12-14-25 - Field Reports and Tips

On tonight's show, Jim and Scott give field reports and tips on late season deer hunting, small game and fishing reports.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
News Radio eight forty whas welcomes you to Jim Straighter Outdoors,
the region's leading authority on hunting, fishing, and conservation. Jim
Straighter Outdoors is brought to you by Massi Oak Property's
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(00:23):
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(01:05):
at five oh two, eight oh two, six oh two
one and by Webb's Butcher Block where the spice is right.
To join in on the conversation, call us at five
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and enjoy the best two hours of live outdoor radio

(01:25):
Jim Straighter Outdoors right here on news Radio eight forty whas.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Good evening, everybody. Dem Straighter here with my co host
Scott Cronin and then Scott and I have been out
what I call the red brush and on the water,
beating and knocking, doing some fishing, uh, doing a lot
of hunting, and got a lot of field reports for
you tonight we're gonna share with you. I want to
start out by saying we are gonna have open lines

(01:54):
again tonight. We really appreciated everyone's calls here in the
last little bit and we're getting back into that format
in a big way. Those numbers. If you've got field
reports about deer, ducks, rabbits, squirrels, fish reports, whatever the
case may be, or have any questions about conservation or

(02:15):
what's going on in the wildlife world out here. The
numbers are five seven to one eighty four eighty four
or one eight hundred four four four eighty four eighty
four if you're outside of the five O two area code.
And uh, we've got a great program tonight, Nerve. Kind
of I call it the waffle House program because we're

(02:37):
kind of like the hash browns at waffle House were
scattered and smothered. Scott, I think it's probably a good
way to describe it, because we're reporting on so many species.
I'll let you give kind of a rundown. We're obviously
going to talk a good bit about deer because Muzzleloder
season is still open, and Uh, I was fortunate enough

(02:59):
to have a in town guests. It's a young man
that I meant toward many many years and you always
now in the military and serving as a firefighter, and
he took a real nice buck, and several folks I
know have knocked down some nice deer here in muzzle
Old and so we're gonna report on that. But Scott,
we're gonna talk doves, and I'll let you run with

(03:20):
it on what we're going to describe tonight.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Well, it's a flip flop season, and we're not talking
about flip flops going to the beach. You're flipping and
flopping on what's going in and out of the garage
and in the back of your truck anywhere from a
shotgun to our rifle, duck decoys to fishing poles. This
is just a time of the year where a lot
of your outdoor activities are gonna be capitalized on in

(03:44):
the morning for some species and in the afternoons for others.
But besides talking from kyote hunting to squirrel hunting, the
late muzzleloader and wrapping up the fall turkey season, Jim,
we're gonna help people tonight on things that they can
do on days in which it's really windy, in days
in which it's really cloudy or sunny. Because Mother Nature

(04:06):
throws us so many different curveballs this time of year,
and a lot of us are starting to get together
with our friends and our family. We can kind of
wind down a little bit, and we have to cram
a whole lot into these short winter days.

Speaker 4 (04:19):
But it's a.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
Great way to keep your crock pot full of wild game.
And I don't care who you are. If you can
eat a bunch of cold water crappy over spring croppy,
I can tell you that they fry and taste a
whole lot better. And want to give folks some tips
and techniques on how they can go into not only
their waterfowl season gym, but just their fishing season getting

(04:43):
out on the water this time of year.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yes, sir, And we've got some red hot reports from
sauger to crappy to bass that will be sharing, and
some tips about how the guys are really capitalizing on
this late season cold water fish movement. And we're gonna
talk rabbits, numbers of rabbits and the disparity between some
folks finding lots of rabbits other folks not so much,

(05:08):
and some of our theories about why. We're gonna talk
about the late dove season, which is something that I
dearly love to participate in, and that's coming up right
around the corner. We got some wildlife notes about some
things happening out there that we'll share, and we're gonna
talk the ducks and geese a good bit, and of course,

(05:31):
overall we're gonna talk about what these weather changes are
doing and how it can either affect you in a
negative way or a positive way. And our I guess
focus tonight is on how to help you capitalize on
those good days and maybe give you some tips to
what'll help on those days when the weather's not so good.

(05:51):
So if you'll stick with us, I'm gonna go to
break here and we'll be back and again we will
take your questions tonight or your observation about what's going on,
and again it could be about fishing and hunting, anything
out door related. We'll be glad to help any way
we can. Those numbers five seven one eighty four eighty

(06:12):
four or eight hundred four four four eighty four eighty four.
This break is presented by SMI Marine. There's some really
hard cold weather coming again. If your boat needs winter rising,
I heavily encourage you to get on over and see
Tim Addie adding ten and his staff. They'll be glad

(06:33):
to take care of all your boating needs. And remember
you never get sold by my friends at SMI. All right, folks, again,
if you ever been comments or questions farst tonight, we
do have open lines available for you. The numbers are
five seven one eighty four eighty four or eight hundred
four four four eighty four eighty four Scott. Let's dive

(06:57):
in right here, because we got a lot of groundcover.
Let's start with deer, because a lot of folks, because
of weather and restricted ability to hunt weekends only and
what have you, still had tags to fill. There's a
lot of guys out there are still waiting on a
big buck. And things have changed in a big way
from the rut period as it you know, kicked off

(07:20):
in the early start of the season, but muzzlo seasons
are still in full sway here in Kentucky and Indiana,
and a lot of ground to cover here. I want
to start with the fact that I do think this
full moon phase, evidenced by some of the scrape activity
I'm seeing in this part of the state, is probably

(07:41):
going to have some little flurries of chasing going on,
and there's buck sparring a lot of that that I've
been observing. As I mentioned, I spent time in the
deer stand with the young man here this past week
or so and there was a lot of activity that
kind of surprise be a bit, but I think it
was a build up to this full moon. What are

(08:03):
you seeing down in West Kentucky and what kind of
reports you got to share.

Speaker 3 (08:08):
Well, I've been all over western Kentucky and northern Kentucky,
and I'm seeing where there at the end of the
month through the Thanksgiving holiday that some of the bigger
older age class of bucks were getting back up on
their feet pretty regular. Seeing two to three bucks, young bucks,
something like a fore corn with a deer that would

(08:30):
have antlers out of its ears, you know, two and
a half, three and a half plus h class were
on dough groups that were packing a dough in the
herd that was getting ready to come in the heat,
or seeing where three or four bucks were on a
single dough. And I thought about it before we went
on the air tonight, and then we talked and I

(08:51):
thought maybe we might have had a little bit of
an early second cycle on the rut. But now that
we're on the air and looking at the calendar dates
in the moon, I really think what's gonna happen is
the temperture is gonna fluctuate a lot of activity. The
rain's gonna make the deer definitely move at different times
along with the moon. But I think we may still

(09:13):
be in the cards a little bit for this next
old little bit of muzzle or season that's coming up.
And what I'm getting at there is we could see
some of these younger deer, especially that are gonna hit
their first heat in their estra cycle and see a
little peak and heavy deer activity. And it's gonna be
a lot like anything else. It's gonna be being in

(09:34):
the right spot at the right time and putting your
time in the woods and getting out there just in
case that younger year lan or fawn does come in
the heat and pulls a buck by. And now the
bucks are up on their feet, they are moving. Reports
are different, just depending on where you're at. It does
seem that the deer are starting to show more sign

(09:58):
of scrape back heavity and more signs of trails in
and around, more denser cover, and then especially this time
of year, food sources are coming into play. Myself, I
spent my day to day instead of on the stand
in the field getting everything prepped for this cold weather
that's coming Jim, because we are allowed in certain counties

(10:20):
to have supplemental feeding.

Speaker 4 (10:22):
I did feed a.

Speaker 3 (10:23):
Substantial amount of ear corn and shelled corn today in
a location that will allow me to take advantage of
some of these northwest winds and this big north front
that's actually gonna hit perfect for the weekend warriors on
the out of the late muzzlutter season, but still seeing
quite a few deer, no doubt about it. I try

(10:45):
to scout smart and put the wind in my face
when I go in and look at things, and deer
getting up out of their beds pretty easily. They're definitely
spooked and been aggravated from bucks chasing them in the
hunting season.

Speaker 4 (10:58):
But I am one of those guys.

Speaker 3 (10:59):
It's got a buck tag in my pocket, and I've
had a phenomenal season. I've been able to pass a
lot of deer and I'm holding out for something exceptional,
and we're getting down here towards the end, and if
it needs to be, I'll probably end up harvesting a
buck more based on the h class and inches of antler.
But a lot of good weather ahead too. I'm looking

(11:20):
forward to finding the right day to harvest a couple
of doughs. That way I can get that meat work up.
Like everybody else, I tend to like one. The temperature
is in the single digits or teen digits.

Speaker 4 (11:33):
For two or three days.

Speaker 3 (11:34):
That way I can work meat up and don't have
to worry so much about spoilage, and I'm not so
rushed on time.

Speaker 2 (11:42):
Yes, sir, let's talk about the number one factor really
in terms of late rut, no, late rut, whatever you
want to talk about. That's food. The whole key to
hunting deer in late season, in my opinion, is food,
either in two as number one, when are they going

(12:02):
to food? What food are they going to or after
they go to food, whether they go to bed. But overall,
undoubtedly the best hunting this time of year is tends
to be in the afternoon evening hours when they're transitioning
to food. Let's talk about food sources.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
Well, the most overlooked one that people need to get
themselves familiar with if they don't know about it as
honey locus. That's a fantastic mass crop that deer tend
to focus on this time of year that a lot
of folks don't put a lot of time and attention into.
I'm a huge lover of multiple rows and honeysuckle this

(12:41):
time of year because even though those deer may be
getting staging out on the agriculture fields, when we get
to the point where deer are loading into these fields,
you've got to be really careful on your exitentary strategy
because if you burn them out, you can you can
change that are feeding location. They can get a little

(13:03):
bit more nocturnal on you. So if possible, I'll try
to get either right on the edge of the field
to watch from a distance with a rifle or from
hunting with archery equipment. I'll key in more on those
areas of brows and that mass. Now, the red oaks
are still pretty heavy in pockets. It's been amazing that
they've lasted as long as they have. I think a

(13:24):
lot of that comes from where it was so dry
during the fall they didn't start to ride a whole lot.
And of course you've got your planted food plots. But
one of the things that I'm really picking up on
Jim as far as where deer are seeing a substantial
amount of time in the field feeding. I've got some
soybeans that are still standing personally that are starting to

(13:44):
get pretty hot.

Speaker 4 (13:46):
But also a lot.

Speaker 3 (13:47):
Of this agriculture planted wheat crop that has got in
and it was able to catch some rains. They're starting
to be several deer that are getting out there, and
they're feeding on that browse and they're keeping their ruminant
digestion happy, ends they're getting through winter just fine. And
I think a lot of folks will overlook agriculture production.

(14:08):
Everybody wants to think about soybeans and corn, but there's
still a substantial amount of winter wheat and winter ride.
It's planting it in the state of Kentucky, and not
just on a tobacco patch. We're talking these bigger fields
in western Kentucky, hundreds of acresworth. And you take areas
where there's good dense cover and big winter wheat patches,
and you're gonna find some deer.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
You know. I'm glad you mentioned that, because some folks
don't really equate the need that deer have for green
food to keep their rooming healthy. And that is a
big factor. And anybody that's been around tobacco patches or
other areas in some of these smaller farms where they

(14:52):
put it in winter wheat as a cover crop, my goodness,
deer just hammer. That's And of course this is the
period and this will occur and has already occurred to
a certain extent on these cold fronts, those deer are
really start hammering the turnips and radishes and those other

(15:14):
brassicas that are in some of these food plots. So folks,
there's a heads up for you on what they're going
to be foraging on, because that's going to be the
key if you want to see a lot of deer
and be able to take advantage of this late estress
by these dolls where the ducks are going to be
pestering in looking, that's the place to do it. Scott,

(15:36):
something else I think we need to mention here. That
type of activity will be most evident in areas with
heavy populations of deer where unfortunately the duck buck to
domich is out of ratio. By that, I mean a
lot of dos. And what that does is that that
means there's late born fawns from you know, the year

(15:59):
before that are going to come into estras, are in
to eat, and those are the areas where you're going
to see flurries of this late rut activity. And those
areas are pretty evident in a lot of parts of
the state. So that's something to stay on top of

(16:22):
it and realize we'll come into play here because it's
a really big factor late something else that's I think
on the plate. While we're talking about deer, and we
need to mention it. The buck to doe ratio, even
though we're in the musselovers season heavy is still way
out of whack. And I'm hoping that this is the

(16:43):
period where back to my comment about the buck to
dough ratios being out of balance in some of these
areas with large numbers of deer, folks, this is the
time of year to meat hunt. You're not going to
ruin your chances, on average on any late rut activity
by harvesting dolls. And these late seasoned deer are a

(17:05):
great way to add to your food supply for the
long winter ahead. So that's something I would really heavily
encourage folks to take advantage of it. There's nothing more satisfying,
actually than a late season hunt where you're dressed properly,
you're out there in the elements, but you're able to

(17:25):
take some venison home for the table. And that's something
that I tend to do every year because a lot
of folks don't harvest those early because they want them
as quote bait for the bucks. And I totally understand
that but now that some of y'all have that buck
in the freezer and have got time on your hands

(17:48):
leading into holidays, this is a great way to round
out your season by taking advantage of the late muslorm
and archery season to harvest some more doughs. So I
would heavily, heavily courage that.

Speaker 3 (18:02):
And DM those deer will definitely capitalize on high stem
count areas. There's a lot of nutrients and energy for
deer that people overlook in high stem count areas where
those auxillary buds and the new offshoots can provide a
lot of good food for deer.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Yes, sir, absolutely, all right, folks, we're gonna move toward
break here and again if you have any commentents, or
suggestions or questions for us tonight, we've got open lines.
The numbers are five seven one eighty four eighty four
or eight hundred four four four eighty four eighty four.
This break is presented by Massy Properties Heart Realty. They've

(18:43):
got all kinds of the outdoor recreation properties, poems on
the lakes, farms, wildlife management properties. You would ever luss
four check them out at mop h A r Trealty
dot com. All right, folks, I want I will remind
you again we've got open lines tonight if you have
any observations, comments or questions for us. The numbers are

(19:07):
five seven one eighty four eighty four or one eight
hundred four four four eighty four eighty four. Scott, back
to the situation with the deer, there's a lot of
other additional things I think that we need to share
with folks about, you know, those food sources and bedding.

(19:32):
No doubt again, the late afternoon periods are the best
and there's some little weather variations that come into play here.
The cold is coming. That's something we need to mention
because you touched on a little bit. It's going to
get cold for next weekend and that's going to change
things for the better as long as people are prepared

(19:54):
mentally and physically for those frigid temperatures.

Speaker 3 (19:59):
Yeah, we've got some good weather coming in. We've you know,
typically we're used to having cooler weather in December. The
last couple of years, the weather's been all over the place.
For example, last year we had one of the warmest
winters on record. But you start getting into a little
bit later this week when when the lows and the

(20:20):
highs are within you know, ten to twelve degrees of
one another, and the high for those days is only
in the lower forties and upper thirties. You're really starting
to get into some times where wildlife is going to
capitalize on different parts of the day and different resources
just because they do need those carbohydrates to keep them going.

(20:43):
And in a lot of areas because people don't have
the quality of habitat that some others do. The deer
just frankly a little bit more on the hungry side than.

Speaker 4 (20:54):
Some other places.

Speaker 3 (20:55):
But when this weather hits a lot of times, what
folks don't studium is you really get that great movement,
especially on the front end of those big temperature swings
what people would consider being ahead of the front where
you have a ten to fifteen degree drop, and these

(21:17):
are pretty typical with north to northwest wind patterns, and
between watching the temperatures and watching which direction those winds
are going to go, and it doesn't matter if it's August,
thor December, anytime that we have these violent changes in
the temperature and we have that wind speed picking up,
which is above average, and I'm talking anything that's above

(21:40):
eight to nine miles an hour and it's steady, it's consistent.
That's when deer will be getting up on their feet.
It's no different than right before it rains or right
after it rains that you can capitalize on this. But
the part that's overlooked as well is sometimes folks forget
that after it's been extremely cold for three or four

(22:01):
or five days, those days in which we have those
nice southwest fronts that come in to bring that warm
air to us and that sun begins to pop, deer
will capitalize on that as well. And it's really simple.
If there's a really hard frost, just put yourself in

(22:21):
the position of a deer. Would you want to forage
on broad leaves and grasses when it's got frost all
over it and it's it's basically frozen, or would you
wait until the part of the day in which it
falls out, And if you were trying to consume your
calories and stay alive, would you want to sit somewhere
or lay down in bed where the sun is shining on.

Speaker 4 (22:43):
You, or where you're in the deep dark shadows of
the forest.

Speaker 3 (22:46):
And folks will begin to put together a pattern as
they scout their properties and start seeing these fresh trails,
especially with the ground being soft from the rains, that
will shift their betting for wind. We know that, but
deer will also shift their betting based on how the

(23:07):
sun comes up and where the sun goes down. And
it's not just because of them utilizing that solar energy
to keep their heat up. They also capitalize on which
areas of the field will have the frost burn off
of them before others and a lot of our vegetation
and a lot of the brows, and which deer capitalize on.

(23:28):
It is based as much as how the sun rises
and sets and how the terrain and the horizons as
far as hills, hollers or this rich tops will allow
sun to or not hit certain areas of the surface.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
Gym absolutely. Hey, yeah, we've got bark calling from Bedford, Kentucky. Bark.
Can you hear me now? I can?

Speaker 5 (23:51):
I sure can, Jim. Hope you guys are doing well tonight.

Speaker 2 (23:55):
We're doing very very well. Thank you, and hope you
are as well. What have you got well?

Speaker 5 (24:02):
Just to let you know, I took a little trip
this weekend, just a couple of days to area and Fenton, Missouri,
to take my youngest son on his first waterfowl hunt,
and yesterday was pretty rainy and dreary and cold, thirty
seven degree rain, not a lot of birds flying, not

(24:25):
a lot of birds working. But this morning it's very
overcast but no rain, perfect morning with a little breeze
and Jase got to kill his first mail Or drake
this morning and then followed up with his first Canada goose.
We end up getting the three man limit of the

(24:47):
geese this morning, and we're in route back home almost
to New Albany now coming home this evening. But I
just wanted to call and let you guys know that
life and trying to promote that and we listen to

(25:08):
you guys weekly and we appreciate and enjoy so much what.

Speaker 2 (25:14):
You do for us.

Speaker 5 (25:15):
And I'm kind of looking for an area to find
someone to possibly mount this drake for Jas and I
know you don't want to promote certain areas, but I'm
just not really sure whom to reach out here. But
it's a special bird for him, So well, great.

Speaker 4 (25:33):
There, Glad to hear that.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
I'll be more than happy to I'll let the producers
give you my cell phone number and we'll.

Speaker 4 (25:43):
Talk after the show.

Speaker 3 (25:44):
I'll be more than happy to recommend two or three
different places to mount your duck. But more importantly, I
appreciate you getting that youngster out there and.

Speaker 4 (25:54):
Letting him experience that.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
I really wish that Indiana and Kentucky would have some
of the drawing power for about as much as Missouri
and Arkansas and some of those others areas do. I
think there's a lot of us in the Hoosier State
and over here in the Commonwealth that could really advocate
and get behind our departments and dnrs to see good

(26:16):
improvement projects to increase our waterfowl hunting. Hunting has been
really good this year so far, But be nice enough
to have to travel so far from home.

Speaker 5 (26:25):
Too, it would be exactly That's exactly correct. It's such
a it's a refreshing and a fun hunch you get
to do as a family, family and friends. And I
wish so much that we had that privilege here in
Kentucky and Indiana because it is such I mean, the

(26:47):
joy that was on his face this morning when he
dropped his first mallard was something that's just priceless. You
know what it's for eleven year old kids shooting a
twenty gage shotgun. That was just phenomenal. So it's unbelievable
this morning.

Speaker 4 (27:04):
Missouri's got a lot of different opportunities.

Speaker 5 (27:06):
What we all hunting this morning, we were hunting in
a in a tank, ground blind, surrounded by some cover
cross wheat. Of course it had rained a lot. There
was a little small pothole behind us, and we were
actually off of a small river canal there, which it

(27:27):
was a food source, you know, and with as much
water as we had, we were kind of in an
alleyway and it's a magic spot for the geese and
there's a lot of local birds there where we were
were hunting, and but they just wanted to work this morning.
They worked the decoys like they were supposed to, and

(27:48):
when they come in it's it's like having massive uh
animals flying into those decoys. It was just something, especially
for my little way to get the experience. A lot
of folks don't get the experience that Bart.

Speaker 2 (28:04):
What's your what's your son's name? It's Jase. You give Jason? Yeah, okay, hey,
you give him some knuckles from us. Okay, that's number
one and number two. I'm like, Scott bought kudos to
you for taking him out there. I never will forget

(28:24):
the first mallard I ever shot. I had a mentor
when I was a youngster that I dove hunted with,
and he invited me down to West Kentucky to duck hunt,
and I just got my first twelve gage shotgun. I
grew up with a four ten, which is you know,
is very limited weapon in many many ways. His name

(28:46):
is Ralph Day, and I'll never forget that experience. I'm
sure your son is exactly the same way. We've got
water foul reports coming for you here this evening, and
pretty good. I don't know, being from Bedford, whether you
hunt the river up there, any of the ponds or
lakes up there, but we're going to get a push

(29:07):
of birds apparently, and and uh we're going to keep
you abreast of that as we go through the program tonight.

Speaker 5 (29:14):
That sounds great. We'll be listening.

Speaker 2 (29:16):
And I can't tell you how much I'm humbled by
and I'm sure Scott shares in this your kind comments.
We do the very level best we can to give
accurate reports, and we're in the field a lot, and
we're always keen to share it with folks like you.

Speaker 5 (29:33):
Well, we I've grown up with you, Jim. You know,
been blessed to be able to have my parents and
my grandmother has influence of hunting for me. And uh Now,
on Sunday evenings, we we turn your show on and
and your wife, my wife, she she hums to the music.

(29:54):
We we that's something that we laugh about because she
she hums to the opening music and she homes to
the seven o'clock music to break after the break. So
it's it's just good times we spend together as a family.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
Well, brother, that means more to me than I can
tell you my age. And I'm sure Scott's right there
with us. So thanks so much for calling tonight, and
I really appreciate your partner.

Speaker 5 (30:20):
Yes, sir, thank you guys.

Speaker 2 (30:22):
Happy holidays to the family again. Give that little man
huggin some knuckles.

Speaker 3 (30:26):
For me, will you, yes, sir, I will all right there, Yes, sir,
that call right there, demonstrator. Lets you know that America
is still you.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
Ain't kidding you had it all right. You got to
go to break here, folks. This break is presented by
SMI Marine. They got some great end of the year
deals on the twenty twenty fours. They've also got some
incentives from the manufacturers on the twenty fives. Go see him.
If you hadn't win a roused your boat yet, get

(30:57):
it on in there, because winners on us in a
big way. And remember you never get soaked by my
friends at SMI. All right, folks, again, we are taking
your calls tonight. Numbers are five seven one eighty four
eighty four or eight hundred four four four eighty four

(31:18):
eighty four and Scott bartch call. There's a great segue
for us to talk about waterfowl because there's some changes coming.
We've had some pretty good hunting already, and this push,
I don't know what it is. I've seen this through
the decades and decades that I've hunted waterfowl. There's always

(31:39):
a push of birds somewhere between Christmas and New Year's
and it looks like the weather's going to conspire to
provide that. Again, let's give folks a run down on
what to expect there.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
Well, what to expect it's going to be influenced a
little bit on what has already happened. And what has
already happened is we had early on some really low
temperatures that cost some water to freeze up. It caught
some ducks to get on the move and it's not
over yet. But that first little push that we had

(32:14):
with the weather, we were holding quite a few ducks.
And then right before the Thanksgiving opener we actually lost
a significant amount of ducks on Wednesday, And of course
we've got to split down Kentucky and every state's got
a little different date here and there. But once you
get caught up with it, like most waterfowlers, they're going
to jump to indianaur Missouri, or Kentucky. You'll figure all

(32:37):
that out. But that calendar date when the weather works
out right.

Speaker 4 (32:46):
Normally allowed to push birds.

Speaker 3 (32:50):
And where you can pay attention to this is our
neighbors just a little bit to the north of it.
Start looking at Ohio and Indiana waterfowl rey works and
see what hunters are having in the field and then
see what may possibly be coming down the pipe because
of what they're experiencing. And my prediction right now, Jim,

(33:10):
is with the amount of water that we have and
the amount of cold air that we have, I don't
think we're going to see a big push. When you
have a typical weather pattern where you have a substantial
amount of snow hitting before the really cold air comes in.
That's a really good front to capitalize on with waterfowl.

(33:34):
When that ground gets covered up from precipitation snow, that's
when ducks can really start being common coze in and
around spreads and blinds that we've set because their geographic
location gets a little bit scattered because the landscapes changed
from that area.

Speaker 2 (33:53):
Of view that they have.

Speaker 3 (33:54):
What we will see though, is we'll see birds moving
just like the deer, cause they're gonna intake more calories,
and birds actually like the code weather.

Speaker 4 (34:04):
It bothers us.

Speaker 3 (34:05):
More than it does them. What's going to be secretive
to anyone and once they find the ducks is to
find areas in where the ducks have open water, not
a tremendous amount of pressure, and they can eat. And
the perfect scenario going into this stretch of the season
that we're in Gym is to find a spot that
ducks aren't roosting at. They're coming into the rest and

(34:27):
somewhat feed in the middle part of the day, and
then they're leaving out going.

Speaker 4 (34:31):
Back into the roof spots.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
People shooting up these roost holes right now, birds are
definitely gonna be on the move. But you've got to
be smart. If you know where ducks are roosting, and
you've got another piece of water that's close by in
which you can get on and you decoys and calling
to get those birds on you, you're gonna get two
or three days of good hunting versus just one day

(34:53):
of burning your barrels up. So try to pay attention
to the weather. Try not to shoot those areas the
ducks are roosting and resting until maybe you know the
last part of the front or when it gets into
a temperature range where things are gonna lock up.

Speaker 4 (35:10):
And we talked about this a lot before.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
The show and talk with my good buddy Jason lapartis
about this. We all want to focus on waterfowl hunting
with getting in a blind and running calls and having
a big breakfast and sharing that fellowship. But there is
a lot of good duck hunting in Kentucky. There's more
good duck hunting than what people realize by a method

(35:34):
of hunting that is somewhat not thought after so much
so and somewhat not even respected, Jim, and that's jump shooting,
and that's where your creeks and your streams and areas
of open water are going to be really good.

Speaker 4 (35:47):
And for anybody that's going.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
To get out and has some time, don't overlook these
creeks and what they can hold. There's a lot of
mallards and a lot of mixed bags of ducks that
will get up and get on water. Where they are
in overlooked pockets, there's plenty of food and they can
rest and be at peace. And nothing's any more fun
than floating down a river or creek and doing some

(36:10):
waterfowl hunting. And while you're at it, throws some non
toxic shot in there too, because there's a gray squirrel
or red squirrel along the bank that you can pluck
along the way.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yes, sir, And little areas, some of these watershed lakes
and what have you that have spring fed areas in
them where that stays open where the rest of it
is frozen, could be a magnet. I mean, I've gotten
what I like to call really fat shooting places like that,
because the ducks really pile into they know it's there,

(36:43):
and they'll work on it. There's a change in the
regulation we need to talk about real quick, because it's
an increase in the bag limit on pintails. Roll that
out for the folks here real quick.

Speaker 3 (36:56):
Well, the FEDS pushed down some number on our pen
tails and said they're doing a little bit better than
years past.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
So it works out like this.

Speaker 3 (37:06):
I'm not in support of it, but our new regulation
is now that three pintails can be part of your
six bag limits. So everything's still the same on your
wood ducks and mallards and mixed species of ducks, Jim,
But we've increased the pintail harvest, no matter male or female,
by sixty six percent. So your limit now in your

(37:28):
mix of bags, there's three pintail ducks, and that.

Speaker 2 (37:32):
Has been approved by the Fisial Islife Commission, And I
like you, it's a big jump in a hurry. I'm
not sure why the FEDS pushed that, but obviously the
Commission felt that for the hunters who are out there,
if it's good enough for the Feds, it's good enough
for hunters here. So we'll do some reporting on that

(37:53):
at the end of the season and how that may
be affected by the limits and people's ability to harvest birds.
All right, got to go to break here, folks. This
break is presented by massi O Properties Heart Realty Paul
Thomas says all kinds of outdoor properties for sale. Check
out all their listings at mop H A r Trealty

(38:14):
dot com. All right, folks, if you're just joining us
for the program tonight, we are taking calls. We've got
open lines available for you. If you've got questions or
comments or observations about what's going on in the outdoors,
whether it be deer reports, fishing reports, what have you.
We'll be glad to take those from you. And the

(38:35):
numbers are five seven to one eighty four eighty four.
That's five seven one eight four eight four, or if
you're outside of the five little two area code eight
hundred four four four eighty four eighty four. Scott, we
were talking a bit about waterfown what's going on there,

(38:58):
and I get, let's change a little bit right now,
because there's some really good winter fishing available right now.
And I think we'll probably need to start out with
crappie because the croppy bike has been really, really good.
It's fluctuated some because of this water, but folks are

(39:18):
catching crappie. And you mentioned earlier in the program how
good cold water fish is and I want to put
a big amen on that man. There's nothing better than
late fall or winter fish to eat. So let's talk
crappy a bit.

Speaker 5 (39:33):
Now.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
I want to talk sauger because it's pretty much on fire.
It's finally really made itself evident well.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
Crappie fishing this time of year puts a lot of
average crappie fishermen into the pro crappie fishing category when
all the stars align, and it's not so much about
the cover and the water temperature.

Speaker 4 (40:01):
It really has to.

Speaker 3 (40:03):
Do with the bait, fish and all the other times
of the year, Jim, especially when people compare crappie fishing
in the spring because the weather is a little bit
nicer and there's a little bit of an increased chance
where people can kind of pound the banks and use
a lot of different techniques. Everything this time of year

(40:26):
revolves around technique, but it really revolves around bait, and
that bait could be what's on the end of your line,
But more importantly, it's about the bait that those fish
are after.

Speaker 4 (40:38):
And how the weather fluctuates.

Speaker 3 (40:40):
And the more and more that we learn about crappie
fishing over the years, especially with forward facing sonar playing
either havoc or you know, for a great catch. It
all depends on what side of the fence you are
with that. It's important that folks understand what's really happening
this time of year, and what's happening is crappie. You're

(41:02):
getting into big schools and they're getting into big schools
on where those bake fish go, and as that sun
hurks its way through the clouds or as the clouds
cover up the sun, it really dictates where these fish go.
And these crappie, what we're learning over the years is

(41:23):
they tend to light darker areas and that's why.

Speaker 4 (41:27):
That cloud cover.

Speaker 3 (41:28):
A lot of times you'll catch more fish on the
steak beds because of what's going on with the weather,
and when that sun pops out, those fish.

Speaker 4 (41:39):
Will get a little bit tighter to cover.

Speaker 3 (41:42):
But as you learn how to fish these particular species
white and black crappy, whether you're using a float to
help you make your bait presentation go higher or lower
in the water calumn, or whether or not you're using
a spider egg or doing casting techniques, don't overlook how

(42:04):
much has changed in not only the scientific data but
also the report's coming off the water, and that is
that we're seen that more crappier being caught from two
thirty in the afternoon till sunset than.

Speaker 4 (42:19):
We are in the middle part of the day or
the beginning part of the day.

Speaker 3 (42:24):
And this is important too, Jim, because a lot of
boats have come off the water and they're in winter storage.
And you hear people just talk and pound about state
beds and mudflats and how important wood cover is, but
folks need to really take the time to learn how
important these boat houses, docks and structures in the water

(42:48):
are to crappy and while wood is, don't ever overlook
any type of aluminum or galvanized or steel structures that
these fish can get on to where those bake fish
will capitalize on the algae plank and all that it's
in the area and on those bright sunny days, there's
not a better spot in the lake to find a dark,

(43:10):
shady spot than underneath a covered walkway or a big boat.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
Dot Jim, Yes, sir, and I want to add something
to that because it's so overlooked and yet it's so
easy and so targeted. And that is bridges, you know,
highway bridges over lakes are probably one of the most

(43:35):
overlooked places for folks to target crappie at certain times
of the year, and this is a time of year
when it really comes into its play because it is
a pinch point. And as a pinch point, what I
mean by that, it's where the lake narrows down. You know,
that's why they put the bridge there. Let's talk about

(43:56):
that little bit. So as they those current brakes developed
behind those bridge columns and on the back sides where
most times you have rip rap areas, there's a tremendous
congregation of those baitfish there. And anytime you've got a
congregation of baitfish, I E shad, you're gonna have crappie.

(44:18):
And it's exactly like those docks in other areas you mentioned.
Those fish will suspend there and they're very, very catchable.
Another thing I want to mention especially, and the spider
riggers know this, and the guys that are really into
the lime scope know this. There's tremendous concentrations of baitfish

(44:42):
that are suspended at this time of year, and a
lot of them are suspended at the mouths of the creeks,
they go into the bays and at various times, according
to temperatures which you mentioned and precipitation levels, they'll move
up in the base. But you can bet your body
dollar that there are schools of crappie suspended underneath those

(45:05):
schools of baitfish. Crappie in this modern area, crappie fishing
have become known to travel almost like white bass or
hybrids with these schools of baitfish. It's a new era
of fishing and it's one that's really come into play,

(45:25):
and both for the guys that like the spider rigg
or troll for crappie, that's a killer way to catch
him this time of year.

Speaker 3 (45:34):
Yeah, and we were talking too with my buddy Lee
James before we went on the show about the amount
of bluegill that have been getting picked up in and
around some of these areas of croppie are hanging out
and don't overlook catching, you know, a couple of catfish
and blue gill when you get in there. Because most
people I know that crappie fish gym, they like to

(45:55):
fry fish as well. And that's a lot of techniques
changed in the last five or ten years, especially with electronics.
But there's there's one thing that's not changed, and that
is how important hair jigs are this time of year,
and doing something a little bit different than what everybody

(46:16):
else is doing. A lot of that is what's getting
to strike and getting the bait. We can all find
the fish, whether it's on forward facing sonar or whether
it's on a gray scaled you know, debth finder. But
remember that when plastic gets.

Speaker 4 (46:32):
Cold, it gets really rigid.

Speaker 3 (46:34):
It doesn't have as much life like imaging to the fish.
You know, life bait for many years has out caught
artificial baits, and a lot of people like the strategy
and the catch from artificial but don't overlook the hair jigs.
The older I get, Jim, the more I realize that
people are worried about the latest and the greatest, and

(46:55):
they've gotten so far away from the basics of what
really used to work.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
Well, you've been around me enough to know I've got
a huge box of hair cheeks and anything from a
sixteenth of an ounce up to an eighth depending on
my depth and what I call jumping it, and folks
know what I'm talking about. Where you snatch it, let
it fall, snatch it, let it fall, or stroking it.

(47:20):
You know, there's two different terms for it. That is
so deadly for cold water crappie, I mean, and buddy,
if there's a white or yellow bass around those brush piles,
get ready because you're going to get your arm jerked.
I mean, they will absolutely hammer that type of presentation.
That's something that's really really fun to do. Another point

(47:41):
right there, you talking about those bluegill. You will seldom
see a brush pile this time of year in water.
That's I'm going to say twelve, but fifteen's my magic number.
Fifteen feet deeper are a little deeper that doesn't have
a really nice school of bluegill around it. If you
drop a thirty second house jig down there with a

(48:02):
waxworm on it, you can absolutely fill your live well.
And nothing's better than those big cold water bloogill this
time of year. So that's something I want to.

Speaker 4 (48:13):
Let me big crappie too.

Speaker 3 (48:14):
Jim will come sitting right on the bottom of that
mud flat wherever that bake beds at. Everybody's looking at
all those fish that are lit up in the water column.
Don't forget that some of your biggest crappie can be
caught right off that structure and right down on the bottom.
So let her sink. Get her down there, whether you

(48:36):
want to jig it or just float it over it,
just make sure you don't overlook the fact of what
depth you really are in, because those older fish, they're
just like deer.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
They get smart.

Speaker 3 (48:47):
They've been around the block and sometimes you got to
get down there where they're at, and they'll be holding
that mud bottom a lot tighter than some of those
younger fish.

Speaker 2 (48:56):
Yes, sir, all right, we got to go to break here.
Come back from break, we're going to talk bass and sager.
Sauger are really coming into play now. I've got buddies
that are really been hammering them. I'm gonna fish farm
some this week my own bad self, so we're gonna
have some great reports on that for you. We're gonna
talk small game as well coming back from the break,

(49:18):
So hang on. We're glad to talk to you about
any questions you may have in that regard the numbers.
If you want to call in five seven one eighty
four eighty four or eight hundred four four four eighty
four eighty four, this break is presented by Paul Thomas
at massil Properties all kinds of vacation homes, farms and

(49:40):
wildlife properties for sale. Check out their current listings at
mop H A r T Realty dot com. All right, folks,
we're continuing our information about the fish reports that are
coming in and Scott Sauger fishing has really busted lose.

(50:00):
I got buddies of mine that are fishing the mouths
of creeks and the rock bars in the Ohio River
and beneath the dams on some of the other rivers
around the state. I'm actually headed to the Cumberland River
this week myself to fish for that migration of sauger
and walleye and we'll give a report on that. But

(50:20):
it's it's really cranking up now. It was a little
slow coming, but buddy, it's it's cranking well.

Speaker 3 (50:29):
You know, Sauger fishing's grown in popularity too. It used
to be that signing somebody that went Sager fishing was
few and far between, some of it.

Speaker 4 (50:38):
Because of the cold weather. The other part of it
is that it was just a.

Speaker 3 (50:42):
Species that it was really hit or missed depending on
where you lived at in the state.

Speaker 4 (50:46):
But one thing about it.

Speaker 3 (50:49):
We've got so many areas with locked and dams in
Kentucky and Indiana boat where anglers can get out and.

Speaker 4 (51:00):
Go by foot or use a kayak or go by boat.

Speaker 3 (51:03):
Now, one thing before we get into strategy and technique.
Anytime you're in and around the water, you know you
need to be safe, but especially this time of year,
as cheap as self inflating life vest have become, and
some of these fanny pack belts don't get around any
of these tail waters or any area of water, particularly

(51:24):
where you have the opportunity to slip in, because hypothermia
is a real thing, and a lot of times what
we're dressed in could lead to a really bad outcome.
And the only thing that needs to be dying on
these fishing trips, Jim, is the fish, because we want
to eat them right. And so you get out there
and you try your techniques. There's a lot of things

(51:47):
about Sager people don't realize. Let's take going from the
bank at first, you may have to use a little
bit more weight to get out there, and the same thing.

Speaker 4 (51:57):
Applies to Sauger as other fish on cloudy days. Try
to use your.

Speaker 3 (52:02):
Colored you know, alloys or your baits as far as
if you're going to throw something that's got a blade
on it, and on sunny days.

Speaker 4 (52:11):
Silver or blue works really well.

Speaker 3 (52:13):
But a lot of times people don't understand how important
it is to contrast your baits, especially your spoons or
your grubs. This is a time of year that I
like to use a black body jig grubs plastic grub
with some type of short truce or orange or red

(52:34):
tail or body to where it's very contrasting through that
water column, because sugar are going to be close to
the bottom and they're going to be praying on some
shad that have either been turned up through turbines or
have gone through some shock.

Speaker 4 (52:52):
And that's what they're feeding on. And this is going
to continue all.

Speaker 3 (52:55):
The way up for a couple of months now until
they get ready to go and spawn. But it is
a phenomenal fish to eat. And it's important too that
folks don't get themselves some trouble if they're going to
go out and try to catch some sauger and a
lot of times where you fish for them, bet you're
gonna catch multiple species of fish, but don't forget you
can only keep six a day. And they all need

(53:16):
to be above fourteen inches.

Speaker 2 (53:20):
Yeah, there are a tremendous game fish and very very
overlooked and some of the lures I want to throw
into the mix that I use a lot. I remember
several years ago Kevin Worth, who was a Kentuckian that
was a real real threat on the bass circuit and
I did a television show together on the Ohio River

(53:42):
in January. And the mainstay, and this is something that
works everywhere, is either drop shotting with a live minum
and the amount of weight you use on the drop
shot will vary with the current in the area that
you're fishing in the depth, and that's a no brainer
way to fish. The jig with a mena on the

(54:05):
back is another great one, but I will tell you
blade baits in particular can be absolutely deadly on those
fish and soaking jiggingspoons. So if you're in a situation
where you're in a deeper hole in an area where
you've got moving current and those fish will obviously congregate

(54:26):
there to rest vertical jig in, those baits can be
absolutely deadly. And I'm gonna be doing some of that
on the Cumelan River here this week. And I'm really
looking forward to because the push is really really on
with that. So we got to go to break here.
Coming back from break, we're gonna talk small game in

(54:47):
a big way. We've got rabbits in's play. We've got
squirrels to talk about, and doves several things, and then
we're gonna talk about some other things going on around
the region where this cold weather coming in. So if
you want to give us a call, the numbers or
five seven to one eighty four eighty four or eight
hundred four four four eighty four eighty four. This break

(55:10):
is presented by SMI Marine. You never get soaked by
my friends at SMI. All right, folks, we're gonna talk
to you about small game, which is at the heart
of so many hunters during this period of the year.
And Scott, you had something you wanted to mention about turkeys,
and then we're gonna talk rabbits and squirrels and some

(55:34):
of the other aspects of trapping that coming to play
right now.

Speaker 3 (55:37):
It was good to hear all the reports of the
amount of turkeys being seen this fall from deer hunters,
and of course we just closed out this past week
with the fall shotgun season, and I was able to
get out and hunt and harvest burden myself went with
one of my really good friends. We seen great numbers.

(56:01):
And as we move through this turkey and rabbit situation
with trying to find good numbers to hunt, if you're
not trapping yourself, please get out and introduce yourself to
somebody who's a trapper and let them have access to
your property to help with these gain populations.

Speaker 4 (56:21):
That we're all striving to see.

Speaker 3 (56:23):
Our predators are just completely out of control and it's
going to take a whole lot of us to get
them back in checks.

Speaker 2 (56:33):
Yeah, and to that point, there is a bright spot
on the horizon, and what I want to mention about
that is in areas where multiple property owners have either
started trapping or allowing people to trap, there has been
a very significant increase in turkeys and a better than

(56:58):
average number of ones surviving. And I don't know why
that's a surprise to some folks, because it's for very
obvious reasons. And the same is true on the small
game side of things, which we're going to get to
in a minute. But for those folks out there who
feed deer and they've seen these large numbers of raccoons gather.

(57:22):
It is so easy to trap them with those dog
proof traps. If folks aren't familiar with those types of traps,
it's merely a pipe that has a spring loaded catcher
in it where when the coon reaches in to get
whatever bait you use my favorites or peanut butter, marshmallows

(57:44):
or sardine or microL you take your pick. Peanut butter
is one of the easiest. I just put a dab
of peanut butter on a paper towel and push it
down the pipe, load the trap, and the next thing
you know, you've made a tremendous impact. It's a fun
way to spend time outdoors. You can do it over
the weekend. You know, check your traps obviously, as you

(58:08):
have to within a twenty four hour period, but it's
so easy to do. Kyouts trapping has been tremendous. But Scott,
my goodness, these kyout contests, now that they've got the
ability to hunt those things at night, has made a

(58:29):
tremendous impact on kyle populations and it's been good not
only for the deer in turkeys, but for the rabbits.
I mean it's an incredible step in the right direction
on blocks of land where this is occurring over you know,
several hundred or maybe thousands of acres.

Speaker 3 (58:49):
I would like to see some of our DNR and
state agencies also to Jim promote some of these contests
on our public lands in WMA's and for folks that
are not too familiar with turkey hunting or deer hunting
or fishing on public lands, but you do like to
go after predators or trap, don't forget that's a tremendous

(59:10):
resource that you have and every state out there and
you can do a lot of things just to get
to follow the regulations like anywhere else. Because Jim, you
were talking to some of the reports coming in, I've
had similar reports that folks are finding pretty good cottontail
numbers on private lands where they've been doing some hunting

(59:32):
and some trapping for the predators. But then folks that
have traditionally gone out and done some hunting on the
public areas of land that seems like their harvest has
been down and their sightings and jumps have been down.
And I think a lot of that shows that right
now on the private land side, those folks that are

(59:53):
engaging and engaging more than one weekend a year or
one night a year with predator control from the rifle,
the shotgun, the night vision, the thermals to the traps,
it is a very fast return on the investment for

(01:00:13):
improving the game species numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:00:17):
Yeah, there's no question. I mean, I've got several folks
where I manage properties and they manage in conjunction with
other folks that have properties, and that spreads, of course,
from hundreds to thousands of acres overall. And in those
areas where there's consistent predator control, again to your point,

(01:00:41):
either through the gun or the trap, those are some
areas where it's fantastic honey for everything from small game
up through the turkeys and deer. And as we move
into the modern era where these things are available to us,
and good grief, this night vision hunting kys, well, it's

(01:01:02):
changed things in a big way. I mean, I'm so
delighted that the deficient game people have allowed that because
it's been one of the best management tools that the
hunters have had at their disposal in many, many years.

Speaker 4 (01:01:21):
Jimmy're talking to a guy right here.

Speaker 3 (01:01:23):
I would advocate for it to be open twelve months
a year that it's that beneficial, and I know that
a lot of times we wonder why people are or
are not doing certain things. I hope that in time too,
that at least in the state of Kentucky that on

(01:01:43):
our sportsman's license or somewhere involved with our hunting license.
I hope that the Department will one day be able
to bridge that gap to where that will allow people
to go out, especially on the raccoons, and do some
trapping without having a specific trapping license. Be amazed at

(01:02:04):
how many people are interested in getting involved with trapping
Jim and they want to learn how to put out
a few sets, and they didn't even realize that they
had to have a specific license to do that in
the state of Kentucky.

Speaker 2 (01:02:17):
So maybe we can.

Speaker 3 (01:02:18):
Advocate for that one day, get it to where.

Speaker 4 (01:02:20):
It's part of the sportsman's license.

Speaker 2 (01:02:23):
I think it should be. I agree with you wholeheartedly,
and it's telling folks if you want to know more
about trapping. Scott and I have done some killer shows
in the past about trapping and they're available on podcast
on an iHeart app or on Sprinker s p r
e a kr dot com and chick anders, and my

(01:02:46):
buddy Kenny Shockley gave some tips that they're as I
like to say, bull strong about how to get on
with that. Scott, let's talk about the rabbits a little bit,
because there was good numbers, there was good reproduction. Again,
the reports are a bit scattered because of the amount

(01:03:06):
of predators on some areas versus the lack of predators.
Your buddy we were talking to prior to going on
air tonight made a comment about it. If you get
around human habitation where there's good cover and food, there's
lots of rabbits. You get out of way where there's
not and there's not been any trapping efforts. Coyotes are

(01:03:27):
just pretty well scattered the landscape. And that's been in
an emergent situation for years now, and it's something that
again shows the need for predator control in a big,
big way.

Speaker 3 (01:03:43):
It's more important now than ever before for people to
put the scenario if you were a rabbit to get
from point A to point B, how much open area
you have to expose yourself in versus how much covered area.

Speaker 4 (01:03:58):
And canopy does have to be that tall.

Speaker 3 (01:04:01):
That's that's the biggest thing that people have got to
put into perspective when it comes to habitat management. If
you can just keep your canopy somewhere and that's sixteen
to twenty four inch area, it's not letting your farm
get overgrown. It's just making sure that you've got that
habitat out there. And I just worked with a guy
last week, Jim, and he just asked me. He said,

(01:04:22):
dollar for dollar, what is the best thing that I
can do on my farm.

Speaker 4 (01:04:26):
To make my rabbit habitat better? And this is what
I told him.

Speaker 3 (01:04:29):
I said, do not mow during those peak seasons of
fawning and turkeys laying their clutch. But try to remember
that when the leaves fall off the trees, rabbits need.

Speaker 4 (01:04:43):
A place to hide.

Speaker 3 (01:04:44):
So try to do your mowing at a time to
where there's plenty of green leaf vegetation out. And then
try to let your fields go feral or grow up
to the point to where when leaves are gone, those
fields are benefiting your small game. And so guess what
happens when you let the bush hog set, Jim. The
rabbit population goes up.

Speaker 2 (01:05:06):
Yes, sir, there's nothing more important to rabbits in the
modern era of coyouts, which obviously by now is not
so long ago that we can't remember when they were.
You've got to have hardbrier. If you don't have hardbrier,
you're not gonna have very many rabbits. Because brother Kyle

(01:05:27):
is so good at sifting through weed fields or running
overgrown fence rows that without that deterring brier that he
cannot run through without hurting himself, you're going to be
behind an eight ball. There's only one exception to that,
and unfortunately it's difficult to hunt in some regards. But
warm season grass plots definitely harbor a lot of rabbits

(01:05:51):
in this modern era. But if you over manicure them,
cows will work them in pairs and packs and run
those strips, and when those rabbits pop out, guess what's
there or their buddies they're waiting on. So you gotta
fairly wide strips left or else it's gonna be a

(01:06:13):
death trap for them.

Speaker 3 (01:06:15):
I want I want folks to remember one thing about
rabbits before we go on to a break.

Speaker 4 (01:06:20):
As many times as you've.

Speaker 3 (01:06:22):
Been out rabbit hunting, think about all the times that
the place that you get to shot is where there
is open cover. And what I mean by open cover
is like you can see the rabbit we're watching, we're watching,
we're watching, we're watching that covers there. But when we
get that rabbit there in that opening, that's where we
take our shot.

Speaker 4 (01:06:42):
Well, guess what these.

Speaker 3 (01:06:43):
Chutes are doing when the rabbits are in the open.
They're taking their shots too. And so remember dislike us
being selective on where we're going to strike. When we
go out and we watch a patch of hounds and
they're running rabbits and they're working real good. Remember that
when we can see the rabbits, we shoot. Remember when
the couts and the bobcats and everything else that's out

(01:07:05):
there after him can see the rabbits, they gobble them up.
And so the more cover you got, the better our
little bunnies are going to be, no.

Speaker 2 (01:07:13):
Doubt about it, all right, folks, got to go to
break here. It's presented by SMI Marine. They've got the
twenty fours on sale with all kinds of discounts. The
twenty fives are coming in and they've got all kinds
of buying incentives on them as well. Go see them,
and remember you never get soaked by my friends at SMI.

(01:07:34):
We were talking there about coyuchs and kyld hunting and
what it does for the wildlife, But let's talk about
the tips and things we're hearing from the guys that
are really out there after right now, because it's going
to really come into its own with this cold weather approach,
and the couts are in a bit of a transition
just like the rest of the wildlife.

Speaker 4 (01:07:55):
There.

Speaker 3 (01:07:56):
It gets to be one of my most favorite times
of the year outside of their breeding, to hunt because
everything's slowing down and a lot of times you can.

Speaker 4 (01:08:06):
Slip out that's for an hour or two.

Speaker 3 (01:08:08):
And while the increase of electronic collars has been a
good thing, Jim, it's also played a little bit of
a troubleshooting problem with the variables that can impact whether
or not you're singing coats and harvesting coats, and folks
again need to pay attention to regulations when it comes

(01:08:30):
to foxes and bobcats and all that as well, because
a colt's not going to be the only thing that
you call up. But this time of year, it's important
when you focus on coats to look at the immature
male and female vocalizations. A lot of times, some pup
vocals and some of the howls and yips that you

(01:08:54):
can get sounding like a younger dog will get you
further than focusing on the prey, the dress and some
of the times that you may want to throw a
prey distress call in a lot of people if they
go by and pay attention. When we get rainy days
two or three days in a row, a lot of

(01:09:16):
times those coats will kind of den up, they'll lay low,
and when it gets sunny or that weather subsides, those
animals will get out and they'll do a little hunting.
And that's where you can really start focusing on some
of those predator distress calls that you want to But
try to start off really slow and try to start
off at a lower volume with you know, there's some

(01:09:38):
basic barks and some hows, and try to practice a
little bit as silly as it may sound, with how
you're going to run your remote, because a lot of
times people will get a brand new collar, they'll see
a coat that cot will kind of stage up and
looking and they're hitting buttons in a panic, and they
don't get themselves familiarized with their equipment, and it's no

(01:09:59):
different than any other game that you hunt. That's a
that's an important part of it. And as we move
further along into the to the weather and the days
and months ahead, each day is getting this one step
closer and one step closer to that breeding sequence. And
and what's going to be said as far as how
the dogs will yodle and get out there and and

(01:10:21):
uh and change their tune just a little bit. But
I've seen Jim firsthand that where our colt population is
changing on the increase in areas that it's easy to
find where your mating calls will get animals to come
in a little bit earlier and earlier each year. And

(01:10:42):
I think a large part of that is is just
where an animal has more of a population that they
have to have serviced. And as we see more of
any species on the landscape, there's going to be a
pecking order in culture, no different anywhere else. Between gender
and age class are going to lay out their territory
and sometimes they're going to come in to play, and

(01:11:04):
sometimes they're going to come in to breed, and other
times you're going to come in for a challenge.

Speaker 2 (01:11:09):
Yes, sir, let's switch to one of my favorites, which
is winter squirrel hunting. Tremendous population of squirrels out here.
I mean, it's unbelievable. I've had my little dog out
and on the bright sunny days, real good success. On
the cloudy, cold or windy days which dag gone it,
we've had too many of so far. It's been pretty frustrating.

(01:11:34):
But lots of numbers you and I talk for the program.
Squirrel numbers are great, and in particular, the fox squirrels
seem to have a tremendous breeding effort this time. I'm
seeing a lot more fox squirrels than many of the
areas that I hunt. I, as you know, travel far
and wide to hunt because folks I know across the

(01:11:57):
region with that know that I as a dog. But overall,
been very very good. But the rut, the squirrel rut,
which is the best sunning of all for guys with
and without dogs, because of how active they are all
day long when they're in breeding season. It's been late
this year, Scott. Is that what you've been seeing as well?

Speaker 3 (01:12:19):
It is, and I think some of it has to
do with the weather, and I think some of it
deals with the dynamics of the population and the maturity
of the squirrels. I'm no squirrel expert when it comes
to you know, when they're breeding or whether or not
they're sexually mature or not. But what I've gathered to

(01:12:39):
this point is the amount of young squirrels that we have.
It wouldn't surprise me if they're not just a little
bit later coming into maturity. Being that we have such
a high population of the of the young squirrel it
could be for a really fascinating season later on. And
before we get too excited about the squirrel going on,

(01:13:00):
don't underscore yourself and second guests not going on a
good sunny day, especially because they're really active and they're
starting to get out and move around, and the numbers
are there alone. If the weather's right, a man or
a woman's not going to have a hard time finding
a good time on a December January day and moving

(01:13:22):
into February, you know, going out and chasing squirrels with
a twenty two or shotgun, and it's a great way
to get kids and friends and family together.

Speaker 2 (01:13:31):
Absolutely, unlet's round things out here. At the end. We
got doves coming in the late season. Doves are one
of my favorite things in the whole world. A lot
of people think that you shoot once and they're gone.
That's not necessarily the case. My number one place to
hunt them is corn bottoms in river or creek bottoms.

(01:13:52):
They don't like being in those open, big fields too
much this time of year, but if you can find
areas like that have wist green, you can really have
some fun. So we wanted to pass that alone as well.
The Mojo doves in concert with you being in a
small blind or I guess a row is really really good.

(01:14:16):
That's a fun thing to do. All right, folks enjoyed
the program tonight. I hope you did as well. We'll
be back with you next week. Please be safe out there,
God bless everybody.