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Help Us Pick The Prize for Our Next Caption Contest!

Alex Robinson — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 14:33:47 -0500

So Outdoor Life is part of a cool contest operated by Crown Royal, sponsor of Field & Stream’s Hook Shots show and maker of the whiskey that comes in a purple bag. The contest is called “Pass the Crown,” and it’s a variation on the Secret Santa gift exchange anyone who’s ever worked in an office is familiar with. Are you lucky enough to have never worked in an office? Then here’s how this works:

Each day from now until Dec. 15 Crown Royal is giving away a prize to a different web site to pass along to its readers. Today is Outdoor Life’s turn, but here’s the catch. Crown’s not telling us which prize they’re giving us right away. Instead, we get a clue, embroidered on one of their famous purple bags,* and we have to guess what prize the clue refers to. Based on that guess, we then get to decide whether to keep the prize in our bag or steal one of the prizes that have already been opened by a different site. Here’s a list of the prizes that have already been opened.

This is where we need your help. Do we keep our prize, or steal one from somebody else? You’ve got until 4 PM this afternoon to weigh in. Check out our clue (below), then post your best argument for keeping the prize in our bag or for stealing a specific prize from another site in the comments section here or on our Facebook post about the contest over at facebook.com/outdoorlife. If you can convince us your argument is best, we’ll go with your suggestion. If you’re not convincing enough, we’ll make the decision ourselves.

We’ll post an update here tomorrow telling you what prize was in our bag, and whether we decided to keep it or not. Keep in mind that any of the five sites who come after us can steal our gift, so don’t get too attached to whatever we end up with!

And last, of course; how will we determine which of our readers wins the prize we end up with at the end of the contest? It’ll be a caption contest, photo and date TBD. Stay tuned!

*Crown is running this contest is to get the word out about the custom-embroidered Crown bags ($9.95), and the free personalized Crown Royal bottle labels (21 and over, only) available at CrownRoyal.com. If you’ve got a Crown-lover in your family, this would make a great gift.

OL Weather: A Weather Report for Outdoorsmen

EricAichele — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 15:56:58 -0400

When I first began developing the idea for a weather site, I asked myself: "What kind of weather information is absolutely essential for sportsmen?"

All of us look forward to those magical days when the woods come alive with bucks chasing does or turkeys gobbling from their roosts, or those amazing times when, no matter what you throw, every cast draws a strike. The only problem: No one could predict when those magical hunting and fishing days would occur…until now.

CLICK HERE FOR OL WEATHER >>

After years of studying records and cross-referencing them to weather, moon and solar activity, I have partnered with Outdoor Life to develop a tool to predict exactly when the best days to be afield will be. Thousands of harvest and catch records were cross-referenced to site- and time-specific barometer, temperature, wind, sky cover and moon-phase data to determine the whitetail, turkey and fish forecasts you see here. Combining these tools can even further enhance your chances for success.

The best thing about our weather forecasts is that they’re built upon solid data that relates directly to your area of outdoor interest. And our 5-day forecasts are the most accurate, because we’ve based them upon thousands of cross-referenced data entries.

Fishermen will find our water temperature charts, relating specifically to individual species, invaluable in determining which days (and what hours of those days) will produce the best action.

Hunters can rely on our forecasts to tell them the absolute best days and times to be on stand because we’ve done all of the homework for them, comparing thousands of record-book entries for trophy deer and turkeys, then cross-referencing them with the actual weather conditions that occurred when those trophies were taken.

The unique result is the most useful and reliable weather forecasts anyone has ever produced specifically for hunters and fishermen.

Got a question about how all of this works? No problem. Simply post your question in our Answer’s Tool and we will be happy to try to answer it.

Want to help build our database to make it even bigger? Add your harvest information, and you’ll be automatically entered to possibly win some great outdoor prizes.

Got a comment about our site or a story to tell about how our information helped you in the field? Come join in our lively comments section.

So bookmark this page and use our information. We believe you’ll find it to be the most useful hunting and fishing tool you can find anywhere.

How Weather Turns on the Bite

EricAichele — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:54:24 -0400

"My best day of fishing? I'm not sure, but I can tell you that certainly one of the best days of bass fishing I ever had was in Texas, when I was living near Austin," says veteran angler Mark Nichols. "A big tropical depression was closing in on Corpus Christi at the coast, and a buddy of mine and I launched a canoe a day or two before the storm hit. It was a beautiful, calm morning, and the water in Onion Creek was gin-clear. We started casting plugs, and the bass action was just nuts. It was ridiculous how aggressive they were.

"Three times that day I had two bass hooked on the same plug on different treble hooks. We watched bass bump each other out of the way to get to our lures," says Nichols. "Most of those fish were two to three pounds, but we had some five-pounders, too. We also had live bait out for catfish and got three huge cats-including a thirty-two-pounder, which I remember because it wasn't easy getting a fish that big into a canoe."

Indeed, summer and early fall fishing is all about weather systems and getting out on the water on those magical days just before and after a big weather system moves through an area. Crashing barometric pressure turns on the bite before a front. Then, once the violent weather has moved through, water quality settles and baitfish return to their usual haunts and game fish go on the prowl once again‚Äîsometimes after several days of having had difficulty locating food.

Lifelong coastal angler Kim Norton has seen it all before. Norton, who grew up in Mississippi, specializes in inland bass and panfish, and in redfish and sea trout on the coasts of Mississippi and Louisiana.

"My dad taught me long ago about fishing just before big storms pushed inland from the coast," explains Norton, a manager for Pradco lures in Arkansas. "We'd see a storm brewing in the Gulf bearing down on us, and we'd drop everything and get on the water. Bass are just crazy to strike, and they want lures fast‚Äînothing slow or easy like jigs or plastic worms. They want quick-moving plugs and spinnerbaits. It's run-and-gun fishing. There's no finesse fishing before a big weather front. Bass are gorging, feeding like a fat man at a pizza buffet."

The same thing happens in saltwater, too, says Norton. Days before a strong storm hits, big tides push into coastal marshes, but fish are feeding heavily. Higher saline content in coastal marsh water pushes in all kinds of marine fish, like big bluefish, Spanish mackerel, oversize sharks, sea trout, redfish and flounder. The fishing is sensational.

"There's nothing quite like it, and I look forward to it every late summer and fall," says Norton.

Cool Time for Cats

EricAichele — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:44:46 -0400

One morning last November I awakened to snow flurries and a cool forecast. I poured a cup of coffee and quietly left the house. My family was asleep, but I was wide awake, anticipating another day outdoors.

While many of my fellow outdoorsmen were en route to their duck blinds and deer stands, I was headed to the river. But not for ducks or bucks. I was planning to tangle with Ohio River blue cats.

Ohio River guide Dale Broughton and I had fished together before, but never during the winter. He had been after me for years to try my hand at cold-water blues, and our schedules finally allowed for it. The fish were stacked up, as they frequently are in winter, making them easy to find and to catch.

Formula for Success

Finding blue cats during cold-water periods comes down to three factors. The first is depth. Cats will search out the deepest holes along the stretch of river they inhabit.

Broughton looks for 40- to 50-foot holes on the Ohio River near Cincinnati. Upriver a deep hole might go down only 20 feet. It's all relative. Get a map of the river you plan to fish and identify relatively deep holes.

A good place to start your search on any river is the outside bends. These areas often include the second ingredient for success-current.

Current delivers food, but beware of high current. Too much current will make it hard to keep positioned.

The last ingredient for success is cover. It attracts bait and provides the cats with plenty of crevices in which to hide.

Rig It Right

There are three bait options for cold-water fishing:

1. Cut Bait: This is perhaps your best bet, as long as it's kept fresh. Also be sure to remove the tail so the bait doesn't spin in the current.

2. Fillets: Another good option; they're especially easy for sluggish cats to chomp on. Like cut bait, fillets need to be kept fresh.

3. Live Shad: Some days catfish just prefer live bait. Hook the bait just under the dorsal fin.

How to Fish: The most efficient method for fishing these holes is to set several rods off the back of the boat using no-roll sinker rigs. Fish these rigs along the bottom around the edges of the trash or cover. Whichever rig you use, don't strike at bounces. Give the fish more time to take the bait. Wait for a steady bend in the rod. A steady 3-inch bend in the tip is all it takes.

Frost Bites

EricAichele — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:50:18 -0400

The notion that insects don't hatch in winter or that trout won't feed in a snowstorm or that fishing isn't fun when the temperature drops is a lie no doubt perpetuated by diehard trout fiends trying to protect the snowy solitude of their favorite winter fishing spots. Fact is, trout feed all winter long. If you're willing to brave the cold, you can enjoy some of the best, least pressured trout fisheries while most anglers are snoring by the fire. Throw on your long johns, stuff chem warmers in your waders and head for a trout stream. Odds are, you'll have the whole place to yourself.

Which Stream for Trout?

Trout are found in three types of the smaller moving bodies of water manageable for anglers in winter: spring creeks, freestone creeks and tailwaters.

Because water temps are invariably warmer and more constant, streams fed by underground springs offer the most consistent winter fishing. You can catch trout in spring creeks on the coldest days because food and warmth are almost always available. Calm, cloudy days lure big spring-creek trout out of holes and allow for a stealthier approach because they can't see as well and you're not casting a shadow across the creek.

Air temperatures dramatically affect freestone stream temperatures, so when a string of warm winter days stirs insect activity, trout must stir as well and feed while they can. Freestone streams invariably fish best at mid-afternoon, the warmest part of the day.

Tailwater streams and rivers flow out of dams, and flows keep reaches from freezing over. Water temps are more stable here than in freestone streams, but they also fish best during a succession of warm days.

Winter Fish Lairs

Trout will school up in winter, especially in freestone streams or tail-waters. They usually take a position in a slow, deep pool at the tail of a riffle that carries food right to them, or in slow, deep bends.

In streams more affected by air temperatures, fish will gravitate toward the sunny side. If a stream of any type has submerged vegetation, work these areas first. Stream grasses provide cover and harbor insects, grass shrimp and crayfish. Sunlight can invigorate the insects and crustaceans, which can trigger a feeding frenzy.

Forage and Flies

Hatches do occur in winter: Common wintertime hatching insects include midges and mayflies. If you're lucky enough to stumble on a winter hatch, Blue Wing Olives in sizes 16-22 and midge flies in sizes 20-24 will mimic those hatches.

Cold trout feed mainly on insect larvae and pupae, and on larger forage such as leeches, minnows and sculpin. So the best "winter" patterns are wet flies, which include diverse nymphs, gaudy steelhead streamers, Woolly Buggers, sculpin and Clouser Minnows.

Use streamers to find fish, and nymph patterns with strike indicators to sight-fish individual lies. Streamers are attractor patterns, so don't be afraid to use a big fly, but work it slowly. Cold fish are sluggish in winter. Nymphs range from No. 8 Hare's Ear patterns to No. 24 midge larvae.

Braving the Cold

Freezing fingers make fishing mechanics difficult. Chemical hand warmers stuffed in waders or in tight close to your vitals are a godsend. Wear fingerless wool gloves and dress in layers.

Snowshoes are a must if the drifts are deep. Snow also gloms onto felt-soled wading boots, which makes walking downhill tricky on steeper slopes. Rubber soles or spikes work best.

Cold plays havoc with rods and reels. The rod's top guide is bound to freeze, but you can keep line moving through with lip balm, Vaseline, cooking spray or Ice-Off. Dipping your reel into water can bind up your reel and end your day.

Sure, blue fingers, frozen feet and a numb nose are realities, but the pay-off in solitude and hungry fish will be well worth wading out in winter.

Deep-Freeze Gumbo

Published in 1885, The Creole Cookery Book calls gumbo-making an "occult science." A bit of a stretch, perhaps. This simple version is a tasty way to empty the freezer of last season's frozen fish. - Gerry Bethge

Ingredients:

1/4 lb. low-sodium bacon, finely chopped
1/2 lb. turkey kielbasa or low-sodium turkey sausage
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups okra, sliced
1 tsp. creole seasoning
12 oz. fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
7 oz. stewed tomatoes
1/2 lb. red snapper, cubed
1/2 lb. cobia, cubed
6 oz. shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 oz. crayfish
Tabasco to taste

1. In a medium skillet, brown bacon and kielbasa and pat dry on paper towel. Drain excess oil and wipe skillet.

2. Add vegetables and seasoning. Cook several minutes until soft.

3. Transfer vegetables, bacon and kielbasa into a stew pot, and add broth and tomatoes. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens. Add fish, shrimp and crayfish.

4. Allow gumbo to come to a boil again and serve.

Fishing Fronts: How Storms Effect Fishing

EricAichele — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:23:36 -0400

The best time to be on the water is during a drop in barometric pressure. The intensity of the bite often increases in direct relation to the drop.

As the long, hot days of summer give way to the increasingly cool nights of autumn, weather patterns begin to change more frequently and with greater intensity. An angler can often start a day on the water under blue skies, only to find himself facing down a wall ‚Ä®of ominous thunderheads in the afternoon.

While that impending storm front might cause an angler without raingear some discomfort, it can also trigger a hot bite. What many anglers know intuitively, but don't actually understand, is that it's the changes in barometric pressure associated with good and bad weather that turn the fish on and off like a giant kill switch in the sky.

Because fall is a transitional season, winds, weather and their associated pressure changes can be more extreme–and so can the fishing. Each region of the country exhibits weather patterns that consistently influence air movement. By understanding local weather patterns, you can plan successful fishing trips more often.

Learn Weather Trends

In general, air masses move from west to east across North America. This "global weather pattern" is created by a combination of the earth's rotation and the jet stream, which guides air masses north or south into various regions of the country as they move across the continent.

Because the jet stream tends to be farther to the north during the summer, warm, low-pressure systems are literally pulled out of the southwest and move toward the northeast. The result is the typical summer wind flow out of the southwest.

During the fall and winter, the jet stream tends to migrate in a southerly direction, pulling cold, dense, physically heavier, high-pressure arctic air masses from the north.

Wherever warm and cold air masses meet, storms begin to brew. In the process, there are often rapid changes in temperature, wind direction and barometric pressure that affect fishing.

Fishing the Storm

To successfully fish a storm front, you have to understand what is taking place in the atmosphere.

The Good Times: As a storm system approaches, a low-pressure warm front rides up over the top of a high-pressure cold front, causing condensation to take place in the form of clouds. During the time the skies are clouding up, and right on through to the end of the storm, there is a slow and steady drop in barometric pressure that increases as the main body of the system approaches.

Once the main body of the storm hits and moves through the area, rain, winds and sometimes thunder and lightning form along the frontal line. The pressure continues to drop until it bottoms out as the storm runs its course. The fishing should be good this entire time, although lightning and heavy rains on the water's surface might spook fish.

The Bad Times: As the inclement weather moves out, the cold front–a mass of heavier, denser, high-pressure air–begins to rush in behind the low-pressure system. The result is usually windy weather with clearing skies, dropping temperatures and a very sharp rise in barometric pressure.

Large storms will bring in stronger, more powerful and sustained winds, along with a much steeper, higher rise in barometric pressure than smaller storm systems will. It's this clear, windy weather following rainy low-pressure systems that anglers–especially those participating in big-money bass tournaments–dread, because it usually brings the fishing action to a standstill.

When predatory fish feed prior to a storm, just about any lure will work.

It's the Change that Matters

A browse through my photo album tells the story. From the dozens of photos of 4-pound-plus largemouth bass, 10- to 20-pound pike, big walleyes, muskellunge and striped bass, a simple pattern emerges: Nearly every picture of a big fish was taken in the rain or under overcast skies–which means they were caught during dropping or low barometric pressure.

After five years of studying the effects of barometric pressure on angling success, targeting both freshwater and marine species, I've noticed some very consistent correlations between the two.

The most interesting observation is that the actual pressure level itself is relatively unimportant; it's the direction in which the barometric pressure is heading–rising or falling–that has the most significant effect on fishing success. Simply stated: Rising pressure generally shuts the fish off, while dropping pressure turns the fish on and almost always improves your catch rate.

Chart the Change: A digital barometer, with some sort of plotting function to keep track of the pressure as it changes, is a big help. You can literally chart the direction of the pressure changes and view it at a glance.

A savvy weather watcher can then compare the current pressure movement to predicted weather patterns to help determine with some degree of confidence how the fish will be biting–for a short time, at least.

Fishing the Drop

Anglers can stack the odds in their favor by planning to fish when storms are moving into their area. Action will be especially good during a drop in pressure following a long period of high, stable barometric pressure.

Minor Drops: An interesting effect that has become apparent recently is what I call the heat-induced pressure drop. After the air has had a chance to heat up on a sunny day, it becomes physically lighter, causing a tiny pressure drop that the fish seem to react to in the form of a late-morning or early-afternoon bite.

Major Drops: The very best time to be on the water is during the drop in barometric pressure that occurs as a low-pressure system approaches. The intensity of the bite often increases as the pressure drops, occasionally right through to the end of the storm. The biggest storm systems are essentially dissipated tropical storms, often hurricanes, which move up through the center of the country and are then drawn eastward. When nor-easters (major coastal storms) blow into the New England region, they can bring with them two- or three-day stretches when the fish are literally hitting everything thrown at them.

Over the past five years, nearly all of the best days I've had catching northern pike and muskies, from Connecticut to Ontario to northern Maine, have taken place during a drop in barometric pressure. Last year, during the last hour and a half of prime low-pressure fishing time, before the cold front blew in behind a nor-easter, I ran home from work, launched the boat and landed three northern pike, weighing 101.5, 121.5 and 131.5 pounds–not bad for Connecticut. I have landed giant pike in similar situations in the past few years, including a time when I caught 121.5-, 141.5- and 151.5-pound pike on consecutive casts.

Fishing the Rise

After a storm passes, the cold, arctic air that typically blows in behind it causes a steep, bite-killing rise in barometric pressure. In these conditions, forget about having a good day of fishing and just try not to get skunked.

The relationship between rising pressure and poor fishing action is even stronger and more significant than the relationship between dropping pressure and good fishing.

Informal studies I've conducted with students who were targeting bluegills and largemouth bass have documented an 80 percent to nearly 100 percent correlation between rising pressure and below-average catch-per-effort rates for a given trip. My own experiences fishing for pike, bass, muskies, panfish and striped bass, and even icefishing, confirm these results.

Where to Fish: When cold, high-pressure fronts move in, prey, along with the predatory fish that feed on them, tend to move into dense cover or out into deeper water, where they can be difficult to catch. This is when flipping jigs or running plugs around structure near deep water and working lures very slowly in likely spots can pay off. Persistence will result in catches during these times, but expect to work for every strike.

Fishing Stable Pressure

High pressure usually turns the fishing action off when the system first arrives. However, during the summer, when the water is warm, the metabolic rates of fish are elevated, so they must eat frequently, despite the weather, at some time during the day or night. During prolonged periods of stable high or low pressure, fish tend to settle into predictable feeding patterns, which equate to the typical morning and evening bites that summertime anglers count on, along with a minor midday bite during temperature-induced pressure drops.

The Need to Feed: During the fall, both water temperature and daylight hours are decreasing. These factors compel fish to feed heavily in order to fatten up for migrations or just to get through the winter. When the fish turn on during the fall, the bites can be spectacular–in both quantity and quality–due to the fact that all species of fish have a summer's worth of growth on their frames and are trying to add as much fat as possible during this pre-winter feeding binge.

At this time of year, even when conditions are not favorable, count on dawn and dusk to trigger periods of active feeding nearly every day.

Putting Pressure to Work

Fishing time is precious, so maximize your efforts with a plan. Anglers can count on favorable fishing conditions during cloudy, stormy weather and not-so-great fishing during beautiful, sunny weather.

A barometer that can track the direction in which the pressure is heading will help determine in real time whether or not you should be fishing. A glance at which way the pressure is headed might help tell you if the past two biteless hours have been due to poor lure choice or because fish were suffering under increasing high pressure.

Most of us fish when we can, and not necessarily when conditions are the most favorable. However, if given a choice, try to get on the water before a storm moves in and avoid fishing as one moves out.

Fall-time Stripers

Alex Robinson — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 13:22:40 -0400

It was mid-October, the peak of the fall migration, and we were drifting among bunker schools herded into frightened, amoebic-like masses by cow stripers. Almost within casting range of rush-hour traffic on I-95 and a tanker offloading in Connecticut's New Haven Harbor, this was as easy as trophy fishing gets in southern New England. But the bite was on in the region, and ours was only one of many popular live-bait techniques for targeting fall cows.

From Massachusetts to New York City, October is when the big girls stage in southern New England's rips and estuaries en route to their destination -- famous wintering grounds of the Hudson River, Delaware River and Chesapeake Bay.

Cows in the 30-, 40- and even 50-pound range are targets of pros such as Connecticut's Capt. Chris Elser (CT-Fishing.com), who has fished the western Long Island Sound for more than 30 years.

Unlike in waters to the north and east, much of the bottom in the western sound is muddy and devoid of significant structure. Because of that, one of Capt. Elser's most successful techniques involves searching for and then angling near adult bunker schools using live baitfish.

"If you intend to keep your baits alive for long periods," says Elser, "It's important to have a circular livewell. I usually take the time to fill both livewells with bunker before I start fishing. But regardless of what type of baitfish you get, keep your bait-gathering time realistic, because your goal is to catch big stripers, not just bait."

Elser looks for areas of current flow abutting an obstruction, contour or even another current. He suggests studying your local charts to reveal spots where conflicting currents meet or where a current strikes a structure, which congregates bait and attracts large bass. "Estuary outflows and river channels are key target zones, as are nearshore reefs," Elser says.
Elser adds that it's critically important to anchor your boat well before your target peak tide. "If you plow your boat into position when the fish have already set up in their feeding stations, you're too late and will spook them in any water less than twenty feet deep."

He prefers to anchor when fishing live bait in skinny water because big bass are much shier than smaller fish. This technique requires patience and quiet well in advance of when the fish arrive in their feeding lanes. "In ten- to fifteen-foot-deep target zones," says Elser, "I anchor an hour before I anticipate large bass will arrive."

Success comes three ways
Another of the most productive ways to fish Northeast rips is by drifting eels off three-way rigs. A master of this technique is Capt. Kerry Douton of the charterboat Dot-E-Dee and owner of J&B Tackle in Niantic, Connecticut (jbtackle.com). Douton specializes in fishing the treacherous Race at the mouth of the Long Island Sound.

"In the Race, like in other deep rips, positioning the boat is pretty simple" says Capt. Douton. "You run uptide from the shoal, start in deeper water than what the shoal is, and drift up the slope and over the high spot.

"The basic fishing procedure is to drop the rig to the bottom, take three turns, and hold it still. Every time you feel a bump, which most of the time is bottom, swing the rod up and take three turns down. That either clears the rocks or sets the hook on a fish. What you are doing, in effect, is trolling with baitfish using only the tide. The three-way rig keeps the eel down."

Another top striper skipper who favors live bait for autumn cows is Capt. Ned Kittredge. ‚ÄúLive-bait fishing for stripers is one of the most productive methods available‚ "provided you can obtain good bait," says Capt. Kittredge, who runs his 33-foot Hydra-Sports Watch Out from Westport, Massachusetts. "In recent years, since the conservation ban on‚ river herring‚ [alewives and blueback herring], I've caught large stripers on mackerel, eels, menhaden, porgies and Atlantic herring. The biggest secret is maintaining the bait‚ quality."

The Top Three Fall Striper Baits
Porgies With bunker sometimes absent due to commercial harvesting in the mid-Atlantic region, porgies have become favored striper bait for daytime fishing. Remember, porgies must be of legal size even when harvested just for bait.

Eels Day or night, eels are the go-to cow bait. One advantage of eels is that they are always available for purchase, which eliminates the worry and work of finding bait. Even when fishing other live baits during daylight hours, most pros switch to eels at night.

Hickory shad Like porgies, are a great choice when bunker are either in short supply or completely unavailable. The recent ban on blueback and river herring has also caused many pros to switch to shad when they are available.