Fishing a new lake for walleye this fall, better bring the lead core. Big groups of fish rest on specific contours or in the basin of most lakes and covering shallow water areas for that first few bites means running fast.

Rivers are classic options for lead core and checking a wide variety of areas and depths suits the presentation perfectly. Tie on a Flicker Shad, Jointed Flicker Shad, or Flicker Minnow and get going.

Not surprisingly, the Minnesota pheasant count was down this year. The terrible spring weather and the diminishing tracts of quality CRP both took their toll. However, reduced numbers does not mean a person should give up chasing roosters.

Over the years, I have learned an important fact about pheasant hunting. One does not have to shoot a limit of birds to have a memorable and successful hunt. In fact, some of my most memorable hunts ended up far short of a limit.

This is the time of the year when I get the ice fishing itch. This year it is affecting me more than normal. Every morning I watch the weather forecast for even the slightest inclination that we are in for a deep freeze. The other morning, I heard the weatherman, joyfully explain that the 10-day outlook is for above normal temps. When I heard this bit of information, I groaned. My wife asked what the groan was for, although she already knew the answer to that question. I told her that I want to see it get cold and stay cold and that I didn’t want to see any more of this warm weather. That little comment was all it took to confirm what she had long suspected. I was officially nuttier than a fruitcake.

Nebraska Destination

The Year of the Upland Slam

Trudging up a crest in the middle of the sandhills, we stand, looking across the uninterrupted landscape contemplating the direction to go. The chill of early January swept through the hills, and the evidence of a recent snowstorm was intertwined in the grains of sand. A pair of us, each with our bird dog, making one last attempt at Nebraska’s Upland Slam. Our vehicles abandoned and alone, somewhere back near the beginning. Would we run into another hunter on this section of public land? And if so, would we acknowledge one another, wondering why the other was crazy enough to pursue birds in terrain such as this?

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