Outdoors: It can be a battle getting new goods

A few times during the year I get the urge to purchase a new fishing pole or shotgun.

That’s when the debate starts.

My wife says, “You don’t need a new shotgun or fishing pole, as we don’t have room for the ones we have now, especially fishing poles.”

But these are new things that the new products have that are now obsolete in the old ones.

“I don’t see you having any trouble taking a deer or catching fish with the gear you have now,” she explained. “They don’t wear out like an automobile.”

While that was true, many of the new features are always attractive to me, and I never miss an outdoor commercial. You never get rid of any older stuff before you buy anyway. I have to move it around to make room for other things.

For example, this bottle of skunk lure is empty.

“You accidentally spilled it in my jeep on your way to go trapping when your truck had to go in for service. It’s not a good memory, but the odor in my vehicle still remains a year later to remind me.”

Take my boots for example, I countered. They need to be replaced as well, as the heels are melted. That happened when I tried drying them over a campfire after falling in the creek.

“What about the things on my list?” she said. “It’s not even close to hunting season. Why do you need a new trail camera now?”

The new ones are waterproof, I said. I may submerge it in a waterway to track big fish. I also want to use a metal detector to go on the great lakes and check for steelhead.

“What are you going to buy this new sub-zero sleeping bag for?”

I figured I might need it when you kick me out of the house when you find out I bought a new rifle.

Hunting report

If one wants to fill your freezer with squirrels, now is the time to do it. The bushy tails are everywhere. The mild winter has provided them with many things to feed on, and they are digging up nuts they buried weeks ago. They look very healthy. One thing about table fare on squirrels this time of year is there are no young animals. They have to be cooked at least three hours to be tender enough to eat. The squirrels will have young about the end of March.

The Canada goose season ends on Jan. 31 in the Central time zone. Goose hunters are still doing fine, as we can hear many volleys of shotguns while we are fishing on the river.

Fishing report

I have been told that walleye and sauger are being caught near Peru. Most fish are now located in 25 to 30 feet of water. Lead-head jigs have been the most productive presentation. One must maintain a vertical presentation and not drag the jig along the bottom. Dragging the jig will result in snags, as there is a lot of debris near the bottom of the river near Route 251.

Most of the fishing locally is very slow. I have not seen any boats above the mouth of the Fox River all week. If anyone was taking even a few fish, some folks would be out there.