The Twelve Days of Christmas — our way
TWELVE DAYS QUICK LINKS:
Day One | Day Two | Day Three | Day Four | Day Five | Day Six
Day Seven | Day Eight | Day Nine | Day Ten | Day Eleven | Day Twelve
The Twelve Days of Christmas has been parodied by the likes of the Muppets, Jeff Foxworthy and even SCTV's Bob and Doug McKenzie.
Remember?
Four pounds of back bacon, three French toast, two turtlenecks ... and a beer in a tree.
Apologies are forthcoming, because it's our turn.
Over the next two weeks, ESPNOutdoors.com will present our Twelve Days with a decidedly outdoors twist to top hunting and fishing happenings of 2007.
Ok, so here it goes.
Twelve outdoors features
Santa comes close, but no one — no one — logged more miles to more bizarre locales than ESPNOutdoors.com writers and photographers in 2007, from Mexican deserts to a frozen-over Lake Champlain, from the Gulf Coast of Louisiana to Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
We're not saying we'd go back. But we're glad we went, because we brought back some doozies.
It's been a long year, and today it's Christmas. You're not getting anything else done today. Why not curl up with some of our greatest hits from '07?
Eleven Elite series winners
Ah, memories: Kevin VaDam's from-fourth-place-to-first Southern Challenge win, Ben Matsubu's seldom heralded but no less jaw-dropping performance at the Sunshine Showdown, Skeet Reese's long-awaited Potomac milestone in the Capitol Clash...
From the sudden triumphs to the it's-about-time homecomings, every victory made an impression.
Join us for a stroll through the 2007 Elite series hall of champions. The giants are friendly, for the most part, and the journey, itself, is a gift.
Ten Redfish winners
The Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup expanded their tournament series in 2007 to include six OPEN tournaments, three All Stars, and a Championship.
By our count, that's 10 tournaments, and if we're not mistaken, this is the 10th day of Christmas (at least the way we're rolling them out).
Match made in heaven? Not a chance.
The above intro included the line "if we're not mistaken" and needed a set of parenthesis to explain how this is technically not the 10th day of Christmas in its original intention.
The better question is, will this work for us in our current situation? Absolutely.
So here they are, in a particular order, the 10 Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup winners — and how they did it.
Nine ladies dancing
When they're not fishing. High-achieving anglers Sheri Glasgow and Pam Martin-Wells rose above the crowd in a year when it was announced that the 2008 Women's Bassmaster Angler of the Year will fish in the 2009 Classic. It's not even New Year's, but we're already anticipating a close competition.
Eight blogs on hunting
There's little we like as much as hunting, other than talking about it, sharing stories from it and reading the blogs of some of our favorite hunters.
Yes, we know the last one sounds strange at first. Blogging, by itself isn't the most outdoors-y activity, but you'll see what we mean.
Seven sharks swimming
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ... It's Madfin!
Most people aren't that interested in getting face time with a shark, and in this game, the bigger the better. Oh yeah, and after you catch one, you get to remove the hook.
Six bucks a-laying
Deer season: It's the most wonderful time of the year, after Christmas itself.
Climb into the tree stand with us. We've got photos, features and tales from around the country.
Five golden bass
Elite angler Steve Kennedy brought in a poundage record — with an amazing array of catches — to win the 2007 Golden State Shootout.
Four called-in birds
For your amusement, we present mallards marching, bird callers rejoicing, wild-bearded turkeys and a zombie duck.
And no, we haven't spiked our eggnog.
Three Majors winners
A daddy-to-be, a repeat offender and a grizzled rookie scooped up the last of the Majors hardware, and a cool quarter-mil apiece, for winning the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series Major tournaments.
Two duck hunts
This is not only two duck hunts: As a special Christmas bonus we bring you two duck hunts with two guys who both have big Santa beards.
Skeet beating KVD
The story of the Elite Series in 2007 was the back-and-forth Angler of
the Year race that saw Skeet Reese hold off Kevin VanDam.
Come back each day to see how jolly we can get.
