1/4/07

2007:The New Years outdoors resolutions
By Terry Madewell

Try as hard as we may, there’s no way to get it all done. Specifically I’m referring to all the diverse outdoor recreation opportunities we have here in the Clarendon County area … and throughout the Palmetto State. I know I can never do it all ... but I do love to try. And to that end, I resolve to do a better job of planning my fishing and hunting trips this year to help me get in as much as possible.

My plan of attack is to look at things on a monthly basis. I’ll make a list, check it twice, and resolve to do it, regardless of price. Well, maybe cost will factor in a wee bit.

To begin with in January, I hereby resolve at least to try real hard to...

•Catch a mess of blue catfish from Lake Marion.
•Do some post-season deer scouting. By learning where the bucks are in early January, it may help me figure where they are in late December next season when they’re hard to find.
•Get in on some of the live-bait, big bass fishing that goes on in Lake Marion. Every year I hear (and write about) these guys catching huge largemouth on live bait.
•Go to the coast and gather oysters and fish for redfish.
•Go squirrel hunting.
•Look for turkey sign while I’m saying I’m squirrel hunting.
In February, I will …
•Get in some late-season quail hunting and watch a good dog do what it’s born to do.
•Go trolling for crappie at Lake Wateree. This lake produces excellent cold-weather crappie fishing along the deep ledges.
•Troll for stripers in the large creeks around Lake Marion. Deep-diving plugs in 15-20 feet of water is a good way to begin.
•Drift-fish the mouths of creeks in Lake Marion for crappie.
•Go hunting for whatever small game is in season while scouting for turkeys.
When March comes ‘round, I resolve to …
•Slow-roll a big spinner bait at Lake Murray around the weed beds and get my fishing string stretched.
•Find crappie in shallow water on Lakes Marion using small jigs on a fly rod.
•Take long, early-morning walks to enjoy the spring weather. These walks will take place in wooded areas where turkeys are known to frequent.
•Hunt turkeys in the low country beginning March 15.
In April, my goal will be to …
•Go turkey hunting as many times as humanly possible.
•Think about bass, striper, catfish and crappie fishing.
In May, I will …
•Recover from turkey season by going bass and crappie fishing while thinking about turkeys.
•Go flounder gigging at the coast on the dark of the moon.
•Catch some big, bull bream on the beds on the full moon period.
•Catch some stripers in the upper part of Lake Marion.
When June comes, I promise to …
• Go fly rod bugging for bass and bream in the upper end of the upper lake. Take some crickets just in case. Maybe tote a top water plug as well and perhaps a plastic worm. And maybe a spinner bait ... just in case the bass bite is on.
•Start catfishing again on lakes Marion and Moultrie.
•Go top water largemouth bass fishing at night with musky-sized Jitterbugs. Specifically on a couple of special farm ponds that have some BIG bass.
•Fish the Santee River for catfish.
In July, I will …
•Fly fish the rock bluffs in the lower end of Lake Wateree. Bream, bass and occasional striper will bite.
•Fish for crappie at night under the lanterns or lights. It’s a great way to beat the heat and catch lots of fish.
•Begin scouting and checking deer stands … despite the heat and humidity.
•Spend a few days at the beach just enjoying the beach, fishing, shelling swimming, etc.
In the heat of August, I resolve to …
•Go to the mountains in North Carolina and beat the heat. Maybe find a few rubies and sapphires and trout fish the creeks with fly rods. Then fish stocked ponds with corn if necessary if hungry for trout.
•Fish more at night for bass, crappie and catfish.
•Think about and feel sorry for those planning to open the deer season on a hot, muggy, mosquito infested morning about the middle of the month while I’m “comfortably” fishing in mid-afternoon on a 98-degree day with a wet towel on my head.
Glad that fall is coming, in September I resolve to …
•Enjoy shrimp season. I can only hope we have a year as good as we had in 2006.
•Go flounder gigging (when not shrimping) and crabbing along the coast.
•See if I can find a redfish or two willing to bite.
•Look for those big flatheads in Lake Marion. One of the best months of the year.
In October, I will …
•Get serious about deer hunting and start climbing some trees ... it’s rutting season by the middle to late in the month.
•Spend a few days in the low country with my buddy and catch shrimp by night, kill deer by evening and catch fish by day. There will be no time for sleep – none needed.
•Repeat the above.
When it is November, I plan to …
•Cash in on the excellent striper fishing on lakes Marion and Moultrie. Top water lure time.
•Catch catfish when the stripers aren’t biting. Catch bass all month.
•Hunt the rut. Usually early in the month is a prime time for deer hunting and big-racked bucks that are normally nocturnal.
•Enjoy fishing for speckled trout; it’s red-hot action at this time of the year.
•Have a family Thanksgiving feast.
And in December, I resolve to …
•Hunt the clear-cuts on cold mornings for that big buck.
•Get the first load of oysters from the coast right after Christmas.
•Enjoy some great redfish action in very shallow water on artificial lures.
•Celebrate Christmas with the family and look back on the year to see what’s been accomplished. And figure out how I can do even more in 2008.

On a final note, let me add to my resolutions to be aware of others more during this coming year. I will remember friends and new acquaintances in a positive manner.

I am sorrowed by the loss of a couple of outdoor friends, but I will cherish their memory and will try hard to bust a gobbler in honor of one of them.

I will be a bit more patient with others; I will listen more and talk less; I will stand firm on the values of America, the core values that make us a United States. I will be daily thankful for those in uniform who defend us every day.

And I will thank the Lord above daily for his greatest gift of all to us, the gift of Jesus that we’ve been celebrating for the past few weeks during the Christmas season, and attempt to better live in that celebration all year.

My best regards and wishes to you in the coming year. Enjoy and appreciate what we have.