Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Game & Fish East

Most turkey hunters—myself included—are often guilty of putting too much emphasis on gear instead of woodsmanship when it comes to tricking gobblers into gun range and getting the job done. However, certain hunting scenarios undoubtedly require the proper equipment to stand a chance. This was one of those hunts. While the circumstances were unique, keep in mind the following setup is viable for any turkey hunter—especially young or inexperienced hunters who might be sensitive to recoil. SOFT SHOOTER With Mike Mattly’s broken arm, he needed a turkey gun that would allow him to shoot one-handed and adjust for the odd-angled shots that turkeys often present. The combination of a 20-gauge Mossberg SA-20 Turkey ($706; mossberg. com) and Aimpoint Micro H-2 ($745; aimpoint.com) proved to be perfect. The shotgun was lightweight…

You set up in the dark near a known roosting area. The sun starts to peak over the horizon and a chorus of gobbles thunders from above. You muster forth a few plaintive yelps just to let that ol’ boss know where you’re at and then you wait. The sound of wingbeats tells you the show is about to begin. You offer a few more yelps, but with increased volume and urgency. More gobbles echo through the woods, this time from ground-level and with a certain rattle that lets you know he’s coming. The safety clicks off. You spot a flash of red and blue just before the gobbler emerges into the opening at 25 paces. Boom. That’s how it works on TV, anyway. Here in the real world? Yeah,…

I was raised a crappie fisherman by a crappie fisherman, my father. And as a crappie fisher-man raised by my father, I grew up with but one bait choice when in search of spring specks: Minnows. Live minnows. Fished under a small red-and-white bobber on a size 4 snelled Eagle Claw hook. Sometimes, but only sometimes, the Old Man would tie on a small chartreuse marabou jig—tipped with a lively minnow, of course—and fish that. Still, the plan didn’t often deviate from straight ahead. As I got older and my angling horizons broadened a bit, I learned there was much more to this panfishing life than just minnows and bobbers. There were hair jigs and twister tails. Ice flies and streamers. Even crankbaits. But the thing that got the best…

Abu Garcia Veritas PLX The Veritas, with its distinctive bright white paint job, is delightfully lightweight, with a great reel seat and handle. The 3M Powerlux 100 blank is particularly sensitive for an econo-priced rod. A high-modulus blank matched with advanced resin blends lend to the rod’s performance. The medium-heavy action will manage baits up to a full ounce without hiccups. ($99; abugarcia.com) Academy H2O XPRESS Tac-40 This top-of-the-line store brand bait-casting rod is particularly lightweight, with an all-carbon, monocoque split-grip handle. Rated as having a fast action and medium-heavy power, the 7-foot-1 rod will appeal to anglers who like fishing stick worms on casting gear. ($129; academy.com) Denali Ryker Series The Ryker from Denali is a value-priced, fast-action casting rod sure to find favor with many. An IM6 graphite…

Berkley and Rapala generously provided our test team with a wide selection of lures and baits to use during testing. Here are some of our favorites. BERKLEY HIT STICK Easy to cast for both distance and accuracy, the Hit Stick achieves the high-speed roll of a balsa bait without sacrificing consistency or durability thanks to Berkley’s FlashDisc technology. BERKLEY POWERBAIT MAXSCENT HIT WORM MAGNUM With an ultra-realistic texture, supercharged scent and soft-yet-durable material for a lifelike action, the MaxScent Hit Worm Magnum fools even pressured fish into biting and not letting go. We rigged our soft plastics with Berkley’s Fusion19 hooks, featuring surgically-sharp points and SlickSet coating for reliable penetration and positive hook sets. BERKLEY WAKEBULL The WakeBull entices surrounding fish with an attention-grabbing tail wag at any speed, plus…

The 12-gauge Remington 870 Super Magnum and .660-constriction choke I most often use to hunt turkeys is representative of an average turkey gun, which is why I chose it for this test. I set it on a bench in a recoil-absorbing rest and shot three rounds of each load at 30, 40, 50 and 60 yards (there is enough variability from shot to shot that single-pattern tests can be misleading). I fired only one shot from each load at 20 yards, because anything will kill a turkey at that range and I was interested to see the total spread of each shell at that distance, where super-tight patterns can lead to a miss and some extra pattern spread is an advantage. I shot blank sheets of paper, then drew a…

Streamlight TLR RM 1, TLR RM 2 and TLR-6 Streamlight has three new options for those who want to equip their self-defense firearm with a light and laser for security around the house or camp at night. Designed to mount on a long gun’s Picatinny rail, the TLR RM 1 delivers 500 lumens of LED illumination and the TLR RM 2 provides 1,000 lumens. Each has an integrated red laser sight and three output modes operated by a side toggle switch: light only, laser only and both. (Single-mode, light-only versions are also available.) The lights include a strobe feature as well. Both have a multi-function tail switch along with a remote pressure switch. The TLR RM 1 is 3.2 inches long and weighs 2.97 ounces, while the TLR RM 2…

Jim Morrison, the late lead singer of The Doors, was almost certainly not referring to the start of April when he wrote “The End,” but the lyrics sure do fit. “This is the end, beautiful friend, this is the end …” Play the song on an April night when the spring peepers are in full throat in a nearby wetland and no one would blame you for interpreting the words to mark the passing of winter in the East. Yes, it’s been a long, dark few months, but with April finally here, there’s suddenly lots to do in the region’s WV 4 woods and waters. 1 INVASIVE ACTION This is not political, it’s fact: There are a lot of slimy, toothy creatures in and around Washington, D.C. We’re talking northern…

DELICIOUS DECOY: Ultra-realistic turkey decoys make me smile. I’ve used a bunch of different dekes over the years, and while those collapsible foam models are easy to tote around, I often wonder just how blind a bird needs to be to think it’s the real deal. There are no such concerns with Dave Smith Decoys. These things are works of art that look just like a live turkey. I love to use the Posturing Jake ($199.95; davesmithdecoys. com) simply because I find it amusing to watch a gobbler come waddling in with the sole intent of putting a whupping on that youngster. THE RINGER: I love, love, love pot-style calls and use them almost exclusively anymore. The best are high-pitched with a raspy finish, and that’s precisely what Woodhaven’s Mahogany…

Spring presents a tapestry of changes in the natural world, but few rival the increased opportunity to connect with a legitimate trophy bass during the annual spawning migration. Big fish can be found most anytime of the year—even under a frozen surface—but during the spawn it’s all about access. Fact is, more large fish will be temporarily inhabiting shallow water, so the odds of an angler intercepting his or her personal best runs significantly higher. Add to this the intense feeding aggression bass display during the pre- and post-spawn, along with the territorial fervor associated with bed guarding, and it’s easy to see why a lot of those bragging rights photos have springtime date stamps. Now, if that sounds like a slam-dunk guarantee, you might want to tap the brakes…

LEW’S HYPERMAG SPEED SPOOL Lew Childre rocked the bass fishing world in 1973 with the introduction of the first low-profile baitcasting reel. His revolutionary design was built by a little-known Japanese bicycle parts house called Shimano. Today, Lew’s manufactures some of the best low-profile baitcasting reels in the business. Built on Lew’s super-low-profile chassis, the extremely compact HyperMag tucks neatly into the hand. This is especially important for those who palm their reel while snapping jerkbaits or twitching topwaters. By being able to palm the reel, the rod’s fulcrum (balance point) is moved forward, thereby lightening the tip. The HyperMag is lightweight due in part to a one-piece magnesium frame, which offers a rigid base. An oversized 95 mm reflexed carbon-fiber handle with Winn Dri-Tac knobs provides powerful, comfortable cranking…

13 Fishing Concept C2 The Concept is built from carbon fiber, resulting in a wispy, 5.8-ounce overall weight and excellent corrosion resistance. Our 8.3:1 test model gobbled up line on the retrieve and casted exceptionally smoothly. The Concept is a bit longer than most modern baitcasters, making it a good fit for anglers with big hands. ($230; 13fishing.com) Academy Sports HD Ethos This store-brand reel delivers quality at a great price. The Ethos features 10 bearings, a carbon-fiber drag (20 pounds) and dual casting controls. A one-piece aluminum frame and oversized handle with large knobs add comfort to excellent performance. ($79; academy.com) Bass Pro Shops Extreme EMX The Extreme line has been a BPS mainstay for years, and this one is as smooth as its predecessors and packed with features.…

Spin it however you want, but death is the definitive prerequisite of a “successful” hunt. Sure, we make it a goal to enjoy the entire hunting process and find fulfillment in every aspect of the hunt, but the ultimate goal demands killing an animal that we dearly respect. This irony is often difficult to describe or wholly understand, even among hunters, but in these muddy waters one thing is abundantly clear: Hunting gives us an extreme appreciation for life and living it. Waking up to sunrises with your back against a tree. Admiring the night sky as a campfire crackles at your feet. Hearing Ol’ Tom rumbling through the hardwoods. Or simply watching a robin peck for worms after a fresh rain. Hunting provides a front-row seat at Mother Nature’s…

It’s been said before, but any gobbler—any wild turkey for that matter—is a true trophy. Allow me, though, to take that old adage a step further and say that any part of a turkey is a worthy memento, including, of course, those 18 incredible tailfeathers better known as the “fan.” A gobbler’s fan serves several purposes. For the bird himself, it’s a way to attract the attention of a hen. To us humans, a fan, properly preserved, mounted and displayed, provides testimony to a job well done and honors the memory of the hunt. Additionally, a fan used in conjunction with a gobbler or jake decoy, or as a stand-alone tactic, can prove extraordinarily effective when it comes to raising the hackles of even the most reluctant longbeard. TREATING THE…

Perhaps one of the most geographically advantageous aspects of the East’s comparatively smaller states is that a state border is typically within a couple hours’ drive. For the spring turkey hunter, that means he can hunt the fly-down in one state and conceivably fill a tag in another by lunchtime or early afternoon. Most states throughout the East typically allow for two birds to be taken in a season, and often only one per day, but by working both sides of a state border, the turkey hunter can double up on the action as well as the number of birds to fill his freezer in a season. For the intrepid sort, this allows for a productive road trip that can translate into loads of turkey hunting action over just a…

Dr. Todd A. Kuhn is Game & Fish’s South region editor. He holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering and has 18 U.S. patents for outdoor gear. He’s been fishing for more than 50 years. Capt. Jamie Harris, a fishing tackle gearhead in the truest sense, has been fishing for more than 40 years and guiding for 20 years. He is considered a master of Florida’s St. John’s River and Mosquito Lagoon. Ken Duke is a regular contributor to Game & Fish and is the managing editor of Fishing Tackle Retailer. He has authored several books on bass fishing, and his work has appeared in more than 50 publications. Lee Sisson is a living legend in the bass fishing world. Working with Bagley Bait Company in the 1970s and ’80s, he…

The Game & Fish Tackle Test utilizes a comprehensive scoring system to evaluate each rod and reel across numerous criteria. Scores are tallied after each day on the water. Once all the numbers are crunched (and after some heated debate), winners in each category are crowned.The Editor’s Choice award is bestowed upon the product in each category with the best overall score, while the Great Buy goes to the products that represent the greatest value. Test rods were equipped with Abu Garcia Revo S (REVO04 S-HS) reels with a 7.3:1 retrieve ratio for an apples-to-apples comparison. Test reels were paired with multiple test rods for an across-the-board evaluation using various rod actions. Reels were fished with both braided line (Berkley x9) and fluorocarbon (Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon).…

Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 20-Gauge The reliability and ergonomics that have made the Super Black Eagle a favorite among waterfowlers for decades are now available in a 20-gauge version. The SBE3 20-gauge retains Benelli’s Inertia-Driven action with the Easy Locking Bolt System. Other features include a third-generation Comfort Tech 3 stock and Combtech cheek pad to reduce felt recoil, as well as a shim kit to adjust cast and drop. An enlarged bolt handle, bolt release, safety and loading port ease operation. benelliusa.com Gauge, Chamber: 20, 3-inch Barrel Length: 28 inches Capacity: 3+1 rounds (2 3/4-inch) Stock: synthetic Sights: red fiber-optic front Overall Length: 49 1/2 inches Weight: 5.9 pounds MSRP: $1,799 Browning Maxus II Like its predecessor, the Maxus II utilizes Browning’s Power Drive Gas System and Lightning…

Bubba Multi-Flex This handy fillet knife set from Bubba will make quick work of any species from bluegills to salmon. The kit includes one handle with a non-slip grip and four of the company’s most popular full-tang blades: 7-inch Tapered Flex, 8-inch Ultra Flex, 9-inch Serrated Flex and 9-inch Stiff. The Flex-Change locking system in the handle secures the blade while in use, but a squeeze-and-slide mechanism makes swapping it for another quick and easy. An EVA carrying case with a puncture-resistant lining keeps the set organized. Inside is a removable tray for cleaning and a magnetic insert to retain blades during transport. $125.99; bubba.com Zero Tolerance Knives 0357BW and 0762 Made in Tualatin, Ore., knives from Zero Tolerance combine premium components and precision manufacturing with innovative and practical design.…

Ice clung to their gun barrels, and the old Lab’s teeth chattered like a railcar. Three men and one boy hunkered with their collars up, chins tucked like prizefighters and hands buried in coat pockets. The thermometer said 10 degrees, but it was closer to minus 10 on the shallow, windswept water. Shane elbowed his father sitting next to him in the blind and asked what time it was. “It’s about 8. You in a hurry?” “No,” said Shane. But he had a secret he could never tell. His toes were so cold—well past numb and back around to searing pain again—that he thought they might actually feel better if he cut them off with his knife. Yet he didn’t dare mention any of this because no one else had…