June 2017

Fishing

Seat of your pants sonar

June 22, 2017 Allan Tarvid

Sonar fishfinders have always helped us find fish and fish-holding structure, but helping us precisely target fish has been another story. Early on,bulb-type flashers supported vertical jigging. You dropped your lure and watched its flash move down to a flash marking a fish and then, hopefully, all you had to do was set the hook. The problem was that not all the nearby fish were directly under our boats — not even all the fish we saw on our screens. Some were at the outside edge of the cone of sound generated by our transducers and we couldn’t tell if they were to our left or right or off our bow or transom.

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Bass Fishing

Slow up for the blow up

June 15, 2017 David A. Brown

Frog fishing, like all topwater tactics, rewards diligent casting with that pulse-pounding surface assault. Whether it’s a walking frog or a popper, we watch that steady motion like a birddog on point, hoping with clinched jaw and held breath that the next movement of that plastic nose will detonate the explosive charge. […]

Deer Hunting

More jawbone talk

June 12, 2017 Bill Garbo

In recent installments of Happy Trails we have kicked around various aspects of both the science and art of aging whitetails on and off “the hoof.” Most deer hunters want to become as proficient as possible at estimating deer age BEFORE pulling the trigger, but it is equally important to either confirm or revise your eyeball estimate after the kill. […]

Bass Fishing

Lake Okhissa for June bass

June 8, 2017 Paul Elias

I’ll choose 1,075 acre Lake Okhissa near Bude, Mississippi, for June bass fishing. A Bill Dance Signature Lake in the Homochitto National Forest, Okhissa is deep and clear with plenty of hydrilla and dollar pads. The bass will be on their summer pattern, so I’ll be fishing a frog pattern and a flipping and pitching pattern. […]

Bass Fishing

Pro-Grade Frog Tips

June 1, 2017 David A. Brown

You’d almost think this thing was a CIA operative, what with all the different identities, abilities and serious armament. At the risk of stretching a not-so-subtle Jason Bourne reference too far, let’s just say that the topwater frog is one deadly asset for just about anytime but the depths of winter and whenever fish hug deep structure. […]