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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, April 16, 2009 8:29 PM CDT
Mushroom, crappie and bassin' time are upon us

By DAVE SHADOW, Hunting and Fishing Columnist

It’s really here. Spring, I mean. Or maybe this has been the “rainy season,” like they have in some of the tropical areas of the world. At any rate, the crappie are biting, the bass are moving into the shallow areas and the mushrooms are popping up all over. It’s time to enjoy the great outdoors experience if you can schedule one in between showers.

I talked with several guys who actually admitted to finding nice messes of mushrooms, both black and yellow morels. Obviously, no one volunteered to share either the mushrooms or their secret spots. I think mushroom hunters are even more secretive than fishermen.

My son Bryan and I caught several real nice bass from a ranch lake while in Oklahoma a week ago. They’re almost the same climate as we are and had about the same water temperatures. I showed the guys there some Driskell baits and we caught a lot more (and larger) fish than the other guys who were fishing at the same time. I shared one of my favorite white spinnerbait models and a white Driskell clatterbug with a young man (13 years old) from Casper, Wyo., and he was still “chunking and winding” when I left.

The crappie are biting almost everywhere and on a variety of lures and always on minnows. Since the water is somewhat stained, I think the chartreuse twister-tails work best for conventional artificial lures.

The new Berkley “Gulp” baits are getting a lot of good attention, but I haven’t got to actually test the bait in a “hot-spot” to see for sure that it outproduces other baits. Since it appeals not only to “sight” but also to taste, I’m pretty positive that it will.

Mark your calendars: The Illini Team Trail Tournament is coming up on Lake Shelbyville this Sunday. See illiniteamtrail.com for additional information.

The NFLCC Region 5 Antique and Collectible Fishing Show is Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Effingham. The public pays a $5 one-day fee, with entrance at 9 a.m. Free appraisals are available for the public.

The Prairieland Frontiersmen’s 33rd anniversary Spring 2009 Rendezvous will take place April 24, 25 and 26 off the Bruce-Findlay road between Coles and Illinois Route 32. Look for all the teepees. This is an enlightening and fun experience. The public is welcome.

Parting thought: Ham and eggs is a day’s work for a chicken but a lifetime commitment for a pig.

Its faith, family and fishin’.

Dave Shadow is the Journal Gazette/Times-Courier’s hunting and fishing columnist.

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just watching wrote on Apr 19, 2009 11:17 AM:

" When my G-pa was getting up in yrs,he used to hunt mushroom - hunters!He would wait out by the cars parked along side his woods until the hunters emerged from his woods wth their bags in hand,he would then explain the no tresspassing signs,! He was a generous man though,......unless they got cocky. "