Spring is Here

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!

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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