Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management

2012-01-26T07:49:00.000-06:00

Wow did the last five weeks go by fast! It started out with the great Outdoors Show Christmas Extraveganza back in mid December. Approximately 450 people showed up and we enjoyed talking to all of them. The Duck Hounds enjoyed being petted by everyone and the beef ribs they got to chew on at hunt camp.After some Georgia deer hunting, Christmas qand New Years is was back to work for two weeks in Florida, and now we are performing the routine maintenance on boats, motors, trailers, etc.

We are excited to announce The Big Winter Texas Hunter Feeder Sale! If you need deer or fish feeders, please see the flier and contact us to place your order. These will be the lowest prices of the year!

Outdoors Show Christmas Extravaganza!

2011-12-13T09:02:00.001-06:00

Join us, this Saturday December 17th, from 7 AM to 2 PM for the Outdoors Show Extravaganza, held at Nimnicht Chevorlet, in Jacksonville, Florida. Besides broadcasting the Outdoors Show Radio live, there will be raffles and fine smoked foods to eat, vendors who are sponsors of the show and the Outdoors Show staff including Kevin, Jeff and Kirk. Admission is free! Steve and I will be there with the shocker boat set up on display answering questions about lake and land management and raffling off a fish attractor and wood duck box, along with giving away a few camo tees, hats and coozies. During the show we are offering all Texas Hunter and Sweeney brand fish and game feeders at 5% off! I will also have the Duck Hounds there waiting to be petted or retrieve a dummy by anyone that will throw for them. We hope to see you there!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-13T07:14:00.000-06:00

Everyone here at Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year in 2012! We are headed towards our 5th anniversary in March and would like to thank everyone from clients, friends, associates and family for helping us grow the business the past five years. We have been pleasantly surprised at our success, and look forward to continue growing and meeting new people the next five years. Our clients are the best, constantly promoting us and having their friends and associates call on us to perform lake and land work on their properties. We look forward to working for you all again next year and the many new clients signed up that we start working for this coming spring. Happy Holidays!

Thanksgiving Weekend at the Deer Lease With the Browns!

2011-11-29T07:45:00.000-06:00

Now that the Allen High football season tragically ended last weekend coming up a yard short of the end zone on the final drive in the playoff game at Cowboy’s Stadium, my son and I spent three days deer hunting at our Abilene, Texas lease.

First afternoon I got to my ground blind about 2:00 PM saw a few deer about 50-80 yards away and none going by the feeder. This was the first time I had seen deer, that didn’t swing by the feeder, but I didn’t think anything of it. Around 4:00 a flock of red-winged black birds invaded the feeder, well over 100. They would land and then all jump up and leave for a few minutes and come back. I noticed about 5 yards to the left of the feeder the birds were appearing to lift a “stick” up off the ground when they flew. I got my binoculars out and after further review I realized I wasn’t the only one hunting the feeder, it was a rattle snake. He was hiding in a depression, coiled up with just his head out of the depression facing the feeder. This went on until dark (6:00) and with binoculars at 16 yards it was like Wild Kingdom “in your face!” I could see him lunge, tongue going in and out and he even yawned twice. He never caught anything though. Unfortunately I did not have my big camera and didn’t get any pictures. I am not sure but maybe the deer could smell or sense he was there and that’s why I saw 5 deer that afternoon and they all kept their distance. Also had a Yote (coyote) barking (at what, I couldn’t figure out) about 80 yards up the hill from me for about 5 minutes off and on.

On Saturday afternoon the wind was 40-plus mph out of north and temperatures were dropping. I dropped Josh off at 2:45 and headed to my stand about 10 min drive away and another 10 minute walk from there. At 3:45 I barely heard a shot in his direction (3/4 of a mile away) and about 45 seconds later got a text that said “It was the big one!” Well the Big One is about a 150 inch class we had seen around, and the day prior I believe we saw him crossing the road as we drove to the stands within 100 yards of Josh’s stand. The next text is “lots of blood at site, but no blood trail.” I said OK, don’t push him I will be back over in 15 minutes and we can start from there. Now I have deer already in bow range and I have to shoo them away and I jump two more big body deer as I walk up out of the gulch to the truck. Before I got too the truck another text, “I found him, he is big, but not the Big One – hurry up.” Although he has a broken main beam (which a lot of our deer already have due to this year's drought) he is a 10-point, palmated on one side, with a kicker off one brow tine. The taxidermist can add the end of the broken side per Josh's request. I went through almost 1,000 trail camera photos last night and could not find one picture of this deer prior to breaking it off. In fact he hadn’t been in any photos until a few days prior to meeting Josh and his 270 rifle. I wanted to be sure the repair is as close to the real deal as we can get, as many of our deer have crab claws at the end, but to no avail, this buck due to the rut had just moved into the area. For those who do not know Josh, he never gets excited about anything, but he was excited Saturday afternoon and even smiled for a few pictures. This is his first buck after taking 4 does between ages of 12 and 17 that he got all on his own without sitting by Dad (after his first deer he told me I was holding him back those first two years!)Looks like you can be a high school kid, get straight A’s, play football, be in the band and still live the Hunt Life!

Here is the deer a couple days prior at a feeder photographed by a trail camera. He is easy to spot in the thousands of trail camera photos we have from this year, as he has a double throat patch apposed to the traditional single.

Josh Brown with his first buck - awfully nice one!

Dad helps but the hunter needs to do most of the work.

Josh and I the next morning, now the real work begins processing the meat.

I got this doe two weeks prior with my bow, now looking for a big buck!

Hunting Season Is Finally Here!

2011-10-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

Now that most of our Fall field work is complete, we can take some time off to hunt. Got to sit last weekend with my bow and saw 8 bucks and three does in two sits. All of them got within 20 yards or less while I sat in a ground blind, or just on a stool tucked into some mesquite trees. One 9-point walked up to15 feet before daylight while I was sitting in the bushes - he never saw me! None of the bucks were what I was looking for, although two were very tempting. After watching deer for 45 minutes I decided to take a large doe, but by then she had gotten to where I couldn't get a shot. Maybe next time!

Here are a few more trail camera pictures from the ranch we hunt near Abilene, Texas from the past five weeks.

A Few Photos From The Field!

2011-10-09T10:08:00.000-05:00

Been on the road for two weeks and have gotten a few wildlife photos in Florida and Georgia while working or during our travels. And then the rains came!

Young Black Bear in the Ocala National Forest!

Rutting Buck in Central Florida a few miles from Disney!

Canada Geese in South Central Georgia leaving the peanut fields!

Rattle Snake in North Florida!

We found this spot while electrofishing near Welatka, Florida on the St. Johns river! This is not the typical electrofisihng scene, there were thousands of catfish stacked up in this spot. It didn't take long for us to collect our 15.

Trail Camera Videos From Central Texas!

2011-09-20T08:26:00.000-05:00

Here are a few videos I got with our trail cameras from the ranch this past weekend. The Hog in lightning is pretty cool! Enjoy!

Nice Little Texas Buck!

Hog in lightning!

Another Nice Little Texas Buck!

Is There any More Room at This Table?

Trail Camera Pictures Are Coming In!

2011-09-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

Got two weeks of trail camera pictures back from the deer lease near Abilene, Texas. Got some nice deer, but some other charcters hanging out too. Aslo got some videos from the same cameras, so i will try and post one or two of those. Enjoy!

All he needs is a cape and a light breeze!

Who Dat?

The worlds ugliest boar hog, but he comes with targets on him!

Wil-E-Coyote!

A mature 10-point!

Don't believe I have ever seen quail on a taril camera before?

Fight! Fight! (on left of frame)

The bone yard! Lots of inches there!

Now its the Ladies' turn to eat!

Bobcat

Since we have a coyote, there is always a road runner not far ahead of him.

Quarterly News Letter Posted!

2011-09-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

The Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management Fall 2011 quarterly news letter can be viewed at: http://southernsportsmanaquaticsandland.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/September_2011_News_Letter.248100924.pdf

We hope you enjoy it.

Scotty Brown Invades The Hunt Life Outdoors Show!

2011-08-27T08:27:00.001-05:00

Scotty Brown from Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management was a guest on this week's Hunt Life Outdoors Show: http://www.huntlife.com/. Click on episode #95 to listen! We talked about the Bass Pro Land and Wildlife Expo and the Quality Deer Management Association National Convention the weekend before that we were attended, along with fish and wildlife management and getting ready for hunting season. Oh yeah, we had a few laughs too, actually we had a lot of laughs! Enjoy!

The Show is Over and We are All Back Home!

2011-08-16T06:46:00.001-05:00

The show wrapped up Sunday afternoon and we survived the dreaded take-down. Always a pleasure watching the folks in the back clog everything up at the exit in the front by pushing or driving all there stuff past everyone else and then not being able to get there trailers close to load. The take-down is always the worst part of these events, and I have been to very few where it was organized and went quickly.

Overall the show was OK. Friday was a great day, Saturday was good, but Sunday was very light all day. We met and talked to a lot of interesting folks about deer, turkey, ducks, weeds, ponds and fish. I even had a request to design a 10 acre fishing pond with an additional 20 acres of dog training areas that could double as a waterfowl hunting area near Dallas. Fishing, Dog training and bird hunting are three of my favorite activities, so I am looking forward to starting that project!

We even had a few clients present, and want to thank Jim Fenton and his wife who own Doe Run Plantation that we work for in Sylvester, Georgia for the hospitality one evening after the main festivities ended.

We hope you enjoyed the updates and now its time to get back to work. Steve will be collecting water chemistry samples from the St Johns River in Florida this week and Grady and I will be spraying aquatic weeds at Holly Lake Ranch, near Hawkins, Texas. It is only predicted to be 104 degrees, so that is about 5 degrees cooler than last month.

As always the fish attractor brought a lot of folks to the booth either to compliment us on it or to see how to order or build them for themselves.

This display was very cool showcasing long-leaf pines apposed to planting other species, and had a nice turkey mount as part of it.

Some of the booths were very elaborate like this John Deere display where they laid down several pallets of sod. I know they didn't come from Texas, we have not had mud here in months!

The folks that train antler shed dogs were there. This is a pretty cool idea, but I would hate for my dogs to grab an antler instead of a downed bird during a hunt.

This truck belongs to a 15 year old boy named Zac Cooper that has had his own hunting show since he was 11. He has been interviewed on the Hunt Life Outdoors Show and he does have good manners.

First Full Day in The Books!

2011-08-13T17:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterdays four hours was very crowded. After we shut it down we hit the QDMA Grand Banquet. We didn't win anything in the raffle nor did we buy anything in the Live auction. We saw some old friends and made some new ones. Jeff Foxworthys show was great! He is really into the outdoors and managing his deer at his farm in Georgia.

Today the show was non-stop until about the last two hours, then it was very thin, but it gave us time to walk around and see what was here.

Tonight we have dinner and a Craig Morgan concert with all the proceeds going to Conservation groups like NWTF, DU, QDMA, RMEF, and a few others.

Steve, Scott and Grady working the booth!

Seriously a pink spreader?

Here is a nice mount at one of the booths.

Arrived, Set Up and Ready to Go!

2011-08-12T11:50:00.001-05:00

After a nine hour drive yesterday for Scott and Grady we arrived to meet Steve who flew in from florida to set up the booth, check into the very nice Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management Boys are not used to staying at places like this. Could be a new reality TV show called "Rednecks Invade The High Society Folks In Nashville" I'm mean comeon the biggest Redneck of all Jeff Foxworthy is here hanging out, and it dont' get any more Redneck than that!

The booth is set up, now all we need are people to come by!

Scott & Steve checking out the speakers at the QDMA Seminar Series!

Headed To Nashville!

2011-08-09T11:28:00.000-05:00

This week we are headed to Nashville to participate in the Quality Deer Management Associations National Convention and the Bass Pro Shops Land & Wildlife Expo. Everything is packed and built, and I am ready for the weekend. For the QDMA National Convention click here: QDMA National Convention and for more info on the Bass Pro Shop Expo click here: Bass Pro Shop Land & Wildlife Expo. Please stop buy our booth (#1121) and say hello! We will have photos and talk about it when we get back if you cannot make it, but we hope to see you there!

Allen Texas Ducks Unlimited Banquet

2011-07-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

The Allen Chapter of Ducks Unlimited (DU) is having their 13^th Annual Fundraising Banquet on Thursday, 4 August 2011, 5:30 PM at the Swingin’ D Ranch, 3406 Dublin Road, Parker, Texas. All proceeds go to Ducks Unlimited to be used for wetland conservation and restoration.

Due to the enormous support from local and national sponsors and the generosity of attendees in 2008, 2009 & 2010, Allen Ducks Unlimited received awards given out by both DU National (Presidential Citation Award (Bronze in 2008, Silver in 2009 & Gold in 2010) and the Texas State Committee (The Mallard in 2008, Widgeon in 2009, and Mallard and Grand Slam Pintail Awards in 2010) for exceptional growth in fundraising and attendance. In 2011 Allen DU has the opportunity to do what no chapter in Texas and very few across the country have done, which is earn the Grand Slam Pintail Award two consecutive years.

Besides great barbeque, libations and fellowship; there will be various raffles and games, along with silent and live auction items. All attendees will be entered in a raffle for an Apple I-Pad. Tickets are $60 per person, $80 per couple and youth (17 and under) $25. A Bronze Sponsorship Corporate Table for eight costs $750, which includes gift for all at the table. All the above includes one membership to Ducks Unlimited. Silver or Gold Sponsorship corporate tables are also available, please call if interested. Day of event tickets can be purchased at the door.

If you would like to support wetland conservation and help Allen DU achieve a rare accomplishment by attending the banquet and/or becoming an event sponsor by donating funds, goods or services contact Hoyt Utay (214) 957-3133 or Kirk Hodgson (214) 755-4551

To learn more about the Allen Chapter of Ducks Unlimited, how you can become an active member and purchase tickets, check us out on the web at: http://allentxduchapter.blogspot.com/

Summer 2011 News Letter

2011-05-20T15:21:00.000-05:00

The Summer 2011 edition of the Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management News Letter can be viewed at: http://southernsportsmanaquaticsandland.com/ on the "Quarterly News Letter" page. We have added some things to our web site and we are also taking orders and accepting credit cards to purchase aeration systems, fountains, fish and game feeders, pond fertilizer, fish attractors, wood duck and blue bird nesting boxes and Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management hats and tee shirts.

Reports Are Finally Done!

2011-05-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

Well we got all our spring lake assessment reports finally completed and mailed out. Nothing exciting for photo opportunities, but me sitting at my desk chair entering data and typing reports, so no new interesting photos this time. We continue to perform aquatic vegetation treatment for our regular clients on a monthly basis and I have begun making changes to our web site for the summer that will include new services and products we will be offering that can be purchased off our web site: http://southernsportsmanaquaticsandland.com/. Once I have it all done I will turn it on and let everyone know. The fish and wildlife biology is easy, but maintaining web sites, doing accurate accounting and stuff like that is neither fun nor am I good at it! We are also getting ready for the upcoming Land & Wildlife Expo in conjunction with the Quality Deer Management Association's National Convention in Nashville August 11-14th. Anyone attending please stop by our booth and say hello, we always like to see friendly faces of clients or followers. I have also been helping my friends at the Outdoors Show get there new web site ready to launch. If you have never been to their site or heard the radio show you can check it all out at http://outdoorsshow.com/ See ya until next time!

Not too disappoint, here are a few photos I hadn't posted yet - Enjoy!

White-tail deer fawn in Georgia!

Gopher Tortoise in Southwest Florida!

A banded (four times) Scrub Jay in Southwest Florida!

Spring Work Trip Finally Over!

2011-04-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

Well the four weeks in the field is over. Now back in Texas entering the mountain of data collected and doing a few spray jobs around here between thunderstorms, high winds and the fires that have torched well over a million acres. The last weekend in April we are headed to Abilene, Texas to try and get Josh his first turkey, and my first Rio Grand!

I want to thank all our clients and friends for the hospitality while we were working and in the evenings to help get our minds off work and relax. Yes, even I am tired of electrofishing! It was by far my longest trip, but was enjoyable despite living out of a suitcase for four weeks - we definitely have great clients and friends! I only got to sit in the turkey woods for about 3 hours one morning with the Faver Clan and about an hour at Ochwalkee Creek Plantation. Some of our client's lakes looked so good this spring I had to fish a few of them, even if just for a half hour to take a break. Here are a few pictures from what I saw while working the last two weeks.

Osprey flying by!

Southern fox squirrel!

Heron in a rookery in Northeast Florida!

Pilliated woodpecker flying by!

Canada goose nest in Alabama!

Who brings babies to the storks?

Although viewed as cute by some, this highly destructive beaver was checking us out while we were fishing!

This gobbler was looking for love!

"How Do You Do That!"

2011-04-12T14:56:00.000-05:00

Many folks ask us about the electrofishing boat and how it works. Our boat is a 16 ft X 48 in flat bottom Jon boat with a 40 hp motor. On our rig the boat itself is the ground and the booms sticking out the front with the stainless steel droppers are the positive. Some rigs use separate cables for the ground, but by using the boat, you produce a better field. The boat has a padded railing around the front deck so we can lean out and dip and not fall in. Some shocker boats have lights on them for sampling at night. Our generator puts out up to 7500 watts, up to 1000 volts, various pulses (7.5-120 per second) and amperage, and is all controlled by the Shocker Box. The settings we use depend on the objectives for sampling, the water’s conductivity and species of fish being targeted. There is a peddle, that when pushed, puts electricity into the water and a timer that keeps track of seconds sampled, which we convert into a fish per minute index. The range and depth fish are affected depends on fish species, size and water conductivity. In some waterbodies fish need to be within three feet of the outside of boom and less than four feet deep. Other times fish are stunned as far as 15 feet outside the booms, and greater than 10 feet below the surface. Some fish are completely stunned and easy to dip, while others fight the electricity and can be very difficult and impossible to dip. Research has shown approximately 0.5 % of the fish shocked die, and generally those are fingerlings and fry. All remaining fish wake up and swim away unharmed. After we dip the fish they are placed into an aerated tank, sometimes with salt, until measured, weighed and then released. After each sample the tank water is pumped out and refilled. The water temperature can rise in the tank when jammed with fish, or from the sun, fish deposit waste and some regurgitate the most recent meal in the tank is why it is changed so frequently. Generally larger fish get hit harder (shocked) than smaller ones as they have more surface area to transmit electricity and occasionally take longer to wake up. Most fish by the time we measure and weigh are eagerly ready to swim away. No one has ever been killed as far as I know from electrofishing, but if you touch the water and the boat simultaneously when the peddle is down, you will feel it. If the water is highly conductive, the shock is very mild, but if the water is very soft and has very low conductivity the volts are high, even though the amps produced are low, and you will really feel it. We always wear rubber soled shoes and the deck and in front of the driver’s seat has a rubber mat for additional insulation. Sometimes we use one dipper and sometimes two. The driver always wears ear protection and sometimes the dippers too, and we use 6-8 ft long handle dip nets. If we are targeting catfish, the net webbing may be rubber to eliminate their spines getting tangled in the traditional green nylon nets.

The shocker can affect turtles, snakes, alligators, birds and even manatees. If we encounter a non fish animal, we simply release the peddle and allow it to get away and we resume. The larger the lizards, the more thrashing they do. I have seen them up to about 12 feet get shocked and those are dangerous that close, especially to the driver. Gators have a tendency to try and climb into the back of the boat by the driver. That makes it interesting during night sampling. The guys in the front think its funny, but when you see teeth and that front foot coming at you out of the dim light, it scares you know matter how used to it you are! Manatees also cause a threat as they can literally flip the boat if they are in shallow water. My first month on the job we were electrofishing on the St Johns near Titusville and in the front of the deck a huge swirl and the water dropped about a foot, before this 10-11 footer threw his head between the railing and onto the boat deck. Being from Missouri, that was first really scary then was pretty cool!

The term Monkey Rig is frequently used when describing illegal electrofishing. Those were specifically used for catfish and most were built from the old crank telephone generator. The reason it works so well on catfish is it is low amperage, medium volts, but low pulses per second, which catfish are very susceptible to. When I did my catfish research on the St Johns in the late 80’s and early 90’s we actually abandoned the modern day shocker and used an old telephone rig we built in some areas of the study, and it was amazing how many catfish were in any stretch of the river.

Below are a few photos of the inside and setup we use.

The action is not always fast paced, and sometimes it is a wait for the fish to float, or to even find them!

You can see how crowded the boat can get even for the driver with all the equipment in the boat.

Smaller boats are better for smaller water, but bigger boats are best for big waterbodies especially if bad weather or winds pop up.

Clean, cool aerated water in the tank keeps all the fish in good shape while waiting to be measured, weighed and released.

Photos from The Weekend!

2011-04-05T09:29:00.001-05:00

We were working for a new client this weekend in Northeast Florida, where the wildlife runs abound. here are a few photos from us working and the wildlife we saw while on the property.

A 8.9 lbs largemouth bass, measuring 24 inches!

A 10 inch bluegill is quality in anyone's book!

A Boss Gobbler looking for love!

Electrofishing The Faver Lake

2011-04-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

We electrofished the Faver Lake owned by good friend and Outdoors Show founder Captain Kevin Faver. Kevin and his son Colton did a great job dipping fish as they dipped about 150 largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish with a few black crappie, warmouth and golden shiners mixed in 12 minutes of peddle time. In other words they were working and worked up a sweat! The largemouth and all other fish were more plentiful than two years ago, and now the bass need to be thinned to promote growth of the fish remaining. It appears there is plenty of food for bass under 10 inches and over 18 inches, just not much available for the middle size individuals, which is typical for a waterbody with little bass harvest. We will be stocking some additional forage and Kevin will be having more fish fries with bass 12-16 inches in length this year. We will also be gathering additional lengths & weights during the shiner fishing tournament between the Favers and Schulte's in a couple weeks to varify the larger bass have plenty to eat, but I am betting they do from the electrofishing sample. But we always like to combine hook & line data with electrofishing results to get the best picture possible of what is really going on under the water!

Kevin & Colton after some heavy fish dipping competition!

Too many small bass!

Sometimes a starving fish's mouth isn't as big as its stomach thinks!

Warmouth, Redear Sunfish and Bluegill

Spring is Here

2011-03-31T10:52:00.014-05:00

The Winter sample is complete and we have started the Spring sampling in the St. Johns River. Water and air temperature were chilly and our catch rates were low in January and early February. Often we were the only people on the river. What little catch we did have however did attract a crowd....

This group followed us to every sample site for 20k of river, looking for a free meal.

Both Otter Trawls needed repairs after catching old crab traps. They have been repaired and are ready for the spring sample.

We installed a fountain with lights for The Retreat of Clay County in early January. It is a small pond at the entrance to the development. The fountain looks great, and attracts attention both day and night.

Looking forward to the busy spring and some warm weather. Most water temperatures are over 65 degrees and great for fishing. Many species are beginning to spawn and catch rates should increase as fish become more active. We encourage you to utilize the aquatic resources in your communities and we recommend you practice catch-and-release in stormwater retention ponds.

Hope you have an opportunity to enjoy some time on the water or in the woods.

Hard to Believe this is Central Florida!

2011-02-22T11:30:00.001-06:00

These photos were taken on a 10,000 acre tract of land in Central Florida, just a stones throw from the Rat Trap (Disney). This property has a 1,600 acre lake we are working on. It is incredible to be on the lake at daylight or dusk, with no sounds but nature. The buck in this photo is not the biggest we have seen to date. Sunday evening I saw his older brother with the same rack shape, maybe a hair wider, a lot heavier beams and G's and ten points instead of eight. He slipped into the woods before I could get my bigger camera lens on. The property has not been hunted or fished for 10-15-20 years, and may never be again, but it will also never get developed, so that is nice to hear. Kind of refreshing since Florida cannot get paved fast enough to suite some people!

1) What Florida lakes used to look like!

2) It is hard to believe this one is not the biggest we have seen!

3) This turkey has probably never heard a human call during hunbting season, no call shyness here!

4) Sandhill cranes.

5) A couple gents out for an afternoon walk in the warm February Florida sun!

Doing Some Largemouth Bass Resaearch!

2011-02-22T11:19:00.000-06:00

I was electrofishing a 1,600 acre private lake in St Cloud (Osceola County), Florida this past weekend. Besides a general lake evaluation we are doing separate largemouth bass research and monitoring so it was three days of dipping bass. We weighed and measured approximately 280 bass. We did dip a few other fish that were exceptional. There is definitely a forage gap for bass in the 14-20 inch size classes, notice the big head and sunken belly. The larger and smaller bass appeared to be fat and happy. Water temperature was about 65 degrees F, and they will be spawning when it gets to around 68 or so. The black crappie were all in the Maidencane spawning already.

1) Laergemouth bass weighing 8.5 lbs.

2) Redear Sunfish weighing 1.75 lbs, 12 in. total length.

3) Bluegill weighing 1 lbs.

4) Typical Largemouth Bass shape when not enough forage (food) is present

5) This "Lizard" slipped in behind us and grabbed a catfish for lunch!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-18T12:09:00.015-06:00

Happy New Year!

Hope you had prosperous 2010. Wish I had made more time to sit in the woods or on a duck pond this past year. No need to list the excuses I have convinced myself are legitimate, but I promised myself I will make the most of opportunities when they arise in 2011. Over the Christmas break I did visit Smokey Mountain National Park in TN and saw some great wildlife and lots of snow.

I installed a much needed floor in my boat and completed some other minor equipment repairs in preparation of a busy 2011.

Already this year we began work on the St. Johns River, collecting the winter quarter electrofishing sample. Water temperatures were in the low 50’s but we still managed to find some big ones, like this 9lb Largemouth.

Sampling begins this week with trawls and hoop nets. I will let you know how we do.

Switch From Feathers to Hair During Christmas Break

2011-01-01T09:58:00.000-06:00

Five days before Christmas my son and I deer hunted at a good friend’s plantation in southeast central Georgia. The objective was to harvest more does and to get Josh a nice buck. The big bucks this year after the rut have all but disappeared. The food is so plentiful they do not need to move hardly at all, and they are not. We did remove three more does, but Josh's Big Buck will have to wait another year. The freezers are full and the hunting season is coming to an end. Now its time to go back to school and get back to work!

Not Doing Much Work, But Lots of Hunting!

2011-01-01T09:40:00.001-06:00

We went duck and goose hunting with the Allen Ducks Unlimited Committee In December. Had a great time and we got lots of birds. We duck hunted a Saturday near Bowie, Texas and goose hunted the following day north of Lubbock, Texas. My son josh got a limit of redheads for the first time. Tejas Waterfowl is top notch for goose hunting, and I recommend Ruben Molinar to anybody that wants to Canada goose hunt in northwest Texas. Dash the wonder lab was a little tired after Saturday as he retrieved about 27 birds Saturday morning for the group.

A Few Birds in Northeast Texas

2010-12-01T15:14:00.000-06:00

My son and I got lucky and got a few birds off public land north of our house in Northeast Texas last Wednesday and Sunday. Wednesday it was 77 degrees and we got two ducks, but 9 Canadas came into the duck decoys feet down, wings cupped, 25 yards out 10-15 feet off the water. We only had #4’s in our guns, but I knew it was about to get ugly for the geese. We knocked down 5, and Josh got his first Canada geese. Josh is hooked, he thought that was so great when they came crashing down! They weighed 10-12 lbs each. Sunday we went back to the same pond (only about 4 acres) and shot the biggest variety of ducks I think I have ever done – a canvas back, 2 redheads, 3 ring necks, a widgeon, a gadwall, a mallard, a teal and a merganser (kid and dog like to practice). The dog had the best day on long blinds and hunting up downed ducks I have ever seen. He found 4 gliders 75-175 yards away in the prairie around us. A couple we had know idea where they finally went down, because once they went over the pond dam right next to us it was acres of grassland. Now that Allen football is over this kid is bugging me every evening about hunting the next day. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

See ya!

Scott

Dog Days of Fall!

2010-09-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

It's Go Time!

The Pick-Up!

All of us have been getting ready for hunting season, including the Duck Hounds and Wetland Warriors. Here are a few photos of a training day from this week. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable hunting season for whatever your species is.

Hiding in "The Hut" waiting on those pesky geese!

This rubber goose is heavy, say "Hand" already!

Another Successful Allen, Texas DU Fundraising Banquet!

2010-08-17T17:13:00.005-05:00

As my third year and term as Allen DU Area Chairman winds down we once again (three consecutive years) raised a significant amount of money for wetland conservation on August 5th and achieved a significant gain over 2009's fundraising efforts. I want to thank all the sponsors and attendees for their generosity at the banquet and our committee members for their hard work in pulling it all together and financial support. Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management recommends all of our friends and clients get involved with a not-for-profit organization that supports whatever they are interested in, whether it be waterfowl, turkey, deer, elk, quail, pheasant, gun rights, etc. Its about raising money for environmental issues you care about and having fun with friends. I told someone recently I enjoy being a committee member for DU, and when I stop having fun I would stop doing it, which will not be anytime soon.

Summer 2010

2010-07-31T07:25:00.008-05:00

Sorry its been a while, but I have been on the road for three weeks working. Had a great trip, saw lots of clients, Visited with old friends, got lots of work done, but it was hot and getting hotter out here in Texas! Besides a week collecting data for our Georgia Pacific research project, I visited several client's waterbodies in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and now in Mississippi to collect water chemistry data. All short reports are done and new estimates have been already been sent.

I installed some fish attractors at Ochwalkee Creek Plantation. These have become very popular with our clients. They last forever and are virtually snag-less. We build them on site and deploy in 24 hours. The duck or goose decoy marker helps you find them to fish later. I also had a great catfish fry there with fish we caught in short order one afternoon with my good friend Jeff. There is nothing better than pond fishing and country fish fry. If you haven't tried it in a while do so, as it will bring back great memories, and get your kids involved to create new ones!

Not many quality photo opportunities this trip, except this doe that seems to have no fear of humans. She let me walk within about 10 yards while she was in a food plot, and she walked by me at about 5 yards.

Next week I will be working for Allen Ducks Unlimited. This is my third and final year as Area Chairman and it has been enjoyable, rewarding, but a lot of work. Our banquet is Thursday August 5th, and if you live nearby, please come and enjoy yourself and help raise money for wetland restoration and conservation, including the Gulf Coast cleanup.

On The Road and Sampling Fish

2010-04-28T07:55:00.007-05:00

We have been swamped this spring. I was in Florida, Georgia & Alabama for thre of the past four weeks. Got home and did three days of sampling in East Texas and headed to Oklahoma next. We want to thank all our clients for continuing the support and passing our information on as we signed up several new clients this spring in four states. Above are a few photos of some quality fish we have seen over the past few weeks. As one of our new Technicians Clint Osteen said, "Electrofishing is fun, but its a lot of work!" Next is the not-so-glorious task of writing reports.

Nice Bass From The Hall Farm

2010-04-02T10:28:00.002-05:00

One of our clients, the Hall Farm near Sylvester, Georgia, sent us this picture of a 12.9 lbs largemouth bass caught from one of their lakes. It was released to be caught another day. Nice fish!

Wild Florida Black Bear Sighting

2010-04-02T10:13:00.004-05:00

While working in Florida last week on the way back from sampling one afternoon I came across a black bear in the Ocala National Forest. He was trying to get to a deer that had been hit by a car earlier and drag it back to the scrub oak approximately 50 yards from the road. There were already vultures on the deer, but since it was so fresh he really wanted that free meal. When I drove by he backed into the scrub, so I pulled over, assembled the camera and stood at the back of the boat and waited to see if he would come back out - and he did. He would head back into the woods every time a car came by, but he didn't seemed bothered by my truck parked across the road, and didn't notice me standing by the motor. I got a few good pictures. The next morning the deer was gone, so I think he eventually got the deer to the seclusion of the woods.

Nice St Johns River Bass

2010-04-02T09:58:00.002-05:00

I was working on the St Johns River (Florida) the week of March 22nd collecting fish tissue samples for our Georgia Pacific study and we came across these two bass that weighed 11.5 and 8.5 collected near Welaka. They were released after the photos were taken. The water temperature that week was 58 and no spawning activity was observed. Females had not even developed eggs that could be squeezed out yet. We will be back starting the middle of next week electrofishing for fish population data, and I expect to see the largemouth bass spawn in full swing. This is one to two months later than normal in this area due to the cool weather.

Welcome!

2010-03-09T13:04:00.001-06:00

I would like to welcome you to the new Southern Sportsman Aquatics & Land Management blog page where we will periodically update on activities being conducted by us. We may pass along pond and lake management techniques or post pictures of some of our work or hobby activities. For more information on what we do and services we offer, please click on the link at the bottom of the page and it will take you to our company web site. I thank you for stopping by.

Scott Brown