Of The Outdoors | Gary Howey Live Bait The Best Way To ...tearsheets.yankton.net › may14 ›...

Yankton Step OutsideEvent June 21

Yankton area youth will have a chanceto participate in the sixth annual YanktonStep Outside event on Saturday, June 21.The event will take place at the IsaacWalton Trap Range east of Yankton onHighway 50 and will run from 10 a.m.-2p.m.

Youth attending the event will be ableto shoot shotguns, .22 rifles, BB guns,bow and arrow. The event is free and isopen to youth 8 years old and older. Allyouth must be accompanied by an adult.

There will be a free lunch provided.The event will be held rain or shine, socome dressed for the weather.

If you have any questions, contactConservation Officer Sam Schelhaas at668-2985.

Neb. Game & ParksUrges Boaters To ThinkSafety This Summer

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraskans areasked to be cautious when they enjoy aday on the water in their boats this sum-mer. Boating safety should never betaken for granted.

The Nebraska Game and Parks Com-mission suggests ways boaters may re-duce the risk of incidents and help ensurea safe and enjoyable day on the water.

Wear a Life Jacket — Children underage 13 and anybody on a personal wa-tercraft are required by law to wear aUnited States Coast Guard-approvedpersonal flotation device. People beingtowed by a boat on skis, a tube or othersimilar device also must wear a life jacket.

Avoid Alcohol — Boat operators canbecome impaired with less alcohol thanmotor vehicle drivers due to heat and de-hydration. Boating Under the Influence isa criminal violation and is enforced ac-tively in Nebraska.

Have All Required Safety Equipment— This will help boaters be prepared if anemergency occurs. Life jackets, throw

cushions, fire extinguishers and bailingdevices are required on most boats. For alist of what is required on a boat, checkout the 2014 Boating Guide at Boat-SafeNebraska.org.

Be Wary of Surroundings —The bestboat operators constantly are lookingaround for other boats, personal water-craft, swimmers, stumps and other haz-ards. Speeds in excess of 5 mph areprohibited if within 30 yards of any othervessel, swimming area or dock.

Take a Boating Safety Course — Any-one born after Dec. 31, 1985, who oper-ates a motorboat or personal watercraftin Nebraska, must have successfullycompleted the Nebraska boating safetycourse. Visit BoatSafeNebraska.org for alist of classes.

Stokely Named BrookBrown Boating OfficerOf The Year

PIERRE — The National Associationof State Boating Law Administrators hasnamed Tony Stokely the 2014 BrookBrown Boating Officer of the Year. Stokelyis a conservation officer for the SouthDakota Game, Fish and Parks (GFP);stationed in Elk Point.

“Tony is highly experienced andknowledgeable in the field of boating en-forcement and patrols one of the mostunique and complex bodies of water inthe state,” said Brandon Gust, GFP boat-ing law administrator. “He patrols over 50miles of river in the southeastern cornerof the state and works in one of the onlyremaining stretches of water similar towhat Lewis and Clark encountered ontheir historic expedition.”

Gust acknowledged that Stokely isroutinely faced with hazardous and un-known river conditions; yet has alwaysexcelled in his boating enforcement ef-forts.

About the Award: The National Asso-ciation of State Boating Law Administra-tors’ (NASBLA) award is presented

annually to the boating law enforcementofficer who has made outstanding contri-butions to the field of boating law enforce-ment.

The South Dakota award was re-named to honor a previous recipient andGFP conservation officer, Brook Brown.Brown lost his battle with cancer duringthe summer of 2012 and was well knownfor his contributions to the state’s boatingenforcement and education efforts.

Park Visitors Asked ToRestrict FirewoodMovement

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Game and

Parks Commission is asking campers to restrictthe movement of firewood to prevent the entry ofthe invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) into thestate.

EAB is a tree-killing beetle native to Asia. Itcan move from state to state in firewood. EAB hasbecome established near Creston, Iowa, just 60miles from the Nebraska border.

A Voluntary Firewood Exchange Program is inplace at several state park areas to prevent themovement of the invasive Emerald Ash Borer(EAB) into the state. Campers at Niobrara, Ponca,Eugene T. Mahoney and Indian Cave state parks,and Branched Oak, Lewis and Clark, Pawnee andTwo Rivers state recreation areas who bring fire-wood from outside of the state should exchangetheir wood at the park office or campground hostfor an equal volume of locally acquired firewood.

In addition, it is recommended that Nebraskaresidents also acquire firewood at or near theirdestination, rather than bringing it from other loca-

tions. Locally acquired firewood will be sold at parkoffices or concessions inside Chadron, Fort Robin-son, Indian Cave, Eugene T. Mahoney, Niobrara,Platte River, Ponca and Smith Falls state parksand Branched Oak, Fremont, Lake Maloney, LakeMinatare, Lewis and Clark, Louisville, and TwoRivers state recreation areas.

Wood lying on the ground at Game and Parksproperties may be collected and burned as fire-wood on site.

Park visitors are reminded to enjoy campfiressafely and in compliance with regulations to pre-vent wildfires.

Winter Bird-Watching Of-fered At Lewis & ClarkRecreation Area

Lewis and Clark Recreation Area is offering achance to experience winter bird watching. A “self-

guided hike” leads park users to many differentspecies of wintering birds.

Brochures and a registration book are locatedoutside the Welcome Center park office door.Bird/suet feeders have also been placed in areasof the park along the birding trail to attract the win-tering birds.

“Walkers may follow the marked trail in differ-ent directions through grassy areas, along estab-lished park roads, or on the existing bike trail,” saidShane Bertsch, District Park Supervisor.

Bertsch also reminds park visitors that a parkentrance license is required year-round for all ve-hicles entering the park and may be purchased atthe self-pay station at the entrance booth if thepark office is closed.

For more information, contact Lewis & ClarkRecreation Area at (605) 668-2985.

Saturday, 5.24.14ON THE WEB: www.yankton.net

SPORTS DEPARTMENT: jeremy.hoeck@yankton.netPRESS DAKOTANP A G E 1 2

outdoors

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clinical outcomes, patient satisfaction and patient safety to make informed health care decisions. Avera Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton: 2014 Outstanding Patient Experience award recipients—because providing excellence is our heart and soul.

AveraSacredHeart.org

Excellence:THE HEART ANDSOUL OF AVERA

Ranked among the Top 15% in the nation for

Outstanding Patient Experience P RESS & D AKOTAN

Text: B REAK IN G N EW S To: 20673

Sta rt Receivin g B rea kin g N ew s Via

Text M essa ge!

BY GARY HOWEYHartington, Neb.

It said that catching fish is notreally all that complicated, you justneed to give the fish what theywant.

Unfortu-nately, on oneday, it may be acrankbait andthe next timeyou are out itmight be a jig &minnow.

If you arelooking for baitsthat will take allspecies of fish,no matter whatseason you arefishing or thespecies of fishyou are after, live-

bait is the most effective presenta-tion that you could ever throw at afish.

Why, the answers simple, livebait is real, just like the name im-plies.

You do not need to do anythingto make it look real, act or smellreal, because it is real. It looks acts,feels and smells, as it is suppose to!

Sure, you are going to need away to get the bait down to the fish,but once your live bait is in thewater, it will do its magic, which isto catch fish.

When some people think of livebait, they think of the old hook, line,sinker and a worm.

Of course, that is one form of alivebait-fishing rig, but there ismuch more to livebait fishing thanjust throwing out a worm!

As I mentioned earlier, livebaitwill work on all species of fish!

Walleye fishermen use minnows,leeches and night crawlers. Thesebaits can be used in combination

with bottom bouncers & spinners,jigs, Roach Rigs and slip bobber rigs.

Some Bass fishermen use livebait such as salamanders, crawlers,minnows and crawfish, often usingthem in conjunction with a slip bob-ber rig or with a jig.

Cat fishermen use suckers, min-nows, bluegills, crawfish, nightcrawlers and just about any othertype of bait known to man. Theywill use heavy equipment, heavyline, and slip sinkers with largehooks when fishing for cats.

Pan fishermen go after bluegill,crappie, sunfish and perch withminnows, worms, maggots, waxworms or other small live baits.Pan fish ate taken using small jigs,hooks, split shot and slip bobbers.

It is hard to find a species ofgame fish that cannot be caughtusing livebait, except for those thatfeed on zooplankton!

The key to catching fish usinglivebait is to have good, stronghealthy bait.

This can be tough, during cer-tain times of year.

The folks at Frabill have comeup with several new products allow-ing you to keep your bait fresh;ready to help you catch fish.

Keeping bait well oxygenatedand cool is the key to havinghealthy minnows and leeches.

This time of the year, the onlything you need to worry aboutwhen it comes to minnows is tokeep them oxygenated

However, when it is hot, min-nows will need to have their waterchanged often or some other way tooxygenate the water.

The folks at Frabill have comeup with several new products thathelp to keep your bait healthy andactive. Their MIN-O-LIFE PERSONALBAIT STATION features superior in-sulation in an 8-quart hard shellcooler design that keeps water andbait cooler

Inside you will find a lift-out netliner with easy access to the bait al-

lowing you to lift up the net to se-lect your bait

Their Frabill Bait Station has aportable aerator with whisper-drivequiet operation powered by two D-cell batteries and will keep yourbait healthy in the warmest of con-ditions

Anglers that use leeches willwant to change the water often ontheir leeches because of the wastethey produce, which will scum upyour water quickly, making it un-healthy even for a lowly leech!

Leeches will also last longer ifyou add ice to their water.

Crawlers are the most suscepti-ble to the warm temperatures ofsummer.

With the rain we have been re-ceiving, the night crawlers are outand it is easy to go out and pick upa mess of them. After good night ofcrawler hunting, I like put them in agood worm bedding, you will needto keep them cool in a good qualityworm bedding; like, Frabill’s Fat &Sassy or you are going to end upwith a stinky gooey mess that evena catfish would not touch.

I dump my crawlers on the topof the bedding, checking them thenext couple of mornings to see ifthey have dug down into the bed-ding. If there are still some left ontop after a couple of days, I willpitch them as generally damagedwhen you picked them.

Another thing that I like to do toinsure good healthy bait is to pre-pare my crawlers before headingout onto the water.

Preparing them is quite easy andit makes the worms plump up and isa whole lot livelier than a standardcrawler is.

The first thing you will need is aplastic container, similar to a Tup-perware cake container allowingyou to stack your crawlers in lay-ers.

Then you will need to soak anewspaper in ice water, next, put acouple of sheets of the cold satu-rated paper on the bottom of thecontainer.

Next, put down a layer ofcrawlers and then another piece ofthe cold wet newspaper. Continuethis process until you have the lastpiece of newspaper protruding justabove the top of the container.

Now gently snap on the lid andthen put the container in the refrig-erator over night.

The worms will soak up the coldicy water and you will end up withsuper crawlers that will help to en-tice even the fussiest of fish.

Livebait is the original way tocatch fish and remains the most ef-fective way to catch those finnycritters.

Keep your bait cool, use healthy,lively bait and when fish will notbite other baits, give livebait fishingwith fresh bait a shot, you mighthave forgot what you’ve been miss-ing.

Gary Howey, Hartington, Ne-braska, is a former tournament an-gler, fishing and hunting guide. He isthe Producer/Host of the award win-ning Outdoorsmen Adventures televi-sion series, seen on Fox affiliatesthroughout the upper Midwest. In theYankton area, it airs on local chan-nels 2 & 98 Saturday at 6:30 pm andSunday at 7:00 am as well as onMIDCO Sports Network Thursday at5:30 pm and Sunday at 10:00 am. Heand Simon Fuller are the hosts of theOutdoor Adventures radio programMonday-Saturday at 6:45 am on Clas-sic Hits 106.3 and ESPN Sports Radio1570. If you are looking for more out-door information, check outwww.outdoorsmenadventures.comand like Outdoorsmen Adventures onFacebook.

Gary

HOWEY

Of The Outdoors | Gary Howey

Live Bait The Best Way To Catch Fish

PHOTO BY LARRY MYHREKent Hutcheson, Hutch’s Guide Service with a healthy Lake Oahe walleye takenusing fresh super crawlers that had been prepared using the method in this col-umn.

O U T D O O R S D I G E S T