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September 20, 2015
August 17, 2015
Bass Pro Shops September Fishing Tips
Why You Should Fish The Humps And Flats
During the fall, bass like to move around from one hump to the other during the day. Find the right hump, and you could have some fantastic bass fishing.
The best humps are in river-run reservoirs where some current is present. Usually, they will be on top of the hump and extremely aggressive during power generation.
When flow subsides, they drop back to the deeper sides and ends and are less likely to hit a bait. These humps are also great places for night fishing.
Flats are another hotspot to fish during the fall. Try the biggest main lake flats and fish the deepest edge right where it drops off into open water. Fall bass will gather on this edge and move up onto the flat to feed but drop back and suspend when a front passes. The absolute best fishing occurs when schools of baitfish gather on these flats.
Fall Crappie Fishing Strategies
You may be thinking about the upcoming hunting season, but don’t forget that fall is also an excellent time for crappie fishing.
As the water cools, crappie will begin to move from their deep water summer hangouts to relatively shallow water at about 6 to 12 feet, and they can be pretty aggressive.
The best time to fish is prior to a major cold front, and you should find them in shallow water, filling up their stomachs for the upcoming winter.
As the front passes, expect them to move back off the bank, possibly back to their deep water dropoffs.
I like to use jigs in the fall, but if you're finding it hard to get them to bite, try minnows. When crappie get tight lipped, you put a minnow in front of their face, and they have a hard time resisting it.
Hunting camp will be even better when you serve up a bunch of golden fried crappie.
August 03, 2015
West Boggs Renovation Update
DNR officials are happy with the outcome of a project to improve fishing at West Boggs Lake in Daviess and Martin counties.
In fall 2014, officials drained and treated the lake to eradicate gizzard shad and other undesirable species in an effort to restore a balanced fishery.
After the renovation, the lake was restocked with 104,374 largemouth bass, 462,476 bluegills and 195,245 redear sunfish, all fingerlings. A total of 816 adult largemouth bass also were restocked after being salvaged by anglers during spring bass tournaments and by biologists during fall electrofishing. There were 55 adult channel catfish returned as well.
DNR biologist sampled the lake on June 22 to monitor the survival and growth of fish stocked last fall.
The fish appeared to be in good shape. More importantly, no gizzard shad were detected.
Largemouth bass fingerlings, which averaged 3.9 inches when stocked last fall, now average 7 inches and are fat, according to fisheries biologists. Bass collected ranged in length from 1.9 to 12 inches and the electrofishing catch rate was 213 bass per hour. Spawning activity by salvaged bass was also evident by the presence of new fingerlings.
Bluegills and redear sunfish are making excellent gains in growth, too. During surveying, bluegills were collected that measured as long as 6.7 inches. When stocked last October, bluegills averaged 1 inch; they now average 3.6 inches. The electrofishing catch rate was 39 bluegills per hour. Redear sunfish were collected up to 3.9 inches, and averaged 3.8 inches.
Black crappie are scheduled to be stocked this fall.
July 31, 2015
July 19, 2015
Raccoon Lake Near Flood Stage
As of this morning, Raccoon Lake was within half a foot of eclipsing flood pool, meaning water would be heading over the emergency spillway. The lake was 27.6' over summer pool, and the emergency spillway height is supposed to set at 28.0'. You can see why the set everything up the way they did in the picture below. That is the water about to touch the bottom of the US36 Highway bridge. Don't see that every day.
From the lake's Facebook Page:
July 17, 9 p.m.: Raccoon SRA (Cecil M. Harden Lake) is now CLOSED due to excessive rainfall. Additionally, all ramps are now closed. he main road through the park will soon be under water. The park is a peninsula and this is the only route to the campgrounds.
June 30, 2015
June 25, 2015
Reservoir Levels On The Rise
A look at the Army Corp gauges this morning show our reservoirs on the rise and likely to keep going higher. The Wabash R. reservoirs in the NE corner of the state caught the brunt of the early June rainfall, and their levels are anywhere from 20 to nearly 50 feet above summer pool. Lately, the southern and central parts of the state have been catching major amounts of rain, and that has lakes on the rise. Central Indiana lakes like Raccoon and Cataract are likely to go much higher after receiving nearly 3" of rain just last night and this morning. With all the flooding statewide, you'll notice that most lakes aren't releasing water, meaning the water levels are likely to stay high through at least the early part of the summer. Plan your fishing accordingly.
June 20, 2015
July Outdoor World Fishing Tips
Tricks For Boating Bass
A trick to use in stained or muddy water or at night when bass can’t see as well is to use big lures that displace water and create good vibrations.
Another trick some fishermen use is to put a little more bend in the blade of a spinnerbait to make it throb more intensely and make more noise as it moves through the water.
Maybe the best trick I can give you, though, is to slow down your retrieve. Believe it or not, a slow moving bait will actually send out more heavy vibrations than a fast moving bait will.
The final trick is to use darker colored baits in low visibility situations. When their sight is restricted, dark colors stand out better. Actually, it is not the color that catches bass in these situations anyway; it is the vibration of the bait.
Tips For Bagging Big Cats
Summertime is channel cat time across America. In lakes and reservoirs, fish flat areas in 18 to 25 feet of water using shad, shrimp, dough balls, cheese, prepared baits, nightcrawlers, and even that left over hot dog from lunch.
In rivers, try the same baits around undercut banks, old hollow logs, and even slack water. Ponds are also great places to catch channel cats. Give them some time to mouth the bait and pick it up before setting the hook.
My favorite part of channel cat fishing is eating them. Here’s my special recipe:
- Cut filets into bite size pieces
- Dunk them in milk
- Coat with one of Bass Pro Shops Uncle Buck’s fish batters
- Drop in 325 degree peanut oil until they’re good and crisp. Dip them in shrimp sauce for some outstanding eating.
Where's Walleye? Tips For Finding Their Summertime Hangouts
A walleye’s metabolism rises with the water temperature in summer and that means they need to eat more, not less.
Most walleye anglers use leeches and minnows on Lindy rigs in deeper water during this time of year. But, also try finding them where they are suspending with baitfish or prowling around on shallow reefs, weedbeds, shorelines, and points. These are all primary locations for catching walleyes in summer.
Using tactics you would use to catch bass will put you on active walleye quicker and help you put more of them in the boat during summer.
A plate full of hot, fried walleye will help make that summer cookout even better.
By Larry Whiteley, Host of the award winning Outdoor World Radio For more tips go to basspro.com and click on 1Source News & Tips
June 10, 2015
May 31, 2015
New Contest - Jared Lintner @ BASSfest
Thanks to the good folks at Shimano and Jackall, we're ready to do another contest, this time during the upcoming BASSfest event which begins Wednesday on Kentucky Lake. Jared Lintner is one of 124 anglers ready to try and take this years title. Jared is also sponsored by both Jackall and Shimano, and the winner will receive a new spool of Power Pro Maxcuatro line along with half a dozen Jackall baits, including the square-billed ASKA. In order to win this contest, you will need to give your best guess for both Jared's final place of finish (out of 124) as well as his final weight as listed by Bassmaster at the end of the event. We will take the difference between your guesses and his actual, then combine them to get a single score. The person who has the best overall score (the lowest total of the two differences) will win a Jackall and Shimano prize pack.
As an example, if you guess Jared as 30th place with 30 pounds, and he actually finishes 20th place with 40 pounds, you are off 10 places and 10 pounds. Your combined score would be 20. If no one gets a better (lower) combined score, you win.
Simply go to the and enter your guess beginning immediately as a comment in the contest thread. Only one entry per person. Guesses close Tuesday evening, so hurry up. Watch this site as we'll be featuring some of the new products from both Jackall and Shimano over the next couple days - and good luck!
Putting A "Spin" On Bowfishing
Received a press release for the Bass Pro Shops Bow Fishing Championship coming up this weekend in Missouri. Did have to chuckle a little though at the marketing approach - a bit of a stretch in my opinion. But hey...
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open Bowfishing Championship and World’s Bowfishing Fair, held June 12-14, 2015, at the Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri, promises a fun weekend with lasting environmental benefits for Missouri lakes.
Species harvested by bowfishing include nongame and invasive fish species such as common carp, grass carp, buffalo and gar. Many of these species degrade water quality by stirring up mud. They also directly compete with spawning gamefish by damaging their spawning beds. This is a huge problem in deep water lakes because they already lack spawning areas.
“Bowfishing continues to grow in Missouri and is another unique opportunity for our citizens to get out and enjoy the aquatic resources we manage. Our nongame fish species play a vital role in our aquatic ecosystem and are important to many anglers in Missouri,” said Brian Canady, fisheries division chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Bowfishing is a way to control populations of nongame fish and invasive fish species such as Asian carp. Invasive species pose a serious threat because they damage gamefish habitat and can outcompete weaker, native species, putting them at risk. Keeping sustainable native game and nongame fish populations is a top priority for the Missouri Department of Conservation.”
Last year’s U.S. Open Bowfishing Championship featured the nation’s top teams from over 30 states who took more than 32,000 pounds of nongame and invasive fish in one night, and this year’s harvest is expected to exceed that amount. Where do all those fish go?
A bonus environmental benefit of the U.S. Open is all fish harvested are put to good use as environmentally friendly fertilizer. Advances in technology have made it possible to liquefy fish into a safe, healthy fertilizer for use by organic farmers and home and garden purposes. SF Organics, a Division of Schafer Fisheries, uses hydrolysis to break the product down while maintaining the vitamins, enzymes, amino acids and minerals that create high-quality natural plant food.
“We love being able to get the kind of tonnage this bowfishing tournament will produce,” said James Schafer of SF Organics, a Division of Schafer Fisheries. “We’re able to pick up the fish in our refrigerated trucks the same day they’re caught so we can convert them into organic fertilizer.”
These fish aren’t just for growing food, they can actually BE good food. Researchers at University of Missouri said one way to fight back against the havoc nonnative carp can wreak on Midwestern waterways is by putting them on the menu. Despite their image problem, carp are a heart-healthy, low-fat fish that actually score well in taste tests. Numerous recipes have been developed to take advantage of the firm, mild flavored fillets from chorizo-spiced carp cakes to carp chili. Those attending the U.S. Open Bowfishing Championship and World’s Fair can do their own taste test as the University of Missouri and Schafer Fisheries are teaming up to offer carp tacos and sloppy joes.
Missouri Department of Conservation also has lots of great nongame fish recipes and videos available at http://mdc.mo.gov/node/18566.
“With the increasing popularity of bow fishing and plentiful numbers of invasive species of fish, Missourians are now discovering this delicious secret,” Canaday said. “Putting tasty, healthy food on the dinner table is just another great benefit of bowfishing. “ Those who bowfish also contribute to conservation by paying for fisheries management work through their fishing license fees. In addition, the Sport Fish Restoration Program provides grant money for fishery conservation, boating access, and aquatic education via a federal excise tax paid by manufacturers on fishing gear and motorboat fuels.
While bowfishing provides better aquatic habitat for gamefish, delicious meals, a rich, organic fertilizer, and fisheries management funding, in the end people do it because it’s a lot of fun.
“Bowfishing is a great way to get new archers excited about the outdoors as well as engaging those people who already love to hunt and fish,” said Bob Ziehmer, director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. “Plus, with participants coming from across the country, it’s a great way to showcase the beautiful lakes and rivers of the Missouri Ozarks.”
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