appeared a big swamp rabbit that joined the raccoons for an early evening snack. Then, while studying the animals in front of the feeder. I noticed a flicker of movement through the scope. A bobcat had appeared on the scene, probably eyeing up the big rabbit for dinner!

I watched the show for about ten minutes then, in a flash, the cat made his move. The rabbit was one jump ahead and both disappeared in the darkness. The outcome of this race, I'll never know but, secretly, I was rooting for the rabbit. I know, the cat and I had both assumed the role of predators but I was hunting a much more menacing and destructive prey: the feral hog!

After a couple hours enjoying the solicitude and sights and sounds of the winter woods, I heard a distant sound that I was all too familiar with: animals pulling their feet out of the mud as they traveled a well used trail. On occasion, I heard the squeal of smaller hogs and a couple times, the guttural grunt that I knew was emitted by a big boar. A big boar was the first to come into view through the night scope. He was big, black and dominated the feeder for at least ten minutes, then he moved into the night and a couple of smaller hogs (the eaters I was looking for), appeared out of the blackness.

I centered the red crosshairs of the night scope just behind the ear of one of the porkers and at the crack of the .22 Hornet, my pork hit the ground. I field dressed the young boar which weighted about 130 pounds, and hung him from a rope I'd swung over the lower limb of an oak. I hung my cap on a bush nearby to deter that roving pack of coyotes; I wanted ALL the pork for myself! Butchering could wait until tomorrow. I headed back out of the woods and made the short drive back home. I'd be busy the next morning transforming my hog into pork chops and cured ham!

Outdoor tip of the week- The opener of turkey season is quickly approaching. Before long spring will be here and we'll be out in the turkey woods once again in quest of a long beard gobbler. Now is a great time to hone calling skills and check the outdoor catalogs for the newest innovations in turkey calls and decoys. I began using a hen decoy last year that raises and drops with the pull of a string. On a couple of occasions, the ‘action’ type decoy caused hesitant gobblers to close the distance to bow or shotgun range. The new mirror blind “GhostBlind” www.ghostblind.com, promises to be awesome for turkey hunters that like to stay on the move. The blind weighs about 14 pounds and sets up in a matter of seconds. Mirrors in front reflect terrain in front of the blind and conventional camo covers the inside.

Cabela's King Kat Tourney Returns to Tawakoni

I've been present at the past two King Kat Tournaments at Tawakoni and witnessed some big catfish weighed in but this is the first of the popular tournament trail stops to Tawakoni during the peak of the trophy blue catfish bite. Catfish weighing 30-50 pounds seldom raise an eyebrow of veteran catters that come to Tawakoni targeting trophy blues. The King Kat Tourney is scheduled for Feb. 27 and weigh in will be at the West Tawakoni City Park at 4 pm. Entry fees are $200 per team with a 5 fish limit per team. Host lodging is at the 429 RV Park and Marina (903-356-2125). Tournament hours at 6:30 am. until 3 pm. and only live fish may be weighed in. With a guaranteed pay back of $5,000 to the top 15% of the field, this tournament promises to be not only fun, but profitable for the contestants. For more information go online to www.kingkatusa.com .

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, February 8, 2010
TILIPIA SEASON AT HAND  Luke Clayton

Texas has no fishing seasons that I am aware of but there are certainly times of the year when fishing is best for specific species. Now is prime time for stocking the freezer with tilapia fillets. Chances are pretty good that you've never caught a tilapia on rod and reel; you might even be wondering ‘what is a Tilapia’?

Next time you're at the seafood market at your local grocery, changes are good you will see tilapia fillets, priced at several dollars per pounds. Tilapia is an excellent tasting fish that eats only vegetation, thus the reason they are seldom caught on conventional fishing tackle. TPWD stocked them heavily in Lake Fairfield years ago to help control the aquatic vegetation in this fertile little warm water reservoir situated a few miles from Fairfield, Texas. Tilapia need warm water and power plant lakes such as Fairfield provide the ideal habitat. Lake Fairfield is chock full of these good eating fish-but don't try to catch them with conventional tackle. I've heard reports of anglers using bits of broccoli on tiny treble hooks with success but never witnessed a tilapia caught on rod and reel. I have caught them in large numbers in a cast net (perfectly legal) and bow fished in the shallows with great success.

Guide Cory Vinson with Guaranteed Guide Service (www.nofishnocharge.com) guides trips for freshwater redfish at Fairfield and for his clients that enjoy eating fish, spends some time after the trip throwing the cast net for tilapia. “We position the boat in shallow water at the mouth of the hot water discharge and usually a few throws of the cast net result in all that's needed to catch a cooler full of tilapia.” says Vinson.

Guide Cory Vinson shows off a couple of good eating tilapia caught in a cast net at Lake Fairfield, after one of his trips for freshwater redfish.  photo by Luke Clayton

Vinson uses a larger cast net, a 6 footer I believe, which opens to 12 feet. Throwing nets this large requires a good bit of practice not to mention a good throwing arm. Four foot cast nets (they open to eight feet) do a good job on tilapia and most folks can learn to throw these smaller diameter nets with a little practice. Vinson eases the boat along with the trolling motor on low speed throws ahead of the boat, into undisturbed fish. It's not uncommon to catch four or more tilapia with one throw of the net and many of the fish weigh 3-6 pounds. It doesn't take long to fill an ice cooler with these tasty fish this time of year.

Mark Balette is an avid bow hunter, enjoys using his archery tackle to harvest his tilapia for the freezer. You can shoot tilapia during daylight hours or using lights rigged on a bow fishing boat at night. Most tilapia are taken with archery equipment when they are spawning in the shallows. “It's tough to shoot them when they are in water much deeper than a couple of feet.” tips Balette.

Regardless if you go after your tilapia with a cast net, bow or, possibly a bit of broccoli on a treble hook, I can guarantee that after a successful trip, you will return home with some of the finest eating fillets in fresh water.

Tilapia can be cooked in a variety of ways. I love them fried or baked. One of our favorite methods of preparing tilapia is to coat each side of the fillet with melted butter, then dust with your favorite dry seasonings (I prefer dry Country Bobs seasoning), and then roll in Ritz Cracker Crumbs and bake at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes, turning once to brown each side of the fillet. Squeeze some fresh lemon juice on the baked fish and serve with wild rice and steamed broccoli.

JAVELINA SEASON OPEN IN NORTH TEXAS- Regular readers of this column might remember an article I did a couple months ago on hunting at the Ranger Creek Ranch (www.rangercreekranch.com) up in Knox County. We were pleasantly surprised at the large number of javelinas in the area. Javelina season runs through the end of this month and offer sportsmen in north Texas an opportunity to hunt without driving to far west or south Texas. Hunts at Ranger Creek Ranch are bow only and crossbows can be used.

HOG HUNTING WITH NIGHT VISION- Wild hog guides Clark Osborne and Jed Dreer with Tactical Hog Control (www.tacticalhogcontrol.com) are offering exciting night hunting for wild hogs using 3rd generation night vision goggles and rifle scopes. Hunts take place on large ranches in the Centerville-Madisonville area. For more information, call 936-581-2256.

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FISHING HOTSPOTS

Guide Billy Kilpatrick lives on the shores of Lake Lavon and has guided here for crappie for many years. Billy reports good number of crappie are coming from water 30-45 feet deep, around man made brush piles. “We're catching good numbers of keeper crappie, with fish up to 15 inches, using small live minnows and jigs around the deeper brush piles. During the winter months when water temperatures are in the high forties to low fifties, the bite is often very subtle but on some days, these fish have been extremely aggressive for this time of year, hitting baits like shallow water crappie during the spawn.” tips Kilpatrick.

The guide is also running trips at Lake Monticello in northeast Texas and catching regular limits. “The channel catfish bite at Monticello is awesome right now. We're limiting out on channel cats weighing between 1.5 and 3 pounds in less than two hours. We're targeting the warm water side of the lake which at last check had a surface temperature of 71 degrees. We're baiting a single hole with soured grain in water around 13 feet deep and never having to move the boat. Now is a great time to stock the freezer with these good eating catfish.” he added. To reach guide Billy Kilpatrick, call 214-232-7847.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- If your shooting stops with the close of hunting seasons, make sure and give your firearm a thorough cleaning before storing it in the gun cabinet until next fall. Use a nylon brush designed for the caliber of your rifle and give the bore a good scrubbing with a quality bore solvent. Next, pull several patches through the bore until none of the residue is left on the patch. Lightly coat a patch with a good lubricant and coat the bore before storing the rifle. Likewise, apply a light coat of gun oil to the outside and action of your rifle.

If you are through shotgunning until next fall (no need to be, really, there's the upcoming turkey season and clay targets to shoot throughout the summer) your smoothbore will also need a good cleaning. Most hunters can do a good job at home cleaning their over/under, side by side and pump shotguns but if you shoot an autoloader, it might be a good idea to take it to a knowledgeable gunsmith and have the piece disassembled and cleaned. Rubber O rings will be inspected and replaced as needed. Nothing worse than taking a rifle or shotgun out of the gun cabinet before the opener of season and discover it is not operating properly. A little maintenance now will prevent such a disappointment! LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, February 1, 2010
HUNTING SEASONS ARE CLOSING, It's time to feast!  Luke Clayton

Fall hunting seasons have come to a close and many of us have a freezer full of prime wild game. I've been a camp cook for most of my adult life and enjoy not only butchering the game I harvest but transforming the meat and fowl into some tasty dishes. Cooking game is different from domestic meat. Wild animals have to work for a living and they are usually more muscular, resulting in tougher cuts. I recently completed curing and smoking the hams from a couple of wild hogs I harvested and I'm planning my third round of sausage making in the past 3 months. The controlled, even heat supplied by my Smokin Tex electric smoker make the task easy.

Curing ham and bacon is not rocket science. It is an art that has, in large part, become lost through the years. I remember my dad ‘sugar curing’ hams and bacon when I was a kid. He always raised three or four hogs and butchered them in the winter. I am sure if feral hogs were as plentiful back then as they are now, he would have taken his pork from the woods rather than the pig pen!

Rather than curing whole hams with the bone in, I prefer cutting the ham meat into 3-4 pound pieces, usually no more than 2 inches thick. Curing the meat is easy. Simply rub the ‘cure’ into the meat and follow the instructions with the cure. Usually a teaspoon of cure rubbed well into a 3 pound piece of pork will thoroughly cure it in about 4 days. If you have trouble locating cures, go online to www.friscospices.com. Mike Pullen there at Frisco offers free advice on curing meats and making sausage; he also has all the spices and supplies necessary. His email is mike@friscospices.com. Make sure and inquire about Mike's cure packet that transforms ground venison and pork into some very tasty bacon.

Once my pieces of pork are cured, I simply wash them off in cold water to remove the excess salt, and then place them in my Smokin Tex electric smoker set at 160 degrees for an hour of heavy smoke. Next, I wrap the pieces in foil and allow them to cook about 3 more hours. The meat will reach 160 degrees well before the 4 hours but the added cooking time tenderizes the cured meat. The foil wrap keeps the meat from getting too smoky. I then wrap the cured pork in foil, place it in the freezer and use as needed. The first time you enjoy a breakfast of pork you cured at home, eggs, hashbrowns and biscuits, you will be ‘hooked’ on curing meat at home. You can make ham at home from cuts of domestic meat you purchase at the grocery just as easily. Catch fresh pork shoulders on sale, cure and smoke them and you turn a $2 per pound cut of meat into a delicacy that would cost three times what you paid for it.

I also use my Smokin Tex to smoke cured duck and goose breasts (you cure these smaller cuts the same way used for pork hams), they will cure in about 24 hours in the refrigerator. We really enjoyed quail, chucker or pheasant smoked on the electric smoker. Give this recipe a try, if you don't have upland birds on hand, Cornish hens work just fine: Sprinkle your favorite dry seasoning on the whole birds, then wrap them with bacon strips and secure with toothpicks. Place each bird on a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and smoke with pecan or fruit wood such as apple or plum for about fifteen minutes. Next, wrap the birds in the foil and allow to cook at 225 degrees for about an hour. Uncover the birds and allow to brown during the last ten minutes of cooking.

I use my electric smoker a great deal for cooking larger cuts of meat. The 1400 model I smoke with can handle about 30 pounds of meat. The 1100 model accommodates 20 pounds which will easily handle most meat smoking tasks. The great thing about barbequing (smoking) with electricity is the fact that you load the meat, put the wood inside the smoke box, close the door, set the thermometer and walk away, no staying up half the night feeding wood to a wood fired smoker. I've cooked many wild hog hams and venison hams through the years. I often use a needle and inject hams with a blend of butter and my favorite dry seasoning, Country Bobs, but pre mixed injectable marinades are available. I usually put these larger cuts on to smoke a couple hours before I go to bed in the evening and let them cook all night. With the thermostat set at 200 degrees, the meat cooks slowly and tenderizes nicely by morning. I leave the hams uncovered for a couple hours and smoke them heavily with hickory or pecan wood, and then wrap them so they will remain moist during the cooking process. It matters little if the bigger cuts are left in the smoker 12 hours or 18, at the low temperature; they just continue to get more tender.

I usually get 1 inch thick pork chops cut from wild hogs I harvest. Slow cooking in moisture is very important to making these chops tender. In years past, I've tried to simply grill these chops over charcoal or once on a gas grill. They were safely cooked at a temperature above 160 degrees but, tough as a boot. These same chops, when smoked for 15 minutes or so, then wrapped in foil and slow cooked a few hours with BBQ sauce, are fall off the bone tender and flavored through and through.

Luke's Smokin Tex electric smoker is ideal for slow cooking cuts from wild game. These wild boar pork chops were cooked 6 hours and are fall off the bone tender.  photo by Luke Clayton

Sausage making at home is very easy. I used to stuff sausage in small ‘link size’ casings, using a sausage stuffer, then smoke them. I've found it much easier to use the larger casings and simply pack the raw, seasoned meat into the larger casings by hand. It's easy to get too much smoke on the sausages, that's where the Smokin Tex is really worth it's weight in gold. Simply load 3 or 4 ounces of wood into the fire box and let the sausages smoke. This small amount of wood will not overpower the flavor of the meat with wood smoke. Most sausage seasoning packs contain cure which allows slow smoking at long temperatures without fear of the meat spoiling. Make sure and mix the ground pork, venison or beef well, then hand work the seasonings into the meat and allow to chill (cure) overnight in the refrigerator.

Hopefully these tips will help you transform your game meats into the makings of many tasty meals. For more information, check out the forum and recipes at www.smokintex.com. Remember, you will need seasonings for curing your bacon, hams and sausages. Frisco Spices (www.friscospices.com) has everything you'll need, included an onboard game cooking guru, Mike Pullen to answer any questions that might arise.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK: There is no ‘closed season’ for hunting wild hogs in Texas. They are considered exotic animals and they can be hunted year around. If there was an official season, it would be right now, after the close of deer season and before spring fishing and turkey hunting begins. I recently ordered a 1st generation Night Scope from Bass Pro Shops that is both affordable and effective. Priced just under $400, this very serviceable Aries night scope cost a fraction of the price of the newer 3rd and 4th generations night scopes. I mounted the scope on a .22 Hornet and have what I believe to be the perfect set up for close in work on hogs at night. It zeroed easily and grouped nicely on a paper target. While testing it at night, I was amazed at how brightly it lights up the night woods and how easy the crosshairs and target are to identify. I'm planning to spend some time in the night woods the next week. More on night hunting hogs soon! LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, January 25, 2010
‘TROPHY SEASON’ for catching giant blue catfish   Luke Clayton

When contemplating fishing for catfish, many anglers think of lazy warm summer days setting on the bank of their favorite creek or lake. Granted, summer is a great time to boat loads of channel catfish but, if catching a giant blue cat is your goal, there is no better time than right now to get your line stretched!

Texas is blessed with several world class blue catfish fisheries, Lakes Tawakoni, Texoma, Lewisville, Lavon, Cedar Creek and Waco all offer excellent fishing for blues. But day in and day out, it's tough to beat Lake Tawakoni, located a little less than an hour east of Dallas. Guide George Rule has made his living here for many years, guiding clients for numbers of ‘eater’ channel catfish over holes baited with soured grain during the summer months and big blues during the winter. “The big blue bite was a little late getting started this winter but once the big fish turned on about three weeks ago, fishing has been steady. Most trips produce several fish in the 20-30 pound range, and forty pounders are common. The biggest so far this winter weighed 58 pounds but it's a good bet those sixty-plus pounders will be turning on any day.” says Rule.

Winter is trophy blue catfish season. Lake Tawakoni guide George Rule says the bite became steady a couple weeks ago.  photo by Luke Clayton

I've enjoyed many hours fishing with Rule at Tawakoni and this time of year, it is very common to catch and release between ten and twenty trophy blues in a day's fishing. The action is usually good on smaller fish weighing 15 pounds or less, so the making of a big fish fry can be expected. Proper technique and equipment are key to landing trophy blues. Rule uses 7-ought circle hooks on a ‘Santee drift rig’ which is a basic Carolina rig with a small float pegged about six inches up from the hook. The leader on these rigs is often a bit longer than on the conventional Carolina rig, often 4-5 feet in length. As the egg sinker bounces along bottom during the drift, the small float suspends the big baits up a foot or two from bottom, making it easy for a catfish to grab as it drifts slowly by. A slow drift is key to success. If the wind is blowing much above 12 knots, Rule employs an drift sock which is basically an umbrella shaped piece of material that slows the drift, old timers used to tie a couple of 5 gallon buckets off the windward side of their boats to slow the drift speed.

When the weather and water temperature is cold, Rule targets isolated humps, ridges and points at depths of 18-30 feet, positioning his boat upwind from the submerged structures and making multiple drifts. Sonar and the ability to read it properly is important in locating the big fish. Drifts are seldom done at random, Rule usually first locates the fish holding near or on structure, then sets up for the drift. Big pieces of cut bait are used, either shad or fillets from carp or buffalofish. Rule leaves the skin on the chunks of cut bait, the tough skin helps the bait stay on the big circle hooks. Rods are usually placed in rod holders. Circle hooks work best when allowed to do their job of threading into the corner of the fishes mouth. When a big blue picks up the bait and swims away, the angler of the hook causes the barb to thread into the corner of the fishes mouth. There is no need for a hard hookset, as when bass fishing or hooking smaller catfish with straight shanked hooks. Allow the rod to load up and bow toward the lakes surface, then winch it from its holder and pull back hard a couple times to insure the hook is set. Then... HANG ON! It takes several minutes to tire a big blue and the hard battles keep anglers coming back for more, year after year.

After a few days of warming weather and southerly winds, the big schools of shad often stack up in water 3-5 feet deep along the north bank. It's common to catch some of the biggest blues from water as shallow as 3 feet during these warming periods. I've caught forty pounders while fishing with Rule from shallow water and watched them jump almost completely out of the water when hooked, much like a black bass! This is the stuff from which fishing memories are made!

When dressed properly, winter fishing can be surprisingly comfortable. Always dress in layers and make sure and keep hands and face covered with gloves and face mask, especially when the boat is underway. It's a good idea to carry a thermos of hot chocolate, coffee or soup.

The trophy blue season usually lasts well into March but from all indications, the next few weeks will be the peak of the bite. Hopefully these tips from a veteran cat man will help you catch the fish of your lifetime. If you need a little OJT, contact Guide George Rule at 214-202-6641.

TAWAKONI CATFISH TOURNAMENT- Cablela's King Kat Tournament will be held on Lake Tawaknoi February 27. This is the 3rd tournament on Tawakoni hosted by King Kat Tournament and promises to be an exciting one. This year's event is scheduled near the peak of the trophy blue catfish season and it's a good bet some gigantic catfish will be weighed in. For entry information, go online to www.kingkatusa.com or call 270-395-6774

TIME FOR PREDATOR HUNTING

Luke bagged this coyote last week using his GhostBlind and TC Venture rifle.   photo by Luke Clayton

Hunting seasons are coming to a close and now is prime time for hunting predators. Low fur prices the past year years has resulted in an overabundance of coyote, fox and bob cats in many areas. If you're not ready to abandon the fields and woods just yet, consider getting an inexpensive digital predator caller and try your hand at calling some varmints in close. Predator pro and videographer Chris Robinson (www.ultimatepredatortv.com) is a storehouse of knowledge on the subject of predator hunting. I recently picked the pro's brain and gleaned some tips that resulted in a couple of successful coyote hunts recently. Chris tips that the biggest error many predator hunters make is calling too often in the same area. “Coyotes are extremely wary and when overcalled, simply refuse to respond. Calling once every couple weeks in the same area won't disturb them too much but any more usually results in spooky coyotes that won't come to the call.” Tips Robinson.

Chris suggests wearing camo from head to toe and setting up in areas with good visibility rather than heavy cover. “Many hunters new to pursing predators think they need to set up in the heaviest of cover to be successful but I've found it best to set up in more open areas with a little cover and call the animals out of the heavy timber and brush.” he added. It's best to begin calling softly with the volume turned low then increase the volume after a few minutes. Always spend at least 20 minutes at the set up when calling coyotes and thirty minutes when calling bob cats. Robinson is currently filming for the upcoming season and welcomes new areas to hunt. If you've got a surplus of predators on your land and would like a ‘sure nuff’ pro to reduce their numbers, contact Robinson through his web site www.ultimatepredatortv.com.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, January 18, 2010
HUCKLEBERRY- THE BIRD HUNTING JACK RUSSELL TERRIER   Luke Clayton

Yantis, Texas- When upland bird guide Cord Burnett loosed a brace of well trained pointers on a recent hunt at Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort near Yantis in East Texas, I did a double take when his little wirehair Jack Russell Terrier ‘Huckleberry’ hit the ground and quickly disappeared into the patch of standing sorghum, right behind the bigger dogs three times his size. Jack Russells have no shortage of heart, they were bred to go into fox holes and dig out the quarry for fox hunters in England back in the 1800's. Bred with long legs for their size, the little dogs could keep up with the bigger fox hounds; Huckleberry also does a great job keeping up with big running pointers!

‘Huckleberry’, a wirehair Jack Russell Terrier retrieves a bird at Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort near Yantis in East Texas.  photo by Luke Clayton

Bird hunting was excellent at Hidden Lakes, as it always is and Huckleberry proved his worth as a flushing dog every time the pointers locked up on point. Cord would send little Huckleberry in and he would put the quail, chucker or pheasant in the air and, often beat the other dogs to the downed bird and make the retrieve. He has even made ‘water retrieves’, bringing back upland birds that fell in standing water! On a couple of occasions when the game bird scent was really hot, I watched the little Jack Russell freeze in mid stride, just like the pointers. Whether he was actually ‘on point’ or just pausing in an attempt to locate the game bird hiding in the cover ahead is anybody's guess but was acting just like one of the pointing breeds.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, my second hunt at Hidden Lakes, with my friends outdoors writer Bob Hood, owner Billy Burnett, and Billy's son Cord, who served as guide. I might forget a few aspects of this world class wingshooting outing but I will never forget this little bundle of fur named Huckleberry that has the heart of a lion in a body nor much larger than a big jackrabbit!

For more information on hunting quail, chucker or pheasant at Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort, go online at www.hiddenlakeshuntingresort.com or call Billy Burnett at 903-714-7574

BIG STRIPERS BITING Luke Clayton

Winter is prime time for catching the biggest stripers of the year. When asked my favorite time to go striper fishing, I always reply, ‘a cold winter day with a light wind’. Stripers are saltwater transplants and they love turbulent water, they often bite best on windy days. But when fishing in cold weather, I opt for a ‘light’ wind rather than a gale, after all, a fishing trip should be enjoyable rather than an endurance test. A light wind is usually enough to put the fish in the biting mode. Winter fishing can be very comfortable when the angler dresses properly in layers and makes sure to wear gloves and a face mask. It's also a good idea to bring along a thermos of hot soup, coffee or chocolate. Usually the coldest part of the trip is the boat ride to and from the fish. Dressed properly and assuming you are not driving the boat, if you turn your back to the front of the boat during the run to and from the fish, you will never feel the chill.

I am fortunate to have a couple of excellent guides from a couple of great striper lakes as weekly guests on my radio show. Both had a red hot striper report this past week. The big news is that big stripers, up to just over 20 pounds, are biting big baits fished close to bottom.

At Texoma, guide Bill Carey says his son Chris has had some awesome trips the past few days. “We've been enjoying the best big fish action of the year. Our most recent trip resulted in multiple stripers weighing between 13 and 23.5 pounds. “says Carey. Stripers are stacking up in big, tight schools now. The recent frigid weather has the shad holding in the deeper cuts and channels and the stripers are there feasting on the hapless baitfish. We're fishing 1 ounce Roadrunner jigs and Moe's Dead Assassins or Shad Sticks close to bottom. We tell our clients to fish the baits very slowly close to bottom and be ready for a subtle bite. It's important to set the hook when the slightest resistance is felt.” adds Carey.

Winter is prime time for catching a big striper. Guide Bill Carey with Striper Exprss shows off a 23.5 pounder landed last week.   photo courtesy of Striper Express Guide Service.

At Whitney, guide Randy Routh and his clients have been enjoying like action on stripers up to 20 pounds. “We dead-sticking jigs with white worm trailers close to bottom. The trick is to mark the stripers on sonar, then keeping the trolling motor on low speed, position the boat above them and simply drop the baits to bottom and crank them up a couple turns. Then, just hold the rod and occasionally give the rod a quick twitch. These stripers, even the bigger ones often bite very softly, just mouthing the baits.” tips Routh. If you're suffering for a case of cabin fever, an exciting winter striper trip might be just the cure. If you're fishing Texoma, call Guide Bill Carey at Striper Express (877-786-4477, www.striperexpress.com). At Lake Whitney, contact Guide Randy Routh at (817-822-5539, www.teamredneck.net)

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Chances are good you have plenty of venison in the freezer from this past hunting season. If you enjoy eating corned beef, consider making ‘corned venison’ from your venison hams. Corning venison is really easy. I just finished transforming 8 pounds of venison ham steak into some of the tastiest corned meat imaginable. The process is really very simple. The meat is cut into pieces weighing 2-3 pounds and brined a few days. To determine how long to brine the meat, use this formula: 1 day for each pound of meat plus a day; a three pound piece of venison can be brined (cured) in 4 days in the refrigerator. After the meat is brined, rinse off the excess cure and cook it in the oven to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. I learned this method from Mike Pullen with Frisco Spices (www.friscospices.com). Mike is a storehouse of knowledge for anything to do with making sausage or curing meats at home. Feel free to contact him with questions at mike@friscospices.com. Order your spices or cures from the web site online.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, January 11, 2010
TRAIL CAMERAS MAKE SCOUTING EASY   Luke Clayton

When it comes to hunting, I am self confessed ‘old school’ or, I was old school before I discovered the use of trail cameras! As a young hunter, I was mentored by several seasoned woodsmen that could glance at a track, buck scrape, rub or how wallow and determine a great deal about the animal that left it. These skills have been very helpful to me through the years and to a degree, they still are but the use of trail cameras has revolutionized the way I scout for game these days. A track or fresh rub is positive evidence a buck was there recently but even the best woodsman has no way of knowing exactly when. With a trail camera, the hunter is supplied with a picture of the animal and the exact time the picture was taken.

I've seen trail cameras in use on ranches where I hunt for several years but somehow always dismissed them as unnecessary technology that I didn't wish to worry with. After all, I was in the woods to hunt, not download images from a card in a camera! I'd watch ranch managers and guides remove the card from their cameras, take the card to a laptop and review the passing of game at their stand locations. Granted, this system defiantly serves its purpose, the end product is an image of the game that walked down the trail and the time it passed by. I simply didn't wish to pack my laptop along on hunting trips and definitely didn't want to wait until I got back home to review the information. I needed to know what was happening around the stand I was hunting immediately, so I could plan my hunt.

I must admit that I recently became a convert to the new technology. While visiting with Perry Elsemore with Predator Trail Cams (www.predatortrailcams.com), I learned that with his Predator Trail Cams, there was no need to remove a ‘card’ or ‘flash stick’ from the camera and take it back to a computer for reviewing images. The trail camera has an onboard screen and a touch pad that allows one to review all the images right there in the woods. The trail cam takes short video or still images and setting the camera is as easy as pushing the screen.

Luke sets the Predator Trail Camera near a corn feeder to monitor wild hogs.  photo by Luke Clayton

I hunt and fish on a few hundred acres situated a mile from my house and through the years have learned the trail used by deer and wild hogs well. I have watched their comings and goings and have a good idea of the number and size of animals by reading the sign they leave. For the past week or so, I've had my Predator Trail Camera setting on a well used game trail and can truthfully say, I've learned more about the game on the place in the past few days than the previous years I've hunted here! I've been on a quest for some fresh wild pork and after reviewing the images on the trail cam, it's obvious that there is absolutely no need in hunting during daylight hours. The previous three nights, there have been a total of 12 different hogs hitting my corn feeder between the hours of 7 and 8:30 pm. I have a Feedlight (www.ultramaticfeeders.com) attatched to a tree overlooking the feeder and the unit gives just enough light to illuminate the area around the feeder for night hunting. A solar panel keeps the battery charged, making it a trouble free, dependable source of light that comes on every evening when the sun sets. This artificial light is not necessary for the Predator Trail Camera to operate, the unit has an infra red detection system and takes pictures without artificial light. The added light source is so that I can see the crosshairs on my rifle scope.

I have a ground blind situated about 40 yards from the feeder and am making plans to fill my freezer, and the freezers of several friends, with fresh pork. I plan to cure some hams and bacon and reserve plenty for upcoming cook outs. I recently put some Christmas gift cards to Bass Pro Shops to good use and ordered a first generation night vision scope which I am told will serve my purpose well for shooting at night at ranges of 60 yards or less, even farther with a full moon. When the ATN Aries Night Vision scope arrives, I will mount it on my 22 Hornet rifle, sight it in and, after checking my trail camera a couple days, get in my stand about thirty minutes before I expect the hogs to show up.

You might say I have a plan and thanks to modern technology, the plan doesn't require setting in the cold winter woods all night wondering when the hogs will show up. I will have a very good idea of when to expect to hear brush breaking in the still woods as the hogs use their well traveled trail. I think I will even hang my block and tackle from a nearby oak limb to hang the hog for the night. I can always go back in the morning and quarter him up and pack the meat out AFTER I get a good night's sleep!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Many hunting seasons are closed but preserve hunts for upland birds is a great way to enjoy a day afield, watch some good bird dogs work and leave with the makings of many tasty meals. Here's a couple of great destinations that offer everything from half day hunts to hunts including meals and overnight lodging, I've hunted both places and they come highly recommended.

Near Lake Fork, at Yantis, Billy Burnett offers great upland hunts at Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort (www.hiddenlakeshuntingresort.com 903-714-7574. Near Whitney, my friends at the W.B. Ranch offer excellent lodging, meals and upland bird hunting. Visit their website at www.wbranch.com or call 800-WBRANCH.

DUCK HUNTING UPDATE- Guide Cory Vinson with Guaranteed Guide Service (www.nofishnocharge.com) offers guided duck hunts including lodging and meals near Cedar Creek. Cory says the recent blast of cold air pushed large numbers of mallards, gadwall and widgeon into the area. He's expecting the remainder of the season to provide excellent hunting. For more information, contact Vinson at 469-867-4299. Vinson reports the redfish bite at Lake Fairfield has been excellent with lots of action on redfish in the 20-22 inch range with occasional bigger fish in the 20 pound class. An added bonus to these trips is a cooler full of good eating tilapia. Vinson says a couple throws of the cast net usually results in enough tilapia for a big fish fry.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, January 4, 2010
OUTDOOR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PAST YEAR   Luke Clayton

When we spend time afield or on the water with our family and friends, we aren't just catching fish or hunting, we're making memories, memories that last a lifetime and give us something good upon which to reflect when we're confronted with the curve balls life has a way of throwing at all of us. When looking back over the past 12 months, I've stored up a king's ransom in good memories while out hunting and fishing. I bet if you spend much time enjoying the outdoor life, you have a list of fond memories at least as long as mine, hopefully longer!

Memories made on hunting and fishing trips are priceless. Luke and his grandson, Luke Zimmerman enjoy a quiet paddle back from a duck hunt.   photo by Luke Clayton

Here are some of the places, people and things that left an indelible mark on the pleasure receptors of my brain last year. While penning the words that give account of each of these events, I find myself right back there, reliving the experiences again! The outdoors can be a powerful place of solace, once we slow down and learn to enjoy each outing for what it really is: a change to briefly escape today's often fast paced lifestyles. Hunting and fishing trips should not be judged solely by the amount of fish or game taken but rather these more important little snippets of pleasure that have the potential to give great pleasure long after the outdoor adventure is over. Sights such as the reflection of a flight of mallards mirrored on the still waters of a remote creek, lighted by a full moon or a look up into the heavens on a clear night after spending time in a bow stand are moments when time truly stands still; sights and sounds that you can keep with you forever if you take the time to really absorb them as they occur.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, I enjoyed spending a couple days with my younger son hunting deer up on the Ranger Creek Ranch in Knox County. As is often the case, when youngsters, especially boys, reach the teenage years, they spend less time in the outdoors with ‘Ole Dad. After a few seasons without enjoying my son on hunting and fishing trips, we had the opportunity of spending time together in the wilds of Knox County. Drew harvested the biggest whitetail buck of his career and we had the opportunity to spend time together without all the distractions common today. The sight of that big nine pointer walking out of the brush and toward the small mountain upon which our stand was situated is branded into my brain's memory bank. The buck disappeared into some thick mesquite brush, and then re-appeared at 75 yards. Drew's shot was true and in a couple months, he will have the mounted antlers to remind him forever of the great time we enjoyed hunting in a country that has changed little since the times when the land was home to the Comanche and settlers tough enough to attempt to carve a home from this beautiful and rugged land. We've already enjoyed many tasty meals from the meat the buck supplied.

ALL OUTDOOR ADVENTURES don't necessarily have to include hunting or fishing. A couple weeks ago, we enjoyed a winter skeet shoot at my friend Donny Rice's duck hunting and fishing club near Cedar Creek Lake. The outing included 5 of my grandsons, several family members and good friends. We cooked fajitas made from wild turkey breasts, venison and wild pork outside in a big wok a buddy made for me 12 years ago from a plow disk. My old wok has prepared many a meal in past outings and breaking out the cumbersome but highly effective cooking implement helped rekindle the memory of many of the past outings we all had enjoyed together. After a big meal of fajitas and pinto beans, we spent some time working with the boys at the skeet range then, enjoyed a good natured round of skeet, missing more clay targets than we hit but, shooting a perfect score wasn't what this outing was all about. This was about spending time together and we made the most out of it.

ALMOST A YEAR AGO, I enjoyed our annual winter ‘sausage making’ day. Several good friends show up at the house, a buddy brings his big smoker over and we ‘pool’ our game meat, grind and season it with our favorite sausage blends, stuff the meat in casings and smoke it. This is always a great get together. We build up a big campfire near the smoker, keep a big pot of coffee close to the embers and, while the sausage smokes, tell tales of past outdoor adventures and of adventures to come. We will cook anything from grilled duck breasts wrapped in bacon to venison stew and enjoy visiting and eating while the sausage smokes. Later in the day, everyone takes home a share of sausage to enjoy throughout the year.

My list of fond outdoor memories goes on and one and I hope yours does as well. If it doesn't, there is no better time than the present to get out there and create a few of your own.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Many of the hunting seasons are closing and chances are good you have an abundance of meat in your freezer. How about putting it to use and creating some of the most tasty treats you can imagine? Do you enjoy corned beef, the treat that is often served around Easter with cabbage or on rye bread with cheese as a sandwich? I recently learned how to ‘corn’ meats and found the process very simple and the end result quiet tasty. Actually, I made about 8 pounds of corned venison. My friend Mike Pullen with Frisco Spices www.friscospices.com) supplied the cure and all I had to do was defrost the pieces of lean venison ham and follow instructions. The process is simple, simply mix the cure with the appropriate amount of water, add the pieces of meat and place in a cool place for the prescribed number of days. Once the meat is cured (it takes only about 1 day per pound of meat), it is rinsed and either slow baked in a covered pot or boiled. It's good both ways but I prefer it boiled, then sliced thinly and made into corned beef (venison) sandwiches or added to cabbage.

Curing pork hams is equally simple. Rather than curing the entire ham, I much prefer to bone out the meat, then cut it into 4-5 pound pieces. These will cure in a brine solution in less than a week. Once the ham is cured, I smoke it for about an hour, then wrap in foil to avoid moisture loss and cook it until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. Frisco Spices also offers a packet of seasoning that mixed with 10 pounds of ground venison and pork (50% pork, 50% venison) to make great tasting bacon. For the spices and a detailed instructions on making these products, contact Mike Pullen at 800-762-6689 or mike@friscospices.com. Mike can walk you through the process, which I believe you will find extremely easy and fun. There is something special about setting down to a big breakfast of eggs, potatoes and bacon or ham you have made yourself!

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, December 28, 2009
A “TYPICAL” DUCK HUNT   Luke Clayton

Many of my non-duck hunting friends often inquire about what is so special about crawling out of bed way before the sun even thinks of spreading it's golden rays, swigging down a couple of quick cups of coffee, then loading the duck boat with decoys, shotguns and all the paraphernalia necessary for a successful (or not so successful) duck hunt. Often during the evening hours my family and friends find me in a semi conscious state induced from lack of sleep. Duck hunting definitely has its inherent challenges but, the rewards more than make up for the inconveniences.

Duck hunting is definitely not one of the easiest and often not the most comfortable of outdoor endeavors, but having the opportunity to shoot a nice strap of ducks such as this keeps duck hunters coming back for more! photo by Luke Clayton

So what's the big attraction that lures thousands of us avid duck hunters out from under the warm covers and into the frigid pre dawn duck marsh? I've never been on two duck hunts that unfolded exactly the same. Likewise, there's no ‘typical’ duck hunt, they're all different just as no two Indy 500 Auto races or National Finals Rodeos are the same. The duck hunt I enjoyed yesterday morning was about as ‘typical’ as they get. Let's revisit my hunt. If you've never been on a duck hunt, this will give you a pretty good indication of what this sport is all about. If you're a veteran of the marshes, you will likely find yourself right there in the blind with me!

5:45 am- Arrive at the series of gravel pits where I hunt with my buddy who is also a glutton for punishment (an avid duck hunter). Unload the little two-man boat from the truck, drag it down to the water and begin stowing shells, shotguns, gear bags, and Mojo spinning wing decoy. Screw the Torqeedo electric engine on the transom, jump in the boat, pour the electricity to the powerful little motor and we're on our way. BUT WAIT! Did I remember to put the battery in the Mojo? A quick inspection proves that I did not. Back to the bank to retrieve the battery. “Grab that sheet of camo burlap to cover the boat with, you know we forgot it last time and the boat spooked the birds.” admonishes my buddy.“OK, and I'll grab another box of shells, just to be safe.”

As we thread our way through the shallow stretches of water that connects the backwaters of the gravel pits, we take a turn to the left and wind up in dead end cove. “That's right, we needed to go to the NEXT pocket of open water and turn left. Our blind is about 400 yards in THAT direction,” I advise, pointing to the general direction of the little blind we constructed of hog wire and natural vegetations on a small island.

6:10 am.- Arrive at the blind, set out decoys, making sure to set the Mojo decoy in the pipe we leave permanently driven into the muddy bottom. With a push of the switch, our Mojo is working and we paddle to the blind and begin offloading gear. With the boat pulled up into the weeds, we crawl into the blind, put on our face masks, ready our calls and load the shotguns. “Dang it! We forgot to pull the burlap camo over the boat.” Back out of the blind I go and drape the camo over the boat setting adjacent our little island. About the time I get settled into the blind, a flight of blue wing teal buzz by overhead, then I hear them splashing as they land in the decoys. Good insurance! With birds on the water we can always jump them come legal shooting time and surely harvest a bird or two. Shortly thereafter, the small flight of teal take wing and disappear low over the water. Had they flew a bit higher, we might could have ‘slylighted’ them and harvested a bird or two. With a dark background behind them we could only hear them leaving. We never fired a shot. Then a flock of gadwall came in high and I began coaxing them down with that raspy, fast cadenced quack common to the species. The birds worked well and on their second approach, locked their wings and came sailing into our spread. We managed to put 3 of them on the water. Aah! Three birds equates to 6 breast halves wrapped in bacon and grilled! Our hunt was already a success, at least in the culinary sense! I decided to fire up the Torqeedo motor and retrieve the 3 ducks. At precisely the moment I put the first gadwall drake into the water, a pair of pintail approached low on the water, spotted me and quickly headed to parts unknown. It seems the one sure fire method of luring ducks to your blind is to get out in front of it and move around! But why did these birds have to be PINTAILS, a highly desired species and one that only occasionally frequents our little backwater marsh? Why couldn't they have been blue bills or widgeon? It was a sad sight to see this pair of highly coveted pintails tease us in such a manner. One was a ‘bull sprig’ (mature pintail drake) with long tail feathers. This added fuel to the flame!

7:05- A lone pintail flies by about 30 feet above our heads. My buddy throws up his shotgun and, shooting instinctively, tracks the bird without sighting down the barrel, and jerks the trigger. A big bull sprig splashes water within 3 feet of the blind! Now, buddy, that's shooting! A few minutes later, a flight of 6 mallards approaches our set up from the west and appear to like what they see. With wings set, they make their final approach and I lock in on a big green head bringing up the rear. The instance my shotguns swing catches up with crossing bird, the sun blocks my vision. Instinctively, I continue with my shotgun swing and when I ‘feel’ I have the lead right, pull the trigger. A big green head comes tumbling from the sky and makes a big splash among our decoys. Moments such as these are the primary reasons that I leave a warm home for the often cold, damp duck blind during a period of day when most are still sleeping.

On other more ‘non-typical’ duck hunts, I never fire a shot but when the boat is loaded and I climb back into the truck, I'm still glad I got up early and was there on the water to experience the sights and sounds of the world coming to life. I'm always rewarded with the sight of a beaver or nutria swimming near my blind or, a flight of noisy crows quarreling in a tree along the shore.

No, duck hunting might not be for everybody but personally, I am happy that I have learned to love the sound of whistling wings, wings that propelled the migrating duck from who knows where. I never shoot a duck that I don't take the time to admire the plumage and wonder where the duck has been and what sights it has seen on its long trip that ended above my decoy spread.

If you've never hunted ducks, hopefully this little account will give you a rough idea of what the sport is all about. But, to be truthful, I can fully understand why so many think we duck hunters are ‘nuts’! One morning in a well positioned duck blind when the birds are working the decoys is often all it takes to make a life long duck hunter. Try it, might just discover that duck hunting is for you! But, a word of caution: It's a pretty good chance that YOU will become that sleepy head at the dinner party; 4:30 am. is mighty early to get out of bed!

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK: Hunting late season ducks is often very different than pursuing the birds early in the season. By the first of the new year, ducks have seen it all and often spook at anything that looks out of the ordinary. Make sure and keep the frost off decoys setting the water by splashing some water on them; the frosty backs of decoys will often spook decoying ducks. Consider using motorized decoys less during late season, especially if you see ducks flaring when they get close to your blind. Keep faces covered with face masks and on calm days when wind doesn't create movement in your decoys, consider using a pull string on a few of your decoys to crate ripples on the water.  LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, December 21, 2009
EAST TEXAS- Where the birds are!    Luke Clayton

Yantis, Texas- Duke, a big liver and white pointer with a highly refined nose bred to sniff out the most faint scent of game birds and running gear and lungs conditioned to cover lots of country in a short time, paused in mid stride. A quick step forward then Duke swung his head hard to the right like the needle on a compass pointing north and, there he froze. The dog's body language indicated, “Get ready boys, there's a pheasant in there, RIGHT there!” The dry stalks from standing sorghum rustled and the distinctive cackle of a rooster pheasant cut the cool winter air. My son Drew and our host Billy Burnett's twenty gauges spoke simultaneously and the bird folded in mid air. Our first pheasant of the morning was in the bag and we eagerly looked forward to what turned out to be one of the most exciting upland shoots I've enjoyed in a long time, and I've hunted these beautiful birds imported from China from the grain fields of North Dakota to the Texas Panhandle.

Pheasant hunters don't have to travel to the Texas Panhandle for exciting hunting. At Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort in east Texas the birds fly hard and travel time is short. photo by Luke Clayton

But this pheasant hunt didn't take place in the Midwest or the far reaches of the Texas Panhandle, but rather a short 1.5 hours drive from our home southeast of Dallas. We were hunting on Burnett's Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort, located in east Texas a short distance from the shores of heralded Lake Fork. Billy was enjoying a bankers holiday with my son and I while guide Truman Ragan handled the dogs and ran the hunt. We were all having the time of our lives and it was obvious that although Ragan wasn't doing any shooting, he was as much into the hunt as any of us, probably more. A lifelong bird hunter and dog trainer and handler, Ragan gets as much pleasure out of watching his highly trained dogs perform as he does actually shooting the birds. He certainly kept Burnett, my son and I in the action for the duration of our hunt.

Billy Burnett, owner of Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort near Yantis in east Texas accepts a pheasant from one of his top bird dogs. photo by Luke Clayton

I am convinced that if I had been blindfolded and driven into our hunting area, I would never have known I was enjoying this red hot pheasant shooting in my native home of east Texas. Rows of sorghum that totaled more than 17 miles had been planted on the vast preserve and strips were left open to facilitate easy walking. Hunting for the pheasant and chucker is done much as it is traditional pheasant country. We formed a line and walked through and along the rows of sorghum which remained standing and was 5 to 6 feet high. Each drive was several hundred yards long and, just like when hunting in the Midwest, it was common for the leggy pheasants to run to the end of the row, and then flush when we and the dogs crowded too close. Our hunt was mainly for pheasant but we bagged several chucker and the dogs even pointed a couple of good size coveys of quail. I was raised in rural Red River County, a little over an hour north of Hidden Lakes and back in the sixties; quail were plentiful in the area. The biologists say that loss of habitat is the primary reason for the decline in wild quail populations but I and many others cannot help but think fire ants played a big part in destroying eggs and newly hatched quail and other ground nesting birds.

While most of east Texas might be void of wild quail, hunters need not drive to the far reaches of the state or the midwest to enjoy great upland hunting. Factor in the cost and time required for a distant hunt for pheasant or quail and a close to home hunt at Hidden Lakes is even more attractive. For those that might have heard that hunting ‘preserve’ birds is not as sporting and challenging as wild birds, I have to agree, in many instances and disagree in others. The birds at Hidden Lakes are raised on the property in long flight conditioning pens and are kept away from contact with humans. The birds are, for all practical purposes, wild and because they fly in the long flight pens on a daily basis, they have the ability to jump into the air and turn on the afterburners. After shooting behind a couple of the pheasant, Drew and I quickly learned to lead the birds, especially on the crossing shots. “These birds are big and deceptively fast for their size, the most common mistake many hunters make is to shoot at the center of the bird, rather at or just in front of their head. These ‘center of bird’ shots often only clip the end of the roosters long tail feather!” tipped Burnett after I removed an inch or two from the end of one of the big rooster's tail. We watched the brilliantly colored bird sail a quarter mile away into another patch of sorghum.

Burnett offers day hunts including an excellent lunch and bird processing as well as overnight lodging in one of his remote cabins. This week's column is being penned only hours before deadline. I was hunting Hidden Lakes this morning and to be truthful, I am still stuffed from a most excellent lunch of grilled pork chops, mashed potatoes, green peas, homemade rolls, topped off with the best buttermilk pie I've ever eaten. The Burnett's take great pride in the fact that they raise and preserve their own vegetables and fruits on their 2 acre garden and orchard.

If you are missing the great wingshooting we used to enjoy in east Texas but are reluctant to drive 12 hours to shoot a limit of 3 pheasant, consider booking a trip to Hidden Lakes. I can guarantee you'll find the birds plentiful and challenging and the food and lodging excellent. You'll more than likely leave the place with the feeling you've found a hidden gold mine close to home and made some new friends in the process. And, isn't that what hunting is all about?

To book your hunt at Hidden Lakes Hunting Resort, call Billy Burnett at 903-714-7574, 1-888-HUNT TXS or go online to www.hiddenlakeshuntingresort.com.

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Dallas Safari Club convention “First Light” will be held at the Dallas Convention Center in Dallas January 7-10. For more information, visit www.biggame.org or call 800-9GOHUNT. If you've never attended one of the DSC conventions, consider doing so this year. You'll find a smorgasbord of things to keep you entertained an enlightened, everything from hunting seminars by the pros to outfitters booking hunts for Cape buffalo in Africa or whitetail deer in Texas, and just about everything between.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- If you've spent much time in the outdoors hunting and fishing during the cold weather months, you understand how very important it is to keep your feet dry and warm. For many years, I hunted with 8 to 10 inch hunting boots and always found myself with wet and cold feet; invariably I would step in cold water deeper than the top of my boots. A couple years ago, I solved my problem by switching to taller, waterproof boots. This season, I've worn RedHead's Ultra Hunter Boots and have enjoyed having warm, dry feet everywhere from the duck blind to hog hunting in standing water. With 1,200 grams of Thinsulate and waterproof construction, I've found these boots exactly what I'd been looking for. If you've found recent outings become more ‘endurance’ than fun, consider wearing a good pair of waterproof, insulated boots and make sure they are at least 15 inches high.  LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Saturday, December 12, 2009
Getting Acquainted with “THE BEAST”    Luke Clayton

With a column titled “The Beast”, I'm betting you're wondering what ‘Ole Luke has in store for you this week! Before getting started, I think it appropriate to mention that I am blessed to write for a group of editors that realize every outdoors column I pen doesn't necessarily have to be ALL about hunting and fishing. If you have been reading this spot for long, you've come to realize that each week's work is part outdoors news, part on the scene reporting and part blog. I usually write about what's been going in my life the previous few days; where I've been fishing or hunting or maybe a ‘how to’ piece on making sausage at home or curing wild pork. We cover the gamut in our little corner of this publication.

This week's column is a bit different. I've had the distinct pleasure of devoting a couple days of what turned out to be pretty hard but highly fulfilling work. I, with the help of some very good friends, had the honor of supplying the homeless in downtown Dallas with some most excellent venison BBQ, and, a lot of it! As you read my account of the past couple days, please understand it's not my intention to ‘pump’ myself up. Truthfully, the pleasure was all mine.

For the past couple years, I've had the distinct pleasure of helping my friend Joe Dunn with his BBQ ministry. Joe works through “Big Heart” ministries to feed the hungry in downtown Dallas on holidays and he's always ready to fire up “The Beast” (his huge smoker) at our church get-togethers and special events. I've been present to witness hundreds set down to a tasty Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and seen how supplying the most basic of human needs touches not only the stomach, but the hearts of folks that are in need.

“The Beast”, ready to BBQ venison for the homeless.   photo by Luke Clayton

Joe and I have been talking about expanding his ministry by supplying the needy with BBQ made from wild game. Wild pork is excellent eating and many ranches have a huge surplus of whitetail deer that must be thinned each year to keep the herd in balance. Why not fire up “The Beast” and begin transforming this surplus into much needed food for those that really need it? Our first “gig” was with The Dallas International Street Church ”(www.kdministries.org), situated just south of downtown Dallas. I made arrangement with Pastor Karen Dudley, who oversees the ministry, to deliver chopped venison BBQ yesterday. My friend Todd Wright oversees a big ranch in East Texas with an over abundance of does. According to Todd's biologist's plan, about 25 does needed to be removed. I figured ”The Beast” could accommodate the meat from five deer pretty easily!

Mention BBQing or helping supply a nutritious meal for the needy and Joe Dunn is the first in line to ‘get cookin’ but this past week found my buddy recovering from a minor surgery and I had the opportunity to head down to Todd's ranch solo and skin and quarter the 6 doe that were hanging in the walk in cooler on the ranch. I had “The Beast” parked behind my house and a good supply of cooking wood awaiting the venison. Al Malekovic with Country Bobs All Purpose Sauce (www.countrybobs.com) had even supplied me with plenty of his excellent BBQ Sauce and dry seasoning for the occasion.

I do most of my outdoor cooking on my Smokin Tex electric smoker and have become spoiled to this trouble free style of making BBQ. But, as much as I love my electric smoker, it simply could not accommodate a total of 10 deer hams, 10 deer shoulders, 10 backstraps and the same number of tenderloins. I needed “The Beast” for this endeavor! Now, The Beast can best be described as a 2,000 pound piece of iron, shaped somewhat like an old time locomotive, with the propensity to burn coal (or wood) at about the same rate. I found our really quickly that The Beast has an appetite for pecan, hickory or mesquite wood that will keep the chain saw buzzing!

Venison is by nature a very dry, healthy meat. My goal was to prepare moist, flavorful, well seasoned BBQ to the folks and I knew that simply loading the quarters of meat into the smoker would result in a dry, unflavored finished product. Dunn suggests smoking the meat about 2 hours uncovered at around 180 degrees, then placing the quarters in heavy duty aluminum foil, seasoning with the dry Country Bobs and pouring on a liberal amount of BBQ sauce. After much trimming of meat and the necessary prep work on my part, The Beast had a total of 40 pieces of prime venison in the confines of its huge iron belly and smoke billowing from its smoke stack. I'm sure from a distance, the smoker took on the appearance of a coal fired freight train!

By 5 o'clock that afternoon, the long, slow cooking process had begun. I discovered that about every 5 hours, it was necessary to add more pecan wood to keep The Beast's thermostat at or near 200 degrees. I set my alarm clock to inform me in the night that it was time to get up and put on more wood. The outside temperature was in the high twenties and The Beast seemed to have an insatiable hunger! The next morning, around 8 am, I lifted the Beast's heavy iron doors to peek at what I hoped would be some ‘almost done’ BBQ. A quick inspection proved The Beast had succeeded in heating the meat to just over 150 degrees; the venison was done but not yet tender. After 4 more hours on the smoker, the venison was ‘fall off the bone’ tender. Using a cleaver and a large chopping block, I boned the venison and went to work chopping the meat. I would chop a ham or shoulder, place the meat in large aluminum pans, season with the dry Country Bob's seasoning, then apply a liberal amount of BBQ sauce, making sure each piece of venison was moist and well seasoned. After roughly 50,000 whacks of the cleaver, I was looking at five huge aluminum pans FULL of some very tasty, very moist chopped venison BBQ.

I was greeted at the Street Church by Pastor Dudley and several of the guys that help with her ministry. I removed some of the BBQ from one of the pans and asked for a little ‘taste testing’. I was pleased to learn that the venison more than met with their approval. “The homeless folks that come here each day will really enjoy all this BBQ and we really thank you for bringing it.” said Pastor Dudley as she sampled the venison. “This is the best BBQ I've even eaten.” she added.

As I left the city and headed southeast toward my home, I was thankful for being able to help these folks in a small way but I also knew that what I considered to be a huge amount of BBQ would only provide a few meals. These folks have to eat EVERY day. Wish us luck with our new BBQ ministry; we're planning to put The Beast back to work with several wild porkers in a few days!

To learn more about the Dallas International Street Church, go online to www.kdministries.org or call 214- 928-9595. There is a huge need for not only food but warm clothing and everything necessary to sustain life during the winter months.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

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DUCK HUNTING EXCELENT- Water is plentiful throughout much of north and east Texas and cold weather has finally pushed ducks south. Outfitter Cory Vinson offers guided hunts near Cedar Creek Lake and says ducks were present in large numbers for the opener of the second split of the season. “It looks like we might have the best season in years. We're offering guided hunts which include lodging, a steak dinner, breakfast and bird processing for $200. We still have a few openings for week end hunts but we have plenty of openings during the week.” says Vinson. Contact Vison at www.nofishnocharge.com or call 469-867-4299.

Friday, December 4, 2009
Gifts for the outdoor enthusiast   Luke Clayton

Christmas is quickly approaching and if you have an outdoors enthusiasts on your shopping list, there's still time to get them a gift that will ‘keep on giving’ throughout the upcoming year. As a full time outdoors writer, I have the opportunity to test and use a lot of products. Here are some that I have come to depend upon:

ELECTRIC SMOKER- I use my Smokin Tex (www.smokintex.com) electric smoker to prepare everything from BBQ chicken to wild hog hams. These units are easy to use and turn out great meals. Small pieces of wood is loaded into a ‘smoke box’, the meat is placed on the racks, the thermostat set and I walk away and, very often, letting the meat slow smoke overnight while I sleep. Smokin Tex currently has a special Christmas sell on the units.

Luke's Smokin Tex electric smoker loaded with great tasting sausages made from venison and pork.  photo by Luke Clayton

LIGHT FOR HUNTING HOGS AT NIGHT- A few years ago, Karl Harmon (www.ultramaticfeeders.com) invented his Feedlight, a unit used for hunting hogs at night. The unit has a built in solar panel to keep the battery charged and when the sun sets, the lights come on to illuminate the area around your corn feeder. I've used mine for the past 6 years and it's still working fine. The company also offers THE REMOTE, a small unit that remotely activates your game feeder. The Remote used in conjunction with the Feedlite is highly effective in harvesting wild hogs at night.

OPTICS- Every hunter or fisherman needs quality optics. Alpen Optics (www.alpenoptics.com) offers a line of excellent products at a price many of us can afford. I've used their rifle scope this season and found it to function as well as scopes costing 3 times as much.

GUIDED FISHING TRIP- In my OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK, I included my picks for places to enjoy some ‘hot’ winter fishing. Included is contact info for several guides. A guided fishing trip makes a great gift for the avid angler on your shopping list.

A HUNTING TRIP- Many ranches in Texas that are on a TPWD management program offer trophy whitetail hunts through the end of February, long after the regular season closes. Hog hunts are very affordably priced and provide a great winter get away. Here are some ranches I've hunted that offer a variety of game: Near Palestine, Big Woods On the Trinity (www.bigwoods.net), In Knox County, Ranger Creek Ranch (www.rangercreekranch.com), In Trinity County, B & C Outfitters (www.easttexasexotics.com) , Circle T Bowhunting Ranch near Commerce (www.circletbowhuntingranch.com). In Red River County, Rio Rojo Rancho,Mike Ford (www.riorojorancho.com) , Near Mineral Wells, Holt River Ranch (www.theholtriverranch.com). Squaw Mountain Ranch (www.squawmountainwhitetails.com) near Jacksboro, Texas. Waterfowl guide Cory Vinson (www.nofishnocharge.com) is offering gift certificates for guided duck hunts with meals and lodging at his private hunting lodge at Seven Points near Cedar Creek Lake. Cost is $200 and includes a steak dinner, overnight lodging, breakfast, guided duck and bird processing.

HUNTING BLINDS- GhostBlind (www.ghostblind.com) came out with a revolutionary new hunting blind this year that uses mirrors on the outside and conventional camo on the inside. The blind weighs less that 20 pounds and can easily be transported in the field. I've used my GhostBlind on many hunts and found it to be one of the most effective blinds I've hunted from.

OUTDOOR COOKING GEAR, SEASONINGS- Check out Frisco Spices (www.friscospices.com) for gifts for the outdoor cook. Sausage and jerky seasonings, cures for meats and just about everything you can imagine for cooking outdoors is available here.

TRAIL CAMERAS- The use of trail cameras has revolutionized the way many of us scout for game. Predator Trail Cams (www.predatortrailcams.com) offers a camera that is easy to use and read. Images can actually be viewed from an onboard screen rather than having to download images from a memory card as is the case with many trail camera.

DEER HUNTING TIP- The primary whitetail rut is finished in North Texas but just getting underway in the South Texas Brush County. If you're hunting North, East or West Texas, keep in mind that there is usually a ‘second’ rut underway about now. Does born early in the summer come into their first estrus period in December and those that were not bred during the primary rut will become receptive to breeding again, triggering this “second rut”. Dr. Robert Mcfarlane at The Big Woods Hunting Resort says hunters on his 7,500 acres of bottomland often do very well during this second rut. “We've witnessed several mature bucks chasing the same doe this time of year. Deer are not nearly as active now as during the primary rut but some very nice bucks are usually taken during this period. It's a good time to hunt aggressively and bring your rattling horns and buck grunt calls.” Says Mcfarlane.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

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Outdoor tip of the week: Fishing roundup: Just because the weather is cold doesn't mean the fish aren't biting! Winter is prime time for catching stripers, trophy blue catfish and freshwater redfish from warm water lakes. Crappie bunch up in huge schools on deep water brush and although the bite is subtle, skilled anglers using sensitive rods and light line can catch their limit. Here is a list of my picks for lakes where I have enjoyed excellent winter fishing. Included with each lake is contact information for a guide that can put you in the action. LAKE FAIRFIELD REDFISH- Guide Cory Vinson (www.nofishnocharge.com) says redfish are on a very dependable bite. Cut bait near bottom in water 10-12 feet is producing most of the action. LAKE TEXOMA- Guide Bill Carey (www.striperexpress.com) says stripers are biting well. Roadrunner Jigs or Sassy Shad fished slowly along submerged river and creek ledges are producing best. LAKE TAWAKONI blue catfish are keeping angles smiling. Guide George Rule (www.trophycats.com) says fish over 20 pounds are becoming increasingly more commons as the temperature continues to drop. Big chunks of fresh cut bait on circle hooks is working best. At CEDAR CREEK, guide Jason Barber (www.kingscreekadventures.com) is using fresh shad near cormorant roost trees and enjoying good action on trophy class blue catfish. At LAKE WHITNEY, guide Randy Routh (www.teamredneck.net) reports stripers have started driving big schools of shad into pockets and coves off the main lake and fishing has been excellent. Roadrunner jigs and soft plastic shad imitation baits on a half-ounce jig head are working best. Jay Don Reeve with Crappie Anglers of Texas (www.crappieclub.org) says crappie are stacking up on deep structure and hitting live minnows well. He's using a technique knows as “spider rigging” effectively at Cedar Creek. This technique employs the use of 8 or more rods, each baited with two minnows.

Saturday, November 28, 2009
LOOKING BACK ON A LIFE IN THE OUTDOORS   Luke Clayton

About this time each year, around the Holidays, I often get a bit retrospective and reflect upon the wonderful times and people I have met, thanks to my lifelong love of the outdoors. I feel privileged to call outdoor celebrities such as Bill Dance, Larry Weishuhn and Jim Miller friends. But not all the friends I've made have become household names. There's a host of others that I am equally proud to call friend. As I approach my sixtieth year on Planet Earth, I'm fortunate to be blessed with vigorous health. I can still wade a duck marsh and drag a buck out of the woods; these laborious tasks might take me a little longer than twenty years ago, but I can still accomplish them. My zest for heading out on my next ‘adventure’, whether it be catching bluegills with the grandkids at the gravel pits near my home or anticipating a bow hunt in North Dakota, has not diminished one bit through the years. Hunting and fishing makes me feel like I'm sixteen years old again and for that I am truly thankful.

Looking back, WAY back into the early sixties, I remember zipping my 30/30 Marlin in a leather case and, each fall, riding a bus to south east Texas where I was allowed to miss a few days of school each year and hunt deer with “Poppa Dinkins”. Could you imagine boarding any public conveyance today with a firearm? How times have changed! Poppa was not blood kin but he treated me like the grandson he never had. Back in 1964, when I first began spending a week with him, Poppa was 84 years old, I was fourteen. If my math is correct, he was born back about 1880. Poppa was a slightly built man but, tough as nails, thanks to a life of living in the outdoors, working cattle on his 2,400 acre ranch and, of course, hunting.

Poppa grew up in an era and experienced things that would be totally foreign to most of us today. He was a great story teller and I remember him telling me about the ‘old days’ when he hunted deer from horseback and used a double barrel 10 gauge shotgun loaded with buckshot to collect his venison. A total of 36 trophy buck mounts adorned the walls of the living room of his ranch house and he vividly remembered harvesting each and every one, the old shotgun with Damascus barrel shotgun hung alone in a rack over the fireplace.

Because of his grit and small stature, Poppa was the one that went into a wolf den as a young man back around the turn of the past century and drug out the pups (yes, red wolves were common in southeast Texas back then). “Never did tame those danged pups”, I remember him telling me. “Had to let the rest of them go back into the wild after a couple chewed a hole through the fence and escaped.” When he was close to 90 years old, Poppa and his ranch foreman found a whitetail buck tangled in a hog wire fence. The pair hog tied the deer and transported him back to a chute used to work cattle. The buck regained part of his strength and gored Poppa in the stomach. The old outdoorsman never fully recovered from this injury late in life but came close. I remember driving him to visit a backwoods family cemetery back in the late sixties after a big Thanksgiving dinner with some of his old friends. I think he knew his time here on earth was coming to a close. He passed away the following year. I will never forget Poppa or the many things I had the opportunity to learn from him. I first learned the ways of the whitetail deer from Poppa; where to look for scrapes and rubs and how to take care of the meat once the buck is down. He taught me how to use a feather suspended below a tree branch to attract bobcats to my traps. Back in the day, a prime bobcat pelt sold for more money than I could make throwing newspapers the entire month.

If you have the opportunity, consider devoting some time to mentoring a youngster, there is no better place than out on the water or at hunting camp to provide the tranquil setting needed to escape today's fast paced world. Youngsters today are bombarded from every angle to perform. From sports to the state sponsored Tests that must be passed in order to move on the next grade, youth of today are subjected to many more pressures than were kids of my generation. Making good grades and performing well in athletics is important but I'm not sure that either of these endeavors accomplishes the soul gratifying, long lasting effects of spending time with family and friends at hunting camp or fishing. My training days in the outdoors certainly left a positive impression on me, why else would I be able to vividly remember the great times I spent with one of my mentors well over 40 years ago.

Exposing youngsters to the wonders of the outdoors is a great way to ‘connect’, especially in today's fast paced world.   photo by Luke Clayton

Youngsters need to be taught to enjoy the entire outdoor experience and not receive pressure to ‘perform’. I've seen adults carry the competitive attitude necessary for success in team sports over to the outdoors with their young charges. Hunting or fishing should never be a ‘numbers’ game, especially when youngsters are involved. Granted, a veteran deer hunter might target a buck larger than the ones he or she has previously harvested but kids should be taught that harvesting a deer, duck or ‘mess’ of crappie for that matter, is a small part of the rewards gleaned from being outdoors. That first spike buck or doe is every bit as much a trophy to a youngster as a Boone and Crockett buck is to the veteran hunter.

OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK: Prospects for the second split of duck season look good: If this morning's hunt is any indication, the second split of duck season (opens Dec. 12) should be very good. I hunt a series of remote gravel pits and saw lots of gadwall, widgeon and several flights of mallards. Today's bag even included a blue wing teal. I've yet to use my spinning wing motorized decoy but with no wind this morning, it would have surely convinced more birds to commit to my decoy spread. Decoys setting still on the water do little to entice passing birds down within shotgun range. There is plenty of time to do maintenance on your decoys, anchor ropes, etc. If you hunt from a permanent blind, it might be a good idea to cut some fresh cattails and fill in the holes. Late season ducks are usually a lot spookier of blinds than they are during the early season.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, November 23, 2009
Fishing with the Finny Tribe   Luke Clayton

Gun Barrel City- As Jay Don Reeve eased the throttle back on the big 250 hp engine, he buried his face in his side imaging sonar. “There is very little structure in the form of submerged timber in the lower portion of Cedar Creek Lake but that lone tree with one horizontal limb showing up on the graph attracts crappie like a magnet.” says Reeve. Phil Zimmerman and I studied the Hummingbird graph that, with the magic of GPS, had enabled Reeve to navigate the featureless open water and pin point the bit of structure below. Sure enough, the tree below, setting in water around 20 feet deep, was covered with a cloud of crappie.

Zimmerman is a serious crappie fisherman and like most of us, grew up fishing for crappie using conventional methods. We were invited by Reeve to learn a very effective method of catching crappie known as ‘Spider Rigging’. We could not have had a better instructor. Reeve and his wife Rhonda own and operate a tackle shop in Gun Barrel City called “The Finny Tribe”. The shelves are well stocked with handmade baits designed to catch everything from crappie to white bass. The name, Finny Tribe, is near and dear to Reeve's heart. Reeve grew up in the Texas Panhandle and learned how to fish with his grandfather Raymond Fleming. When he and his Granddad went fishing they went ‘looking for the finny tribe’; they didn't cast lures, they ‘shot them to the finny tribe.’ After over 40 years of spending time on the water fishing with his Grandfather, it's easy to see why Reeve chose ‘Finny Tribe’ as the name for his tackle company. Reeve's late Grandfather was obviously ‘old school’ and it probably would be a shocker for him to see his grandson's high performance boat rigged with state of the art electronics. “Granddad would definitely have thought fishing like this would be cheating,” laughed Reeve and he positioned the boat for our first introduction to ‘Spider Rigging.’

HOW IT'S DONE- The concept of spider rigging for crappie is pretty simple: several rods are set in rod holders in the bow of the boat and the boat is very slowly moved along with the trolling motor. The technique can be used in deep water or shallow and employed to fish isolated bits of structure or as a means of locating fish that are scattered. I soon learned that, although the concept is simple, the application of the technique is highly refined. Reeve positioned a total of 8 rods in the bow of his boat in rod holders; four on either side. We were in water 20 feet deep and he varied the depths. The distance from the reel to the first line guide on the rod is approximately 3 feet and we used this as a yardstick to determine the depth for the baits. Five ‘pulls’ equated to 15 feet, six pulls placed the bait at 18 feet.

Jay Don Reeve ‘spider rigging’ for crappie. This method is highly effective for catching crappie, especially during the cold weather months.   photo by Luke Clayton

The submerged structure is marked with one or more marker buoys and the boat positioned downwind. Reeve slowly moved the boat into the strike zone and, each time the boat's bow was positioned over the tree below, one or more of the rods would bow heavily toward the surface. We moved the baits into the fish, and usually caught a fish or two or at least got a bite. Once Reeve determined at which depth the actively fish were holding, we adjusted the depth of every rod to match. Reeve used the wind to his advantage. When our baits reached the crappie attracting tree, we would be busy landing fish or at least re-baiting hooks. The wind, which was relatively light, would push the boat back to the leeward side of the structure, giving us time to prepare for the next pass over our hotspot.

Reeve is an officer in Crappie Anglers of Texas (CAT) www.crappieclub.org. He says “spider rigging is used by many of the club members year around. Many folks are surprised to learn that spider rigging is just as effective in shallow water. We often fish water as shallow as four feet during the spring. When fishing in water this shallow, it's best to use longer crappie rods and make sure the trolling motor is always on low speed to avoid spooking the fish.”

Crappie, like all predator species, are often triggered to feed by a ‘school’ of baitfish. When food passes within their strike zone, the impulse to grab an easy meal often triggers strikes. Reeve thinks that using multiple baits (8 or sometime 10 while spider rigging) is one of the reasons the technique is so effective. “I've seen fishermen setting over what I knew was good crappie holding structure, fishing vertically under the boat with one or two minnows or crappie jigs and catch an occasional crappie. When a multitude of baits were presented to the fish via the spider rigging method, the fish are often triggered to bite. There's just something about a slowly moving minnow or jig moving out of their reach that a crappie cannot resist.” Reeve added.

Jay Don Reeve with Crappie Anglers of Texas shows off a nice Cedar Creek crappie landed last week while ‘spider rigging’.   photo by Luke Clayton

JOIN CATS- For more information on CATS (Crappie Anglers of Texas), go online to www.crappieclub.org. Check out all the handmade lures at www.finnytribe.com.

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Outdoor Tip of the Week- Deer season has been open for several weeks and many hunters have plenty of fresh venison in their freezers. Venison jerky is excellent when prepared properly. I use my Smokin Tex electric smoker to prepare several pounds each fall. There are as many jerky seasonings on the market but through the years I've found what I consider to be the perfect blend. Here's how I make my jerky: First, I trim all the fat from choice cuts of venison, either the ham or backstrap. Next, I sprinkle on a liberal amount of McCormick's Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak seasoning to my jerky strips. If you wish your jerky with a little less ‘heat’, use the regular Grill Mates. Place the seasoned jerky strips in a gallon freezer bag and douce with Worchester Sauce until the meat is moist. Place in refrigerator overnight to allow seasoning to permeate the meat.

Then, I set the thermostat on my Smokin Tex smoker at 150 degrees, place one ounce of Pecan or cherry wood pellets in the wood box, place the meat strips on the racks and allow to slow cook for about three hours. It's important to rotate the position of the racks to allow even cooking (drying) of the meat.

This is proved to be the blend of spices/smoke that my family prefers best and it's a good place to start but chances are good you will develop your favorite blend of spices. For more outdoor cooking tips, check the recipes and forum at www.smokintex.com LC

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news from your area at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, November 16, 2009
Hunting the Cedar Brakes   Luke Clayton

Vera,Texas- The terrain in and around Knox County, Texas is some of the most diverse I've seen, anywhere. Driving down one of the Farm to Market Roads, one will pass huge fields of verdant green winter wheat on either side of the roadway, and then head down a grade into some of the most rugged, beautiful country imaginable. The locals call this pock marked landscape covered in cedars and oaks ‘The Cedar Brake Country’ for obvious reason. The surface of the earth appears to have been shot from below with a huge shotgun loaded with shot varying from the size of a Volkswagen to a battleship. The landscape gives one a sensory overload with vistas of everything from mini-mountains to beautiful valleys with streams of live water.

I recently returned from a hunt in this country as the guest Ranell Walker, whose family owns Ranger Creek Ranch. Situated a little over 2 hours from Ft. Worth, Ranger Creek provides hunters a smorgasbord of big game ranging from Aoudad sheep to monster whitetail bucks. Knox and a few adjoining counties even offer a season for hunting javelina or collared peccary as they are officially named, a species that is usually found much farther to the south and west.

The recent hunt was enjoyed with my son Drew and good friend veteran outdoors writer Bob Hood. There's something very special about having access to hunt over 20,000 acres of wild country; country so vast that six or eight hunters can be dispersed far enough apart so as not to hear the report of each others rifle.

When our guide, Rick, mentioned that there was a very healthy population of Javelina in the section of ranch we were hunting, I could see Bob Hood's interest perk! Bob has spent years photographing and hunting Javelina in south Texas and probably knows as much about this toothy little pig of the southwest as anyone alive. Bob brought his crossbow along and for an archer, whether the bow be vertical or horizontal, there is no more exciting animal on the planet to stalk. As Rick pulled his truck up to the area Bob was to hunt, we noted a lone Javelina boar feeding out in an open field. Closer to the stand we spooked a small herd of fifteen or so Javelina. They ran but not with the intensity of critters that had been hunted hard. As we drove away and left Bob to the sights and sounds of the peaceful little hillside he was hunting, my expectations were very high that he would arrow one of the little pigs that had somehow gained a foothold in this pocket of counties in northwest Texas. I was anxious to slow smoke some javelina and finally dispel for myself the information or, misinformation I've been told about javelina as table fare.

Javelina are abundant in the cedar breaks country of Knox County, Texas. Outdoors writer Bob Hood poses with one he harvested using his GhostBlind.   photo by Luke Clayton

Drew and I hunted a stand situated on the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful creek bottom that hosted a live stream and several small ponds that our guide said held native black bass in abundance. A natural spring flowing from the rock face of a cliff fed the remote creek, keeping the water fresh and sweet. Looking down into the lush little valley, I was confident that mankind for eons had camped and hunted along this watercourse protected by high cliffs on either side. Deeply imbedded into the heavy clay soil were the tracks that indicated the comings and goings of the animals that lived here. The trail leading out of the bottom into a mesquite flat marked the passage of feral hogs, turkey, Javelina mixed with the extremely long, heart shaped indentions obviously made by a very big whitetail buck. As Drew and I climbed into the elevated blind, I had the distinct feeling that this was going to be an exciting afternoon of hunting.

We sat in the comfortable blind, and in whispered conversation, talked about past hunts that we've enjoyed together since Drew was big enough to tag along. There is no better place than the outdoors to connect; distractions such as video games and cell phones are replaced with more pleasant diversions of a prairie falcon dive bombing a hapless mouse or the distant squeal of a feral hog coming from somewhere over the next ridge. Drew and I were thoroughly caught up in the sights and sounds around our blind. Sound carried far in the crisp, cool late afternoon air. The valley below served as a huge, well decorated amphitheater and my son and I had the best seats in the house! Just about sundown, a pack of coyotes began their nightly serenade and out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement coming from a trail that led from the creek bottom. The unmistakable, blocky form of a mature whitetail buck eased from the shadows and paused a moment to survey the terrain ahead. Upon closer observation, it was obvious he was the buck Drew had been waiting for. His heavy rack sported what appeared to be 8 points and I judged him to be a 4.5 year old. Drew placed his TC Venture in .270 caliber in the window of the blind and cranked the Alpen variable scope down to 4 power. Then the buck disappeared in the mesquite trees at the base of the cliff. I instructed Drew to keep an eye peeled on a small clearing in the valley to the right of the blind. We had already decided to attempt to harvest the buck and within seconds of the big deer making an appearance in the open, the report of the .270 echoed through the hills. Drew had the biggest buck of his career on the ground. Horns for the wall and venison for the freezer! Does it get any better than this?

Drew Clayton with a nice buck he harvested at Ranger Creek Ranch.   photo by Luke Clayton

In route back to the lodge, we picked up a smiling Bob Hood. Bob had harvested a javelina early into his hunt and, like Drew and myself, watched a smorgasbord of game enter and depart his hunting area. Bob gave me a ham from his Javelina and I later learned that most of what I had been told about using Javelina as table fare was myth. The slow smoked ham tasted like a blend of pork and venison and was VERY tasty.

I'm eagerly awaiting my next hunt at Ranger Creek for ducks and geese. Next time, I'm planning to pack my Mathews bow, I'm anxious to put a stalk on one of those tasty javelina!

For more information on hunting Ranger Creek Ranch, go online to www.rangercreekranch.com or call 940-888-2478. To see more pictures of the recent hunt, go to www.ghostblind.com and click ‘Live Hunt Pictures’.

Outdoor Tip of the Week-We're now well into the fall trophy blue catfish bite and reports are coming in of some big catfish landed. Veteran guide George Rule at Tawakoni suggests fishing with chunks of fresh shad or carp or buffalo fish. “Drift fishing this time of year can be extremely effective. I like to use a “Santee Rig” for drift fishing.” Says Rule. “This rig is easy to make, it consists of a basic Carolina rig with a 2-4 foot leader. The big difference is that I use a boot lace filled with eight 00 buckshot instead of the conventional egg sinker. This elongated weight results in fewer hang-ups, which are common to drift fishing. Another plus of the Santee Rig is the small float placed about 6 inches up from the hook that keeps the bait floating up a foot or more from bottom, making it much easier for a catfish grab as the bait drifts by.”

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Friday, November 6, 2009
Good Optics a must for accurate shooting    Luke Clayton

I'll admit it, I am a perfectionist when it comes to rifle shooting. Years ago, I was trained in the art of rifle shooting and to this day, I expect my rifles and scopes to perform to ‘minute of angle accuracy’. This term equates to keeping rounds in a group that can be covered by a quarter at 100 yards. Back a couple decades ago, it was rare to purchase an ‘over the counter’ rifle that was built with this capability. Granted, custom rifle makers, for a sizeable sum and when using the best of barrels, could build extremely accurate rifles but most rifles bought over the counter simply could not shoot to minute of angle accuracy. Advancements in manufacturing has greatly improved accuracy in rifles. Thompson Center (TC) now has the Venture rifle on the market that comes with the guarantee to shoot minute of angle accuracy. It does just that and it carries a very affordable price tag. I mentioned in a recent column how pleased I was with the .270 model Venture that I have been shooting.

Regardless whether you're shooting a custom rifle or factory model, you simply cannot get the best from your rifle unless it is equipped with a quality sighting device. For most of us, this equates to a scope. When it comes to optics, a good bit of advice is to purchase the best you can afford. There IS a huge difference in scopes. If you've ever mounted a low end scope on your rifle, you know exactly what I am talking about. Cheap scopes usually won't adjust correctly and once they are ‘zeroed’ they will let you down at the most inopportune moments. I've never seen one yet that, when the adjustment screws are turned 4 clicks to move point of impact 1 inch at 100 yards, accomplished this goal. It doesn't pay to skimp on quality when it comes to fitting your rife with a scope. Truthfully, I'd rather hunt with a rifle capable of shooting only 2 inch groups at 100 yards than risk shooting a cheap scope.

Quality rifle scopes need not cost a fortune. This Alpen Apex 3X9 variable is accurate and rugged and, reasonably priced.   photo by Luke Clayton

On the bright side, the smart shopper can find high end scopes today that come with very affordable price tags. While it's possible to spend well upwards of a couple grand for highly advertised, imported rifle scopes, it isn't necessary. A company called Alpen Optics is a good case in point. I've been shooting one of the company's Apex model, a 3 X 9 variable that provides everything I could ask for in a rifle scope, and more. Four clicks moves Point of impact (POI) 1 inch at 100 yards, just as it is suppose to do. Eight clicks moves POK 1 inch at 50 yards. With fully Multi-coated optics, the scope is superb in low light conditions. I proved this recently while on a hunt at Big Woods on the Trinity in Anderson County in East Texas. I was looking for some fresh pork to accompany the venison I had harvested earlier the week before. As most hog hunters know, wild porkers often get up from their beds and begin moving during the last hour of daylight and feed most of the night. During the waning minute or so of daylight one evening last week, I spotted a dark form working its way through a field of weeds. I quickly ranged the animal at 145 yards, picked up my rifle, cranked the scope's power down to 3X and tracked the hog as he moved through the heavy cover. At the low power setting, the Alpen scope's crosshairs were highly visible, and so was the boar, even in extremely low light. I picked an opening in the cover and when the boar walked into it, nudged the trigger. The hog dropped in his tracks. Regardless the rifle I was shooting, this shot would not have been possible without quality optics. With an inferior, low quality scope, I simply would not have been able to see the crosshairs, or possibly even the hog, in the low light. It's no longer necessary to take out a second mortgage on the farm in order to own a quality rifle scope. Take a tip from an old hunter and stay away from those bargain basement optics, I can guarantee you that they carry a heavy price tag in frustration and disappointment when you take them to the range.

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Duck hunting forecast- Before the opener of the first split of duck season, north and east Texas had plenty of gadwall, teal and widgeon. Several folks I hunt with reported early flights of pintail. The opener was less than spectacular for most duck hunters, thanks to acres and acres of newly flooded lowlands that tends to scatter the birds. I hunt a duck lease southeast of Dallas that is usually awesome throughout the season but, to date, have only harvest a couple of birds. What was ten acres of water has turned into forty.

With a much higher than average duck population coming down the flyway this fall, most veteran duck hunters continue to have high hopes for the second split of the season. I checked in with outfitter Mike Ladnier at Bay Prairie Outfitters in southeast Texas near Elcampo. Mike reported a much higher than normal number of early arriving geese, mostly specklebellies had arrived to feed on the rice stubble. Snows have also began arriving on the prairies of southeast Texas, along with Ross' geese. Overall we should have an above average season for ducks and geese, we just need the water to recede a bit and wait for a ‘sure nuff’ blue northern to push the birds south. LC

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OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Jay Don Reeve with the Crappie Anglers of Texas (www.crappieclub.org) says the next month usually provides some of the best crappie fishing of the year. “Many Texas lakes have seen an increase of several feet in elevation, thanks to the recent rainfall but crappie should be back on their standard excellent fall bite any day now.” says Reeve. Expect to find crappie on an aggressive bite around submerged brush piles and standing timber in water 18-22 feet. “Crappie aren't picky this time of year, they will usually readily take anything from a jig to live minnow. The trick is to vary the depth you fish until you catch a fish, then mark your line and return to exactly the same depth.”

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Friday, October 30, 2009
HUNTING THE RUT AT BIG WOODS Luke Clayton

I just experienced one of the most action packed, fun filled days of deer hunting of my career and I've been hunting deer a LONG time. I've had a trip to Big Woods on the Trinity (www.bigwoods.net) planned for the past couple weeks but my schedule couldn't seem to coincide with fair weather until a couple days ago. There is a bright side to all the rainfall we've been getting lately, at least when hunting at the Big Woods. The bottoms along the Trinity are flooded which helped to concentrate the deer herd on the higher knolls and hills. This made for an action packed day of antler rattling. With a buck/doe ratio of close to 1:1, antler rattling, especially during the early stages of the rut, proved to be highly effective.

As I drove to the Big Woods during early morning, I began to get that ‘feeling’ that conditions were perfect for deer hunting. In route to the ranch, along Highway 287, I watched a young buck push a doe out of cover and into the right of way, the rut was definitely on! I've been bow hunting for a full month and welcomed the opportunity to put my new .270 TC Venture to work and this short one day outing.

As I pulled into the gate, Heath Burney, who serves as head guide on the ranch, verified what I had already determined, the rut was going strong.“I've been hunting a big eight pointer that will score about 140 BC.” says Heath. “Didn't see him this morning but did see several bucks chasing does. The high water has the deer concentrated up on higher ground. You should do well with your rattling horns. Is that some sort of new blind in the back of your Jeep?” Heath was referring to the GhostBlind that I have been hunting from since early summer. I quickly unfolded the blind and set it up in camp. With mirrors on the outside and conventional camo inside, the blind consists of panels that fold together and sets up in a matter of seconds. The blind weighs about 18 pounds and with comfortable backpack straps, is highly portable, just the thing for rattling in bucks. My plan was to move through the woods then, when I reached areas with good visibility, quickly set the blind up and spend ten minutes rattling. This ‘run and gun’ style of hunting has the potential to be very exciting!

I was anxious to head out and begin hunting but I took the time to check my Thompson Center Venture .270. The rifle is extremely accurate, guaranteed to shoot ‘minute of angle’ groups. Topped with the Bushnell Elite scope, this rig is lethal on game out to 300 yards and, beyond for those skilled in long range shooting. With a 3 shot group 1.5 inches high at 100 that a quarter would cover, my confidence was high.

Dr. Mcfarlane was busy ‘doctoring’ the day of my hunt but he had advised me to hunt a long, winding trail through the hardwoods know and “Wounded Pig Lane”. The area was a couple miles from camp and I quietly parked the ATV, put the GhostBlind on my back, grabbed my rifle, grunt tube and rattling horns and made my way along the trail. As I walked along, deer and hog tracks were evident everywhere. When the whitetail rut kicks in, deer become very active and it's possible to see them anywhere, so it's important to remain vigilant. A couple hundred yards down the trail, the woods opened up, giving me a good vantage spot to watch for approaching deer. I set the GhostBlind up quickly, got behind it and began rattling. In a couple of minutes, a big doe, obviously in estrus, came out of the brush, stopped often, looking behind her. I readied the rifle and waited. She was obviously attracted to what she thought was a buck fight and intended to get a ring side seat. She approached within forty yards of the blind then, moved back into the brush. Yes, rattling antlers does sometime attract curious doe as well as bucks looking for a fight!

My next move took me deep into the woods and there I rattled up my first buck of the day, a big, mature 6 pointer that appeared to be at least 4.5 years old. He came charging out of the heavy cover, stopped in the lane 60 yards away and stood starring my direction, looking for those two bucks that was causing all the commotion. My GhostBlind was setting in the middle of the lane, its mirrors reflecting the exact image of Mother Nature. He never knew I was there. A few soft grunts with the call pulled the buck in close, within easy bow range had I been bow hunting. The buck stayed close for at least a full minute then departed. I stayed put and continued rattling and using the grunt call, then decided to complete my circuitous route that would take me back to the ATV. I had a spot in mind closer to the river know as ‘Bobcat Alley’. Here the woods open up into a 15 acre clearing that, if my assumption was correct, should be holding plenty of deer that had escaped the flooded bottoms.

Using the trees along the edge of the clearing for cover, I used my binoculars and glassed the distant woodline for deer. Five or six does were feeding in the field and I knew that with the rut going strong, there would surely be at least one buck tending them. Behind my GhostBlind, I began beating the antlers together, then thumping the ground and raking a nearby bush. Within a minute of beginning my rattling sequence, I spotted movement on the far side of the clearing. A big bodied buck stepped out of the heavy cover, looking my way. Then one of the does in the clearing began trotting away and the buck instantly took up her trail. I ranged her at 305 yards and she was on a course that would bring her a bit closer to me, assuming the doe didn't change directions. At what I later determined to be 295 yards, the buck stopped and gave me a quick broadside shot and the TC Venture did what it was designed to do. The .270 has long been heralded as ‘Texas favorite deer caliber’ and for good reason. Back on the meat pole at camp, the 10 pointer weighed 169 pounds, a 4.5 year old buck. Early that afternoon, I harvested a fat doe that is now hanging in the cooler at the Big Woods. Venison, when allowed to age 7-10 days at the proper temperature is as tasty as the best cuts of beef!

Luke with the 10 pointer he harvested at The Big Woods.   photo by Luke Clayton

The whitetail rut always kicks off a bit earlier in this part of east Texas. Dr. Mcfarlane keeps accurate records and says the third week of October to the second week of November is prime time to hunt his Big Woods. With all the newly flooded vegetation, the duck season here promises to be one of the best in years. To plan your duck or deer hunt at the Big Woods, go online to www.bigwoods.net or call 903-391-1112.

To view a series of pictures I took while hunting the big woods, go online to www.ghostblind.com and click ‘LIVE HUNT PICTURES’. LC

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SCHOOLING STRIPER AT TEXOMA- Guide Bill Carey with Striper Express (www.striperexpress.com) reports lots of action on schooling stripers. “Binoculars are the fisherman's best friend right now. We have huge flocks of sea gulls pointing the way to the action. Soft plastics worked just below the surface is the best bait when the stripers have shad driven to the top but we're still catching some big stripers on top water plugs such as the bone colored saltwater Chug Bug and Pencil Popper during the first 30 minutes of daylight in shallow water.” tips Carey. Contact Bill Carey at 877-786-4477.

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REDFISH BITE STEADY AT LAKE FAIRFIELD- Guide Cory Vinson with Guaranteed Guide Service (www.nofishnocharge.com) says the redfish bite couldn't be better. “We're enjoying lots of action on fish in the 18-19 inch range and for the past few weeks, boating at least one redfish over 20 pounds. I'm expecting the big fish bit to intensify as the weather continues to get colder. ” says Vinson. Cut bait (shad or perch) fished near bottom on a short Carolina rig is working best. Vinson is keying on points with water 8-10 feet deep.

Vinson also reports excellent duck hunting on his private lease near Seven Points, Tx, near Cedar Creek Lake. “We're seeing lots of gadwall, widgeon, wood ducks and a surprising number of teal, both Bluewing and Greenwing are still present. A few mallards have started to show up. The river bottoms always holds large numbers of Wood Ducks. We're offering guided hunts for $200 which includes a night's stay in the lodge, a steak dinner, breakfast and bird processing.” For more information, contact Vinson at 469-867-4299.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke with fishing and hunting news at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, October 26, 2009
LET'S GO DEER HUNTING!   Luke Clayton

WHITETAIL RUT UPDATE-   Ask any veteran whitetail hunter the best time to harvest a mature, heavy antlered buck and the answer will usually be:   “During the peak of the rut (breeding season).”   Mature bucks are secretive by nature and seldom show themselves during daylight hours but during the breeding season, they lose some of their caution when they actively chase does in estrus.   If you only have a few days to hunt, try to schedule your time in the woods to coincide with the peak of the breeding season, and then plan to stay in the woods all day.   You're just as likely to see a buck chasing a doe in estrus during mid day as during early morning or late afternoon.

Soon hunters will be setting around campfires all over the country, talking about hunts past and the encounter with the big buck morning's light will bring.   The hunter's calendar has many highlights but nothing come close to comparing to the opener of deer season.   This is a special time for those of us that love the fall and beginning of hunting season.   If you have the opportunity, invite someone to tag along on your trip to the lease on opening day.   Chances are pretty good your enthusiasm will become infectious.   You might just expose someone to the rich outdoor experience that you have come to love!

Here's an update on the rut from several ranch managers:

The whitetail rut always seems to get started a bit earlier in portions of east Texas than the rest of the state.   Dr. Robert Mcfarlane, owner of the Big Woods Hunting Ranch (www.bigwoods.net) in Anderson County reports bucks were actively chasing does a week ago.   “The rut usually peaks here around the end of October and the first week in November.   We're seeing lots of rutting activity and with a buck to doe ration of close to 1 to 1, antler rattling has been very effective.” says Dr. Mcfarlane.

Outdoors writer Bob Hood checked in and said he's witnessed smaller bucks actively chasing does on the ranch he hunts near Lampasas.   “The peak of the breeding season should begin in this area in a couple of weeks.   We've been seeing lots of rubs for a couple weeks and a few scrapes started to show up.   Right now, it's mostly the immature bucks pursuing does, this will change soon when the rut peaks .   Then the big boys will come out of the heavy cover and loose some of their caution.” tips Hood.

John Bryan manages the whitetail herd on the Holt River Ranch (www.theholtriverranch.com) in Palo Pinto County and reports the rut in the early stages with smaller bucks chasing does.   The mature bucks have not become active as of now, but by the 2nd week of November, Bryan expects the rut to be going strong.

I bow hunted this past week up in Jack County on Squaw Mountain Ranch (www.squawmountainranch.com) and found the deer to be in pre-rut.   Bucks were still in bachelor herds but these all male groups should break up any day as the rut approaches.   Now is prime time to pack your rattling horns and buck grunt calls into the woods.   If you see a buck walking out of bow or rifle range, try antler rattling or using a grunt tube to entice him within range.   The worst thing that can happen is for the deer to continue to depart your area.   There's a good chance that he will hear what he thinks is a buck fight and walk back into your rifle/bow range.

Luke captured this big 10 point whitetail buck on film last week at Squaw Mountain Ranch near Jacksboro, Texas.  photo by Luke Clayton

Down in Trinity County, Mark Balette with B & C Outfitters (www.easttexasexotics.com) says he's seeing plenty of rubs and scrapes.   “The rut usually kicks off by the 2nd week of November around here.   Some years, we have an intense breeding season where it seems every buck in the woods is up chasing does, other years there's a 'trickle rut' where the breeding season is not as intense but often lasts until late November.” says Balette.

REDFISH BITE STEADY AT FAIRFIELD LAKE- If battling a big redfish is your goal, a trip to Lake Fairfield might be a better option that a long drive to the coast.   Guide Cory Vinson with Guaranteed Guide Service (www.nofishnocharge.com) reports fishing for the lake's freshwater red fish (red drum) has been excellent.   “On most trips, we're enjoying lots of action on fish up to 20 pounds.   Cut bait fished near bottom is accounted for most of the fish.   We position the boat in areas with heavy concentrations of baitfish and redfish and set our 6 rods, it's unusual to wait very long between bites.” tips Vinson.   Redfishing is usually very good at Fairfield during the winter months but this year the bite became steady in early October and, if past winter's are any indication, the big fish bite should get even better with the onset of cold weather.   To book at trip with Vinson, call 469-867-4299.

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Outdoor Tip of the Week:   Shooting ranges will be busy the next week with deer hunters sighting in their rifles in preparation for the opener of rifle season.   If you're mounting a new scope on your rifle, make sure all the screws are tight on the ring and bases but don't tightening them so much as to strip the threads.   Tighten the screws on the rings a little at a time to avoid putting too much pressure on one side of the rings and not enough on another.   To avoid wasting costly ammunition, bore sight your rifle before firing the first round.   I like to begin the ‘sighting in’ of my rifles at 30 yards.   Most centerfires sighted in at this close yardage will be very close to dead on at 100 yards.   ALWAYS move your target out to 100 yards and adjust your point of impact to the desired position.   Many flat shooting centerfire rifles sighted in 1.5 inches high at 100 yards are capable of placing the bullet within the vitals of a whitetail sized animal out to 300 yards with a ‘center of shoulder’ hold.   Remember most scopes adjust to one minute of angle. At one hundred yards, one click of the elevation or windage screw moves point of impact a quarter-inch; four clicks moves point of impact one inch.   If four clicks moves point of impact 1 inch at 100 yards, how many clicks does it take to move the bullet one inch at fifty yards?   The answer is 8 clicks.   It took me a good bit of thought to fully under how this works.   This bit of knowledge can also help you save ammo, especially if you wish to make adjustments at 50 yards.   LC

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Correction to last week's column: In last week's column, I covered the championship crappie tournament held by Crappie Anglers of Texas (CAT).   The web site for this great organization was incorrect.   For more infomation on CAT, go online to www.crappieclub.org.

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Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Monday, October 19, 2009
Crappie Anglers of Texas State Championship Tourney Luke Clayton

If you ever doubted the popularity of crappie fishing these days, you should have been on the shores of Richland Chambers Lake at Northshores Marina on Richland Chambers Lake this past Saturday for the weigh in for the state championship for Crappie Anglers of Texas (CATS).   Almost 100 devout crappie anglers, both pros and novices, fished the two day tourney and thanks to the passage of an early fall cold front Friday morning, the sometimes finicky crappie decided to challenge the field of papermouth aficionados.   For most anglers, their favored species simply snubbed their noses at a wide variety of baits including downsized jigs in a variety of designs and colors, soft plastic minnow imitations and even the their favorite food: live minnows.   Some anglers fished shallow cover, others fished deep but the only real pattern proved to be no pattern, at least no pattern that provided steady action.

When this many good anglers converge to fish a heralded crappie lake such as Richland Chambers, regardless the weather, some anglers will find themselves dunking baits into waters holding active fish, other anglers, just as skilled and qualified, simply did not locate the fish.   Saturday's competition was greeted by more stable weather and, more actively feeding fish.

Brian Carter (rt) and Wes Belcher took first place in Division One of the CATS tournament last week at Richland Chambers. Photo by Andy Rodriguez.

Friday, October 9, 2009
RETURN TO SQUAW MOUNTAIN Luke Clayton

Most sportsmen and women are deeply rooted to the lands they hunt.   Did you ever hunt a ranch and get to know the place really well, then return to hunt the property twenty- two years later?   I did just that this past week at Squaw Mountain Ranch, located a few miles north of Jacksboro, Tx.   The experience left me with a sense of where I was with my writing career and life at the time and where I am today; many changes occur in the course of two decades, both to the land and we that love it.   The ranch is now under the stewardship of the Weiser family and when Keith Weisher, in charge of the hunting on the ranch, invited me for an early season bow hunt for one of the ranches big bucks, I loaded the Jeep and headed northwest.

Will Echart guides on the ranch and shares my passion for bow hunting.   Will had a couple of mature bucks patterned on an oak covered hillside deep back in the hills and had been monitoring their movements on his trail camera for the past month.   He planned to video me harvesting one of the bruisers from my GhostBlind, the innovative new portable ground blind with mirrors on the outside that perfectly reflect the natural camouflage provided by Mother Nature.

The rugged hills and valleys of the ranch were the training ground for my older son, now in his mid thirties and as Will gave me a refresher course of the topography of the ranch, I pointed out landmarks there were indelibly engrained in my memory banks.   “That’s the spot where my oldest son shot his first wild hog, back in ’87”, or “I remember calling up two gobblers for Matt on that hillside and became confused and instructed him to harvest the jake rather than the longbeard,   I’m still hearing about that one!”

Many things about the ranch remained the same as I remembered them, with the exception of the deer herd.   The Weisers have introduced monster South Texas genetics into their deer herd, and during my pre-hunt tour of the ranch, I saw a couple of bucks that would make any trophy hunter drool.   “We’ve got some bucks that will score well over 200 BC (Boone and Crockett)”, says Will, “we have a group of several hunters here that are hunting them.   With any luck, you should see some huge bucks on the meat pole before the conclusion of your hunt.”

Will and I hiked into the area where I was to hunt the first afternoon and a quick review of the trail camera shows the past days game movement.   With the full moon, deer had been moving just before dark and during the night.   Both the bucks that Will had been patterning had been frequenting the area during the past 24 hours.   After a very peaceful but uneventful 3 hours on stand with my Mathews Reezen bow, we hiked out of our hunting area, jumped in the Polaris and headed back to the lodge for dinner and a good nights rest.

As the skinning rack outside the lodge became visible, it became quite obvious that something very exciting had occurred.   Hunters with cameras were walking around the back of the Polaris, there was electricity in the air.   I’ve been around enough hunting camps to sense when a big buck has been harvested and from all indications, someone had scored big on this afternoon hunt.

Mike Busitti from Big Foot Montana had left the haunts of mule deer and elk for a chance at a big Texas whitetail on Squaw Mountain Ranch and from the big smile on Mike’s face, it appeared he had accomplished his goal.   As I glanced in the back of the Polaris backed up to the skinning rack, I saw antlers sticking up, WAY up, over the bed of the ATV.

Mike Bisutti from Big Foot Montana traveled to hunt Squaw Mountain Ranch near Jacksboro and harvested this 23 point bruiser buck that scored 226 6/8 Gross BC.  photo by Keith Weiser.

Have you ever been in a hunting camp when a buck scoring 226 BC points was harvested?   If you’re like most deer hunters, myself included, probably not.   I’ve seen some heavy antlered bucks taken during my 45 years in the deer woods, an harvested a few that I am extremely proud of, but nothing that came even close to the monster buck I was looking at.   You’ve heard hunters describe the bases on a particular buck being as wide as coke cans?   Well, Busitti’s buck’s antler bases were very close to the diameter of a coke can.   Heavy with mass that carried well up into the tines, I was looking at the buck of a lifetime.

The next morning, Will and I headed back to our remote hillside in hopes of harvesting a good buck for the camera but the bucks that were so easily patterned a few days prior had abandoned their habits during the full moon.   We later reviewed the images on the game camera and noted they were now feeding at night.   On the hike back to the ATV, I was able to photograph a big ten pointer that we jumped from his bed.   It appeared to be one of the bucks on the game camera.

Luke jumped this buck from his bed while returning to the lodge.  photo by Luke Clayton.

Back at camp, we again were greeted by hunters with cameras, again looking in the back of a hunting vechicle.   ANOTHER monster buck had been harvested, this time by K.B. Ludlow from Las Vegas, Nevada.

With 16 scoreable points, Ludlow’s buck measured 186 6/8 BC!   After so many years hunting deer and spending time in countless deer camps from Canada to Mexico, I’ve forgotten the details of many of my hunts from years past but I’m positive I won’t forget this “return to Squaw Mountain”.   Deer of this size simply are not harvested ANYWHERE with regularity and being present to congratulate these two successful hunters was a highlight of my hunting career.   It was good to get back to my old hunting grounds.   I have a return bow hunt planned here next week and hopefully I will get a good buck within bow range.   The rugged hills and deep valleys of Squaw Mountain Ranch have long been special to me and it was good to again visit the training grounds of my son.

For more information on hunting at Squaw Mountain Ranch, contact Keith Weiser at 214-769-3151 or visit www.squawmountainwhitetails.com.

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Ducks unlimited banquets are scheduled in towns and cities across the state in the next few weeks.   The big Dallas DU Banquet will be held October 22 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field.   Festivities begin at 5:30 pm.   For information on all the banquets go online to www.ducks.org.

Listen to Outdoors with Luke Clayton Radio at www.catfishradio.com.   Contact Luke at lukeclayton@prodigy.net.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
LAKE CADDO FISHING IN FALL TRANSITION Luke Clayton

Uncertain, Tx.-  Johnson's Ranch Marina, situated on the banks of the Cypress River at Caddo Lake, reeks with nostalgia.   The Marina first became headquarters for many early day Caddo fishermen back in 1903.  The marina was “modernized” in the middle of the past century when piers and docks were built and concrete ramps were poured.  Several cabins to house visiting fishermen were constructed on the hillside adjacent the marina.  For 53 years, Mr. Bob Curtis owned and operated the marina.   Mr. Curtis passed away a couple years ago at the age of 100.  I remember first meeting Bob a quarter century ago.  His headquarters was a comfortable padded chair behind the counter inside the marina and, although blind in his later years, he was as sharp as a tack and always stayed current on fishing patterns.   I had the distinct pleasure of visiting with Mr. Curtis on a weekly basis while gleaning information for a fishing report I did for a major Texas newspaper.  We became friends and I enjoyed visiting with him a few times each year when I came to Caddo to fish, usually with my other Caddo buddy, guide Billy Carter.

Billy Carter is the current manager of Johnson's Ranch Marina on Lake Caddo.   The Marina has been in continuous operation since 1903, making it the oldest freshwater marina in Texas.  Photo by Luke Clayton

I was happy to learn that Carter took over management of the vintage marina about six months ago.   Billy and his wife Dottie own Spatterdock (www.spatterdock.com);    several comfortable lake homes that they rent to folks wishing to take in the sights and sounds of Caddo.   Billy also guides fishing and duck hunting trips on the lake.

When I arrived at Caddo this past week to enjoy a few days fishing for crappie and white bass, I was happy to see Billy running the show at Johnson's Ranch.   Billy's roots run deep at here.   He's spent a lifetime fishing and hunting this outdoor wonderland and it seemed perfectly fitting to see him filling the shoes of Mr. Curtis.   Billy's handiwork was obvious, the marina buildings have been restored to the way they looked back in the middle of the past century but great care was obviously taken not to ‘change’ anything.   The same old worn wooden planks that covered the buildings and docks were left in place.   As I walked into the marina, a distinct feeling of nostalgia swept over me, it was like stepping back into my boyhood days, the place reeked of the nineteen fifties!

Henry Lewis (Mr. Henry) is another Lake Caddo Legend.   Henry has been guiding for crappie here since his boyhood days in the early fifties.   Henry fishes from a roomy aluminum boat, just as he has the past fifty six years and uses Calcutta poles with live minnows for bait.   Henry has learned the seasonal patterns of crappie and, in my opinion, knows more about catching this sometime finicky species then anyone alive today.   My buddy Phil Zimmerman and I joined Mr. Henry for a morning of crappie fishing on the first day of our visit to Caddo.   Our plan was to learn the current crappie pattern, then fish on our own for a couple days.

Henry Lewis has been guiding for crappie at Lake Caddo for 55 years.   “Mr. Henry” is pictured here with a big crappie landed just last week.   Photo by Luke Clayton

Mr. Henry is a very methodical fisherman.   He has a ‘route’ that he fishes and right now, the majority of the fish are located in the mid to lower lake.   In his memory banks, Mr. Henry has the location of hundreds of stumps, brush piles and old gas wells, no GPS coordinates are necessary!   We moved from one bit of cover to the next.   “No need in spending more than ten minutes at each spot,” says Henry, “if we don't get a bite, no need wasting time where the fish aren't!”   We picked us some nice size crappie but, as Mr. Henry tipped, the fish are in transition right now.   “Crappie are scattered now but by the third week in October,” he added, “they and huge schools of yellow and white bass will be packing the river channels.   Then, we will be fishing brush piles along the submerged ledges.   This is when the fishing gets easy, we often pull several fish from the same brush pile and it's not necessary to move around so much.”

Zimmerman and I learned a good bit about navigating the lower end of the lake while fishing with Mr. Henry and spent the next couple days fishing on our own.   Billy Carter is responsible for introducing the masses to the sport of catching the lakes extremely plentiful yellow bass.   He began guiding for “yellows” a quarter century ago and has taught many of his clients how to catch them.   I've learned to love fishing for these good eating, scrappy little fish.   Zimmerman and I employed the time tested techniques of dropping small bits of minnow near bottom around channel intersections and bends in the river but it soon became obvious that yellow bass, just like the crappie, were in a period of transition.   That third week in October is when the Cypress channel becomes packed with yellow bass and, there they will remain the entire fall and winter.   We did catch some jumbo size white bass.   White bass were also in transition but small schools had already moved into the river's current.   They would ‘blow up’ on a school of shad for thirty seconds, then sound.   We had our best luck by trolling down-sized Chatter baits.   Using this method, we were able to locate the roving schools of whites.   When we caught one, we would make several passes through the area until the school dispersed.

If you're looking for a great ‘get away’ this fall, consider spending a few days at Caddo.   Book a crappie trip with Mr. Henry or learn the nuisances of catching yellow and white bass from Billy Carter.   I've done both and can guarantee you will have a big time.   If you like to pull your RV, the State Park is just down the road from Johnson's Ranch or, you can rent a fishing cabin or lake house at Spatterdock.   For more information, call Billy or Dottie Carter at 903-789-3268 or the marina at 903-789-3213.

Listen to OUTDOOR WITH LUKE CLAYTON RADIO at www.catfishradio.com.  Contact Luke at lukeclayton@prodigy.net

LEOPARD WITH A BOW!   I've never had the opportunity to travel to Africa to hunt but have visited with many buddies that have.   I've read most of Capstick's writings and have come to believe the Cape Buffalo and leopard to be the two most dangerous big game animals in the world.   Most authorities agree that trailing a wounded leopard is extremely dangerous.   Kenneth Tallent owns North Texas Archery and Outfitting in Farmersville, Tx. and the Circle T Bow hunting Ranch near Commerce.   Kenneth has traveled the world extensively while bow hunting.   He recently returned from an African bow hunt where he harvested a total of 15 big game animals, including a 156 pound leopard and massive cape buffalo bull, all with his trusty Mathews Bow.

It's one thing to use a scope-sighted big game rifle and bag a leopard coming to bait at 100 yards, but quite a different endeavor to be armed with a compound bow and have a total of THREE leopards walk within 6 yards!   Tallent says he and his Professional Hunter (PH) were concealed in a canvas ground blind about 15 yards from a tree containing bait for leopard.   His PH tapped Kenneth on the shoulder and indicated a leopard was close.   Kenneth watched a total of three cats, a female and two Toms, walk within spitting distance of the blind.   The bow hunters shot was true and Kenneth harvested the bigger of the two Toms at a range of 15 yards.   Luckily, the shot was right behind the shoulder and the big cat hit the ground and never moved.

I've shook in my boots while bow hunting wild boar on several occasions.   The closest to real danger I've encountered was on a hunt in the Sulphur River bottoms where I stalked along the top of a creek bank and surprised a big boar that was bedded in the mud.   I drew my bow and, luckily, dropped the boar with a spine shot as he was climbing the creek bank, popping his tusks and coming at me like a steam roller.   I can only imagine being on the ground, 6 yards from three leopards, with nothing separating us but a layer of canvas!   LC

Saturday, September 26, 2009
AUTUMN IS ‘OUR’ TIME OF THE YEAR

We're right in the middle of what many of us that enjoy hunting and fishing perceive to be the very best time of the year. Cooling temperatures make spending time on the water much more enjoyable than just a few short weeks ago.   We hunters have already had dove, teal and now the archery season to further ‘fire’ us up.   Mother Nature has already given the fish a ‘heads up’ that it is time to put on the feed bag, winter is coming and their metabolism will be slowing down. Right now, there is a smorgasbord of food for them to eat, the summer's hatch of shad, crayfish, sunfish and a host of invertebrates make for a time of plenty the next couple months.

If you enjoy camping, it just doesn't get any better than the next month or so. I recently set up a little camp down on the Brazos River and enjoyed catching a few of those scrappy ‘river’ bass. What is better than fresh fish fillets cooked in a cast iron skillet over an open campfire? If you've never smelled the blended aroma of frying fish, wood smoke, boiling coffee, and fresh Autumn air that is a pleasant combination of drying leaves, ripe grasses mixed with a hint of chill, I sincerely hope you get away from the traffic, noise and often chaotic lifestyle of living in the city and spend a couple of days ‘out there’!

Lake Caddo in East Texas is a destination that we enjoy visiting each fall. It's a surreal place where the scenery can best be described as a huge inland swamp, infested with groves of cypress trees. Boat lanes were cut through this thick forest years ago and channel intersections are great places to fish. As a matter of fact, I'm planning to head that direction in a couple days to fish with Henry Lewis. Mr. Henry, as most folks call him, calls Johnson's Ranch Marina headquarters; he has guided at Caddo for crappie since 1950 when he was a youngster. Fall has a different feel and look at Caddo than any place I've been and each year, I find myself called back to once again take in the sights, scenes and smells that somehow keep pulling me back. Life at Caddo Lake has changed little for folks that live by her shores. Going there is like stepping back into my boyhood days of the late fifties and early sixties.

When you're in the outdoors this time of year, keep an eye and ear tuned to the sky. We've already had an influx of migrating blue and greenwing teal. Soon, probably by the third week of the month, depending upon cold fronts up in Canada and Alaska, we'll hear the haunting cry of geese heading south to winter along the Texas coast. White Front (Specks) are the first to leave their breeding grounds on the tundra but cold weather will soon trigger the major migration of snows and Canadas. I've been told by a friend that lived for many years in Alaska adjacent a huge snow goose nesting area, that the major migration begin each fall with the first full moon of October. His accounts of the many times when he would look out his cabin window and the fields would be white with geese, then during the night, he would hear them taking wing and, the next morning, they would be well on their way to their ultimate destination to the prairies of the Texas coast. I've often thought of just how lonesome the feeling must be to have thousands of nesting geese living almost in your back yard one day and have wake up the next to total silence. My friend managed the wildlife and fishing on over 2 million acres of wilderness in Alaska for several years for the U.S. military. I can listen to his tells of trapping and relocating bear, hunting moose, sheep and caribou from remote camps for hours on end!

There is a great deal to do in the outdoors in the Autumn. Here's Luke rounding out a limit of teal from behind his GhostBlind.  Photo by Luke Clayton

If you're bound by tight budgets, heavy work schedules and simply cannot find the times or means to travel to enjoy the outdoors, take a minute and look at the opportunities in your own backyard. Chances are very good you live a few minutes from a city or state park or lake with a camping/picnicking area. Pick up some charcoal, stop by the store and grab some hot dogs or hamburger meat and spend a few hours in the outdoors with your family. Or, pack that cast iron Dutch Kettle and make a pot of chili oven an open fire. Everything tastes better in the outdoors!

I can guarantee you will come back home refreshed and recharged! Let's get out there and enjoy this true blessing God has given us we call AUTUMN!

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CAT Texas State Crappie Championship - CAT will wind up it's second year of competition by hosting what is expected to be the biggest, richest crappie tournament in the state of Texas; the first-ever CAT Texas State Crappie Championship (TSCC). The TSCC will be a two-day championship, October 16-17, 2009, held at Northshore Marina on the shores of Richland-Chambers Reservoir, just south of Corsicana, Texas. Over 145 anglers are qualified to compete for a total purse of more than $12,000 in cash and prizes. For more information about becoming a member of The Crappie Anglers of Texas and fishing upcoming tournaments, visit the club's website: www.crappieclub.org.

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OUTDOOR TIP OF THE WEEK- Firearms season for whitetail is quickly approaching. Now is a great time to spend a couple hours at the range and make sure 'Ole Betsy is still shooting where you aim. In a couple of weeks, gun ranges will become crowded with deer hunters checking their rifles. Before heading out, make sure the scope bases and rings are tight. Don't over tighten the set screws, just get them snug. You don't want to strip out any threads here at the last minute! In years past, I've had rifles with scopes that worked perfectly, then after a few months in the gun cabinet, lose their zero when tested at the rifle range. Make sure and sight in your rifle with the same ammo you plan to hunt with, switching brands often changes the point of impact. When installing a new scope, have your rifle bore sighted first to assure your first shot is ‘on paper’, then adjust your crosshairs to be dead on at 30 yards then, move out to 100 yards and complete your adjustments. After each adjustment of the windage and elevation screws, give each a light tap to insure it's locked in place.

One last tip, if you will be hunting from a box blind, as many rifle hunters do, bring along some sort of pad to set in the window to help steady your rifle. And, when actually shooting from your blind, avoid resting the rifle's stock too close to the trigger guard, this creates an unstable rest. Place the end of the forestock on the window ledge and your shot will be much more stable.

Listen to Outdoors With Luke Clayton for a new show each week at www.catfishradio.com

Contact Luke at lukeclayton@prodigy.net