Buckmasters News Release:

New Seasons of "The Jackie Bushman Show," "Buckmasters" Hit Air Waves Next Week Put down the bass rod, stop the lawn mower and tune in to the 2008 season of "The Jackie Bushman Show" and "Buckmasters." "We are certainly excited about this year's shows," said Jackie Bushman, Buckmasters founder and CEO. "Look for a lot of great hunts, humorous footage and top guests that will make for pure entertainment. Plus, we're back at it again with the 2008 Big Bucks Sweepstakes and our hunting trip giveaways. Viewers can get all of the details when they tune into our shows." All show times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST). This season of "The Jackie Bushman Show" begins Monday, June 30, at 2:30 a.m. Additional air times are Thursdays at midnight and Sundays at 10 p.m. Join Jackie as he takes you on exciting hunts across North America and hosts studio interviews with outdoor personalities like Bill and Tyler Jordan, the Buckmasters camera crew, Lee and Tiffany Lakosky, Michael Waddell, David and Harman Blanton, radio talk show personalities Rick and Bubba and more special guests. "Viewers of 'The Jackie Bushman Show' will get to see some of the country's top names in the outdoor world share their exclusive hunting footage with us," Bushman said. "Plus, our audience will see huge bucks in the 'Rack Magazine Big Buck of the Week' segment. These giants will make us all wish it is deer season right now. Then we switch gears and I head to Tennessee to go catfish grabbling. The fun ends up being a battle of the guys against girls called the 'Golden Catfish World Championship.'" "Buckmasters" kicks off Wednesday, July 2 at 1 p.m. with the Buckmasters annual Life Hunt for seriously ill and disabled hunters at Sedgefield Plantation in Alabama. Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, you can catch the action again on Saturday at 9 a.m. or at 12:30 p.m., while you're celebrating the long weekend with a hot grill and all your family and friends. Airing exclusively on Outdoor Channel, both programs are sure to get your heart pumping just a bit faster knowing that deer season is just around the corner. With a variety of dates and times there are no excuses to not put down that rod, turn off that mower or close the lid on the grill this summer.

July 2008 "The Jackie Bushman Show"
Schedule:
Monday, June 30, 2:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 3, midnight
Sunday, July 6, 10 p.m.
Monday, July 7, 2:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 10, midnight
Sunday, July 13, 10 p.m.
Monday, July 14, 2:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 17, midnight
Sunday, July 20, 10 p.m.
Monday, July 21, 2:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 24, midnight
Sunday, July 27, 10 p.m.
Monday, July 28, 2:30 a.m.
Thursday, July 31, midnight

July 2008 "Buckmasters"
Schedule:
Wednesday, July 2, 1 p.m.
Saturday, July 5, 9 a.m.
Saturday, July 5, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 9, 1 p.m.
Saturday, July 12, 9 a.m.
Saturday, July 12, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 16, 1 p.m.
Saturday, July 19, 9 a.m.
Saturday, July 19, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 23, 1 p.m.
Saturday, July 26, 9 a.m.
Saturday, July 26, 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 30, 1 p.m.

All show times listed are Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Let the Games Begin

The Georgia 10 year old All Star tournament kicks off today. We have been really busy with that over the past three weeks. For the most part, we practiced five days a week. For those of you with young kids, you understand where I'm coming from when I say that time hasn't been on my side. My blog will pick back up next week when we finish all these extra carriculars. For those of you who come in looking for more of my work, keep checking in. I have allot of new material that will be posted over the next few months. I appreciate the faithfuls and you know who you are, especially if you are reading this post. Any comments? Shoot me an email or just post a comment on the blog.

Summer Spots

It is hard anticipating where the fish will be for the early morning topwater bite, and if thats not enough, try and locate where they go from top water down to 20 feet of water. It's no easy task. We fished this morning and didn't get a bite until 9:30. Now take into account that the high today in north Georgia was 97. After 9:30, the blistering sun on the lake is the last place I care to be. However, I do like to catch fish and also have a hard time leaving the fish when they start to bite. We didn't have a fish early and then landed 6 keepers in 45 minutes on the same rock wall. We finally figured out why.

These fish were on top early and it takes until about 10 AM before they move back down deep which is suitable for a finesse worm. When the sun gets up and heats the surface temperature up enough, the fish will go back deep on the bottom. We noticed on the graph that the fish were consistantly showing up deeper and deeper until finally they were holding to the bottom. People throw crank baits at these fish all morning long, and we did also, but with no consistancy. It's random at best. We fish allot of rock so it works really well for the worm bite.

Here is a trick I learned for fishing rock with a Texas Rig worm. Take a toothpick and slide it inside your bullet weight to make it tight on your line. This will help with hang ups. It won't allow your weight to fall into the crevices of the rock as you jig the worm along the bottom. Also, use trick worms or floating worms on the Texas Rig. This is the first year we have done this and what it does is cause the worm to float up with the bullet weight on the bottom. It makes the worm stand up so to speak. It works well when fish are finicky in the summertime. I know several fishermen that avoid the big chunk rock and slag rock due to getting hung up so much. If you fish rock walls, give this method a try. It works.

Horses, Money, and Mystery

For those of us who enjoys a good horse race, this day was for us....or was it? Big Brown, the strapping chistled speciman was set to carve and cut his way into history, ran 3 furlongs and called it a day. Was it the heat? Maybe. The sweltering humidity? Maybe. Was it the fact that he missed 3 days of practice? Probably not. OR, was it the fact that he missed his mid May steroid shot that all the field of horses received as a booster to the race just like they always do? I think so. Now I'm all for the steroid ban with athletes on a professional level. This, however, was a mound of muscle that had a diet perfected to his size and a training regimen taylor made to fit his abilities. I hardly see the inhumanity in that.

This would have not even crossed my mind until the announcers gave it mention that Big Brown's trainers said, "He don't need his steroid shot to win this race." There was a steroid ban coming after the race for the future horses, but it was set for AFTER the race. Zito was clearly bringing the only challenger to the race in Da' Tara, who led from start to finish. The bizarre part of this was that he was the one who brought the horse that knocked Smarty Jones out of the Triple Crown. Coincidence? Maybe. I really hope so. With 5.2 million being placed in the hands of the bookeys on race day, its hard to tell. Who wouldn't throw $100 down on Da' Tara? It's worth a gamble right? I believe so and I also believe that I wasn't the only one who would think such an unthinkable thought in the midst of the media sharks looking for the next press puppy to get their hands on and set the odds for the fate of a horse and the sport as a whole in the public eye.

A story that was supposed to be about sentement and comeback left us with the feeling of being robbed. Was the jockey riding for his son? Probably. Was he riding to shock the world with a harnessed lightning bolt under his hips? Absolutely. It was just another chapter of the book of horses, money, and mystery. I suppose we will soon read this chapter again, just as we have in the past.

Braden,

Quick question, how long is still worth my while to track and call turkeys? I've been out a few times now calling and tracking and learning the lay of the land. I've had numerous responses and have called in a tom and a jake since my first hunt. I took my kids out the other weekend and got a gobbler to respond and later found a pile of tail feathers of two birds who apparently had a fight about my calling!

Sheffield and Paulding WMA are in my backyard and I'm planning this summer to camp and backpack the land to get a good feel of the land before the seasons begin to start up. I'm just wondering about how much longer calling would be worth my while or if I just need to practice my basic woodsmanship.

Thanks for your advice and feedback.

Loving Life!

Ken L. Hagler, Assoc. PastorDue West UMC




Ken,

Woodsmanship is the name of the game for any animal you hunt. There are some great turkey callers who are horrible turkey hunters. Hiking and camping are a great way to get your feet wet. Take it in stride. There is allot to learn. You won't learn it all in one season. However, you don't have to be an expert at it all to be successful. If so, I wouldn't be able to have a career in writing about it. I have spent 22 years in the woods and still make rookie mistakes and bad judgements. Fact is, every animal is different. What works today may not work tomorrow.

If your able to spend some time in the woods, learn the area you are hunting. Start learning where the birds are and WHY they are there. Is it food? Is it a roosting place? Is it a strut zone? Go ahead and find the deep woods food plots that the WMA plants. Also, look for the long ridges that lead up to a roosting area that will be a good place for birds to strut in mid morning.

Now, to calling. This is what I do. When I get a new call that has a new sound, I will take it in the woods and set up a hand held recorder about 20 yards away and go through a sequence of calls and then play them back. Watch some videos and compare. Remember, you sound better in the open woods than you will in the car. With that being said, practice practice, practice! As far as going in the woods and calling turkeys, they need to be left alone I suppose in the areas you are hunting. It is a good time to get out and find a food plot where the birds frequent and sit and just listen. Learn the sounds they make and pay close attention to the cadence and learn to mimick those cadences. Its not necessarily "what" you say, but "how" you say it.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it is going for you. Look up Yellow Yelper and purchase one of their 3 Reed Double Diamonds. Good call to learn on and it doesn't take a mouth full of air to play it. Learn to use a diaphram. The advantages are endless.

Full Force Outdoors
Braden Arp

The weekend is coming, and again, have no clue as to which way to go. I think I shall fish this weekend. It has slowed a good bit where we are due to the weather. It has already broke into the 90's in the south and only will get worse. I know up north the bite is now picking up, but here it is slowing down........but baseball is in full force.

With all star baseball getting started, my time has been limited. I have coached baseball for several years, and this year is no different I suppose. The travel ball scene is really picking up, but I must say, I have to pass on putting a 10 year old through a 65 game summer schedule. It just doesn't make any sense why people would burn their kids out before their bodies even develope enough to really begin to develope the mechanics for the game. My opinion I guess. I am of the theory that if a kid has the talent and the desire, he or she will do what it takes to compete in high school and then if there is enough talent,emphasis on talent. they will get a chance to go to college. I tell you what you end up with. I see it every day. Moms and dads will send their child all across the country playing ball and what they are doing is causing their child to peak before they make it into college which, in turn, means that they send their child to college that has no ability to get any better. That is one of the reasons you see high school phenoms and never hear from them again when they get to college.

Just my opinion! There are so many more options now than there used to be. Baseball was seasonal when I played. Now kids are playing year round. Is year round baseball good for our kids? It's a crap shoot really. Its a big gamble on their bodies. You never know until after the fact I guess. Can you learn to be a competitor, or are they simply born that way. Who knows what the best way is? Baseball is a great game, but take it in stride. Never have I heard the game summed up as it was in Bull Durham, and I borrow the line...... "Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. But sometimes......it rains!

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