Turkeys & Fish

Turkeys & Fish

Times Outdoors Columnist Turkey season has been going on since April 16 and will continue in some zones until Sunday May 1, 2016. Be sure to check the zone you are hunting in. I talked to several hunters and most of them appear to have a good season. If not getting a turkey, they have at least heard gobblers and saw birds. It’s always a thrill to hear a gobble.

With time left, there is a good chance for success.

The Arkansas Game and Fish report over 10,000 turkeys taken in the state. I would love to get some pictures and hear some tales of the hunt. If you got a bird. I KNOW you took some pictures.

Visiting the local lakes, the fishing is starting to get good in spite of all the rain. Crappie have been the most consistent, but with the full moon, bream are starting to go on the beds.

There have been several bass tournaments going on. Horseshoe had three separate tournaments last weekend with some pretty good catches. Please give me some info about your organization. It will be of interest to my readers. I am sure you take pictures of the winners!

My son, Dr. Keith, and I were invited to fish at one of the premier hunting and fishing clubs in this area. I usually write about the public hunting and fishing opportunities locally, but when we get an invite to this place, “you just have to go.” This place has the biggest and most crappie I have ever been blessed to catch. The bass and big bream are also very good.

Full limits are common. I can’t tell you the name of the club, but it is about a 30 minute drive. It has a very limited membership and very long waiting list.

Forgive me, but I bet you would not turn down this opportunity to fish. It was even better than I expected. There were only four other boats on the lake and we launched about 2 p.m.

Dr. Keith and I fished in one boat and our host in another. We used primarily beetles and other small jigs for the crappie and spinner baits for the bass. I had a slab crappie hit on the first cast and the fun was on.

We ended up with 30 crappie all over a pound, 50 very nice blue gills, and lots of bass. We did not keep any fish due to limited time and other commitments. Our host caught a shell cracker that weighed 2.6 pounds on a digital scale. Needless to say Lakeside Taxidermy has a fish to mount.

Frog hunters, by now you have had time to get the makin’s of a frog leg supper. Send me some pictures and stories. The big boys are starting to croak in the lake behind my house and it sounds like a bunch of them. As soon as I get the boat running smoothly, it will be launch time. I have used the same gig for many years and just bought new batteries for the head light.

Kids, when you do something exciting or get honors for what you do in the great outdoors, please send me pictures and stories. I appreciate them so much.

Don’t you want your pictures in the paper? We also put pics of the old folks.

This is a great time of year and the best part is just ahead. Go visit Mother Nature. She is a great lady.

Be sure to take that kid with you!

Papa Duck Lakeside Taxidermy 870-732-01455 or 901482-3430 jhcriner@hotmail.com

By John Criner