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When it comes to scouting for deer, many hunters wonder if their summer patterns can truly translate into fall success. Some dismiss summer scouting altogether, claiming that bucks relocate when they shed their velvet, while others rely heavily on July and August observations to plan their fall hunts. The truth lies somewhere in between. Let’s debunk some common myths about summer scouting and see how to use off-season data effectively for fall hunting success. Myth #1: Bucks Completely Relocate

Call them red drum, channel bass, puppy drum, spottail bass or simply redfish, these inshore fish are frequently the target of vacationing coastal anglers from Massachusetts to Texas. Redfish are voracious fighters that range from 12 to 50 inches and can weigh as much as 60 pounds. For freshwater anglers who haven’t spent much time on the coast, redfish behavior can best be described as part largemouth bass, part blue catfish. Redfish will readily and willingly eat artificial baits as well as

Clearcuts may not be the most aesthetically pleasing habitat to look at, but they can certainly provide exceptional wildlife habitat if designed and managed properly. Forest management, even intensive timber production strategies, can provide quality wildlife habitat. In fact, little or no timber management often has detrimental effects on the wildlife value of a property. The key in balancing timber management and wildlife value is to maintain good habitat diversity (species composition and age

It was the opening day of Missouri’s three-week-long turkey season, and I had tagged along with two good friends while hunting on one of their father-in-law's cattle farms. Earlier that morning, we walked through a large open pasture to get close to a small stretch of timber, where we knew several turkeys had been roosting each night. As the first light appeared that morning, our assumption was confirmed when we heard two toms gobbling on the roost. We hurried to get set up in the correct

It was “up in the morning” as they say in turkey hunting lingo. The daylight din of activity had ebbed so I was trolling along, stopping periodically to belt out a few yelps on my box call when I got a response, though not one I’d hoped for. It was perhaps the worst rendition of a hen turkey I’d ever heard, and I chuckled to myself thinking, “This guy will never kill a turkey.” Hoping to avoid the other hunter I moved off a way before calling again, and getting the same scratchy, awkward

One of the most common mistakes in food plot plantings and farming for wildlife is improper timing relative to the crop and the region. For example, the growing period for warm season annuals can vary pretty widely across the nation. The northernmost part of the states and on into Canada could have as little as four to five months of temperatures conducive to growing spring/summer crops. This is all dependent on how quickly the winter snow melts and soil temperatures rise as well as when the

Winter Flock Gatherings Huge winter flocks (think deer “yarding”) are not uncommon in colder climes. I watched as a Kentucky flock of more than 150 roosted birds scattered across a hardwood hillside as they cackled and glided into a protected valley below. What an incredible and noisy affair. The same occurred in Tennessee and Iowa. The image here shows part of a large Alabama winter flock of 66 birds. What’s with these big turkey rendezvous? There was forage available, but with all the

Many gamekeepers try to take a holistic approach to our properties, wildlife management and the arrangement of habitats we all strive to improve. In the upper Great Plains that I consider to be “my neck of the woods,” the single most limiting factor is often cover. Since the late 1800s when settlers first homesteaded the great prairie, the horse-drawn moldboard plow and generations of later farming practices all but wiped out what once was a sea of tall and short- prairie grass from central

Managing duck Impoundments requires a year-round cycle of monitoring, with the primary goal of growing a food crop and then flooding it. The fastest way to get ready to plant after duck season is to drain all the water from the impoundment, usually beginning on the first day after duck season ends. The process of draining takes time, because the wet ground will also need time to dry out before any kind of equipment can operate in the impoundment. However, anyone watching an impoundment after the

We’ve all heard statements like, “A whitetail ‘lives’ by its nose.” It’s true! To be able to identify another deer or the threat of a human or other predator from just a miniscule, molecular whiff of odor would probably make most humans freak out. The olfactory portion of a whitetail’s brain is said to be approximately 1,000 times larger than a human’s! That’s difficult for most humans to even comprehend. So, knowing that a whitetail's number one guard is its extremely responsive sense of smell