Catch the Right Fish, and Go to BASS PRO on the IDNR!

Do you like to bass fish in Indiana?  Do you like to buy new hunting and fishing gear at Bass Pro Shops? In the next few months, catching the right bass may get you some spending money at Bass Pro.

During the late summer and early fall of 2013, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will tag and release 500 legal size black bass in central and northern Indiana streams and rivers. They'll be releasing largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass in hopes of patterning their travels from these streams. Studying these patterns will improve their management of these species in Indiana waters.

I think even hooking a tagged fish alone would be pretty cool, but it gets better, the IDNR has added a reward to turning in the tags when the fish are caught.  Each tag will be a different monetary value, but all will be gift cards to Bass Pro Shops. The tags will be $5, $10, and $25, but in order to received the gift cards, the angler must call and turn in the tags.  Each tag has a phone number that the anglers will call to tell the IDNR where they caught the fish, if they're keeping or releasing the fish, date caught, tag#, and length of the fish.  When this process is over, the DNR will coordinate getting their tag, and hooking the angler up with their gift card.

Doesn't sound like too bad of a deal, and it may end up that you're getting paid to fish! The next question is where should you target these tagged fish?  The IDNR is planning to release the fish in the West Fork White River (Hamilton, Marion, and Madison Counties), St. Joseph River (St. Joseph and Elkhart Counties), and the Eel River (Wabash, Miami, and Cass Counties). Again, these fish will be released in late summer and early fall. Get your spinnerbaits, shad raps, and shakeyheads ready, cause it's about time you get paid to catch fish! 

If you catch one of these bad boys, send a picture of you with the tagged fish to willowpineoutdoors@gmail.com, and I'll send you a free Rapala crank bait. 

Set the Damn Hook! - Plus Free IN Fishing Day May 18th

As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my Grandpa on his bass boat. I would always man the back seat, and grandpa would be in the front running the foot-mounted trolling motor.  The boat was a 1980s AstroGlass bass boat, with a GIANT Mercury motor that I sometimes pretended to be a Transformer, ready to take over the world. Reminiscing a bit, I remember when I would get tired, or just needed a break; I’d just man the live well, opening it for Grandpa to toss in the keeper fish. It seemed like every fish he caught was a keeper.  Whether we were bluegill fishing, bass fishing, or trolling weed edges for whatever would bite, it didn’t matter because I was fishing with Grandpa, and there weren’t many better days than those. To me, Grandpa was the best, and I’d always hoped to be half the fisherman he was. Some of my best memories are from the back of that old AstroGlass boat, and to this day I wish I could go back to relive those moments with him.

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One of the most important lessons that I still use to this day is Grandpa very sternly telling me to “Set the DAMN hook!”  I remember I would see my bobber bounce, and I’d just start reeling in without setting the hook.  It would drive my Grandpa nuts when I did that, but now I can sit back and laugh at his phrase as I have spent time with kids who are just learning the art of setting the hook.  However, back then I didn’t understand what “setting the hook” was, and each time I’d get a bite, I’d just hope that my hook would set itself, and I could avoid the “SET THE DAMN HOOK” routine Grandpa would give me.

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Well, one day Grandpa and I were out fishing on Lake Hamlin in Ludington, MI.  We had caught a few, but we needed a few more. The bite slowed down, and I began my million question marathon. As he was answering some unimportant question I asked, his bobber began to bounce. I thought that maybe I could learn what setting the hook was by watching his routine after getting a bite.  His bobber bounced again, and he slowly started to reel in the slack of his line…. was that setting the hook? Surely not, cause I do that already.  It wasn’t seconds later that his bobber disappeared with a PLUMP under the water. With a swift and quick yank of the rod straight up, he was reeling in a nice fat bluegill. My jaw dropped and then I knew what setting the hook was! It was nothing more than that quick yank of the rod tip that set the hook into the fish’s mouth…. DUH! I remember thinking that I’ve got this now, and I’ll never miss a fish again!  Much to my surprise, there was more to setting the hook than a quick yank, so my goal each trip was to get better at setting the hook.  Even after learning how to set the hook, I’d still get the “SET THE DAMN HOOK” statement when I wouldn’t do it hard enough, or if I simply forgot.

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I eventually got it down pretty good, and sometimes too well. Still to this day, I’ll have a small bluegill nibbling on my beemoth, and right when the bobber goes under I’m setting the hook with full intensity.  Sometimes too hard, this leads to bobber, hook, weight, and beemoth soaring out of the water towards my head like a missile.  It seemed finding that middle ground of setting the hook just right was quite the task, and an art that my Grandpa had down pat.  Over the years I’ve grown quite a bit, and still almost every fishing trip I take I find myself dodging that rocketing bobber, hook, weight, and beemoth. However most of the time I get the hook set just right. I believe that my Grandpa would be proud to fish next to me nowadays, and I hope that as I grow old, I’ll have a Grandkid who I can teach to SET THE DAMN HOOK!

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This Saturday May 18, 2013, the IDNR is hosting the Free Fishing Day for Indiana residents. Anyone can fish the Indiana public waters without having to buy the Indiana fishing license.  Take advantage of this day, and get your grandkid, kid, or someone else’s youngin’ out on the water and teach them to set the hook.  Good luck! 

Other upcoming Free Fishing Days include June 1 & 2, 2013. For more information on IDNR Free Fishing Days click on the following link....IDNR - Free Fishing Info.

By: Joey W. Buttram

Ducks Unlimited Photo Contest

Ducks Unlimited concluded their yearly photo contest.  You can check out the winners, runner ups, and honorable mention photographs by clicking 2013 DU Photo Contest.

Here a few honorable mentions that I thought deserved some spotlight time.

If you're not already a member of Ducks Unlimited, check them out at Ducks.org. They do a lot of incredible things for duck habitat, conservation, and hunting. For only $30 a year you'll receive their killer Ducks Unlimited magazine, online member only benefits, window decals, and usually a pretty awesome bonus gift that's worth $30 by itself. If you're a duck hunter, you have no excuses not to join!

Turkey Harvest 2013

Two Fisherman Die After Boat Capsizes on Patoka Lake - Boat Safety

Two fisherman lost their lives on Saturday after their boat capsized on Crawford County's Patoka Lake. The anglers were taking part in a fishing tournament when the boat capsized and sank. Officials and DNR diving teams are still investigating how the boat turned over. With cold water temps and nearly 8,000 acres of open water, help was nowhere to be found. Our thoughts are with the families of these two fisherman.

 As a fisherman and duck hunter, boat safety is of high concern. I too have used up one of my 9 lives after capsizing my boat on the White River during a December duck hunt in 2008. Luckily, my partner and I made it home that night, but things could have easily gone the other direction. I've put together a list of the 5 safety tips that I stick to each time I hit the water.

  Being out on the lake is a ton of fun, and for people like me it's a way of life. However, there are times when it can be dangerous also. Take your time, have a clear head, be aware of your surroundings, and most of all catch some fish!

High Fence Trophy Hunting, and the Dangers it Poses on Our Sport and State

Dangers of Canned Hunting from Indiana Wildlife on Vimeo.

This video, produced by the National Wildlife Federation, explains some of the issues raised by commercialized, or canned, deer and elk hunting. Not only is canned hunting unethical, but also it spreads disease among the contained animal populations, which they transmit to wild herds as well.

Recently in Indiana, the Board of Animal Health found tuberculosis among several captive cervid herds. It is time to put an end to canned hunting for wildlife's sake, and for the sake of all outdoors enthusiasts.

Visit www.indianawildlife.org for more information about Indiana's conservation issues.

Possible Record Non-Typical Harvested in Indiana

The Boone and Crockett Club received a score sheet on Wednesday for an Indiana whitetail buck taken during the November 2012 firearms deer season. We haven't been giving the hunter's name, but we can say with fair certainty that it was harvested in Huntington County, IN.  If the measurements pan out, the buck will be the largest recorded, hunter taken, non-typical whitetail buck ever harvested.  The measurements add up to be around 309 7/8''.  The current record holder is that of Tony W. Lovstuen in Monroe County, Iowa.  The Lovstuen buck was measured at 307 5/8''.  

We're still waiting for to hear the official ruling by Boone & Crockett officials.  They're currently not commenting until everything is finalized. The video events of the measuring, along with the official ruling, is expected to be released in the coming days. 

As well as harvested deer, Boone & Crockett records "found" animals that have died naturally.  This is why the Indiana buck is the Non-Typical, "Hunter Harvested" record buck, and not just the record in general.  The record Found buck measured in at 333 7/8'', and was found dead in Missouri over 30 years ago. 

The Boone & Crockett club was founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887. The organization has done many great things for hunters and hunting since its founding. These things include conservation projects, habitat management and restoration, and ensuring for the future of hunting.  B&C also is the worlds authority on measurement and record book animals. The process to measure a deer is not an easy job, and can take an extensive amount of time and focus.   The shorthand way of explaining the measurement process is that the judges measure each inch of the animals antlers.  Therefore the buck in question has 309 7/8'' of antler on top of his head.   

Check back for the official results, and more info regarding this scoring process.  It'll be interesting to see what this does for Indiana hunting, and it's growing popularity as a big buck state. Check out what other Hoosier hunters have to say about this deer, and Indiana hunting in general at Hunting-Indiana.com.

Visit the Boone & Crockett website to learn more about record book animals, and the measurement process.