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A Look at the Chesapeake Bay Retriever
A Look at the Chesapeake Bay Retriever By Ryan Eder Here in the Midwest, we face some of the harshest conditions during our hunting seasons imaginable. Temperatures near zero, brisk winds, snow and of course frozen bodies of water are very typical for the Midwest bird hunter. Some of us hunt waterfowl, others hunt upland birds and most of us hunt both! When you combine both waterfowl and upland bird hunting with Midwest hunting conditions, it is easy to see why the Chesapeake Bay Retriever might be an ideal choice as your next dog. The breed has a lot to offer, and unfortunately is one of the most misunderstood breeds amongst sporting dogs. My hope is to give an honest [...]
Turkey Talk – Learn The Language
Turkey Talk – Learn The Language Many moons ago, in my high school days I can remember my Multi-cultural Studies teacher telling the class that if you truly want to understand a culture then you have to learn the language. While I never really applied that piece of advice to the real world, I did apply it to hunting the wild turkey and I became a better hunter because of it. Learning and understanding the sounds a turkey makes, more importantly what these sounds mean will ultimately make you a better hunter. The “Turkey Language” from a hunter’s viewpoint revolves around each sound a turkey makes. More specifically what each sound means and how to use this sound while out [...]
Fall Wipers And White Bass
Fall Wipers And White Bass By Johnnie Crain Make no mistake; fall fishing for wipers and white bass on lakes can be great fun. The action is fast and furious, exciting, hard work and these true members of the bass family fight like carp on steroids! Wipers are actually a hybrid cross between a white bass and striper and this marriage of the two fish species brings out the best of both. The wiper is a bit stronger, leaner and faster than the white bass, but either fish will give anglers a lot of fun and a challenge. Wipers have a darker-broken lateral line and white bass have more of a grayish lateral line that is unbroken. Fall wipers may [...]
A Day of Giants: Bowfishing Adventure
A Day of Giants: Bowfishing Adventure By Nick Johnson It was a day with an outcome that wasn't planned. Myself, and good friend Eric Katzenmeyer were set up to fish for bass in Cedar Lake just west of the twin cities. Eric lives in the area and we thought it would be fun to stop and fish with him on our way home from my family's cabin in Brainerd for a few hours and catch some fat spring largemouth. What we got in return was a boat covered in carp eggs and a livewell stuffed with some of the largest carp I had ever seen. We started the morning off by throwing spinnerbaits around docks and reed edges but the [...]
How to make your Farm Pond a Fish Haven
How to make your Farm Pond a Fish Haven By Ben Leal The song of birds in the meadows and fields greet a cool Iowa morning. The family car is loaded up and ready to make the short drive to Grandpa’s house for a day of family fun. Pulling up to the house, the kids can see that all preparations have been made down at the family farm pond. Without a hint of hesitation the kids run down…”GRANDPA!” arms outstretched…with a hug and a smile he wraps them up in his arms. “Who’s ready to catch some fish?”… And with that a great day of fishing on a farm pond begins. Little Barbie Doll fishing poles all strung up ready [...]
How to be an Ace at 3-D Courses
How to be an Ace at 3-D Courses By Aaron Stonehocker As bow hunters, keeping our archery skills sharp year round is vital to success in the field. Those short three and a half months we spend in blinds, tree stands, or stalking around the woods in search of our quarry are only a fraction of the opportunities we have to put our minds and archery equipment to the test. While there are several ways to extend our shooting season including indoor leagues, outdoor leagues, and of course good old backyard practice; 3-D archery courses offer archers of all skill levels the most accurate depiction of what we will encounter in the fall and winter when we are trying to [...]
Choosing a Predator Rifle
Choosing a Predator Rifle By Troy Hoepker One thing you’ll probably never hear from me after I shoot a coyote that gets away wounded is to hear me exclaim that I didn’t have a large enough caliber bullet to anchor him. There’s always been a ton of discussion out there on which caliber is the “right” one for shooting coyotes. This article isn’t a part of that discussion. I’m not saying the topic isn’t an important one, it is. However, the mindset that I take to shooting predators at different ranges reflects on me as a shooter and not placing blame on the size of the bullet being big enough to do the job. Most of today’s popular predator calibers [...]
‘Rats and ‘Coons: Tried and True Sets
‘Rats and ‘Coons: Tried and True Sets As a long time trapper it is great to see a bit of resurgence in the sport over the last few years. While trapping took a hit during the late 80’s and all through the 90’s and 00’s it appears that many trappers are getting back into the sport. What’s really nice to see is some younger folks participating and getting started in trapping, something that I believe is extremely important to the future of this tradition. If you just started trapping, looking at getting into it, or simply want to get back into it and knock off the dust below is a list of ways that many trappers go about catching Iowa’s [...]
The Other Masked Bandit: The Badger
The Other Masked Bandit: The Badger I was sitting on the phones at work one day getting bored with no one answering the phone and having read every trapper magazine and book I could get my hands on, I got to thinking about writing some kind of article. But what could I write about that already hasn’t been written in the countless magazines, books, and Internet sites? Then it hit me, when was the last time I had seen an article about catching badgers and actually targeting them? I couldn’t remember. So here is the outcome of that thought. The badger is usually an animal in the fur trade that isn’t highly targeted but usually ends up in trapper’s sets [...]
