Antelope Creek Wildlife & Ponds
"Specializing in Managing and Developing Fish and Wildlife Populations
and their Habitats and Providing Land Management Services so you can
get the most Enjoyment and Profitability out of your Property"

ESTABLISHED 2012
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Scouting for New Hunting Grounds

2/24/2016

 
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With shed hunting kicking off and spring right around the corner most of you are likely starting to think about turkey hunting and spring habitat projects to improve your deer hunting. Well now is one of my favorite times of the year to start looking for new property to hunt. Maybe your currents spots aren’t what you hoped for or maybe you would just like to have a few more option of places to hunt for varying winds and weather conditions.

When I got back to Nebraska on Halloween as much as I wanted to get into the tree stand I just had too much work to get done. I had 300 acres of native grass to drill before freeze up to fulfill my clients CRP contracts. By the time I did have an opportunity to try and get out rifle season has come and gone as well. Most of my property I hunt in Nebraska is a big chunk of public ground and little private ground. Both of which get hammered during the rifle season. It gets very difficult to hunt even does after this. After some scouting and talking with friends and family who have been out this late season, I decided it is time for a change. Change of hunting grounds for next year.

I have spent much of my time scouting new places not only from the county roads but likely more effective has been aerial scouting through the use of Google Earth. I am looking for both private and public land areas for next fall’s hunting season. There are chunks ​of private that may only have a small piece of timber on it next to areas that aren’t hunted. Also I am looking for both bigger tracts of public land out in western Nebraska and very small tracts of public around home. Bigger is so I can go deeper where more people will not take the effort to go and smaller because more people overlook these spots. I am also looking at the difficulty factor of access. There are a few places I am finding that the only way to get there is either boat or a canoe.

I am looking at those places that I feel get driven by with little to no thought by most people for hunting. These small places may be the ticket and so far from scouting the edges near dark, I am putting my Nikon binoculars and spotting scope to work. I like what I see so far. With spring and turkey season right around the corner I plan to scout these public areas through turkey hunting. Turkey hunting can also be a great way to gain access to a new property to do spring Intel work to see if that place looks like a place you want to pursue for the deer season.

I like the new possibilities I am looking at for next fall. With the last few falls being rather unsuccessful due to so much hunting pressure I am looking forward to the new hunting possibilities next fall. Also remember to offer up your labor in exchange for hunting rights with farmers that can and often does go a long way. It was worked well in the past for me and I hope that it will again work this coming year. I will no longer be guiding next year and will pick up more business to keep me around home which should also better my chances of more success for next fall.

Remember it is never too early to start planning for the next hunting season.

Brett Kleinschmit

Food Chains in Ponds

2/12/2016

 
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Managing for trophy fish has many of the same concepts as managing for big whitetails; it takes two important things to achieve both, age and nutrition. If the individuals are harvested before they can get old enough to reach their potential they obviously never will. However, if they don’t have the proper food sources for all stages of life their nutritional demands will not be met preventing them from also reaching their potential. Once your pond has the proper water quality characteristics and habitat needed to support the desired species in your pond, it is time to start thinking about the next most important concept to grow trophy fish, the food chain.

It will take 10 pounds of forage for game fish to gain one pound of weight. This means that your pond needs to be constantly producing large amounts of food for you to reach your fishery goals. Each size class of fish and each species requires a little different food source to grow. When fish are first hatched they absorb their yolk sac for nutrients followed by microscopic food sources such as plankton followed by zooplankton. Their mouths are small so most of these food sources are ones you will not see. This is where water color comes into play. If your ponds water is crystal clear there is little available phytoplankton and other microscopic food sources for these young fish to grow. The more fertile your waters the more likely these young fish are to survive.

Not only to these young fish serve as replacements in the population to keep your fishery going, but they also serve as a food source for larger fish. You need to have fish of all age and size classes to have a successful food chain. When first stocking a pond fathead minnow are a great choice to get a lot of food in your waters before stocking those predators. This will allow prey species such as bluegill to establish as well. Though not the most economical option, you could also supplemental stock minnow species for additional feed. Another option is to feed fish food.

If your waters are infertile feeding your fish might be the best option to get those young fish growing. It can also be used as a supplemental food source for the species of choice. Many people do not like to wait to get results from Mother Nature, so feeding is the best option to get bigger fish faster. If you decide to feed make sure you spend the money on a good, high quality fish food such as Purina so you get the best bang for your buck.

Think of producing a food chain just as planting food plots for wildlife species. Providing substantial amounts of forage will allow them to meet their nutritional needs to better meet their potential. When establishing minnow species do research in your area to determine the best species for your region. Also remember to monitor your food chain to make sure you aren’t running into recruitment issues or losing age classes due to a poor spawn. Watching the food chain starting at the bottom with phytoplankton, measured through water color and depth readings, will help you see trends of potential issues arising in your fishery.

Remember to plan and manage today for a better tomorrow!

Brett Kleinschmit

Checkboarding for Wildlife

2/2/2016

 
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Most of the wildlife species we manage for are edge species. Meaning they prefer differing habitat types merging into each other. These are the areas that they prosper and have the highest population levels. This is an important thought to keep in consideration when you are looking to take on a habitat plan to better the hunting or wildlife viewing on your property. This brings me to the concept of checkerboarding for wildlife.

It is important to have varying habitat types for species such as whitetail deer, turkeys and upland game. Big tracts of one type of habitat, is not necessarily beneficial to you if you are looking to have bountiful wildlife populations. For example if you have a section of ground, 640 acres, planting it all to one type of habitat type such as winter cover may not be the best option. It will be good habitat but will not necessarily provide all that is needed for some species to live there, especially an abundance of that species. Same goes with large tracts of timber.

Instead it is better to mix and merge habitat types together. For example, take that same 640 acres and plant multiple habitat types in that section. Have a few areas of native warm season grasses as winter cover, nesting and brood rearing cover, plant shrub thickets and shelter belts or even orchards for another food source. Don’t forget to add in the food. Food plots whether 30 foot wide strips of corn breaking up two fields or along shelter belts, 5 acre plots and smaller pieces inside timber or in the middle of grasslands.

The same can be done with big tracts of timber. Clearing areas for food plots and other areas to incorporate native grass and forbs growth will increase the carrying capacity of that ground. Also doing hinge cutting or selective harvest will promote new growth on the forest floor providing both more cover for bedding, nesting and fawning cover as well as another source of native foods varieties.  

By incorporating the checkerboarding for wildlife you will find that you can increase the carrying capacity of a given piece of property. This will bring you more opportunities in the field year in and out, especially with the right management steps.

Start planning and managing today for a better tomorrow.

Brett Kleinschmit

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    Brett Kleinschmit

     Owner of Antelope Creek Wildlife and Ponds.

    Land Specialist for Whitetail Properties Real Estate

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