Posts by Justin Raines
Small-Game Weapons For Wild Hogs On Mountain WMAs
Last fall, a rainstorm came that kept the pigs pinned to the same sorghum plot Jeff McCrackin had seen them in the day before. When he and his 8-year-old stepson Lane returned at daybreak, the field was still full of pork. They scanned the black pack of feeding squealers for a few minutes, passing over…
Read MoreLake Burton Full Moon Bull Bream
Each year, beneath the light of summer’s first full moon, huge honeycombs of saucer-shaped depressions appear in Lake Burton’s sandy shallows. These are the storied bluegill breeding grounds, and each bed is fiercely guarded by huge purple-browed papa bream that will attack anything that gets near their nests. Burton’s bream spawn lasts from May through…
Read MoreTennessee River Big, Mean, Ugly Blue Catfish
The first fish bit quickly, hitting the severed bream head soon after it struck bottom. A brief, drag-squealing battle ensued, but the feisty flathead was soon subdued, finding itself no match for a reel loaded with 40-lb. mono. The beast emerged from the green deeps, savage and primitive looking with mud-colored skin shimmering in the sun. It was a nice catfish, but mere small fry…
Read MoreBig Blue Catfish Of The Tennessee River
The first fish bit quickly, hitting the severed bream head soon after it struck bottom. A brief, drag-squealing battle ensued, but the feisty flathead was soon subdued, finding itself no match for a reel loaded with 40-lb. mono. The beast emerged from the green deeps, savage and primitive-looking with mud-colored skin shimmering in the sun.…
Read MoreGo Public For Late-Season Mountain Grouse
A cold front blew through the mountain forest, rippling the saplings in the old hardwood clearcut and shearing the last of summer’s leaves from the trees. On the other side of the ridge, just out of sight, Buck searched the wind for scents, his collar bell jingling closer as he nosed sticky blackberry thickets and…
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