New Year's resolutions are made to be broken, but a list of things of things to do in the outdoors in 2018 should be followed religiously.
Here are a few suggestions that veteran sportsmen and novices can enjoy.
• Fish a white bass run. White bass are abundant on many lakes, rivers and streams in Arkansas, and they will begin staging for their annual spawning migration late this month.
In late January and early February you can catch them in the headwaters of our major reservoirs. In February and March they concentrate in the skinny waters of the major tributaries. Places like the Big Maumelle River above Lake Maumelle, Vache Grasse Creek near Fort Smith and the Ouachita River above Lake Ouachita are great places to fish.
Use a light-action spinning outfit with a 1/16-ounce lead ball jig and a white, yellow or chartreuse curly-tail grub. You'll catch more if you add a dropper line and fish two grubs. Novices can do well with inline spinnerbaits like a Blue Fox, Vibrax, Panther Martin or Mepps.
• Catch a striper. Arkansas has some of the best inland striped bass fisheries in America, and some of the best fishing takes place from February through April. You can catch stripers from 20-50 pounds in lakes Hamilton, Ouachita, Norfork, Beaver and Bull Shoals, and also in the Arkansas River.
Right now, you can catch stripers on Lake Dardanelle near the warmwater discharge area at the Nuclear One power plant.
In early spring you can catch them in the headwaters of our major reservoirs. Stripers return to the big water in mid to late spring, and then you can catch them in the mornings and evenings on topwater baits.
Stripers are fun to catch with any method, but the sight of a big one blowing up on a topwater bait is one of the most thrilling things in freshwater fishing.
• Hunt a wild turkey. Of all the hunting available in Arkansas, none is more exciting than calling up a mature gobbler.
The hunt is part of a greater package. Spring turkey season starts in mid April when Arkansas's forests are at their prettiest. The weather is gentle, and the woods are alive with new life. A thunderous gobble is the sound of an Arkansas spring, and it will raise their hair on the back of your neck.
Calling up a strutting tom will make your heart beat faster than you think is possible.
We have a lot of public land in Arkansas that offers good turkey hunting, and now is a good time to learn the woods you plan to hunt. Novices and beginners might consider going with an experienced hunter for safety.
• Float-fish a smallmouth stream. Fishing from a canoe for smallmouth bass in a mountain stream is my favorite activity in the Natural State.
Like trout, smallmouth bass don't live in ugly places, and our mountain streams are incomparably beautiful.
Drifting in a canoe is at once relaxing, therapeutic and stimulating, and the power of a big smallmouth bass on light line is inspiring. In fact, there is a move afoot to have the smallmouth bass designated as our state fish.
Spring is a great time to go, but I prefer summer and fall. The rivers are low and the fish are aggressive.
This activity is best in the company of good friends. Make it a multi-day affair and camp on gravel bars. Take pride and leave the streams and gravel bars cleaner than you found them.
• Battle a largemouth. Arkansas' lakes and rivers are famous for largemouth bass fishing. Some require big boats, but some are small enough to enjoy from small boats and kayaks.
Three of my favorites are lakes Atkins (near Atkins), Huckleberry (north of London) and Lake Barnett (near Searcy). You can go anywhere on them with small boats and have a decent chance of catching bass from 5 pounds into double digits.
Big lakes such as Ouachita, Beaver and Bull Shoals have plenty of access points that allow you to fish quality areas in small boats, too.
• Catch a mess of crappie. Starting in March, crappie will start moving into shallow water to spawn. That's when they are easiest to find and catch, making it a great time for anglers of all skill levels.
Look for submerged bankside cover in sheltered coves with gravelly bottoms. You can catch fish all day moving from spot to spot with small marabou jigs or light lead jigs with small plastic swimbaits, tubes or curly-tail grubs.
Sports on 01/14/2018