Southern buck is nothing to sneeze at

Not much surprises me when I hear tales from the deep south — especially in Mississippi, where hunting seems to be more of an everyday religion than a pastime.

Ron Manning figured he scuttled his chances after he sneezed nine times in 10 minutes while in his tree stand, so he decided to go ahead and blow his nose.

“I leaned over to my right and a 17-inch, 8-point buck came roaring in,” Manning said. “He had his ears laid back, his eyes glazed over and the hair was standing up on his back.”

Who needs a grunt/wheeze call, when you have a cough/sneeze call?

Manning popped the big buck at less than 25 yards.

Cold and bold: The brave, the stout-hearted, and the truly dedicated ice fishermen are still willing to challenge the bone-rattling winter cold to find some perch and trout in Chicago#146;s harbors. Some success has been reported in Belmont and Montrose Harbors. The better action seems to be in Racine and Kenosha Harbors, where brown trout continue to gobble salmon eggs and large minnows just off the bottom.The Fox Chain has a dedicated cadre on the ice in their heated tents. Crappie and bluegills slightly improved while walleye action seems to get better in late afternoon hours.ŸContact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, and catch his radio show 6-7 a.m. Sundays on WSBC 1240-AM.