Scout Smarter for Turkey Season Success Pro Alex Rutlege reveals his pre-season back of tricks By Lance Davidson Most turkey hunters like getting out in the field to patch together the pieces of the puzzle that will help them bag a bird once the redbuds start to bloom. Serious turkey hunters, however, see scouting as much more than an enjoyable way of shaking off late winter’s cabin fever. For the folks whose season plans involve numerous hunts in multiple states, scouting is mission critical to getting birds down early so they can move on to the next hunt. “Success in any hunt comes down to scouting,” says Tenzing Outdoors pro and host of Bloodline TV and Radio, Alex Rutledge. The Birch Tree, Missouri native’s 30 plus years of workmanlike hunting experience have ... [ Read More ]
Stick to the Plan – Turkey Hunting
I love to turkey hunt, but I can’t sit still, so at times it’s a real challenge. When I first started turkey hunting, I’d hunt in the same spot, nice and still until about nine o’clock and then head home. On the way home, I’d see toms strutting everywhere and I soon realized I was doing something wrong. Since then I have developed a solid plan that works for me. I hunt in phases. Each phase is a time of the day that corresponds to certain turkey behaviors. I hate wearing a watch, but when I am hunting with my plan, I use the clock on my cellphone to keep me on track and keep me disciplined. When I am bored stiff hunting, time seems to move really slowly, the clock keeps me honest. I also bring plenty of food and water, in case the plan takes a while to work. When I turkey hunt- I like to ... [ Read More ]
Nuclear Ant Dare to Drop a Nuclear Bomb
Supercharged Nuclear Ant leaves mushroom clouds during last ice - Ice Fishing Mayhem Swirl. Whirl. Slurp and munch. Fish are frantically siphoning food from the flow. The bite? Fast and furious. After all… it is last ice. The sun’s high and bright, and its intense rays are literally liquefying the layer of snow right out from underneath your boot’s cleats. The melt-off’s draw from the still-frozen surface is flowing down through your hole, as well pouring in from the surrounding springs and streams. Within the runoff, miniature morsels of food have been lying in a frozen state since the water first solidified. It’s the time of year when panfish of all species are treading high in the water column; their dorsal fins literally tickling the lake’s soon-to-be-departed icy shell. The ... [ Read More ]
What Lies Beneath Discovering Hidden Hotspots on Ice
Right now, there’s a hidden hot spot in your favorite lake, and most years it never gets touched. “There’s this lake I’ve fished my whole life,” says legendary ice angler and guide, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. “Thought I knew it pretty well. Then several years ago, I ran the entire basin in a boat armed with Side Imaging. What an eye-opener. Discovered a sweet spot that had likely been untapped for decades, maybe longer. It was just filthy with crappies and big sunfish. Still is.” The truth, Bro says, is that every waterbody in the Ice Belt has secrets to share, if only anglers will “listen.” Whether it’s a reservoir in the Rocky Mountains or Dakotas, a pond in Pennsylvania or a big lake in Minnesota or Michigan, the surface conceals an assortment of unusual fish attractors—submerged ... [ Read More ]
Hop, Drop and Troll For The Best Minnesota Slab Crappies – Ice Fishing
It’s no secret. Big water grows big crappies. The large, deep lakes of Minnesota have an abundance of forage and more places for crappies to hide, feed and grow. Find a big lake with relatively low angling pressure, and you’ve set the stage for potentially epic slab crappie fishing. But you’ve got to find them before you can catch them. Anglers who do a little research, drill enough holes, stay mobile and fish speedy baits will be rewarded with success. Seasonal Crappie Movements In smaller, shallower lakes, crappies are typically located and caught throughout much of the winter season over main-lake basins. In large, deep lakes, however, they tend to avoid the deepest areas and use flats, humps and basins ranging from 20 to 40 feet deep. But crappies ... [ Read More ]
Sight Fishing – Get In On The Excitement!
Sight fishing is nothing new to ice anglers. Sight fishing is a staring contest between you and the fish. Here we are, sitting above a hole cut in the ice staring at a wary bluegill, just waiting for it to take our tiny offering. This is as real as it gets. Everything is real time and what you see is what you get, there is no guessing. There is just something magical about actually watching a fish take your jig. “Now you see it, now you don’t.” You have to love that expression when sight fishing, because it’s so true. Panfish are notorious for inhaling and exhaling tiny morsels in a split second. Your helpless jig is now in the realm of the bluegill and its fate is entirely up to that plate sized trophy. You sit intently waiting for a reaction from the flutter below. You hold your breath ... [ Read More ]
Tungsten Jigs: The Answer To Finessing Aggressive Panfish
Excuse me? Finessing an aggressive fish, huh? I suppose you’re wondering what that even means and why I’m titling this article in a manner that would contradict itself. Well, believe it or not, even aggressive-natured fish need a little coaxing at times. So just how do we identify the aggressive fish that need to be teased with finesse applications? That’s a very fair question. I look to my Vexilar flasher. It’s amazing what your electronics will tell you. You can see when fish crash the bait only to halt upon impact, moments before striking. This tells me we’re dealing with aggressive-natured fish, but the offering didn’t seal the deal. Sometimes it’s because the bait is too large, not the right action, looks awkward, it could be a number of things. Me, I turn on my finessing aggressive ... [ Read More ]
Ice fishing structure to find Walleye
A mistake I have made in the past when ice fishing structure deep is relying too much on the contour line on the map charts. What is more important than any contour is the transition between one type of bottom structure and another. This could be an edge where gravel meets mud, or where large boulders transition to smaller rock. By midwinter on many bodies of water, walleye location can often trend towards offshore structure and, in many cases, deep structure. With the advent of map chips, more anglers are discovering and fishing these locations. This edge is often where it is at for finding offshore walleye. Sometimes the transition lines up with a contour, but so often it does not. When it does not, you end up focusing your attention on the wrong contours and miss the mark. For ... [ Read More ]
Minnesota Deer Hunting Opener
Minnesota Deer Hunting Community - If You want to talk or get more info - Click Here please: The Minnesota deer hunting opener has hunters ready and eager to head out to the fields and forests for the firearms deer opener that gets underway a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday, Nov. 7. Here are some other reminders from the DNR for the Minnesota firearms deer season: Be sure to review new deer hunting regulations, permit area designations and boundary changes. Find this and more deer hunting information from the DNR. With nearly 500,000 firearms deer hunters in the state, the DNR encourages hunters to purchase a license early to avoid long lines and any potential system issues associated with the high sales volume. License agents where you can buy a license are located across ... [ Read More ]
Where Are Those Ring Necked Pheasants?
Ring-necked pheasants were first imported to America in 1881 from China, and they have since become among the hottest upland game birds of Minnesota. It's a grassland-dependent species mostly found in rural areas near grain harvests and grassy fields, like corn. Ring Necked pheasants can survive a comparatively broad variety of temperature conditions and eat grain, weed seeds and insects. Basic description Span: 20 to 36 inches, including the tail variability. Sounds: Ring necked pheasant roosters crow loudest in summer and springtime, particularly at twilight and dawn. Loud, fast beating of the wings that can be in the field generally follows a rooster's crow. Roosters additionally frequently cackle when they fly. Reproduction: Pheasants start mating in May and April. Hens lay ... [ Read More ]