What do deer hunters and anglers have in common? A lot, actually. Before you think I’ve flipped my wig, allow me to expound. A dedicated deer hunter makes it his business to know where deer are and what they are doing at any point in the year—especially during hunting season. Take the rut, for example. A savvy hunter knows this is a time of peak buck activity and therefore a prime time to be in the woods.
An ardent angler can be just as astute in understanding the habits and what the fish they are pursuing are doing at any given time. They know that big female bass bed first, followed later by smaller bass. Anglers also know bass prefer flat, hard surfaces when possible for spawning. In impoundments formed by flooded timber, the flatter tree stumps often receive the most attention. This can be verified by checking lake records for the water you plan to fish. The large, egg-laden females are typically heavier than their male counterparts, and a look at record books shows that most trophy bass are caught during the spawn. But not all spawns are created equal.
Crappies spawn near shallow structure and shorelines. They are arguably the most popular sport fish when it comes to catch-and-release in hot grease. I know of no one who will turn down a mess of fresh crappie filets. An extremely prolific species, crappie are also fond of structure when not spawning. Understanding pre-spawn and spawn behavior will keep an angler on fish year-round. They can be a bit fickle when it comes to bait color, with white, chartreuse, green, and yellow winning the popularity contest. Live minnows still have a strong following, and when crappie—also called white perch in the South—are biting, they remain a favorite bait.
Technological advancements are now commonplace and growing in both hunting and fishing. Trail cameras record deer movement and even capture meteorological data. Advances in fishing include bow-mounted sonar units that allow anglers to target individual fish within a school while navigating cover, all while GPS-guided trolling motors hold the boat in precise position.
One of my college professors liked to tell us there was no need to reinvent the wheel—it had already been done, with many refinements made along the way. Instead, he said, find a use for one of the wheels already invented. There is little in deer or fisheries science that hasn’t been studied. Some genetic and disease-related issues still require work, but those are beyond the scope of this article. The key is to take what has been discovered and put that information to work.
For white-tailed deer, the pinnacle of trophy achievement is generally considered a buck scoring more than 200 inches of antler. Such deer are taken every year, making it an attainable—though rare—goal.
As for trophy fish, let’s stick with the largemouth bass. The current U.S. record is 22 pounds, 4 ounces, set by George Perry in Georgia in 1932. The second-largest recorded bass weighed 21 pounds, 12 ounces and was caught in California in 1991 by Michael Arujo. Bass in the 15- to 18-pound range make up most of the International Game Fish Association records.
There is an internet site where you can view the largest bass caught in each state by simply clicking on your state. Just search “largest largemouth bass by state.”
Each state has parameters for measuring trophy fish, just as they do for trophy deer. Certified scales must be used, competent witnesses must be present, and metal-detecting devices may be employed. This ensures a 10-pound bass doesn’t magically weigh 14 pounds due to a belly full of lead sinkers. Don’t laugh—it’s been tried.
Most realistically, if you are a regular reader of this publication, you manage a piece of property for deer, where the definition of a trophy may be the best buck the land can produce. That outcome is determined by habitat, nutrition, genetics, and management. There is no shame in a six-year-old buck on the coastal plain that, even under intensive management, will never exceed 150 inches.
The same applies to ponds or lakes managed under the best possible circumstances. All you can do is all you can do. Your best bass may top out at 10 pounds. The point is that hunters and anglers alike must set realistic and attainable expectations. Experts exist at every level of ichthyology—the study of fish—just as they do in wildlife management. A gamekeeper who sends off soil samples can also consult a fisheries biologist to assess the health of a fishing hole.
There are tools to determine water fertility by measuring clarity. Water that is too clear often indicates insufficient plankton at the base of the food chain. Water samples can also be tested for pH and chemical pollution.
Structure can be added to any body of water, public or private, to concentrate fish. One simple technique used by crappie anglers is sinking old Christmas trees in barren areas of lakes and reservoirs. Wired together and weighted with cinder blocks, they quickly become fish attractors. Once placed in public waters, however, they become public property.
Similar structure can be created using wooden shipping pallets. Be warned—these are lure magnets and will test the definition of “snagless.” Pea gravel can be used to create bream bedding areas. Bluegills prefer shallower water, while redear sunfish favor deeper nesting sites. Bluegills will bed on every full moon after May as long as the water is warm. There is no finer fly fishing than targeting bedding bluegills.
Growing up, I was fortunate to have several fishing mentors. Parents, uncles, and family friends shuttled us to creeks and local lakes. Looking back, it was the perfect introduction to fishing. The day a red-and-white bobber bouncing on the water fails to raise my heart rate is the day I’ll hang up my gear.
Those early years were punctuated by regular trips to the barber shop, where the likes of Homer Circle and Bodie McDowell wrote about fishing in the major publications of the time. Yes, those were good days—but these are good days, too. And the anticipation of a tug on my line has only been tempered by age and health.
Cell phones have replaced magazines, and as for barber shops—well, that’s another article for another day. But excellent fishing information is readily available to anyone willing to read it, written by experts who walk the walk and talk the talk. If you can’t become a better fisherman—or even a trophy angler—by reading these folks, maybe it’s time to take up pickle ball.
Allow me to point out two fishing writers who, in my opinion, have produced some of the most comprehensive work in their fields: Keith “Catfish” Sutton and Joey Monteleone.
As his nickname suggests, Keith “Catfish” Sutton of Arkansas has written extensively on catfish. From bait making to tackle selection and the best times and places to fish, his work is thorough, accessible, and well-illustrated hardcore catfishing and crappie fishing guide book are both available through Amazon and well worth the investment.
Joey Monteleone of East Tennessee is a walking textbook on largemouth bass. With more than 40 years in the outdoors and thousands of bass to his credit, he initiated a tagging study on his 3,600-acre home lake, marking hundreds of bass to track growth, movement, and bait preferences. His books “Strictly Big Bass” and “60 Seasons” are excellent resources for trophy bass anglers and are also available on Amazon.
So don’t try to reinvent the tackle—just apply it properly. Everything you need is hanging on the wall at the tackle shop, right next to a small plastic bag filled with red-and-white bobbers. Grab a bag the next time you’re there and take a kid fishing.
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