I received an e-mail press release from Northland Fishing Tackle today, promoting the success of their walleye jigs and trolling rigs. It’s a pretty typical – albeit really well written – press release, geared toward promoting the virtues of the company’s tackle.

You can read Northland’s releases here. This one was titled “Batting a Thousand in Walleye Land.”

The thing that jumped out at me from the press release had little to do with the featured jigs, though. Here it is, from about halfway through the piece:

“Arnoldussen trolled his rigs at 1 to 1.3-mph with his engine-mounted Minn Kota electric motor. He kept his spinners tracking about halfway down over 15-feet of water, which is where the majority of his 25 final day keepers bit. He concentrated on stained “milky” water where clarity was about 2 feet. The green blades proved to be the perfect combination of flash and vibration, as well as the right match-the-hatch realism to dominate in a highly competitive tournament environment.”

And again, it got mention here:
“We ran our rigs 1 to 1.2-mph at 9 to 10 feet over 16 to 18 feet of water in Brest Bay,” said Steve. “Finding dingy—not dirty—water was the key.”

Notice the similarities? Buried within a piece about tackle are two references to the relationship between walleye success and water clarity. Think what you might about the jigs and spinners in question, but that’s a useful bit of information to take on the boat.
So, keep this in mind when you next see a new product release from an outdoor manufacturer: if you take a minute to read between the lines, you might find that manufacturer’s giving you something for free – knowledge you can put to use in the field.

I’ve been following the ODNR’s reports from the start of the Ohio fishing season, and one word is coming up a lot these days:

Crappie.

According to this week’s report, the feisty panfish are hitting hard and often at lakes across the state. Live bait seems to be working well, and this article offers some tips for effective bait rigs.

Take a look at the links, and hit the water – the fishing’s good, and we should all make the most of it!

How long can you fish?

Find out at the 24-Hour Fish-A-Thon on September 10 – 11 and you could also help improve the very same waters you fish in. Now in its second year, the event pits teams of anglers across the country against each other for a good cause that raises funds to help support responsible fishing and improve fish habitat. Teams compete for prizes like a guided trip with a Professional Anglers Association (PAA) tour-level pro, or a getaway to a remote lodge. Additional prizes include tackle from Berkley and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

This year the event is co-sponsored by BoatUS Angler, an advocacy and services association for recreational boat owners. It offers on-the-water towing, roadside assistance and angler’s boat insurance.

The 24-Hour Fish-A-Thon is open to freshwater anglers in all 50 states. To participate, anglers begin by becoming a Fish-A-Thon Ambassador / Team Leader at www.RecycledFish.org/FishAThon , and sign up their team of two to four anglers. After they receive their Fish-A-Thon welcome kit in the mail, each team member’s next step is to secure pledges from family, friends or co-workers for each hour they fish, which typically range from $10 to $75 an hour.

Next they go fishing. Lines are cast Friday, September 10 at 6 pm until Saturday, September 11 at 6 pm. During the event anglers are also encouraged to pick up any trash and use tackle that is easier on the environment, such as lead-free weights or biodegradable baits and lures, and practice good catch-and-release tactics.

Every team raising a minimum of $100 will get a complimentary 24-Hour Fish-A-Thon shirt. Additional prizes include tackle, apparel and gift cards.

Participating anglers take photos of their fish and self-score their catch at the event’s online fish calculator, then submit their score to the Fish-A-Thon administrator. Top prizes go to the team with the most funds raised and the team with the highest score based on their best five fish photos. Additional prizes include tackle packages, apparel and gift cards. Prizes are also given for the best photos, the most “unusual” trash picked up and more.

For complete Fish-A-Thon information and rules, go to www.RecycledFish.org, or contact Buddy Johns at buddy@recycledfish.org.

I recently had the chance to go out of town – waaay out, as in Nevada out.

It was for work, but I did get to squeak in a little time hiking and climbing in Red Rock Canyon.

When I got off the plane in Vegas, I immediately found a grocery store and bought two things that I wouldn’t even consider hitting the trail without this time of year:

A good bottle of sunscreen, and a jug of water.

The first should be obvious. Sunscreen has an expiration date. Pay attention to it. And eve if you’re simply wandering around in the forest, searching for game sign under the trees, you are getting enough sun that you really should put some on. Skin cancer sucks, from what I’ve heard. Don’t tempt it.

Since I was hiking in the desert and still have the lovely complexion of a Midwesterner after a dreary, cloudy winter, I bought the highest SPF I could find. I do that at home, too, although it’s not as pressing an issue there.

The jug of water may have seemed like overkill, but think about it for a minute: sunny, dry conditions + unfamiliar terrain + not being acclimated at all to the weather = a greater chance for something to go wrong. No point in worsening the odds by not having enough water on hand. Besides, if I didn’t drink the whole gallon, it would prove useful to wash dust off my pack and gear at the end of the hike.

As the days get brighter, longer and hotter, remember that your body’s still getting used to the new weather. Watch that sun exposure, and watch that dehydration. Failing to do so can easily ruin your day, and it’s too nice out to have that happen right now.

And yes, there will be desert pictures on the way. Stay tuned for those – they’re worth the wait, I promise.

Sorry, that’s a rather bad pun. But I suspect that at least a few of you might be caught off guard by the new trend I spotted at the Ohio Deer & Turkey Expo:

Photo by Matt Cunningham

Yessir, that’s a whitetail skull done up in camo. What do you make of that?

I saw a number of vendors who offered this service. It uses the same water-transfer graphics that gear manufacturers use to wrap Mossy Oak and other licensed camo patterns onto everything from treestands to ATVs to shotguns. One flintknapper offered it on hand-crafted arrowheads.

But on a skull?

The vendors I spoke with all said the graphic-covered skulls were a hit, and that they can be done in about 200 patterns ranging from camo to wood-grain to metallic colors. I was impressed that the wrap covers EVERY inch of bone, even the tiny fissures can crevices around the jaw and eye sockets.

I can see both sides of this idea: on one hand, there seems to be something disrespectful about coloring-up the skull of a game animal. On the other hand, maybe there’s a pattern or graphic that can remind you of a special part of the hunt. Either way, I suspect there’ve been at least a few arguments over the merits of doing this to a prize buck.

Weigh in. Post a comment and express your opinion on this. Then get out and have a good time in this wonderful Spring weather we’re having.

If you’re a boat owner, I bet at the very least you’ve pulled the cover off your pride and joy and cleaned it up for the first trip to the lake or river. Perhaps you already put the old girl in the water – it’s way too cold to go for a dip, but certainly the sunshine makes for good early-season boating.

If, like many boaters in Ohio, your watercraft lives on a trailer when not in its element, take a minute to consider the following before the next time you hitch it to the truck and head out for a weekend on the water:

• I don’t care how much you invested in your boat, or how much care you lavish on the condition of the trailer. The link between vehicle and that which it tows is utterly critical, and deserves careful attention. That hitch isn’t a whole lot of metal holding your toys together. Make sure the ball is properly mounted to a TOW BAR STRONG ENOUGH FOR THE LOAD. I always cringe when I see some yokel towing off the bumper. Yeah, it may work for light loads, but how many years will you get before bumper rust makes that a fool’s solution?
• In addition, pay attention to the electrical connections. This means hooking things up, getting a helper, and doing a walk-around to ensure each light turns on and off like it should. I do this every time the wiring is unplugged and re-plugged. You never know when it’s going to fail.
• Are you using safety chains? No? Then you’re playing with fire. Make sure the chains don’t drag (twist them a few turns to take up excess slack), and make sure they’re loose enough not to bind in sharp turns. And for crying out loud, replace the silly things when they get rusty. There’s no point risking your expensive boat for a few dollars’ worth of chain.
• Finally, do one important step before hitting the road. Pull the truck/trailer combo onto a flat, safe spot, get up a little speed (maybe 10-15 mph), and hit the brakes. Don’t slam them, just come to a stop. Does the trailer pull to one side? Do its brakes engage? Make sure you can answer the right way (no and yes, respectively) before you leave home.

The warming streak this week in Southwest Ohio has people outside everywhere, and no wonder – who out there isn’t halfway to the asylum with cabin fever by now?

That energizing blast that has your neighbors out and about has the same effect on the finned critters living in the ponds and rivers around the area.

And in this area, that means the monsters will start moving soon.

The Ohio state record blue catfish, a 96-pound beast hooked in June, came out of the Ohio River just outside of Cincinnati. The same body of water produced a 104-pounder in Kentucky.

Michael Eikenberry, owner of All Around Outfitters in southern Illinois, said catfish can be caught all year long, but the fight gets better – much better – as the water temps rise.

“You fish in the cold for the taste, you fish in warm water for the fight,” he said.

So for both a good fight and something tasty for the plate, it stands to reason that late spring’s the time to hit the water. If you’re just out there for the thrill of hooking into a lunker, however, Eikenberry advises waiting until June to August, when the heat sinks deep into the holes and pockets where the big fish hide.

Eikenberry’s guide service, like others along this stretch of the river, offers late- and all-night catfishing trips. With a campfire on the shore, 12-foot surfcasting rods strung with 50-pound test and a pontoon boat ready to chase down the fish, it’s an active night, but one he says brings clients back year after year.

“People who have done it before know how much fun it is,” he said.

So if you harbor dreams of landing a great slimy beast from the depths but wrote it off for lack of travel and offshore-charter funds, take a look inland.

Very close inland. You might find that the big fish you’re looking for is right down the street.