outdoor
kidsclub
magazine
Volume 1 • Issue 1
What’s Inside
Featured Articles
6 Getting Close to Turkeys
12 Kids Spotlight
20 Stars in the Outdoors
24 Catchin’ Crappie
Other Cool Stuff in this Issue!
4 Critter Corner
10 DIY Project
14 Find That Antler!
15 Hunter Safety Talk
16 Draw and Shoot
Tackle Talk
32
18 State Highlight
Gettin’ Jiggy
34
22 Featured Fish
Take a Gander
36
28 Outdoor Health & Safety 38 Test Your
Knowledge
30 Cool Games
31 Habitat Connection 39 Upcoming Issue
The Wild Turkey
Nicknames for
Turkeys:
© iStockphoto/Stefan Ekernas
Jake: young male turkeys,
usually 1-year-old
Tom turkey
Tom, Long-beard or Gobbler:
older male turkeys
Hens: female turkeys of any age
Habitat:
The wild turkey lives mostly in the
woods. They like large trees, which
provide a food source and provide
safe roosting sites up off the ground.
Differences between
males and females:
Male turkeys have black feathers and
very colorful heads. They weigh about
21 pounds.
turkey nest
photo courte
sy of Marlin Stu
mp
hen turkey
In the spring the hen lays many eggs
in a shallow nest on the ground.
Female turkeys have brown feathers
and dull heads. They are smaller and
weigh about 10 pounds.
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What are beards and spurs!!
BEARDS
Males have what is known as a beard, a bristly mass of feathers found on the breast. Immature males, called jakes do not
normally have an obvious beard. Bearded birds aren’t always
males. Sometimes you’ll find a female with a beard.
A trophy turkey is a turkey with a very long beard, usually 1012 inches!!
SPURS
Male turkeys have a claw on their legs above their back toe.
These are called spurs. Spurs grow longer as the turkey gets
older.
A trophy turkey is a turkey with very long spurs, usually 2
inches or more!!
beard
Food:
During the spring and summer, turkeys
feed on insects, berries, green leaves
and grass seeds. During the fall and
winter, they feed more on acorns and
fruits of trees like: oak, hop hornbeam,
maple, ash, pine, and beech. Turkeys
leave behind scratches on the
ground where they have
looked for food.
spurs
scratches
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TRICKS AND TIPS TO GET CLOSE
TO THOSE SMART BIRDS!!
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How Do You Find Turkeys?
To find turkeys you have to look for clues
that turkeys are in the area.
Clues can be turkey feathers on the ground.
Turkeys sometimes lose a feather when they
fly in and out of trees when they roost.
© iStockphoto/S
tefan Ekernas
You can also look for turkey tracks. Turkeys
sometimes leave tracks in wet dirt or sand.
What sounds do turkeys make?
Turkeys make many different sounds. By copying
these sounds, you can bring the turkeys right to
you!
The Yelp: A hen’s call that says she is either happy,
excited, or wants to invite a mate to come to her.
The Cluck: A hen turkey’s call
that says she is happy or excited.
The Gobble: The mating call of mature tom
turkeys, used in the spring to attract hens.
The Purr: The purr is another
happy call of the hen.
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What is used to call turkeys to you?
There are all kinds of turkey calls that can help you get close to turkeys.
The most common calls are box calls, slate calls, and diaphragm calls.
BOX CALLS
Box calls are the easiest to
use. You slowly move the
top of the box call across
the top edge of the call to
make the turkey sounds.
SLATE CALLS
Slate calls take a little practice. To make the sound you
move the pencil-like striker
across the surface of the
slate. Moving it in different
ways makes different sounds.
DIAPHRAGM CALLS
Diaphragm calls are put in your mouth. The
half moon shaped call fits into the roof of
your mouth. As you gently blow air out of
your mouth, the call vibrates and makes a
sound. With some practice you can make
sounds just like a hen turkey!
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Real or not?
There are decoys that look
like hens, some that look like
jakes, and even tom turkey
decoys in full strut. Full strut
means that they have all of
their feathers puffed out and
their tail feathers spread to
look their best for the hens.
A jake decoy makes the old toms jealous and can
make them come in for a fight.
Give it a Try!
The next time you are out in the
woods, either turkey hunting or
just taking pictures, try some of
these tips and see how close you
can get to that big tom turkey!!
Hen decoys bring in the tom turkeys
looking for a girlfriend.
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The
Turkey Call
Cup Call
Materials Needed:
sponge
empty yogurt cup
cotton string sharp pencil
camo tape
paper clip
scissors
Step 2
Cut a piece of cotton string about 24 inches long.
2
Step 3
Step 1
Cut a rectangle that is 2 or 3 inches long from the
sponge with your scissors. Be careful!! Have an
adult help you if you have trouble.
Have an adult poke a hole in the bottom of the cup with a sharp pencil.
3
1
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Step 4
Step 6
Put one end of the cotton string through the
hole in the bottom of the cup. It may help to
wet the end of the string so it goes through
the hole easier.
Tie the piece of sponge to the other end of
the string.
6
4
Step 7
Step 5
Tie a paper clip to string on the bottom side of
the cup
Wrap a strip of camoflauge tape
or fabric around the call.
7
5
How to Use the Call
1. Wet the sponge and wrap the sponge around
the string up inside the cup.
2. Pull the sponge down the string to make a sound of a turkey.
3. Try different ways to make the call loud and soft.
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Coltin and Cody Stump have fun each year hunting shed antlers with their dad. The two
brothers have been going antler hunting with their dad since they were old enough to tag
along. Their dad, Marlin, has been shed antler hunting for close to twenty years. He collects
not only the whitetail shed antlers he finds but other antlers as well like elk and moose.
Coltin and Cody join their dad each year in the late winter and early spring to hunt for
antlers on their farms in Ohio and Indiana. Although the boys haven’t found as many as
their dad, they have started their own collection of the antlers they each have found.
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Where do they find all of these antlers?
They look in open fields like picked crop fields
and hay fields. They also look along the edges
of woods where the bucks enter and leave the
fields. Sometimes they find the antlers in the
woods. You just need good eyes and a little
luck!!
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© iStockphoto/David Lewis
No matter if you are shooting a BB gun, pellet gun, a rifle, or shotgun,
you must always follow the Ten Commandments of Firearm Safety
and shoot with a grown up.
#1 Always keep the muzzle pointed in a
safe direction.
#7 Always use the right ammunition for
your gun.
#2 Don’t rely on your gun’s “safety”. Treat
every gun as if it can fire at any time.
#8 Guns should be unloaded when not in
use.
#3 Be sure of your target and what’s
beyond it. Once you pull the trigger you
can’t stop it.
#9 Learn how the gun you are using
works and how to handle it.
© iStockphoto/Luke Parr
#4 Always wear eye and ear protection
when shooting.
#10 Don’t change your gun in any way, and
DO have your gun serviced regularly.
#5 Be sure the barrel is not
blocked by mud or any other
object before shooting.
#6 If your gun does not fire
when the trigger is pulled,
HANDLE WITH CARE. Keep
the muzzle pointed in a safe
direction and get adult help.
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FEATURED FISH
Common Crappie Names:
Specks, White Perch, Sac-a-lait,
Croppie, Papermouth, Slabs
White Crappie or Black Crappie? What’s the Difference?
White Crappie
There is less color on the side of the fish. It
just has some specks or small lines of black.
Black Crappie
The sides of the fish have dark black spots
and markings. Sometimes it has more dark
color than light.
The top fin has 5 or 6 spiny rays.
The top fin has 7 or 8 spiny rays.
The measurement from the eye to the front of
the top dorsal fin is MORE than the measurement from the back of the dorsal fin to the
front of the dorsal fin.
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The measurement from the eye to the front of
the top dorsal fin is the SAME as the measurement from the back of the dorsal fin to the
front of the dorsal fin.
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Habitat:
Crappie are usually found
around standing timber and
brushy cover in lakes. In the
spring they inhabit the shallow
ends of coves, later moving to
water 15 or more feet deep.
Crappie Size:
World record black crappie is 5
pounds and the record white
crappie is 5 pounds, 3 ounces.
Most crappie caught are in the
half to one pound range. Some
states have a 9 or 10 inch size
limit on crappie.
Natural Food Sources:
Minnows, shad, crayfish, mollusks,
and insects.
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Catchin’
Crappie
Crappie
Fishing
Basics
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combination float
Step 1
Pick your bobber
The best way to tell you have a bite is to use
a bobber or float. This will show you when
the fish takes the bait. As soon as the bobber goes under, the fish has taken your bait.
Lift the rod and start reeling. IT MIGHT BE A
BIG ONE!!
slip bobber
clip on bobber
peg bobber
bare hook
plain jig
hair jig
curly tail jig
maribou jig
Step 2
Choose your hook or jig
You will never catch that crappie if
there is nothing tied to your line.
You can use many different jigs or
hooks. Some are plain and some are
colorful and made of funny things.
BE CAREFUL!! These hooks are
sharp!!
Step 3
Pick your bait
Crappies bite many kinds of bait.
Minnows are good bait and so are
waxworms. Be sure the bait is lively
for the best action. The more action
the bait has, the better action you
may have catching fish!!
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Step 4
th
Bobber Dep
s
12-36 inche
How Deep??
Crappies can be in shallow water
in early spring. At those times
you can set the bobber depth a
few inches deep. As the water
get warmer, the crappies move
deeper. Then you can fish up to
three feet deep or maybe even
deeper. Once you find the
depth the fish are biting, that is
where you want to be!!
Step 5
Where to Fish??
Crappies like to live by different
structures. Fish by brush, stick
ups, lily pads and boat docks.
Sometimes crappies are found
near rocks too.
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Success!!
Step 6
Catch that Fish!!
If you have done your homework
and picked the right bobber, jig,
bait and location, you should
catch that crappie. Good Job!!
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Gettin’Jiggy
> > > > > > JIG BASICS TO CATCH FISH
Jig:
a hook that has a weight in the front with rubber,
soft plastic, hair, feathers, or other material attached to the
hook.
Jigs
>
>
Jigs range in size from 1/32 oz. (really small), to 1
oz. (really big). The size of jig depends on the kind of
fish you are fishing for. Crappie/Bluegill use small jigs.
Bass use bigger jigs.
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Using a bobber, pull in the
line with small jerks. Move
the bobber only 2-3 inches at
a time. This makes the jig go
up and down, and acts like an
injured fish.
>
Reel and swim the jig back
to you, keeping the jig off the
bottom. You can swim the jig
over weeds, brush, or any
other cover. This acts like a
swimming fish trying to escape.
Hop the jig off the bottom about 4-6
inches, then allow the jig to fall back to the
bottom. Do this all the way back as you reel
it in. This acts like an injured fish or other
food that the fish may eat.
>
>
Drag the jig on the bottom; stop it for 2-5
seconds, and then drag it again. Do this all
the way back. This acts like a crawfish trying
to escape.
>
>
THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO FISH A JIG.TRY TO LEARN EACH WAY
SO YOU CAN CATCH MORE FISH.
Move the jig straight up,
then let it fall back the bottom.
This works good in thick cover
and when fish are not very
active.
Pick a jig, Practice these different
ways, and catch fish.
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