After deer season, what do you do to keep your mind occupied through the long hot summer and into next year? Well, for me it’s scouting pictures, stand relocation and shed hunting, and of the three, scouting pictures are probably the most exciting. Deer are fascinating creatures, and scouting cameras are a great way to observe them – what they do in the summer, how their patterns change and how they transition into the Fall. Running multiple scouting cameras is also the best way to figure out how many deer you have and what kind of bucks you actually have. It gives you insight into their habits and how they change from place to place. You have to have quite a few cameras, but if you do, you can learn a lot about the deer in your area, information that will be invaluable during the season!

I have already blogged once on turkey hunting, but after the season I felt I had to do it again. What a season. I had the opportunity to kill three different birds in all parts of Texas – south, central, and north. The season just went on and on. I don’t know that I have ever had as much fun as I had chasing those turkey. After a trip to Cabela’s to get all the gear I would need and learning how to call from Wade and Will, I realized how challenging turkey hunting could be! The real key to learning how to successfully call and hunt turkey is having many many opportunities. And believe me, trying to get a bird on TV, gave me many opportunities. In fact, I failed many times. But each one of those failures taught me something and gave me another opportunity to practice calling in a different situation. I called birds that were really hot down to birds that came in silence. If you haven’t hunted this way believe me when I say you have to try it. If you’re not a turkey hunter, you should be get out there and call in a big Tom next season. There’s nothing like it!

I love the time of year when the water warms enough to be able to throw top water anytime you want. This typically happens in Texas around April and lasts sometimes into November. Everybody loves top water. The thrilling surface action; there’s just nothing really like it. For me though it serves a couple of different purposes. Number one, it’s a great search bait – you can cover a lot of water with a top water and often times, even if the fish doesn’t strike the bait, it may bump or ripple the water to let you know he’s there. It also catches really big fish. People don’t think about topwater being synonymous with big fish, but that is a fact. Sometimes you have to work them really fast or maybe really slow, but they will often get you a big bite.

The top water family is big from buzzin’ frogs to buzz baits to prop baits to poppers to walking baits to frogs. They all have their place.

I always have several tied on. So pick one up and get ready for an explosion

If you really want to know the kind of deer your property has on it, try finding sheds. Though whitetails can drop their horns as early as January, most deer in Texas lose them in March. So now is the prime time for shed hunting. It doesn’t just entail walking around your ranch looking at the ground in every direction. There are some concrete ways to put yourself in the right areas. First, wherever the deer spend most of their time, especially at night, is often the best place to look. Next, with the recent rains, try looking in big fields where clover and various forbs are growing.

Sheds are one of the coolest things about whitetail deer; they grow antlers very similar in size and shape to the year before, only bigger. Characteristics like beam length, tine length, kicker tines, and beading will typically bae the same from year-to-year. If you want to know how big your deer were the year before, find some sheds. You can trace deer from year to year and track their growth. They also make great decorations and crafts (knife handles, lamps or hat racks). Or you could use them to practice taxidermy.

Another great benefit to shed hunting is getting to see your land up close and personal. Walking through fields, draws and brush can oftentimes help you more than anything in scouting for next season. So if you’re missing being at the deer lease or you’re out turkey hunting, keep your eyes open for a great whitetail shed!

All across the state of Texas, there are many, many small lakes that harbor really good bass fishing. We had the opportunity to film on one of those small lakes a couple of weeks ago and had an incredible trip. The first bass we caught was a 6 1/2 pounder out over hydrilla, and from that point on, it was game on! One thing many of the smaller Texas lakes have in common, whether in state parks or near cities, is a lot of vegetation. And any time you see a lot of vegetation in a lake you can count on really good bass fishing. This particular body of water is very similar to Rayburn or Toledo Bend – deep grass and big bass. As spring progresses in Texas, don’t always look to those giant bodies of water. Try some of the smaller lakes, and you can truly find some hidden gems.

Every year in the spring all I can think about is fishing. I really had no choice as a tournament angler – Spring is tournament season! But this year is going to be a little different. This spring, in addition to National bass tournaments, I’ll have an opportunity to chase turkey and, I’m pretty certain, get truly addicted to what I know is an awesome (and addicting) sport. I have several turkey hunts planned for this spring, but the one I’m looking most forward to is a trip with Mark Nelson from Cabela’s. Mark is an experienced turkey hunter, and the goal of the show will be for him to call in a turkey for me to shoot and then teach me how to call. Then hopefully, after my turkey calling lesson, I can call in a bird for Mark. I’ll be walking the turkey hunting isle at Cabela’s pre-show to make sure I am properly outfitted. I think it’s a cool idea and am looking forward to bringing it to Fishing and Hunting Texas.

Have you ever had something that is so comfortable, so functional, so familiar that it just feels like an old friend? Well, that’s about how I feel about my Cabela’s Guidewear Xtreme rain suit. In looking at fishing photos over the last few weeks, I notice one thing very consistently – my red Cabela’s Guidewear Xtreme rain suit. It’s like an old friend. I have worn it every day I have fished this year. Whether the boat is just wet from dew in the morning or it’s pouring down rain, Guidewear Xtreme will be on my body for a portion of every day. Now, when it gets really warm here, I’m sure I’ll be switching over to the Cabela’s Guidewear Bass Angler. And I suppose that will be my “new, old friend,” comfortable, functional, familiar. To be sure, both will be a mainstay in my fishing arsenal for many years.

Well, I don’t know if you’ve had this experience yet, but if you get out and about in the fishing world these days, you will see a new motor in town, and it is amazing! It’s the Evinrude E TEC G2. I just got mine rigged out on my Ranger 520C, and all I can say is wow!

First of all you can get it in a large variety of colors. Personally I prefer black with silver accents. The hole shot on this boat is amazing. It is undoubtedly the most responsive motor I’ve ever used. You may be thinking they put all of their energy into the hole shot and that there would be nothing left for the top end, but my Ranger is running in the mid-70s no problem.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that it is extremely economical. I’m burning only a fraction of the gas I burned last year. I haven’t had it long, but from everything I have seen so far, I can tell it’s going to be the best motor I’ve ever owned!