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Category Archives: Outdoor Sports

Keeping the Fishing and Hunting Heritage Alive, Bass Pro Shops and NWTF

Oceola Turkeys Sppoked in Florida, take flight and I was holding my camera as they came across the river at 35-miles per hour!
Oceola Turkeys Sppoked in Florida, take flight and I was holding my camera as they came across the river at 35-miles per hour!

APtravelnews-February 28th, Port St Lucie, FL- Whats this About Bass Pro Shops®?
Bass Pro Shops®, which specializes in outdoor fun, operates 90 stores and Tracker Marine Centers across America and Canada that are visited by more than 120 million people every year. Bass Pro Shops stores, many of which feature restaurants, offer hunting, fishing,camping and other outdoor gear while their catalogs and website serve shoppers throughout the world. The company’s Tracker Marine Group® (http://www.trackermarine.com), a leading brand of fishing boats for more than 36 years, manufactures and sells a variety of boats for fishing and cruising. Family fun is on tap at Bass Pro Shops resort Big Cedar Lodge® (http://www.bigcedar.com), voted number six by Travel + Leisure Magazine as World’s Best Hotels for Families. For more information, visit http://www.basspro.com. ; To request a free catalog, call 1-800-BASS PRO.  Follow us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/bassproshops.

About the National Wild Turkey Federation
The NWTF, established in 1973, is a nonprofit conservation organization that works daily to further its mission of conserving the wild turkey and preserving our hunting heritage. Through dynamic partnerships with state and federal wildlife agencies, the NWTF and its members have helped restore wild turkey populations across the country, improving more than 17 million acres of wildlife habitat and introducing 100,000 people to the outdoors each year. To learn more, visit www.nwtf.org or call (800) THE-NWTF.

 

Images of the Week!

APtravelnews-February 27th, Port St Lucie, FL–Please enjoy a few of our thousands of our traveler images. As we are always on the Road Again, we do get lucky and experience some fun opportunities!!

Face to face with a great fish!
Face to face with a great fish!
Always traveling. This time, Orange Beach, AL
Always traveling. This time, Orange Beach, AL
The real little rascals know how to take apart a boat. Otters all!!
The real little rascals know how to take apart a boat. Otters all!!
Oceola Turkeys flushed by our boat! Never see another image like that again! They were moving 30-miles an hour.
Oceola Turkeys flushed by our boat! Never see another image like that again! They were moving 30-miles an hour.

My W. Virginia Brown trout 24-inches of pure action in a branch- filled river!My W. Virginia Brown trout 24-inches of pure action in a branch- filled river!

Port of the Islands redfish!
Port of the Islands redfish!

Snook, That Fine, Ferocious Line-sider Fishes Season Will Reopen in Gulf State Waters  

snooktoday

APtravelnews-FL. –February 23rd,–From FWC–The recreational harvest season for one of Florida’s premier fish, snook, reopens on March 1 in Florida’s Gulf of Mexico state and adjacent federal waters, including Everglades National Park and Monroe County. The season will remain open through April 30.

In the Gulf, anglers may keep one snook per day that is not less than 28 or more than 33 inches total length, which is measured from the most forward point of the head with the mouth closed to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail compressed or squeezed while the fish is lying on its side. A snook permit is required to keep snook, along with a saltwater fishing license unless exempt from the license requirements. Only hook-and-line gear is allowed when targeting or harvesting snook.

It is illegal to buy or sell snook.

Snook are one of the many reasons Florida is the Fishing Capital of the World. The FWC encourages anglers to use moderation when determining whether or not to take a snook home during the open season. When choosing to release a fish, the FWC encourages anglers to handle it carefully to help the fish survive upon release. Proper handling methods can help ensure the species’ abundance for anglers today and generations to come. To learn more about fish handling, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Fish Handling.”

Researchers ask anglers who harvest the fish to save the carcasses after the meat is filleted and provide the carcasses to the FWC by dropping them off at a participating bait and tackle store. These donations allow researchers to better determine the age groups that are being harvested, which makes stock assessments more precise. For a county-by-county list, go to MyFWC.com/Research and click on “Saltwater,” “Saltwater Fish,” “Snook” and “Snook Anglers Asked to Help with Research.”

In Atlantic state and federal waters (including Lake Okeechobee and the Kissimmee River) the season is open through May 31, and one snook may be kept per person, per day. The size limit in Atlantic waters is no less than 28 inches total length and no more than 32 inches total length.

For more information, visit MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Snook.”

If You Live in “Open Water” States Such as Florida, Here are 5 Baits for Cold Water Fishing

 

An Alabama Guide shows  a nice bass, not a monster, but any bass is a gudin!!!!
An Alabama Guide shows a nice bass, not a monster, but any bass is a gudin!!!!

APtravelnews-Port St. Lucie, FL.–February 20th,— According to Kevin Van Dam,  a big winner at the Bass Masters Tournaments, the following Power techniques and baits will work all four seasons ..if you’re using the right baits—Jerkbait “This is my favorite choice for lakes that have clear water, says Van Dam! “Bass are focused on shad during the winter, and I prefer a suspending jerkbait for fishing around vertical structure, like main lake bluffs and bridges, this time of year. When the water is colder, the shad suspend in the water column and if I see shad dying and gulls diving on them, that tells me the suspending jerkbait is the best choice. I will snap it a few times and always experiment with the action until I know how they want it.

Red Eye Shad The lipless crankbait can be dynamite on cold, lowland reservoirs or natural lakes, especially if there is vegetation. It’s very efficient for covering a lot of water. However, I do slow the retrieve down and keep the bait in contact with the bottom.

Flat-sided crankbait There’s something about a flat-sided crankbait that neutral bass react to better in cold water than they do to rounded-body lures. My favorite is the Strike King KVD 1.5 Flat that has a long bill and no rattles. I love to fish this bait parallel on channel swings close to the bank in major creeks and even along bluffs, riprap and laydowns. I throw it on 10-pound line and it runs about 10 feet deep. It has a subtle action they can’t stand when the water is cold, so use a steady, slow-to-medium retrieve.

SwimbaitI really like the Strike King Shadalicious in either the 4 1/2- or 5-inch sizes, opting for the larger one in lakes with big bass and big shad. These baits are very efficient for covering deeper zones of lakes where bass hold off main lake structure.Also, hollow-body baits have a paddle tail that kicks and moves a lot of water, which is very important in stained water. And, like flat baits, they wobble seductively from side to side.

Blade baits and jigging spoons Blade baits are good for fishing edges of deeper flats. I cast and work it similar to the way I fish the Red Eye Shad, except the blade bait is more efficient in deeper water. Use a lift-and-drop retrieve, feeling the good vibration from the lure each time you lift. And remember: both blade baits and the Red Eye work best this time of year on heavier line because it slows the fall and reduces problems with it burying in the grass. The jigging spoon is a bait I primarily fish vertically. Our electronics are so good that, while graphing creek channels, you’ll see pods of bait and mark fish around them. With the spoon, you can fish through the bait. It’s even good along timber and doesn’t snag as much as you think. If it does, jiggle it and it shakes free.”

Note**Bottom line is;  Bassmaster anglers fish for a living and have far more experience going after largemouth bass than the average angler. So, we believe following some of these techniques will help you catch the “bigun!” Also, remember bass are fun to catch, but release them, crappie and perch are much better eating!!!