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By Louie Stout
Mature bucks are on the move just in time for the popular firearm season that opens Friday in Michigan and Saturday in Indiana.
That’s pretty evident with the number of racks being displayed on social media by proud Michiana bow hunters the past couple of weeks.
Danny Linn with 215-Pound 10-Point
No one is more gratified than Dan Linn of South Bend. He shot a dandy 10-point that dressed out at 215 pounds.
But that wasn’t his proudest moment.
The next day his 9-year-old daughter Makenzie arrowed a giant 9-point that field dressed at a whopping 242 pounds. The third grad LaVille Elementary School student shot it with a crossbow.
It was a mature buck that Dan had been watching for three years but was never able to get it into range.
That day was different.
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By Louie Stout
One would think that reauthorizing the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund would be an easy move for our federal legislators, but nothing is guaranteed with this group.
Unless, of course, it’s bickering and in-fighting.
We can only hope that the reauthorization bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives late last month will get done soon.
The program, also known as the Wallop-Breux Act, has been in place since 1950 and has been a godsend for state fishery and public access programs. The bill would extend the program to 2024.
Basically here’s how it works: When you buy recreational fishing gear, boat motors and motorboat fuel, you pay a federal tax that goes into a big pot. That money is offered back to the states based upon number of license holders. The state can use it to manage fishing programs and provide access to fishing waters in addition to what it collects in license fees.
The beauty of this program is it cost the Feds nothing since sportsmen and boaters are paying the freight and the economy gets a boost.
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By Louie Stout
Traverse City is Mecca for Quality Smallmouth Fishing – Most of the Time
There’s just something special about fall fishing, regardless of which species you prefer to pursue.
For me, it’s smallmouth bass.
Smallmouth aren’t the dominant species in Michiana, although the St. Joseph River has a good population and a few lakes offer just enough to get you excited about the possibilities.
Those nearby lakes would include Maxinkuckee and Wawasee in Indiana and Diamond, Eagle, Klinger and Magician in southern Michigan.
But if you want to fish lakes where smallmouth bass dominate and grow big, you must go north.
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By Louie Stout
The Indiana DNR has announced plans to add another 150,000 chinook (king) salmon in Indiana waters next spring.
As noted in this space a few weeks ago, the Lake Michigan Committee agreed to boost fish stockings next year. Indiana has finalized its plans.
Indiana, like all states, is limited to a stocking quota called “chinook salmon equivalents,” a formula devised by the Lake Michigan Committee. The formula converts the impact of each trout and salmon species on the forage base to that of a chinook salmon.
Scientists say that during its lifetime, one chinook will consume as much food as 3.2 coho, 2.4 steelhead, 2.2 brown trout and 2.3 lake trout.
The committee, consisting of fish managers around the lake, has recommended up to 450,000 stocking increases in chinook salmon equivalents. That doesn’t mean the entire increase will be made up of chinook; some states may add other species, or as Indiana is doing, cut some species and increase chinook stockings.