Freshwater Fishing

Of fish and frustration: The flood of 2011

May 2011 will not be forgotten by anyone connected with the Mississippi River. While a few historians claim the lower Mississippi River has been higher, the 2011 flood set a new high-water record on the Vicksburg gauge, and was just inches shy of record highs on the Greenville and Memphis gauges. The social and economic damage were huge. […]

Hunting

Totin’ tools; Plan ahead for unexpected

When I was a kid back, my mom owned the local auto parts store with a full stock of hand tools. Every spring the farmers would file in the door to buy their annual restock of tools, which were lost or otherwise misplaced from the season before. This was an annual event in our store. It was proof, of course, of how valuable a good complete set of tools was. It still is today. […]

Bass Fishing

Autumn bites. Bogue Homa features early fall action

Lake Bogue Homa, 6 miles east of Laurel on Highway 84, was restocked by the state about three years ago. This lake, with its 15-inch size limit, has a healthy population of bass. You’ll catch numbers of small fish here, but also some 3- to 5-pounders. The lake holds a lot of vegetation, including lily pads, grass and cypress trees. […]

Hunting

Time for a bowhunting tune up

Take a minute to pull back on your bow to see how your shoulder feels. “Ouch!” is a common response I hear around the bow shops this time of year. Hunters are getting ready for opening day of bowseason for whitetails on Oct. 1 (Oct. 15 in Southeast). It isn’t a moment too soon either. […]

Fishing

Protect your electronics investment

There is a list of risks I won’t take with my electronics, and it starts with leaving them installed while trailering to and from the launching ramp. I started removing my fishfinders back in the days when a paper chart recorder weighed about 8 pounds and a friend at a repair center warned me that neither the units nor their mounting systems were designed to take the kind of shock loads they can get while trailering down a pot-holed highway. […]