Top_Heavy's World

Spring is upon us and it is time to plant fruit trees. Plums, pears, cherries and of course apple trees. I have hunted in many states and a few countries, over bait piles, food plots, ag fields, mineral and salt licks or blocks and in orchards, the best, most consistant thing I have found is Sept and Oct apples. The ripening and fruit drop is very consistent from year to year, the pattern of the deer will be just as consistant and even a part time hunter will find success near an orchard. I plant fruit trees on every property that will allow it! Many of my best urban properties have 1 or more fruit trees in the yard. If you have a clearing in an old wood lot and you want an advantage, plant a couple of different varieties of apples. Each variety holds the fruit differently and by planting different ones, you can extend the number of days that fresh fruit will be the draw. I planted 10 trees 2 years ago in one location and used 5 varieties to ensure fruit into the middle of November! The bucks come to the fruit as well as the does, and if there are apples on the ground at the end of Oct you are on a gold mine! If you aren't hunting the fruit then you are missing 2 weeks to a month of prime time hunting.

Spring is finally here, the crappie fishing is getting good, the walleye are spawning and the turkeys are stating to split up into smaller, mixed sex flocks. We have been working on a population survey for our pond and this year we have incorporated a new trick... spotlighting. A mid sized spot light run off of a 4 wheeler has been an invaluable tool to say the least. We have done spring walleye surveys before, their eyes glow like light stars when the bright light hits them, but this year we are gettting more serious. The quantitiy of bluegills viewed this weekend was incredible. I have no idea how we can fish and not catch one, they were everywhere! The water is still too cool to trigget the next building, but a few full sun days will help. Our shorelines will look like golfballs due to the huge numbers of spawning nests. Our pond has a few advantages over most, we stocked the pond with large fish and gave them a year before the predators were introduced. We then only put really large predator fish in until after the second spawn. Now we have such a nice blend of age class fish that growth annualy is above average. We have also added 1000's of fathead minnows to the pond to create a second forage base. Traditional Iowa farm ponds rely on the bluegill alone as the main forage. By the counts, we have a slightly heavy population of 9"+ gills, with many well over the 1 lb mark. We will be working on removing the smaller ones this spring, and we will stay on the crappie population control as well. Our goal is to produce huge fish in decent numbers. Many ponds are full of too many little fish, we are trying to produce the biggest possible with enough fish to keep the kids happy and active. It is a tough management goal, but attainable with the extra feedings, removing many fish, and concentrated monitoring of the fish.
If you are looking for another tool to help with harvest goals, try a spotlight, it's amazing what happens after the sun goes down.

If you are planning on hunting in liimited draw areas for many big game animals in New Mexico, you have only 1 more day. April 8th is the final day for applications. I am in the outfitter pool for elk and antelope, archery. I hope everyone has a great fall, I know I will!

Saturday found me at the Waltonian Archery Club for a mid morning shoot with Jody and Craig. I was still feeling sore about Jody beating me last round, so I was a little more competitive. The wind was fairly substantial by 10:00, unfortunately work duties called early, so this was the best we could do. The weather got worse all day and by Sunday it was almost a blizzard! I checked the better shooters in the bowhunter class, and they had all dropped from 15 to 25 points from the last shoot. I struggled as well, but managed to only drop 10 points to 509 out of 560 (519/560 last time) Jody and Craig both struggled as well and the wind really beat poor Jody... well, Craig did too, as he shot his second RobinHood in 2 tournaments on Jodys arrow!!!

Craig shoots a very sharp bullet point and after he put a 2" groove down the shaft of one of my arrows, I offered to kick his ass or he changes tips. Maybe not the most friendly method of persuation, but I am slightly pissed about a ruined $12 shaft. Show some class and shoot a Z-tip or something similar to prevent arrow damage, I seldom even break a knock with my blunt tips. I don't know where I ended in the final standings, but I will find out this week. 9th was my placing last shoot.
The Spring Strut Shoot at the Waltonian Club was a blast, the tiny vitals of the multiple wild turkey targets made for a challenging course while the blustery winds dropped scores considerably. If you haven't checked out the club, you should, it is awesome.

My mood was somber, the day had been long and draining. I started early and was still at my desk at 5:30 when my personal cell phone rang. Slowly I answered it, fearing more bad news. The number, an area code I didn't recognize, sort of scared me. I often get calls from people looking for work as I have given this number to many past employees and subcontractors. I have gotten calls from Canada, Mexico and many states in the US. I held my breath and answered "Hello this is Matt". The lady on the other end was pleasant and happy and introduced herself with G Loomis. I had forgotten the broken fishing rod I had sent back for warranty evaluation. The wonderful voice informed me that the exact model was out of stock, so it might take 3 to 5 weeks for my replacement, and they would be sending my check for shipping back as well. They felt so badly that I hadn't even gotten to use the rod that they were paying for the return shipping. I must admit, I have been smiling since the call. The price tag was still on the cork handle when I sent it back. I was again shown that if you pay for a top end fishing rod, you get a top end product and top end service (atleast with the G Loomis Rod Company!). I chose that specific length, tip and weight rod for a specific job; thowing buck tails and top water prop baits for muskie and big northern pike, so I will wait for as long as I have to for a replacement. I have gotten rid of all brands except St Croix and G Loomis... nothing else can compare. I hope you have a great summer fishing season this year, I know I will!