October 7, 2014 • Page 8 shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com HUNTING & FISHING 2014 Of The Outdoors | Gary Howey Fall is a Good Time for Big Fish Fall; a beautiful time of the year, especially when you are on the waters of Lewis and Clark Lake as the rising sun lights up the majestic Chalkrock bluffs of its shoreline. Team Outdoorsmen Adventures member Larry Myhre and I were on the water early last week, spending time with a couple of The Walleye Guys guide service, Bill McGannon and Brian Bashore. It would be one of those days with a cool start to the day, where rain gear and hooded sweatshirts would feel good in the morning but not needed temperatures would warm as the day went on. Making the turn into the main lake, an eruption of color appeared before us as the early morning sunlight illuminated the beautiful oranges, browns, tans and reds of the Bluffs. Bill, Brian and their partner Mike Woerth have guided for five years Gary on Lewis & Clark Lake, Harlan County Reservoir and Sherman Reservoir as well as on Glen Elder in Kansas. All three are avid walleye anglers who fish competitively on the Nebraska Walleye Circuit. Their 2025 and 1900 Lund Pro V SE boats are well equipped, with 200 and 250 HP Mercury's and all the latest and greatest electronics. Both boats were equipped with Minnkota Terrova i-Pilot bow mount trolling motors, large Humminbird locators/GPS units loaded with the new LakeMaster chips, showing all the changes made to the lake during the devastating flood of 2011. Larry and I would be fishing out of Bill's boat while Brian and cameraman Jared Adamson would work out of the other boat. On this trip, we would be dealing with several things that could make fishing difficult, including a weather forecast, which indicated a dreaded east wind as it is said when wind blows from the east fish bite the least. This, along with the high water releases creating the dirty water conditions, which make it difficult for fish that use their eyesight to locate food, the heavy current flows and the trash coming down stream all have a tendency to make for tough fishing conditions. To fish the high water conditions we were facing, Bill and Brian would need to maneuver the boat and we would need to work our lines in between and around the many sticks, logs, weeds and chunks of HOWEY One Stop Shop Pick Up Your Hunting & Fishing Licenses & More o Lewon’s Taxidermy Studio Nebraska’s Largest Taxidermy Studio shoreline that came drifting down river. As Bill cut the motor, it appeared as if the weatherman had once again been wrong as the water was clear as glass, not a good sign if you are a walleye angler as some wind is always a plus when you are after walleyes, but with the muddied water, perhaps it would not make a difference. We would be using long, ten and twelve foot rods rigged with Northland walking sinkers, floating single and double hook snells out the side, helping to spread out our lines and to cover more water . Bill, Larry and I would fish livebait rigs, bottom bouncer and floating snell out the back and alongside the boat. We baited our rigs with crawlers and minnows, giving the fish the opportunity to tell us which bait they preferred. Once we figured out the pattern, we would switch to what the fish wanted that day. It would start out slow, as the best part of an hour went by, and then the first fish came in on Larry's minnow rig, a healthy eighteen-inch walleye we would later release. Shortly thereafter, I set the hook on my minnow rig; the headshake of the fish made me think it was a walleye, which was putting up a good fight, only to have it come loose before I got it to the boat. Catch and release is good, but generally, we like to put them in a boat before releasing them. Not long after, both Bill and I brought in a couple of Sheephead Drum or the "Sheep of the Deep" as Larry calls them. They are good fighting fish, on the bony side, but when cleaned properly make for some good eating, since we weren't keeping any fish, they too were released. Brian boated a drum, a nice walleye and a white bass and was well on his way to a Lewis and Clark smorgasbord, catching a variety of the dozens of fish, which call the lake home. As the day warmed, and no wind appeared, we made the move and headed for a shoot along the Nebraska side, hoping to find some cleaner water. After a few drifts, it looked as if this area too was loaded with trash and murky, so we moved up to a slack water pocket behind a sand bar where once again, I released another fish, before we could see what it was, it was time for me to put on a new two hook snell. Both of the oats worked the break as it dropped off the sandbar into deeper water, where we found l more drum willing to latch onto our baits, giving us a good fight, but not the fish we were looking for. As we were about to move back into the main lake, Brian, working just off the break connected with a nice sauger. We hammered the location for about an hour We have won over 100 World, National & State Awards. 2 Full-time Taxidermists: 56 years combined experience Check us out at www.lewons.com. SWANSON We are buying large deer capes. Call for information • 402-337-0077 108 W. Kemp St. • Randolph, NE Hunting Acres Good for hiding as well as seeking. A75400EP “Where Good People Meet for Good Hunting” Pheasant, Quail & Chukar Hunting New lodge re 0 ac on 230 ing nt hu d. groun Reservations or Information Call: Jim, Darrell & Betty Swanson 89054 519th Ave. Niobrara, NE 68760 402-857-3794 The 4-Seat, 44 MPH XUV ™ XUV Camo 4x4 The new limited-edition Gator 825i S4 more, when the wind the weatherman had predicted showed up, which could mean the bite on the main lake would pick up, a good time for us to slip back down river into the main lake. As we arrived, slight waves rippled across the water's surface, generally, a good indication the bite would pick up. Larry and I managed to pull two more micro walleyes out of the main lake hole but the keeper walleyes we had hope to pull from the spot, were not too be. It was a beautiful day on Lewis and Clark Lake, time well spent on the most picturesque of the South Dakota Missouri River Reservoirs, allowing us to spend time with some old and some new friends, where we boated four good walleyes, along with several short ones, drum, pike, white bass and a gar. Fall is a good time for big fish on Lewis and Clark and The Walleye Guys know where to look for them. More information on the guys is found at http://www.thewalleyeguys.com. It is a good bet we will be back once things settle down on the lake, in pursuit of the good size walleyes lying in wait for our baits to drift by them. Gary Howey, Hartington, Nebraska, is a former tournament angler, fishing and hunting guide. He is the Producer/Host of the award winning Outdoorsmen Adventures television series, seen in the Yankton area on local channels 2 & 98 Saturday at 6:30 pm and Sunday@ 7:00 am. It also airs on KTTM/KTTW-TV Sioux Falls/Huron Saturday at 6:30 am Sunday as well as on MIDCO Sports Network Thursday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 10:00 am. In Northwest Iowa, Southeast South Dakota and Northeast Nebraska it airs on Siouxland CW 4.2 Sunday at 9 a.m., He and Simon Fuller Co-Host the Outdoor Adventures radio program on Classic Hits 106.3, ESPN Sports Radio 1570 in Southeastern South Dakota and Northeast Nebraska. In Northwest Iowa, it airs on KCHE 92.1 FM. If you are looking for more outdoor information, check out www.outdoorsmenadventures.com and like Outdoorsmen Adventures on Facebook. When you ?nish reading, Please RECYCLE. • Limited-edition If wasn’t already the toughest • Capacity The it50 horse power of pure 4WD utility to Comfortably Seat 4 camo pattern muscle, and the forest, the new the now comes Power • True four-wheel drive Back Feature Steering with Anti-Kick vehicle in room for four, XUV • Standard back seat lifts up ® additional • Convertible Rear•Seat/Cargo Space for Diesel or gasoline engine with a REALTREE camo pattern, so you can storage and folds down to convert • Superior Terrain capability go just about anywhere without into extra cargo space at need. being seen. JohnDeere.com Forget the rest... ride with the best! YANKTON M OTORSPORTS Visit Your Certi?ed John Deere Gold Star Dealer Today! 4306 W. 8th St. • Yankton, SD (605) 665-3500 FRED HAAR CO., INC. 2200 E HIGHWAY 50 YANKTON, SD 57078 (605) 665-3762 FRED HAAR CO., INC. 39660 SD HIGHWAY 46 WAGNER, SD 57380 (605) 384-4580 FRED HAAR CO., INC. 615 NORTH HIGHWAY 81 FREEMAN, SD 57029 (605) 925-4241 Yankton’s Place for Full Service on All Makes & Models! www.yanktonmotorsports.com MORE VALUE For Your Advertising Dollar Missouri Valley Shopper Classifieds IN PRINT & ONLINE To place your ad, call: 605-665-5884