L ATE SEASON BUSHY TAILS

R A M B L I N G A N G L E R OUTDOORS

Late Season Bushytails Double Jig Rig For Cold Crappie Deep Cranks For Winter Bass Mapping Big Bucks Squarebill Cranks Catch More Smallmouth Off Season Tournament Prep

A great day afield

So, deer season is over and you have settled in

for the winter. A great time for lazing around watch-

ing football and maybe working a little overtime to

keep the boss off your back when the turkeys are

gobbling and the crappie are moving into shallow

brush this spring. The coffee table is littered with

Outdoor Life, Field & Stream and outdoor catalogs.

Thoughts of the past season still fresh in your mind,

you are content, or are you.

Football season is winding down and your

team has already been eliminated, your boss is start-

ing to expect you to be at work everyday and your

wife is piling on the chores. It is time to get out of

the house and what better way to spend the day than

sneaking up on some bushytails on a cold sunny day.

Squirrel hunting can be a very relaxing

endeavor after sitting motionless in a tree waiting

for the elusive whitetail. Those long hours on stand

should give you an idea of where the squirrels are

hanging out or at least some good places where the

acorns are plentiful. Squirrels may be using that area

now even if they were not early in the year. This is

also a good time to reverse this scenario and use your

day a field to locate some great stand locations for

next deer season.

A comfortable fanny or backpack is essential

for squirrel hunting. You need enough room for your

calls if you use them. A thermos of hot coffee if you

drink it and a book if you read. A lunch is impor-

tant in cold weather if you plan to hunt all day. Late

season usually means very few hunters afield allow-

ing you to wander freely and explore your hunting

area while providing you and yours with some great

game for the dinner table. If you do wander deep into

the woods, far from the truck, that thermos of cof-

fee, lunch and a good book or magazine will come in

handy as the bushytails tend to go inactive sometime

during the day and unless you plan on trekking back

to the truck to wait for the evening feed then these

items will make your wait much more enjoyable.

Late season usually means the breeding

season is over and squirrels usually don’t travel far

from home as they feed on the stockpile of nuts they

buried in late fall. For this reason spot and stalk is

usually the best way to harvest these tasty critters.

Squirrels can be hard to see at this time because they

are digging in the leaves for previously buried nuts.

L ATE SEASON BUSHY TAILS

Squirell hunting is a great way to get youngsters into the sport of hunting.

last waning minutes waiting it out. Call and watch for

a shot then move on to the squirrels you can plainly

hear digging high on the ridge above, this gives you

more daylight to work with.

The 22 rifle is the most popular round for

squirrels. butI have recently switched to the .17 mach

II with mixed emotions. The Mach II is a neat gun

butif you have the choice or you have not decided yet

which gun to go with I personally would pick the 22

round which with practice and a good scope you can

make just as long a shots as the mach II. The Mach II

tends to deflect easily and at long yardages the wind

begins to effect the shot as well.

If cabin fever has you down and the chores are

piling up, get out and explore for a new area to hunt or

return to where you spotted all those squirrels during

deer season and enjoy your time in the woods. Squir-

rel hunting is a great way to introduce young people to

the world of hunting and can be a great way to spend

the day with your family.

Since the nuts are buried close together, and in

large quantities, movement is kept to a minimum

therefore adding to the difficulties in spotting

them. You may hear a squirrel rummaging in the

leaves, if they are dry, and even though you know

the squirrel is just ahead, you just cannot see it. A

good set of low power binoculars come in handy

for spotting squirrels that are digging. The leaves

they are moving in search of nuts tend to sur-

round them making it even more difficult to see

them and the binoculars can help spot the moving

leaves.

This time of year squirrels are very skittish,

as breeding subsides and hunting pressure con-

tinues, sneaking up on a squirrel takes patience.

Late season tactics often times does not include

calling. The squirrels are just too close to their

den and tend to bolt right to their hole at the first

sight or sound of danger. There are times, during

late season that a call may help when used spar-

ingly. If you can hear a squirrel digging for nuts

but just can’t see it you can hit the distress call very

lightly. At this close range it does not take much.

The desired effect would be a quick jump onto

the side of the tree as it glances back at where the

sound originated. Be ready and shoulder that rifle

or shotgun quick or it will be gone. A good time

to use this method of calling is when you know

the squirrels are out and about and the sun is fast

sinking. It is better to take a chance on getting

the squirrel to present a shot than to spend the

Double Jig R ig For C old Crappie

The double jig rig

When the crappie are suspended sometimes it

can be tough to keep your presentation within the

strike zone. The double jig rig works great in doing

this and can help you catch more suspended crappie.

Crappie will suspend in the water column at certain

times of the season. This technique works great when

other anglers have given up after the spawn and you

can have the lake to yourself searching for suspended

crappie that have moved out to deeper water in the

summer and again in the winter.

Thefirststepistolocatesuspendedcrappie

whichshouldnotbefarfromsuspendedbaitfish.Lo-

catingthebaitfishcanbeenoughtobeginyoursearch

with the double jig rig. To locate suspended crappie

youmusthaveaqualityfishfinder.Iwouldsuggest

usingacoloredfishfinderwithaGPSsystemtohelp

marktheschoolsofcrappieaswellasthebaitfishso

you know where to look for them again if you have

toleaveinsearchofmoreschoolsormoreactivefish.

This allows you to return to that spot later to see if

they will bite. Some schools of crappie are more ac-

tive during different times of the day and its great to

be able to return right to where you found the school

earlier.

The double jig rig utilizes two jigs and allows

you to present, to the suspended crappie, two differ-

ent colors whether you use the cast and fall or vertical

presentation. My favorite tube for this rig is the

GaryYamamotoTinyIka.Itisimportantthat

you keep the jigs close in weight so the jigs fall

together.Youdon’twantonejigtofallfaster

than the other as this could cause some tangles.

UsingaPalomarknottieonyourfirst

jighead leaving a two foot tag end. At the end

of this tag end tie your second jighead using

the same knot. Dress each jighead with a dif-

ferent color or type of skirt like a tube or curly

tail grub. The obvious notion is to see what

the suspended crappie want for that day or that

bodyofwater.Ihavenoticedovertheyears

that certain colors work better on certain lakes

andIwillstickwiththoseshadesandcolor

combinationswhenIamfishingthatparticular

bodyofwater.Istillusetwodifferentjigsbut

6 RAMBLING ANGLER | WINTER 2011

Double Jig R ig For C old Crappie

the lake. Once the location of these scattered pods of

baitfisharelocatedyoucancastintotheopenwa-

ter allowing the double jig rig to fall on a tight line

occasionally giving the jigs a couple twitches as it

falls.Youcanseethemaxdepthofcrappieonyour

fishfinder.Itisimportanttokeepyourpresentation

abovethemaxdepthtoincreaseyourbites.Aftera

few crappie take your jig you will learn the depth and

color of jig that works. Sometimes the two differ-

ent colors perform the same but most times there is a

color that gets more bites. This is when you put that

color on the second jig and continue your day until

the limit is in the livewell or you are tired of catching

crappie.IcansayIneverhavegottiredofcatching

anyfishespeciallycrappieonthedoublejigrig.Great

fun.

mightnotuseawhitejigifIneverhadanyluck

withthatcoloronthatlake.Iwillputonawhite

skirtifIcan’tgetthemtobitebutmoretimes

than not the colors you have learned catch crap-

pie on that body of water will work the best. A

journalisagreattoolforfiguringouttheselittle

nuanceswhereyoufish.

Oncesuspendedcrappieorbaitfisharelo-

catedonyourfishfinder,notethedepth.Youcan

vertical jig the double jig rig or cast it out and al-

low it to fall through the suspended crappie. Let

the crappie tell you what they want. The vertical

presentation works great when the crappie are

suspended in or around cover. This presentation

willhelplimithang-upsandwithagoodfish

finderyoucanevenseeyourdoublejigrigon

the screen and lower it into the suspended crap-

pie but keep it out of the cover. This is a great

presentation.

When the crappie are moving around and

not relating to cover that is when the cast and

fall presentation works the best. Usually when

suspended crappie are moving around they are

chasingbaitfishandwillmoveupanddown

within the water column to get to them. This is

when you want to locate the scattered schools

ofbaitfishwhichisusuallyacertainlocationon

GARY YAMAMOTO BAITS PRODUCE GREAT CRAPPIE JIGS ALONG WITH

THEIR AWESOME BASS BAITS

WINTER 2011 | RAMBLING ANGLER 7

A great day afield

Bassslowdowninthewinter,that’sno

secret. They will move to deeper water and can

be a challenge to catch but bass must eat during

the winter and will move to shallow water during

winter seeking warming rays of sunlight and dy-

ing shad. Shad will begin to struggle as the water

temps fall and bass know that during this time

shad become an easy meal. This is a great time

for throwing a suspending jerkbait over main lake

points where bass like to suspend within the water

column but throwing deep running crankbaits like

the Strike King Pro Model or the Rapala DT series

in shallow water is a great wintertime presentation

for catching more bass when the water is cold. The

great thing about this presentation is it triggers re-

actionstrikesfrombassthataren’tseekingameal.

Using a deep running crankbait in shallow

water may seem a little backwards but it is a great

way to catch cold water bass in the winter and ear-

lyspring.Youwantthecrankbaittohitthebottom

as quick as possible on the retrieve and a crankbait

that runs ten feet will hit the bottom soon after the

firstturnsofthereelhandleinfourfeetofwater.

Pulling the crankbait down with a long sweeping

motion works great too, and allows for a pause as

you reel in the slack line. These pauses are impor-

tant but not as important as maintaining bottom

contact with your crankbait.

Itisimportanttogetyourcrankbaitdownquick,

digging into and hitting the structure and cover on the

bottom. Long slow pulls provide a built-in pause to

the retrieve the slack line but it also helps you feel the

bottom. When the crankbait sticks to a rock or stump

stop the pull or retrieve. These pauses allow your bait to

floatupandabovetheobjectsoyoucancontinueyour

retrieve.Itisthecontact,withtheobjectsbelow,that

cause the bass to react and strike at the crankbait and

many times the bass will be hooked on the outside of its

mouth. This is how you know you are causing the bass

to react to your presentation and they are probably not

feeding. This will also let you know that you have the

right combination to catch a few cold water bass.

The important point of this presentation is main-

taining bottom contact. The whole point of this technique

is to get a reaction strike from bass that are not necessar-

ily feeding and the more you can get your crankbait to

DEEP RUNNING CR ANKBAIT S

FOR SHALLOW WINTER BASS

hit something the more chances you have to get a

strike from inactive bass. Sometime a fast retrieve

works best especially when it glances off rocks and

stumps as you retrieve.

The reason for a deep running crankbait in

such shallow water is its ability to maintain contact

with the bottom, and the angle that it hits the bot-

tom keeps the hooks away from the cover which

means fewer hang-ups. The steep angle of a deep

running crankbait causes it to hit the bottom with

force and it is this powerful contact that creates

powerful reactions from sluggish bass. The quick

diving angle will also help when the shoreline drops

quickly into deeper water. When you pull and

pause, the crankbait tends to follow the contour of

the bottom and maintain bottom contact further out

from the bank therefore obtaining the desired effect

of this presentation.

The bass will always tell you what they

want as far as color and size but it is the bottom

contactanderraticdeflectioninthecrankbaitthat

stimulates a bass into reacting, size and color are

actually secondary. A seven foot medium power fast

action rod works great for this presentation. A me-

diumtofastretrivereelwillworkfine.Youmight

be burning the crankbait during this time but the

ability to take up line fast comes in handy when

the bass makes a sudden run towards the boat with

one treble in its lip. Some anglers like the sensa-

tivityoffluorocarbonbutthewaythesebassbite,

incoldwater,Iprefermonfiliament.Thestretch

helps you get those barely hooked wintertime

bass in the boat. Winter water tends to clear up

on most lakes so light line may be in order and is

really determined again by the size of the bass in

your body of water. Eight pound test might handle

anybassinyourlakebutinsomeTexasorFlorida

lakes eight pound test would be unheard of with

any presentation. Eight pound test is probably the

lightest you should go no matter what body of wa-

teryoufishjustbyvirtueofthepresentationitself

being hard on your line as it contacts the bottom

cover and structure.

Youcanalmostalwayscreateareaction

bite even when the bass have lock-jaw. Fishing

shallow when the water is cold may go against the

normbutthebassarethere.Givethistechnique

a try and you might have the shallows to yourself

and no matter what mood the bass are in, you can

catch a few with this method.

Most deer hunters know

how important big rubs are

to locating good bucks in

a particular area. Hunt-

ing terrain features linking

rubs to bedding and feed-

ing areas can be a great

waytoharvestyournextmaturewhitetail.Terrain

featuresareeasyenoughtofind.Featuressuchas

funnels, saddles, points and hubs can be located

using a topographical map before you ever scout an

area. Scouting these areas for big rubs will let you

know there is a good buck in the area and give you

theconfidenceneededtostayonstandlonger.When

you know where a buck is traveling and are able to

utilize the terrain features linking these areas you are

putting the buck into a corner and with good entry

andexittoandfromyourstandaswellasproper

wind direction and serious scent control the buck

should eventually come by, hopefully within bow

range.

TheareaIhunthasagoodmixtureofhardwoods,

swamps and cutovers with lots of ridges and crop-

lands.OverthepastseveralseasonsIhavelocated

great terrain features that tend to funnel deer through

theareaprovidingforsomegreathunting.Inthe

pastcoupleseasonsIhaveaddedbigrubstothe

equation and the outcome has

been very rewarding.

Youshouldbeginyourscout-

ing early in an attempt to locate

thefirstrubsoftheseason.Ma-

ture bucks almost always make

these rubs. When you locate

thosefirstgoodrubsoftheseasonmarkthespotorhang

a stand because you are in the living room of a mature

buck. These rubs are not easy to locate, as they are few

and far between not to mention the foliage is still thick

and visibility is limited in the woods this time of year.

Takeyourtimeandyoucanfindtheseimportantsign

post.

The trick, after locating these rubs, is to align them

within areas of the terrain features already noted. The

rubsdon’tnecessarilyhavetobeinthemiddleoftheter-

rainfeatureyouarehuntingjustnearby.Infact,Iprefer

the rubs to be away from the terrain feature that links the

areawheretherubsarelocatedwiththebuck’slikely

bedding area.

Rubs,Ihavefound,canbeadoubleedgeswordfor

thedeerhunter.Yourinitialreactiontoashreddedsix-

inch cedar is to get up a tree and hunt within sight of that

rub. Sometimes this works but most times you should

try to locate the area that the buck is likely spending his

day.Iftherubisinthewideopennexttoafieldorin

a stand of mature hardwoods, where you can see a

mile, then that buck is likely visiting those rubs at

night and a sighting during good shooting light is

notlikely.InthepastIwashuntingareasthatwas

coveredupwithbucksignbutIwasnotseeingma-

turebucks.Icontinuedhuntingtheseareasbecause

IwasseeingdeerbutdecidedIhadtotrysomething

different.

Finally the decision was made to just tough it

outandhuntwhereIthoughtthebiggerbuckswere

hiding.Ilocatedthemostremoteareasofthepub-

liclandthatIhuntandbeganhuntingterrainfea-

tures that had some low browse and acorns but no

deersignatalloratleastnotanythatIcoulddetect.

IronicallytheveryfirsttimeItriedthisIhadade-

centsixpointmeanderbymytreewellbeforedark

which was very unusual at my old stands even for

a small buck. Needless to say after many hours on

stand,finetuningthistechniquetoincludeterrain

features, my buck sightings have more than doubled

andjustasIsuspectedIseeveryfewdoesnow

andeventhoughIlikeseeingdeeractivityIwould

much rather see the horns.

A lake surrounds my hunting area on three sides.

Iliketofindtwoorthreecovesfairlyclosetogether.

These coves form peninsulas where deer bed and

feed depending on what is located on these peninsu-

las.IdeallyIpreferatleastonepeninsulathatcon-

tains some thickets for potential beds and remember

it need only be big enough for one deer if you are

hunting big bucks. A lone brush pile left by a storm

can be enough of a bed for these loners.

Ihadlocatedsomebigrubsallthewayoutoneof

the peninsulas where there was no food at all and it

wasfairlyopensoIfiguredthebuckmusthavebeen

making his rounds there under the cover of dark-

ness. Now comes the decision on where to set up for

the ambush. The peninsula with the cover is where

Ifeltthebuckwasspendinghisdayssoyoudon’t

want to get too close to that area but close enough to

get a shot during the day as the buck leaves his bed

to patrol his area which may or may not include the

third peninsula, between these two, which consisted

of very open hardwoods and lots of acorns so it very

Angling-Technologies is not just for fishing. I use Angling-Technologies interactive technologies for all my out-door mapping. The ability to mark spots then download them into you own GPS is invaluable to the trophy buck hunter

that relies on terrain features to ambush giant bucks wherever they hunt. www.angling-technologies.com also allows you to download points you found in the woods to the interactive maps online to connect rub lines to and from bedding areas or food sources. With this technology you can plan your best routes in and out as well as the distance you must travel to and from your stand. Anglin-Technologies is a great tool for all out-door trip planning. Check it out at www.angling-technologies.com.

well could be where he feeds but again probably

at night so you want to be setting at the entrance

tothispeninsula.SoIsetmystandbetweenthe

bed and the rubs and at the end of the peninsula

with the acorns with the lake in sight of my stand.

Now if the buck decides to leave his bed and

checkouthisterritoryIhaveitcoveredbecause

the rubs tell me that he prefers that area and gives

meadirectionIcanhaveconfidencethebuckis

traveling.IfIamwrongIhaveenoughvisual

coverage of the area to determine if the buck is

comingfromanotherdirection.Itreallyhelps

when you have a rub line connecting all the pen-

insulas,whichiswhatIhadinthislocation.

Ittookseveraldaysatthisstandbeforehefirst

deer was seen. He emerged from out of nowhere

at10:45amonahotwindymorning.Inearlyde-

parted my perch several times that morning but the

rubsgavemetheconfidencethatagoodbuckwas

intheareasoIstayed.ItwasmidNovemberand

the does were hot and this buck looked as though he

had been out a little late, cruising chicks.

Theshotwastrueat32yardsandIsawthenice

eight pointer go down. The buck came down the

narrowpointIhadchosenforthisstand.Thepoint

proved perfect as drainages skirted both sides and

was chocked full of brush and briers, a great place

to hide but miserable for travel. Deer will use the

easiest route when not pressured and that is where

locating good terrain features becomes key. The

buck was on the move and had no time to waste

crawling through the thick stuff. He came right

downthecenterofthepointgruntingandIstopped

him with a light grunt of my own and sealed the deal.

Coincidentally the buck had just made the turn that

would have taken him to the open peninsula to visit

his rubs and scrapes. These thick drainages provide

great bedding areas for does. The buck was probably

checking them out for does and the quickest way was

down this point. He could check both sides by smell

and sound as he was signaling to any deer in those

thickets that he was coming through. Deer know how

to use the terrain to cover more ground to locate hot

does and the sooner the hunter realizes this the better.

So get out there and do some early scouting.

Look for early rubs and make a note. Look at the big

picture and try to imagine where deer are traveling

and put together a plan. Locate the terrain features

thattendtofunneldeermovementintoaconfined

area. Later in the season cautiously scout these loca-

tions and some new ones for active and aggressive

rubs.Putitalltogetherandyoujustmightfindthat

this tactic really works. Be patient as deer sighting

may go down but buck sightings should increase.

This approach to hunting may not be for every-

one.Ittookmeseveralseasonstostayawayfromall

the sign and focus more on where bucks like to hang

during the day, which is not with the does that tend to

makethemorevisiblesignweseearoundfieldsand

logging roads. Some hunters, even if you proved this

method to them, would still prefer to hunt where they

canseealotofterritoryandalotofdeer.Idounder-

stand and to each his own but if you want to get

serious about bagging a good buck, especially

with a bow, then try this approach. Be patient as

this method takes some time to learn and to be-

gin to see the whole picture in your neck of the

woods but its well worth the time and hopefully

this information will help you put together a plan

that puts a nice buck down.

Locate the big rubs and then use terrain features to find the most likely travel route

of your next bruiser.