Content Archives - Page 48 of 73 - Mississippi Sportsman

May 26, 2026

Brandon hunter Alec Taylor shot this 350-pound hog in Adams County. It took three shots, the last two of which were at point-blank range, with a .30-06 in thick brush to finish off this boar.

Hog Season

July 27, 2010 Rob Heflin

What do you think of when you hear the word “hawg?” Arkansas football? Motorcycles? Gigantic largemouths? […]

Cover: August 2010

July 27, 2010 Mississippi Sportsman

This is the month of the Extravaganza, and that means deer season is just around the corner. Read the special section in this issue to make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. […]

State champs Brad Chappell and Bo Hudson are shown here with some huge Grenada slabs. Not only did these men win the 2010 Magnolia Crappie State Championship, they set the MCC best-stringer record for seven crappie at 19.42 pounds.

Crappie club keeps tourney fishing fun

July 27, 2010 Paul Johnson

The Magnolia Crappie State Championship was held at Ross Barnett in June, and the two-day tournament was won by a team pulling crankbaits. In fact, the top-three teams pulled crankbaits, and that’s all we did. We didn’t pick up a jig pole or buy a minnow. […]

Depending on the oak and its growth formation, whitetails will stand erect on their hind legs and perform a balancing act to pluck acorns weighing down low tree limbs. These trees can also be targeted by bucks for signpost scent marking scrapes. Here a tree not only provides food, but can become a central location for rut activity. Oak trees like these are a great place to bag a buck.

Deer Dynamics: Hard Mast

July 27, 2010 Tommy Kirkland

A white-tailed buck leaves his bedding site in a stand of small pines. Instead of heading to the clover plot, he scales up a small ridge to seek out what is beneath the trees. […]

Coleman claims power-trolling is just the ticket for any lake that holds populations of white crappie.

Power Trip

July 27, 2010 Phillip Gentry

To the uninitiated angler, the pontoon boat motoring across the early morning water looked like a Chinese fire drill minus the firemen. Every rod displayed across the front of the ‘toon had a hard bend in it — the rod tips almost dragging in the water. […]

No Bluffin’

July 27, 2010 Michael O. Giles

Undeterred by sizzling summer temperatures approaching the upper 90s, Lee Comans directed me to the spillway area of the Bluff Lake Dam as dawn broke. Working the grass along the dam, Comans pitched a jig into the edge of a grass patch, and felt the tell-tale thump of a nice bass. Reeling in his slack, he set the hook hard, and the bass took off toward our boat like a torpedo. […]

The real key to trophy management is allowing deer to reach 5½ to 6½ years of age. Patiently learning how to age deer on the hoof makes it a lot easier to know which bucks should and shouldn’t be killed. The payoff comes with deer like this 160-class buck killed by Paul Meeks near Port Gibson.

Soil Saga

July 27, 2010 Andy Crawford

The buck eased through the woods, nipping at greenery and moseying along the edge of the slough before turning and slowly crossing the depression. The animal moved along a trail a couple of does had used hours before, without so much as a sniff of the ground. […]

W.H. Covington takes soil samples with a soil probe and a soil-testing box in a food plot he is preparing to plant ball clover, oats, and ryegrass.

Lucky Charm Plots

July 27, 2010 Cliff Covington

When it comes to planting wildlife food plots, everyone seems to be searching for that magic seed that will provide everything a whitetail needs — large amounts of highly nutritious forage over an extended period of time. This elusive plant would grow in sun or shade, thrive in a desert or a swamp, reseed itself, stand up to heavy grazing and have the palatability of white-oak acorns. […]

Mike Adlam of Soldotna, Ak., traveled all the way to Mississippi to try out topwater bass fishing. After he caught this nice fish on a Smithwick Devil’s Horse (at midday nonetheless), he was hooked on topwater fishing.

Top Heavy

June 24, 2010 Cliff Covington

Casting topwater plugs in the middle of a lake with the scorching rays of the July sun beating down isn’t what the average angler would consider an ideal day of bass fishing. […]

Colby Byrd of Brookhaven shot this respectable 4 1/2-year-old buck in Claiborne County on property following Quality Deer Management guidelines. This buck was harvested four years after a failed culling program had been discontinued by the landowner. By protecting younger age-class bucks and harvesting large numbers of does, the landowner was able to reverse the negative affects of culling in a relatively short period of time.

To Cull or Not to Cull?

June 24, 2010 Cliff Covington

The practice of deer management has grown by leaps and bounds in the Magnolia State over the past few decades. Most whitetail enthusiasts understand that there are three primary factors that have an impact both on body size and antler quality — age, nutrition and genetics. […]

Cover: July 2010

June 24, 2010 Mississippi Sportsman

Sure it’s hot, but the bass are biting. Fish the edges of daylight, and you’ll have a summertime blast. […]

Despite being past his prime, this buck still has an impressive set of antlers, and one can see how his genes worked to create a rack nearly identical to the previous years when he was in his prime.

Deer Dynamics: Antler Growth

June 24, 2010 Tommy Kirkland

As the days become longer, the process of “photoperiod” takes hold — stimulating more hormonal growth for bucks. More available sunlight allows changes to unfold with a buck’s pituitary gland, producing hormones that significantly contribute to bone and tissue growth. Other natural works play into antler development as well. […]