Outdoors
Rec
B
Saturday, March 12, 2022
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Blackpowder
bounty
GARY
LEWIS
ON THE TRAIL
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
Last session at the range before
the hunt, Mikayla Lewis sights
through the smoke at the range.
H
e called me two days before the controlled hunt appli-
cation deadline last spring. He had so many elk points.
He had so many deer points. He had so many antelope
points. And he was getting close to 70 years old. What was a
boy to do with those points, he wanted to know. I had some
ideas, but he had to make decisions quick.
“But Gary, I don’t have a muzzleloader.”
No big deal, I told him. I’ll fi nd one for you.
In June we drew our antelope tags and as I was wondering
what I was going to give my friend Winfi eld and what gun
my daughter was going to hunt with, my phone rang. Another
friend said he had two muzzleloader kits and I could have
them if I would build them. Quick as that, I had another shop
project. My daughter and I started on the two rifl es side by
side — 50-caliber Traditions Deerhunter kits like those
available from La Grande-based Muzzle-loaders.com
for $319 each.
See, Bounty/Page B6
Gary Lewis/Contributed Photo
Mikayla Lewis with the big public lands buck she took
last season with a muzzleloader she built for herself.
Taking another look at ice fi shing
way if someone falls in you
can throw it to them and drag
them out.
I always carry a 5-gallon
bucket to sit on. Yes, a chair
would be more comfortable but
you can throw your gear in the
bucket and then set it in the sled.
If it’s cold you may want to take
a tent heater. Or, you can build
a fi re.
Then of course you’ll need
an ice auger. I have a cheaper
hand auger but if you’re going
to be fi shing much a gas auger
would be better. If they’re not
biting you need to move. Maybe
you can’t troll when ice fi shing
but if you have a gas auger you
can move more often and faster.
You’ll also want an ice scoop to
scoop the slush out of the hole
after drilling it, and to break up
ice as it starts forming on the
surface of your hole.
TOM
CLAYCOMB
BASE CAMP
L
ast week I wrote a column
comparing ice fi shing to
the Bataan death march.
I fi gured I’d better follow up
with a how-to column on ice
fi shing in case someone still had
a death wish and wanted to go!
I’m headed to Texas next week
for a hog hunt using the Umarex
Air Sabre (which is an airgun
that shoots arrows). Due to being
AWOL, I had to submit this story
early. By the time it publishes, ice
will probably be melting at all of
the lower lakes so you’ll probably
have to go up to a mountain lake
to ice fi sh.
It’s according to how serious
you want to get. If you’re going
to go every weekend, you’ll need
to accumulate more gear than I’m
going to recommend. You see
pictures of ice fi shermen up in
the Northeast and Upper Midwest
who have ice fi shing shanties. We
won’t cover that angle.
If you’re going to ice fi sh reg-
ularly, I’d recommend a portable
pop-up hut. You set on a bench
and there are holes in the fl oor
to line up with the holes you’ve
drilled in the ice. I’ve never used
any of these so sorry, I don’t
know a good one to recommend.
Tom Claycomb/Contributed Photo
Compared to normal boat fi shing ice fi shing is really pretty simple. You’ll want
some short ice fi shing rods (on the left are two cheap tip-ups), an ice scoop, a box
full of jigs and some bait to tip off your jigs with. The author use Pautzke Fireballs,
since they’re scented.
I’ve always wondered, but
never have tried it, why wouldn’t a
cheap little dome tent work? Set it
up and fi sh in it? But who knows,
the bottom of the tent may freeze
to the ice and become a permanent
fi xture until spring! So, this idea
may not work.
To haul out my gear I use a
cheap little red kids sled. Load
on your gear, tie a rope on front
to drag it and off you go. It
should hold all of your gear but
if not, throw the rest into a back-
pack. It’s smart to take a 20-foot
rope with a thick diameter. That
Fishing gear
Now for the important items.
If you’re going to be drilling a
lot of holes, you may want to buy
cheap tip-ups to save money. I
personally favor regular rods and
reels. But you don’t want your
regular fi shing rods. You’ll want
to use the short ice fi shing rods.
Again, I’m not a 24/7 ice fi sh-
erman so I buy cheap ice fi shing
rods and reels but like with all
fi shing, you’ll cuss less and fi sh
more if you use quality reels.
Like with all fi shing, no one
lure is the silver bullet. No siree,
the manufacturers have convinced
us that we need a multitude of
lures of diff erent sizes and colors.
I usually use the little ice fi shing
jigs and tip them off with a meal-
worm. Or, I’ve got a variety of
Pautzke’s Fireballs that you can
put on the jig. They’re colored and
scented to help attract fi sh. And,
they don’t die like worms do. So
you can keep a bottle for ... I don’t
know how long, but years. That’s
probably your best option because
a worm isn’t going to be too lively
in the frigid water below anyway,
right?
For perch I usually drop down
to the bottom and reel up 8 to 12
inches. But like all fi shing you
have to check all of the water
column to fi nd out where the fi sh
are. They even off er fi sh fi nders
for ice fi shermen. I’ve never used
one though so I can’t tell you any-
thing about them.
One good thing about ice
fi shing, you don’t need a stringer
or a live well. Kick a little snow in
a pile and throw your fi sh in the
snow and you’re good to go. Then
when you leave, just throw them
into your bucket.
One last tip, due to the cold
water the fi sh will be a little
lethargic so don’t fi sh your lure
fast. And yes, you can jig up and
down but do it slower than normal.
Have fun.
