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Lake Texoma Striper

Two Lake Texoma fishing legends, Bill Carey and his son Chris, showing off what will become the centerpiece of many tasty fish dinners.
Luke Clayton
Two Lake Texoma fishing legends, Bill Carey and his son Chris, showing off what will become the centerpiece of many tasty fish dinners.

This week, Luke talks striper fishing with Bill Carey with Striper Express (www.striperexpress.com) up on Lake Texoma. Luke also shares some tips on keeping safe from insects during the summer months. 

TAKE PRECAUTIONS IN THE OUTDOORS

by Luke Clayton

Folks that hunt with me will concur that I have a habit of ignoring smart precautionary measures to keep myself safe from critters in the outdoors. I’m not talking about ferocious wild boar or protective sow bear with cubs but rather insects that present a very real threat of doing bodily harm, and snakes!

A hog hunting trip a week ago with Larry Weishuhn is a good case in point. We were at our friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch, situated on the upper end of Lake Fork,  making ready for the evening hunt. As most hog hunters know, wild porkers this time of year spend midday in the shade, usually around water and become active just before dark, about the time mosquitoes begin to buzz.

Before heading out to hunt, I watched my buddy Jeff pack his Thermacell to use against mosquitoes in the blind he and Larry would be hunting from. I watched Larry spraying a heavy coat of Sawyer Permethrin insect repellant on his clothing a bit earlier in the afternoon. While assembling my gear for the afternoon hunt, I completely ignored what was to come with the setting of the sun; mosquitoes and probably lots of them.

Midsummer is also prime time for a heavy tick infestation and Lymes Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever are very real threats.   It’s not like this was my first rodeo. I’ve spent a lifetime in the outdoors. I was simply continuing with a bad habit I have developed through the years of not worrying about biting bugs until they began biting!  

I planned to hunt from the ground near a corn feeder and earlier in the day, set up a camp chair in a thick patch of woods oats, a plant that grows about 3 to 4 feet high. My ‘blind’ was situated about 25 yards from a creek. While setting up my hunting spot, I gave absolutely no thought to the hordes of mosquitoes that would be buzzing in the thick cover later in the day.

All settled in about an hour before dark, I was completely comfortable in my little chair, hoping to shoot a hog just before dark. The feeder was near the creek and the sign around the area looked like a hog feed lot. And then, about 30 minutes before dark, when I needed to remain perfectly still in anticipation of the hogs, clouds of mosquitoes moved into the dense vegetation around me. I was wearing a short sleeve camo shirt and was continually swatting mosquitoes that were hard at work on every inch of exposed skin on my body. It was virtually impossible to concentrate on hunting while being continually drilled by mosquitoes. To incoming hogs, I probably looked like the flagman at a racetrack!

Did I mention I was wearing low boots instead of high top boots that were snake proof? Oh, I had my snake boots back in the truck but after all, it was just too hot to wear them or so I thought. When I headed back to camp that evening, I encountered TWO water moccasins in the glow of my flashlight.  The next day, my arms were covered with mosquito bites as well as one really ugly bite that appeared to be from a spider.

As an outdoors writer the past three decades, I have tried to share good information that will make your outings more fun and safe but when it comes to protecting myself from the creepy crawlers in the woods, I haven’t always practiced what I preached. No more, I’ve turned over a new leaf… finally!

HOW I SHOULD HAVE PREPARED- In retrospect, I should have used some of Larry’s Sawyer Permethrin and giving my clothing and snake proof boots a heavy spray. Larry even sprays the inside of the bottom of his pant legs for added protection. It’s recommended to give clothing a good spray, allow it to dry and the clothes are bug proof for 6 washings. The repellant is proven effective for killing or repelling mosquitoes, spiders, chiggers, mites and over 55 other insects. Permethrin is the synthetic version of pyrethrum, a natural occurring insecticide in the Chrysanthemum flower.  Permethrin is also effective when used around campsites when sprayed on tents, sleeping bags, etc.

After doing a bit more research, I learned about Sawyer Picadidid, which can be applied directly to the skin via spray or lotion.  Picaridin is derived from piperine found in black pepper and is effective up to 14 hours against ticks, mosquitoes, biting flies, gnats, chiggers and sand fleas.

I could continue with a plethora of details about ways to keep yourself safe in the outdoors but suffice it to say I plan to have both these products from Sawyer in my day pack on future outings during warm weather months which, in our part of the country, constitutes much of the year.

When it comes to snakes, it’s always good council to wear snakeproof boots when heading out to the woods or fields. Granted, high topped boots are certainly not the coolest footwear during the summer months, but they are most definitely the safest.  Tracking game after dark that has been shot during the last few hours of legal shooting light is very common and through the years, I have had many encounters with snakes while following blood trails via a flashlight beam. I’ve also had some very close calls with snakes and on a couple of occasions, even stepped on them and once had a copperhead strike my boot. Fortunately I was wearing snake proof boots.

So, from now on, I vow to always ‘spray down’ or use a Thermacell or BOTH before venturing out on a warm weather hunt or creek fishing trip. And no more leaving those high topped snake proof boots in the truck simply because I think they are too hot. Better safe than sorry is my motto going forward. I hope you’ll take these tips to heart and keep yourself safe as well.

Contact Outdoors writer Luke Clayton via his website www.catfishradio.org Luke’s book, “Kill to Grill, the Ultimate Guide to hunting and cooking wild hogs” is available on the website.

As KETR Operations Manager, Kevin Jefferies is responsible for making sure you hear what you’re supposed to be hearing on FM 88.9 and ketr.org.
Outdoors writer/radio host/book author Luke Clayton has been addicted to everything outdoors related since his childhood when he grew up hunting and fishing in rural northeast Texas. Luke pens a weekly newspaper column that appears in 34 Texas newspapers and is Editor at Large for Extreme Hog Hunter Magazine, Bowhunting Adventures and East Texas Outdoors Magazine and field editor for Dallas Safari Club "Camp Talk" publication. Luke is on the pro staff of Mathews Bows, Smokin' Tex Electric Smokers, and GhostBlind. Follow his columns and listen to his weekly radio show throughout the year and you'll surely get exposed to many facets of the outdoor life.
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