Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Game & Fish East

SUMMER IS here and fall fever will soon set in as we’re dreaming of big bucks. If you’re looking to maintain your property and get it primed for the fall, these tools can help. A modern compact utility tractor is a force multiplier. A good one will help minimize your time spent on it and maximize the effort. For a small-plot land manager, a tractor within the 30-to 45-horsepower range can be ideal. Enter John Deere’s 2 Series Compact Tractors that range from 25 to 38 horsepower, feature a hydrostatic transmission, loader lift capacity of 1,120 pounds and can drive over decks up to 72 inches. The big green company has taken away the hassle of align splines, no more muscling or forcing into position with its iMatch Quick-Hitch that…

ONE WOULD be hard pressed to find any pond, small lake or large impoundment in Pennsylvania which does not contain a population of both bluegills and pumpkinseeds. However, not every water inhabited by these species supports a quality fishery. Reasons vary, including insufficient forage at critical life stages, lack of aquatic vegetation or cover, poor water quality, lack of predators leading to a stunted overpopulation or overharvest of larger panfish by anglers. Recognizing the importance of quality panfish to Keystone anglers, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) established Panfish Enhancement Special Regulations for particular waters in an effort to increase numbers and size. The special regulation for sunfish is a 7-inch minimum size and a 20-sunfish creel; the enhancement regulation is currently applied to about a dozen lakes. More…

AS THE water and air temperatures rise in June, so does the activity level of smallmouth bass, and this is the time when anglers can put together a one-two combo of reaction baits and finesse tactics to put together a successful day fishing for big bronzebacks! REACTION BAIT TACTICS With the increasing temperatures in June, smallmouth will begin to feed actively on top. This happens for several reasons. One: They are hungry following spawning, and baitfish make an easy meal. Two: If those smallmouths are transitioning from their spawning grounds to their early summer locations, they’ll be cruising looking for that opportunistic feeding window. A topwater plug provides just that. Two styles of topwater baits that are popular for targeting smallmouth bass include a popper and a walk-the-dog-style plug. Poppers…

WALK INTO any big tackle store and the topwater isle will hold a confusing array of baits in different shapes, sizes, colors and designs. With so many choices, which ones should you buy and fish? Breaking them down into categories and knowing where, when and how to fish them will help you decide. WALKING BAITS Baits designed to “walk on top” are cigar shaped plugs with no lip or spinners. When at rest, they float tail down. They have no action of their own — you must make them work by twitching your rod tip to make them “walk” from side to side. To do this, twitch your rod tip a few inches then move it back toward the bait to let your line go slack. The slack line is…

I learned precision catfishing from my elderly, catfish-loving father back in the ’80s. We were fishing from shore one hot summer afternoon on a medium-sized river, and he was out-catching me three to one. The fact that he outfished me was annoying, but even more exasperating was him grinning every time he clipped another cat onto his stringer and commented: “Are you sure you’ve got bait on your hook?” I’ll admit that eventually, while he was unhooking a fish, I unapologetically moved into his spot to try to even the score. He wiped his hands on a towel, rebaited, then stood next to me, cast out and smugly asked: “Do you mind if I catch another fish while you’re fooling around here?” After he caught a few more cats, he…

Contemporary anglers enjoy a wealth of possibilities when selecting the most important connection linking them to their quarry: their line. While our grandparents may have been limited to brittle monofilament and frayed Dacron lines, we luxuriate in a comparatively vast library of modern lines, including braids, fluorocarbons and monofila ments that bear little resemblance to those used in the past. The burden of this abundance is that we now must make choices, deciding which lines and leaders to incorporate into any given presentation. There is no single best line; rather, each type of line has its own individual strengths and weaknesses that must be evaluated in a technique specific manner, in much the same way that we select a rod or a lure. IT ALL STARTS WITH CHEMISTRY The evolution…

WHEN IT comes to training squirrel dogs, James Parnell has forgotten more than most folks hope to learn in a lifetime. Parnell, a lifelong breeder and trainer of Mountain Feists and Stephens Stock Mountain Curs, set out to develop a dog that showcased the best of both breeds. He wanted a small-framed, hard-hunting tree dog that was easy to maintain. In 1998, the first litter of Parnell’s Carolina Curs was born. To ensure your next squirrel dog helps fill your ears with the sweet sounds of a canine cantata and your hunting vest with bushy-tails, Parnell has a few training tips for you. TIP 1 – START WITH A GOOD DOG While hunt tests, field trials and detailed pedigrees aren’t as common for squirrel dogs as they are for the…

As the market continues to swell with feature-filled rides, one thing is certain: This is a buyer’s market, and getting featurefilled goodies on the ATV or UTV of your choice is progressively easier. Choosing those, however, might not be. Whether you are an avid hunter, part-time tailwater fisherman or just someone who loves to ride into the wilderness in search of that perfect day filled with friends and family, there is a machine for you. Items that attract most riders include comfort, ease of use as well as maintenance and possibly the backbone of the ride for those days when work comes first. Here are a few great examples of reliable ATV and UTV rigs for your next adventure. MAHINDRA ROXOR $15,999| roxoroffroad.com The throwback to the World War II…

AMERICA’S CATCH-and-release tailwaters are a world apart. These food factories grow impressive numbers of large trout, with trout-per-mile densities often in the thousands. Yet the prospect of catching big trout attracts understandable attention and few tailwaters escape the fate of being loved to death. New Mexico’s famed San Juan River, as a familiar example, hosts 45 anglers per mile per day on average (higher during celebrated hatches). The drill is generally universal: insects trending toward micro sizes, including midges, Blue-Winged Olives, micro caddis and smaller Pale Morning Duns, and the pupa, larva and nymphs of each. The crowds arrive for scheduled events to enjoy dry-fly bliss, but day in and day out anglers are likely be dead-drifting tiny nymphs (sub size-18) on light tippets (5X-7X) below strike indicators (fancy fly-fishing…

THE CHRONOLOGY of a typical fishing season, for many folks, begins in April with the trout opener. When May arrives, there might be a focus on walleye, muskies or crappies. But come June, for a lot of anglers, it’s all about bass. Fortunately, Keystone State bass anglers have a wide variety of environs to pursue bass, both largemouth and smallmouth. Larger reservoirs managed without horsepower limitations attract the bass boat crowd, while smaller impoundments provide more serene sport. Warm water flowing waters, of which the state abounds, feature excellent bass populations – smallmouth mostly – and remain one of our more under utilized angling options. Let’s take a swing around the state – starting in the northwestern corner – and examine several outstanding options. LAKE ERIE/PRESQUE ISLE BAY Pennsylvania’s share…