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These economic times are tough for some folks, and scary for a lot more. The outdoor industry actually is holding up pretty well, at least in some quarters. Camping, RVs, and fishing are all enjoying a growth spurt. The reason is simple; people are being conservative with their money and turning to nature for recreation because it's economical and enjoyable.

Regardless of what your financial situation is, getting outside is good for the soul. It relieves stress and is inspiring. Research has shown that spending an hour per week outdoors by yourself is as good as a therapy session for some folks.

You can also use your outdoor recreational excursions to put some extra food on the table, especially if you are willing to do some research and sometimes be a little bold. There is a cornucopia of wild food that you can harvest, if you know what and how. But, before you venture out, check about licenses and seasons. Also, get a book, or better, take a class and/or a nature hike with an expert. The 2007 movie "Into The Wild" did a great job of showing how living off the land can be deadly.

Here's a quick list of some possibilities for wild food.

Hunting
Turkey — Spring is turkey hunting time. More big birds than ever before. Go get 'em.

Fish
Certainly there are the popular sport fish like salmon, bass and trout, but if you cannot afford to go after them right now, here are some other options you can get into for pennies.

Freshwater fish — Yellow perch are spawning in shallows now. That means docks and bank fishing are more productive than in summer. Catch a bucket full of mouthwatering fillets.

When I was living in the Midwest, we would go fishing for redhorse suckers and carp in the springtime. When they come into the streams to spawn from the Great Lakes their flesh is still firm from cold water. Soak fillets in brine and smoke 'em. You can buy electric smokers, or be creative with old wine barrels, etc.

Crawfish — These little mini-lobsters taste like shrimp. Buy inexpensive metals traps or make crawdad catchers from plastic gallon jugs.

Saltwater fish — On Chesapeake Bay, a few summers back, I found surprisingly few people catching white perch. In the ocean, surf and shiner perch can be caught from docks or in the surf with very inexpensive gear.

Crabs — On the east coast, it's blue crabs. On the west coast, it's red rock and Dungeness crabs. Crab traps can be expensive, or you can make your own. Some people have luck hiding bait in the center of a tangled mess of monofilament line and tossing the whole mess out with a fishing pole. Crabs go after the bait and get all tangled up, so you can reel them in.

Catfish — I have never tried noodling — climbing into a stream and reaching under roots to grab a big catfish hiding in hole with your bare hands. I remember what a snapping turtle can do to a stick if you put one too close to their nose.

Eels — Along the California coast, when the tide is out, folks wade out into the rocky areas and go "poke poling." Your fishing pole is a cut-off broomstick, with a hook on a very short leader at the end. Bait is a piece of herring or chunk of mussel.

You wade out into the rocky crevices and stick your pole into holes and crevices where rockfish and eels hide when water goes down. Your "creel" is a burlap bag. Always check with water conditions, keep your face to the ocean to look for sneaker waves, and check health advisories.

Shellfish and Seaweeds — One of my favorite seafood gathering books is "Edible? Incredible?" by Marjorie Furlong and Virginia Pill. These two ladies researched local recipes and methods and studied what Indians of the Northwest Coast had eaten.

They packaged it into a pocket-sized book and started selling copies in the 1970s. My dog-eared copy is dated 1973. The book has its gone through numerous printings. The last one that I can find online is the 7th edition that came out in 1985.

The table of contents alone will get you going: limpets, abalone, snails, clams, mussels, scallops, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, oysters, barnacles, shrimp, kelp, crabs, and octopus. How many of those have you caught and tried? Ever tried pickled bull kelp, like making pickles but using kelp?

Digging clams is one of my favorite outings. In Tomales Bay and Bodega Bay, just north of here, when there's a good low tide you can dig horse clams, and maybe get an occasional geoduck. You may need a boat to get out to the best beds, but in some cases you can just walk out from shore.

There are two approaches to clamming. Wear waders and maybe a wet suit to stay dry and warm. Or, become a mud puppy, and wear tennis shoes and swim suit and get good and muddy as you dig maybe 2-3 feet down to get softball-sized clams.

Plants
I had the good fortune to once meet the noted forager, Euell Gibbons, whose classic book, "Stalking The Wild Asparagus," was a best-seller. He claimed you could find a good meal in half an hour foraging just about anytime other than winter.

Wild Asparagus — Berries and fruits come later in the year, but right now you can hunt for tasty wild asparagus sprouts that are at least as good as store-bought. The time to look is right after the first warm rain. Real pros will drive rural roads looking for last year's seeding stalks. They mark them on maps and then hit the roads at sunrise on that first rainy day.

Bracken fern — In moderation you can eat bracken fern fronds when they are young fiddleheads. In East Asia, fern fiddleheads are a huge delicacy.

Miner's Lettuce — Along the West Coast, from Alaska to Mexico, you can eat miner's lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata. The nearly round leaves with a tiny flower in the center are easy to spot.

Mushrooms — Edible mushrooms and fungi can be found most often in early spring and early fall, especially after rains. But, wild mushrooms poison more people than any other wild food, so be very careful.

Fall mushrooms include puffballs, oyster mushrooms, and the real epicurean delight, chantrels, which at the local Whole Foods store go for over $20 a pound.

In the spring, sponge-like morels are pretty easy to identify, and very tasty. If you find the right place, some people can fill a bushel basket. Such places are guarded with great secrecy.

I can't leave this subject without a story. When I was a student at the University of Michigan, the famous mycologist Alexander Smith was on the faculty. His book, "The Mushroom Hunter's Field Guide," is the hands-down best mushroom field guide. Every summer Smith would teach an extension class that drew people from all around the U.S.

One of his students was this very wealthy woman from Cleveland. She was a prize pupil and went back to Cleveland to show off her new mycological knowledge. After the first fall rain, she went out and gathered wild mushrooms and invited socialites of the city over for dinner.

All was going well until the butler suddenly appeared at her side and said, "Madam, your dog is dead." Now it turns out that the lady had fed some mushrooms to the dog before serving them to her guests, just to be safe.

The dog had seemed fine before dinner.

All the guests were quickly shuttled to the hospital to have their stomachs pumped. Shortly after this, it was discovered that the dog had been hit by a car.


James Swan — who has appeared in more than a dozen feature films, including "Murder in the First" and "Star Trek: First Contact," as well as the television series "Nash Bridges," "Midnight Caller" and "Modern Marvels" — is the author of the book "In Defense of Hunting." Click to purchase a copy. To learn more about Swan, visit his Web site.