Morels are abundant in Missouri!!
Gobbler Forecast = turkey hunting!
Heading into the heart of April, gobbling should be in full swing in all regions of the country. The northern states are still cool and unsettled while the south central is already in heat wave and drought conditions.
Pulling out the days with windy conditions and rain or showers, these days really tend to slow turkey calling. And looking for clearing and dry conditions with lower humidity we will find more active birds. Throw in warming temperatures and days with the dew point equal to the air temperature and you’ve got prime days. With that in mind, here’s the best days of the week for your region:
NE – April 9th (pm) and 13th
SE – April 8th, 10th, 12th and 13th
SC – April 8th (pm), 11th, 12th and 15th
GL – April 9th, 12th and 13th
NC – April 12th-15th
NW – April 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th
SW – April 11th – 15th
Moon – April 18th is a full moon. As we close in on the 48 hours surrounding this date, keep in mind that full moon days produce many records in the NWTF book over the last 20 years.
Tip – Turkeys will tolerate wind up to about 20 mph. It’s best if it’s calm (0-5mph). If it’s above 20 mph they tend to hole up and talk far less.
Good Whitetail Habitat???
White-tailed deer are very adaptable animals, but good deer habitat usually includes a mixture of trees, shrubs, vines, forbs, grasses. High quality deer habitat will also contain important foods such as fungi and even sedges. Of course, specific plants within each of these categories benefit deer more than others. If you really looked at a deer’s mouth, you will notice that it’s quite small and relatively pointed. This is because deer are highly selective with regards to their diet.
Palatable plants should be well interspersed throughout an area, so that the whole area functions as deer habitat. Over much of the whitetail’s habitat, adequate woody plants should be present to provide food, shelter and concealment. The enroachment of woody plants into areas that were once dominated by grasses is an important reason for the expansion of the whitetail deer. In addition to browse plants, some sort of water source should be available about every mile for deer watering. Put all these habitat requirements together—food, cover, water, and space—and you’ve got whitetail habitat.
When it comes to deer habitat, plant diversity is an important because deer require a variety of plants to provide their various needs. Many plants are utilized during only one season (when they are growing/available) or a portion of a season. Keep in mind that each plant that is eaten provides only a portion of a deer’s nutritional requirements. However, many plant species are not consumed by deer. These plants are also important, serving as cover and concealment for traveling and loafing animals.
In short, deer need a variety of plants to have high-quality, year-round food and cover. Plant diversity is generally adequate where native plant communities are emphasized and managed for a variety of successional stages. This means having plant communities that range from “young” in age to “old,” or climax communities. Often times, good deer habitat is about 50% tree or woody cover and about 50% open. This interspersion of plants provides browse and forbs, which comprise the bulk of a whitetail’s diet.
I mentioned plant succession in the above paragraph, but what is it? Well, plant succession is the natural progressive change of plant species and communities on a site across time. Habitat management practices that encourage disturbances such as tilling, clearing, flooding, mowing, grazing and burning set back succession by various degrees. And trust me, deer love freshly disturbed areas because of the diversity of high quality forbs they provide.
With time, however, plant diversity in the disturbed area will decrease. Rest or lack of disturbance allows succession to progress forward toward more mature, stable plant communities. Deer need these areas as well as early successional plants, so good habitat will offer high diversity within and between plant communities.
Foot Plot Tips for Deer Hunting
- Get a soil test. I can't stress how important this is. A soil test will tell you the condition of the soil, along with what you need to do to improve it for the type of seed you'll be planting. It will also tell you how much lime and fertilizer to use. Lime and fertilizer is very important for a great food plot. It may mean the difference between you pulling deer from your neighbors land or them pulling deer from your land.
- Match the type of seed to your local area. Some areas grow certain types of plants better than others. I mentioned using Whitetail Institute's clover when it first came out. That was all there was available at the time. It's my opinion that this clover is hard for me to grow in my area. I've had more failures than successes with this type of seed in remote plots. Now there is a whole category of seed that will grow with little soil preparation. From what I've seen, most of these seeds are rye.
- Prepare the soil properly. This is where I see a lot of people goof up. You'd be surprised at how many people will lay down hard earned cash for a bag of seed and then just go out and throw the seed on the ground and expect it to grow. Rye will grow thrown on top of the ground as will winter wheat and oats. But they both will do better if you can at least rake the soil and turn it up a bit. Clover and Alfalfa need covered to be successful. If you're going to spend the money on good seed, then put forth the effort to get the most out of it.
- I prefer to plant in long and narrow strips. Deer love to walk while eating. That's why they're called browsers. A nip here, a bite there. You'll seldom see a deer stand in one place very long. Make it comfortable for them to feed at your food plot.
- Make sure your spot gets at least 50% of sun per day. You may have to hunt out a small opening, but game seeds don't grow well in the shade!
- Plant a variety of seed to prolong the benefits of your plot. I like to plant seeds that will be beneficial to deer as soon as they come up in the early fall. At the same time, I usually include winter wheat or oats along with brassica (greens) so the plot will be beneficial to the deer and other wildlife up into the Winter. Your plot should be more than just a place to kill deer, it should be a place that helps deer and other Wildlife through the Winter into the Spring. By helping your deer make it through Winter in good shape, the Bucks will have a head start growing their antlers and the Does will give birth to healthier fawns
Hunt the fronts. Deer watch the barometer?
Cold fronts seem to affect Deer movement more in the late season than at any other time in my experience.
Deer will really be up and feeding heavy a few days prior to the arrival of a cold front and the days following a cold front. Usually the day before will be the most active. It seems the level of activity is also dictated by how severe the front is.
If the barometric pressure is moving, so are the deer.
January Deer Hunting
In Missouri the food supply has decreased significantly by January. My
trail cameras and observations show a good amount of daytime activity near
the food sources still remaining. We had an early acorn crop so there are
very few left. The pastures don't have much to offer. Our food plots are
being visited EVERY day.
5th Annual Chad Morgenthaler Bass Tournament to benefit Special Olympics
Bass Tournament
Blue Ribbon Lures plans to donate Brim Reapers and hopefully additional lures.
Pro bass fisherman Chad Morgenthaler will host the 5th Annual Chad Morgenthaler Bass Tournament to benefit Special Olympics Illinois Aug. 28 at Rend Lake in southern Illinois.
This buddy tournament is a one-day tournament with a pre-tournament meeting, dinner and auction on Friday, Aug. 27, at the Rend Lake Resort's Great Room. To register, download the entry form below.
Two-person teams compete for the most weight and for big bass. Teams have the option of competing in a Beat the Pro contest against Morgenthaler and another professional fisherman.
WHOLESALE - Sporting Goods, Hunting Gear, Fishing Gear, and Optics
Temporary online catalog from one suppier - ssisports.net
Additional catalogs not online yet include brands including -
| Bushnell Sports Optics | " CssClass="hi">www.bushnell.com | |
| Canon USA | " CssClass="hi">www.canon.com | |
| Fuji USA | " CssClass="hi">www.fujifilm.com |
| Adventure Sports Group, LLC | " CssClass="hi">www.adventuresportsgroup.com | |
| Callaway Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.callawaygolf.com | |
| Celestron International | " CssClass="hi">www.celestron.com | |
| Cleveland Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.clevelandgolf.com | |
| Lifetime | " CssClass="hi">www.lifetime.com | |
| Minn Kota | " CssClass="hi">www.minnkotamotors.com | |
| Nike Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.nikegolf.com | |
| Nikon Sport Optics, Inc. | " CssClass="hi">www.nikonhunting.com | |
| Spalding | " CssClass="hi">www.huffysports.com | |
| Taylor Made Golf Co. | " CssClass="hi">www.taylormadegolf.com | |
| Wilson Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.wilsonsports.com | |
| Wilson Team Sports | " CssClass="hi">www.wilsonsports.com |
| Accell Fitness | " CssClass="hi">www.na.accellfitness.com | |
| Body Solid, Inc. | " CssClass="hi">www.bodysolid.com | |
| Fitness Quest | " CssClass="hi">www.fitnessquest.com | |
| Fitnex | " CssClass="hi">www.fitnexonline.com | |
| Horizon Fitness | " CssClass="hi">www.horizonfitness.com | |
| Icon Health & Fitness | " CssClass="hi">www.iconfitness.com | |
| Nautilus | " CssClass="hi">www.nautilus.com |
| AKA Outdoor Ent. | " CssClass="hi">www.outdoor8ball.com | |
| Coleman Outdoor | " CssClass="hi">www.coleman.com | |
| Creative Playthings | " CssClass="hi">www.creativeplaythings.com | |
| Epic International | " CssClass="hi"> | |
| Escalade Sports/Oasis Playsets | " CssClass="hi">www.escaladesports.com | |
| Eureka Outdoor Co. | " CssClass="hi">www.johnsonoutdoors.com | |
| Huffy Corporation | " CssClass="hi">www.huffybikes.com | |
| Picnic Time | " CssClass="hi">www.picnictime.com | |
| QCA Spas, Inc | " CssClass="hi">www.qcaspas.com | |
| Rave Sports | " CssClass="hi">www.ravesports.com | |
| Three Rivers Spas | " CssClass="hi">www.trspas.com |
Hunting, Fishing, Sporting Goods Gear at wholesale
10% over wholesale.
Hunting, Fishing, and Optics
blueribbonlures.com
additional catalog http://ssisports.net
*this catalog is currently missing prices until new website is finished
*other catalogs are not on line yet -for brands including Nikon, Bushnell, Panasonic, Fuji, Canon, Sony
| Callaway Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.callawaygolf.com | |
| Celestron International | " CssClass="hi">www.celestron.com | |
| Cleveland Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.clevelandgolf.com | |
| Lifetime | " CssClass="hi">www.lifetime.com | |
| Minn Kota | " CssClass="hi">www.minnkotamotors.com | |
| Nike Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.nikegolf.com | |
| Nikon Sport Optics, Inc. | " CssClass="hi">www.nikonhunting.com | |
| Spalding | " CssClass="hi">www.huffysports.com | |
| Taylor Made Golf Co. | " CssClass="hi">www.taylormadegolf.com | |
| Wilson Golf | " CssClass="hi">www.wilsonsports.com | |
| Wilson Team Sports | " CssClass="hi">www.wilsonsports.com |
Amazing Bluegill or Brim lure called the Brim Reaper
This is the best bluegill lure I have ever used.
I tested the Brim Reaper all last summer and it caught literally thousands of bluegill (we call them Brim in the swamps of southeast Missouri). This bait has caught brim in every lake where I used it. The first time I used it I made 30 casts and caught 30 bream. YOU CAN TOO!!!
I use 6-lb Stren Clear Blue Fluorescent line. I put a small split shot 6-8 inches above it. I fish it on a 1/2 inch slip cork. Cast it past the edge of the bed and let the cork float over it, or reel it a foot and stop it for a couple of seconds. When the brim hit it you will know it. This bait is soft so be careful taking it out of the brim's mouth and it will last longer. I average 30-35 brim per body.
I found the brim to bed up every month April through August 3 days before a full moon until 3 days after
