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Tuesday, 20 July 2010 00:00 |
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Last week’s column brought me several comments about the latest outdoor equipment. It’s true how much things have changed. I can’t believe how technology and new ideas have improved our hunting, camping and fishing. When this article comes out Thursday, I will be l day away from my 69th birthday (Friday, July 23) and so will twin brother, Wyndol. My serious hunting really began when I graduated from college. While we were in Hugo High School,we hunted and fished for anything that moved, flew or swam. In fact, most of our friends and teammates did the same. On Saturday morning, we didn’t watch football film; we looked for ducks, quail, rabbits, squirrels and fish. We even did a little coon hunting. In the 50’s that was what you did if you didn’t have a Saturday job. On Sundays, we lined up on the back pews of the First Baptist Church. We never missed. My serious hunting started after college with the late Harry Milican, my mentor. In the earlier years, my mentor was Claud Patterson. His son, Dudley, Wyndol and I headed for Roebuck Lake almost every afternoon ,hunting, fishing and exploring, after spending our days at Robert E. Lee We had the canoe and Claud cat-fished on the dock We built model airplanes the rest of the time and watched western movies at the Dixie Theater. In the summers, we watched Gene Nesbit and Bruce Bloodworth with the Hugo Tigers. Those were the days! Harry taught me how to shoot my Ben Pearson “Puma” recurve bow that I ordered from Claud Patterson’s Hardware. I never looked back after that. Then fishing got serious. I asked Harry what I needed for fishing. He said, “A Shakespeare Sportcast, Heddon Pal rod, 25 lb. G string (nylon braid) and Gene Andrews Bug-Eye-Spinner, black and yellow skirt. There wasn’t a safe bass anywhere. In the 60’s, Hugo had the best fishermen, quail haunters and dogs in America. I would have matched them with anyone. Legends of the past were Bland Pittman, Joe Bradshaw, Lance Wyche, Mike Armes, Louis Craigo, Joe Anderson, Jack Stamper, Don and Poly Griggs, my partner Claudie Griggs, Claud Patterson, Walter Griffith, Richard Biard (who took Wyndol and I on our first duck hunt at Seton’s Slough), Vaughan Patterson, Terry and Ricky Elizondo, Tuffy Smotherman, Donald Ray Caldwell, Bruce Bloodworth, Merl Smith, J. N. Harris, Paul Waugh, Walter Leonard, Garth Hampton, Martin Fry, Buff, Simon and Mike Parker and Billy Glenn. I could go on and on. These are just a few of my outdoor teachers; there are many more. If we didn’t have the right equipment, we made it. Carl Holton, Al Alexander and Ike Webb, our scout masters, taught us how. The Boy Scout Hut at Ansley Park was the “mecca” every Monday night in my childhood. We even cooked supper for Roy Rogers as he traveled the Red River. In the 50’s, we had basic equipment, gun and ammo that we got from army surplus or at Smith Luton’s Trading Post. Our jackets were army field jackets. We also wore Red Wing hunting boots and fatigues. (Camo was invented by the Japanese in WWII). We froze most of the time. A Browning shot gun was like a gift from heaven. Thanks, Daddy, for the Christmas present and Willie Patterson who supplied everyone with Brownings—and the first t.v. antennas. Target shooting was done the dump ground during the one-hour long lunch period at high school. Can you imagine that today? Our only hunting catalog was Herter’s. For over the last 40 years, I have been writing a column in the Hugo Daily News and lately for the Choctaw County Times and also for many popular outdoor newspapers and magazines. I have appeared in several Outdoor Channel-type hunting and fishing t.v. shows. The outdoors is my pastime and I enjoy it. After all these years of hunting, camping and fishing, do I miss anything? Yes, I really do. I’m a little longer in the tooth now. What I miss the most is roaming the woods at will. I’ve “sissied” up now, but sleeping on the ground next to an open campfire, eating baloney sandwiches, and roasting a rabbit on a stick next to a flickering camp fire was all I needed then. My gear was simple back then—a bow, quiver full of arrows, one hunting knife, binoculars, canteen and the will and health to take me wherever I wanted to go was a treasure I will always remember. Basically, “been there, done that” doesn’t keep me from wanting to do it again. L. FRY |
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Tuesday, 06 July 2010 00:00 |
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The 4th of July came off with a bang, as usual. A cool snap in the weather was a welcome relief from the blistering heat. Fishing has slowed down except for the early morning and late evening bites. Late afternoon sand bass and hybrids are beginning to show up in the middle of Hugo Lake. Trolling for them has been effective. The Hugo Lake also has lots of blue catfish, according to O.D.W.C. fisheries biologists. Fish with cut bait below the bluffs where the cabins are. Jug lines are effective now and crappie are still biting. Bass are also biting if you can take the heat. Here are some of my favorite top water lures: REBEL POP R, SMITHWICK DEVIL’S HORSE, HEDDON ZARA SPOOK, TORPEDO and LUCKY 13, ARBOGAST JITTERBUG, STORM RATTLIN’ CHUG BUG and, STANLEY RIBBIT FROG Just cast, let the lure hit the water and sit there until the ripples disappear. Twitch, twitch, wham! Get the stringer ready! There’s nothing like a top water bite. Spinnerbaits are some of the best lures ever made. Gene Andrews, I guess, got us hooked and so did Bruce Bloodworth. In the late 60’s and then when the Hugo Lake filled up in 1975, the go-to bait was a black and yellow BUG-EYE SPINNERBAIT. You didn’t lose many fish with that trailer hook. Oh, what fun! Today, I prefer to fish a ¼ oz. size. Many anglers prefer heavier spinnerbaits but I catch more on the ¼ oz. size. I sort the fish out at the boat. Last week, the ¼ oz. STANLEY WEDGE plus,caught more fish than we could keep or eat. The latest trend in fishing is Finesse Fishing, Shaky Head Style. BASSMASTER magazine did an article on Jeff Kriet in their July/August 2010 issue. This Elite Series pro from Ardmore, Ok. is one of the best finesse fishermen in the business. He was good enough to place second in this year’s BASSMASTER CLASSIC. I interviewed him last year at Brannan’s Bait Shop’s Father’s Day Sale. He said that one of his favorite lures that he uses 90 percent of the time and catches lots of fish on is a BIG BITE SQUIRREL TAIL WORM. His favorite color is green pumpkin with a chartreuse tail. The Jewel Bait Co. makes the 1/8 oz. Squirrel Head jig on this Big Bite Worm. He also dips the tail often in a scented dye. Last year, he said that McGee Creek is his favorite winter fishing lake. He fishes light line, 6 to 8 lb. test, on an open-faced spinning rod, 7-foot FALCON T7, according to David Hunter Jones in the BASSMASTER article.. He fishes it vertically on a slack line, just like he told me last year. Jeff lets the tail action and shaky head do most of the work.. When he does it right, the fish hooks itself. Taking his advice, I stopped at Brannan’s Monday morning and got me some new jigs and worms. Give this new technique a try; you might get hooked like I did. For additional fishing information, log on to www.bassfishin.com. Have a safe summer. L. FRY.
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010 00:00 |
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It’s so hot in Choctaw County, I feel like I am working on a chain gang. Rain or boiling sun has driven me indoors here lately. The weather has given me a chance to catch up on my reading. Fall hunting catalogs have flooded my mail box as well as magazines. Here are examples : OUTDOOR LIFE, FIELD & STREAM, TEXAS TROPHY HUNTER, PETERSEN’S BOWHUNTING, BASS PRO SHOP ARCHERY and FALL HUNTING CATALOGS and SMOKEY MOUNTAIN KNIFE WORKS. The publications have kept me in the shade. What did I learn? There are lots of new outdoor gear, guns, scopes, bows, camo clothing and camping equipment on the market. Here is a sample of what I have learned. Bows and arrow heads are getting faster and lighter. Now that Oklahoma allows anyone to hunt with a crossbow, it’s going to be a hot item this year. PSE Archery Co. has a great crossbow package for $400.00. Make sure you get the crank to cock it. You may not be able to pull a 175 lb. bow back without it. Camouflage hunting clothes come in new patterns each year. The Bass Pro Shop has the latest patterns and largest selection you can imagine in their fall catalog and stores. For southeastern Oklahoma, I like REALTREE AP (all purpose) green and the new MOSSY OAK BREAK UP INFINITY and MOSSY OAK BRUSH. Hunting strategy is at the top of the list of all fall outdoor magazines. One of the “no-no’s” in hunting has always been “don’t urinate near your hunting stand..” I keep a gallon jug in my tree stand. Research shows, however, that it makes no difference where you go. In fact, urinating in a scrape may be an attractant. The best managed states for whitetail deer management are: Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina and Louisiana, according to Petersen’s BOWHUNTING MAGAZINE. Hunting arrows with a lighted nok like Lumenok Lumen arrows are easier to mark your hit for recovery. Wind direction plays an important part in deer hunting success. Wetting your finger is one way; squirting talcum powder is another. I use a small feather on my bow. A better way is a new electronic wind detector that takes 512 readings per second. For more information, contact Firefly, at www.huntfirefly.com. ThermaCell has a new mosquito repellent with earth scent refills that will keep those pesky devils away. Each cartridge offers 12 hours of protection. They also have a new lamp that makes you bug free. Just ask Brian Holbrook how great they worked on he and his dad’s recent bear hunt.
These are a few ideas I got while beating the July heat. Hunting season is just around the corner. Start organizing your gear for the fall hunt. L. FRY |
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Tuesday, 29 June 2010 00:00 |
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Summer is finally here. It’s been hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk. This morning’s cool spell got us into the low 90’s. Tonight, it’s spitting rain a little. My wife, Carolyn, and I just got back from a girls’ coach-pitch softball game and the weather was cool and pleasant. My 7 year old granddaughter Jennifer’s team, the KNOCKOUTS, took it on the chin from the Ft. Towson team, the STARS. This morning, it was grandsons, Jeffery and John’s, turn in the woods and water. Their dad, Jeff, and I took them to the lake. With the Little League season over, they finally got a chance to enjoy the outdoors. It’s hard to compete with sleeping, the heat and Little League. We started fishing at 6:30 this morning. John’s first cast hooked a 7 pound lunker. Soon, Jeffery had a whopper on, weighing 5 pounds. Later on, he caught one bigger than John’s 7 pounder. They caught 25 nice bass and kept 12 to cook. The bite was shallow early. They were chunking Stanley ¼ oz. Wedgeplus spinnerbaits. Then, we fished a little deeper when the sun got up good. Jeffery was using a white and chartreuse Stanley Ribbit Frog with their new hook called the Ribbit Double-Take frog hook, size 5.0. This is the best frog on the market. It’s fun to fish with and reminds me of a topwater plug with legs. You can’t imagine how many fish you can catch with its tantalizing leg action. You can throw it anywhere—lily pads, moss brush piles and stick ups. The fish literally eat this lure up. I start every fishing trip with a spinnerbait, usually with a chartreuse and white skirt or the cole slaw color and the frog. The boys were fishing with Bass Pro Shop matching rod and reels. Jeffery used a left-handed model and John a right handed. They quit fishing at 10:00 a.m. when I suggested we do some target shooting. They perked up and said “you bet.” Little John, who’s not little anymore (I just call him “Johnny Boy”) just turned 13 and will be in the 8th grade when school starts, had another surprise awaiting him. His birthday present was in my truck. We got to the shooting range and I said, “here’s your birthday present, a new .22 caliber rifle. He replied with his usual “cool.” I then showed him how to safely load and shoot the gun. I made sure he knew everything about it before we shot it. He did it two or three times, showing me that he knew what to do. Every time we shoot it, he will show me again until it’s second nature to him. He’s a fast learner and he and Jeffery went through a box of shells in no time. Recently retired dentist, Lance Wyche, was also coaching him. He had tested the gun’s accuracy on 4 turtles in his pond before we gave it to him. It’s dead on. You don’t learn to shoot unless you shoot. Happy Birthday, Johnny Boy. L FRY
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