Hunting Fishing Blog

Perhaps it isn’t that fishing is complicated but rather that fishing is as broad as the lake, pond, river, or sea that you are fishing in.   Which fish are you targeting?  Every body of water can contains tens, hundreds, thousands, or more species of fish.  The anglers success will be determined by what species they are targeting and how well they know that species.  For any given fish species the fisherman should know where the particular species of interest lives, what they eat, what depth of the water they frequent, and how to locate them in the morning and at night, and the best way to attract them.

Species sizes will vary drastically depending on location.  This may be partially due to genes but it is mostly due to weather.  An angler shouldn’t fish in a small pond in a northern state and assume that could get a 30 pound bass unless they know something special about that pond.  Typically the largest fish of any species will thrive and be abundant where there is an abundance of food.  For example, bass fishing is prime in states near the southern gulf as there is plenty of sunshine, no hard winters to lean the fish out, and a continuous abundance of large bugs, frogs, and prey for the fish most of the year round. 

So to be an effective angler it is best to what you want to catch, where it lives, and what does not live where you are.  Next learn how to use every piece in your tackle box and you will be on your way to ting the hook and finding a little more luck at the end of your pole.  

When it comes to whitetail bowhunting there are different schools of thought on what qualifies an “ok shot.” “Yes you can take the long shot if you can make it,” and “No you should never take a shot that long.”  I personally think the second one is unfair.  Let me premise this blog by making some things very clear.

• We do NOT approve of shooting an animal and leaving it for dead in any event ever. Get your knife out and finish it.
• We do NOT approve of a lax part-time hunter out trophy hunting and taking a shot they can’t confidently make. 
• For the same reason we don’t advocate bad angle shots, taking animals out of season, taking animals without a tag, poaching, etc…

All that being said, I am talking about avid hunters only, who practice routinely, care very much for the integrity of the sport, work hard to perfect their marksmanship, and make the humane harvesting of mature animals a priority.  In this reality, the accurate shot is unique to each hunter.  Who is one hunter to judge and correct another hunter based on their own preference.  The  “okay shot” should be defined as that shot which a given hunter is accurately and ethically confident and capable to take in a high pressure situation. 

Don’t agree?  Is hunting not a sport?  Is a hunter not an athlete?  If yes on both then wouldn’t we have to agree that athletic ability varies depending on how far a given athlete pushes themselves?  If, for example, I run 15 miles a day and run with barbells and start my mornings off with one handed push-ups and haven’t skipped my daily 50 round archery shot routine in 6 months….do I have your permission to take a 60 yard shot at whitetail deer when it is broadside with an excellent shot window? 

I believe the hunter who has qualified his ability with practice should be granted the respect he or she has earned by that.  I can ride a bike without training wheels but I most certainly cannot pull a Lance Armstrong on a 50 mile ride, and I wouldn’t try.  To each athlete his own preference and from the rest of us in our treestand or the peanut gallery how about little faith and respect?  I want to know what you think, post your thoughts in the comment box below.

If you are anything like me, you may get restless pending hours in the treestand deer hunting with no sign of life outside of a few birds.  On these occasions you could try some stalking through the woods but this should be done right, especially if you are stalking as bow hunter and not a gun hunter.  With the limited distance of a bow a hunter must be must stealthier in order to be effective. 

Stalking is pretty straightforward, walk quiet and slow, but understanding the walking pattern can give you an advantage.  This pattern refers to moving through the area like another native big animal would.  Whitetail deer do not typically walk through the woods at a continuous pace; they stop frequently and graze or check their surroundings.  So an ideal walking pattern would include the following:

• Walk slow, heel to toe
• Pick your feet up and place them down, do not drag them
• Try not to snap large twigs, it is an unnatural sound
• Stop every ten to fifteen steps to mimic the pause of a large game animal

Got any other things that work great for you?  Post them in the comments below and we will try to update this article to include them.

In the last article I covered how scent control is vital to monster buck hunting and now we will discuss location.  Hunters don’t like moving through brier bushes and thorny shoulder high brush.  For the whitetail buck, though, this is ideal territory.  With their smooth fur coat, the briers slide across them and do not snag as they do on most hunting gear and camo.  Monster bucks typically avoid major cow paths, deer highways, and typical animal crossings.  Their preferred territory puts them deep in the thickest and hardest to reach areas.

This major detail is one reason why many successful hunters prepare to embark far from the beaten path to connect with a bruiser buck.  Especially when hunting public land, it is highly recommended that a hunter travel into unmarked territory.  In studies via GPS- researchers found that most hunters travel only a short distance into public land areas and their more successful fellow hunters travel much farther.

Got any other things that work great for you?  Post them in the comments below and we will try to update this article to include them.