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There are many newer, modern forms of machinery that can really help on many gamekeepers’ projects. I recently witnessed what a Caterpillar skid-steer mulcher could accomplish in a couple of days. It was nothing short of amazing. This machine helped me reclaim what I assume was an old pasture that had grown up into privet, sweet gum, and elm. It was thick and hairy to say the least, decent bedding for deer and there was a browse line on the privet…but I wanted to create a food plot. The area

1. WHAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MANAGING A POND THAT YOU SEE OVERLOOKED? Harvest of bass and crappie is the most important, and often overlooked aspect of pond management. An owner can spend thousands of dollars stocking, fertilizing, liming, and feeding without any positive results if the predator population is too dense. The best, most productive ponds that I have the opportunity to manage are heavily used ponds that encourage harvest. Bass under 15 inches in length and all crappie should

DAY OR NIGHT, SANDY BEACHES ARE A GREAT PLACE TO FISH FOR STRIPED BASS AND OTHER COASTAL SALTWATER SPECIES. Sandy beaches are a big summer attraction for those who live in or near, or visit, coastal communities. Most hit the beach in hordes at the height of the day to soak up the sun and splash in the surf. Others prefer the off hours, not only for the solitude, but for the sport. The reel action starts when the sun sits low or is absent altogether, the beaches clear, and the crowds now form

I’m strictly a structure fisherman when I fish for crappie. I look for underwater trees and logs and places where the current has piled-up limbs, sticks and brush and find those spots on my Humminbird Helix 12 depth finder. The small dots on my screen are crappie. I can see where those crappie are holding, perhaps on the edge of an underwater creek channel where it runs into the main river channel. I’ll have the underwater trees where I’ve caught the most crappie tagged as waypoints. I also

I grew up in the ‘70s and '80s in South Carolina, and my dad fished every Saturday. He fished with friends from church a lot and would drive 90 miles to fish as far away as Lake Murray or Lake Hartwell. Until I got a little older, I usually fished with him on the closer trips to Lake Bowen, a smaller municipal lake. One of my most vivid memories from those days was when my dad started fishing with "floating worms." Pink floating worms. It was springtime, and the fish, big ones, were just

Springtime bass fishing involves days that question your sanity. Cold temperatures, high winds, and unpredictable weather can impact where and how you fish from one weekend to another. However, the odds of hooking a giant are high this time of year. As water temperatures slowly creep up and fish begin staging for the spawn, anglers can cover a majority of a lake with very few bites. I feel bait choice is most crucial this time of year over any other time. Fish can still be sluggish from harsh

Rigging plastic baits for bass fishing has evolved over time, along with tactics and the baits themselves. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular plastic bait rigging strategies that will help you adjust your presentation to be the most life-like and effective offering possible. TEXAS RIG Tried and true since the early days of bass fishing, Texas rigging allows the angler to precisely position the bait anywhere, especially in dense vegetation or heavy cover. The Texas rig can be used on

Some days in the turkey woods are better than others. We all live for and relish those magical mornings when the treetops ring with the rattle of gobblers, and revile the days when the birds seem afflicted with a serious case of lockjaw. In the latter case, you have a couple options. One is to go old school: camp out in one spot, rapping on a box call every 30 minutes and hoping something slips in silently. The other is to strike out in search of a more willing adversary. One variation of this

After realizing that I was not in the proper position at first light, I had to painfully listen to a tom gobbling his head off in the river bottom opposite of where I had set up. My only hope was that he could potentially fly off the roost in my direction. When things did not start in my favor, I began walking back towards my truck in hopes of striking up another gobble on the way. After heading down another river bottom ravine, I could hear a faint gobble in the far distance. The gobble sounded

Good communication skills are a big part of success in the human world, and likewise when turkey hunting. If there’s one facet of hunting the grand bird that thrills hunters most, it’s being able to “talk turkey” with wild turkeys. The term actually originated with wild turkeys. Historical accounts suggest the origin of “turkey talk” derives from colonial times when the first contacts between Native Americans and settlers often centered on the supply of wild turkeys and the day-to-day haggling