12-15-24 - 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 (00:00):
News Radio eight forty whas welcomes you to Jim Straighter Outdoors,
the area's leading authority on hunting and fishing. Jim Straighter
Outdoors is brought to you by Massioak Property's Heart Realty.
For the outdoor home of your dreams. Call Paul Thomas
at two seven zero five two four one nine zero
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(00:23):
Visit them at Sportsman's Taxidermy dot Com. An Roth Heating
and Cooling, a family owned business with over one hundred
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Check Jim and his team on Facebook at Wildlife Habitat
Solutions and by SMI Marine. Getting your boat back on
the water in no time. To join in on the conversation,

(00:44):
call us at five seven one eight four eight four
inside Louisville and one eight hundred four four four eight
four eight four outside the Metro. Now, sit back and
relax and enjoy the next two hours of Jim Straighter
Outdoors on news Radio eight forty WHAS.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Good evening, everybody demonstrator here with my co host Scott
Cronin and Scott and I've been out in what I
call the red brush and on the water, beating and knocking,
doing some fishing, doing a lot of hunting, and got
a lot of field reports for you tonight, which we're
going to share with you. I want to start out

(01:20):
by saying we are going to have open lines 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

(01:41):
questions about conservation or what's going on in the wildlife
world out here, the numbers are five seven 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, and we're kind of I call it the

(02:04):
waffle House program because we're kind of like the hash
browns at waffle House were scattered and smothered. Scott, I
think that'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 gonna talk a good
bit about deer because muzzleloader season is still open. And

(02:26):
uh I was fortunate enough to have a in town
guest that's a young man that I meant toward many
many years ago, 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 muzzleoad and and uh so we're gonna

(02:46):
report on that. But Scott, we're gonna talk doves, and
I'll let you run with it on what we're gonna
describe tonight.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
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 then 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 going to be capitalized on in

(03:12):
the morning for some species and in the afternoons for others.
But besides talking from kyot hunting to squirrel hunting the
late muzzleloader and wrapping up the fall turkey season.

Speaker 4 (03:23):
Jim.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
We're gonna help people tonight on things that they can
do on days in which it's really windy and days
in which it's really cloudy or sunny. Because Mother Nature
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

(03:45):
a whole lot into these short winter days.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
But it's a.

Speaker 3 (03:48):
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 crappy,
I can tell you that they fry and paste a
whole lot better. And want to give folks some tips
and techniques on how they can go into not only
their waterfowl season, Jim, but just their fishing season getting

(04:11):
out on the water this time of year.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
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,

(04:37):
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, overall,

(05:00):
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.
So if you'll stick with us, I'm gonna go to

(05:22):
break here and we'll be back and again we will
take your questions tonight or your observations about what's going on,
and again it could be about fishing, hunting, anything out
door related. We'll be glad to help any way we can.
Those numbers five seven one eighty four eighty four or

(05:42):
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 Manage ten and his staff. They'll be glad to
take care of all your boating needs. And remember you

(06:05):
never get soaked by my friends at SMI. All right,
folks again, if you ever been comments or questions far
as 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 in right here because we got a lot

(06:27):
of groundcover. Let's start with deer, because a lot of folks,
because of weather and restricted ability to hunt weekends only
what have you, still have tags to fill. There's a
lot of guys out there still waiting on a big buck.
And things have changed in a big way from the
rut period, as you know, kicked off in the early

(06:49):
start of the season. But muzzleloder 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 going to have

(07:10):
some little flurries of chasing going on, and there's bucks
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 surprised
me a bit, but I think it was a build
up to this full moon. What are you seeing down

(07:32):
in West Kentucky and what kind of reports you got
to share.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
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 eight class of bucks were getting back up on
their feet pretty regular. Seeing two to three bucks young
bucks something like a forecorn with a deer. It would

(07:59):
have Antler's out of its ears, you know, two and
a half three and a half plus h class. We're
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

(08:19):
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 going to happen
is the temperature is going.

Speaker 4 (08:31):
To fluctuate a lot of activity.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
The rain's gonna make the deer definitely move at different
times along with the moon. But I think we may
still 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 going to
hit their first heat in their estra cycle, and see

(08:56):
a little peak and heavy deer activity, and it's going
to be a lot like anything else. It's going to
be being in 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

(09:17):
are moving.

Speaker 4 (09:19):
Reports are different just depending on where you're at.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
It does seem that the deer are starting to show
more sign of scrape activity 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

(09:44):
weather that's coming Jim, because we are allowed in certain
counties to have supplemental feeding. I did feed a substantial
amount of ear corn and shelled corn today in a
location that will allow me to take advantage of some
of the northwest winds and this big north front that's
actually gonna hit perfect for the weekend warriors.

Speaker 4 (10:06):
On the out of.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
The late muzzlutter season, but still seeing quite a few deer,
no doubt about it. I try 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 spoofed and been aggravated
from bucks chasing them in the hunting season. But I
am one of those guys that's got a buck tag

(10:29):
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
age class and inches of antler.

Speaker 4 (10:45):
But a lot of good weather ahead too.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
I'm looking 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 for two or three days. 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 (11:10):
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 aspects. Number one, when are they going

(11:31):
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 (11:48):
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 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
hunysuckle this time of year because even though those deer

(12:12):
may be getting staging out on the agriculture fields, when
we get to the point where deer are loading into.

Speaker 4 (12:21):
These fields, you've got to be really careful.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
On your exit and entry strategy because if you burn
them out, you can you can change their feeding location.
They can get a little 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,

(12:45):
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 lot of that comes from where it
was so dry during the fall they didn't start to
ride a whole lot.

Speaker 4 (12:58):
And of course you've got your.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
Planted food plots. But one of the things that I'm
really picking up on gym 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 get pretty hot. But also a lot
of this agriculture planted wheat crop that has got in

(13:20):
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 brows and they're keeping their ruminant
digestion happy and they're getting through winter just fine. And
I think a lot of folks will overlook agricultural production.
Everybody wants to think about soybeans and corn, but there's
still a substantial amount of winter week and winter ride

(13:44):
it's planted in the state of Kentucky, and not just
on a tobacco patch. We're talking these bigger fields in
western Kentucky, hundreds of acres worth. And you take areas
where there's good dense cover and big winter week patches
and you're gonna find some deer.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that, because some folks don't
really equate the need that deer have for green food
to keep their room and 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

(14:21):
put it in winter wheat as a cover crop, my goodness,
deer just hammer that stuff. 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
will really start hammering the turnips and radishes and those

(14:42):
other 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 bucks are going
to be pestering in looking, that's the place to do it. Scott.

(15:05):
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 dose. And what that does is that that
means there's late born fawns from you know, the year

(15:28):
before that are going to come into esters, are into heat,
and those are the areas where you're going to see
flurries of this late rud activity. And those areas are
pretty evident in a lot of parts of the state.

(15:48):
So that's something to stay on top of it and
realize we'll come into play here because it's it's a
really big factor late something else that's I think on
the plate while talking about deer, and we need to
mention it. The buck to dough ratio, even though we're
in the buzzloors season heavy, is still way out of whack.

(16:09):
And I'm hoping that this is the 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 red activity by harvesting doughs

(16:30):
and these late seasoned deer are a 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

(16:52):
there in the elements, but you're able to 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

(17:14):
freezer and have got time on your hands leading into holidays,
this is a great way to round out your season
by taking advantage of the lake muslorm and archery season
to harvest some more doles. So I would heavily heavily
encourage that.

Speaker 3 (17:30):
And m 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 (17:49):
Yes, sir. Absolutely. All right, folks, we're gonna move toward
break here and again if you have any commonents, 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 Mossy Old Properties Heart Realty.

(18:12):
They've got all kinds of the outdoor recreation properties, homes
on the lakes, farms, wildlife management properties. You would ever
luss four check them out at mop h A r
T realty dot com. All right, folks, I want to
remind you again we've got open lines tonight. If you
have any observations, comments, or questions for us. The numbers

(18:36):
are 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 in bed,

(19:00):
no doubt again the late afternoon periods of 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

(19:23):
mentally and physically for those frigid temperatures.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
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 the when the lows and

(19:49):
the 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 in some times where wildlife is going
to capitalize on different parts of the day and different
resources just because they do.

Speaker 4 (20:09):
Need those carbohydrates to keep them going.

Speaker 3 (20:12):
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 some other places. 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

(20:36):
those big temperature swings what people would consider being ahead
of the front where you have a ten to fifteen
degree drop, and these 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

(20:56):
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 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

(21:17):
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 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

(21:41):
as well. And it's really simple. If there's a really
hard frost, just put yourself in 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 basically frozen,
or would you until the part of the day in

(22:02):
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 you, or where you're in the deep
dark shadows of the forest. And folks will begin to
put together a pattern as they scout their properties and

(22:22):
start seeing these fresh trails, especially with the ground being
soft from the rains, that deer will shift their bedding
for wind. We know that, but deer will also shift
their bedding based on how the 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.

(22:45):
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 is based as much
as how the sun rises and sets and how the
terrain and the horizons as far as hills, hollers, or

(23:05):
dis rich tops will allow sun too or not hit
certain areas of the surface.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
Gym absolutely. Hey, yeah, we've got bark calling from Bedfork, Kentucky. Bark.
Can you hear me? Now?

Speaker 5 (23:20):
I can? I sure can, Jim. Hope you guys are
doing well tonight.

Speaker 2 (23:24):
We're doing very very well. Thank you, and hope you
are as well. What have you got for us?

Speaker 5 (23:31):
Well, 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

(23:53):
birds flying, not a lot of birds working. But this
morning it's very overcast but no rain, perfect morning with
a little breeze and Ja's 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

(24:15):
man limit of the 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.

(24:36):
And we listen to you guys weekly and we appreciate
and enjoy so much what you do for us. And
I'm kind of looking for an area to find someone
to possibly mount this drake for Jase. And I know
you don't want to promote certain areas, but I just
not really sure whom to reach out here. But it's

(24:59):
a special for him, so well, right.

Speaker 4 (25:03):
Glad to hear that.

Speaker 3 (25:04):
I'll be more than happy to I'll let the producer
give you my cell phone number and we'll talk after
the show. 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 (25:22):
Letting him experience that.

Speaker 3 (25:23):
I really wish that Indiana and Kentucky would have some
of the drawing power around 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 improvement

(25:45):
projects to increase our waterfowl hunting.

Speaker 4 (25:48):
Hunting has been really good this.

Speaker 3 (25:49):
Year so far, but be nice enough to have to
travel so far from home.

Speaker 5 (25:53):
Too, it would be exact. That's exactly correct. It's such
a it's a refreshing and a fun hunt 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 joy

(26:16):
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 kid shooting a twenty
gage shotgun. That was just phenomenal. So it's unbelievable this morning.

Speaker 3 (26:32):
Missouri's got a lot of different opportunities. What we all
hunting this morning.

Speaker 5 (26:38):
We were hunting in a tank, ground blind, surrounded by
some cover cross wheat that 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
was a food source, you know, and with as much

(26:59):
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.

Speaker 6 (27:11):
But they just.

Speaker 5 (27:11):
Wanted to work this morning. They worked the decoys like
they were supposed to, and uh, when they come in,
it's it's like having massive animals flying into those decoys.
It was just something, especially for my little boy to
get the experience. A lot of folks don't get to
experience that.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
Bart, what's your what's your son's name, It's Jase. You
give j yeah, Okay, hey, you give him some knuckles
from us. Okay, that's number one and number two. I'm like, Scott,
both kudos to you for taking out there. I never
will forget the first Mallard I ever shot. I had

(27:55):
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,
as you know, is very limited weapon in many many ways.
His name is Ralph Day. And I'll never forget that experience.

(28:18):
And I'm sure your son is exactly the same way.
We've got water foul reports coming for you here this evening,
and they're 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 of birds apparently, and we're going to keep

(28:38):
you abreast of that as we go through the program tonight.
That sounds great.

Speaker 5 (28:43):
We'll be listening.

Speaker 2 (28:45):
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 like you.

Speaker 5 (29:02):
Well we I've grown up with you, Jim, you know,
been blessed to be able to have my 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. We we that's something that we laugh

(29:24):
about because she she hums to the opening music and
she she hums to the to the seven o'clock music
to break after the break. So it's uh, it's just
good times we spend together as a family.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
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.

Speaker 5 (29:47):
Your partner, Yes, sir, Thank you guys.

Speaker 2 (29:51):
Happy holidays to the family again. Give that little man
a hugging some knuckles for me, will you, yes, sir,
I will, yes, sir.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
That call right there, Jim Straighter, lets you know that
America is still.

Speaker 2 (30:05):
You ain't kidding you ate it good? 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 them. If you hadn't win a roused your
boat yet, get it on in there, because winners upon

(30:29):
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 to
seven one eighty four eighty four or eight hundred four
four four eighty four eighty four and Scott Barts call.

(30:49):
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 heard waterfoult. There's always a push of birds somewhere
between Christmas and New Year's and it looks like the

(31:12):
weather's going to conspire to provide that. Again, let's give
folks a run down on what to expect there.

Speaker 3 (31:20):
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

(31:43):
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.

Speaker 4 (31:58):
But once you get caught.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
Up with it, like most waterfowlers, they're going to jump
indiannaur Missouri, or Kentucky.

Speaker 4 (32:05):
You'll figure all that out.

Speaker 3 (32:07):
But that calendar date, when the weather works out right
normally allow push birds 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

(32:28):
waterfowl reports and see what hunters are having in the
fields and then see what may possibly be coming down
the pipe because.

Speaker 4 (32:35):
Of what they're experiencing.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
And my prediction right now, Jim, is with the amount
of water that we have and the amount of cold
air that we have, I don't think we're.

Speaker 4 (32:46):
Going to see a big push.

Speaker 3 (32:49):
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. When that ground gets covered up from
precipitation snow, that's when ducks can really start being common

(33:09):
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 view that they have.
What we will see though, is we'll see birds moving
just like the deer because they're gonna intake more calories,

(33:31):
and birds actually like the code weather. It bothers us
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

(33:52):
ducks aren't roosting at. They're coming into to rest and
somewhat feed in the middle part of the day, and
then they're leaving out going by.

Speaker 4 (34:00):
And to the rooft spots.

Speaker 3 (34:01):
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

(34:22):
of burning your barrels up.

Speaker 4 (34:23):
So try to pay attention to the weather. Try not
to shoot.

Speaker 3 (34:28):
Those areas where 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
going to lock up. And we talked about this a
lot before 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

(34:51):
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 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

(35:12):
streams and areas of open water are going to be
really good. And for anybody that's going 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

(35:32):
at peace. And nothing's any more fun than floating down
the river or a creek and doing some waterfowl hunting.

Speaker 4 (35:40):
And while you're at.

Speaker 3 (35:41):
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 (35:51):
Yes, sir. And little areas some of these watershed lakes
and what have you that have spring fed areas in
them where that's stays open, where the rest of its
frozen could be a bagnet. 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

(36:12):
and they'll work on it. There's a change in the
regulation we need to talk about real quick, because it's
a it's an increase in the bag limit on pintails.
Roll that out for the folks here real quick.

Speaker 3 (36:25):
Well, the Feds pushed down some numbers on our pintails
and said they're doing a little bit better than years past.
So it works out like this. 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

(36:47):
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 mix of bags, there's
three pintail ducks.

Speaker 2 (37:01):
And that has been improved by the Fishing islande Commission.
And I'm 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

(37:22):
at the end of the season and how that may
be affected by the limits and people's ability to harvest birds.
All right, god to go to break here, folks. This
break is presented by Massey Old Properties, Heart Realty. Paul
Thomas says all kinds of outdoor properties for sale. Check
out all their listings at mop h r T Realty

(37:43):
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, fish reports, what have you.
We'll be glad to take those from you. And the

(38:04):
numbers are five to seven to one eighty four eighty four.
There's five seven, one eight four eighty 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 waterfowl what's going on there,

(38:27):
and I guess 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 bite has been really, really good.
It's fluctuated some because of this water, but folks are

(38:47):
catching crappie. And you mentioned early 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 let's
talk crappy a bit now. I want to talk sauger
because it's it's pretty much on fire. It's finally really

(39:08):
made itself evident. Well.

Speaker 3 (39:11):
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 2 (39:30):
It really has.

Speaker 3 (39:31):
To 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

(39:54):
year revolves around technique, but it really revolves around bait,
and that bait could what's on the end of your line,
But more importantly, it's about the bait that those fish
are after and how the weather fluctuates, 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,

(40:19):
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 crappierre getting into big schools, and they're
getting into big schools on where those bait fish go,
and as that sun hurts its way through the clouds

(40:41):
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 they tend to like darker areas,
and that's why that cloud cover. A lot of times
you'll catch more fish on the state beds because of

(41:02):
what's going on with the weather, and when that sun
pops out, those fish will get a little bit tighter
to cover. 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

(41:23):
or lower in the water calm, or whether or not
you're using a spider egg or you're doing casting techniques,
don't overlook how 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

(41:48):
we are in the middle part of the day or
the beginning part of the day. 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

(42:10):
the time to learn how important these boat houses, docks
and structures in the water are to crappy and while
wood is, don't ever overlook any type of aluminium or
galvanized or steel structures that these fish can get onto
where those bake fish will capitalize on the algae plank

(42:32):
and all that that's in the area. And on those
bright sunny days, there's not a better spot in the
lake to find a dark, shady spot than underneath a
covered walkway or a big boat dot.

Speaker 2 (42:43):
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 overlooked

(43:05):
places for folks to target croppie 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 is where the lake narrows down. You know,
that's why they put the bridge there. Let's talk about
that little bit. So as those current breaks develop behind

(43:30):
those bridge columns and on the back sides where most
times you have rip wrap 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 croppie. And
it's exactly like those docks in other areas you mentioned.

(43:52):
Those fish will suspend there and they're very, very catchable.
Another thing I want to mention, and the spider riggers
know this, and the guys that are really into the
limescope know this. There's tremendous concentrations of baitfish that are
suspended at this time of year, and a lot of

(44:14):
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 bays. But you can bet your bottom dollar
that there are schools of crappy suspended underneath those schools

(44:34):
of baitfish croppy. In this modern area, crappy 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, and

(44:55):
both for the guys that like the spider rig or
troll for crappy that's a killer way to catch it
this time of year.

Speaker 3 (45:03):
Yeah, and we were talking too with my buddy Lee James,
for we went on the show about the amount of
bluegill that have been getting picked up in and around
some of these areas the crap you're 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 the crappie fish gym, they like to

(45:24):
fry fish as well. And that's a lot of techniques
have 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 else is doing. A lot of that is

(45:47):
what's getting to strike and getting the bite. We can
all find the fish, whether it's on forward facing sonar
or whether it's on a gray scaled you know, depth finder.
But remember that when plastic gets cold, it gets really rigid.
It doesn't have as much lifelike imaging to the fish.

(46:07):
You know, livee 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
they've gotten so far away from the basics of what
really used to work.

Speaker 2 (46:28):
Well, you've been around me enough to know I've got
a huge box of hair jigs 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.

(46:49):
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 wider or yellow bass around those bresh piles,
get ready, you're gonna 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 right there,

(47:10):
you talking about those blue gill. You will seldom see
a brush pile this time of year in water. That's
I'm gonna 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. And if you
drop a thirty second ounce jig down there with a

(47:31):
waxworm on it, you can absolutely fill your live well.
And nothing's better than those big cold water blue gill
this time of year.

Speaker 3 (47:40):
So that's something I wanted to be a trap too.
Jim will come sitting right on the bottom of that
mudflat 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 them.
So let her sink, get.

Speaker 4 (48:02):
Her down there.

Speaker 3 (48:03):
Whether you want to jig it or just floated 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 deers. They get smart. 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 (48:24):
Yes, sir, all right, we got to go to break here.
Come back from break, we're gonna talk bass and sager
sauger are really coming into play.

Speaker 3 (48:33):
Now.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
I've got buddies that are really been hammering them and
I'm gonna fish form 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, 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

(48:55):
one eighty four eighty four or eight hundred eighty four
eighty four. This break is presented by Paul Thomas at
Massel Properties all kinds of vacation homes, farms and wildlife
properties for sale. Check out their current listings at mop
h A R t Realte dot com. All right, folks, uh,

(49:20):
we're continuing our information about the fishing reports that are
coming in and Scott Sauger fishing has really busted loose.
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

(49:42):
this week myself to fish for that migration of sauger
and walleye and we'll give a report on that. But
it's it's really cranking up now. It was a little
slow coming, but buddy, it's it's it's cranking.

Speaker 4 (49:57):
Well.

Speaker 3 (49:57):
You know, Sager fishing has grown and popular larity too.
It used to be that signing somebody that went soger
fishing was few and far between, some of.

Speaker 4 (50:07):
It because of the cold weather.

Speaker 3 (50:08):
The other part of it is that it was just
a species that it was really hit or missed depending
on where you lived at in the state.

Speaker 4 (50:15):
But one thing.

Speaker 3 (50:17):
About it, we've got so many areas with locks and
dams in Kentucky and Indiana both where anglers can get
out and go by foot or use a kayak or
go by boat. Now, one thing before we get into
strategy and technique, anytime you're in and around the water,

(50:38):
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 where you have the opportunity to slip
in because hypothermia is a real thing and a lot

(50:59):
of times what we're 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 about sager people don't realize. Let's take going
from the bank at first, you may have to use

(51:21):
a little bit more weight to get out there, and
the same thing applies to sauger as other fish. On
cloudy days, try.

Speaker 4 (51:29):
To use your.

Speaker 3 (51:31):
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 2 (51:40):
Silver or blue works really well.

Speaker 3 (51:42):
But a lot of times people want to understand how
important it is to contrast your baits, especially your your
spoons or your grubs. This is a time of year
that I like to use a black body, jig grubs,
plastic grub. What's so some type of short truce or
orange or red tail or body to where it's very

(52:07):
contrasting through that water column, because sag 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 and that's
what they're feeding on. And this is going to continue
all the way up for a couple of months now
until they get ready to go and spawn. But it

(52:29):
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 form that you're
going to catch multiple species of fish, but don't forget
you can only keep six a day and they all
need to be above fourteen inches.

Speaker 2 (52:48):
Yeah. They 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 over
years ago Kevin Worth, who was a Kentuckian there was
a real real threat on the baths circuit and I
did a television show together on the Ohio River in January.

(53:13):
And the mainstay, and this is something that works everywhere,
is either drop shotting with a live mintum 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 minta on the back is another

(53:35):
great one. But I will tell you blade baits in
particular can be absolutely deadly on those fish, and so
can jigging spoons. 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 there

(53:55):
to rest, vertical jig in, those baits can be absolutely deadly.
And I'll be doing some of that on the Cumblan
River here this week, and I'm really looking forward to
because the push is really really all with that. So
we got to go to break here. Coming back from break,
we're gonna talk small game in a big way. We've

(54:17):
got rabbits in's played, we got squirrels to talk about,
and doves several things, and then we're gonna talk about
some other things going on around the region with this
cold weather coming in. So if you want to give
us a call, the numbers are five seven to one
eighty four eighty four or eight hundred four four four
eighty four eighty four. This break is presented by SMI Marine.

(54:41):
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 want
to mention about turkeys, and then we're gonna talk rad
and squirrels and some of the other aspects of trapping

(55:05):
that coming to play right now.

Speaker 3 (55:06):
It was good to hear all the reports of the
amount of turkeys being seen this fall from deer hunters.

Speaker 4 (55:15):
And of course we.

Speaker 6 (55:16):
Just closed out this past week with the fall shotgun season,
and I was able to get out and hunt and
harvest a bird myself went with one of my really
good friends.

Speaker 4 (55:27):
We see great numbers.

Speaker 3 (55:29):
And as we moved 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 game populations that we're

(55:50):
all striving to see. 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 (56:01):
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

(56:27):
average number of fauns 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,

(56:51):
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 pie 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

(57:13):
or sardine or mackerel, you take your pick. Peanut butter
is one of the easiest. I just put a dab
of peanut butter on a paper towel, push it down
the pipe, load the trap, and the next thing you know,
you've made a tremendous impact and it's a fun way
to spend time outdoors. You can do it over the weekend.

(57:33):
You know, check your traps obviously, as you 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

(57:55):
hunt those things at night, has made a tremendous impact
on Kyle populations and it's it's been good not only
for deer 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 (58:17):
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 hating or deer hunt
or fishing on public lands, but you do like to
go after predators or trap, don't forget that's a tremendous

(58:38):
resource that you have and every state out there and
you can do a lot of things, just got 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 and

(59:00):
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 engaging

(59:23):
and engaging more than one weekend a year or one
night a year with predator control from the rifle, the shotgun,
the night visions, the thermals, to the traps, it is
a very fast return on the investment for improving the

(59:43):
game species numbers.

Speaker 2 (59:46):
Yeah, there's no question. I mean, I've got several folks
where I manage properties and they managed in conjunction with
other folks that have properties, and that spreads, of course
to from hunters to thousands of acres overall. And in
those areas where there's consistent predator control, again to your point,

(01:00:10):
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 for Coyle's well,

(01:00:31):
it's changed things in a big way. I mean, I'm
so delighted that the Fish and 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 3 (01:00:50):
Jimmy talking to a guy right here, 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 our sportsman's

(01:01:13):
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 how many people

(01:01:34):
are interested in getting involved with trapping gim 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.
So maybe we can advocate for that one day, get
it to where it's part of the sportsman's license.

Speaker 2 (01:01:52):
I think it should be. I agree with you hardly,
and it's delling folks if you want to know more
about trapping. Scott and I've done some killer shows in
the past about trapping and they're available on podcast on
iHeart app or on spriaker, s p R e E kyard
dot com and uh Chick Anders and my buddy Kenny

(01:02:15):
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 of predators

(01:02:35):
on some areas versus the lack of predators. Your buddy
we were talking too prior to going on the 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. Couts have just pretty well

(01:02:57):
scared the landscape. And that's that's been in agent situation for
years now, and it's something that again shows the need
for predator control in a big, big way.

Speaker 3 (01:03:12):
It's more important now than ever before for people to
put the scenario, if you were a rabbit to get
from zero point A to point B, how much open
area you have to expose yourself in versus how much
covered area and canopy doesn't have to be that tall.
That's the biggest thing that people have got to put

(01:03:33):
into perspective when it comes to habitat management. If you
can just keep your canopy somewhere in 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, dollar for dollar,
what is the best thing that I can do on

(01:03:54):
my farm to make my rabbit habitat better? And this
is what I told him. 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 a place to hide. So try
to do your mowing at a time to where there's

(01:04:16):
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 (01:04:34):
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 gotta have hardbrier. If you don't have hardbrier, you're
not going to have very many rabbits. Because brother Kyle

(01:04:56):
is so good at shifting 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

(01:05:19):
in this modern era. But if you over manicure them.
Kyles 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
have a fairly wide strips left or else it's gonna

(01:05:42):
be a death trap for him.

Speaker 3 (01:05:44):
I want I want folks to remember one thing about
rabbits before we go into a break. As many times
as you've 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'm mean by
open coverers, like you can see the rabbit we're watching,
we're watching, we're watching, we're watching that covers there. But

(01:06:07):
when we get that rabbit there in that opening, that's
where we take our shot. Well, guess what these coyutes.

Speaker 4 (01:06:12):
Are doing when the rabbits are in the open.

Speaker 3 (01:06:14):
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 coats and the bobcats and everything else that's out

(01:06:34):
there after them can see the rabbits, they gobble them up,
and so the more cover you got, the better our
little bunnies are going to be.

Speaker 2 (01:06:42):
No doubt about it. All right, folks, got to go
to break. Here's presented by SMI Marine. They've got the
twenty fours on sail with all kinds of discounts. The
twenty fives are coming in and they've got all kinds
of buying in centives on them as well. Go see
them and remember ever gets soaked by my friends at SMI.

(01:07:03):
We were talking there about couts and coloud 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 they are.

Speaker 3 (01:07:25):
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
slip out this for an hour or two, and while
the increase of electronic collars has been a good thing, Jim,
it's also played a little bit of a troubleshooting problem

(01:07:49):
with the variables that can impact whether or not you're
singing colts and harvesting couts, and folks again need to
pay attention to regulations when it comes to fox 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

(01:08:10):
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 can get of sounding
like a younger dog will get you further than focusing
on the prey. The dress and some of the times

(01:08:34):
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 times those cooats
will kind of din 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

(01:08:55):
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 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

(01:09:16):
will get a brand new collar, they'll see a coat
that colt 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 it's no different
than the 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

(01:09:36):
months ahead, each day is getting this one step closer
and one step closer to that breeding sequence.

Speaker 4 (01:09:43):
And and what's going to be.

Speaker 3 (01:09:44):
Said as far as how the dogs will yodle and
get out there and and uh and change their tomb
just a little bit. But I've seen Jim firsthand that
where our colt population is changing on the end in
areas that it's easy to find where your mating calls

(01:10:06):
will get animals to come in a little bit earlier
and earlier each year. And I think a large part
of that is is just where an animal has more
of a population that they have to have service. 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. They're going

(01:10:29):
to lay out their territory and sometimes they're going to
come into play, and sometimes they're going to come in
to breed, and other times they're going to come in
for a challenge.

Speaker 2 (01:10:38):
Yes, sir, let's swist 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 with Daggarnet, we've had

(01:10:58):
too many of us so far. It's been pretty frustrating.
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

(01:11:18):
areas that I hunt now, as you know, travel far
and wide to hunt because folks I know across the
region with that know that I have the dog. But
overall been very very good. But the rut, the squirrel rut,
which is the best hunting of all for guys with
and without dogs because of how active they are all

(01:11:40):
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 (01:11:48):
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 square 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

(01:12:08):
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 r going on,

(01:12:29):
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 part time finding
a good time on a December January day and moving

(01:12:51):
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 (01:13:00):
Absolutely un let's round things out here. At the end,
we got doves coming in the late Seasoned 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.

(01:13:21):
They don't like being in those open, big fields too
much this time of year, but if you can find
areas like that they have weist green you can really
have some fun. So we wanted to pass that along
as well. The Mojoe doves in concert with you being
in a small blind or I guess row is really

(01:13:43):
really good. 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.