January 2010 - Mississippi Sportsman

Legal battle begins over side-scan technology

January 30, 2010 From News Reports

Anglers were blown away when Humminbird introduced their Side Imaging sonar, and Lowrance customers joined the clammor last year when that company released its StructureScan Imaging module. Now the company’s are locked in a legal battle over the right to sell the innovative technology.

The parent company of Humminbird electronic has filed suit claiming competitor Lowrance infringed on the company’s patent for side-scan technology, according to a news release. […]

Extreme Bird Hunting

January 30, 2010 Rob Heflin

I can remember as a young boy, looking up from behind my push mower on a hot, sweaty, summer day to see a ted-tailed hawk soaring high overhead. The scream of the redtail seemed to be made in mockery, as if she was saying, “Ha ha, look at you down there in the dirt and I am up here soaring in the breeze.” […]

Anglers tax selves for fisheries’ benefit

January 30, 2010 Hal Schramm

Providing fishing opportunities costs money. Think about it. A launching ramp with a 3-acre parking lot and a road to it might cost $1 million. Modern hatcheries cost $10-20 million, maybe more. The new North Mississippi Hatchery cost $12 million. […]

Archusa has few folks, plenty bass

January 30, 2010 Paul Elias

February is a productive month to catch big pre-spawn bass in almost any Mississippi lake. To catch big bass, go where you can find those big bass and have the least amount of fishing pressure. […]

Try a light-goose close-out hunt

January 30, 2010 John J. Woods

It’s February. You’re sick of deer hunting. Your rabbit dogs are dead tired. The woods are too wet to squirrel hunt. Turkey hunting is more than a month away. It is way too cold to fish — besides the bass boat is still in storage. […]

Roll the dice for speckled trout in February

January 30, 2010 John E. Phillips

Capt. Robert Brodie with Team Brodie Charters, who has his boat based at Biloxi’s D’Iberville Marina, says you can find the big speckled trout in the coastal rivers and other species around the rivers during February. […]

Cold crappie won’t hit crankbaits?

January 30, 2010 Paul Johnson

Let me tell you from first-hand experience the winter crappie pattern is on over at Chotard. Seems that every winter season on this beautiful, hidden-away crappie paradise located north of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, there is a day or two where the fishing is so outstanding that it is hard to describe. […]

At a time not long ago, today’s technology was unimaginable

January 30, 2010 Allan Tarvid

Back in the 1970s, there was so much standing timber in legendary southern fishing lakes like Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border that about the only way to get around on them was following boat lanes cut through the trees. […]

Cover: February 2010

January 30, 2010 Mississippi Sportsman

Sure it’s cold, but the crappie action isn’t. This is the month when things really get rolling. […]

A Little Bit Sideways

January 29, 2010 Phillip Gentry

The brightly colored floats dipped and bobbed in the bright winter sun, but gave no indication of the scene that was unfolding below the surface of the water. […]

Deer Dynamics: Post-Rut

January 29, 2010 Tommy Kirkland

Exhaustion sets in, forcing the battle-scarred buck to seek refuge. An eye is wounded, and missing fur and cuts prevail all around its face and neck. Finally, the worn buck returns to an old bedding site. Here it beds down, and within minutes, the whitetail knocks out. […]

Okatibbee’s Top 10

January 29, 2010 Michael O. Giles

FLW tournament angler Ken Murphy was idling across Okatibbee Lake on a bluebird day after a cold front, quickly assessed the situation and made a run for the dam. […]