February 2016 FREE! WWW.TNFHG.COM - Full Color On The Web! MORE FACTS, PHOTOS, AND FUN INSIDE! FREE FREE TENNESSEE FISHING & HUNTING GUIDE 1805 Amarillo Ln Knoxville, TN 37922 865-693-7468 J.L. & Lin Stepp Publishers “Serving Tennessee Since 1990” Our E-mail: [email protected] BENTON SHOOTERS SUPPLY Send us your pictures! The Largest Shooters Supply Store In The South! ABOUT THE COVER WWW.BENTONSHOOTERS.COM 423-338-2008 We may be in the grips of winter, but there are Hwy 411, Benton, TN 37307 Mon - Sat 9am - 6pm still good opportunities for sportsmen that want HUNTING & FISHING SUPPLIES - GUNS - AMMO fishing action. This duo ARCHEREY EQUIPMENT - SAFES on the cover this month OUTDOOR CLOTHING FOR MEN/WOMEN/CHILDREN caught these nice wall- eyes below Watts Bar Dam in January. Sauger and crappie fishing also good now, so bundle up, and get out there! Photo courtesy Watts Bar Bait and Tackle, Hwy 68, Decatur, TN 423-334-4286 Fish & Hunt Tennessee! Long guns and handguns: Over 2,000 guns in stock! Introduce A Kid Ammo and supplies for every shooting need. To Fishing! KEEP OUR TENNESSEE 2 LAKES CLEAN WATTS BAR LAKE 4 CORNERS MARKET Intersection of Hwys 58 & 68, Decatur, TN * Gotzza Pizza - Subs - Salad - Wings (Delicious & Best @ Prices) Call In or Carry Out * Hunting & Fishing Licenses * Live Bait & Fishing Supplies * Cigarettes - Beer - Groceries * 100% Ethanol-Free Gas (grades 87 & 93) OPEN 7 DAYS - Big Game Checking Station 423-334-9518 * Groceries * Deli - Take-Out “Got no fish, but got coffee!” * Pizza Photo courtesy The Bait Box. * 100% Gas - no ethanol * Live Bait * Worms 2016 Spring Turkey Quota Hunts Application * Beer * Ice Period Runs Through Feb. 3 * Lottery * Propane NASHVILLE --- The application period for the * Minnows Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency 2016 Spring Turkey Quota Hunts runs from Dec. 16 through Feb. 3, 2016. J & S Pawn Shop Applications are available and will be accepted at any TWRA license agent, TWRA regional 1008 River Road, Decatur, TN 37322 office, or online at the TWRA website at www. (423) 334-3468 tnwildlife.org. Applications can be accepted until * New & Used Guns & Ammo 11:59 p.m. (CST) on Feb. 3. Mailed applications * Gun Accessories will not be accepted. * We buy gold and silver * Fishing Supplies & much The areas available for the hunts are listed on more! the instruction sheets. Hunters have up to 12 OPEN: Mon-Sat 9am - 5pm choices, but will be drawn for only one. Appli- cants may not use the same hunt code more than once. There are a total of 14 hunts listed. INRODUCE A KID TO FISHING! (Con’t on p. 4) NOW! VIEW THIS MAGAZINE IN COLOR ONLINE AT WWW.TNFHG.COM 3 WATTS BAR LAKE (“Turkey Quota Hunts” ... con’t from p. 3) * Fishing Equipment No person may apply more than once. * Tackle A permit fee will not be charged to Annual * Live Bait Sportsman (Type 004), Lifetime Sportsman * Open Mon - Sat (Types 402-405) license holders or Senior Citi- zen Hunters (Type 166) with an Annual Senior 423-365-2266 Citizen Permit (Type 167). For all other license holders, the cost is $12 per permit, plus the 290 Whites Creek Road agent fee. When applying at a license agent, Spring City, TN 37381 hunters must remain at the location while the application is processed. Hunters will receive a receipt with a confirmation number when the application is complete. Hunters with Internet access may apply for a spring turkey quota hunt online by clicking here. Once the Internet site has been accessed, hunters can fol- low the on-screen directions. ---TWRA--- TWRA Requesting Public Input for 2016-17 Hunting Regulations NASHVILLE --- The Tennes- see Wildlife Resources Agency is soliciting comments for its 2016-17 hunting seasons’ regu- lations. This is an opportunity for the public to provide ideas and share concerns about hunting regulations with TWRA staff. The comment period will be open through Monday, Feb. 15, 2016. Public comments will be consid- ered by TWRA’s Wildlife Division staff and may be presented as proposals for regulation chang- es. Comments may be submit- ted by mail to: 2016-17 Hunting Season Comments, TWRA, Wildlife and Forestry Division, P.O. Box 40747, Nashville, TN 37204 or emailed to twra.com- [email protected]. Please include “Hunting Season Comments” on the subject line of emailed sub- Doug Soloman with a 22-inch, 5 lb 4 oz smallmouth bass. missions. ---TWRA--- 4 Photo courtesy The Bait Box. WATTS BAR LAKE Archery Equip & Supplies Custom made Long-Bows and Muzzleloaders Guns - Ammo - Scopes Treestands - Clothing Open: Tu - F 12 - 7 / Sat 12 - 8 Business 423-619-8739 [email protected] Mike 423-605-2299 Stacia 423-605-0116 1367 Market St. Dayton, TN 37321 Watts Bar Bait and Tackle 1831 State Hwy 68W Decatur, TN 37322 423-334-4286 LIVE BAIT - TACKLE - FISHING SUPPLIES 100% GAS - GROCERIES - DELI LICENSES - BIG GAME CHECKING STATION BEER - ICE - CIGARETTES Open 7 Days from 5am - till fish quit biting! - AMERICAN OWNED - www.kingstongunsandfirearms.com Good walleye fishing lately on Watts Bar. Photo courtesy Camo Clothing - Reloading Supplies - Ground Blinds Watts Bar Bait & Tackle. Gunsmith Services - Fishing Supplies - Zoom Worms Open: Tu - Fri 9 - 6 Sat 9 - 5 Outdoors More In 2016! Support Our Advertisers Sandhill Crane Festival to Celebrate 25th Anniversary NASHVILLE --- The Tennessee Sandhill Crane Festival will celebrate its silver anniversary with the 2016 event set for Jan. 16-17 (Saturday-Sunday) at the Hiwassee Refuge. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is the primary sponsor for the festival and many staff members and volunteers will again be contributing their services. For the fifth year, Olin Chlor Al- kali Products is the corporate sponsor for the festival. The festival is a celebration of the thousands of sandhill cranes that migrate through or spend the winter on and around the Hiwassee Refuge in Birchwood as well as an opportunity to focus attention on the rich wildlife heritage of the state and the Native American history of the area. Beginning in the early 1990s, the recovering population of eastern sandhill cranes began stopping (Con’t on page 6) 5 WATTS BAR LAKE (“Sandhill Crane Festival” ... con’t from p. 5) at the Hiwassee Refuge on their way to and from their wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida. TWRA has been managing this refuge for more than 60 years for waterfowl, and the A nice Watts Bar striper. Photo courtesy Barry’s cranes found a perfect combination of feeding Guide Service. and shallow water roosting habitat. As many as an estimated 12,000 of these birds now spend the entire winter at the confluence of the Hi- wassee and Tennessee rivers. Free bus shuttle service will be available from the Birchwood Community Center to the Hi- wassee Refuge and Cherokee Removal Me- morial Park each day beginning at 8 a.m. No public parking is available at the refuge. Various vendors will be at the Birchwood Com- munity Center beginning at 8 a.m In addition, breakfast will be available for purchase at the community center each day from 7-8 a.m. and lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Music, special programs, and children’s activi- ties will be ongoing throughout each day. The American Eagle Foundation will be present for its always-popular live raptor show each day with times at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday. There will be a new presentation this year, “Birding Makes Cents (and Dollars): The Economic Impact of Birding and Bird Festivals which will be held Jan. 16 at 1 p.m. An official welcome and live music will start the programs each day at 11 a.m. TWRA Informa- tion and Education Division Chief Don King, Crappie fishing has been good on Watts Bar this winter. also a Nashville recording artist and friends will Photo courtesy Barry’s Guide Service. perform each day. Traditional heritage music led by Tom Morgan, Lynn Haas with friends will also perform in the morning and afternoon and Support Our Advertisers With (Con’t on page 8) YOUR Business! 6 WATTS BAR LAKE HILLTOP MARKET 175 Loop Road, Kingston, TN 865-376-1919 * Live Bait, Night Crawlers & Minnows * Discount Tobacco, Beer & Groceries * TN Lottery OPEN 7 DAYS Sauger action on Watts Bar. Photo courtesy Watts Bar Bait and Tackle. Pre-Registration, Registration Periods Set for 2016 NASP State Tournament NASHVILLE --- The 10th Annual Tennessee National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) State Championships will be held March 29-30 at the Tennessee Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro. Pre-registration begins Jan 11 and runs through Jan. 29 by 6 p.m. (CST). Normal registration with flight selection will begin at 6 a.m. (CST) on Feb 1 and end 6 p.m. (CST) on March 1. The link to register may be reached by clicking here. The NASP State Championships will return to the Miller Coliseum for the seventh consecutive year. Close to 1,750 students representing more than 90 schools participated in the 2015 event. ---TWRA--- - See more at: http://www.tn.gov/twra/ news/23146#sthash.0FRzH5RG.dpuf Walleye fillets for supper tonite! Photo Watts Bar Bait & Tackle. 7 HIWASSEE / OCOEE RIVERS (“Sandhill Crane Festival” ... con’t from p. 6) will include a special children’s music appreciation program each morning. The group, South Wind, will perform from noon until 12:45 on Saturday. The nearby Cherokee Removal Memorial will feature Native American folklore specialists. They will present performances, artifacts and objects used in everyday life by Native American inhabitants in the Hiwassee River area.