sportsman's notebook

The Latest Tips, Tricks, And Advice from Master Outdoorsman Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 01:30:00 -0400

Field & Stream's Guide to Basic Camping and Fishing Knots (Now With More New Knots!)

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 05:00:00 -0400

Slide Show: This Week's Tips from Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Sat, 20 May 2006 07:00:00 -0400

Slide Show: This Week's Tips from Jerome B. Robinson

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 16 May 2006 07:00:00 -0400

Getting Into Coyotes

fieldandstream-editor — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 04:05:00 -0500

Fool one of these superwary predators and you earn the rank of expert hunter. Here's how to do it:

Focus on areas that hold small game, birds, mice, and vermin. CRP fields, brushy creek- or riverbottoms, swamps and marshes, and young clear-cuts are all excellent choices. Most farmers will gladly give you permission to hunt. Pinpoint your spots by looking for tracks and listening for barks, yips, and howls at dawn and dusk. The ideal conditions for a hunt are cold, calm days. Windy days are the worst.

Stealth is the first priority: no slamming vehicle doors or talking to your partner. Settle into a comfortable shooting position on a knoll or field edge that offers good visibility, and wait five to 15 minutes before calling.

Coyotes have extremely keen eyesight and, like any animal coming to a call, are looking hard for its source. Make sure your camo is good and that your hands and face are covered. A cushion to sit on helps you keep still.

If no coyotes come to your calls, sneak back out and drive to another area at least a half mile away, and repeat the process. You should be able to cover eight to 10 good spots in a day of hunting.

The Ideal Coyote Setup:
Wind is key, but other factors can help put the odds in your favor. Click the picture below for to enlarge and see directions.

The Gear
You don't need much to start, and you may already have it

Calls Mouth-operated rabbit squealers are a must, but don't rely on them alone. Also use other distress calls and coyote howlers.

Decoys These act as a closer to your calls. One of your kid's beat-up stuffed animals can suffice, though battery-run motion dekes work best.

Guns Flat-shooting rifles in .223 caliber work best in open terrain, but your deer rifle will do the trick. Shotguns rule in thick timber or on night hunts (where legal). If you hunt turkeys, you probably already own the right setup: a tight-choked 12-gauge that throws a dense pattern out to 35 yards. Use No. 4 buckshot in magnum loads.

Web Exclusive: Caring for Your Kill
Coyotes sport beautiful coats that can be tanned and used as rugs, sewn into clothing (I'm still searching for the perfect pelt to make a mountain man hat), preserved as a taxidermy mount, or sold to a fur buyer. For a rug or mount, it's best to take your coyote whole to the taxidermist. If you plan to sell your hide or make some kind of simple clothing from it, here's how to skin the animal yourself:

Directions:
Get to the task as soon as possible. Don't let the animal freeze, and bring it to a warm basement or shed to keep the hide flexible and supple.

Tie a section of rope around one of the coyote's hind legs, just above the paw. Then tie the other end around a nail, peg, or beam on the ceiling so the animal is hanging upside down with the tail at about eye level.
With the belly of the coyote facing you, make a slit in the hide at the base of the tail and continue up the inside of the leg that's tied, stopping at the rope. Cut the hide all the way around the leg at this point (it's not important to leave the back feet attached if you're going to sell the hide) and skin this hindquarter. Return to your original cut and repeat the procedure on the opposite leg.
Make a 3" to 4" cut through the hide on the underside of the tail (just above the anus) extending toward the tail's tip. Peel the skin back on each side of this cut until you can run a finger (under the skin) completely around the tailbone. Grab the base and with some steady pulling, you should be able to peel the tailbone awayy from the hide surrounding it.
Make a circular cut around the anus to free the hide where it attaches there. At this point, you've freed the hide from the hind legs and tail. Continue to pull the skin off the animal down to the shoulders, as if you were removing a shirt. When you reach the legs, peel the hide down until you reach the "ankle" joint just above the paw. Cut the legs off at this ankle joint, leaving the paws attached to the pelt.
Continue working the hide down over the animal's body until you free it. You'll need some extra patience around the ears, face, and mouth. Coyotes have thin skin and are very lean, which means careful skinning is required to avoid tearing the hide. The first dog you skin will seem tricky, but the process speeds up with practice!

Get the Point

fieldandstream-editor — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 07:15:00 -0500

You're going to do more harm than good attempting to improve the new generation of chemically sharpened hooks, but less expensive versions normally need touchups. Here's how:

Hold the hook by the shank between your thumb and forefinger so that the bend faces inward and the point is away from you. Grasp the file in your other hand.
Brush the left side of the point away from you down the file in one long stroke. Give it another stroke if you desire, but file any further and you'll weaken the point.
Repeat for the right side and the outside of the point.

TIP: Use a 4Â¿Â¿-inch inexpensive metal file for hooks up to size 4. A 5Â¿Â¿-inch model works for larger ones.

Fly of the Month: The Partridge and Orange

fieldandstream-editor — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 04:15:00 -0500

MATERIALS
Hook: Wet fly, 1XL shank, size 10Â¿Â¿Â¿16 Thread/Abdomen: Hot Orange Pearsall's Gossamer silk thread Thorax: Hare's ear dubbing Hackle: Grouse hackle

DIRECTIONS
Step 1 Attach thread behind the hook eye and make three wraps toward the bend. Peel the fuzz from the base of a grouse hackle and strip off the fibers on its right half (as you look at its convex side). Use the correct hackle size. The lowermost fibers should be as long as the hook.

Step 2 Mount the hackle atop the shank, with the concave side up and the tip over the eye. Clip the stem, and continue wrapping the thread in close, touching turns to a point on the shank just above the barb. Reverse direction and wrap back, stopping a third of a shank-length behind the eye.

Step 3 Dub a ball-like thorax halfway to the hook eye. Position the thread in front of the dubbing.

Step 4 Take two wraps of the hackle toward the bend. Then capture the hackle tip with one wrap of thread.

Step 5 Wrap the thread forward once through the hackle. Secure it with three half hitches, clip off the hackle tip, and dab tying cement to the head.

Ice Fishing Tip: The Flash Rig

fieldandstream-editor — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 04:20:00 -0500

This bastardization of an open-water stalwart, the crawler harness, adds fish-catching color and flash to tip-up rigs and can be appropriated for jigging below a bobber.

To catch walleyes or magnum perch, start with a 2-foot length of 6-pound fluorocarbon or monofilament. At its end, tie a No. 10 treble hook, and above it slide on a neoprene bobber stop until it's anywhere from 6 to 10 inches above the treble. Add six 4mm chartreuse or orange plastic beads and a clevis with a No. 2 silver spinner blade. Tie the end of the leader to a swivel. Tip the treble with a 2- to 4-inch shiner.

To arm yourself for pike, use a 6-inch sucker or shiner, beef up your treble to a No. 4 and your leader to 20-pound-test fluorocarbon, and use six No. 6 to No. 8 red beads with a No. 4 red-and-white spinner blade.

Used beneath a tip-up or with a slip bobber on a short, ice-style spinning rod, this rig outfishes a plain minnow.

Jerry's Tips: February, 2006

fieldandstream-editor — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 04:15:00 -0500

Train Your Dog to "Give"
A retriever takes pride in carrying a bird, so don't rush to grab it away. Instead, command him to heel and have him walk at your side. Let him enjoy his accomplishment for a while. Praise the dog, then tell him to sit, and gently take the bird from his mouth. Dogs soon form the habit of holding the bird until you want it if you don't snatch it away.

Catch More Tournament-Size Bass
Competition anglers commonly release their best fish right after a tournament's weigh-in. And for a week or so after one of these events, many of the largest bass in a lake will be concentrated by the release site. Expect to find them schooled near the closest structure (such as a gentle dropoff) to the competition's weigh-in area, feeding on baitfish.

Track Game Through Leaf Litter
Big-game tracks on leaf-covered ground are tough to see from a standing position. If you lose an animal's trail, crouch down to get your eyes close to the ground. Look for a series of disturbances in the fallen leaves in the direction the track was last headed. Sight this path as far as possible, then walk to the point where it disappears and take another low-angle view.

Injure Fewer Bass
It's fun to see bass inhale topwater lures. But because most are built on offset hooks, which catch easily in the gills or gullet, you'll mortally wound many fish when you're using these baits. Try bending the hook in with pliers until the point lines up with the eye. Your lure will now slide out of the fish's throat and snag instead on the hard edge of its lip.

Show More Fish Your Bait
Instead of simply dropping your bait to the bottom, try suspending it by a couple of inches. You'll catch more fish. To do so, attach your sinker 3 feet above your hook. Then clip a small bobber to the line 12 inches from the hook. Fish can see a floating bait more easily, and the semislack leader allows them to take it without feeling resistance from the weight.