GRAPES TO ATTRACT DEER AND MUZZLELOADER ADVANCEMENTS
With the recent blast of arctic air, Ole’ Luke has been sticking pretty much indoors the past week but part of that ‘indoor’ time was spent at the recent Dallas Safari Club Convention in Dallas where I once again had the opportunity to visit with many old friends and make some new ones. This is the time of year when I spend time researching what’s new in the outdoors and make plans to put the latest and greatest innovations to use in the field and on the water.
I’m always looking for ways to make my deer hunting more fun and successful. I’ve known for years that deer love grapes. They browse heavily on wild grapes, and every grape vineyard I’ve visited in deer country was surrounded by a deer-proof fence. There are a few exceptions, especially in California wine country, on a few vineyards where the owners book hunts for trophy black tail deer that browse on the grape leaves and ripe grapes.
My good friend Larry Weishuhn, aka “Mr. Whitetail”, shot a fine buck at Steinbeck Vineyards in Paso Robles, California this past fall. Larry told me the vineyard owners leave their operation unfenced, and the smell of the grapes attract deer from the adjacent hills in large numbers. I assume the revenue generated from hunting more than makes up for the loss incurred by the deer herd. I’ve watched deer browse on both the fruit and leaf of muscadine and mustang grapes on many occasions. Granted, the fruit stage doesn’t last long, but deer are very much attracted to the smell and flavor of grapes of any variety.
Paul Moore of Nacogdoches has also known for years that deer are attracted to grapes, and several years ago, he went to work on a system to convert large volumes of grape hulls from vineyards into a product he could use as a very effective deer attractant. The challenge was how to effectively dry the grape hulls. Paul tried electric driers, but none served his purpose of drying hundreds of pounds of hulls. He finally discovered that during the warm weather months, when grapes are harvested, sun drying is the very best way to achieve his purpose. He constructed large drying racks and let Mother Nature do her thing. With the use of a hammer mill, he transforms the dried hulls into granular form that mixes well with chopped grain. His attractant, Vinyard Max, is now available both online and at select retailers.
I have a few bags of this innovative product and plan to put it to use out in west Texas on a management deer hunt in a couple weeks. I have a feeling when those deer in that big, wild country get a nose full of grape fragrance, they will come in on the run. More on this later. You can learn more about this grape-based deer attractant online at www.vinyardmax. net.
I’ve shot and hunted with muzzleloaders for many years. I have shot a great number of different models and watched the advancements through the years. I’ve got an older inline that has served me well for several years, but with the innovations CVA Muzzleloaders has incorporated into their line I thought it was time to up my game. CVA is the largest manufacturer of muzzleloaders today, and the company dominates the market. At the DSC show, I visited with Tony Smotherman with CVA and decided the 50-caliber Optima would best suit my needs. All the models offer very easy to remove breech plugs, which is a big improvement over my old model (I won’t mention the brand). Another big safety advantage that was very obvious is the breech plug which is threaded all the way around the plug to ensure it remains safely in place with even the heavier charges of 3 pellets or 150 grain. I usually only shoot 100 grains of powder, but I just like the fact those plugs are threaded all around. With a heavy charge of black powder substitute exploding a few inches in front of my eye in the breech of the rifle, I want to be very confident that breech plug is going to stay in place! Muzzleloaders can be shipped directly to individuals rather than going through a firearms dealer, and I am eagerly watching for the UPS man. I will have it sighted in and ready to hunt in record time! Our muzzleloader season here in Texas ends January 21, but late season opportunities on many TPWD managed ranches continue through much of February.
NOT ALL HUNTING I am also eagerly awaiting better weather and the chance to put my new Diawa Lexa 300 bait casting reel to work on some pre-spawn stripers up at Lake Texoma. I’ve always enjoyed fishing with Diawa reels, but this new one with the ultra-sensitive anti-backlash control makes casting, even into the wind, much more ‘backlash’ proof. So far I’ve only done some backyard tests, but I like what I see. I remember the baitcaster reel that I first learned on fifty years ago. Today’s reels are lightyears advanced. With today’s modern baitcasters, such as this new Diawa with a series of magnets to keep excess spool rotation in check and precise adjustments, it’s easy to get proficient with minimal practice.
It’s tough to think about warmer weather and fishing, especially after this recent blast of arctic air, but the white bass run in creeks and rivers above reservoirs could be taking place in six weeks or so and a bit earlier down south in the Trinity above Lake Livingston. Right now, those big blue catfish are biting, and crappie fishing is very good in the lower portions of lakes such as Fork and Lake O The Pines. I’ve also had reports of some 10-pound plus stripers landed on big Roadrunners at Texoma. Fishing right now is a matter of planning around the northers that are sure to be with us for a couple more months.
Contact outdoors writer Luke Clayton through his website www.catfishradio. org and remember to watch “A Sportsman’s Life” that Luke does with Jeff Rice and Larry Weishuhn on CarbonTV and YouTube.
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