Winchester hunter tags a record size gobbler | The Peoples Defender

By Tom Cross

Jamie Nesbitt of Winchester tagged what might end up being one of the biggest gobblers harvested in the state this year. According to the National Wild Turkey Federation’s record list, Nesbitt’s gobbler would be the 34th largest turkey ever taken in Ohio. Nesbitt’s big gobbler weighed 24 pounds and had an 11-1/4 inch beard with spurs 1-3/4 and 1-1/2 inches long. Nesbitt bagged the gobbler on opening day of Ohio’s turkey season in northern Brown County.

Nesbitt knew his hunting area well having taken a gobbler from the same place last year.

“I set my blind up about 40 yards from the woods edge in a weedy field that turkeys have been visiting regularly,” said Nesbitt. “About 8:00 a.m. a group of gobblers responded to my call; there was five or six bird’s altogether. I could see one gobbler was much bigger then the others and when the bachelor group was close enough and the big tom offered a clear shot I took it. The gobbler was about 45 yards away when I shot and down it went.”  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Winchester hunter tags a record size gobbler.

The battle over crossbows in this state has been waged for two decades and it hasn’t been pretty | syracuse.com

By David Figura

It’s an emotional, occasionally insult-laced argument that’s been going on in this state among outdoorsmen for more than two decades.

It’s the debate over crossbows — specifically when, where and how they should be used.

“I went to a recent meeting up in Buffalo and there were hundreds of people against the three of us. We got bushwhacked,” said Avon resident David Kosowski, legislative chairman of the N.Y. Bowhunters Inc., a group that has been at the forefront of keeping crossbows out of the archery season since its formation in 1991. He said he’s been going to similar meetings for years.

“You get called a communist, told this is a free country and that everyone has a right to hunt the way they want. … a few years back I even had one outdoors writer come across the table and challenge me. Guys had to restrain him,” he said.

Crossbow advocates say their critics are selfish and condescending and that the abuse goes both ways.

Crossbow 101 with Dave Figura Crossbow 101 with Dave Figura A Bass Pro Shops hunting and archery expert gives some beginning tips on using a crossbow while Post Standard outdoors writer David Figura takes his best shot. Watch video

The issue boils down to this: Crossbow hunters want to hunt during bowhunting season, which precedes the firearms season. Bowhunters say they’re not against crossbows — they just don’t want to share the woods with them during that time.

The debate is coming to a head again with the Dec. 31 expiration of a two-year law drafted by Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida, in 2010. Valesky’s bill allowed the use of crossbows in this state for the first time during the fall hunting season for big game (deer and bear). However, it restricted their use to the regular firearms season and the muzzleloader season that followed. They were banned during the regular bow season.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via The battle over crossbows in this state has been waged for two decades and it hasn’t been pretty | syracuse.com.

Holy mackerel, Alabama record falls twice in 5 weeks | al.com

By Michael C. Bolton

Even hard-hearted people enjoy a heart-warming story now and then. In the world of Alabama outdoors, the pursuit of the state record king mackerel has provided a couple of goodies in recent months.

King mackerel make their runs off the Alabama Gulf Coast in spring and that ritual brings out hard-core fishermen. Old salts with decades on the water live for the moment. Talk of 40-pound-plus kings dominates their lives.

The 2012 king mackerel run began a couple of months ago with Mobile’s Michael J. Kirchler at the top of the record book. The 67-pound, 15-ounce king he caught in 2002 had withstood a decade of challengers. His record appeared untouchable.

Andrew Quinn’s presence didn’t strike fear in anyone. The small 8-year-old from Michigan was on the Alabama coast only to vacation with family and to play in the sand. The fishing trip with the male grown-ups was just gravy. It was his first deep sea fishing adventure ever.

The 68-pound, 3-ounce king mackerel the youngster landed on March 28 aboard the charter boat “Fish Trap” was the largest king mackerel ever caught in the state. The serious king mackerel fishermen could only shake their heads.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Holy mackerel, Alabama record falls twice in 5 weeks | al.com.

Vermont Moose Hunting Applications Are Available

WAITSFIELD, VT — Vermont moose hunting permit applications are available on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com), and printed applications will be at Vermont license agents statewide in June.

Lottery applications are $10 for residents and $25 for nonresidents. The deadline to apply is July 5. Winners of the permit lottery will purchase resident hunting permits for $100 and nonresident hunting permits for $350. Hunters also will have the option to bid on five moose hunting permits in an auction to be announced later.

“Permit allocation numbers will not be finalized until a regulation is adopted this summer,” said Wildlife Division Director Mark Scott. “We are making the applications available now for hunters’ convenience. Hunters can look online at the proposed number of permits and Wildlife Management Units proposed to be open for moose hunting.”

The Fish and Wildlife Department has proposed 385 moose hunting permits for the regular October 20-25 moose season, and 50 permits for an archery moose season October 1-7.

The 2011 Vermont Moose Harvest Report with details on last year’s hunt, including the towns where moose were taken, is on Fish and Wildlife’s website. Look under “Hunting and Trapping” and then “Big Game.”

Hunter mistakes friend for turkey, shoots him — twice! | Michael Pearce’s Kansas Outdoors

By Michael Pearce

The law is pretty plain – spring turkey hunters can only shoot “a bearded bird.”

Rules of hunter safety are pretty plain – “always be sure of your target.”

Still, a Minnesota man somehow mistook his hunting partner for a turkey at the Milford Wildlife Area Friday morning and shot him – TWICE!

Terrance Spaeth told law enforcement officials he mistook Brian Hansen for a wild turkey because he was wearing camo. He shot him once, mistook his writhing buddy for a flopping turkey so he fired again.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Hunter mistakes friend for turkey, shoots him — twice! | Michael Pearce’s Kansas Outdoors | Wichita Eagle Blogs.

Nugent Acted Ethically in Alaska Bear Hunt, If Not Legally | Alaska Dispatch

By Craig Medred

Who knows how many lies Ted Nugent has now told in relation to the Southeast Alaska bear hunt that got him in trouble with the law, but it’s time someone rises in his defense on the subject of hunting ethics. On that one subject, too much is being said by too many who know nothing about hunting, and much of it is unfair to Nugent.

Let us start with the comments of an Anchorage newspaper columnist — a perky, young, city woman — who wouldn’t know a .375-caliber H&H rifle from a .243-caliber, and thus doesn’t possess a clue as to why one one them is bad for hunting bears. She hints that Nugent, who got in trouble for wounding one Southeast bear and then killing another, might, in fact, have killed two bears.

“The extent of its (the first bear’s) injuries is unclear,” she writes.

Well, if one believes the videotape of the hunt and an account of the hunt Nugent wrote for a publication called “Texas Fish & Game” immediately after the hunt (and there is no reason to disbelieve either), the extent of the injuries to the bear are actually pretty clear. Here’s what Nugent wrote happened after a search for the bear ended when a blood-trail quickly dried up, a sign the animal had stopped bleeding.

“Deciding to gather reinforcements back at the Eldorado (boat), we played the tape (of the shooting) on the HD big screen and stopped the frame when the arrow struck. What we saw shocked everybody, for the arrow did indeed hit perfectly—but upon impact, the nearly horizontal arrow abruptly turned near vertical and instead of penetrating the ribcage, sliced just under the skin following the contour of the ribcage, exiting on the outside of the ribs on the same side it hit. Phenomenal. My tree stand was quite high, and the angle of the shot rather acute, thereby allowing the broadhead to slide down the rib instead of blasting through it.”

This sort of thing is not uncommon. It can happen almost as easily with a bullet as with an arrow, and in cases such as that described in detail by Nugent the injuries to the animal are not fatal. In this case, the bear suffered an arrow cut along its flank. In the world of bears, it was tantamount to a paper cut on a human. Others who have seen the videotape to which Nugent refers confirm the story he tells. There is no doubt on the part of anyone who knows anything about hunting that the bear survived.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Nugent Acted Ethically in Alaska Bear Hunt, If Not Legally | Alaska Dispatch.

Get Your Spinning Reel Back In Shape Quickly

FRANKFORT, Ky. – A group of old friends of mine gets together every spring for a fishing trip in March or April, usually to Kentucky Lake. After our first day of fishing on our recent trip, one of the friends asked for help with a balky spinning reel.

The handle was “loosey-goosey,” along with a floppy rotor that holds the reel bail assembly. He considered retiring this reel for a new one, but a few minutes of work made the reel sing like new.

Spinning reel handles loosen with use, especially if you catch a lot of fish. The screw holding the handle in place backed off a little over time and made the handle wobbly. The screw lies opposite the side of the handle, under a threaded cap that keeps water and grime out of the handle assembly and reel. On some reels, especially Shimanos, the screw holding the handle in place is embedded in the threaded cap. Periodically tighten this screw or the threaded cap.

The loose rotor that holds the reel bail assembly took a few minutes to fix. The culprit was a loose nut on the bottom of the spool shaft. Loosen the drag on the front of the reel spool continually until the drag assembly comes off the spool shaft. Then, pull the spool off the shaft. The nut at the bottom of the spool shaft keeps the rotor tight. This nut often loosens, especially when playing large fish.

Use an open-end or crescent wrench to tighten this nut, although pliers will suffice in a pinch. Some reel models have a screw in the rotor to keep this nut in place, but the screw can loosen over time along with the nut. Make sure to lightly oil the spool shaft before replacing the spool.

Problems such as these often arise after the first couple fishing trips of the year. After a long winter, a spinning reel can sometimes feel like the Sandman used the reel last fall. It feels gritty and sluggish when you turn the reel handle. A catch can develop that ruins a rhythmic retrieve.

Reel grease and reel oil applied in the correct places will fix these problems. An old egg carton makes a great holder for reel parts removed for maintenance. Nothing is as frustrating as trying to find a tiny screw in berber carpet.

In the last decade or so, some new reel oils and greases entered the market that form a molecular bond with the metals they contact. I highly recommend these new high tech lubricants as they make on old reel feel like it just came from the box. However, they cost twice as much as traditional reel oil and grease. Don’t use cheap household oil as it thickens and hardens much quicker than reel oil.

The first thing to do is remove the spool. Clean the spool shaft and the inside bottom of the spool with a cotton rag or oiled ear swab. Apply a light coat of reel oil to the spool shaft. Some reels have a small bearing assembly on the bottom of the spool that goes around the spool shaft. Apply oil to this bearing.

Don’t forget to apply a few drops of oil to the roller bearing on the bail that lays line on the spool. Also lubricate where the bail arm meets the rotor housing.

Remove the handle to access the screws on the slide plate of the reel. Remove these small screws with gentle pressure as they easily strip. Make sure to note if the screws are of different length. Arrange them so you put the correct length screw in the correct hole when you reassemble the reel.

After I fixed the one reel for my friend recently, he asked me to oil another reel for him. I didn’t pay attention to the length of screws and put the longest screw in the wrong hole in the reel. The screw nearly poked out of the opposite side plate of the reel.

Some reels also have a decorative plate that covers part of the back of the reel. This plate is usually held in place with a tiny screw and usually covers one of the side plate screws. Be careful not to lose it. .

After removing the screws, gently pry the side plate from the reel and remove it. You will see the large main gear with a bearing assembly on top it. Remove this bearing and drop it in lighter fluid or rubbing alcohol to dissolve sludgy oil, grease and other gunk. Clean the main gear, the worm gear in the bottom of the reel and the drive gear in the front with an old tooth brush and hot soapy water. Allow to dry.

After drying, replace the bearing on top of the main gear and apply several drops of reel oil. Lightly grease the main gear, worm gear and drive gear. Don’t over grease these parts. Too much grease makes a reel sluggish and attracts sand, dirt and other particles. Remember to always oil bearings and grease gears.

Put the reel back together and place a few drops of oil on the handle shaft before replacing it.

Some people try to see how long they can use fishing line before they respool the reel. This isn’t a smart idea. Worn, sun-damaged, crinkly line will fail you when you need it most. Respool with fresh line several times a year and you’ll land the big fish when it strikes instead of breaking it off. This goes for monofilament and fluorocarbon lines. Braided lines last a long time.

Do these simple procedures and keep your old trusty reel working fine for many years.

How to tie a Palomar fishing knot | al.com

By Joe Songer – The Birmingham News

This week Michael Belcher, our fishing expert at Mark’s Outdoors, will show us how to tie a Palomar knot. I have learned a lot from Michael over the years and have gone to him with fishing and tackle questions when I’m stumped. Belcher will be a regular on Joe’s Outdoor Office.

This knot is good for all kinds of light fishing lines, especially braided fishing line used for tough cover fishing and the new Alabama rig. The Palomar knot retains almost all of the original line strength, even with monofilaments.  Click Link Below for Full Story!

via How to tie a Palomar fishing knot | al.com.

Cabela’s® Announces Wanna Go Fishing for Millions? Promotion

Sidney, Neb. (PRWEB) April 19, 2012

Cabela’s Incorporated, the World’s Foremost Outfitter® of hunting, fishing and outdoor gear, announced today Wanna Go Fishing for Millions?, a contest giving anglers a shot at up to $2 million in cash and more than $225,000 in additional prizes by catching tagged fish in select lakes across the United States. The competition begins May 5.

Cabela’s, Outdoor Channel, Wanna Go Fishing TV and Geico are tagging fish in lakes across 19 states – Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin – and every tagged fish caught will be a winner.

The premise is simple: catch specially tagged fish, and win prizes ranging from Cabela’s gift cards to boats to $2 million. Wanna Go Fishing for Millions? debuted in 2011.

“Wanna Go Fishing for Millions? is a great catch for many reasons,” said Cabela’s Chief Executive Officer Tommy Millner. “The heart of the competition is to promote fishing on local waters and encourage families to spend time together – with a chance, of course, to hook great prizes.”

In 2011, 143 winning fish were caught in Wanna Go Fishing for Millions?

One of the tagged fish could be worth $1 million. The grand prize will be doubled to $2 million for participants who are current users of the Cabela’s Fish Recon app or who download the Cabela’s Fish Recon app to their smartphone, sponsored by Geico.

Other prizes include two Ranger 520Z Bass Series Comanche boats and trailers with Evinrude outboard motors, valued at $65,000 each, as well as more than $20,000 in gear from Costa sunglasses, Abu Garcia and Rapala.

All rules and requirements, as well as contest details and registration information, can be found at the contest website, http://www.cabelas.com/fishformillions. Registration begins April 19 and participants must pre-register before fishing. Cabela’s will release the list of lakes before the promotion begins to those who pre-register. Winners of specific prizes will be announced after the promotion ends July 8.

Species to be tagged this year include largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, white bass, striped bass, perch, cutthroat trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, walleye, crappie, wiper, bluegill and channel catfish. Species will vary state-to-state.

About Cabela’s Incorporated

Cabela’s Incorporated, headquartered in Sidney, Nebraska, is a leading specialty retailer, and the world’s largest direct marketer, of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. Since the Company’s founding in 1961, Cabela’s® has grown to become one of the most well-known outdoor recreation brands in the world, and has long been recognized as the World’s Foremost Outfitter®. Through Cabela’s growing number of retail stores and its well-established direct business, it offers a wide and distinctive selection of high-quality outdoor products at competitive prices while providing superior customer service. Cabela’s also issues the Cabela’s CLUB® Visa credit card, which serves as its primary customer loyalty rewards program. Cabela’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CAB”.

A different way of hunting turkeys | battlecreekenquirer.com

By Tony Hansen

So you think you’ve got turkey hunting mastered.

You’ve tagged out every season for as long as you can remember and you’ve got a stack of beards and spurs to prove it.

Sure, turkeys are a challenge but you’ve grown a bit bored with the same old, same old season. Well here’s something to try: Put away the shotgun and try bowhunting them.

Bowhunting turkeys has grown in popularity to the degree that it’s almost hard to find a TV program anymore that shows killing turkeys the old-fashioned way – with a bang. Seems most celebrity hunters are now employing archery gear to tag longbeards. And it certainly does look fun.

I spent one season chasing longbeards with a bow – and one was enough. In my opinion, turkeys were meant to be shot in the face with pellets fired from a shotgun. But maybe that’s just me. If you’re looking to add a twist to your turkey season here’s a primer to get you started in bowhunting them.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via A different way of hunting turkeys | Battle Creek Enquirer | battlecreekenquirer.com.

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