Wilson Post Blogs

By JOHN L. SLOAN
With the muzzle loading season just about to open, this Saturday in fact and it runs through November 18, I started thinking about some things most deer hunters should know. With an archery season full of opportunities mostly under our belts and now all sorts of options with firearms approaching, here are about a dozen little facts about deer all deer hunters should know. These are facts, scientifically based facts, not myths. See how you do.

You know of course, 20-25 percent of twin fawns have different fathers. Maybe that accounts for more than one buck following a doe even if she is with another buck. Sometimes the bucks are together and sometimes they are separated by several seconds or even minutes. Might make you want to hold off on shooting that first buck. Might also make you want to sit very still if you pop that doe. Best deer decoy in the world is a freshly killed doe. But you knew that.

During their entire life, most bucks sire less than five fawns that survive to six months of age. They fall to disease, predators, cars, and of course, hunters. Think about that. Fewer than five fawns per buck make it to a year old. Hard to fathom is it not?

How many spots do you think the average fawn has? Now I don’t know how many fawns some poor grad student somewhere had to count but the average they came up with was 300. Yep, 300 white spots on the average fawn. Why is this important? You may be on Jeopardy some day.

When is a fawn old enough to have a chance against a hungry coyote? Contrary to the belief of many, fawns do have a scent when born. They can be smelled. However, they spend most of their time separated from mom, I suppose to avoid compounding the scent problem. So what happens when a yote or a loose dog comes along? A few days after birth, a fawn can outrun a man. However, it takes a good six weeks to escape a predator.

Know what bio-stimulating means? It means to stimulate life. We hunters refer to it as the rut.

Most of us figure it is the doe that gets things started and she might. However, buck pheromones left at rubs and scrapes and licking branches may be bio stimulating and have a trigger effect on the rut.

See few rubs in your hunting area but know you have a few young bucks? Reason is an area with more mature bucks will have up to 10 times as many rubs as an area with few or no mature bucks. How old is a mature buck? For general purposes, most of us agree anything over 3.5 years is considered mature. Not a lot of them around most places. Therefore, if you see a lot of rubs, you may wish to rethink your hunting strategy. May want to hold out for the old one. Of course, you do know they are much harder to kill. That is how they got mature.

A mature buck will make 85% more scrapes than a yearling and 50% more rubs. However, don’t let lots of scrapes fool you. They are not very valuable in terms of killing a mature buck. Scrapes are badly misunderstood in terms of usage and hunting tactics. They are good for gathering information but don’t amount to much in terms of killing a mature buck.

Bucks of all ages use scrapes and many individual bucks may use the same scrape. However, they are not used as many think. They have little to do with breeding. The doe does not come along, urinate in the scrape and then walk off to later be followed by the buck and bred. She may well urinate in the scrape though I have never seen one do so. But it is not to attract a buck. Scrapes are communal information centers. I like to compare them to message boards at a local store.

You may find an active scrape, one worked by several individuals, male and female, any time of the year. When I was fooling around with mock scrapes, I often started them during spring turkey season and I used nothing but my own urine. It worked well on several scrapes as long as I had the right location and a good licking branch hanging down.

Human urine works every bit as well as the most expensive bottled product. It is a lot cheaper, easier to carry and easier to refill. No, I’m not kidding. It is about all I have used for over 25 years.

The problem with keying on a scrape to try to kill a buck is that 85% of all scraping activity occurs at night. If we are to be legal, we do not hunt at night.

I might as well drop a little more factual info on you in regards to scrapes. There is no such thing as a scrape line. At least, not as we think of one. You may find scrapes in a line but most of the time; they are made by several different bucks and tended by several different bucks.

The old thinking that one buck came along and made a line of scrapes is myth. Of course, you know does make scrapes, too.

I’m sure you also know that antlers can grow up to one inch a day during formation. In addition, if you get a piece of a pedicel imbedded in another part of the body, an antler may form there, too. The pedicel is the base upon which the antler grows.

All of this is fact, hard, proven fact. It may or may not help you but it sure will not hurt you to know it. There are a lot of myths in deer hunting. Many of them started by someone with something to sell.

Remember, our muzzle-loading season opens Saturday, Nov. 5 and runs through Nov. 18. No break this year. The limit is three does per day and one buck per day, no more than three for the

Contact Sloan at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I hope you all survived Halloween and all the “Trick-or-Treaters” who came to visit.  This year my daughter was a witch and my son decided to be Spiderman.  Halloween ranks second on their list of favorite holidays.  (Christmas is hard to knock out of first place!)  They love to dress up and of course the candy, candy, candy!  I could personally do without all the extra candy in the house because it calls my name when no one else is around… 

Speaking of calls, I’ve decided to write this week about bird talk or in other words, what a birds call sounds like in English.  I’m always impressed when I am birding with Ray because he can hear a call and tell me what type of bird we are looking for. Ray calls this “birding by ear.”  Please keep in mind that all of these can be “translated” in several ways.  The books and our Bird Guru, Ray, make it seem very easy to pick up on, but I can assure you it takes an open mind and a bit of imagination to pull the English out of a call, so I wish you all luck and hope that you will find this useful.

I hope all of you are enjoying this fall weather. Our birds are making preparations for winter, so I thought it might be a good time to share with you some ideas for making bird treats for our feathered friends during the cooler months.  Many different types of treats can be made at home for little money versus store bought treats which can be very costly!  My children love to help make a few of these and they get so excited when the birds come to enjoy their creations.

One of the feeders I use in the winter was made by my husband out of an 8” piece of log.  He drilled half-inch-to-one-inch holes into the log and added a small eye-hook to hang it with.  My kids and I fill the holes with peanut butter and unsalted nuts. This is a huge hit with the woodpeckers.  My kids also love to hunt for pine cones in the fall. We fill in the cracks with peanut butter and roll them in bird seed.  Be sure to hang the pine cones with some strong string or fishing line otherwise the squirrels will run off with your treat!

While searching online, I found a recipe for “edible glue” which consists of 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup water, and 3 tbsp. corn syrup (add package of plain Knox gelatin for extra holding power if you need it).  To this you can add 4 cups of whatever your birds like most…unsalted nuts, raisins/fruit, bird seed, sunflower seeds, berries from your bushes, etc. You can form it into a shape or make squares to put in your suet feeders. 

You can also buy lard from your local grocery, melt it and add peanut butter, bread crumbs, bird seed and dried fruit. Then pour the mixture into an empty plastic cup. (Be sure to punch a small hole in the bottom of your cup and put a string through it so you can hang it when you are done.) If the lard is too soft you can add cornstarch, flour or gelatin to firm it up.  This one works best in the mid-to-late winter as warmer temps can make it very messy!

An easy way to make a garland is by using a thread or yarn with a needle and stringing bread, orange quarters, thick apple slices, cranberries, raisins, bananas, banana peppers, chili peppers or whatever else you can find. You can hang this garland on trees, shrubs, decks, etc.  (Chili peppers will not harm the birds and may actually deter your squirrels. Birds do not have the taste receptors we have, therefore the “heat” from the peppers does not bother them.)

If you are like me I often times have left over rice, beans, or pasta from dinner, as well as bread or crackers that have gone stale.  Spread the pasta, rice and beans out on the ground below the feeders for an occasional treat, and crumbling up the bread and crackers will make them last longer. Be sure that the rice is well cooked, because uncooked rice will swell in the bird’s bellies and can make them very ill. If you make popcorn that is unsalted you can also throw that out. Please be sure that whatever you give to our feathered friends contains little to NO salt!

I would like to again wish our friend and mentor, Ray, a speedy recovery.  We all wish you well and look forward to the day you can return to writing your articles. Until then, I would like to thank all of you for your patience and I hope that I have provided you with some useful information. 

By Karen Franklin

By JOHN L. SLOAN
It was a good summer. Hot but not so dry they could not find water. Browse was plentiful and nutritious. On the occasional cool, foggy mornings, they grazed late in the fields. Bucks still in velvet, joined fawns, does and even turkeys enjoying the taste of autumn and the dew on the grasses. In the afternoon, the does and fawns browsed and bedded in the field edges, fleeing only when approached too close. Summer was good and they entered the early fall fat and sleek.

As the first hints of the coming frosts and freezes tinged the mornings, the acorns began to fall. The trees, mostly red oak were scattered but the nuts were big and nutritious and they fed heavily on them. The odd persimmon held a bounty of fruit and they fed on those.

The velvet was now gone from their antlers and they played and sparred often as they moved in their bachelor groups. The does and fawns, now minus most of their spots, fed more widely separated. The does no longer had to watch every move the fawns made and the naturally curious female fawns began to be less trusting and now inherited some of the wariness of their brothers.

The deer moved through woods, tasting the fresh-fallen maple leaves, gold preferred over red and filled their paunches with greenbriar and honey suckle when they could not find acorns. They began to stay more in the woods while the turkeys still made their morning trips to the fields.

Now came the time of parting. The bachelor groups broke up and the dominant bucks began to range farther, not only in their summer territories but also into new territories.     That meant crossing more roads and not always making it safely across. It meant sometimes not so friendly encounters with other bucks. Not serious fighting yet however, behavior that is certainly more aggressive.

As the golden days of October, punctuated by brisk mornings and cold evenings began to change, so did the woods. Mother Nature began to change her clothes from summer to winter dress and so changed the deer herd.

I leave tomorrow for the long anticipated elk hunt in Colorado. Were I not going to the mountains, you can bet I would be somewhere in the deer woods here in Wilson County.

This is the most beautiful time of the year to be in the hardwoods. For we who call ourselves hunters, it may also be the most productive. Late October is my time of year.

We are three to four weeks ahead of the peak of our deer rut. The dynamics of the deer herd have changed. The bucks are at a time that I consider better than the rut. I call it the looking/seeking phase. The bucks are not yet actively chasing does but they are looking for them. They want to know where they will be and more importantly, they want to know where the older, more mature does will be. Those does will come into estrous first.

The smart hunter also wants to know this and now is the time he is most likely to have a chance at the not yet wary mature buck. Often it will be one has never seen before.

Once the guns begin to sound, the bucks will get sneaky and extra smart. Now…right now, is the time to ambush the calm, moving buck and on many days, mid-morning is the prime time to do just that.

Were I not chasing elk through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, you can bet that every morning around 10, I would still be in my treestand or in a good ground blind.

If that is, I still had any interest in killing a mature whitetail buck. So good luck to you, I have a plane to catch.

UPDATE -- Colorado trip canceled
In last week’s column, I wrote about my upcoming trip to Colorado to hunt elk. I have had to cancel that hunt. As bad as I hate to admit it, I am not physically able to handle that type of hunt.

I made the decision last week after a deer hunt here one morning. It was not a special hunt. So far this year I have killed three deer and gotten along just fine.

However, one day last week, after a couple hours in the stand, I climbed down and decided to take a short walk and just look around. It was nothing strenuous but I found I had to lie down for a few minutes before walking back to the truck.

That told me I have no business fooling around in the mountains chasing elk.

So, the Middle Tennessee deer had better watch out. I am getting serious about now.

Contact the author John L. Sloan at:
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By JOHN L. SLOAN
A Memory -- He is 75 yards out in the big meadow. He has been in the almost dry wallow for ten minutes with his harem of nearly a dozen cows gathered close by. I have tried everything from challenging bugles to plaintive cow calls. He has ignored them all with equal disdain. I cannot shoot 75-yards with the 65-pound Jennings. The camera clicks as he gathers his ladies and heads for Steamboat Springs.

Memories of an elk hunt.

I am going again. I am returning to the mountains. It won’t be long now and I’ll board the plane for Durango, Colorado. I’ll be met at the airport by Bo Pitman, a friend of many years with access to over 7,000 acres of private ranch that is loaded with elk. Robert Pitman, Bo’s father, age 75, will join us. He has not elk hunted in several years, either. Quite likely this will be his last hunt, too. Mostly he is just going for the company. Truth told, so am I.

Bo’s land is just outside Mancos, CO, halfway between Durango and Cortez. It is beautiful country. Robert, and I, despite various ages and infirmities believe we can handle it. The terrain and altitude are moderate and we are shooting rifles. For me, it will be aged and favorite Parker-Hale .308 with 150 grain, Winchester Supreme, silver tips or the venerable savage Model 99 with 165 grain ballistic tips. They are both tack drivers, plenty big enough for elk and I am ready.

Believe it or not, I still have some Hummers hitting the juice here at home. There has been at least one each day. I have been busy doing other things, so my next door neighbor's niece was able to help me refill the feeders. Peggy Carver, who lives next door, has a sister, Kinnie Long, whose daughter Kelly Long was more than happy to fill my Hummingbird feeders for me. I enjoy some of the neighborhood children taking an interest in my avian friends. Kelly is an 11-year-old student at Carroll Oakland Elementary School on Highway 231 and has a soft spot in her heart for our feathered friends.

Many thanks to Karen Franklin for taking time out of her busy schedule to write an article for me as I was out of town, visiting old friends up in Seymour, Indiana. Dotty Kim went up with me, and I believe she might have a touch of German in her as Dotty really enjoyed the Oktoberfest celebration there. We had ringside seats for the annual parade up the main street of the town. Right in the middle of the parade, there came these four dudes with Alpenhorns, the big long horns, maybe 15 feet long, you see in movies about the Alps. I didn't realize how such good sounds could come from something that I had feared since a little child. Anyway, I have to be different from everyone else, so as they got through playing in front of us, I holler out, "Ricola," like in the commercial. The gentleman on the left, hollered back, "who said that?" I held my hand up and said that it was me. He reached into his pocket and tossed me a Ricola. I guess he gets that a lot.

by Karen Franklin

Well, as I sit here and watch my hummingbirds fight over the feeder at my back kitchen window, I am reminded that their time here is limited. Especially since the weather has started to cool off a bit. I get amused watching them fight over the juice, not realizing they could all drink to their hearts content and I would refill it every time! One little female has even positioned herself on a branch right under the feeder so she can "protect" it. Unfortunately, she is greatly outnumbered and fighting a losing battle! While she is busy chasing off one "intruder" two or three more swoop in for a drink only to be replaced by more when she chases the next round away. I'm sure most of you are experiencing this same phenomenon at your house. My two young children keep asking me why they can't just share!

While I greatly enjoy the hummingbirds, I'm very excited by cooler temps and the return of our winter visitors. My children get so excited when they see the dark-eyed juncos have returned. They know winter and possible sledding opportunities are just around the corner. I personally look forward to seeing my White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers. About three years ago I had my first White-throated Sparrow show up. Last year I had three to four, plus their mates. Well, I assume it is the same one, plus friends. I wish I could band them to know for sure! I've only been graced with a single Yellow-rumped Warbler for the past two years. He is hard to miss with the bright yellow patch on his back above his tail. It is like he carries the sun around with him in the cold/cloudy winter months.

We get too many juncos to count… I think they like the safety of my raised/protected deck in the backyard. Anytime a threat comes near they all dart under the deck for safety and then slowly return when the coast is clear. I greatly enjoy “winter birding” because I can generally put out good seed and see a wide variety of feathered friends right outside my picture window. And if we get lucky with a good snowfall that number doubles or triples! Although I have lots of fun and gain a lot more from my actual birding trips with Ray, it is hard to beat sitting inside a warm house drinking coffee and enjoying the birds from the inside.

JOHN L. SLOAN
Not a tinge of color in the leaves or even much of a chill in the air. It is early October.

An occasional dove bombs the field and somewhere a dog is barking. Over 100 yards away, on the edge of the alfalfa, five bucks are browsing. Two are well deserving of an arrow and a place on my wall. Unfortunately, the arrow that scored was not mine but that of a friend, Bob Shebaylo, who I had placed in one of my stands. I knew I should have hunted that stand.

A huge misconception exists in the realm of deer hunting. Many believe that the only time a hunter can kill a monster trophy buck is during the rut. For us, that  would be mid-November. To subscribe to that theory is to overlook some of the best trophy hunting of the year.

No question about it, bucks may be more visible during the pre-rut and rut. They travel more and spend more daylight hours moving. They are more susceptible to the calls and scents and other gimmicks hunters use to coax one within range.

However, the early season provides a chance at a big buck a hunter can never get later in the year. It provides a shot at the unsuspecting buck, the less wary one, the one that is still, to some small degree, still in a pattern.

I am of the firm opinion mature bucks cannot be patterned. The reason for  that is simple. They have no pattern.  Mature bucks, those over 3.5 years of age follow no pattern 95% of the time. That leaves 5% of the time to pattern one and most of the time, when we try to do that, they pattern us first and avoid contact. There is an exception.

If done carefully and correctly, the hunter does have a chance. Careful observation of a buck during the late summer, just prior to the opening of the archery season can give us a glimmer.

This is best done by non-invasive scouting. That means staying out of their territory. No walking around scouting, leaving our scent in their dining room or bedroom.

A spotting scope mounted  on a car or truck window is my preferred method to scout and open crop fields are what I scout. I look for the buck I want. Usually, at that time of year, he will be in a bachelor group. That is good and bad. The good part is, you have a glimmer of knowledge as to  what order the bucks enter fields and travel. That allows you to be forewarned. The bad part is the number of eyes and noses is increased.

However, armed with some scouting information, i.e. where the bucks enter the field and in what order, the hunter can now place a stand well in advance of hunting it. That allows the deer to become accustomed to it.

Downside: The food source changes and they quit entering the field. That is my  forte. That is where I tend to shine. When it comes to hunting for a mature buck, for me, given the right circumstances, forget the fields and give me some oak trees.

My goal is to find an oak, preferably a white oak that is bearing mast and in a good location. I’ll hang a stand there and leave it alone. By doing my scouting for a food source instead of deer sign, I eliminate the chance of spooking the deer. How can I? I am doing my thing before he even knows he is going to be there. The first time I hunt that stand, providing I have timed it right, is the best chance I have of killing a mature buck.

One sweat-dripping hot morning in Alabama, I let six bucks walk past me before shooting the seventh. That deer was 5.5 years old and one of the biggest ever killed on that property. I had never been in the tree before other than to hang the stand. The deer were coming to a group of five oaks that were raining acorns.

It was cool and crisp, not frosty but a nice morning to be in the tree in Cheatham County. I hung the stand a week before. The fourth buck to come by was a dandy 10-pt by Cheatham County standards. For once, I actually hit where I was aiming and he went less than 100 yards.

Yes, the rut is a great time to hunt. However, for me, when it is bow season, I’ll take October.

Go climb a tree. The time is just right. Contact Sloan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By JOHN L. SLOAN
At 13, you can expect your first bow hunt to have some surprises. A big buck, still with velvet-covered antlers, 15-yards in front of you is not usually one of them. Then add having to hold your bow at full draw, waiting for a smaller buck to move and open up a shot at the vitals of the bigger buck and you have the makings of a story that make campfire rounds for many years.

Arial Pasionek is an eighth grader at Knox Doss Middle School in Hendersonville.

She has a cell phone and a boyfriend, Casey Neighbours who is also a hunter. However, maybe she is not your typical 8th grade girl. “I like to do all things outdoors.” Arial said, “I like hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, you know, outdoors things like that.

"When I am not hunting with my dad, Robert Pasionek or step-grandparents, James and Melissa Warren, I hunt with Casey and his dad Paul Neighbours. I also have one girl friend, Dawn Canterbury and her dad Trent is my dad, James’ best friend so I hunt with them a lot.”

Therefore, it happened that the Arial and dawn and their dads were hunting on Arial’s step-grandparents property, a piece of deer heaven near Lynnville, KY on the opening weekend of Kentucky’s deer archery season.

As is often the case with teenagers, the girls probably stayed up a tad late and as a result, could not wake up the next morning. They slept in and missed the morning hunt.

Trent Neighbours killed a doe and that got them wide-awake and ready to go get  the deer from the woods. It also got them amped for the afternoon hunt.

That afternoon, they decided Arial would hunt the “Middle Stand”.

“I wanted to hunt the “North Bottom” stand where we had pictures of deer from the trail cameras,” said Arial.  “Instead, my step-grandmother and I walked to the “Middle Stand” and we were drenched with sweat by the time we got there. It was so hot, 100 degrees and so humid and I was scared that might spook the deer.”

The Warren’s land has become a hunting paradise for the family and friends. Aerial, prior to killing the big buck has killed five other deer with a variety of equipment. Her first buck and doe were killed in October of 2009, with a shotgun and slug. Her second doe was killed with a TenPoint crossbow. Her second buck was killed with a .270 and then another doe with an AR-15. How is that for versatility when you are younger than 13? Obviously, that experience was to help as events played out that afternoon.

“For the first couple hours we just sat and sweated. I was about ready to take a short power nap when my step-grandmother whispered, ‘Buck, nice buck. You might want to shoot this one.’ I woke up fast.

“I saw he was a for sure,  shooter buck, still in velvet and I watched as he slowly made his way in range.

Then, I saw a second smaller buck, a four-pointer that I would not shoot.

“Just as the bigger buck got inside 15 yards where I felt confident could shoot him, the smaller buck got in the way. At last, I had a shot and I pulled my bow back and the smaller buck got his head in the way again, just covering the vitals. I had to stay at full draw for like 15-seconds but it was happening so fast, I didn’t really get nervous. Finally the smaller buck lowered his head and I shot.

“When I released the arrow, all I heard was a loud pop. I was so excited and so was my step-grandmother. We got out of the blind and started looking for blood but couldn’t find any even though it was a complete pass through shot. I tried to get a cell phone signal but we were too far back in the woods. We started walking to where everyone was supposed to meet. I and saw my dad heading for his truck. I signaled him that I had shot a deer and he started getting all excited. Finally, everyone gathered up and I learned that Dawn had shot a doe but could not find her. I was sad for her. I wish she had found her deer. She was both sad and mad.

“They had Max, the tracking dog with them so we went to look for my deer. I was starting to get worried but they all kept encouraging me. It was getting dark and when we put Max on the trail, he just took off and we could not keep up with him. We quickly lost him so we kept calling and looking. We heard a little rustle in the leaves and walked that way.

"I saw the white belly on my deer and knew it was he. I ran to him and held him up for everyone to see. They were all so happy and proud he was so big. He only went about 80 yards, we just couldn’t find him in the dark.

"I asked her how her friends at school felt about her hunting and her great buck. “The boys at school were mostly cool with my buck. The girls didn’t like it much. None of my female friends hunts except Dawn

Arial’s first buck with a bow is one any bowhunter would be proud to claim.

In fact, any deer killed with a bow is trophy in my opinion and I have hunted all across the U.S. and Canada and killed plenty of deer.

If Arial is any indication, the future of hunting is in good hands.

Contact John L. Sloan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By JOHN L. SLOAN
It was a beautiful morning. A typical late September morning if it isn’t one of those mornings with rain or blinding heat. The buck stood as if he was a statue or posing for a photo. In a way, I guess he was. The problem was he was standing with his butt facing me. Even with a crossbow, I will not take that shot. But I did…with my camera. And he just walked away. Oh well.

Our Tennessee bow season opens this Saturday. The limit is three does a day and one buck a day, not to exceed three for the entire year. Our deer population is in good shape and the rains have produced a good mast crop…at least they have where I have looked. I have found persimmons, paw-paws, acorns and plenty of green browse. The deer appear to be in good physical condition.

I am looking forward to hunting this year. As it has been for a few years, I will be shooting the TenPoint crossbow. It is an awesome piece of equipment and barring sticking an arrow in a tree instead of behind a deer’s shoulder, I feel confident. If I can get a good shot out to 40 yards, I should have freezer meat. I once shot a tree with my TenPoint and split it wide open.

Also as in past years, I shall not be too selective in what I shoot. Anything but a spotted fawn or a doe with a spotted fawn at her side is in trouble.

Note to readers: If you are having a deer problem, email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I’ll try to come help. The crossbow is legal and perfectly suited to shooting in populated areas. I need a couple for my freezer and have promised some meat to other folks. I believe my health will permit me to hunt several days this year.

I hung a stand just a few yards from where I shot the picture of the deer walking away and I put one of my hunters in that stand 10 days later, hoping for a better shot angle. He made the shot at 11:15 in the morning. I took that picture of the buck I saw at 11:25. That is about as close to patterning a mature buck as I have ever come. What is funny is it was a different buck. It was a kind of cool that morning. I also believe they came to the edge of that green field for the shade. Deer prefer it cool.

I recall a cool morning a few years ago when a friend of mine decided he would try to rattle one in. Knowing it would be in the mid-80’s by 10 a.m., I had my doubts about how effective rattling would be. It worked on a good buck.

Can we grow deer like that in Tennessee? You bet your bippy we can. Hunters killed some big deer last year. A lot of them. The three-buck limit combined with good conditions in the last year or so, have done much to allow some deer to reach that size.

However, the major factor is the selectivity of hunters. They are starting to learn, if they want to kill a wall-hanger, they need to let a little one walk. I have been saying that for a long time. I found an article I wrote in 1982, preaching just that. Let a young buck walk and shoot a doe.

Before you throw a hissy fit, you are right. I don’t practice what I preach. I no longer have the slobbering desire to kill a monster buck. As I said earlier, with two exceptions, I shoot whatever is legal and walks by.

So let us all hope for a cool, crisp morning this Saturday. Not a lot of chance of that happening but we can hope.

If the low temperature is below 70, I’ll go. I can hang in there until the sweat starts dripping off my nose. Eventually, the deer will move. I once killed a big buck in Kentucky at one something in the afternoon on a day when it was in the 90’s. I also killed one in Wilson County that I am sure was going to jump in a pond to cool off.

Wear a fall restraint device (safety belt) if you are hunting off the ground and check for ticks, chiggers and snakes. Hunt safe and good luck. If you kill one, send me a picture at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Good Luck.

Contact John L. Sloan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By JOHN L. SLOAN
Cool with no breeze. A light jacket is perfect and so is my cast. The devil horse, my old friend, the green and yellow one, nestles in tight against the grass. I let it sit until the ripples die down, then start it back toward the boat. Twitch-twitch-jerk stop. KaBloom! Fish on.

I guess the Higher Power decided to give me a break. For once, the fish measured-exactly 14-inches. In the box and back to work. Big Bird and I had the combination. For 90 minutes, we piddled and paddled around the weed beds on Old Hickory and were present for the Miracle of Misty Cove. Even the resident beaver approved. She came out of the big house on the ridge just long enough to slap the water and scare the bejeepers out of us. Someday I am going to blow that house up.

Ten of the 11 bass we caught on topwater lures were between 14 and 15 inches; all legal keepers and they were kept. Usually on Old Chickory, the bass are 13-inches and not legal. That is why it was a miracle. Talk about good eating size fish. It can only get slightly better.

And it did.

When the bass action stopped, we had some options. One option was to dig out the spoons and head for the top-secret hidey-hole that usually will produce a walleye or a sauger. That is what is slightly better eating than a bass of 14-inches.

Big Bird got the boat just right and I started fumbling around looking for a spoon. I knew I did not have a spoon but I figured if I fumbled enough, the Bird would offer me one.

Instead, he started catching fish. The first one in was a perfect walleye, just great eating size.

Then he put a sauger of the same size in the boat. That is when I spoke to him rather sharply about the silver spoon or lack thereof. Understanding as he is, he finally gave me one.

At 10 minutes past time for me to leave, we had exactly 10 bass, three walleye and three sauger in the box. The Bird allowed as how he did not want any of them. I did not try to change his mind. He had already given me a quart of his fantastic squash relish and I had visions of supper dancing in my head.

There is a trick to filleting walleye and sauger and it is hard to explain. Their rib cages contain a tremendous amount of meat and if you are careful, you can fillet out the rib cage and have meat in the amount of another fillet.

In mid-afternoon, after the fish had been on ice long enough to make the easy to fillet, I proceeded to put the knife to all the fish. What a small mountain of fillets. I set six aside for my supps.

You batter that delicate white meat differently. At least I do. I like a thin batter so I cut my cornmeal with flour about 60-40 in the cornmeal’s favor.

I dip the fillet in ice water and two beaten eggs and then shake it in the batter. Cooking oil in the fryer is at 375 and just a minute or two is all you want. Just get the batter golden brown and the fish starting to float.

Your tomatoes are sliced as is your onion and your French fries were salted while still hot and have drained on the paper towels.

Now all that is required is a big glass of tea and good helping of the squash relish. Talk about good eating!

Hard to beat fish and fixins if you know how to do the fixin.

And the fishin.

Contact John L. Sloan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it