Another visitor...

I think I will call him Fluffy.

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Chronic Wasting Disease

I attended a meeting this week put on by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) in regards to the recent discovery of CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease) in Arkansas.  The purpose of the meeting was to inform the public of what they know, what they have found, and what they plan on doing about it.  This is a new problem to Arkansas, but is not a new problem in the nation.  Even though it is a new problem for Arkansas, the AGFC has had a CWD response plan in place since 2006.  So they have been watching for this and are ready for this unfortunate event.  They have done their research, consulted with experts that have dealt with this, and have come up some proposed regulations.  You can visit agfc.com and review the prosed changes and voice your opinion.  I highly recommend you visit site anyway because they have additional information on the subject.  They know that it is not probable to completely eliminate the disease, so they are trying to contain it, limit its spread, and weed it out.  They can’t do it on their own, it will be up to the hunters to “manage” the states herd per the states regulations.  What I mean is we will need to follow the practices and regulations set forth by AGFC in order to accomplish the goal.  From what I gathered from the meeting, the overall strategy is to initially manage for a younger deer herd because of how the disease spreads.  I know that won’t set well with a lot people and trophy hunters, but we need to look at the bigger picture for the future health of the herd for generations to come.  It appears the regulations will allow for a more liberal bag limit and more opportunities to harvest deer and elk.  From a hunting and meat point, I think this is a good thing.  Who doesn’t want to hunt more and harvest more deer?  AGFC can’t make you pull the trigger on smaller deer, but it might be worth it if it helps the overall goal.  This is likely to only affect the areas of the state where the disease is an issue.  Right now that is the Buffalo Valley area.  So parts of the state may see very little changes.  In the future once the herd and CWD is in check, I’m sure the regulations will adjust accordingly.  Go to the web site, do your research, and be ready for changes in the hunting regulations this upcoming season.

Bear Visitor

We had a visitor checking out the tractor.  It must not have been just right, because the bear left it alone.  Thankfully!

Family Fun Camping Weekend

Thanks to some good friends of ours, we had the opportunity to spend some time camping with them at their get-a-way spot.  It was a fun filled weekend of great company, great food, good weather, four wheeling, fire arms, fishing, swimming, and relaxing.  We had an amazing time, ate like kings, and enjoyed every minute of it.  Just sitting around the fire visiting was a great time.  Anytime you get an opportunity to spend some quality time with your family and friends away from the everyday distractions (TV, electronics, work, school, etc.) you should make the effort to do so.  I believe it is necessary just to maintain a healthy outlook and to keep things in perspective.

Turkey Hunt 2016

This year’s opening weekend of the 2016 spring turkey season was a little different.  A couple of the usual suspects were not able to attend.  Jason’s baby James was born just a few days earlier, so obviously he was staying home to enjoy that family time.  Our star turkey caller Robert had prior obligations with some of his friends to celebrate birthdays.  However, my dad Jack was able to join me and a first time guest Colby from work.  Just want to take a moment and say that even though we focus on hunting and fishing, that family is a priority to us. 

The Friday afternoon before opening morning my dad and I tried to located some birds and look for sign.  We covered a lot of ground and only got one bird to gobble and found very little sign.  During that process it rained twice on us.  To provide some protection from the rain we attached a tarp to the top rack of the RZR.  That turned out to be good move.

Since we only had one confirmed area with a gobbler, we knew where we were going to hunt in the morning.  We had planned on being in the woods 30 minutes prior to sun rise.  The weather had other plans.  It rained all night and was raining when we got up.  With all of the cloud cover it pushed daylight back about 30 minutes and we really didn’t want to get wet first thing in the morning.  At around 7:00 am the rain let up a bit and I decided to go.  It was still wet enough that dad decided to stay in.  When I got to the area, after a few crow calls, I heard a gobble up the hill.  I immediately started heading that direction.  I quickly realized how out of shape I am.  When I got close to the top of the hill I called at them with a slate call to see if they were interested.  Turned out they were very interested and distance between us was getting shorter.  Things were happening fast at this point.  I needed to find a spot to set up quickly.  I finished the trek to the top of the hill and set up.  I called again and I could tell they were well on their way.  I waited a couple more minutes and called again and they were only about 30 yards out, but just out of site because of the hill.  At about that same moment I spotted not one, but two turkey heads appear at about 25 yards coming towards me.  They were both gobblers with what appeared to be equal length beards.  By the time I identified them and compared them they were at about 15 yards and I took the one in front.  The turkey has a 10" beard.  It was one of the quickest and most exciting turkey hunts that I’ve ever been on.  Sometimes things just work out and come easy.  This was one of those rare times.

04/04/16 Fishing Report

Lake: Beaver
Location: Highway 12
Time: 3:00PM-8:00PM 
Air temp: 65 degrees
Water temp: 58 degrees
Clarity: Stained
Visibility: 12"
Wind: NE 10-15
Sky:  sunny
Winning tactic: Casting 1/8th oz white grubs on the hump in 4 FOW
Catch: 1 largemouth, 1 smallmouth, 1 walleye, 4 stripers, 3 hybrids, 4 whites

We started out trolling flicker shads in 18 FOW. We weren't really marking anything in the cove so we went out to the gravel bar between the island and the ramp. We picked up a fish on each pass on the north side of the bar. We went to the brush pile by the bluff to get out of the wind a bit. Caught a few on the white grub casting at the shore. As the sun set, there was some surfacing by the buoys. We sat on the south side of the bar and cast up in the shallow. We would let it hit bottom, reel a few turns, repeat. Jon caught about 80% of the fish because I was caught up in using what worked last time instead of finding out what the fish wanted and giving it to them. When we got back to the house, one of the fish had coughed up a shad that looked like the grub he was using. I think the wind was blowing the bait towards the bar and as the sun was setting the fish started chasing bait up on the bar. I think we might have been a little more productive if we had tried a little george since the water was so stained, that way the fish could feel as well as see the bait.

Wind is blue, casting is red.

Trolling route.

03/29/16 Fishing Report

Lake: Beaver
Location: Highway 12
Time: 3:00PM-6:00PM 
Air temp: 55 degrees
Water temp: 55 degrees
Clarity: Stained
Visibility: 12"
Wind: S 10-15
Sky:  sunny
Winning tactic: Casting 1/8th oz swim jigs from 5-25 FOW.
Catch: 2 crappie, 2 largemouth, 1 bluegill

The water is warming up and clearing up. There were quite a few bait balls, but no schools of fish. There were a few fish on brush piles, but none biting. A friend on another boat caught a 27lb striper on a trotline with brooder minnows from a treetop in 20 FOW to the shore. I think we need to try trolling next time to find where the fish are hanging out.