Woods and Waters May 24 2018

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May 25, 2018

Last week we took a peek at the sport of paddling and kayaks with an emphasis on kayak fishing. It’s a sport that has really exploded over the last few years. That’s easy to understand when you look at the relatively low investment it takes to get into the sport. It’s also a great and relaxing way to enjoy being outdoors, with the benefits of exercise and catching a few fish!

There is nothing like casting a line from a kayak, while watching the sun sink in the west. Also paddling slowly around a tranquil bay, in the predawn light, in search of that of that big bass!

Kayak fishing can be as simple as you wish. I carry a couple of rods, an assortment of swim baits and spinners, a net, bottle of water and of course a paddle! The other end of the spectrum might include depthfinders, some form of pedal system, gear boxes with rod holders for an additional 5 or 6 rods-the choice is yours. Two things I never go without are sunscreen and some form of insect repellent.

In the past, if you really wanted to get into kayaking, you had to find books to help learn the sport. The great thing about technology is now you simply need to pull up YouTube. Every facet of the sport is available and you might also pick up some great ideas!

I know a lot of folks, much like myself, who don’t have a pasture full of tanks, well-stocked with fish or a $20,000 boat to cruise the fishy waters of Waurika Lake. Well, don’t despair! If you didn’t realize it, you have access to one of the true jewels of this area! And you don’t need anyone’s permission. All you need is a valid Oklahoma fishing license and adhere to the rules that are posted as you enter the area.

Being only 4 miles northwest of downtown Waurika makes this a wonderful fishing and recreation area. The reservoir I’m talking about is Lake Jap Beaver. It was constructed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in 1953 and first opened to fishing in 1955. When first opened, the lake was known as Waurika Lake. After the construction of the 10,000 acre Waurika Lake, the original lake was named Lake Jap Beaver after longtime Jefferson County Game Warden, Jap Beaver, who was also very popular.

Lake Jap Beaver is a beautiful small lake; it encompasses 65 acres with an average depth of 10 ft and a maximum depth of 30 ft. There are roads providing access to both sides of the lake including the dam. A boat ramp is located on the west side and also a small fishing dock. It’s a great place to enjoy a sunrise and watch for birds and wildlife. My wife Jana and I often will sit out on the shore in the late evening and watch for beaver and deer.

It’s a great place to cast while walking the shoreline or just take the lawn chairs and watch your cork “bob.” The most common species are bass, channel cat, crappie and sunfish. I’ve caught white bass on occasion but these were probably added by some well meaning fishermen!

Hunting is allowed in the surrounding area using a shotgun for small game and game birds and archery equipment during archery deer season. During high school, Jim Hagg and I would duck hunt there on a regular basis.

Chris James provers that a farmer tan can’t stop you from Kayak fishing.

Back in the 60s and 70s my Uncle George Brown and his fishing buddy Babe Cephus spent many hours fishing for bass and crappie in their float tubes, with great success.

If you have a kayak or canoe it’s a great place to launch them and spend time fishing the entire lake. Also, just take the kids out and paddle around the area! If you don’t have one it’s a good time to visit Academy. The lake is safe in the respect that, with its smaller size, wind is not as much of an issue as on its big brother, Waurika Lake!

If you haven’t spent time at Lake Jap Beaver in a while, give it a try! It’s been around for over 60 years and is still as beautiful as ever. In the last few years, the Conservation Department has put up new signs posting the regulations for the area. When using the area please adhere to the regulations and above all “take your trash with you.” As with any public use area it’s up to the users to help keep it clean!

This is just another reason to be proud of our part of Oklahoma! I remember, while in high school, hearing rumors that kids used to frequent the area on weekend evenings to watch the “submarine races,” but I never knew for sure!

Get out and enjoy our great Oklahoma outdoors!

Woods and Waters June 14 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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June 14, 2018

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Well my friends, we are into June and the only hunting season that is open is Squirrel season! When I was growing up a lot of folks I know ate squirrel regularly. I had a beloved uncle, Clevie Goodrich, who put squirrel hunting nearly on the same level as quail hunting and he enthusiastically pursued both! If you haven’t tried fried squirrel you are actually missing a treat. No, it doesn’t taste like chicken!

But, if you are not into bushytails and aren’t willing to chase hogs this summer, then now is the premier time for fishing. And I’m here to tell you that the reports I’m getting show that it doesn’t matter if you’re on the lake, a stock pond, a creek or wherever there is water, the fishing is great. I have even seen some energetic young men pulling some nice fish from the ditches along side of the roads.

When I was a youngster, this time of year was marked by my grandmother, Abbie Gaines, loading us up for a day of fishing. We would spend time digging worms and catching grasshoppers for bait, then loaded our equipment and heading to the North Pasture tank. Our equipment consisted of cane poles, bobbers and an assortment of hooks, not very sophisticated by today’s standards. Babbie, as we called her, could spend hours watching a cork bob! Most of the fish we caught back then were mudcats and perch, but they were great fried up!

Canyon Carter lands a nice bass with help from Gary and Jane!

Things, and especially equipment, have changed a lot since those days but there is no better way to spend a warm summer morning than on your local pond!

Stock ponds or tanks have been around for years and they have fed families and provided angling recreation ever since I can remember. You don’t need a lot of money or a fancy boat to fish them. A lot of us were introduced to fishing on their banks, and some might wish to go back to those days when the sight of a bobber slipping under the water was all we needed to make us happy.

Farm ponds, stock tanks, watershed lakes, by whatever name – they’re small waters that are easy to learn and on which we can hone our skills.

“Farm ponds come anywhere from a half acre to thirty acres, but I’ve always thought that fifteen acres or more leans toward a lake,” says Bill Dance, television fishing icon, avid pond fisherman and lake designer. Some farm ponds are constructed in gullies or valleys, some are impounded and some are just round dish-type holes in the ground.

Most ponds have a dam of some sort. Many have off-color water, sometimes even muddy. Ponds can provide good fishing for bass, bluegills and catfish. Don’t expect crappies in small bodies of water, though—the species is so prolific that crappie populations occupy too much of the available water space. In fact, most game and fish departments won’t even consider stocking crappies unless the body of water is at least 50 acres in size.

A small pond is a miniature version of a big lake: Fish do basically the same things in each body of water. They relate to key structural features that are available. They’re affected by water temperature and by water clarity just as their big-water cousins are. Anglers should look for them near the same sorts of cover and structure, and fish for them accordingly.

If fishing for bluegills/sunfish, keep as many of the sunfish you catch as the law allows; you’ll have the makings for a great fish fry regardless of the size of the fish, and you’ll be doing the pond fishery a favor. A pond’s sunfish population can get out of control in a hurry. A number of female bluegills might all spawn with one male, so breeding success each year is high. Removing stunted sunfish will increase the average size of the survivors within a few summers.

Our niece, Nikki Green, caught this nice cat off the patio during Texoma’s flooding!

Catfish, whether bullheads or channel, tend to prowl close to the banks during low-light periods. Look for most to stay in the deepest portion of the pond or around drop-offs near currents during warm weather and the brightest part of the day.

Fish earthworms or scented baits under a float, with the bait positioned near the bottom. If the water is too deep to use a clip-on or pegged float, use a slip bobber. Otherwise, try tight lining, by sliding a small barrel sinker on the line, tie on a small barrel swivel followed by 16—20 inches of monofilament, and then add the bait hook.

Nowadays a lot of farm ponds are stocked with channel catfish, which do well in small waters with minimum current. If channel catfish are present, fish for them at low-light times with in-line spinners, such as those made by Mepps and Blue Fox. Channel catfish in farm ponds are especially predatory in early to midsummer, when the fins of nearly spawned bass and sunfish are still in the”soft-ray” stage of development.

Regardless of which type of fishing you prefer, your local body of water has a lot to offer. Get out and enjoy fishing in your Oklahoma and call and let me know when the “fish fry” is on!

Woods and Waters June 22 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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June 22, 2018

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With the heat indexes running above 100 degrees and increasingly dry and windy weather, sitting in front of the air conditioning is not a bad option. But there are fish to catch and adventures waiting on us!

This time of year there is not much hunting activity at all. Fishing for the most part is concentrated in the early morning and late evening when the temperatures are more moderate.

With last Sunday being Father’s Day, I hope everyone had a chance to celebrate with those closest to you and maybe embark on some new adventure! At least, I hope you had the chance to sit around in the evening and relive those special memories shared with a loved one in our great outdoors. Hopefully mosquito free!

My brothers and I were so lucky to grow up in rural Jefferson County. Back then you didn’t really think about being in the outdoors because that’s where you spent the majority of your time. You were either working cattle, building fence, killing mesquites, on a tractor or if really unlucky, hauling hay! When not working you still preferred to be outside riding horses, hanging out on the creek or fishing at the “concrete dam” or your favorite tank.

Times have changed but the sport of fishing remains very popular and a great way to introduce the little ones to our great outdoors.

If you are lucky enough to venture west to the mountains this time of year and find yourself on a mountain stream casting a fly, you are blessed!

Waking up to the cool crisp mornings, the smell of pine and pinion trees just add to the experience.

If you have a trout fishing trip in your near future, we have a few tips for you that you may have forgotten.

From Colorado to Maine, Wisconsin to Georgia, all trout behave the same way. How, when, and where they feed is highly predictable. Learning how to catch them on a fly rod, however, goes beyond simply knowing where to find the fish. Listed below are some tips that will get you primed and ready for every aspect of the trout game, from how what to feed them, to how to set the hook.

Learning to read the water is one of the most important it is probably the most important skill for river anglers the world over. Do you know what a riffle, eddy, tailout, run, and pool is? If not, learn them. Fish utilize these spots for different reasons and move from one to the other at different times of year and times of day. Trout are lazy creatures that utilize rocks, currents, and eddies to hide in ambush and wait for food. Start paying attention to where you saw that last fish rise and why it might have been there. Talk to fellow anglers and ask where they’ve been catching fish. Most important, just sit for a while and watch the water. It’s amazing how much you can learn if you just slow down and pay attention without throwing a line.

While fish eat everything from snakes to birds and mice, most trout concentrate on aquatic insects, small baitfish, and crustaceans. Do yourself a favor and learn the life cycle of the major insects in the area you are fishing-probably mayflies, caddisflies, midges, and stoneflies. The recently republished book Selective Trout is an excellent resource for this information. Terrestrial (which means land based) insects like beetles, ants, and grasshoppers are also important food sources for trout, especially in late summer and early fall when they tend to be more abundant than many water-born insects.

Trout are often the first species of fish fly anglers catch, and they learn that setting a hook on them—especially when using a dry fly—requires a quick and smooth lifting of the rod straight up. The problem is that this method doesn’t work when switching to streamers. When working flies underwater, a lift upon the strike will usually cost you the fish. In this scenario, you’ve got to strip set with the rod low and pointed directly at the fish. When the fish hits, just strip one or maybe two more times and the fish should be hooked. After a solid strip set, then you can lift the rod to fight the trout.

Almost everyone is guilty of getting overly excited as soon as you get to the river and wading right in to that first run. The fact is, you probably spooked trout between you and that run. Learn to slow down a little when you hit the river. When you find a prime piece of water, fish your way to it instead of wading right to it. You’ll be shocked at how many more trout you catch.

After finding a feeding fish don’t immediately cast to it. It’s tempting, but instead, stay calm, still, and quiet and watch what it’s doing for a moment. Make note of the timing of each rise and drop the fly at the right time.

Finally, be respectful to other anglers and don’t crowd someone who might have beaten you to your favorite spot-simply find another! Everyone likes the quiet of the woods and the sounds of the rushing water. Find your spot, be attentive and enjoy matching wits with the local trout!

Until next week , get outdoors!

Woods and Waters May 3 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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May 3, 2018

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What a blessing a week of forecast sunshine is! A few weeks ago my daughter Toby and husband Jeff Ross made their annual trip up for the “Snake Hunt”. Although it was very cold and windy, the little ones, Colton, Ryder and Grady loved it!

All the rides and watching the snake handlers were a high point but the real excitement was when Ryder purchased his first pet. With his birthday money, he bought a small Red-Eared turtle. The little critter still lives in Frisco, TX and his name is D.J. and I am told, he is a Cowboy fan! Well, what about turtles…….

As long as I can remember folks have talked about “why did the chicken cross the road?” Why did the chicken cross the road? Well it was to get to the other side! A play on words meaning the other side of the road and because the chicken apparently has a death wish, to most definitely be struck by a car and get to the “other side!”

We don’t see many chickens crossing these days but how about turtles? If you are like me and wonder why this time of year we see so many turtles of every variety crossing the road, we may be able to help.

I’ll bet many of you did not know that World Turtle Day is May 23, so I wanted to remind everyone to be conscious of these very special animals that share the roads with us! Where we live, we are surrounded by ponds, creeks and lakes. But there are highways and roads that also surround these waters. This often means that native turtles do not fare well when they need to cross the busy roads.

April through October are the months that you will see many turtles actively crossing roads in Oklahoma. They do this for many reasons; in the spring, males are looking for females and territory to call their own. May and June is nesting season. At this time, egg-bearing female aquatic turtles leave the water to find terrestrial nesting sites, and this often requires crossing a road. During late summer and fall, hatchling turtles are digging up from nests, looking for water. Then later in the year males and females are heading to safe places for winter hibernation. Other times they will migrate to find a more suitable spot to live.

Although pre-dating dinosaurs by several million years, turtles everywhere are disappearing quickly today. The “hide in my shell and wait it out” strategy has enabled turtles to weather the geological changes leading to the extinction of countless other species. However it has proven of little use in surviving the peril posed by fast moving trucks and cars.

The only way we can help them in this situation, if it is safe to do so with existing traffic, is to pull over and slowly approach the turtle and gently pick it up by the shell, midway on both sides, and carry it to the other side of the road and set it down facing in the direction it was going. You might want to know that normally a turtle, when picked up from the ground, will empty their bladder, so don’t drop it when this happens!

The worst threat to snapping turtles is vehicle traffic. Each year many females get killed in their search for nesting sites. Often vehicles will not stop or will even deliberately hit turtles because snapping turtles are disliked by many people. Nests on road sides and in gravel pits are often destroyed by vehicles and road grading. Hatchlings on their way back to the water are frequently run over.

However, if you are going to relocate a snapping turtle, I would be very cautious. They can be very aggressive and have a very long neck; they can bite nearly halfway back on their shell and are very quick. I would suggest you use a stick or something to prod them along or push them to the other side!

Whatever the reason a turtle is traveling, their destination can take him or her miles away from where they live. As humans continue to encroach upon their habitats, turtles will be crossing more roads. Research has shown that aquatic turtle populations across the United States have uncommonly high proportions of males because so many female turtles are being killed on roadways. Turtles have a long lifespan, take a long time to reach sexual maturity, and have low survivorship when newly hatched. Because of this, turtle populations suffer greatly! With turtle populations requiring high levels of adult survivorship, every individual is important to a population’s stability. This concern is even greater in recent years because many U.S. turtle populations are becoming displaced and progressively smaller.

We may never know for sure about the chicken! But hopefully this will help in your understanding of why we see so many turtles crossing the road! Get out and enjoy our great Oklahoma outdoors!

Woods and Waters February 22 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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February 21, 2018

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When I was a youngster and began my outdoor adventures, it seemed every product made for the outdoors was “Made In America”! In most instances nowadays that is not the case. Imports rule our lives as global trade and cheap labor have moved the manufacture of many items we use to foreign shores.

With that being said, there were many items designed for the outdoorsman first made and manufactured in the “Good Old USA” and they remain the standard in their fields. Today we’ll take a look at a few of the icons.

One of the most recognized would have to be the Remington 870 shotgun. I could do without the rest of my guns and hunt with the three 870s I currently own. And I am hardly alone. There have been more than 11 million 870s made—everybody has one, or five, in the gun cabinet.

The most popular shotgun of all time, the 870 is a triumph of mass production far greater than the sum of its cast and stamped parts. Designed to replace the finely machined, expensive to manufacture Model 31 pump, the 870 could have been made to look cheap, but instead it was great.

Slick, shootable, endlessly reliable, and affordable, the 870 has been made in Ilion, N.Y., since its introduction in 1950. Produced at a factory that originally fronted the Erie Canal in the 1800s, the finished guns were dropped onto passing barges.

With stock dimensions designed to fit the average shooter, the 870 has earned the reputation as the shotgun that everyone shoots well. So while I might miss some of the fancy checkering or scrollwork of my other guns, I wouldn’t miss any more birds.

Another icon was the first offering of a new manufacturer of firearms, founded in the late 1940s by Bill Ruger. Ruger’s first offering was the “Single Six”, a single action revolver in 22 rimfire.

The story goes that Bill Ruger released the Single-Six in 1953 to capitalize on the popularity of TV Westerns and the demand they helped create for single-action revolvers. It was a good idea. The Single-Six, still made in multiple versions, became one of the bestselling revolvers in history.

Bill Ruger didn’t stop there as he introduced the 10/22 in 1964; this classic rimfire hit a perfect trifecta for a .22 that would grow up with you. It was accurate, inexpensive, and exceedingly customizable. You didn’t have to be a gunsmith to tinker with the thing. You start off like I did, happy as a clam with the off-the-shelf version and a decent scope for all the squirrel hunting and plinking a youngster could ever want to do. But as your shooting skills sharpen, and your rifle interests mature, it isn’t long before you are sucked into the aftermarket 10/22 playground. You can add a target barrel, laminated stock, drop-in trigger. You can do all this yourself without being a gunsmith! The Ruger 10/22 is not just the rifle you grow up with. It’s the rifle that grows you up.

Switching gears a little, probably the most iconic addition for bowhunters who grew up in the 50s and 60s was the introduction of a quality mass produced recurve bow.

Fred Bear originally marketed the Grizzly as “the working man’s bow.”

Like all Grizzlys, mine was 58 inches long and weighed about 2 pounds. Not that the specs mattered; my idol, Fred Bear, had designed and made the thing and that was enough for me. I might add, that I was lucky enough to meet both him and his wife at an archery shoot at Cobo Hall in Michigan in 1970! There were other pioneers of modern bowhunting, but no man brought the sport to the masses like Bear. He debuted the Grizzly in 1950 and sold the heck out of the sleek, one-piece, known for easy handling and accuracy.

The first year I bowhunted for deer in the late 1960s, it was in the northern Indiana woods and I toted my 40-pound Grizzly.

I shot rabbits, squirrels and carp and poked holes in many a target over the years. I eventually took several deer with a recurve. But it all started with that Bear Grizzly. It’s the bow that made me a bowhunter!

Hope you enjoyed looking back at some of the tools, produced in the USA, that forged your young life as an outdoorsman and hopefully you still use them today. Take good care of them; your grandkids will enjoy them! Oil them up and clean them, then head out to your Oklahoma outdoors.

Tools for the outdoorsmen

By

Mike Gaines

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February 16, 2018

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Monday morning, eighteen degrees, seriously! So much for my talk about spring fishing and bass boats last week! Well the groundhog did say 6 more weeks of winter, brrrrr, I am so ready for spring and rain.

One solution is to grab your binoculars, wrap up and get outside. This time of year there are significant numbers of waterfowl and raptors still in our area. Soon they will begin their journey back to far north to their summertime homes.

One of the most enjoyable and useful tools for the outdoorsman, hunter or fisherman is a quality pair of binoculars. Over the years binoculars have been improved and designed to offer great value for a reasonable price. Good quality binoculars can be found starting at about a hundred dollars and range upward into several thousand; let your budget be your guide.

There are two main styles or shapes of binocular and these are determined by what type of prism they use, either a Roof Prism or a Porro Prism design.

You may ask which is better, but the answer is neither, as both have their unique advantages and disadvantages, and so it is often down to your specific needs and preferences as to which you should choose. I will go through these and explain their main features, advantages, shortcomings and what they are best used for.

One of the two main styles of binoculars is the Roof Prism. This refers to the type of prism used in their construction. In this design, the prisms are aligned with each other in a straight line, and thus they tend to be sleeker and more compact binoculars than the Porro prism design. You can easily identify a roof prism binocular as the eyepieces and the large objective lenses line up with each other.

The roof prism is my favorite being a compact design with fewer internal parts than porro prism design, so less to go wrong and it’s easier to make them dust and waterproof.

The image quality of roof-prism binoculars can suffer slightly because of the aligned prisms, although the top models of the roof-prism and porro-prism binoculars are now generally considered to have equal optical quality. To be really good, roof prism binoculars have to be in the high price range. Do not attempt to economize on roof prism binoculars.

These are great for general use, wildlife viewing, hunting and sporting events.

The Porro-prism models are larger with the offset look of yesteryear. They are heavier, however the quality of viewing can be much better than the roof-prism. If you have ever watched old WWII movies of naval battles you would have seen these huge binoculars used by the military.

Hopefully you already have a good pair of binoculars, and if so, carry them with you when out driving around our great state or simply walking around enjoying hopefully a warm afternoon. There are so many wonderful critters in our Oklahoma, and showing them to our youngsters and allowing them to identify them is priceless.

When I was young I loved duck hunting and decided I wanted to identify every species common to our area. It took several years; I kept a list of dates and times of each kind I had found. It was fun and very educational.

Watching and identifying the birds common to our area is also entertaining. Its amazing how many you may have never noticed before. Bird watching has been around for years but that is understandable because it is so much fun. While living in Missouri I discovered birds common to Oklahoma also. However Missouri had many species that I had never heard of before.

If you have a camera with a telephoto lense you can double your fun with some great pics. If not, you might look into a PhoneScope device that couples your smartphone with your binoculars for some great closeup shots.

Be it wildlife or birds it doesn’t matter, binoculars are an important tool for the outdoorsman or wildlife enthusiast and just another reason to get out and enjoy your great Oklahoma outdoors!

Woods and Waters and Skunks

By

Mike Gaines

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March 8, 2018

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Oooooh, what is that smell? Mercy, it’s making my coffee taste bad, roll down the windows please! Living in southern Oklahoma we all know what it is and this time of year it is really bad! It’s one of those cute little black and white striped furry creatures we see flattened on the road. Sadly enough they have given their lives in the name of “love!”

You see, this time of year is when skunks start their mating season. Their minds are definitely on something other than watching the road.

Even with their potent defense, there are predators who can attack swiftly enough to carry off a young skunk before a mother can spray. Great Horned Owls strike from above and without warning. Other predators include coyotes and domestic dogs. However, the main threats to skunks have been human, who either killed them casually or out of fear. Also there are a large number of skunks that are run over by automobiles.

Striped Skunks are the chief carrier of rabies in the US, especially in the Midwest. At one time Striped skunks were hunted and trapped for their fine and silky fur.

The mountain men of the early fur trade wore fur caps they made from the entire skin of a striped skunk. In those days with infrequent baths and questionable hygiene, the caps may have introduced the first use of musk cologne!

There are several types of skunks commonly found throughout the United States, including the striped skunk, spotted skunk, hog-nosed skunk, and hooded skunk. They all have slightly different appearances and habits but also share may commonalities. For example, most adults grow to be about the size of a house cat or small dog. Some of the North American species have specialized diets but most are omnivorous and eat what is readily available, like grubs, plants, small animals, and even garbage. Finally, skunks all use a foul smelling spray to keep predators at bay.

Striped Skunks are the most common throughout North America and can be found from Northern Mexico to the Northwestern Territories of Canada. Their distinctive markings are used to identify them. Striped skunks have white stripes running from the tops of their heads to the tips of their tails.

Spotted Skunks are most often encountered in the Eastern U.S. where they live in woodlands and prairies. They keep a diet of field animals, insects, wild plants, and farm crops. Despite their name, spotted skunks are not actually speckled. Instead, their black fur displays swirls of white stripes.

Hog-nosed skunks are typically found in the Southwest. They are easily identified by their stark white tails and the large, solid white stripe that runs down the length of their backs. These skunks also have relatively large noses that they use to root through the soil for food.

Hooded skunks are desert-dwelling mammals that primarily feed on insects. They are somewhat similar in appearance to striped skunks, but have longer tails and thick patches of fur around their necks. Some kinds of hooded skunks have two thin white stripes running down their backs and tails, while others have single, thick stripes and solid white tails.

Getting rid of skunks in an area first requires identifying the creature. Skunks are usually hard to miss, especially with the black and white striped body, bushy tail and scampering gait. If you encounter a skunk, pay close attention to whether it stomps its feet as this is a pre-spraying warning sign. Skunks start to move around in the springtime when temperatures get warmer and they begin their search for a mate and food. Since skunks can accurately spray between 10 to 15 feet, it’s important to move as far away as possible as they may assume you pose a threat. Getting rid of skunks can be challenging.

Skunks can be a pest, however, they do help control insects and other pests around your home.

Growing up I remember the smell and horror experienced when a skunk got under your house, boy that was pleasant! They would manage to get into the crawl space in the foundation. Of course the best defense was to make sure these were areas were covered with screen or something to keep them out. If they did manage to get under the house it took a few days for breakfast to taste normal again!

The best advice is to admire them from afar! It’s time to get ready for fishing, get out and enjoy your Oklahoma!

Woods and Waters March 29 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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March 30, 2018

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Well, the warm early spring weather continues throughout our area. A cool down is forecast for this week, which may slow the fishing for awhile, but we are close to the magic time of the year.

The high winds we have endured in March have made it rough on local anglers. But my fishing buddy, Hoot, called last Thursday and we decided to give it a try. So, late that afternoon we were prowling the banks of one of his favorite ponds.

With winds approaching 30mph, fly fishing wasn’t practical, so we went the traditional route with rods and reels using swim baits. While the conditions weren’t optimal the results were great! While Houston landed the biggest, we both caught well over 20 fish with a mix of bass and crappie. I had to leave early but he continued to reel them in ‘til nearly dark. My, that boy loves to fish!

Last week we looked at the use of a fly rod for bass and panfish, so let’s continue exploring it.

Many beginning fly anglers seem to think bass pay little attention to their safety and feed with total abandon. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Maintaining stealth during your approach and your presentations can often determine whether or not you find success on ponds. Move slowly and quietly at all times, and make your first presentations count. Pay attention to the distance of your casts and the water you’re targeting. Work a section of water thoroughly and then move down the bank so that your next cast has your fly landing into fresh water. This will ensure you’re not spooking fish.

Always make multiple casts to your target water before moving on. Bass aren’t always convinced on your first cast. Sometimes it may take a dozen attempts before you convince the bass to eat your fly. Keep your confidence and believe every cast is going to the be the one that ends with big bass on the end of your line.

Wind plays just as much of a role on ponds as it does on big lakes. It creates current, pushes and concentrates bait and influences bass to feed more in certain areas. If you’re fishing a pond and you’ve had consistent winds for a period of a couple hours or more, you should first focus your fishing on the downwind side of the pond. Generally, in this situation, the majority of the fish will prefer to position themselves and feed on the downwind side of the pond.

Just like in trout fishing, bass fishing also demands that you retrieve your fly in the correct water column or depth of where the fish are located. Bass are not always going to be willing to come to the surface to feed. Particularly if they’re positioned stationary in ambush points in deeper water. Start out by working your flies on or close to the surface and then continue to move them deeper if you’re not getting bites. Pause to let your fly slowing sink to help you control the depth of your flies. Also slow your retrieve down if you feel your flies aren’t getting deep enough.

Look Close, That Is Half a Catfish Sticking Out Of His Throat!

Retrieving your flies with a stop and go retrieve often works better than keeping a steady or constant retrieve. Doing so, your fly will resemble a dying or injured baitfish and it also can trigger reaction strikes by triggering the predatory instincts in bass. A stop and go retrieve also works great for keeping your fly in the strike zone longer, where sometimes a few extra seconds is the key to getting a strike.

Many anglers lose their confidence when the water is murky or stained. It’s actually a good thing most of the time, because it pushes bass into shallow water, close to cover and also provides added stealth for you. Just remember that dirty water limits the distance bass can see, and they will rely more heavily on their hearing and lateral line to locate and zero-in on food. Choose flies that push water, make noise (rattles or surface commotion) and in a color that’s easier for the bass to see in stained water.

During the summer months or when there’s lots of smaller baitfish available in the pond, you often can have more success if you downsize your fly patterns. If you’re not having luck with your larger fly patterns, try matching the size of your fly with the size of the most common food source.

As the weather warms there is nothing like casting a popper bug to the calm water, letting it set and then start short retrieves followed with a pause! Be ready for the explosion that could happen at any time. Another great choice during this time of year is a deer hair frog or mouse pattern.

Remember, if you’re not getting any strikes, try something different, bass can be very fickle!

Relax, it’s just another way to get out and enjoy our great Oklahoma outdoors!

Woods and Waters June 28 2018

By

Mike Gaines

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July 6, 2018

0

As you read this you will be enjoying the first day of summer for 2018. If you don’t believe me spend some time outside this weekend! Next week is the “4th Of July” and many of you will be spending time at Waurika Lake!

I can’t imagine anyone in our area not knowing about “Waurika Lake” and I hope you realize what a gem it is. The lake was conceived primarily as a means of flood control and a large water reservoir. Locals began working on the plan for a lake in the fifties and sixties to control flooding of downtown and the surrounding area. It took a lot of hard work from my uncle, George Brown, Fred Richardson and others in the business community to finally see its completion in the early 1980s.

It has become a premier fishing lake, offering many species of gamefish including largemouth bass, crappie, sunfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish, walleye, sand bass and certainly hybrid striped bass! Folks come from long distances to try their luck at some of the best hybrid striper fishing to be had anywhere. If you want something to test your tackle then these hybrid stripers will certainly fit the bill!

The fact that the lake area is right in our backyard makes it much more special. The scenic irregular shoreline and gently sloping land to the water’s edge is an open invitation for outdoor family fun and relaxation. There are six recreation areas located around the lake that include such facilities as boat launching ramps, campgrounds, sanitary facilities, picnic tables and shelters. Boating and skiing enthusiasts will be pleased with the large areas of open water and the scenic shoreline. There are four large embankments and a number of smaller coves that make boating on the lake a real pleasure.

Visitors to Waurika Lake will find the dam structure an impressive site. A road runs across the top of the dam and access roads are located at each end. The lake is set in rolling prairies interspersed with croplands and timbered areas. Protection and blending with the natural environment was a primary concern in the design and construction of Waurika Lake. Trees, shrubs, and other desirable vegetation were left in their natural state in order to maintain the environment whenever possible.

The Overlook and Wichita Ridge Pavilion are accessible to non-ambulatory persons and excellent places to view the scenery. The Kiowa II and Chisholm Trail day use areas, as well as several miles of paved roads and many primitive access points around the lake provide scenic areas and wildlife viewing from an automobile.

The lake offers many swimming opportunities for visitors. There are swim beaches located at the Kiowa Park I and Chisholm Trail camping areas that are open to campers and day users. Both of these areas have shower facilities. Boats are prohibited in these areas for the protection of the swimmers.

Walker Creek Trail is a 13-mile trail that can be used for hiking or horseback riding. The trailhead is located 5 1/2 miles north of the dam on Walker Creek. The trail winds along the creek over gently rolling hills and through wooded areas which are abundant with wildlife. Spring and summer offer excellent opportunities to view native wildflowers. The trail is marked with fluorescent orange posts and mileage is indicated by metal mile marker posts. Water is available for horses at many points along the trail. Water for human consumption must be carried in. The trail is closed to hiking and riding during deer gun season.

Beaver Creek Trails are a series of interlocking dirt hiking trails that are accessible by non-ambulatory persons, weather permitting. These trails can be entered from the Project Office as well as from Moneka North and South.

As awesome as the Lake experience is, it is greatly enhanced by the fact that it has a full service marina located just past the west end of the dam in Kiowa Park II.

Eddie and Nan Reese purchased Waurika Lake Marina on September of 2000 and have continued to operated it today. They’ve put in a lot of hard work and certainly not without some tragedies along the way! The severe drought of a few years ago left them sitting on dry land for some time until the heavy rains of May 2015 finally broke the spell, as the lake rose rapidly. Things seemed to be getting back to normal with a lot of hard work until February 29, 2016 when they suffered a devastating fire to the retail area of the marina. There literally was nothing left, including all the merchandise and they had to completely rebuild that portion of the marina! Again, with hard work and perseverance, they were fully open on May 24, 2016, in time for Memorial Day!

Next time you’re at the lake, stop in for a coke and a snack and say hi. Their hours of operation are- Closed Monday, Tuesday thru Thursday 7:30 to 2:00, Friday and Saturday 7:00 to 5:00, Sunday 7:00 to 2:00! The Crappie House is open seven days a week from 5:30am to 8:00pm.

They also have R.V. Hookups from $30 to $50 and three clean mobile home units for $80 to $100 a night! In addition they have 4 cabins for rent with kitchenette for $60 a night.

Kudos to Eddie and Nan Reese for their hard work and determination to continue to supply our lake with a much needed addition. Next time you are out fishing or just enjoying the lake, stop in and say hi, maybe pick up some minnows or tackle! Get out and enjoy your Lake Waurika!

Woods and Waters July 5 2018

By

Mike Gaines

-

July 6, 2018

0

Hope you had a great “4th of July” holiday and had a chance to celebrate the founding of our great nation! In doing so I also hope you had a chance to get on the water and enjoy a little fishing.

While out casting on your favorite body of water catching bass, crappie, catfish or whatever your quarry is, hopefully you didn’t encounter any snakeheads! What is a snakehead you ask? Well, I’m going to tell you more than you probably wanted to know about them.

Snakeheads (Family Channidae) are native to Africa and southern Asia. About 28 species have been identified. Equipped with a lung-like organ, these fish can gulp air and survive in waters with low dissolved oxygen levels. They can also live out of water for several days if they are kept moist. All snakeheads are aggressive predators and may eliminate other fish in waters they invade. They have even been known to bite humans who got too close to a guarded nest. The northern snakehead (Channa argus) is fairly cold tolerant, and could probably survive winters in many parts of the United States. This species also has the ability to cross land by wriggling or “walking” on its pectoral fins. Snakeheads have been imported to North America for the aquarium trade, and at one time were sold live in Asian-style fish markets. It’s thought that in some instances some of these live fish were released in waterways to reproduce as they are a sought after food source in Asia.

That was prior to the Snakehead being added to the list of injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act in October 2002, which banned import and interstate transport without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Snakeheads were sold in pet stores and in live food fish markets and some restaurants in several major U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, and St. Louis. Live specimens have been confiscated by authorities in Alabama, California, Florida, Texas, Virginia, and Washington where possession of live snakeheads is illegal. Some snakeheads living in natural waters of the U.S. may have been released by aquarium hobbyists or those hoping to establish a local food resource. Also, some cultures practice “prayer animal release”, a faith-based activity in which individuals purchase, then release, an animal (fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird) to earn merits with a deity.

Snakeheads are a freshwater fish with little, if any, tolerance for saltwater. Within their native and introduced ranges, they live in small and large streams, canals, rivers, ponds, reservoirs, and lakes. Many species can tolerate a wide range of pH, and one species living in Malaysia and parts of Indonesia prefers highly acid waters (pH 2.8-3.8). The northern snakehead and several other species prefer to live in somewhat dense aquatic vegetation where they feed and reproduce. Northern snakehead may tolerate a wide range of water temperatures and environmental conditions which contributes to their success as an invasive species.

During all stages of their life, snakeheads compete with native species for food and habitat. A major concern is that snakeheads may out-compete and eventually displace important native or other established predatory fish that share the same habitat. As adults, snakeheads can be voracious predators. Should snakeheads become established in North American ecosystems, their predatory behavior could also drastically disrupt food chain and ecological conditions, thus forever changing native aquatic systems by modifying the array of native species. This could be disastrous!

In the summer of 2002 and again in late spring 2004, Channa argus, the northern snakehead, generated national media attention when anglers caught these fish in a pond in Maryland and, more recently, in the Potomac River in Maryland and Virginia. Fisheries scientists consider snakeheads to be invasive species because they have the potential to threaten native fish, the recreational fishing industry, and aquatic ecosystems.

A mature northern snakehead female can carry as many as 50,000 eggs, although some will not develop and others will be eaten by insects and small fish following fertilization. Depending on water temperature, eggs can hatch in about 24-48 hours. The fish also can spawn several times a year.

Snakeheads are easy to identify with their large mouth-full of sharp teeth, a mottled appearance much like a snake and a dorsal fin that runs back to their tail. They have a slight resemblance to the native bowfin common in our southern states but they are not related.

Hopefully you never run into these creatures but you can search YouTube and pull up videos of people fishing for snakehead fish in the northeast.

But for now you don’t have to worry about swimming in Lake Waurika. Get out and enjoy our Oklahoma.

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