The Big Outdoors -- 10/25/25

Best Bengals coverage, and those Cincinnati Reds, the Xavier Musketeers, the Ucy Bearcats, FC Cincinnati, anything and everything that's sports in this town.

Am I? How did that? How did that come out?

That work?

Okay?

And I'm not a sports durbil, Okay, I'm an outdoors gurbil kind of more like a chipmunk.

Okay. Yeah.

The raccoon, I'll tell that story after a bit. I never never had raccoons in my tree over my tree stand before. But I'll get to that in a minute. So I grabbed Rick Strauss this morning. He is released a new podcast, which I assume he does when he feels like it. Maybe it's weekly, but we'll find out more.

Hear. It's called Bluegrass, Woods.

And Waters and Rick, welcome to the Big outdoors Man.

Hey, thanks so much for having me on Chip.

I really appreciate it. Yeah, so what uh you know? And I'm there, I don't know how much.

And you're on the iHeartMedia platform, so that's great. Just look up Bluegrass, Woods and Water. So have you celebrated one month yet?

Yeah? Yeah, I think we've had three podcasts out so far. I'm working on my third. I just got done interviewing Lieutenant Jason Ping from Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources yesterday, so I'm working on getting that published for the first the next week, so we'll be up to four episodes.

That's great.

So do you plan these for a weekly release or well, I assume you can do it. You can do them anytime you want.

Yeah, I kind of. I try to do them weekly, but fishing and funt sometimes gets in a way, so they're either going to be every week, every other every couple of weeks. I really don't have that much of a schedule.

Well, and you know, let's face it, Kentucky has a lot to talk about, a ton to offer. You know, you've got many more huntable mammals. You know, if you're throwing the black bear and the bobcat and you know, say Ohio.

Variety of fish.

You know what's interesting you probably haven't done it is you know, when you compare the record fish list from Kentucky to that of Ohio, I think Kentucky has probably fifteen more species that you know, people have the opportunity to set a state record with than like Ohio, which I thought was kind of neat because they add a lot of the you know, take the creek jub or the shine, you know, some things like that, so it's kind of neat.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kentucky offers a wide array of fish species to target and traphy fish species, especially in the Cumberland River basin where I do most of my fishing for striper and trout.

So what do you what are your plans as you know, as you look forward in terms of like subject better, I mean because it had you know, I don't want to put you on a spot or anything, but you know, there the opportunities are just I mean overwhelming, unlimited.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure, for sure. I tried to, you know, stick to my guns. What I do a lot of so striper fishing, trout fishing. I talked a lot about there. I had an elk outfitter on my first ELF, my first episode and probably one of the better ELF fitters this side of the Mississippi in Kentucky, Hurley Cims Junior from Lost Mountain Outfitters. He's been doing it for years. He has multiple Kentucky state record bulls.

Well that and that heard is like over ten thousand animals and the court's on it.

It's on the draw system.

And being a non resident, they don't pull you know, as many drawings for for for those from out of state that they do you know in state. So maybe I'll have an opportunity to use that outfit or down the line if you know, if I can. Uh So you are you just focusing on fishing and hunting is that the plan?

Yeah? And conservation conservation for sure. Like next week I'm interviewing Ethan Noon in a Kentucky fish and wildlife biologists here in northern Kentucky. So we're going to talk land management, w n A management, uh CD, you know, the diseases that are running out there right now, CWD and all that. So it's going to be an interesting conversation about conservation here in northern Kentucky for sure.

Well that's that's fantastic.

I mean, you know, I applaud you for jumping on that that wagon.

And I'm going to ask you why in just a minute here after the breaks. Yeah, we gotta know you know, yes, if you.

Have an answer, so you said, tight Re Strauss, we'll be back with more of the big outdoors News Radio seven hundred WLW Cincinnati back in the moment, the home of the best Bengals coverage. And uh, you know, I know that people are probably already started talking about, uh spring training, has it come up?

Yeah? Okay? And what's that banana group that.

The oh Savannah Bananas. Okay, see here we are. We haven't even had Halloween yet or Christmas. Okay, we're already in the next summer. I'll let the Gerbils, you know, take care of that. By the way, Gary Jeff Walker will be up after the news at the bottom of the hour with his cast of characters. And yeah, and he's got a cast, award winning cast, Gary Jeff did they have to do anything? It's that award winning And Michael k at nine AM, ken Brew and sports and

For sure, And I would say the bigger reason chip was just my love of Kentucky and the outdoors. If I'm not in the woods, I want to talk about it, you know, And I feel like there wasn't a specific you know area talking about Kentucky outdoors. There's a lot of a lot of the big dogs out there, you know, talk about it nationally, going around out West, South everywhere else. But I wanted to really focus on Kentucky outdoors.

Well.

I don't think there's any lack of opportunities out there for for listeners to pick up on it, and I encourage you know that they do.

Uh.

And so what's the typical length of your podcast?

What? What? What is comfortable for you?

So they're running and right now I have one at an hour. There's anywhere between forty five minutes and an hour right there, right now. I try to I try to bring an interviewee in every time and then also talk a little bit about sports, and then also talk about, you know, just what's going on that right now in Kentucky, what hunting seasons, what's going on conservation wise, things like that.

Let's see, God, I had something on the tip of my tongue and it just it just it just it just went away. But your focus is statewide and it's not on a specific region.

Correct, Correct? I do since I do most of my hunting in northern Kentucky, I do most of my fishing down in the Lake Cumberland area, So I do tend to talk about that more than more than the other parts. But moving forward, it's not just going to be about those two areas. It's going to be I'm going to try to elaborate statewide.

Do you work for a living?

I do? I do. I work in logs.

Oh, there you go.

Now that's a good Uh. There's a few around here that could use some logistics. Uh background, don't think Danny. Yeah, yes, So I'll tell you what what I wanted. What I also wanted to find out was what the fishing is like at Lake Cumberland right now. Since you're you're down there frequently, I assume and uh back and forth. You don't guide, but uh, you do fish a lot down there. So what's happening in that.

In you know, on the.

So on Lake Cumberland right now? It's right in the middle of the fall transition, and the bike's still really hot. Typically around this time of year, the bike gets pretty tough, but water temperatures are up higher because it's been warmer. They're in the mid sixties and stripers are really starting to move from their summer patterns where they're schooled up on main channels on the main lake, and they're starting to move up into the mouth of the larger creeks

And there was a period I'm thinking it was prior to the last draw down, you know, when they were pairing the dam that you know, your fish weren't running, you know, as big as they had in the previous years. But let's see that that was probably ten years ago when they drew it down and.

Repaired the dam.

And then when you know, the water came up and was in all the timber, so you had that explosion of bait fish and probably you know, a lot of you know, all of your other you know, shore species if you will. And now I've been seeing some nice fish coming out of that lake.

So that's that's a nice transition.

Yes, for sure, there's some definitely trophy striper coming out over there lately.

That's awesome. Hey, Rick, you sit tight. We'll be back with more.

Rick Strauss in his podcast Bluegrass, Woods and Waters on the Big Outdoors News Radio seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati News Radio seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati, Home of the Best Bengals Converence.

Rick Strauss is my guest new to the media world, and he's uh.

He began a podcast a little over month ago called Bluegrass, Woods and Waters and you can find in on the iHeartMedia platform. And Rick, so you know, tell me, Okay, you've covered the striper. You know, we'll talk about the Cumberland River. Has anybody figured out the walleye?

So I I there are some fishermen really starting to pop up that are that are having success down on the Cumberland with a walleye. I don't know of any outfitters yet, but one of my outfitter buddies is going to start doing that this spring and try to figure it out. But kind of been inch to anyone. They've been stocking walleye down there pretty heavily, so really people

That is a that is a nice fish for you know, especially since you really don't you know, little is somebody knows something they're not talking, okay, other than that, little is known about the walleye and where they go and what they do.

You know, they I gotta believe you know, they go deep.

During the summer and won't space it you know, you have two hundred foot of water.

They can go just about anywhere.

But you know, figuring those puppies out is just you know, I'd be great when it happens, but other than that, it's like incidental incidental catches.

Yeah, yeah, I think there are some. I think there are some fishermen out there that's strictly targeted. But they're trying to keep it on the download to the weekend warriors. You know, can they can keep the fisher themselves.

It's a big lake.

I mean it's not a Lake Eriie Walleye fishery, but you know it's still a big lake. There's got to be a decent population.

Yeah, for sure, for sure, I'm there is so.

Switching over well, you can be posted on that if somebody's figured it out. Somebody figures it out, and if they want to talk about it, fine, I want to talk to them. Switching switching over to the Cumberland River where I guess, uh, you've cut your teeth with Randall Gibson.

It's unbelievable as far as trophies go.

Uh.

I love fishing the lake, but there's nothing like being on that river. You did mention it as treacherous. You have to watch generation schedules. You have to. It's not just your Ohio River. When it's one big pool you're working with. You're working with runs and you know, shoots and all kinds of things where and you can you can be fishing it when they're generating and you could have twelve foot of water and by the time you're fishing after six hours, you can be down to two

Yeah, it's not for the feint of heart, and it's something that you don't want to put your own boat on unless you really know what you're doing. And I guess if you were to do it, you go down by Burksville and work that you know where it's you know, the water is a little obviously slower by that time and not as rocky.

Correct.

Correct. Yeah, Burksville is one of the areas that I fish a lot, and that's really I've learned that from you know, Randall Gibson and Greg Carey, who I still stay in contact. He's just an unbelievable fisherman. But yeah, Burkesville and Salena, Tennessee. I put in in the OUDI there and fish that water up to the Kentucky state line there because in Tennessee you can you can use rainbow trout as a bait. And I believe other than skip jack, the rainbow trout or a great bait like baits for us.

You make a good point because you can't use the trout in Kentucky waters, uh to fish with, and only Tennessee and uh Randall called them like the silver bullet or something like that. But man, that's I mean, you're talking about a fish that is just totally protein.

Oh, totally protein, and just the amount of energy. If you've ever taken a trout off off a hook, they're just like the one big muscle. They stay moving the whole time, and I think that's you know, what the striper wants. They like they like live meat, so yeah.

For sure, absolutely.

So we're about out of time this morning, Rick, So how best to find you on iHeartMedia app and you know everywhere else but iHeart First.

Yeah, iHeart First definitely. But you can find me on those platforms Bluegrass, Woods and Water. You can also check out my website Bluegrasswoodsanwater dot com and I'm on Facebook. Check out the gallery's pictures and the outsitter corner where you can play in your next adventure.

Okay, great, well listen, hey, good luck to you. Stay in touch and give me a you know coming up this winter. Give me a report on the fishing at Cumberland in the winter, you know where it's not like before the ice over.

Okay, maybe we'll do all.

Right, Greg, but that we got to hit a break chip part.

And my guess has been Rick Strauss on The Big Win News Radio seven hundred WLW, Cincinnati, fact the Big Outdoors News Radio seven hundred WLW, Cincinnatia, Chippart And at the bottom of the hour, Gary Jeff is next, and let's see, uh, maybe you might be interested in operating a boat dock at one of the state parks or other Ohio divisional wildlife waters. They have a lottery and for sixteen state parks and it closes on October thirty first, So you have to find your lottery application. If you

All right?

This from the Cowboys State Daily. You know you talk about hitting deer, hitting elk on the road. Well they're suggesting that hitting a cow won't just totally your car, it'll demolish it. And that's because you have open range out west for cattle where they cross the roads. Now, do we need to tell people in an article that your car is going to get screwed up if you hit a cow? I you know, apparently apparently? Hmm, Okay, there's some dumb people out there. I mean, why, why hell?

Be safe in the woods and safe on the water.