Not all of us can afford or have the room for a glittery bass boat, johnboat, canoe or float tube to indulge in our fishing hobby. We fish from the bank. Although we may feel left behind on shore, bank anglers may have an advantage during the long, hot days of summer because the best time to fish for bass is night and the bank is the easiest place to night fish.

  Fishing from shore in the darkness is easier because an angler can concentrate on detecting strikes and catching fish, not boat positioning, kicking gear off the casting deck or stepping on an expensive fishing rod. The bank is also the most stable platform from which to fish.

  Plus, the fact that you must carry all of your gear forces you fish hard with what you have and not worry as much about lure colors or styles. If bass anglers spent more time fishing with lures instead of changing them, they would catch many more fish.

  There is likely a good night bass fishing spot just a short drive from your house. Smaller lakes are the easiest to fish for a shore-bound angler at night. Subdivision lakes are excellent places as are community park lakes. Some golf courses allow fishing on their lakes - and these lakes hold surprising numbers of fat largemouth bass. Workers usually mow the banks of golf course lakes, making these lakes easy to fish from the bank in the darkness. Farm ponds that hold largemouth bass are hard to beat at night.

  Many farms in Kentucky, especially in the western and southern parts of the state, have watershed lakes on them. The Natural Resources and Conservation Service built most these lakes decades ago to conserve topsoil and prevent flooding. You can find these lakes on topographic maps - just be sure to get the landowner’s permission to fish them.

  You can fit all of the lures you need for night fishing in a small tackle box, a soft sided pouch or a small paper bag. What should you use? Try 4-6 inch lizards in black, pumpkin or watermelon, 7-10 inch plastic worms colored black, purple or wine, a blue and black jig-and-pig combination and a black spinnerbait.

  Scout the lakes you plan to fish in the daytime to form your plan before you go. Bass locate in a few predictable areas in a small lake at night during the summer. You don’t need expensive electronic equipment to locate them.

  Weedlines, brush, rip-rap rock on the dam and fallen trees all hold bass at night. A black spinnerbait thumping along a weedline draws strikes. A large weightless plastic worm worked painfully slow in brush or amongst fallen tree branches is often rewarded with a sharp thump on the end of your line.

  A 1/8-ounce black and blue jig-and-pig crawled along the dam face among rip-rap rocks could produce a trophy largemouth bass. A lizard worked the same way also works well.

  Subdivision lakes usually have some lights around them for security or to illuminate a dock or marina. The circle of light is the place to cast. Lights draw insects, which in turn attract small bluegill and baitfish. Bass then move in to gorge themselves. You can spend an entire night fishing lighted areas and catch a dozen bass or more.

  You don’t need a boat or expensive equipment to enjoy excellent bass fishing. Throw a handful of lures in a small paper sack, stuff it in your back pocket and head for your nearest small lake when the sun goes down.

  Article is courtesy of the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources. Visit their site at www.fw.ky.gov to learn more about the great fishing and hunting opportunities that await you in Kentucky.
 

  2:00 AM… MICE!!!!

  Well, it was actually only one mouse (that I know of right now).

  I had previously caught a mouse several months ago but I hadn't gotten quite all of the tiny paper shreds out of my pantry. I had gotten rid of the food that he'd gotten into, so don't get me wrong, I did clean up. Recently I started noticing more little paper shreds as I moved some stuff around. I thought I had just missed it the last time I had cleaned, so I didn't think anything of it. Besides, I still had a sticky trap on the floor at the bottom of the pantry and surely that was enough to catch another mouse if there was one.

  When I opened the closet/cabinet in my bathroom the other day to get a new bar of soap I found shredded plastic, wrapping and foil. Yep, definitely have a mouse. So I went back through my pantry and cleaned out everything that wasn't in a can and threw away everything that had holes in it. It seemed like he was avoiding peanut butter products and going after my dry powder stuff (milkshake mixes, etc.).

  I decided to put all my food that was packaged in stuff that could be chewed through easily through into plastic containers (this fits in later, I promise). My mom tried to talk me out of it and said to just set some traps with peanut butter (yet this mouse hadn't gone for any of my peanut products). I bought some nice plastic six quart plastic totes with snap on lids at the local discount store and packed everything up.

  I had to go take care of some other things before I had time to set the traps, so I put it off. Besides, I still had the sticky trap, right?

  I'm sure glad I had gotten the plastic totes because later that evening I heard a noise that sounded like a mouse trying to chew through the plastic totes. So I snuck off of the couch as quietly as I could and went to get my bat. I raised it up like I was going to "swing away" and slowly stepped toward the kitchen. I was coming up with a plan to kill this mouse as quickly as I could. I switched on the kitchen light and throw open the pantry door and there he was, right between my two stacks of plastic shoe boxes full of food.

  He ran behind them as I poked my bat at him and I saw him drop to the other shelf. So I scared him down to the next level and then down to the floor behind some stuff. If he had ran out of the pantry I would have had to have been really fast and accurate with the bat. I have hunted mice with a bat before (one mouse at different times). Trust me, I have experience.

  Anyway, back to the mouse on the floor behind some stuff in the pantry. I tried to keep him trapped as best I could and moved the sticky trap over to where he was definitely going to run over it if he was able to slip through the cracks. I then pulled some stuff out of the way so I could see the floor in the corner.

  He popped his little head up on the edge of my box of trash bags and I poked my bat at him twice with some force but not enough to crush the box. He was jumping around trying to avoid my deadly weapon and made it onto the top of the box only to fall off onto the sticky trap!

  The sticky trap wins again!!

  I was so excited I literally started jumping up and down saying, "I caught the mouse! I caught the mouse!" and laughing as he struggled to get off the sticky pad. Although it was raining outside, I happily got my camouflage rain jacket on and took the little sucker to the dumpster.

  I know this is not your normal hunting story, but the thrill of succeeding in catching a mouse (whether with a bat, a sticky trap, or a bb gun) provides some excitement during the off-season.

  Written By: Julie Funkhouser of Weatherford, Oklahoma.

   Here’s Polly Wog Deb’s method of cleaning small game birds like doves, quail and chukars.

  1) Lay the bird on its back, pinch up a small bit of abdominal skin, an inch or so long, then snip through it with knife or scissors - do not cut the meat.

  2) Grasp the right and left ends of the slit skin, and pull it upward and outward: skin will separate from the breast.

  3) With sharp knife or good strong scissors, clip the top connections of breast to body. Then grasp sternum with one hand, body with other, and pull sternum firmly downward. The breast will separate, whole, from the body.

  4) Rinse any stray feathers, entrails, etc. from breast; then freeze, fillet, or otherwise prepare.

  Even though many folk consider small game bird legs useless for "eating", great stock can be made from them. Simply remove leg feathers and skin by pulling it off, scrub the feet (the feet give great flavor and body, just be sure they are clean!), and use one quart of water for every 2 pair of legs/feet. If you like, you may snap the legs in varying areas, exposing more of the marrow and cartilage.

  Make slow-simmer stock as you normally would: with some garlic, onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, tough veggie trimmings, or what-have-you. You may then reduce, freeze, can, or otherwise preserve for use when you want it.

  Even plain water stock is fine, if you have nothing else to add. Just get that good flavor, body, and nutrition into the stock. You can always add the other ingredients when you have them.

  Slow simmer stock can be used for soup base, gravy, sauces, liquid in dumplings or anything else you can dream up. – Polly Wog Deb.