Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

WEBSTER, S.D. — Our plan was to hit two lakes a day and take full advantage of the variety of fishing to be found in the Glacial Lakes area of northeastern South Dakota.

Mother Nature threw us a curve, however, and rather than fight 25 to 30 mile-an-hour winds, we fished mornings and motored off the water pounding against a spray of white caps each afternoon.

The first morning was the worst.

A south wind was blasting at 20 miles an hour by 10 a.m. We parked at the boat ramp on Reetz Lake, just south of Webster.

“We won’t last long, out there,” I said to Fran. “We might be able to get out of the wind along that west shoreline.”

I had not planned to fish Reetz. Less than a month earlier I had fished it and caught several walleyes over 20 inches there. But, with the wind I thought our chances were better here on a lake where all walleyes under 28-inches have to be released.

We lasted about an hour and a half and boated two nice walleyes on bottom bouncers and spinners fished in 12 to 14 feet of water.

The rest of the afternoon we spend prospecting other lakes and checking out boat ramps for the next day.

With the wind forecast to blow again, we launched the next morning on Enemy Swim Lake, long one of the northeast’s glacial gems.

It’s a beautiful lake. Clear water, wooded shorelines and a couple of islands. It’s 2,150 acres with a maximum depth of 24 feet. All bass between 14 and 18 inches must be released with only one over 18 allowed in the daily bag. That just about guarantees good bass fishing and that is just what we found.

We started on one of the main lake points casting crankbaits and spinnerbaits in water nine feet and less, but never brought up a bass. We moved deeper on the same point and switched to bottom bouncers and spinners with crawlers.

Again, nothing. Only perch.

We left that spot and headed for a small rocky island nearby and that’s where we found the bass.

Smallies were laying in the shallow, boulder-studded water and were more than willing to take our Big O crankbaits.

We worked through that area and moved down towards some pencil reeds and banged the biggest of several largemouth we took that day.

We fished some other good spots and then, tired of casting, we put on slip bobbers and began looking for bluegills adjacent to pencil reed flats.

We found some nice ones, but surprise, surprise, we also found more smallmouth.

Tucked into heavy coontail growths, the smallies smacked our worm-baited hooks just as willingly as the bluegills and I was soon casting a shallow diver crankbait and taking them on that, too.

We were able to hide from the 20 mph west wind and play with these weed fish until late afternoon.

We pounded through the surf back to the boat ramp and over dinner that evening planned our next day.

Crappies had been biting well on Pickeral Lake, a 981-acre lake just a couple miles north of Enemy Swim. Although the bite had faded from what it once was, we decided to go there. It was, afterall, on our list of lakes to fish on this wind-plagued trip.

The next morning found us leaving the boat ramp in a stiff breeze out of the northwest. I had no idea where the crappies might be, but I suspected there would be some along deep water weedlines or maybe others suspended over deep water.

We found a long, underwater point on the west side at the south end of the lake.

We started out drifting one-eighth-ounce Road Runner jigs tipped with a crawler fished under a 1/16-ounce mini jig tied about 18 inches above the Road Runner.

We found the crappies grouped on an inside bend at the very tip of the bar, but it was tough to hold on the area in the ever-increasing wind. Bottom bouncers and spinners worked as well. We caught perch, crappies, bluegill walleye and smallmouth on that point, but as the wind grew our enthusiasm dimmed.

“We’ll come back again,” we decided. “Maybe the wind won’t blow.”

(But I wouldn’t count on it.)

These three bands will bring the total to nine nationally recognized entertainment groups to perform at the Redlin Art Center in seven years! The Redlin family and the Redlin Art Center began a tradition of a summer concert celebration with an outdoor concert by Mannheim Steamroller in 2004. Since then, each August, thousands of visitors have enjoyed concerts by Lee Greenwood, Ronnie Milsap, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, The Oak Ridge Boys and Sawyer Brown!

The Redlin Art Center strives to make the event bigger and better for the community and those who travel to the event from surrounding states. The Redlin Art Center is honored to have another opportunity in 2010 to bring entertainers of this caliber to Watertown. With the combined efforts of the Redlin Art Center, the Redlin Art Center’s event partner, Home Federal Bank, and sponsors Schwan Financial Group and the Watertown Bid Improvement District, the event in 2010 is sure to be the best ever!

Mark your calendars today! You won’t want to miss this exciting event at the Redlin Art Center in Watertown, South Dakota on Saturday, August 7th, 2010!

Black Hawk                    Little Texas                        Restless Heart

Jim Spies fills a position previously held by Tim Kessler of Aberdeen.

“I am pleased that Jim Spies has agreed to serve as a member of the Game, Fish and Parks Commission,” said Gov. Rounds.   “Jim loves the outdoors and clearly understands and desires to improve our quality of life.  His business background is also of great value as the Commission makes future decisions regarding our parks and recreational facilities.”

“I look forward to the challenge,” said Jim Spies.

Mr. Spies is a member of the Dallas Safari Club, the Safari Club International, Ducks Unlimited, and the Wild Sheep Foundation, along with many other memberships.

Jim Spies is the President of Spies Corporation.  He and his wife, Francene, have two sons, Joshua and Ben.

WEBSTER, S.D. — It was early morning, but there was no sunrise.

We sat in the parking lot at the boat ramp on Bitter Lake, my boat still on the trailer.

Across the western horizon an angry mass of blue clouds hung like a curtain, and sharp streaks of lightening occasionally ripped across its dark tapestry. So far, the rain was light and most of it would move north, but we waited.

It was afternoon before we felt safe enough to venture out. Les Rowland, a local, and longtime friend, had joined Gary Howey, Kyle Nickolite and me for this morning adventure.

We dragged bottom bouncers and spinners across a sunken bar and I took a 17-inch walleye right off the bat. But, that was it.

We fished three more hours without a bite.

Would tomorrow be any better?

It was.

No rain greeted us the next morning and we launched the boat on Reetz Lake just south of town. It’s a small lake with restrictive walleye limits. In fact, only one walleye over 28 inches may be kept.

That means there is a lot of walleyes in the lake, and we gambled that high numbers would result in more fish in the boat, but not the livewell.

We were right.

We started banging good walleyes right off the end of a cut bank on the west side. I could see the fish on the depth finder between 12 and 14 feet, lying right on the bottom. We caught a couple, but it wasn’t until the wind came up sending two footers into the shoreline that the real action began.

We quit at noon after boating a bunch of walleyes from three to five pounds on spinners and crawlers. We also bagged a couple smallmouth and big perch.

Forty-nine teams from South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa competed in this one-day event.

There would be a 90% payback on the tournament with cash & prizes going ton the top five teams as well as a big fish prize.

In the tournament, each team was allowed to weigh in five fish, with the heaviest weight deciding the winner.

As the boats sped out across the lake at 7:00 am, weather conditions were predicted to be partly sunny with the wind picking up throughout the day.

Teams were spread out across the lake from the dam up into the river, all hoping they’d be able to locate the big fish that would win the tournament for them.

Crankbaits seemed to be what most teams were using with some of the teams along the shorelines and breaks giving livebait a try.

Weather conditions changed throughout the day with a cloudbank and gusty winds moved in about half way through the tournament, forcing some of the anglers to change their tactics.

Final weigh in was scheduled for 3:00 pm and as the contents brought their bags to the scale, it appeared that an average weight of 3 pounds per fish would be needed to win this tournament.

The Gause team from Tabor, SD took top honors with five fish weighing 11.55 pounds.

In second place was the team of Chris Happe, Yankton, S.D. and Brent Barta, Volin, S.D. with 10.8 pounds.

The third place team of Nathan and Haylie Braaten, Yankton, S.D. came to the scales with 10.55 pounds.

Curt and Ashley Oliver, Yankton, S.D. had 10.30 pounds putting them in 4th Place.

Rounding out the winners was the fifth place team of James Wiener and Taylor Portilli, Yankton, SD with 9.7 pounds.

The big fish of the tournament was 5.5-pound fish caught by the Korleski team from Tea, S.D. and Ireton, IA.

Over 100 fish were weighed in during the tournament with eleven of the forty-nine teams having their five fish limit at weigh in.

Plans are to make this an annual event with information on next year’s classic to be announced later this year.

YANKTON, S.D. — Scott Madison, who heads up River City Guide Service at Lewis and Clark Lake, was gassing up his big Lund when I pulled into Captain Norm’s just below the Gavin’s Point Dam at 6 a.m. last week.

Lewis and Clark Lake, the past few years has quietly assumed the position of one of the Missouri River’s best walleye fishing reservoirs.

The reservoir is the only one on the system that has a 15-inch minimum with no slot limit.

Madison says walleyes ranging from 20 to 24 inches are very common and in the fall of 2009 many fish in the eight to 12 pound range were caught and released.

But fishing is no sure thing, even on the best of lakes. This day we caught many, many fish but the bigger ones eluded us. However, the small fish are a good indicator of things to come.

The weather had been very unstable the three days prior to our arrival and that, I’m sure, contributed to our lack of success on larger fish.

We trolled six rods all armed with crankbaits and worked over a dozen spots, which had provided good fishing in the past. We marked very few baitfish or walleyes on the electronics.

The walleye bite on Lewis and Clark Lake is usually a shallow one this time of year, but the weather, I’m guessing, had sent the fish into the deeper channel.

We caught lots of white bass, for which this reservoir is also famous. It is also one of the best lakes around for smallmouth, but we didn’t try for them.

Scott and his partner Steve Gross guide anglers on full day or half-day trips both above the dam in the lake or below the dam in the tailrace.

For more information about their guide service, call Scott at (605) 665-1688 or cell 760-3646 or check out Captain Norm’s web site at www.captainnorms.com. Captain Norm’s site also offers a fishing report.

The 7th annual Northeast Nebraska Whitetails Unlimited banquet was held Friday March 19th at the Wausa Fire Hall.

Whitetails Unlimited (www.whitetailsunlimited.com) is a national conservation organization promoting deer hunting and other outdoor activities, which headquartered out of Sturgeon Bay, WI. established in 1982 with over 100,000 members.

Approximately 425 people attended this year’s event where attendees had the opportunity to win numerous prizes including 40 guns and bows.

WTU banquets are family orientated events aimed at involving the entire family.

Our youth are very important to WTU, as they are the future of deer hunting and all outdoor sports.

Because of this, there are special promotions and contest held at the banquet designed especially for the youth.

WTU offers its members an avenue to raise funds to support common interests such as preserving the hunting tradition and educating the public on the importance of conserving our natural resources

At this years event, $48,000.00 was raised, much of which will remain in the area, being used for conservation and youth programs.

Funds raised from these WTU events, one half of which stays locally, is donated to numerous area activities.

In 2009 the Northeast Nebraska WTU donated  $20,906.00 to conservation related activities. Included in these were; donations to area schools, 4-H groups, hunter’s education, handicap hunters programs, archery clubs, area communities, conservation organizations and for state game & park projects.

Nationally, WTU has expended over $49.7 million d on projects which include: college scholarships, assistance to wildlife agencies, research, habitat enhancement, public education, hunter safety, anti-poaching measures as well as cooperative projects with other conservation organization

Chris Carlson, Wausa, NE. has handled the duties as the President of the Northeast Nebraska WTU since its inception seven years ago

The Northeast Nebraska WTU has 386 members from throughout Northeast Nebraska.

Northeast Nebraska Whitetails offers two $250.00 scholarships for those interested in going into an outdoor conservation related program in college.

Applications for these scholarship are due by April 15th and can be obtained by contacting N.E. Nebraska WTU President Chris Carlson @ the number listed below.

There are currently six WTU chapters in our area, those being Wausa, Emerson, Norfolk, In Nebraska, Yankton, SD and Anton, IA.

For more information on becoming part of the Northeast Nebraska WTU you can contact Chris Carlson, Wausa at 402-640-7053.

The most important of these is knowing the area the birds are using.

In order to find out this information, it will require pre season scouting as this allows you to have a plan put together ahead of time, so you’ll know the who, what, when and where before opening day.

By doing your pre-season scouting you’ll be able to figure out the bird patterns, where they’re roosting, where they’re coming out of the roost, their travel routes to and from feeding areas and how they get back to their roost just before dark.

Don’t make the mistake that some spring hunters do and use a turkey call while doing your scouting.

Once a bird hears the hen call, he may come running in and catch you out in the open, which is a good way to educate the bird.

When scouting, use a call that makes the Tom gobble, but not come your direction.

You’ll want to use a call that will cause the bird to shock gobble as these loud calls startle or shock the bird causing it to gobble.

Good shock calls can be a predator, owl or crow call as these are sounds that the birds have heard before that won’t make them come running in your direction.

These calls can be used during pre-season scouting and during the regular season.

Locating the tree the birds are using as a roost will be a big help, giving you a place to start on opening morning.

Roost trees are generally some of the tallest trees in the woods.  Look for trees with an accumulation of droppings and feathers under them, which is a pretty good indicator that the birds have used the trees as a roost.

If there are fresh droppings, those that are soft and damp it’s more than likely an active roost that has seen recent use.

Year in and year out unless harassed or forced out of the area, turkeys will roost in approximately the same location.

As you work your way through the woods, you’ll want to be on the lookout for fresh droppings or areas where the birds have been scratching or dusting themselves.

Scratching areas are those where the leaves have been scratched away so the birds can get at the seeds and insects.

These areas will also help you to identify the direction the birds are moving, as the leaves removed from the ground will be piled up in the opposite direction the birds are moving.

Like anything other type of hunting, your location is very important as turkeys like us are creatures of habit and once you figure out their routine, you’re well on your way to becoming a successful turkey hunter.

Unless disturbed, turkey will travel using about the same routes, traveling and feeding in the same general direction each day.

Now that you’ve scouted the area and have an idea as to where they’re roosting and feeding, you should be able to figure out where their travel routes are and to set for the birds.

By setting up near their roost you should be able to catch them as they fly down or return to the roost as well as setting up along their travel route, as chances are that sometime during the day, the birds will make their way through the area.

Lets look at several set ups that will work for calling turkeys early as well as later the day.

Roost Tree Set Up

Once you’ve located the roost, go back to the area just before dark, using your binoculars, glass the area and look for activity.

Just prior to dark, make a call or two with an owl or crow call and then wait for a response. If there are Toms in the area, they’ll shock gobble back at these calls.

To get set up in near a roost tree, you’ll want to make sure that you’re in the area well before sunrise, and get set up about 100 yards from where the birds are roosting.

If the birds haven’t been spooked or hunted hard, using decoys near a roost tree is a good option.

Turkeys have tremendous vision as well as hearing and a decoy that’s set off to the side will draw the birds attention away from the hunter, giving you the opportunity to move if needed to take the shot.

Generally I’ll use 2 decoys, one a Jake (a young tom) and the other a receptive hen in the ready position, crouched low to the ground.

The Tom will usually head straight for the Jake, hoping to frighten it off or intimidate it and if that doesn’t work, he’ll do his best to kick the feathers out of the younger bird.

Since I’m right handed and it’s easier for me to shoot off to my left, I place my decoys out in front of me on my left side about 25 yards as this is the range where my shotgun pattern is deadly.

Once set up, I’ll get the bird’s attention by making a soft yelp, like a hen that’s just waking up and as the sun starts to rise, I’ll get a little more vocal, trying to get the Tom to look in the direction of my decoys.

Once I’ve got his attention, I’ll do a fly down cackle, the sound the hen makes as she’s leaving the tree.

This is usually all it takes to get the birds to start pitching out of the trees.

Hopefully one of the Toms will come out, flying right down to the decoys. When this happens, all you need to do is to get him to strut on in and then give him a warning putt so he’ll stick his head out which gives you a good shot at his noggin and his neck.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the way it always happens!  If the hens all come out at the same time as the Tom, you’ve got your work cut out for you, as the Tom will hang up.

This means he’ll do his strutting around all of his lady friends and not come your way as no Tom in his right mind is going to leave a bunch of hens to go to a single bird.

If this happens, there’s only one thing you can do and that’s to try and call the boss hen to you.

The boss hen is the loudest one of the bunch and the bird that talks back to you as you call.

What’s she’s trying to do is to keep the Tom with her and to let that loud mouth hen off in the distance know if she doesn’t cool it, she’s going to come over and kick some tail.

As you call, she’ll get louder, so keep calling louder and unless the Tom takes them a way from you, she’ll come over to show you whose boss.

As she heads towards you, the rest of the flock will follow, including the Tom, giving you the opportunity to fill your tag.

This set up works well when hunting at first light as the birds leave the roost and evening hunting when the birds are returning to the roost.

Travel Route
Set Up

This is a set up where you get in between the roost tree and the birds feeding area.

You don’t need to be in their direct route as you should be able to call the birds off a few yards or so in either direction.

On this set up, you may not need a decoy as the birds are feeding in your direction, what you will need is to be fully camouflaged and hunkered down next to a tree or concealed in a blind.

When setting out in the open, whether it is against a tree or a bush, you’re going to have to be patient and set still.

There’s no need to get too carried away with the calling, as you know the birds are on their way.

A low contented cluck or purr will do the trick. All you need to do is to get a few of the birds to meander your way, which should bring the majority of them within gun or bow range.

As I mentioned before, don ‘t shoot at the Tom when his head is tucked in and he’s strutting as there’s less of the vital area, his head and neck showing in the strut, so hold your shot until his head is stretched out.

This too is another set up that works as the birds are going out to feed early in the day as well as later in the day as they are making they way back into their roosting area.

The only other method that I use in the spring to call turkeys is a late season tactic called “the run and gun.”

The run and gun method is one where I work the ridge tops, calling from time to time, hoping to get a response.

Once I get a response, I glass the area the gobble came from and once I locate the bird, I try to get out in front of the bird and call him in.

If he has a harem of hens with him and won’t leave them, once again, I’ll go to work on the boss hen and see if I can’t get her to bring the birds my way.

Spring turkey hunting is a great sport; where you need to be concealed well, set still and have a lot of patience as very seldom does anything happen too quickly during the spring turkey season.

When it does happen, you’ll find that all of your pre-season scouting and the time you put in the woods were well worth your effort.

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

Crappies are among the first game fish to bite well right after the ice goes out.

It’s a pre-spawn movement to the shallows and the fish will stay there through the month of April in our area, through May in central Minnesota and into June in northern Minnesota.

Spawning crappies need some sort of structure to spawn on. In natural lakes that is often last year’s reed beds or downed timber along the shoreline. In ponds and small reservoirs they will be attracted to submerged trees or other woody structure. If the lake does not have trees or wood, rocky shorelines along the face of the dam will attract them. I’ve even found them along glacial rocks on the shorelines of South Dakota lakes. Also, don’t overlook boat docks, boat hoists or other man-made structure.

For the earliest fishing, think warm water. Warmest water right after ice-out will be found in canals, boat channels or around stream inlets.

The crappies will stay in these areas unless weather drives them out. Strong winds pushing waves into the shallows will cause the crappies to move out to deeper water. Here they will suspend until things tame down. You can often spot them on your depth finder over these flats if they have left the shoreline.

You need to be rigged right to take best advantage of early spring crappies. This means light tackle. I prefer light action rods in 5- to 6-feet lengths and light spinning reels spooled with four-pound-test line.

One-sixteenth-ounce jigs below a small bobber will be the best lures. I use mini jigs or marabou jigs in white or yellow and don’t bother to tip them with a minnow. Road Runner jigs in the same size work well. Just cast and reel them back slowly.

Some days they prefer the jig, some days the extra flash of the Road Runner. It’s up to you to find out what works best.

How can you not like the sound of hundreds to thousands of geese overhead?

Limits are liberal (15 birds daily or higher), and the late winter / spring seasons, geography depending, are often generous (check yours as many are underway, and dates vary). Though difficult to decoy and call to your position at times, snow geese (a.k.a. “light geese”) help guys like us bridge winter recreation and turkey hunting to come.

The reason: excessive numbers warrant nontraditional methods. In short, light geese compromise arctic habitat, breeding and feeding there after the migration north concludes. Wildlife management attempts to solve such challenges. We as hunters benefit.

Some tips to hunting light geese include:

SCOUTING SERIOUSLY

Your effort to find them might begin where they roost, and include locating a nearby field where they feed and/or might forage. Study them for a pattern of use. They’ll often move and feed early in the day and later in the afternoon, loafing elsewhere during midday. Sometimes too they just move on.

STUDYING MAPS

Study maps, drive and glass fields, and seek landowner permission at all costs, explaining what you’ll be doing and even why. Set your spread at midday for later afternoon hunts. If it feels right, get back there the next morning too. Don’t pressure a spot; then again, hunt it while it’s hot and even just a little warm.

BLENDING IN

As camouflage goes, wear white if snow covers the ground, or standard options if you’re in a layout blind or using natural cover. Blend in, no matter what. Snows feel the pressure, and adjust accordingly. If possible, hide all unnatural evidence, including your truck, trailer and four-wheeler. Make it look real.

USING FOUR WHEELS

Here’s where your Yamaha ATV or Side by Side comes in. Spreads should consist of as many snow goose decoys as possible. Full body snows, shell fakes, and silhouettes should round off your presentation. It’s not unusual for a hardcore snow goose hunter to place several hundred to even 1,000 or more dekes out in a field, and even use wing flags to impart movement to the spread. You’ll need your four wheels to haul that gear to and from your hunting location.

Yes, a lot of work, but there’s a pleasure in it only waterfowlers (and riders) know.