What to Look For

Learning to identify a bird you’re unfamiliar with requires you to learn and use several distinct cues. With all game birds, typically there are several markings you can identify in the field that you need to learn to make an accurate identification. One marking, clue, or feature on it’s own is rarely enough to identify a bird in flight with near 100 percent accuracy. Seeing shiny green feathers on the head of a duck might mean it’s a mallard but, male northern shovelers also have a similar coloration. However, the distinctly-shaped bill on a north shoveler is the key feature that sets them apart. Here are five types of field marks you can use to accurately identify birds.

How big are redfish

Redfish get big fast, reaching adulthood at a length of 28 inches in only three to five years. A large redfish is considered to be anything over 30 inches, and at 40 inches, it’s the fish of a lifetime. While these giants do spend time in deeper water, the most popular place to catch them is in shallow bays and backwaters. Redfish are exciting fish to catchbecause even an average sized redfish will crush your bait and peel out line after the hook is set.

Where Did Feral Hogs Come From?

Common as they are in the American South, it might be hard to believe that feral hogs are an invasive species. Brought to the Americas by early settlers and explorers as a source of food, these swine flourished in the wild. Their population has spread significantly since then, causing problems for ranchers and farmers due to their destructive nature. They travel in large packs, searching for food by uprooting the topsoil and creating ravaged patches of land if left unchecked.

NOAA Regulations to Protect Right Whales

The proposed regulations would expand current seasonal speed restrictions of 10 knots or less in designated areas of the ocean to most vessels between 35 and 65 feet long. In addition, NOAA will release a “draft roadmap” for public comment about the use of ropeless fishing gear and ways to increase its use in commercial fisheries on the east coast.

Right Whale Protection

For the last several decades, collisions with vessels and entanglements in fishing gear have been the two leading causes of injury or death of right whales.

Picking Baits

Fishing Lures have evolved in the last 50 years to become more flashy, noisey, realistic, everything. The progressive of improvements to shape, coloration, sound, action, and consistency made by bait companies can now create hyper-realistic baits that should be more dialed in on getting a fish to bite. These latest and greatest baits are offered in a variety of styles that fit the taste of the angler. While these ornate lures may be appealing to anglers, isn’t it more important that the fish eat them? The days of mainstream wooden plugs are long gone but artisan bait makers are bringing on a wave of even greater lure variability.

Fishing From an Airboat

In many instances, fishing from and airboat is the same as on any other boat but the experience is very different. Casting with light tackle or fly rods is the same regardless of the boat. Slipping through incredibly shallow areas that hold an abundance of otherwise untouchable fish is what make airboats special. Airboats can skip over sandbars and slide over vegetation. Even when the tide is out and backwater honey holes are hard to reach, airboats will get you there. When fishing for speckled trout and redfish, it makes catching more and bigger fish quite a bit easier.

How to Catch Walleye

Walleye can be caught with a variety of tackle and techniques that are often shared with other common target species. Light tackle jigs, divers, crankbaits, soft plastics, and live bait are most common for walleye anglers. Another common technique is trolling with several rods in deeper water. Many of the same light tackle baits can be used behind a dipsy diver which is an angled disc that pulls the bait deep beneath the surface.