Author: Troy Jackson

2017 Resolution Result – Traplines

Posted on by Troy Jackson

For this 2017 Resolution, I boldly offered up the following:

“To coincide with the beginning of trapping season in November I am going to kick off a multipart series of blog postings that I collectively refer to as ‘Traplines.’ And when I say ‘multipart series’, you don’t even know…”

While the original trapping blowout project did not materialize due to time constraints and a desire to do some further research, an abbreviated version continues with the weekly “Trapping Tuesday” pictures and postings which will run through the end of the month.

I’m going to have to give myself a thumbs up on this one, however. After all, the Tuesday blog (and Facebook) entries do indeed qualify as a “multipart series.” Nowhere near the collection of parts anticipated but a shout out to trapping to say the least. Heavy on nostalgia and family but those things are as important as any catches.

All told, the “Trapping Tuesday” posts will cover 13 weeks and feature over three dozen photos spanning 45 years on the trapline. A pretty solid look at three generations enjoying an often overlooked and less glamorous outdoor pastime when compared to the big business of hunting and fishing pursuits. But even 13 posts only scratch the surface when looking back over decades of stories and photos. Perhaps another time…

   

  

More Resolution results on the way, hope you’ll tune in for these brief bits of Cabin Fever relief. Talk to you later. Troy

Trapping Tuesday – 1978 Outfoxed & More

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Last Fall, during a visit with my folks, Dad produced a batch of outdoor pictures that included today’s shot. Many other gems were also included in the stack of pics which was quite a treat. I had long thought that I’d gathered all of the family outdoor pics from a collection of photo albums and random envelopes but as it turned out there were more treasures to be had.

For me, it’s cool enough that this shot displays a collection of fox pelts as that species was not a primary focus of Dad and Uncle Dick. Instead, it was coons, muskrat and beaver that were the main furbearers targeted. To me, it goes to show that my trapping mentors simply knew how to get it done regardless of the quarry they had in their sights.

But wait, there’s more to this classic shot.

Dad’s hat is also a neat bit of trapping nostalgia as the emblem represents a group known at The Fur Takers of America which was founded in 1968 according to their website. I recall going to a meeting or two with Dad in the 70s and believe I even had a membership card of some sort, perhaps the youngest member in the local chapter, sounds like a good story anyhow. I seem to recall meetings being held at the Galesburg Moose Lodge and at one point I believe Dad and my Uncle Dick filled the roles of Secretary and Vice President, respectively.

Another fun aspect of this picture relates to the location as that is still my Mom and Dad’s driveway all these years later, close to the end of that dead end street on the banks of good, old Cedar Fork. That classic wood panel station wagon has given way to a parade of vehicles over the years but I have to say that it is outstanding to find it inadvertently preserved in this bit of outdoor family history.

The backdrop also makes me wonder if we are looking at a piece of West Central Illinois meteorological legend. The note on the back of the photo simply states 1978 season which leads me to believe that this photo reflects the 1978-79 trapping calendar year as the season has typically spanned from November into January and even March depending on the species pursued. As such, the snowfall behind Dad quite likely is part of what a March 3, 2014 Galesburg Register Mail article noted in stating, “Set in the 1978-79 winter, Galesburg received 52.8 inches of total snowfall during the astrological winter.” A National Weather Service bit covering January 1979 entitled The Brutal Winter of 1978-79 also adds, “Besides being a month for record snow, January was also the coldest month ever in the Quad Cities. The average temperature for the month was only 6.3 F. The second coldest reading ever occurred on January 2, when the temperature dropped to 27 F below zero.”

And here we are, exactly 39 years removed from that record low and I now call the Quad Cities “home.”  Luckily, in 2018 we’re only looking at a forecast low of -12 F. Talk to you later. Troy

You Say You Want A Resolution

Posted on by Troy Jackson

Okay, so maybe you don’t really want a resolution, but as a committed outdoor blogger, I’m going to give you some. After all, this annual exercise (often in futility) is just too good to pass up. Here we go, for 2018…

Bass Break – Going to be tough to top 2017 in terms of my Top 5 weight of 26-13. Not to say that I’m not going to try, but it’s high time that I go back to my fishing roots and give some other species a shot.

Catch and Cook – A much younger generation dominates the fishing vlog landscape and I keep a watchful eye on a handful of them for entertainment and occasional enlightenment. One standby is something they call “Catch and Cook” videos. Now, I don’t know that I will necessarily go the whole video route but I do plan on keeping some fish with the intent of showing the kids the whole process from reeling ‘em in to chomping ‘em up. Been a lot of years, hope I still remember how to clean fish. Hey, Dad…

New IA H2O – Now that Iowa is only a handful of miles from home, I’ve taken to purchasing the non-resident license and trying to fool some Hawkeye State bass. My exclusive destination to date has been Scott County’s Lost Grove Lake but for 2018 I’ve got my eye set on a couple other spots to add to my list.

New Parks – Our family had a good time with several day trips to Illinois and Iowa parks in 2017 and I want to continue that trend in the New Year. There’s tons to choose from whether a few acres amid the urban setting of the Quad Cities or expanses that lie beyond the hustle and bustle of the city.

New Campground – While our normal stomping grounds of Little John Conservation Club or Lake Storey just outside Galesburg, IL are outstanding outdoor resources, I’m looking to expand our horizons and show the kids some new scenery. Once again, plenty of opportunities are available within close proximity which is cool as I hate wasting time sitting in a vehicle that could be better utilized getting some fresh air.

Definitely a family oriented slant on the 2018 outlook and that is the overall intent. I had an excellent 2017 on the water chasing my bass but admittedly got a little selfish and had more than a few “Dad can we go fishing?” requests that didn’t materialize. So here’s to getting better at fulfilling those wishes.

Stay tuned as the New Year gets underway for a look back at how I fared on my 2017 resolution list. Talk to you later. Troy

Trapping Tuesday – 2002 Routes, Records

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2002 wound up being a solid year on the trapline in terms of totals and variety as our haul featured more than just the standard coons, muskrats and beaver with a couple coyotes, double digit skunks, a mink and even a weasel. However, record keeping on the trapline often wound up being a bit unofficial as the seasons drew to a close. After the first couple weeks our group of trappers would split up and the trapline totals and reports would get a little more sporadic based on factors such as time, access and weather. Nothing overly inaccurate, maybe a coon or two here or there as the totals below show 120 coons while a write-up I did back in 2002 reported our total as 130+ along with 20 beaver versus 19 in the respective reports.

Of course, it was about much more than the numbers as we traversed old, familiar stomping grounds such as The Big Timber and Pat’s Creek. For many years we would split up with Uncle Dick and me hitting the former while Dad and Brent covered the latter location. We would then move onto a handful of Warren County locations collectively called Moore’s before meeting up to compare the hauls and pose for a group photo.

Richard, Troy, Terry and Brent Jackson with a 2002 day’s haul

We covered many miles over the years and I suspect Dad and Uncle Dick could probably cover the ground with their eyes closed. Well, except maybe for The World’s Most Dangerous Crossing, had to be on your toes for that spot. And those sort of memories are as much a part of the story as the fur. Many tales and many places that were entertainingly named by a couple outdoorsmen who knew it best.

Photo shoot at The Cemetery with 20+ pound coon, 47 and 39 pound beaver 

These shots from one of those spots, The Cemetery, during the 2002 season are particularly memorable as we racked up a new record for beaver catches including a couple that tipped the scales at 60 pounds, another at 47 pounds, two at 39 pounds and one at 34 pounds. In addition, we pondered whether or not we had set a family coon record with one coming in close to 24 pounds. Great catches that you don’t really want to have to haul too far along those trapline trails. Talk to you later. Troy

Outdoor Wish List #2 – 2 Boot Patches

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My Northerner boots definitely rank as unsung heroes among my fishing/outdoor gear. These typically unseen items rarely get any glory when snapping pics of the catch. After all, the standard pose presents the fish in proximity of the angler’s chest, right in front of my face in a lot of my old pictures or embarrassingly extended as far as the arm can reach towards the camera in some of the mainstream media (I quit doing that one a long time ago). And with the advent of the fishing selfie, well, there’s no way your boots are going to get in on the action.

Fortunately, a fair amount of my fishing has taken me off the beaten path on foot and made for some interesting photo shoots on the weedy bank of a pothole or from a foothold on the steep incline of a spoilbank with a camera propped up on some utility boxes. As such, it’s kind of fun looking back to find that my boots got to be included in the fishing album. Never thought about that aspect before as they are simply great boots, doing their job as they take a beating while keeping my feet warm and dry.

  

 

Every once in a while, those good old boots make it into the pic

Well, this pair has finally gave out in a couple spots making them a little leaky as I prowl around the bank or wade through early morning wet terrain. But with the combination of frugality, sentimentality and perhaps even a little superstition, new boots aren’t on the list. Instead, a couple patches and some gunk will suit me just fine.

Besides, things usually get a little deeper during fish stories than they do during the actual fishing, if you know what I mean. Talk to you later. Troy

Outdoor Wish List #3 – 3 Booyah Buzzbaits

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It’s awful tough to beat buzzbait bassing. So much so that it can be downright addicting. You know, one of those presentations that you keep using even though something else may be more of the ticket on a particular outing or particular part of the day.

You see, buzzbaits have a few things going for them that keep me reaching for one once the water warms and the bass take an interest in topwater baits.

Reason #1 – They’re fast. If I can get by with it, that’s the way I like to fish, cover a lot of water and target aggressive fish or trigger a reaction strike.

Reason #2 – They’re exciting. There’s nothing quite like a surface strike to get the blood pumping, wake you up from a brief, ill advised daydream or make you kick yourself for sneaking a glance at the target area for your next cast instead of focusing on the current one.

Reason #3 – The results can be big.

I guess that Reason #3 probably gets the nod as the favorite but the combination of these features make the buzzbait one of my favorite approaches from about April into October. And some days I stubbornly stick to buzzing these things around willing to wait on that one bite that makes the wait worthwhile.

 

A couple 2017 Booyah Bites – April 25 (left) and July 8 (right)

For 2017 I got several of those big bites among an overall productive buzzbait year of quality and quantity. Unfortunately, a pair of those big bites wound up costing me two of my Booyah Buzzbaits.

The first took me into a downed tree after the strike. In hindsight, I was pushing my luck in some heavy cover and actually saw this four to five pound fish break the surface over a submerged branch and smash my bait. However, I could not turn the large fish in time and down it went into the cover where I could feel it pull on occasion before the frayed line gave way.

A crushing blow at boatside was the last cast for this Booyah Buzzbait

The second lost fish hit within a few feet of the boat as shown in the snapshot above from the GoPro footage of the strike. Nothing I could do on this one in the same weight class as the previous fish. I actually saw this bass bulging the surface just before the strike and when it hit like a freight train it wound up beating my 12-pound mono. In a matter of a couple seconds I saw the bass, witnessed the strike, had my rod tip pulled under the surface and felt the snap of the line. It’s a pretty cool bit of footage and the snapshots are awesome in a disheartening sort of way. Yep, watched it more than a few times over the intervening months.

So, for Wish List item #2 I’m looking for two baits to replace the ones that were lost along with another spare as you can never have enough buzzbaits in your tacklebox. Talk to you later. Troy

Trapping Tuesday – 2007 Garb, Gear, Gals

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Me and Dad with Helena (left) and Carly (right), trapping prep 2007

With the introduction of kids/grandkids to the trapline beginning in the early 2000s, garb and gear saw some considerable changes from when me or my brother would have gotten to tag along in the 70s.

In terms of outdoor wear, camo has really become a moneymaker and our bank account was apparently a little lighter from the looks of these outdoor ladies. In addition, I’m thinking that the color pink hadn’t made too many appearances in our outdoor adventures either prior to these two and their cousin a few years earlier. You know, there’s been outdoorswomen forever but whoever came up with the pink camo style probably made a few dollars too. By comparison, us boys and Dad back in the day look to have worn whatever we had.

Tailgating trapline style

Dig the attire before head to toe camo became required

Modern day trapping kids at the age of my girls in today’s photos required a little more packing beyond a packbasket, hip boots and a can or two of soda.

We’re talking car seats, sippy cups, a diaper bag, juice boxes, snacks and healthy batch of good old hand sanitizer. I don’t even know if that latter hygiene item existed back in the days when a little dirt never hurt. Now that stuff is everywhere, somebody’s probably made a killing off of that fad too with scents, sparkles, fancy bottles and fancy things to put your fancy bottles in and attach to your backpack. I believe that stuff may eventually be the downfall of our kind as our immune systems wind up getting lazy.

Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away. After all, if you’d seen some of what has went down over the years with those trapping boxes the ladies are lounging on…well, perhaps a shot of sanitizer ain’t a bad idea before you dig into that bag of cookies. Talk to you later. Troy

Outdoor Wish List #4 – 4 4 Day Weekends

Posted on by Troy Jackson

You know, a weekend is just never enough time to get everything done or sufficiently put work on the back burner for a while. Seems like I’m always wishing I had one more day off as that impending Monday morning feeling begins to creep in again every Sunday afternoon. Forty plus hours of technology on the horizon, helping get four kids off to school for five mornings (Julie does most of the work), activities, homework, chores and all the rest that it takes to be a grownup kind of wears you out.

 

 

What’s needed is some extra fresh air to help recharge those batteries and what better way to do so than to extend your weekend?

Granted, even that takes some planning in order to swing it to coincide with the kids being out of school. After all, you don’t get vacation days as a kid during the school year and playing hookie is sometimes more trouble than its worth. Instead, we have to wait for holidays or the scheduled teacher institutes and such. There’s also the traditional summer break although that seems to get shorter all the time and lately we’ve had a fall break to go along with the spring break. At any rate, there should be some opportunities to work this thing into the schedule.

This year I even ventured out solo for a three day, two night camping/fishing trip via a four day weekend to coincide with this summer’s eclipse. That one didn’t quite work out as planned when torrential rains sent me packing after a roughly sixteen hour “vacation.” Here’s hoping for getting a better hand dealt to me from Mother Nature when it comes time to put this wish list item into action.

And, you know what would really be cool?

Anybody want four kids for four days? Talk to you later. Troy

Outdoor Wish List #5 – 5 Species

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On the heels of yesterday’s wish for the family to reel in some catfish, today this wannabe bass fisherman is expanding on the multispecies theme. While I did manage to land four different species in 2017, three of them were unintentional, simply “accidents” while bass fishing. In contrast, for 2018 I’m looking to pursue some other species on purpose.

While Jayce has caught his own bass, I always dug this pic of him admiring Uncle Dave Breuer’s catch

Kids are the prime motivation for this wish list item and for the most part, up to now, I’ve held the roles of baiter, caster and unhooker during our outings. Everybody continues to get a little bigger, much more proficient in their fishing skills and gradually more comfortable handling the catch. Therefore, it’s time for Dad to pick up one of the spare poles we always pack for those just in case situations and make it my own.

Carly holds the family title as the “Redear Queen”

Helena and the ever popular and cooperative bluegill

Jayce and his 2017 family record green sunfish

I’m sure that many of us anglers cut our fishing teeth on the more cooperative panfish type species and my crew is no exception. And neither am I, as the roots of all the fishing stuff you read on here were planted with an ultralight pole, a handful or grubs and spinners or something hung from a float. I like to refer to the approach as “Beetle Spins and Bobbers” and I look forward to throwing in this change of pace in the coming year.

Me, Zac and Dad with a bounty of farm pond crappie and bluegill

For many years, Dad and I have gotten a kick out of what we unofficially call “The Species Title” during our outings. Perhaps for 2018 I can make it official as our crew is certainly up for a little competition pretty much all the time. Boy, the wheels are turning, going to have to recruit Julie to put such a concept into action. I can create a lot of words in a hurry when putting together a blog posting but when it comes to something tangible, I defer to the arts and craft oriented parent. We’ll see…Talk to you later. Troy