Calico bass

 

 

A very rare 10 pounder.  Calico bass are very rare caught over 10 lbs, but here’s one displayed by Bob Selvin caught on a 7″ green Mondo swimbait at the Sacramento Reef in Northern Baja.

BLUEFIN TUNA

Best ways to get Permission to Hunt Private Land.

How to Get Permission to Hunt Private Land. 

 

It wasn’t until my buddy Dave came down from Wisconsin to hunt the elusive Osceola Turkey with me that I really noticed how difficult a time I had living in South Florida and trying to find new and exciting areas to hunt. Most of the prime hunting land down here is either privately owned and leased to Hunt clubs for more money than I can afford, or if public land, part of a quota hunt system that is kind of liking hitting the lottery for the best wildlife management areas. Since almost all the land we hunt in Wisconsin is privately owned, I decided to learn how to make some of the same arrangements to hunt private land in Florida too. This is not to say that I don’t take my share of game hunting public land, but when you have set up nicely in a blind for Turkey and several sets of inexperienced hunters come clattering through  the area you have worked a bird in close, well, it gets a bit frustrating. One such group came crashing through the brush with a big aluminum ladder to sit in trees, go figure!

 

It’s not easy without connections or introductions to gain the privilege of hunting private land or on someone’s farm, but it can be done. Remember, you want to hunt private land, and the owner’s of this land have little or no incentive to allow strange people to traipse about carrying weapons. All the methods to obtain permission to hunt private land are based primarily on one important factor, you and your personality. Being well-mannered and showing a consideration for  the land owner’s concerns as well as safety  can get you the combination to that locked gate that you have driven by a hundred times on your way to the public hunting areas.

 

The key to getting started hunting on private land is to first go on a scouting mission and find the areas and particular lands you wish to hunt. Drive around some areas and look for animals on that land. How many times have you been driving by and seen flocks of Turkeys or Deer mulling about on some private farm. Once you do this one can then go about the task of discovering who the land owner is. Most of the time this may be done merely by checking the name and address on the mailbox in front of what looks to be a primary residence. If you get the name and or address, the Internet may be a great method to check your information as much of this is public record. The next step is to make contact with that person.

 

Just walking up to the door with a bottle of scotch and knocking used to be the preferred method of securing consent  on hunting private land, but today it may not only end with a no, but it may also end with a few dog bites and a butt full of bird shot! This method only puts the landowner on the spot and is uncomfortable for both parties, and if he or she is not having a good day, your chances are slim to none. By having the address of the owner  you can construct a letter merely introducing yourself and telling a bit about what kind of person you are, without directly asking for an answer on the subject of hunting private land. You will of course mention that you’d like to stop by and discuss the possibilities, but don’t ask for definite answer.

 

You can communicate with the landowner via mail, email or by telephone, if they have responded with any of the above mentioned forms of communication, and if the mood seems friendly and inviting, you may then ask if there is a convenient time for you to stop by for a visit. When discussing the possibility of you hunting private land, be as friendly as possible and try to pick up any signs that will help you understand the landowner better. If you notice he is a hunter as well, talk about hunting and how you would be willing to hunt on days when he will not be hunting himself, and that you will not hunt any prime times such as opening day if he wishes. Try and make the conversation light and easy for the owner to say yes to this request.

 

You would hope that this becomes a long term prospect and you will be able  to hunt that land for years to come, so don’t forget this person at Christmas or any other time when you can reaffirm your budding friendship and gratitude for the privilege of hunting private land. There have been many times when a land owner has seen a flock of Turkeys working a neighboring farm and has made a call to his neighbor on my behalf in order to secure a day of hunting on that property. Remember, you are not just hunting private land; you are making new friends, so keep in touch even if it isn’t hunting season and on occasion, it doesn’t hurt to offer to help with some of the chores!

 

A Beginners Guide to Dolphin Fishing off South Florida

For those of you that are not familiar with the southern waters, when someone says they went dolphin fishing, they may also refer to it as fishing for Mahi Mahi (which is how you see it referred to most often on a menu), or dorado fishing. Now that I have cleared that up and know that I won’t have Green Peace sending me hate mail, I can pass along what I think is good information for anyone new to South Florida sport fishing, while also telling the tale of a great day out on the boat.

We were heading out for a great day of Dolphin fishing off the coast of South Florida; more precisely, Boynton Beach. It was a relatively late start for us, and the sun was already heating up this fine summer morning as we finally pulled away from the gas dock around 8am. Normally, we would have been fishing by first light but a string of strange events caused a slight delay in our departure. On a good note, it allowed me to throw the cast net on a passing school of Pilchard which gave us enough live bait to use both as chum and as bait if needed. I enjoy trolling for Dolphin. It is the first type of offshore angling I had done as a boy with my little 20’ Aquasport. When Dolphin Fishing, we always like to have a wide assortment of both live and artificial baits, but I have also had just as much success trolling store bought ballyhoo rigged with a skirt.

Our gear was all set as we made our way through the Boynton Beach inlet for this offshore Dolphin fishing experience. Ordinarily I fish a bit further South out of Haulover Cut in the North Miami Beach area, which is a much wider inlet and makes me feel a lot better when it’s a bit choppy! The plan was to get to the edge of the blue water and head southeast in hopes of finding some good patches of weeds or floating debris that hold Dolphin and other fish. It’s essential when Dolphin fishing to find clean blue water, although I have caught them in as little as 60 feet of water when targeting King Mackerel, but that is a unusual. This usually occurs when a strong east wind blows the weed patches closer to shore and the fish chase in bait such as flying fish. We are lucky in South Florida that the gulf stream comes very close to shore, (as little as a few miles in some spots), which makes it a short trip to the blue water when compared to those fishing further north.

We use very common tackle for Dolphin Fishing; trolling rods in the 30 lb. class should do fine, equipped with reels spooled using 25 – 30 lb test monofilament. I have been very happy using my Shimano TLD 20’s for this purpose. Bass Pro Shops, as well as Cabelas, sell a very nice combo that will serve this purpose well. The easiest way for a novice to begin dolphin fishing is to set up a rigged ballyhoo with a skirt. When Dolphin Fishing I have always like the Green with Yellow colors, but try other combinations such as black and purple as you never know what the fish are preferring, or what other species are lurking in the deep gulfstream waters. You should also bring along some spinning tackle of the same or lighter class, as you may have the opportunity to pitch some baits to a number of dolphin that occasionally follow their hooked school mates right up to the boat. By keeping a hooked fish in the water and tossing in some chunked pieces or live bait, you may keep them around the boat for some time. For rigging my trolling bait I will use between a 6/0 and 7/0 hook and pretty much the same but in a shorter shank, or a circle hook for pitching bait. Many people will use a wire leader when instead of a 50-70 lb. test leader as it is not uncommon to hook a Wahoo or large Barracuda when trolling for Dolphin.

Trolling speeds can vary with sea condition and the types of baits used, but usually average about 4 to 7 knots. Make sure your baits are working properly and swimming naturally. Above all, keep checking them to ensure that they do not pick up any floating weeds along the way. The baits should be swimming (not spinning) just under the surface or can be seen skipping on the surface. Just because you are Dolphin fishing doesn’t mean you can’t try for other species or use other methods to catch fish. On many occasions we have taken big Dolphin and Wahoo by using a down rigger to fish a bait deep. A rigged ballyhoo on a skirt with a wire leader is a great choice for this.

This was a very hot day and due to our late start we were concerned that it was going to be a long one. The weed patches were scattered and we were on constant look out for any flotsam. We passed a large crate that held a few Tripletail and tried pitching a few live Pilchard in hopes that something may be lurking a bit further down the water column, but to no avail. A bit later we spotted a log floating in the water and made several passes and were lucky enough to pick up one Dolphin in the 8 lb range. Far from being a monster, but when you are fishing this far offshore, we knew he was coming home for dinner!

If the weed patches and floating debris are not present it’s also a great idea to keep your eyes peeled for birds working the surface. We had just about given up for the day and the strong Gulf Stream currents had pushed us far north despite our Southerly initial course. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the folks at Delorme, as my handheld PN-90 GPS helped me to win a bet with my buddy on the correct heading back to Boynton Beach inlet.
We were within sight of land but still fairly far offshore when I saw about 10 birds working a small piece of ocean. There was nothing floating but I could see flying fish taking off in all directions. We began trolling the edges of where the birds were and in no time all the rods were bent over with fish on! Dolphin fishing at its finest! Now that the majority of our day’s catch were brought to the boat within 10 minutes, we could head home triumphantly, so we rinsed the boat down and headed for home; another successful day for The Outdoors Guy and friends.

If you have the urge on a calm summer morning or afternoon to learn and enjoy offshore fishing, Dolphin fishing in South Florida is perhaps the easiest way to begin. The tackle is not significantly heavy or overly expensive and you may already have most of it from your inshore adventures. Just head out to where the waters turn a clear blue and begin trolling some baits. If there are fish in the area they are usually eager to take a properly trolled bait. Remember to be prepared for all eventualities when Dolphin fishing, keep an eye on the weather and you will be sure to have some great tales to tell when you get home. Fishing for Dolphin is definitely a great way to begin your offshore angling experience.

Training Your Dog with an Electronic Collar

It wasn’t long ago that the mere thought of someone choosing to purposely ‘shock’ Man’s Best Friend into submission belonged in my brain’s “Unthinkable” category. Training your dog with an electronic collar held no interest for me. Then, in my efforts to live healthier and ‘get out’ more, I started walking in local parks and decided to take my loyal canine companion with me. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? The silhouette of a man and his dog walking through a tree lined park as the sun sets over Biscayne Bay, the dog dutifully trotting alongside his master, keeping in step. Yeah, well I think that was a commercial for the newest arthritic drug or something, because that wasn’t us! Dusty, my middle-aged red golden retriever, being just as spry as he was when he was just a pup, spends much of his day awaiting my return from the office, as many of our dogs do. Understandably so, when it’s time to get out for some fun in an open area, Dusty is the first to sign up! After more than just a few ‘lively’ encounters with Dusty living up to his name and literally “leaving me in the dust” as he ran off to chase a bird or a squirrel, I knew it was time to try something different. I wasn’t going to deprive him of his walks with me and the exercise he was clearly screaming for, but I couldn’t risk him getting hurt or lost, or me getting just plain hurt as the vision of me being dragged directly into the bay with reckless abandon flashed through my mind. It was at this point that I began listening to friends telling me to begin training your dog with an electronic collar.

I had seen other dog owners using the clicker method, retractable leashes, harnesses that made it near-impossible for them to gain leverage and pull you to the ground, and I’d also noticed that some people were training their dogs with an electronic collar. Not knowing much about them, I started doing some research and asking some friends how these “shock collars” work. Many of my friends are from the Midwest and use their dogs in hunting or just need to control them in large open areas.

After some comparison shopping, I settled on purchasing an electronic collar made by a company called “Sport Dog”. Since this electronic collar meant the difference between being successful at training Dusty and possibly hurting him (or me) if I did it wrong, I decided to do things exactly as suggested by the video that came with the collar. (yes, I’m one of those people who sometimes enjoys the challenge of figuring out gadgets as I go along rather than read the manual; in this case, don’t be stupid.. we’re talking your Best Friend here!) It is important to understand that before you begin training your dog with an electronic collar, your dog needs to be at least minimally trained in the fundamentals. That is, your pooch should know to sit, stay & come; the basics. If you are thinking about training your dog with a shock collar, and are concerned that it may hurt your four legged friend, let me tell you that I had the same concerns. Having these worries, I decided to test it out on myself first. While at first wondering if I should put it on my actual neck, as it will be on Dusty, I chuckled to myself and did a reality check, mustering all the nerve I could and placed the dial on a setting that might be normally used in the field and zapped myself on the forearm. Although this is not recommended, the shock I received was not much more severe than that of touching a doorknob after walking across a carpet. It was more annoying and scary than painful. I now felt more at ease about using this device on Dusty.

For about a week or so every time I took Dusty out I would put his bright orange training collar on, but leave the control handset in the house. We would go out and play and work on some basic commands. It got to the point that as soon as I reached for the collar, Dusty would get so excited and immediately jump on to his favorite cushion on the front porch and extend his neck for me to secure the electronic collar. Come to think of it, he does the same thing whenever I reach for the car keys. It also should be known that Dusty’s nickname is “the love puppy”, this dog actually gets free burgers at the local McDonalds when we go through the drive thru, and before they ask what I will be having you hear on the speakers, “Hi, Dusty!” and everyone comes to the second window to pet him. I can only hope they wash their hands before returning to their stations.

After a week, we progressed through our training and I took the transmitter with me. I began to nudge him with a slight shock if he did not obey a command quickly enough or disregarded me totally. It is important to note that before any shock was inflicted, I would hit the button that produces a tone from the collar; a ‘warning’, if you will. This way, Dusty would associate the tone with an upcoming unpleasant experience. When he obeyed the command he was rewarded with praise and or his chew toy. It was in a very short amount of time that I rarely had to give him a shock; the tone alone produced the desired affect! Soon, a leash was unnecessary, as the collar and my commands were enough to keep him under control. Whether the expected outcome of training your dog with an electronic collar is to keep him under control and within a safe range for hunting, or merely to enjoy his company in the park without a cumbersome leash, it is vital to practice in the steps provided in this article and to follow any accompanying literature upon buying one of these devices.

Finally, when I took Dusty to a trail that I like to hike, I determined a distance that I felt comfortable with, taking into account that he have plenty of space to turn to the wind, sniffing and frolicking to his hearts content, yet well within range of the transmitter so I could shut him down if a rabbit or other distraction caused him to go on the lam! Dusty now is familiar with our “safe distance” and if he gets too far ahead he will stop and turn around at about that distance and wait for me to catch up. I find that I very rarely, if ever, have to use more than the tone and my voice to get him to obey now. If you have similar success to what I’ve experienced, in training your dog with an electronic collar, you not only will have a much better trained animal, but your own stress levels will drop and you will more likely take your best friend out to explore new areas more often.