Backcasts archive: Through Nov. 2, 2007
By Brett PaulyBlog calendar: Nov. 1 | Oct. 31 | Oct. 30 | Oct. 29
Open wide: Provide a cutline for this bird vs. bass shot
We spotted this remarkable image in the November issue of Bassmaster magazine and just had to share.
It's one of those rare instances in the life of a photographer or shutterbug or point-and-shooter when he or she is … I know, I know, insert cliche here, but, really … in the right place at the right time.
Now to make the package complete, what we need from you is a caption to properly capture the moment in humor and reflection.
To help inspire you, here is the description the fine folks at Bassmaster offered for their Parting Shot feature, titled "Bad Day, Indeed":
What a bad, bad day to be a largemouth. You didn't fall for that spinnerbait (not white and chartreuse again!).
That topwater popper was moving too fast to consider.
And although the worm that fell nearly on your nose was very convincing, you somehow managed to fight the urge to bite it.
Yep, you outsmarted the anglers this day … save one. And unfortunately for you, he doesn't practice catch and release.
We're counting on you. So, fan(s) of Backcasts, unite. Take a stand and take your best shot at a caption for this bird vs. bass image, and we'll post the best submissions (read: all the entries).
We look forward to hearing from you.
Submit your responses
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"10 Camping Commandments for Kids"
If Halloween is the best chance to get your kids out of the house … well, that's a little scary. But there are ways to help youngsters get more stoked about the out-of-doors.
Consider the "10 Camping Commandments for Kids," compiled by northern California author Tom Stienstra in his new book "California Camping" (Avalon Travel Publishing; $22.95).
"How do you compete with the television and remote control?" asks Stienstra, the award-winning outdoor columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle. "How do you prove to a kid that success comes from persistence, spirit and logic, which the outdoors teaches, and not from pushing buttons?"
His suggestion is to try the following tips, designed to ensure adults "help the process along, not kill it."
1. Trips with children should be to places where there is a guarantee of action. A good example is camping in a park where large numbers of wildlife can be viewed, such as squirrels, chipmunks, deer and even bear. Other good choices are fishing at a small pond loaded with bluegill or hunting in a spot where a kid can shoot a .22 at pine cones all day. Boys and girls want action, not solitude.
2. Enthusiasm is contagious. If you aren't excited about an adventure, you can't expect a child to be. Show a genuine zest for life in the outdoors, and point out everything as if it is the first time you have ever seen it.
3. Always, always, always be seated when talking to someone small. This allows the adult and child to be on the same level. That is why fishing in a small boat is perfect for adults and kids. Nothing is worse for youngsters than having a big person look down at them and give orders.
4. Always show how to do something, whether it is gathering sticks for a campfire, cleaning a trout or tying a knot. Never tell always show. A button usually clicks to "off" when a kid is lectured. But they can learn behavior patterns and outdoor skills by watching adults, even when the adults are not aware they are being watched.
5. Let kids be kids. Let the adventure happen, rather than trying to force it within some preconceived plan. If they get sidetracked watching pollywogs, chasing butterflies or sneaking up on chipmunks, let them be. A youngster can have more fun turning over rocks and looking at different kinds of bugs then sitting in one spot, waiting for a fish to bite.
6. Expect young peoples' attention spans to be short. Instead of getting frustrated about it, use it to your advantage. How? By bringing along a bag of candy and snacks. Where there is a lull in the camp activity, out comes the bag. Don't let them know what goodies await, so each one becomes a surprise.
7. Make absolutely certain the child's sleeping bag is clean, dry and warm. Nothing is worse than discomfort when trying to sleep, but a refreshing sleep makes for a positive attitude the next day. In addition, kids can become quite scared of animals at night. The parent should not wait for any signs of this but always play the part of the outdoor guardian, the one who will "take care of everything."
8. Kids quickly relate to outdoor ethics. They will enjoy eating everything they kill, building a safe campfire and picking up all their litter, and they will develop a sense of pride that goes with it. A good idea is to bring extra plastic garbage bags to pick up any trash you come across. Kids long remember when they do something right that somebody else has done wrong.
9. If you want youngsters hooked on the outdoors for life, take a close-up photograph of them holding up fish they have caught, blowing on the campfire or completing other camp tasks. Young children can forget how much fun they had, but they never forget if they have a picture of it.
10. The least important word you can ever say to a kid is "I." Keep track of how often you are saying "thank you" and "what do you think?" If you don't say them very often, you'll lose out. Finally, the most important words of all: "I am proud of you."
For more on Tom Stienstra, visit his Web site.
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Opening day: Dog has a blast at master's expense during pheasant hunt
Had the scene Saturday during the opening of pheasant season outside Grinnell, Iowa, been just another dog-bites-man story, we wouldn't be here typing this right now. But we began making keystrokes in a hurry upon discovering this was a dog-shoots-man news item.
James Harris is recovering today at a hospital after taking up to 120 pellets to his calf from a close-range shotgun blast delivered by his best friend, er, his dog, the Associated Press reports from Des Moines, Iowa.
The pooch apparently stepped on the weapon and managed to trip the trigger, according to Alan Foster, a spokesman with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Harris, 37, of Tama, Iowa, is listed in good condition after undergoing surgery, officials at University Hospitals in Iowa City said.
He was shooting with in a hunting party about three miles north of Grinnell. The group downed a bird and when Harris went to retrieve it, he put his gun on the ground and crossed a fence. As he crossed over, his hunting dog stepped on the gun, Foster said.
The gun was about three feet away from Harris' leg and the pellets penetrated his calf in about a four-inch pattern, according to the AP.
"The muzzle velocity is so great that the pellets don't have a chance to spread out,'' Foster said.
No one else was hurt, and the dog was not injured.
Foster said no citations have been issued.
The dog answers to the name Cheney. No, we jest. The bowwow's name did not appear in the AP story. But there's the start to a bad joke in there somewhere if you'd care to pursue it.
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What a large, strange trip it's been for wildlife spotters in W.Va. and Pa.
What goes roar and eats raw chicken?
A lion in the woods of West Virginia.
Sounds like a bad joke, but state wildlife officials are treating two separate lion sightings here very seriously, the Associated Press reports out of Lewisburg, W.Va.
We'll give you the update in a moment and you can read more about the big cat here, but there are more wild goings-on just to the north, where an unidentified beast caught on film is thought to be either a bigfoot or a bear with a bad skin infection, according to an Associated Press report from Ridgway, Pa.
Rick Jacobs shot the images of the mystery animal with a deer cam fastened to a tree in the Allegheny National Forest, about 115 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Whatever tripped the camera's motion sensor isn't anything he's seen before.
"We couldn't figure out what they were," Jacobs said of the images captured last month. "I've been hunting for years and I've never seen anything like this."
Jacobs contacted the Bigfoot Research Organization, which pursues reports of a legendary two-legged creature that some people believe lives in parts of the U.S. and Canada. And, get this, researchers have responded, according to the AP.
"It appears to be a primatelike animal. In my opinion, it appears to be a juvenile Sasquatch," said Paul Majeta of the bigfoot group.
So, not just a bigfoot, we'll have you know, but a young one at that. Go figure.
However, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has a more conventional opinion. Agency spokesman Jerry Feaser said conservation officers routinely trap bears to be tagged and often see animals that look like the photos, the AP reports.
"There is no question it is a bear with a severe case of mange," Feaser told The Bradford Era.
Leave it to the government to suck the fun right out of it … but I suppose, as it turns out, Fuzzy Wuzzy really did have no hair.
A video clip from MSNBC breaks down the debate even further.
Back in West Virginia, state officials are attempting to lure their unknown creature with raw chicken in hopes of getting photographic evidence that what a bowhunter and one other witness saw earlier this month is indeed the king of the jungle.
How a full-grown, male African lion weighing between 250 and 300 pounds came to prowl around the foot of Cold Knob Mountain isn't known, either. But conventional wisdom suggests it is a pet that was dumped in the area after it got "too big, too expensive or too dangerous," state Wildlife Resources chief Curtis Taylor is quoted as saying in the Charleston Gazette.
Using a camera normally employed to catch people dumping trash illegally, the state Department of Environmental Protection has joined with Greenbrier County Animal Control Officer Robert McClung and exotic animal expert Jim Forga to see if they can substantiate the sightings, according to the AP.
Twenty pounds of raw chicken left on the site last week were devoured, but McClung said that doesn't prove the lion's existence.
"Anything could have eaten that," he said.
If officials do spot the lion on videotape, they may set a bear trap for the animal. And if caught, the cat would be turned over to Forga, who runs Tiger Mountain Refuge, a shelter for exotic animals in Rainelle, W.Va. In case you're curious, Forga claimed earlier that all of his facility's lions are accounted for.
About the author: Brett Pauly spent nearly six years editing and publishing ESPNOutdoors.com before moving on to produce the ESPN.com Sports Travel site. He is a national award-winning writer and editor with 14 years of experience in the newspaper trade, including stints at the Los Angeles Daily News and Seattle Times. The Evergreen State is where he now makes his home. Click here to email him.
