2014 Dove Season Expands / SCDNR amends Regs too

It will soon be time again for dove decoys and limits of doves

Wingshooters in the state of South Carolina have a double-barreled excuse to welcome the 2014 hunting season. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages regulations for migratory birds that travel across multiple states, and they have added twenty more days to dove hunting season! The increase was approved by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and will provide more days in the field for those who love the camaraderie of dove hunting.

Dove season is increased from 70 days in 2013 to 90 days during the 2014 – 2015 season. The traditional opening day remains set for September 1 and the early season runs until October 11. Remember that during the first days of the hunting season, until Sept. 6, the legal shooting hours for doves is only from noon until sunset. The next dove season dates are set for November 15 – 29 and December 13 through January 15. Legal hunting hours are 30-minutes before sunrise until sunset, and the daily bag limit remains 15 doves per day.

SCDNR also has made a variation in legal hunting practices over fields that have been top sown with wheat. Using Clemson Extension Service Guidelines, it is now possible to practice top sowing of wheat from Oct. 1 – Nov. 30 when spreading seed evenly on a well-prepared seed bed established by heavy tilling. Special spreading rates apply, and piling of seed can still result in a baited field, so be sure to check with your local Extension office about how to stay legal.

To read this article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries about dove hunting click on Opening Day for 2013, or 2012, or 2011, or 2010, or 2009.
For recipes click on Bacon-Wrapped Doves.

Folbot Float Trip - It's In The Bag

David Grubbs and Eric Thome

In searching out a small watercraft to enjoy on rivers and lakes, a modern kayak with a serious history is worthy of the spotlight. The Folbot kayak (pronounced Full Boat) is a foldable kayak that fits in a backpack style bag for transport when not in use. A visit to the Folbot warehouse in Charleston, their home since 1953,  gave a unique look into their current operations before we splashed a Folbot at a nearby kayak access ramp on the Ashley River.

Vintage Folbot float book

Grubbs digs in while paddling in the Ashley River

Jack Kissner founded Folbot boast just over 80 years ago in England. Kissner moved the Folbot operation to New York City in 1935 to tap the American market, eventually settling into Charleston, S.C. in 1953. The company changed owners a few times since the 1980’s with Eric Thome and Scott Peckham purchasing Folbot in 2012. Presently, Folbot is offering nine different models of foldable kayak in nine different colors.

Versatility is what sets Folbot apart, since the boat actually fits in the trunk of your car. No SUV, no pick-up, no roof racks – No Problem here. Summer intern David Grubbs, a local High School student, helped Thome and I load up three Folbots in the back of a Mercedes wagon. After a short drive to a public kayak landing in Charleston County I witnessed the assembly of the 13-foot Sporting Life model.

            

“The average set up time for the Folbot is right around 20-minutes,” said Thome. The backpack was brought down to the floating dock where all the parts were emptied onto the flat surface next to the kayak ramp. “In the backpack, the Sporting Like model weighs about 39-pounds. This water repellant skin on this model features Realtree Max-4 camouflage, which is our latest offering for those who like to fish or to hunt out of their kayak.”

It’s ironic that the vintage Folbot book includes a passage on page 167 about ‘Swift Folbot Waters in Carolina’ and mentions the saltwater marshes of the Ashley River. So with one eye on the past, and the other on new experiences I paddled the Folbot upriver and found it to be comfortable, easy to maneuver and fishable. In order to learn how to Unfold New Adventure on the water visit the Internet at Folbot.

How 'bout some Behind The Scenes action

To view the entire feature article click on All At Sea.

To view past blog entries about kayak fishing click How To or Forgotten Coast or Beaufort Blueways or Edisto River Flow or Tarpon Lodge.

 

NRA Sporting Arms Museum thrives in First Year

Sporting Art is also present in the NRA museum

The history of sporting arms and a huge display of firearms can now be found in Springfield, Missouri at the National Rifle Association National Sporting Arms Museum. The museum opened in August of 2013 in the flagship store for Bass Pro Shops, the hometown of Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris who offered to house the museum in the heartland. With the goal of bringing this history of firearms to a wider audience, nearly 500-thousand toured the museum by its first anniversary.

Making my first ever visit to Missouri in June allowed me the chance to visit with media fiends at the flagship store for Bass Pro Shops. The store is an astonishing 500,000-square feet in size, and still growing with plans to add other museums for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy. This store is centrally located in the Midwest and boasts four million visitors annually, making it an ideal location for the NRA museum.

            

Bass Pro’s Morris visited the NRA’s National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia more that ten years ago and wanted to bring the artistry and history of these sporting arms back to his home in Missouri. From that point the idea of sharing resources began to grow and soon some private gun collectors saw this new 7500-square feet museum as the only place that was the correct fit for their guns to appear.

            
Admission to the museum is free, and a self-guided tour is available or docents are always on hand to walk you through the timeline of American sporting arms. My guide was a retired gent named Stoney Roberts who shared that the museum was founded in the name of hunting conservation and freedom. More than a few quotes were highlighted at the entrance including Thomas Jefferson’s “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance,” and N.C.’s Horace Kephart wrote “In the school of the woods there is no graduation day,” which had particular meaning for me.

Near the end of the museum is a special section dedicated to President Theodore Roosevelt. A document on display there from Roosevelt is dated Feb. 17, 1907 and reads “I am so heartily interested in the success of the National Rifle Association of America that I take pleasure in sending you herewith my check for $25 for life membership therein.”

Established in 1871 the NRA is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group, and this partnership with Bass Pro Shops expands their role as the leading firearm educator for the general public.

To view this feature article in the newspaper click on Charleston Mercury.

Bass Pro Shops founded in Springfield, Missouri

Bass Pro Shops Flagship store entrance in Springfield, Missouri

A chance to visit media friends in June at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri proved to be the catalyst for learning more about the sporting goods store with a focus on the outdoors and conservation. The Springfield Bass Pro Shops store is the original retail location opened in 1981 and proudly remains their flagship store dubbed the Granddaddy of all Outdoor Stores. This location has become a tourist destination for the Midwest and attracts about four million visitors annually to view the boats, wildlife taxidermy, guns and fish tanks.

            

My visit began at the corporate home base for Bass Pro Shops, which is an entirely different location capable of handling the business concerning all of the Bass Pro chain stores. I found their headquarters to be a friendly place with the same commitment to wildlife taxidermy and a respect for the outdoors that can be found at retail locations. A large black cloud and a downpour of rain initiated me into the wild world of weather that can be found in Missouri but I was made to feel welcome to wait out the storm, including a bite of lunch in the corporate cafeteria.

Speaking with store manager Aaron Schroeter he told me that they have seven over-sized fish aquariums in the store, and several locations where customers can make a photo souvenir, including with a bronze whitetail sculpture that is 20-feet tall. Conservation exhibits include the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum and the Archery Hall of Fame. Currently there is one Bass Pro store in South Carolina at Myrtle Beach, but two new stores are planned for 2015 in North Charleston and in Greenville.

I first met Johnny Morris in 2012 when he visited Hilton Head to receive a conservation award from the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, which includes SCDNR. Morris has the ability to hunt and fish all the time now, but he still takes time to give back by supporting conservation groups like AFWA. More currently Morris has helped raise awareness for the need of saltwater regulatory reform in D.C. by working with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. Also, Morris was recently appointed to the Board of Wetlands America Trust, the land conservation arm of Ducks Unlimited.

            

My visit to the Springfield store helped to reveal that Bass Pro Shops is a leader not only in retail, but also in a commitment to portray our outdoor heritage in a positive light. Saltwater fishing is how I forged such a strong connection to the outdoors, and a similar love of fishing helped Morris to forge the beginnings of Bass Pro Shops. Simple things like bait and tackle will always help anglers and sportsmen connect to nature, which is an important step along the outdoors trail and towards the conservation of our natural resources.

To view this feature story in the newspaper click Colletonian.

Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Report - 8/5/2014

Fishing Report for the Coastal Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Two Kings come to the scales at the
2013 Fishing For Miracles Tourney

Inshore: Scott Hammond at Haddrell's Point West shares that the silver king reigns in August! Yep, tarpon have begun to show up in good numbers recently and have been taking large live mullet, live menhaden, and cut baits fished around the tips of the jetties and around our inlets. Bull reds continue to provide solid action around the grillage and jetties as well, with numbers of Spanish holding just out side the jetties and inlets on the tidelines as well. Early mornings have produced some solid topwater action on trout and reds in the river, and some BIG flounder have hit the scales recently as big as 9lbs that were caught along rock piles on live minnows, live mullet, and jerkshads. For the latest seminar information visit the Internet at Haddrell's Point.

Offshore: Scott says while Red Snapper season was a huge success with some huge ARS being caught, just beacause Red Snapper are closed again does not mean that there is not still some excellent bottom fishing to be had. Solid numbers of grouper in 100ft have been found on live baits as well as butterfly style jigs and vermillions have been numerous in 80-90ft on squid and cigar minnows. The trolling side of things is still producing a handful of mid-sized wahoo along the ledge with the scattered dolphin thrown in the mix. Sailfish have been a little hit and miss, with the better reports coming from 350-450ft.

Recent tournament coverage includes the 20th Charleston Harbor Tarpon Release Tourney and the Edisto Governor's Cup Billfish Tourney.

To view past Lowcountry Saltwater Fishing Reports click here.

2014 Chas. Harbor Tarpon Release Tourney - Winner!

Organizer Cantey Smith, Winning angler Matt Bachinski,
and Captain J.R. Waits

Angler Matt Bachinski and tarpon

The 20th Annual Charleston Harbor Tarpon Release Tourney is one of the longest-running tarpon events along the East Coast. Organizer Cantey Smith picks a date in July that will coincide with a favorable tide and moon phase that is conducive to tarpon fishing. The initial tourney date was July 5 and the weather conspired to make a rough ocean that kept some boats in port but all but assured that no one would catch and release a tarpon. Smith scheduled a second date for July 20 and a fleet of 52-anglers strong set out in search of the silver king in order to produce a tourney winner. The only tarpon catch and release that day belonged to angler Matt Bachinski fishing with Captain J.R. Waits and angler Bill Browne. Despite a two-hour search for the right bait, which included dodging some thunder storms, Waits had his crew in the right place at the right time. This year's award is a handsome wood carving, something unique for the winning angler to cherish from this memorable fish fight.

To view past entries about the Chas. Harbor Tarpon Release tourney click 2013, or 2012, or 2011, or 2010, or 2009.

Gearing Up for Hunting Season with ACE, Drake, and Snakes

Moultrie Game Cameras are hot item for hunters

Don’t miss out on the bargains offered for Hunter’s Day Out at Westbury ACE Hardware. Their store on Bell’s Highway in Walterboro is having their annual hunting sales event on August 2, with t-shirt giveaways and lots of vendor demonstrations. There’s always a learning curve when it comes to this year’s deer gear, so Hunter’s Day Out offers the perfect time and place to gather that info.

            

New this year will be a live radio broadcast from 10 until noon location with I93.7 FM in Walterboro. Morning radio broadcaster Miles Crosby will be chatting live with VIP’s about his life long experience in the hunting woods. Don’t forget you can listen to the Lowcountry Outdoors on the radio every Wednesday morning with Uncle Miles at 7:40 when writer Jeff Dennis shares what is making headlines in the Outdoor Sports section of The Colletonian.

Human scent can squash a hunter’s chances quicker than you can say - I got snorted! Putting boots on the ground goes without saying, whether it’s putting up a deer stand or simply scouting out a deer trail. Scent control products and snake boots are just two of the essentials that Westbury will have on hand.

            

Waterproof and snakeproof boots

Deer hunting ladder stands and climbing stands are available at Westbury’s along with the camo burlap that is required to hide them from the wary eyes of deer. Leafy camo jackets and pants are in stock, or go with some of the many styles of Drake Camo that are in stock, including camo hats and visors to complete your hunting gear or simply just get outfitted for your lifestyle.

            

Trail cams and game cameras will make improvements each year so the 2014 Moultrie cameras and feeders will be on sale. Hunter’s Day Out specials on cobb corn and shelled corn mean that you can get the deer checking out your hunting property just in time for opening day of August 15. For all the season Rules for 2014 - 2015 check in with the SCDNR Regulations.

To view this feature story in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries from ACE hardware click on Eddie Salter.