SPORTS
Protecting yourself from the sun’s rays
By Luke Clayton
You will find this week’s outdoor column a bit differently from what I normally share with you. I will give a bit of advice about protecting yourself from the sun’s harmful rays but I promise not to dwell on the subject long, just enough to cause you to this keeping yourself safe while outdoors. Then, I promise we will jump right into some current outdoor adventures!
Skin cancer is extremely common among those of us that spend a lot of time in the outdoors. People with fair completions are more apt to develop skin cancer that those with darker skin but everyone should know how to stay safe when exposed to the sun. I was prompted to share this with you after having a couple of Basic Cell Carcinomas removed through the years. These skin cancers usually present little problem when detected early and are easily removed. A yearly check up by a dermatologist is very important and is key to detecting skin cancer early. I considered myself too busy a few years ago and missed my yearly checkups for 3 year. Then I noticed a small brown blotch on my forehead. Passing it off as an ‘age spot’, I kept on hunting and fishing, wearing only a ball cap and no sunscreen. Then at a regular doctor’s check up, the doc inquired if I had been making my yearly appointments at the dermatologist. He pointed out that that little spot needed to be seen by my skin doctor. Even to her trained eye, it only looked slightly suspicious but she ordered a lab test and it was diagnosed as a melanoma, the kind of skin cancer that spreads more rapidly and can cause some very serious problems. She scheduled me with a surgeon and another lab test rated the spot as possibly the very early stage of melanoma. Without removal it could spread and turn into full blown cancer. After about thirty minutes on the surgeon’s table, it was removed and the skin was all stitched up. A day later, I had a shiner around my eye as big as a silver dollar, I looked like I had lost a skirmish with a wild boar but the spot, along with the risk of of serious skin cancer was gone.
So, here’s what I want you to give some serious consideration to doing when you are outdoors for an extended period of time: Wear a wide brimmed hat and long sleeves shirts made to block RV rays and always wear a good sun blocker of at least SPF 50. If you see me out on the lake, I’ll be the old guy with the funky white wide brimmed hat with the flap that covers the ears and a cool looking long sleeve shirt made of very lightweight material.
TIME TO HUNT TURKEYS This past week was largely devoted to getting this skin problem taken care of but I’ll be fully back in action by the time you read this doing two things I dearly love; hunting spring gobblers and catching and cooking fish. In last week’s column, I mentioned a turkey hunt/fishing outing I had planned with a good friend up in Grayson County. This I had to put on hold but in a couple days plan to make it happen. The gobblers have been sounding off on my buddies place and his pond is full of chunky bass in the 2 to 3 pound range, just right for a mid day blackening in the shade of a big oak on the banks of the remote pond. Who knows, we might just add a few well seasoned and fried turkey breast fillets to the menu!
If you’re planning a turkey hunt, remember that the period from about mid morning to mid afternoon can provide some very good action. Turkeys usually do a lot of their breeding early mornings and when hens have headed to their nest, gobblers are on the prowl. This is a great time to set up a decoy in a visible spot along the edge of a woodline and begin calling. Calling to frequently is a common mistake made by novice turkey hunters. I usually let the gobblers dictate how much to call. If I get a response from a gobbler back in the woods or across a field, I will call more frequently. I try to track his approach by his gobbles and call every minute or so. Once I hear him close, within 75 yards or so, I usually only give a few subtle hen purrs rather than a full blown loud yelp. Turkeys have a built in GPS and I’ve often watched them pop up out of the brush within a few yards of my position.
A decoy that is visible to approaching turkeys can be worth its weight in gold, the gobbler’s attention is taken off where the hen yelps are originating when he actually sees what he perceives to be his next romantic encounter! By the time the old gobbler figures out the lady love he is attempting to court is made of plastic, if the shot is true, Ole’ Luke will be attaching his turkey tag to the birds leg just above the spur!
CHANNEL CATFISH BITE RED HOT IN SHALLOW WATER Now is one of the best times of the year to catch channel catfish from the shore. For the next month or so, catching will be easy in shallow water on a variety of catfish baits fished under a cork. It’s hard to beat a good cheese based punch bait but anything from crickets to earthworms will put plenty of eater size channel catfish on your stringer. The best fishing is usually during the first couple hours of daylight when catfish and just about every other species in the lake are us shallow feeding on shad. Catfish feed a lot by smell and very often the longer the punch bait is I the water, the better the action.
A coffee can full of range cubes or better yet, soured grain often helps concentrate the fish quickly but this time of year, especially when fishing around rock rip rap in the vicinity of boat ramps, a limit of channel catfish is often accomplished in a couple hours or less when the fish are on a strong bite. Some mornings, the fish will strike hard, one minute you will see your cork and the next, it’s gone. But on the days when the fish bite softly, watch your cork and when it jiggles the slightest bit, set the hook!
Next week, I hope to have an account of a successful turkey hunt and noon fish fry on a remote pond to relate to you. Until then, remember to protect yourself from the sun while out there having fun!
Contact Outdoors writer Luke Clayton via his website www.catfishradio.org email lukeclayton1950@gmail.com. Listen to Luke’s weekly podcast , “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and friends” everywhere podcast are heard and watch the weekly outdoor show “A Sportsmans Life” on CarbonTv.com and YouTube.
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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