Outdoor Journal: Taking kids out to fish can be very rewarding

SPORTS – Last Saturday, my wife and I took our grandkids Sammy and Sydney Dunston over to my secret shore where I would catch bass in Saratoga Lake. Both of them knew what we were going to use for bait, papa’s favorite bait, the wacky worm.

My wife was helping Sydney, and on her third cast I heard, “Got one.” She did a great job and brought it in. Papa smiled ear to ear when I saw a 12-inch bass on the line. Sammy had several hits, probably smaller fish.

Unfortunately, more boaters and fishing people arrived, and we headed to the nearest ice cream place. They both liked their new rods and reels and said, “Let’s do it again.” You bet we will.

So, take those kids out fishing on those nice sunny days, it’s worth seeing those smiles.

TRAIL CAMERAS

According to Ten Point Crossbow Technologies, trail cameras are your most valuable resource for scouting and monitoring deer activity in your hunting area year-round. If you have not already placed your trail cameras in the woods for this year, you should consider doing it sooner, rather than later, as you may be missing out on precious information that your cameras can yield.

Take an Inventory of the deer herd in your area. Mounting a trail camera during the Spring will show you if the number of deer you are capturing in photos is equal to, greater, or less than the number of deer you have seen in the past. Pay attention to the physical appearance of the deer, as this will show you whether the herd appears to be generally healthy or not.
Identify traffic volume and patterns. Place your camera near well-worn trails to determine how much traffic each trail gets, whether does or bucks are using the trail, and which trail on your property is the busiest. Since most trail cameras have a date/time stamp on each picture, you can also determine the specific times of day when certain trails are used the most.
Monitor pregnancy rates and antler growth rates and size. This is another benefit of trail cameras. The does you capture on camera in the Spring, you can determine how many are pregnant, and over time, how many fawn are born and survive into the fall, which is an indicator of overall herd health and whether predation is heavy or light in your area. Bucks, on the other hand, will begin to show the initial growth of their antlers during this time.
Determine the best location for early season stand/blind placement. After monitoring deer traffic patterns on you land in the Spring and Summer months, you should be able to identify the locations on your property which are the best for you to hunt in the early season. One of the exciting parts of the beginning of archery season is the prospect that bucks are still in a daylight movement pattern and that they will continue to follow this pattern for a few weeks into the season, until their pre-rut instincts begin to develop.