Catfish Gumbo
The "Catfish" on everything outdoors . . . and then some.
By Keith "Catfish" Sutton
Technology Catches Bad Guys — posted May 18, 2008
Being a backwoods, back-to-nature kind of guy, I never thought I'd say it, but "Three cheers for technology!" Poachers, burglars and other ne'er-do-wells are finding it increasingly difficult to get away with their wrong-doings, thanks to caring citizens and technological wonders such as cell-phone cameras, computer databases and even the trail cams used by deer hunters. We're all the better for it.
Consider, for example, this recent case. When 22-year-old Kyle Hall saw a suspicious character aiming a gun at an out-of-season deer near his parent's Idaho home, he confronted the man and two companions sitting in a nearby truck on the roadside. The man driving the truck told Hall he and his friends were doing nothing wrong, but Hall didn't buy it. He put his cell phone in camera mode and photographed the three men and the truck's license plate.
After the men left, Hall met an Idaho conservation officer at the site, where they discovered shell casings, a blood trail and then a dead pregnant mule deer. Thanks to Hall and his cell-phone images, a Pocatello man was cited for allegedly killing the deer out of season. Score one for the good guys.
In another case, a braggart from Horton, Michigan — Christopher James, 44 — proved his stupidity by killing a 24-point, record-class whitetail and then sharing the story with a local newspaper. James told a reporter he killed the buck at dusk, tracked a blood trail part of the night and returned later to find the dead deer. What he failed to say in the interview was that he didn't purchase a hunting license until the morning after he shot the deer.
Conservation officer Troy Bahlau saw the story in the Jackson Citizen-Patriot and compared the information it contained with the wildlife department's hunting-license database to discover James was unlicensed at the time the buck was shot.
"He bought the license at 9:44 the next morning," Bahlau said.
The deer's trophy antlers were seized, and poaching charges were filed against James. Penalties included a mandatory $1,000 restitution for the poached deer and revocation of James' hunting privileges.
"He lost the buck of a lifetime for the lack of a $15 license," Bahlau said.
In additional news, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich just last year announced new technology that could bring millions of dollars in unpaid child support to the state. The point-of-sale system administered through the state's Department of Natural Resources allows Illinois' Healthcare Family Services department to crosscheck names of child-support violators with everyone who applies for a state hunting or fishing license. If the applicant owes more than $1,000 in child-support payments, they will not be issued a license.
During the first six months of the program, the state collected nearly $130,000 from 90 parents. According to the Belleville News-Democrat, one father wrote a check for $14,000 so he could continue deer hunting.
And finally, there's the case of Johnny Sandlin of South Lebanon, Ohio. After his home was twice burglarized, he decided enough was enough. Sandlin placed the trail cam he normally uses for deer hunting to record any activity on his driveway. Subsequent photos taken of the criminal were turned over to the county sheriff, and the bad guy wound up incarcerated.
Sometimes there is justice in the world.
Bass Anglers Lament the Death of Dottie — posted May 11, 2008
There's little doubt Weakley knew this fish could be his ticket to fame and fortune. He and his two lifelong buddies, Winn and Dickerson, have been trying to catch a world record for years. In fact, Weakley and Dickerson already had been recognized for landing Dixon Lake bass that rank among the top 15 heaviest largemouths ever recorded — a 21-pound, 11-ounce specimen, the fourth-largest bass ever caught, taken by Dickerson in 2003, and a 19.5-pounder (tied for 13th on the all-time list) caught by Weakley the same year.
Unfortunately, the 25-pounder Weakley landed on March 20 had been unintentionally foul-hooked. The white jig Weakley was casting stuck in the fish's side just below the dorsal fin when he set the hook. And because of this fact, Weakley quickly decided to release the humongous bass. He allowed only his companion Mike Winn to hold the fish in order to avoid stressing it. Three photos and some video were shot while witnesses watched the bass being weighed on the anglers' scale. Weakley was behind the cameras, however, not in front of them. His primary concern was getting the bass back in the water unharmed. Very quickly, the largemouth of all largemouths was released back into Dixon Lake.
In the hours that followed, news of the catch spread like wildfire via the Internet, where anglers discussed the possible world record, a Holy Grail that has been pursued for almost three-quarters of a century. At first, breaking George Perry's record had been a goal just because it was there — a mark to be broken, like the four-minute mile. But according to some analysts, the rise of tournament bass fishing and the bass-fishing industry made the fish worth big money, maybe a million bucks or more in endorsements if the right person caught it on the right tackle and knew how to promote himself in the right places.
In the 24 hours following Weakley's catch, the question on everyone's mind was whether or not Weakley's bass could still be certified as a world record despite its hasty release. No one had measured the length or girth of the fish, and it had not been weighed on certified scales. The fact that the bass had been unintentionally foul-hooked also was a concern.
As it turns out, none of these facts would have disqualified the fish from record consideration. But nevertheless, a day and a half after boating the heaviest largemouth bass ever documented, Mac Weakley announced he would not seek to have the fish certified as a new world record.
"We want to let the 22-1/4-pound George Perry record stand, and we'll break it another time," Weakley told ESPNOutdoors.com senior editor Brett Pauly.
The 25-pound bass Mac Weakley caught was the same 21-pound-plus bass caught and released by his friend Jed Dickerson in 2003. This is known because both fish had a black mark on the underside of the right gill plate. Locals dubbed the fish "Dottie," and almost as soon as Weakley released Dottie in 2006, everyone from weekend anglers to Japanese fishing champions made their way to tiny Dixon Lake, hoping for a chance to catch her and perhaps establish a new world record.
That will never happen, however, because last Friday morning, May 9, an unidentified angler found Dottie floating dead on the north side of the lake. He netted the fish, then left her with the boat dock attendant. Park ranger supervisor Jim Dayberry said the huge bass "appeared to have died (Thursday) night. It was in a very good state, with little decay. The fish spawned out. There were no eggs left in it." This time, Dottie weighed 19 pounds and measured 29-1/2 inches long.
Dayberry contacted Dickerson and Weakley who both came to see the fish they had pursued for years.
"That's it — that's THE fish," Weakley said when he saw the distinctive black mark on Dottie.
Although their pursuit of Dottie would seem to have come to an unsuccessful conclusion, Weakley and Dickerson said they were not unhappy it was over. Finding the big bass proved they had not killed her in 2006, and she had lived out her natural life.
To this observer, it seems like a wonderful irony that her ending came as it did. Dottie, perhaps the biggest largemouth bass to ever swim, spawned one last time and passed away — on the weekend of Mother's Day. Her progeny will live on in Dixon Lake, and her legend will live forever.
Favored Hunting and Shooting Brands — posted May 8, 2008
In yesterday's blog, I showed you the fishing products anglers preferred most in 2007. Today, we're focusing on last year's most favored hunting and shooting products. This information comes from surveys of 19,288 hunters and target shooters conducted by Southwick Associates at HunterSurvey.com and TargetshootingSurvey.com.
In 2007, the top brands included:
- Top rifle brand: Remington (14.1% of all purchases)
- Top shotgun brand: Mossberg (27.5% of all purchases)
- Top muzzleloader brand: Thompson Center (29.7% of all purchases)
- Top handgun brand: Smith & Wesson (17.6% of all purchases)
- Top scope for firearms: Bushnell (23.7% of all purchases)
- Top rifle ammunition brand: Remington (32.7% of all purchases)
- Top shotgun ammunition brand: Winchester (33% of all purchases)
- Top handgun ammunition brand: Winchester (26.2% of all purchases)
- Top blackpowder brand: Pyrodex (40.3% of all purchases)
- Top balls, bullets, or shot brand: Powerbelt (32.1% of all purchases)
- Top bow brand: Matthews (16.7% of all purchases)
- Top arrow brand: Easton (45.1% of all purchases)
- Top fletching brand: Bohning (29.6% of all purchases)
- Top broadhead brand: Muzzy (29.6% of all purchases)
- Top archery targets brand: The Block (26.6% of all purchases)
- Top decoy brand: Flambeau (23.4% of all purchases)
- Top game call brand: Knight & Hale (18.3% of all purchases)
- Top reloading bullet brand: Hornady (24.5% of all purchases)
- Top reloading powder brand: Hodgdon (42.6% of all purchases)
- Top binocular brand: Bushnell (24.5% of all purchases)
- Top tree stand brand: Gorilla (12.8% of all purchases)
- Top knife brand: Buck (24.3% of all purchases)
- Top scent brand: Scent-A-Way (19.5% of all purchases)
- Top shooting target brand: Shoot-N-C (36.8% of all purchases)
- Top clay brand: White Flyer (36.6% of all purchases)
Fishing Brands Anglers Prefer Most — posted May 7, 2008
I don't know about you, but I've always enjoyed finding out what types of products are used most by my fellow anglers and hunters. For one thing, if a product is used by lots of people, that's probably because it's a pretty good product. For that reason, I might want one, too.
This week a company called Southwick Associates announced the brands and products anglers preferred most in 2007. SA compiled the list using information gathered from 16,258 anglers surveys conducted at AnglerSurvey.com last year. Here's what they found:
- Top rod brand: Shakespeare Ugly Stik (16.7% of all purchases)
- Top reel brand: Shimano (18.1% of all purchases)
- Top rod and reel combo brand: Shakespeare (20.9% of all purchases)
- Top fly rod brand: Orvis (17.5% of all purchases)
- Top fishing line brand: Berkley (Trilene, Fireline, Big Game and Vanish; 38.5% of all purchases)
- Top hardbait brand: Rapala (25.6% of all purchases)
- Top softbait brand: Zoom (15.9% of all purchases)
- Top spinnerbait brand: Strike King (21.3% of all purchases)
- Top hook brand: Gamakatsu (30% of all purchases)
- Top sinker brand: Bullet Weights (20.1% of all purchases)
- Top fly line brand: Scientific Anglers (25.7% of all purchases)
- Top electronics: Lowrance (55.5% of all radio or GPS and 35% of all fish finder purchases)
- Top tackle box brand: Plano (50.3% of all purchases)
- Top fishing knife brand: Rapala (46.4% of all purchases)
Pool Noodle Catfishing — posted May 6, 2008
In recent years, jug-fishing enthusiasts have developed a new way to enjoy this pleasant sport. Instead of milk jugs or soda bottles, they make their floats from the long, hollow, closed-foam "noodles" kids play with in the swimming pool. These signal a strike better than regular jugs because when a fish takes your bait, the noodle stands up and waves around.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to enjoy some of this "noodle" fishing while visiting Jim Duckworth and Charlie Campbell on the Tennessee portion of Kentucky Lake. Jim and Charlie baited 30 noodle rigs with night crawlers, and I accompanied them later to check for fish. Turns out, they caught plenty of channel cats — one on just about every rig they had floating in the lake. Whenever a catfish took a bait, a noodle would stand and wave before racing off, and we'd pursue the fish in Jim's boat. We had a great time doing this and wound up with lots of "eaters" to take home when our jug fishing was done.
Of course, being a catfish specialist myself, I have my own way of rigging pool noodles that works great for me. Here are the instructions.
First, cut one 5-foot noodle into three 20-inch floats. Drill a hole through each noodle (side to side) about four inches from one end. Make the hole large enough to accommodate a piece of plastic drinking straw or metal tubing as long as the noodle is wide. Run the straw or tubing through the hole. This serves as a protective sleeve that keeps your fishing line from cutting through the foam when a big catfish is on.
Next, cut a 4-foot piece of stout fishing line. Run it through the sleeve, and tie the line securely around the noodle. To the line's lower end, tie a three-way swivel. To the swivel's bottom eye, tie another piece of line six feet long. Add a hook and sinker to this. To the other eye of the swivel, tie a 2-foot leader line with a hook on the end. Rigged this way, you can fish two baits at different depths, which should increase your catch. If you're "noodling" at night, add reflective tape around each noodle's top so they shine when a flashlight beam hits them.
One word of warning: noodle fishing is addictive. Try it when you'll have time to go again and again as often as possible. You're sure to have loads of fun.
Girls' Fishing Weekend — posted May 5, 2008
This year's get-together was this past weekend. It's always in April or May, and, unfortunately, almost always at an inauspicious time as far as the fishing goes. For example, last year, the ladies were pretty much stuck in the cabin all weekend because of torrential rains. This year, the weather was beautiful, but downpours during recent weeks had the river at flood stage, making fishing difficult at best.
Does that matter to my wife and her friends? Not one iota, as far as I can tell. Girls' Fishing Weekend is, for them, a time to get away together and enjoy some relaxation away from work and family matters. If the floodwaters were up to the cabin eaves, I believe they'd paddle in and sit on the roof if necessary, dropping a baited line off the side and waiting for a bite while they played a board game or dealt a hand of cards.
I chided Theresa when she headed out Friday to meet her friends, saying she needed to bring home a mess of fish to eat this year or I was going to have trouble believing she and her friends really were fishing. The first year, she brought home a mudpuppy salamander Debbie had caught, but no fish. Last year, because it rained all weekend, no fish again. And this year, once again, there were no fish for us to eat when my wife got home. (Theresa reminded me there have been more than just a few occasions when I've returned home fishless myself.)
The bottom line is this: fishing gives my wife and her friends a great excuse to escape for a weekend outdoors every year. And their Girl's Fishing Weekends have become a tradition that will create memories that last for years and years to come. Whether they actually catch fish or not doesn't really matter. I'm sure all of them would be happier if they loaded their stringers with fish, at least once. But in the end, catching fish is a secondary part of the overall experience. Getting away with your friends is what counts. Fishing simply provides a means to that end.
Here's hoping all your fishing adventures produce memories that last a lifetime.
Those Wonderful, Yummy Crappie — posted April 29, 2008
I don't get to crappie fish near as often as I want. And when I do get to go, I often discover the fish were biting marvelously the day before yesterday and the week before last, but for some strange reason, the bite at the time of my visit is sadly off.
"They got a bad case of lockjaw about the time you pulled out of your driveway this morning," I often hear.
Not so this time. The crappie in my favorite lake were on a tear, gorging on threadfin shad to get in shape for the spawning season just ahead. Even I had no trouble hooking and landing them.
When our fun morning of fishing was over, I wound up taking home three dozen fat crappie that produced two 1-gallon freezer bags full of thick fillets. I was happier than a dog with two tails.
When I told a catfishing buddy about my trip, he said, "I don't understand why you enjoy crappie fishing so much. Crappie don't hit very hard, they don't put up much of a fight, and they don't get very big. They're hard as the dickens to figure out sometimes — hot one day and cold the next. I'd trade a hundred of 'em for one good-sized channel cat."
Many anglers like my narrow-minded friend don't give a tinker's hoot about crappie fishing. Many others, however, love crappie fishing, and with good reasons.
Consider, for example, that crappie are found in hundreds of thousands of lakes and streams throughout the South. In-the-know anglers haul them in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Anything these sunfish lack in size, they compensate for with sheer numbers and the ease with which they are caught.
Sure, trout are bedazzling jumpers. Catfish reach huge sizes. Bass are brutal battlers. For many anglers, however, crappie are the favorites because the certainty of some kind of fishing action is far better than promised battles that never come.
Fancy equipment? No need. It doesn't matter if you use an old cane pole or a $200 ultralight rig. Both catch crappie.
The crappie also is one of the most beautiful of fishes. Its scales are flakes of polished silver assembled like a delicate mosaic that sparkles jewel-like in the water. The eyes are golden inlays. Showy, oversize fins impart subtle grace.
All these characteristics blend to make the crappie an extremely beloved character. At least 6.7 million U.S. anglers 16 years old and older fish for crappie, this according to the 2001 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Only black bass, trout and catfish are more popular.
The growth of the crappies' range during the past century is one indication of their popularity.
Black crappie originally were found in the eastern half of the United States except for the northeastern seaboard. The range of this species was greatly expanded, however, by introductions into eastern sections of the country where it wasn't found originally, and throughout much of the West and Midwest. Washington received its first stockings in 1890, California in 1891, Idaho in 1892 and Oregon in 1893.
The original range of the white crappie extended from eastern South Dakota to New York, then south to Alabama and Texas. This species also has been widely introduced into new waters, and like the black crappie, it now is found in all lower 48 states. It tends to be more at home in the oxbows, large lakes and sluggish rivers of the South, while the black crappie, which thrives best in colder, clearer water, can be found as far north as southern Canada.
Crappie also have been stocked in Mexico and Panama, with populations thriving in both countries.
Another indication people like crappie is the fact that several places lay claim to the title "Crappie Capital of the World." Among these are Weiss Lake, Alabama; Kentucky Lake in Kentucky and Tennessee; Grand Lake, Oklahoma; and Lake Okeechobee, Florida. Folks in Louisiana have gone a step farther and designated the white crappie as their official state fish.
Crappie have, indeed, won the hearts of millions. But some, like my catfishing buddy, will never be swayed. To them, crappie always will be "kids' fish" — too small, too easy and too wimpy to be worthy of attention. For the rest of us, however, crappie always will be special.
"He has a lot to recommend him," Havilah Babcock wrote of this popular panfish. "When a sizable crappie is cleaned immediately and dropped for a few scant minutes into a pan of sizzling fat, he is a fillip for the most jaded appetite."
I'm not sure what a fillip is, but as I watch the fillets cooking, I feel like a hungry cat watching a crippled bird. My gastric juices churn. I salivate like a wolf winding blood. It is a quasi-orgasmic moment.
I bite into one of the hot, golden fillets, and in a sudden moment of clarity, I realize: this is why I love crappie fishing.
Note: Autographed copies of my book, "The Crappie Book: Basics and Beyond," can be ordered by sending a check or money order for $17.45 to C & C Outdoor Productions, 15601 Mountain Dr., Alexander, AR 72002. For credit card orders, visit www.catfishsutton.com.
Strange Fishing Methods — posted April 27, 2008
THE DANCING FISHERMAN Lots of catfishermen still enjoy jugfishing, where the participants follow floating jugs to which baited hooks and line have been attached. It's been more than a century, however, since anglers employed a special type of floating fish-catcher called the "Dancing Fisherman." For this means of fishing, a jumping-jack (a small, jointed man whose limbs are moved by jerking a string attached to them) was fastened to a stick secured in an upright position on a float made from a board. Through a hole in the float passed a string attached to the jumping-jack, and tied securely to this were the hook and line. When a fish took the bait and pulled on the string, the little figure would throw up its arms and legs as though dancing for joy at having performed its task so well.
BUCKET FISHING An unusual method of catfishing is used on Louisiana's Lake Bruin. When catfish begin spawning, local anglers start "bucket fishing." The participants submerse weighted buckets with a semicircular hole cut in the lid. Catfish enter the containers to spawn and are captured by lifting the containers from the water using an attached line. The technique is highly effective.
BOBBING FOR EELS Anglers sometimes catch American eels by "bobbing." Using a needle, numerous night crawlers are threaded on a six-foot piece of sewing thread. The worms are then wrapped into a ball, and the ball is tied with stout line. The line is tied to a pole, and fishing commenses. When an eel grabs the bob, the thread entangles in its teeth. Eel on!
CHURNING FOR CATFISH A method of catfishing popular in the 19th century seems quite strange today. Known as churning, it was done like this. "A flour barrel was taken, both ends knocked out, and the hoops secured; then a half-dozen boys and men, thus provided, would range themselves across a canal, and moving in concert, would each bring his barrel at intervals down to the bottom. The moment a fish was covered, its presence was betrayed by its beating against the staves in its efforts to escape." When the men heard the fish flopping, they reached in the barrel, caught the cat and threw it to companions waiting on the bank.
CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS Another strange fishing method is used by Chinese fisherman. On one side of each small fishing boat is a white-painted board. The board slopes from the gunwale to the water's surface at a 45 degree angle. For some reason, upon seeing this board gleaming in the moonlight, fish cannot resist the temptation to leap over it, and right into the boat.
DAPPING FOR TROUT Have you ever seen a trout angler dapping? This once popular fishing tactic seldom is used these days. It's done using a live mayfly on a long pole with light line. The idea is to flutter the mayfly across the surface without the line touching the water. It's said to be deadly on rising trout.
A Meal Fit For Kings — posted April 20, 2008
That was good for us, though, because it meant we could keep all the little bluegills we caught and not feel a bit guilty. Getting rid of the overly plentiful panfish will help the lake produce bigger fish. And that meant we had a huge mess of fish to eat when we got home.
My wife and most of my sons, like many people I know, prefer all their fish filleted, even bluegills. No bones, please. I, on the other hand, consider myself something of a bream connoisseur, and I much prefer that my bream be pan-dressed, never filleted, to facilitate the most thorough enjoyment of these scrumptious wild treats. This is done quite simply. Remove all the scales with a spoon, cut off the head, remove the entrails and, voila, you're finished. Leave the fins, tail and skin on. They enhance the unsurpassed flavor of these popular panfish.
With the fish thus prepared, I dredge them in seasoned cornmeal and drop them in hot peanut oil. After a few minutes, they're cooked up golden brown and crispy, and as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing in the world I'd rather eat.
There is, however, a certain way to enjoy such a meal to the utmost. First, pick up the cooked fish (it's OK to use your hands) and eat the tail. If the fish has been properly fried, this morsel will be crunchy and slightly salty, the piéce de resistance. Proper etiquette demands that you nibble your way slowly from the outer edge to the point where the tail joins the body.
You should next grasp the fish's dorsal fin (the one on top) between your thumb and forefinger, and strip it backward, pulling it and the bones beneath it out of the fish. Munch the crunchy ends if you like, and then discard on your bone plate. (Bream should always be served with a side plate on which the inedible remains can be placed.) Do likewise with the remaining fins.
Now, insert the tip of a fork in the back of the fish, where the dorsal fin was pulled away, and twist slightly to separate one of the fillets from the bones beneath it. Grasp the fillet with your fingertips and gently pull it away in one piece. Near the belly portion, toward the front, you will notice a few small bonesthe ribs. Pull these from the flesh, and discard. If you have proceeded properly, you now have in your hand a boneless piece of bream, golden-brown and crispy on one side, and snowy-white on the other. This you may eat.
To complete your pleasurable task, hold the remaining piece of fish, fried-side down, and insert your fork beneath the bones, lifting slightly to pull them away. The bones and cooked fish should separate easily, and by tugging a little, you will soon have the fish's skeleton in your hands. Discard to the bone plate. Remove any rib bones that remain, and you will have, once again, a boneless fried fillet that is as sweet and delicious as any piece of meat God put on this earth. Eat. Enjoy. Proceed to fish number two, number three, number four and so on, until the fish are gone or your belly is too distended for comfort.
Friends, when it comes to good foods, it just doesn't get any better than this. I'm already looking forward to another day at the pond so I can replenish my stock of little bluegills. The first mess, caught last week, has already disappeared down the gullet of yours truly.
Falling Overboard Can Be Deadly For Boaters — posted April 16, 2008
"A fall into the water can turn into a life-threatening situation very quickly," said BoatU.S. Foundation President Ruth Wood, "It doesn't take long for exhaustion or hypothermia to drain the life out of you. Boaters and anglers need to be prepared, especially if you are alone. It can happen to you."
While many larger boats have built-in boarding ladders, the Foundation tested portable models on a 17-foot Boston Whaler, 14-foot johnboat and 12-foot rigid-hull inflatable. What follows are five important tips that will help ensure a fall overboard doesn't become tragic. To see a complete report on the tests as well as video of the ladders in action that will help you select the right one for your boat, go to www.BoatUS.com/Foundation.
1. Wear your life jacket. All of the BoatU.S. volunteers participating in the testing program wore a life jacket before they voluntarily went over the side. All agreed that a fully clothed adult with no buoyancy would have difficulties attempting to get back aboard using any type of ladder.
2. You don't need to spend lots of money for a functional boarding ladder. Testers found an affordable model fashioned from four-inch wide yellow webbing proved best. Simplicity also ruled the day as the highest-ranked ladders all had fewer than three steps. The ideal ladder length, measured from the water's surface to the bottom rung, averaged 20 inches.
3. Some ladders work better with certain types of boats. Hard sides or soft? Low or high freeboard? Depending on a boat's construction or deck layout, most ladders performed well with one particular kind of vessel, and did poorly with others. It's important to match the ladder to the boat.
4. Before you head out, your boarding ladder needs to be positioned so it can be reached from the water. Also, attaching the ladder to the wrong spot on a narrow, lightweight boat can increase the chance of capsizing, especially if there is wave action.
5. Practice is a must. Many ladders were difficult to use on the first try. Take the time on a warm, sunny day to fine tune any adjustments, get in the water and use the ladder. Some ladders threw testers off-balance when weight was placed on them, causing the device to swing underneath the boat. Only practice solved this problem.
The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit education and research organization primarily funded by the voluntary contributions of the 650,000 members of BoatU.S. The Foundation operates more than a dozen programs including the only accredited, free, online general boating safety course, the "Help Stop the Drops" national clean fueling campaign, and a free kid's Life Jacket Loaner Program. It has awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants for nonprofit groups for boating safety and environmental projects.
The names of our dogs — posted April 11, 2008
A company called Veterinary Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif., recently analyzed its 450,000 insured clients and came up with lists of the top 10 dog names. In fact, they even broke it down by gender. According to VPI, the top 10 male dog names, starting with number one, are Max, Buddy, Rocky, Bailey, Jake, Charlie, Jack, Toby, Cody and Buster. The top 10 female dog names are Bella, Molly, Lucy, Maggie, Daisy, Sophie, Sadie, Chloe, Bailey and Lola.
I don't know about you, but when I read these lists, I don't see any real dog names. Sounds more like a teacher taking attendance at preschool. In fact, some of the top 10 names, or close variations, appear on the Social Security Administration's list of most common baby names. For example, Jacob (Jake) is the top name for boys, while Isabella (Bella) is number four for girls.
Whatever happened to good old-fashioned dog names — names that weren't people names? For centuries, giving your favorite canine a human title was totally unheard of.
Consider this list of hunting hound names translated from a Greek manuscript centuries old: Lance, Sentinel, Ecstasy, Blueskin, Crafty, Hasty, Vigorous, Impetus, Counsellor, Bustler (dog) and Hasty. The writer says, "The names are significant of the color, strength, spirit, sagacity or behavior of the hounds."
Another ancient list of dog names contains some monickers that are even more interesting and unforgettable: "Black-foot, Trail-follower, Voracious, Gazelle, Mountain-ranger, Fawn-killer, Hurricane, Hunter, Seizer, Catcher, Runner, Gnasher, Spot, Tigress, Might, White, Soot, Spartan, Whirlwind, Swift, Cyprian, Wolf, Grasper, Black, Shag, Fury, White-tooth, Barker, Black-hair, Beast-killer, Mountaineer." Not a human name in the mix, but we do get one of the earliest mentions of another name now gone by the wayside: Spot. Yes, plain old Spot.
William Shakespeare mentioned dogs in several of his works, and none of the names he used are reminiscent of human titles. In "The Taming of the Shrew" we find Clowder, Merriman, Silver, Echo and Belman. "The Tempest" dogs were Mountain, Silver (again), Fury and Tyrant. And in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," we find Proteus' servant Launce dragging his cruel-hearted and infamous dog Crab, who he complains is the surliest dog that ever lived.
In more recent history, we find a prevalence of "real" dog names as well. Consider the frontiersman Davy Crockett whose hunting dogs were Old Rattler, Soundwell and Tiger. George Washington, our first president and an avid hunter, kept a pack of fox hounds, and there wasn't a Max or Molly in the bunch. His canine companions included Mopsey, Pilot, Tartar, Jupiter, Trueman, Tipler, Truelove, Juno, Dutchess, Ragman, Countess, Lady, Searcher, Rover, Sweetlips, Vulcan, Singer, Must, Tiyal and Forrester.
The good news, perhaps, is that Veterinary Pet Insurance's lists of names are probably not representative of the true scope of dog names currently being used. The company's lists include many dog names that are also the names of people because these are the names of dogs that are insured. No doubt, lap dogs and house dogs make up most of this group — dogs considered by their owners to be real family members and thus deserving of human names.
Chances are good that few hunting dogs are among the insured. After all, who wants to indemnify an animal that makes its living in the wilds, plunging into icy waters to retrieve waterfowl or spending hours chasing critters such as raccoons, foxes, coyotes and even bears and mountain lions. And those who own hunting dogs seldom treat them like members of the family. Hunting dogs are loved and treasured, but seldom thought of as children or human equals like many other canine pets.
We can rest assured then that for every dog named Max, Cody, Lucy and Lola, there's another dog with a real dog name like Scrapper, Ranger or just plain old Rover.
For many of us, knowing that is a big relief.
Fishing Collectibles Fetch Big Dollars — posted April 7, 2008
Before you get rid of those old items of fishing tackle, however, be sure you see what they're actually worth. Antique tackle in good condition has been bringing unheard of prices in recent auctions. Even experienced auctioneers have been unable to predict what buyers will actually pay for items they consider collectible.
Consider for example a recent auction by Lang's Sporting Collectibles of Waterville, NY. This sale in Boxborough, Mass. brought a record total of $2.8 million for a variety of fishing tackle, books and memorabilia. The 700 bidders in attendance came from as far away as Japan, Britain, Argentina, New Zealand, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Korea, Australia and China, and hundreds more called in on phone lines or bid on eBay.
Hot bidding began almost instantly for a boxed-birdcage reel made in 1859 by William Billinghurst in Rochester, N.Y. When the hammer fell, this example of the first patented American fly reel sold for $40,320, more than double the pre-sale estimate of $18,000. A more orthodox offering, a Philbrook & Paine handmade raised-pillar trout reel (Lang's photo above) estimated at $7,000 to $9,000, went for $10,080. Reels by several other makers also brought five-figure prices: Hewitt ($16,800), Hardy Zane Grey ($11,480), Fowler ($10,640), 2nd version Meek #44 ($10,640) and Fin-Nor Wedding Cake #4 ($10,080).
Nineteenth-century American fly rods also were hot items at the sale. Compare the estimates with the prices realized: a Charles Murphy 12-footer (estimated at $800 to $1,200) for $3,575; a 14-foot, 3-inch rod by Thomas Mack of Boston (estimated at $700 to $1,000) for $8,960; a 14.5-foot J. C. Conroy ($600 to $800) for $9,240; and a 12-foot Thaddeus Norris ($5,000 to $7,000) for an astounding $17,920.
A number of exceptional lures were auctioned off, including a pre-Civil War Musky Haskell Minnow lure that sold within estimate for a whopping $32,250. A Hosmer Frog went for $13,438, a Smith Minnow for $11,200, and a Wood's Ultra Casting Minnow for $5,100. Also sold was a collection of seven historic flies in a shadow box, including one tied by Theodore Gordon, "the father of American fly fishing," and another one by angling author George LaBranche, for $7,975, more than double the presale estimate of $2,500 to $3,500.
Although many thought the market for collectible sporting books had gone soft, the prices for some titles sold by Lang's rocketed into outer space. The top three alone went for almost a quarter million dollars. Atlantic Salmon Fishing by Charles Phair, deluxe two volumes, one with mounted flies and materials (estimated at $10,000 to $20,000) sold for $50,400. Four 1928-1931 membership booklets of the Anglers' Club of New York (estimated at $4,000 to $8,000) brought $67,200. And A Book of Trout Flies by Preston Jennings, deluxe two volumes, one with mounted flies ($20,000 to $30,000) soared to $89,600, more than double the auction record set a year ago.
Among the most interesting items auctioned off were 150 lots of tackle and memorabilia once owned Zane Grey, the purple-prose author of Western novels and perhaps the most fanatical fisherman in history. Grey once went 88 days at sea without even a strike, but remained ever enthusiastic, saying, "The enchantment never palls."
This is just one of the many examples of recent sales where fishing collectibles went for unheard-of prices. And the items mentioned here aren't the only types of collectibles. Also selling for big bucks these days are old fishing catalogs, bobbers, creels, minnow traps, fish carvings, original art, knives and more.
The lesson in all this? When you're going through all your fishing stuff this spring, don't give anything away until you check its value. It might make you rich!
Photo Proves Giant Catfish Story Is Not A Myth — posted April 1, 2008
"The AFD shoots a continuous series of photographs — one every two minutes — to document work at each site," said ACE spokesmen Sidd Finch. "This particular series, taken on the 1st of April last year, was being examined recently by engineer G.O. Welles when he noticed the huge fish behind the diver in this single frame. The diver, Theodore Hook of Cardiff, New York, said he was totally unaware he had been this close to a fish that was probably big enough to have swallowed him. But he claims he and other divers have seen gigantic fish like this before."
According to Charles Piltdown with the Regional Underseas Studies Endeavor, the fish in the photograph appears to be a flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris), but the fuzzy nature of the picture makes it impossible to determine for sure.
"Barbels, or whiskers, are clearly evident on the fish," the ichthyologist reported, "which tells us for sure it's some type of catfish. And by comparing the fish's dimensions to the size of known objects in the photograph, we were able to estimate its length at approximately 105 inches and its weigh at around 700 pounds. This is quite possibly the largest catfish ever documented, larger even than the 646-pound Mekong giant catfish captured in northern Thailand in 2005. It may be a new species, previously undescribed."
Since the early 1940s, when hydroelectric and flood-control dams started springing up around the country, divers working around these structures have reported seeing incredibly large catfish, including some so enormous the divers refused to go back underwater because they feared the consequences of encounters with these huge creatures.
"I've seen some catfish I knew were twice my size, and I've seen them while diving at 16 dam sites in six different states," said George Hull, an experienced diver who works for Freshwater Research and Underwater Development. "But telling people you've seen them is like saying you saw the Loch Ness monster or a UFO. No one believes you, so after a while, you figure you're better off if you don't discuss what you've seen.
"I'm just glad someone has finally proven the existence of these fish," he continued. "And because it was a government agency that found the evidence, it will definitely be indisputable. Maybe now people will believe what divers like me have been saying for nearly half a century — there are fish out there big enough to eat people, and the fact that someone hasn't been hurt by them already is nothing short of a miracle."
Trained biologists like myself have always dismissed encounters such as Hulls' as nothing more than figments of the divers' imaginations. But hardcore evidence like this photograph will make it difficult to dispute such sightings, which have been reported from at least 87 dam sites throughout the country. The evidence is clear: something huge is out there — lots of somethings — and it will take the concerted efforts of state and federal authorities to determine what it is.
Unless, of course, some catfisherman like me catches one of these beasts first. I'm heading for the Mississippi River to do some fishing today, and I'm gonna use something big for bait: a Pomeranian perhaps, or maybe some of the stray cats running around my neighborhood. I figure if I tie one to the winch hook on my truck, I ought to have a decent chance of landing anything that bites.
Wish me luck. And by the way, happy April Fool's Day.
Presidential Fishing Quotes Quiz — posted March 20, 2008
1. "All presidents go fishing, even if they have never fished before, because the American people and media have respect for privacy only on two occasions. One of them is prayer, and the other is fishing, and presidents can't pray all the time."
2. "In these sad and ominous days of mad fortune-chasing, every patriotic, thoughtful citizen, whether he fishes or not, should lament that we have not among our countrymen more fishermen."
3. "One of the turning points of my life was when I got my first bait-casting outfit. This purchase, using some of the earnings from my boiled peanut sales, was the culmination of months of desire, conversation, study of outdoor magazines and comparative analysis of advertisements for rods, reels and lures. Finally, when I was ready to get serious, I turned to the Sears, Roebuck catalogue and place my order for a four-foot Shakespeare rod and a Pflueger reel."
4. "One brisk morning spent fishing on a misty lake can bring home to a child the beauty, drama and fragility of our natural heritage in a way a thousand classroom presentations never could."
5. "A dolphin we catchd at noon, but cou'd not entice with a baited hook two baricootas, which played under our stern for some hours."
Answers: 1) Herbert Hoover, in his book Fishing for Fun; 2) Grover Cleveland, in his book Fishing and Hunting Sketches; 3) Jimmy Carter, in his book An Outdoor Journal; 4) George H. W. Bush, in a 1989 message on the observance of National Fishing Week; 5) George Washington, from notes kept while in Barbados at age 19
A Writer's Life — posted March 12, 2008
Last week, I was one of the featured speakers at the Arkatext Festival at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. Sponsored by UCA's Department of Writing, this annual event brings to campus noted authors for lectures and readings with faculty and students.
I was honored when my friend Mark Spitzer, a creative writing professor at the university, asked me to participate. And I really enjoyed telling students more about my career as a writer, photographer, editor and lecturer. I also had a first-ever opportunity to read some favorite stories I've had published over the years in books such as "Out There Fishing."
After the reading, one young man came up to tell me how much he'd enjoyed my presentation. He also said he'd been interested in working as an intern for me. "I'd like to have a job like yours," he said. "One where I could hunt and fish all the time."
Unfortunately, this student had missed my earlier presentation. In a portion of that talk, I told the students what type of work I have done during the past 30 days. And I concluded by telling them how much hunting and fishing I had done during the same period.
It is always eye-opening for those who believe outdoor writers like me live a life that consists of nothing more than outdoor fun and adventure to learn we spend most of our work time sitting at a computer inside and performing menial tasks that can be anything but fun.
If you're one of the folks who wants to become an outdoor writer so you can get paid to hunt and fish every day, you, too, might benefit from a look at my work schedule this past month. Here's what I've done, day in, day out, in the 30 days just past:
1. Wrote 15 blogs for ESPNOutdoors.com.
2. Wrote five 1000- to 1500-word newspaper articles.
3. Wrote fourteen 800- to 2500-word feature articles and columns for magazines.
4. Prepared a Powerpoint presentation for a crappie fishing seminar.
5. Wrote a press release for the fishing seminar and emailed it to 100 people who might help promote it.
4. Copy-edited 32 articles for Cabela's Outfitter Journal.
5. Spent 24-plus hours on the Internet compiling news sections for two magazines.
6. Edited three chapters of another author's book.
7. Completed the final chapters of a new book on catfishing, and prepared and submitted a photo package that will be used to illustrate that book.
8. Submitted four previously published articles for publication in magazines and on websites.
9. Spent four days gathering new product information at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas (and two days traveling there and back).
10. Spent two weeks reworking that information into a 36-page new product section for Stoeger Publishing's Shooter's Bible.
11. Spent 20 hours on the telephone requesting new product information I couldn't obtain at the SHOT Show.
12. Reviewed more than 200 page proofs for Shooter's Bible.
13. Wrote 50 shooting tips for inclusion in Shooter's Bible.
14. Wrote and submitted queries for future articles to 12 outdoor magazines.
15. Wrote scripts for 12 television spots I'll host on ESPN television.
16. Spent two days searching for locales where those TV spots could be filmed.
17. Spent two days trying to catch various live baits that will be featured in the TV spots.
18. Spent two 12 hour days in front of the camera shooting 6 of the TV spots.
19. Completed and submitted invoices and contracts for the above items.
20. Wrote/answered an average of 65 emails daily.
21. Packaged and mailed more than 100 books sold through my website and mail order.
22. Spent one day preparing my Arkatext presentation.
23. Discussed assignments for 36 more magazine articles with editors.
24. Did several hours research for a new book on Arkansas fishing.
I worked all but one weekday and one weekend during this period.
Time fishing: 2 hours while trying to catch live bait for the TV shows.
Time hunting: 1 day pheasant hunting on a shooting preserve (a birthday present from my best friend).
Now, so you don't get the impression I'm trying to discourage you from a career in outdoor journalism if such is your goal, let me share with you as well the rest of my presentation to the students at UCA. I told them first of all, there's a method to all this madness. Completing all this work this month will allow me more time in the coming month to go fishing, shoot photography and gather new story material.
I'll still be writing and editing on a daily basis, but I'll also have time to be in the field more, one of the perks of this job. Some months, I'm at the computer 12-16 hours a day every day. Other months, I get to spend more time in the woods and on the water.
I told them there are additional perks as well. For example, each year I receive dozens of invitations to go to fantastic hunting and fishing destinations throughout the Western Hemisphere. I can only go on a few such excursions each year, but my job has allowed me to travel from Canada and Alaska to Mexico, Brazil and Venezuela. I've visited every state except Hawaii.
I also explained that the three greatest benefits of being a full-time free-lance outdoor journalist really have nothing to do with hunting, fishing or travel.
First, I get to meet some of the finest people on the globe in my travels, and become good friends with many of them. I rely upon the expertise of this group of generous people to craft many of the articles and books I write. But more importantly, I enjoy their friendship.
Second, as a full-time freelancer, I am my own boss. If I don't want to do a job, I don't have to. I must, of course, keep busy enough to generate income to support my family, but for the most part, I only do those things that interest me. I often work 12-hour days through weekends and holidays, but I enjoy what I'm doing and that makes it worthwhile. And when a reader takes time to write to me or send an e-mail saying they enjoyed something I wrote, I feel a great sense of satisfaction.
Finally, as a journalist, I am able in some small ways to influence millions of people, and while I often find this a bit overwhelming, I know the things I write can help make our world a better place in which to live. That's a huge responsibility, but one I take seriously.
In the end, it's a trade-off. My friends get to hunt and fish more than me, but I have a job many people would die for. For that I am very grateful.
The Mexican Slam — posted March 10, 2008
I've never been very good at wild turkey hunting. I'm not stealthy or quiet enough. And I can't call worth a darn. Nevertheless, I think it would be one heckuva fun deal to participate in a new quest that is part of the National Wild Turkey Federation's program.
If you're a turkey hunter, you probably already know that one of the biggest feats in turkey hunting is completing a slam. Until recently, there were three recognized slams in turkey hunting: Grand, Royal and World. To get a Grand Slam, the hunter must kill one of each type of wild turkey in the U.S.: Eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam's and Osceola (Florida) birds.
The NWTF maintains a list of people who have completed each slam. And despite misconceptions to the contrary, the organization does not require the kills to take place all in a single calendar year.
Now NWTF recognizes a new kind of slam: The Mexican Slam. To complete this slam, the hunter must manage to bag Rio Grande and Gould's wild turkeys and the ocellated turkey. And all three birds must be harvested within the borders of Mexico.
"There are abundant populations of all three of these turkeys in Mexico," said Scott Vance, NWTF director of partnership programs. "One unique aspect of the Mexican Slam is the variation in terrain and hunting tactics. To complete the slam, you will hunt in everything from mesquite deserts to vine-choked jungles. And you better bring your oxygen mask for the Gould's since they are consistently found above 8,000 feet elevation."
I love Mexico and would love to experience the challenge of making this slam. So if anyone out there is headed south of border to give it a try and wouldn't mind an old, fat redneck from Arkansas who can't call and can't be quiet tagging along, give me a shout, would you?
Gun Handles — posted March 7, 2008
For some reason, the tradition of naming one's favored firearm has fallen out of fashion. This was not always the case, however. If you look into the annals of history with an eye for such things, you'll discover many well-known people who named a much-loved gun. Here are some of their stories.
Perhaps the best known gun is Davy Crockett's "Old Betsy." Old Betsy was a .40-caliber rifle made by James Graham of Pennsylvania. She had a black walnut stock, with brass hardware and silver inlays. This was a particularly beautiful firearm, and one the poor Senator Crockett could never have afforded to own. As a member of the Tennessee State Assembly, Crockett championed veterans' rights and made it easier for individuals to own land. So the constituents of Lawrence County took up a collection and presented him this rifle on May 5, 1822.
Much mythology surrounds Old Betsy. While it is accurate to say that Crockett killed more than 100 black bears with her during six months of hunting in 1825 and 1826, it is not accurate to say that he used Old Betsy during the battle of the Alamo. Crockett left the flintlock with his son John Wesley upon departing for Texas. The original rifle, severely foreshortened and converted from flint to percussion ignition, is now displayed in the Alamo Chapel Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
Daniel Boone was another legendary hero who carried a flintlock rifle. Crafted by his brother Squire, a skilled gunsmith, this .44-caliber Kentucky longrifle stretched more than five feet and weighed nearly 11 pounds. Boone dubbed the gun "Old Tick-Licker," boasting he could use it to shoot a tick off an animal without hurting the beast. By modern standards, it was a massive firearm, bulky and unwieldy. But it was one of the finest guns of its day, surprisingly accurate and crafted with the durability that survival on the frontier demanded.
Lucretia Borgia was a.48-caliber trapdoor Springfield rifle owned by Buffalo Bill Cody. Cody may have gotten the idea for the name from Victor Hugo's famed Lucretia Borgia, a play Cody may have seen in St. Louis. Borgia, the daughter of Pope Alexander VI, was described as a cold-blooded murderer in many dramas and books, and it is said Cody named his gun for her due to its deadliness.
Cody related details about the gun in a story told by Zane Grey in Last of the Great Scouts.
"I have killed over 40,000 buffalo, and most of them with that old gun," Cody said. "…our term of service on the Plains covered so many years, and so many different kinds of guns came into use that we tried out this one, then that one. The Winchester was well liked, as was the Spencer carbine, especially on horseback, but they could not shoot alongside of the .48-caliber needle-gun. That carried 70 grains of powder and 470 grains of lead. 'Shoot to-day!—kill to-morrow!' was what the Indians called it.
"That was my father's rifle, and I love that gun."
BO WHOOP
The best known gun in waterfowling history may be Bo Whoop, a 12-gauge magnum double-barrel owned by famed writer Nash Buckingham. Buckingham was a respected authority on shooting and hunting. In 1921, Western Cartridge Company president John Olin sent him an Askins-Sweeley magnum 12-gauge to field test the company's new Super-X shotshells. Buckingham liked the gun so much he commissioned Philadelphia gun maker Bert Becker to build one for him just like it.
The shotgun Becker crafted to Buckingham's specifications was constructed on a Fox frame with 32-inch barrels, which were overbored to deliver a 90-percent pattern of copper-coated 4s at 40 yards. Nash's good friend Colonel Harold P. Sheldon called the gun Bo Whoop because of its distinctive hollow report.
Buckingham was riding back to town with a man named Clifford Green following a December 1, 1948 duck hunt near Clarendon, Arkansas, when a pair of game wardens stopped the men and checked their licenses and ducks. Bo Whoop was laid on the fender of Green's car after one of the wardens looked at the gun, and Buckingham didn't notice it was missing until they had driven several miles away. Despite an exhaustive search by game wardens, police and hunters, and ads placed with local newspapers and radio stations, Buckingham never saw the gun again.
Cold-weather Crappie — posted March 6, 2008
It's cold today on 7,000-acre Lake Greeson west of Hot Springs, Arkansas. Think Antarctica. In winter. At night.
My fishing companions reflect the state of the winter chill. Fishing guide Jerry Blake has on a camo hunting outfit that might be worn by someone going for musk oxen on the Arctic tundra. My friends Alex Hinson and Lewis Peeler are garbed in enough insulation to warm a glacier. My son Josh is dressed like he'll be running sled dogs at the Iditarod.
If we hold our fishing poles still very long, ice forms in the line guides. Our minnow baits are trying to jump back in the boat to get warm. And we're shivering on what has started out to be a gray, overcast day.
Funny thing is, no one seems to care much that it is barely warmer than the shady side of an Alaskan glacier. Jerry Blake has invited us over to experience the extraordinary winter crappie fishing on Lake Greeson, and true to form, he's putting us on some fish. Damn the cold. We're catching crappie!
This wasn't one of those fish-a-minute days you often have during the spawning season. It was simply too icy out to expect that. But as we move from brushpile to brushpile in the lake, we pick up a crappie here and a crappie there.
And folks, let me tell you, these were no ordinary crappie. Here in Arkansas we call crappie this size "barn doors." And almost each and every fish we caught justified that description. These were huge panfish (an oxymoron, I know) that measured in multiple inches across the back! You've never seen fillets so thick as the ones on these slabs.
Jerry guides folks here year-round, even when it's so cold your teeth are chattering while you try to fish. And while fewer clients join him this time of year, I'd suggest if you want to experience trophy crappie fishing at its best, now's the time to do it. You can have your choice of days, and not only is the fishing extraordinary, this is a time of year when you can truly find some peace and relaxation on the water.
No boats. No personal watercraft. No people. No sounds but the breeze in the trees and the occasional honks of Canada geese passing overhead. In my mind, there's no better time of year to fish for crappie, here or anywhere, if you're willing to bundle up in some warm clothes and brave the cold.
Jerry is on the pro staff for B'n'M Poles in West Point, Mississippi. And the five of us put some of B'n'M's best to the test while fishing today. Their lightweight, sensitive graphite poles were ideal for feeling the subtle hits of winter's light-biting crappie.
Not only did we catch some enormous crappie on these rigs, Jerry battled in a chain pickerel that would be a trophy in any "snake" angler's book, and I followed up with a hard-fighting largemouth that really put the strain on one of Buck's Best Ultra Light poles. Jerry and I both won our battles and the war.
If you want to get outdoors for a really enjoyable day of fishing this season, look Jerry up. You can stay in a comfortable travel trailer he has right at lakeside, and if there's a crappie to be caught, ol' Crappie Whisperer will put you on it. There's not a better way I can think of to spend a winter day than on the water fishing with Mr. Blake and a few of your best friends and family. Despite my icy fingers and toes, this was one of the most memorable fishing days I've enjoyed in a very long time.
Go to Jerry's website, www.actionfishingtrips.com, to see what he and his clients have been catching lately and book a trip before he gets covered up with spring anglers.
And just to whet your appetite, take a look at this gallery and get a gander of some of the boss crappie we put in the boat today. If that doesn't give you the fishing itch, you must be dead.
New Riflescopes For 2008 — posted Feb. 26, 2008
You might think there's just so much a manufacturer can do to improve on the riflescopes that are out there already, but apparently that's not so. The people building scopes are coming out with lots of new, improved products every year, and 2008 is no exception. This preview gives you a first look at some of the most important shooting optics you'll start seeing at sporting goods dealers in the months to come.
Bushnell
ELITE 6500 SERIES
Columbia Sportswear Co.
TIMBERLINE PHG
Konus
KONUSPRO M-30 SERIES
Leupold
QDMANAGER SERIES
Nikon
MONARCH 2-8X32, 4-16X50SF, 8-32X50ED SF
Swarovski
Z6
Zeiss
Enhanced Victory Diavari 6-24x72 T* FL
New Ammo For 2008 — posted Feb. 21, 2008
In my last three posts, I told you about the new shotguns, rifles and outdoor accessories I learned about at this month's SHOT Show in Las Vegas. Now, a look at some of the new ammunition that will become available this year.
Black Hills
.22-250 AND .243 WIN.VARMINT GRENADE
In 2007 Black Hills introduced the .223, 36 grain Varmint Grenade load. This specialized projectile contains no lead but has a core composed of a compressed copper/tin mixture, which disintegrates upon striking the target. This load has been enthusiastically welcomed by varmint shooters, and now Black Hills has added this same 36-grain bullet in the .22-250 cartridge, propelled to a screaming 4250 fps, and a 62-grain loading in .243 Winchester caliber, with a velocity of 3700 fps.
Federal Premium
TNT GREEN
Federal's new TNT Green brings the latest in non-tox technology to the Federal Premium V-Shok varmint hunting line. This is a totally lead-free bullet that couples explosive expansion with match-grade accuracy, making it a tremendous varmint round. Initial offerings will include .222, .22-250 and .223 options.
Fiocchi
NICKEL-PLATED TURKEY SHOT SHELLS
Fiocchi's use of nickel-plated lead shot in its Turkey loads, one of the few in the industry to do so, gives the hunter the benefit of a denser, more consistent pattern with fewer stray pellets and increased range and penetration. Fiocchi's nickel-plating allows the pellets to retain their aerodynamic spherical shape as they pass through the shotgun's barrel and choke, resulting in rounder pellets. These rounder pellets offer truer flight characteristics, less wind resistance and a higher retained velocity at impact. Combined with their resistance to deformation when contacting tissue and bone, the Fiocchi Nickel-Plated Turkey loads provide deeper penetration to ensure a quick and humane kill. Available in 12 gauge, 2-3/4, 3 and 3-1/2-in. shells in shot sizes of 4, 5 and 6.
Hornady
.22 WMR
MDM Muzzleloaders
DYNO-CORE MAGNUM MUZZLELOADING BULLETS
Remington
PREMIER ACCUTIP BONDED SABOT SLUG
Winchester
THEODORE ROOSEVELT COMMEMORATIVE AMMUNITION
New Rifles for 2008 — posted Feb. 20, 2008
The variety of new rifles coming out this year is incredible. The trend seems to be toward more youth models, more models appealing especially to women shooters, more guns with interchangeable barrels and more rifles made with the highly popular thumbhole stock. Hunters and shooters of every stripe will find something to tickle their fancy in the 2008 line-up of great products. Here are some of the new rifles to watch for:
Smith & Wesson
I-BOLT STAINLESS
In its long-gun line, Smith & Wesson is adding a stainless version of the i-Bolt bolt-action rifle. The i-Bolt Stainless will be available in .25-06, .270 Win., .30-06 Win., 7mm Mag. and .300 Win. Mag and features a box-style magazine and a Realtree AP synthetic stock.
Barrel: 23-in., free-floated Thompson/Center match grade
Sights: receiver drilled and tapped, Weaver rail provided
Weight: 6.8 lbs.
Magazine: 3+1 or 4+1
Features: adjustable trigger; three-position, semi-lineal safety; flush sling swivel mounts
MSRP: not available
New Rifles for 2008 — posted Feb. 20, 2008
The variety of new rifles coming out this year is incredible. The trend seems to be toward more youth models, more models appealing especially to women shooters, more guns with interchangeable barrels and more rifles made with the highly popular thumbhole stock. Hunters and shooters of every stripe will find something to tickle their fancy in the 2008 line-up of great products. Here are some of the new rifles to watch for:
Browning
X-BOLT
At the heart of Browning's new X-Bolt centerfire is the innovative, all-new Feather Trigger System, a three-lever design that offers a crisp, clean pull with no take-up or creep and minimal overtravel. Fully adjustable and factory pre-set at just 3-1/2 pounds, the Feather Trigger features precise, hard chromed steel components contained in a durable alloy housing. The X-Bolt also offers a unique unlock button on the bolt handle that allows you to remove a cartridge from the chamber while the top-tang safety remains in the on-safe position. A new detachable, rotary-design polymer magazine offers reliable feeding as each cartridge moves into perfectly centered alignment with the chamber.
Stock: composite, gloss finish walnut or satin finish walnut
Barrel: stainless steel, blued, low luster blued or matte blued
Weight: 6.3-7 lbs.
Caliber: variety of calibers from 243 Win. to 375 H & H Mag
Features: available in several models, including the Stainless Stalker and Composite Stalker with composite stocks, and Medallion and Hunter with wood stocks; Inflex Technology Recoil Pad and X-Lock Scope Mounting System
MSRP: $799-$1049
Harrington & Richardson
HANDI-MAG
For the first time, H&R 1871 is offering magnum centerfire rifles. This new product line, the Handi-Mag, will be chambered in the most popular magnum cartridges in North America, the 7mm Rem. Mag, .and 300 Win. Mag.. Handi-Mag rifles are made in the single shot tradition of Harrington and Richardson.
Stock: Monte Carlo synthetic
Barrel: 26 in., stainless steel
Weight: 7-8 lbs.
Features: heat-treated blued carbon steel receiver; soft recoil pad; steel sling swivel studs; transfer bar safety
MSRP: $319
Henry Repeating Arms
LEVER .30-30
Henry Repeating Arms expands its lineup of American made rifles with the addition of the new Henry Lever .30-30. Available in either steel with 20-in. round bull barrel or brass with 20-in. octagonal barrel, each rifle features easy-to-feed tubular design, fully adjustable sights and the exceptionally smooth lever action design that Henry rifles are famous for.
Stock: Straight grip American Walnut with buttplate
Sights: Marbles fully adjustable Semi-Buckhorn rear, with reversible white diamond insert and brass beaded front sight easy-to-feed tubular feed design
Weight: 8.3 lbs.
Magazine: 6 rounds
Features: drilled and tapped to accommodate a scope
MSRP: $749 (steel), $970 (brass)
Knight Rifles
KP1 WURFFLEIN
Knight's new KP1 Wurfflein .45-70 utilizes a patent that is well over 100 years old and updates it with modern technology and superior materials and manufacture. The timeless and simple function of the gun is retained, but the barrel is an accurate and tough Green Mountain Barrel Company barrel. The removable trigger mechanism is crisp and consistent. Topping it off, the KP1 Wurfflein features barrel interchangeability, allowing users to go from .45/70 to various other calibers, plus muzzleloader, rimfire and shotgun barrels.
Stock: black composite, brown sandstone laminate or Next G-1 Camo
Barrel: blued or stainless steel Green Mountain
Sights: fully adjustable, metallic fiber-optic
Weight: 7 lbs. 13 oz.
Magazine: single shot
Features: sling swivel studs
MSRP: Not available
Marlin
XL7
Marlin Firearms has added centerfire bolt-action rifles to its product lineup. The first model in the new series is the XL7, a standard long-action rifle available in three calibers: .30-06 Spg., .270 Win. and .25-06 Rem. The innovative Pro-Fire trigger system is user adjustable, virtually creep free and can be set to break at a crisp 2 1/2 lbs. Other notable features include a fluted bolt for an exceptionally smooth action, steel sling swivel studs that will not break or degrade over time, pillar bedding for consistent accuracy, high polished blued steel, checkered bolt handle, recessed barrel crown and classic American style checkering molded into the lightweight synthetic stock.
Stock: black synthetic or RealTree APG-HD camo
Barrel: 22 in.
Sights: none; 1-piece Weaver-style scope base included
Weight: 6.5 lbs.
Magazine: 4+1
Features: Marlin Soft-Tech recoil pad
MSRP: $325 (black), $356 (camo)
Legacy Sports International
PUMA SCOUT
Legacy Sports has added the Scout model to their popular Puma M-92 lever-action rifle line. This is an all-new package gun that builds from the traditional M-92 platform by adding a long eye relief, 2.5x32 NikkoStirling riflescope and a special cheek piece for the comb of the stock to enable quick target acquisition through the scope. Its available in .17 Rem., .38 Spl./.357 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 Colt and .454 Casull calibers.
Barrel: 20 in. blued
Magazine: 10+1
Features: .454 model fitted with shotgun-style recoil pad; crescent steel butt plates on other models
MSRP: $739-$849
Ruger
NRA MINI-14
Ruger's Mini-14 series of autoloading rifles has been extremely popular since first introduced in 1974. Long considered simple, rugged, and reliable, these rifles have proven so popular around the woods, farm and ranch that they earned the nickname "Ranch Rifle." New to this line is a special-edition Mini-14 that will only be produced in 2008 and will raise money for the NRA Institute for Legislative Action. It's chambered for .223 Remington, ships with two 20-round magazines and the grip cap of the stock features an NRA metal gold-tone logo.
Stock: Hogue OverMolded with NRA metal gold-tone logo on grip cap
Barrel: 16 in.
Sights: protected blade front, ghost ring adjustable aperture rear
Weight: 6.75 lbs.
Features: special serial number sequence; blued finish
MSRP: $1035
Savage Arms
CUB T PINK
One of Savage's several new rifles is a pink, laminated thumbhole version of the single-shot, bolt-action Cub T rimfire .22. This one will undoubtedly be popular with the growing population of young lady shooters.
Barrel: 16.1 in.
Sights: post bead front, rear peep
Weight: 3.5 lbs.
Features: Accutrigger; recoil pad
MSRP: $261
Sig Sauer
SIG 556 SWAT
Sig Sauer's new semi-auto SIG 556 SWAT features the same high-performance, two-position adjustable gas piston operating rod system engineered for the SIG 556 by SIG's sister company Swiss Arms and marries it to a trigger housing that not only cuts the rifle's weight by a pound but is designed to accept standard AR magazines.
Stock: adjustable MAGPUL CTR Carbine buttstock
Barrel: 16 in.
Sights: flip up combat front and rear
Weight: 8.7 lbs.
Caliber: 5.56mm NATO
Magazine: 30 rounds
Features: alloy Quad Rail forearm; Nitron X durable, corrosion resistant finish; flash suppressor
MSRP: $1799
Smith & Wesson
I-BOLT STAINLESS
In its long-gun line, Smith & Wesson is adding a stainless version of the i-Bolt bolt-action rifle. The i-Bolt Stainless will be available in .25-06, .270 Win., .30-06 Win., 7mm Mag. and .300 Win. Mag and features a box-style magazine and a Realtree AP synthetic stock.
Barrel: 23-in., free-floated Thompson/Center match grade
Sights: receiver drilled and tapped, Weaver rail provided
Weight: 6.8 lbs.
Magazine: 3+1 or 4+1
Features: adjustable trigger; three-position, semi-lineal safety; flush sling swivel mounts
MSRP: not available
The Rabbit Man — posted Feb. 19, 2008
In many respects, he was an uncommonly common man. But in the few seasons I hunted with him, I found in The Rabbit Man a depth of character as rare and priceless as precious jewels.
And so it was that two days later, in the parking lot at his office, Lewis introduced us, The Rabbit Man and me.
I knew from the start there was nothing pretentious about him. "Nice meetin' ya," he said, extending a callused hand. "Now if we're done with the pleasantries, maybe we can go huntin'."
Crotchety old cuss, I thought. And, indeed, that morning, The Rabbit Man looked the part. He smiled very little, and a three-day stubble of beard roughened his furrowed face. He was a big man, but he looked haggard and old for his 65 years, like the pictures you see of farmers who lost it all in the Dust Bowl. He dressed in typical hunter's garb—a plaid flannel shirt, brushbuster breeches with a swath of vinyl across the front of each leg, red suspenders where he hitched his thumbs, a camo hunting cap, a canvas coat and rubber knee boots. A shiny, black-and-white cow horn with a pewter mouthpiece dangled from a piece of twine slung over one shoulder—a come-hither signal for his dogs.
The picture stuck with me as we followed his pickup, driving to the bottoms. What makes this man tick? I wondered. Why did he invite us here?
Not far from the town of Pine Tree, a gravel road cuts into the middle reaches of the L'Anguille River. Not far from that gravel road, down a muddy dirt path, is a little blackwater seep the locals call Lost Pond. The name is befitting, for you might pass within a few yards of Lost Pond and never know it is there. That is part of its charm. In its isolation, deep within this sea of bottomland hardwoods, this tiny pool rarely receives human visitors. Wood ducks come to rest and feed. Deer drink from its cool, tannin-stained waters. The woodlands around it are eternally damp and thickly understoried, a haven for swamp rabbits, woodcocks and other wetland creatures.
It was here The Rabbit Man led us.
We parked just east of the pond and stepped onto a blanket of hard-crusted snow. The wind was nippy but refreshing. I felt the twinge of heady anticipation that always precedes a good rabbit chase.
The Rabbit Man turned out his dogs, whistling and bellowing to spur them on. Then, cradling guns under arms, we followed the snuffling pack of hounds into the heart of the Lost Pond woods.
I studied the old man as we walked, and remember, quite clearly, how the curmudgeonly, wayworn facade faded away. He reminded me of a bruised child given a mother's kiss to make it all better. The sullen glower was replaced with a broad smile, and when we stopped, The Rabbit Man began to talk.
"This here's God's country, son, or at least the closest I've ever come to it," he said, gesturing with a sweep of his outstretched hand. "Lotsa folks don't care much for it. Too muddy. Too many mosquitoes and snakes. But the swamp rabbits and cottontails like it plenty good. Lots of 'em, all through here. And me and my dogs … well, we kinda take a hankering to any place there's lots of rabbits."
He beamed as he talked, and I realized the grumpy disposition I perceived at first had not been that at all. It was more a bit of agitated impatience, an old man eager to get out of the city and back to the out-of-the-way haven where he was happy and at ease.
We hunted several hours—talking, listening, waiting, when a chase was on. The dogs yammered in the distance, tracing huge ellipses and figure eights through the woods as they hounded the Lost Pond swampers.
The Rabbit Man could not see the dogs, but then again, he could. His gaze followed their every move, and now and again, he related what was happening beyond the trees.
"They've lost him," he'd say when the woods fell silent. "But just you listen. Ol' Pete'll figure him out." Shortly, the clamor would start again, and The Rabbit Man would smile a knowing smile.
He knew what the dogs would do before they did it, and though the rabbits seemed totally unpredictable to me, never showing when I'd expect it, The Rabbit Man always inserted one of our hunting party in just the right place to cut short their escape. Only rarely did he step in himself to shoot, that privilege being appointed for his guests.
I watched him slip through the bottoms that day, like a will-o'-the-wisp—here now, then gone, silently and unexpectedly—and knew the man was more than a visitor in those bottoms. He was as much a part of the swamp as the rabbits he chased, at home, fully incorporated into the landscape.
I remembered a few lines I read once in a Barry Lopez story. "To hunt means to have the land around you like clothing. To engage in a wordless dialogue with it … It means to release yourself from rational images of what something 'means' and to be concerned only that it 'is.'"
That's how it was with The Rabbit Man. When he set his hounds loose in the bottoms, all pains and worries melted away. It was enough just to be there; the reasons why mattered not.
Despite my initial misgivings, something special happened that day. A seed was planted, and over the next hunting season and the next, it grew into a deep, unexpected friendship. The long drive between our homes kept me from hunting with The Rabbit Man as much as I would have liked, but I went afield with him at least once or twice each season.
We were generations apart, but being in those Lost Pond bottoms had a magical way of erasing our many contrasts. We listened to that glorious dog music and talked for hours about beagles and swamp rabbits, hunts past and hunts to come, and other matters of mutual importance. There were always jokes he'd saved special for the occasion, but they were tempered by bouts of pensiveness when the old man spoke of deep concerns. Mostly he worried about the noose of agriculture tightening 'round the neck of his beloved bottomlands.
"It'll all be gone someday," he said, staring into the autumn woods. "Thirty years ago, when I first started hunting here, there was so much more. Cypress trees six feet through the middle. Oaks you could have built a house in. Game everywhere, like you couldn't imagine. Now it's shrinking away. Cleared up for the plow. Given over to soybeans and rice. I hope I'm not around when it's gone."
I hated to see those days end, but it's the endings I remember most.
"Hear those dogs, boy?" he'd ask me, looking out over his beloved woods. "They're playing my song. I hate to call 'em in."
Then he'd pull that old horn from under his coat, and placing it to his lips, he'd sound a note, long and mellow, and the dog music would end.
The layers of character that made The Rabbit Man different from the many other rabbit hunters I have known cannot be reduced to a single proposition. Yet, were I forced to choose one trait that set him apart from others, I would say it was the intense, unwavering love he had for the sport.
For him, hunting rabbits was no mere passion. It was a vital function, like a heartbeat and breathing. Being in his favorite coverts, listening to his dogs chasing a canecutter or cottontail, was an elixir that nourished and sustained him. Like an aged man who'd found the Fountain of Youth, he returned to partake of the potion again and again, as often as possible. Had he been deprived of those outings, which were an almost daily event during rabbit season, I have no doubt he would have withered away long before I met him.
I've met others like The Rabbit Man, but they are a rare and dying breed, destined, I'm afraid, for unheralded extinction. It is unfortunate that most hunters, even those of us who consider hunting an undying passion, can no longer devote ourselves to our pleasures in such an all-encompassing manner. Despite our preferences to the contrary, we find ourselves caught up in day-to-day affairs that demand an ever-increasing share of our time. As we give ourselves over to business and family matters and other such importances, we surrender to the notion that we're "doing what's right," that pleasures can be indulged only after we finish our toil.
That is why, I suppose, I felt compelled to write this. The Rabbit Man may have been a common man, but he was also one who embraced his passion for the outdoors and made it a priority in his life. In that respect, he was part of a small and vanishing brotherhood. We should remember his kind, if only because most of us wish that we, too, could more often indulge our fancies.
Hugh "Ed" Middleton, The Rabbit Man, passed away on February 19, 1991. Although I thought about it several times, I didn't hunt with him that season. It was the first time in several years we'd not managed a trip or two together. Too much to do at home and in the office. Too little time for "unimportant" stuff like rabbit hunting.
When I read about his passing in the obituaries, I wasn't too shocked. The Rabbit Man was getting slow of late, complaining more about his arthritis and walking shorter distances before stopping to catch his breath.
I spoke to him in January, listening as he complained about two new pups that wouldn't mind him. Pete had died the last season, and Scrapper was too old to chase rabbits any more. The young pups couldn't fill the shoes of the old veterans.
When I learned of his death, I went to the doghouse and turned my little beagle pup out into the woods. I listened as she ran a cottontail across the hillsides.
Booorrooo! Booorrooo!
It was a harsh sound, primitive and untamed. But it fell on my ears like a choir of angels.
"Can you hear that, Rabbit Man?" I said, casting my eyes toward the orange sunset. "She's playing your song."
In the distance, I thought I heard the long sonorous note of an old black-and-white horn.
New Shotguns for 2008 — posted Feb. 18, 2008
Since attending the SHOT Show earlier this month, I've spent more than a week going through new product information I gathered there. I came home from the Las Vegas Convention Center with literally hundreds of new product CDs, press kits and news releases. I actually required an extra suitcase just to ship them all back to Arkansas.
Now that I've finished digging through all that material, I can give you the scoop on all the latest and greatest stuff you'll be seeing at sporting goods dealers and gun shops later this year. In my last post, I told you about some of the interesting gadgets and accessories I learned about. Now to the meat and potatoes of SHOT Show: guns, ammo and optics. To start, here are some of the new shotguns coming out in 2008.
Browning
Cynergy Classic Trap Unsingle Combo
One of Browning's newest is this trap-shooting 12-gauge combo that includes a single barrel and over-and-under barrel together in an aluminum case. Monolock hinge technology creates the lowest profile receiver in the industry.
Stock: gloss finish Monte Carlo grade III/IV walnut
Barrel: 32"/34", 32"/32", 30"/34" and 30"/32" combinations
Chokes: 4 Invector Plus Midas Grade chokes tubes
Weight: 8 pounds 13 ozs., 8 pounds 15 ozs.
Features: adjustable Unsingle Rib with single barrel and an over and under barrel set, all in an aluminum case; Reverse Striker ignition system; HiViz Pro-Comp fiber optic sights
MSRP: $4942
Harrington & Richardson
Pardner Waterfowl Gun
Looking for a great goose gun for a youngster? This might be it: a 10-gauge, break-open single shot with ventilated recoil pad, sling swivel studs and bead front sight.
Stock: walnut, pistol grip
Barrel: 30 inches
Chokes: screw-in modified WinChoke
Weight: 9 pounds
Features: blued carbon steel action and barrel; transfer bar safety
MSRP: $228
Ultra Light Slug Hunter
Also new from H&R, this super lightweight (5.24 pounds) single-shot slug gun available in 12 or 20 gauge that would be perfect for any beginning deer hunter.
Stock: walnut stained American hardwood, Monte Carlo pistol grip
Barrel: 24-inches with Ultragon rifling
Features: barrel length is perfect for maximizing the contemporary high performance shotgun slug loads; barrel includes a scope base already installed; blued, polished carbon steel action and barrel; ventilated recoil pad; transfer bar safety; hammer extension included
MSRP: $194
Mossberg Shotguns
500 J.I.C. (Just In Case) Mariner
If you follow the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared," and often find yourself fishing or boating in saltwater environs, this is a great "survival" package to have along "just in case." Includes a corrosion-resistant pump 12 gauge, multi-tool and knife all packaged up in a special carrying tube.
Stock: black synthetic
Barrel: 18.5 inches with Marinecoat finish
Chokes: cylinder bore
Weight: 5.5 lb.
Magazine: 3-inches, 4+1 capacity
Features: pistol grip; impact-resistant tube with strap, multi-tool and knife; 28.75-inches overall length
MSRP: Not available
Rossi Shotguns
Turkey Gun
The folks at Rossi are bringing out a reasonably priced single-shot 12-gauge with 3-1/2-chamber that might be a greater starter gun for the young turkey hunter in your family. It's relatively lightweight (6.25 pounds) and comes complete with fiber optic sights and installed sling swivels.
Stock: satin oil-finished exotic wood, pistol grip
Barrel: 24 inches
Chokes: removable Genuine Briley Extended Turkey Choke
Features: matte blue finish; drilled and tapped barrel with included scope mount base; ambidextrous operation; button rifled; Taurus Security System to lock firearm
MSRP: $187
Tristar Sporting Arms Shotguns
Brittany Classic Side By Side
One of the nicer looking side-by-sides coming out this year is this engraved, case-colored shotgun from the folks at Tristar. Available in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge, and 410, it has chrome-lined barrels to handle all the new non-toxic shot and a beautiful satin oil-finished stock.
Stock: satin oil finish, rounded pistol grip
Barrel: 27 inches chrome lined
Chokes: 3 Beretta style tubes (IC, M, F)
Weight: 6.3-6.7 pounds
Features: engraved case colored one piece frame; auto selective ejectors; single selective trigger; chrome lined barrels; solid raised barrel rib; top tang safety
MSRP: $1419-$1459
Weatherby Shotguns
PA-08 Knoxx Strutter X Camo
The coolest turkey gun I saw at the SHOT Show was this 12-gauge pump all prettied up with Apparition Excel camo. It has a Knoxx SpecOps pistol grip and a Knoxx stock that reduces recoil and adjusts up to 4 inches to fit any shooter.
Barrel: 24 inches
Chokes: Integral Multi-choke System (M, F, XF)
Weight: 7 pounds
Magazine: 4+1 rounds
Features: heavy-duty dual bar slide action; vented top rib with fiber optic front sight dissipates heat and aids in target acquisition; aircraft-grade alloy receiver
MSRP: $579
Winchester Shotguns
Speed Pump Black Shadow Field
One of the most innovative pump shotguns coming out is the 12-gauge Speed Pump from Winchester. A rotary bolt design features four massive lugs that allow inertia to start the forearm and slide mechanism rearward as the stock recoils. Available in three models, including the Black Shadow Field (specs below), Defender and Walnut Field.
Stock: composite
Barrel: 26, 28 inches, non-glare matte finish
Chokes: Invector-Plus system
Weight: 7 pounds, 7.25 pounds
Magazine: 5+1
Features: barrels fully chrome plated; fires all factory 2 3/4 inches and 3 inches steel, tungsten, bismuth and lead loads
MSRP: $349
Hot Products from the SHOT Show — posted Feb. 15, 2008
Walking through the SHOT Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, I couldn't help but marvel at all the neat new products available for outdoor enthusiasts this year. Just when you think it's all been invented, you see some great new gadget that makes you ask," Why didn't I think of that?" Here are some of those items—some fun, some serious—you'll see in sporting goods stores later this year.
ShadowShield
VideoScope
Easy Doe
SteriPEN
The Outdoor Bible
Spot Satellite Messenger
Whitetailopoly
30th Annual SHOT Show Shatters Records — posted Feb. 14a, 2008
This year, for the third time, I attended the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. This year's show in Las Vegas was the biggest in the event's 30-year history. A record 58,769 people attended (up from 42,216 last year), including 30,686 buyers, 25,854 exhibiting personnel from 1,950 companies, 1,725 members of the press and 504 guests.
The SHOT Show is the world's largest showcase of firearms, hunting and outdoor products. It provides a forum like no other for the industry to show off its newest products that will adorn the shelves of gun and sporting goods shops this year. Optimism and enthusiasm were prevalent among exhibiting companies and retailers, signaling a positive outlook for the year to come.
"What better way to celebrate the SHOT Show's 30th anniversary than with a turnout that not only broke, but shattered, all previous records for attendance and exhibit space," said Doug Painter, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, owner and sponsor of the SHOT Show. "The buying activity reported is a strong indicator of a good year to come and reflects the strength of the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry."
Business was better than ever at this year's show, according to exhibiting companies and retailers.
"I've been coming to the SHOT Show since 1982 and this is the busiest one I've ever worked. We didn't even lose booth traffic during the Super Bowl," said Randell Pence, Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s executive director of sales and marketing.
Ruger is one of 80 companies that have exhibited at every SHOT Show since the first in 1979 in St. Louis. Aimpoint, another 30-year exhibitor, echoed Pence's remarks.
"Traffic was non-stop at both our law enforcement and hunting booths. In fact, it was so busy that it was tough for anyone working the booths to even take a break," said Steven Giordano, Aimpoint director of commercial sales.
Retailers were also impressed.
"This is my first show, and it's bigger than I expected," said Chris Dunn, owner of Chevlon Canyon Guns Co. in Queen Creek, Ariz. "I've spent all four days here, and I have found some products that I think will really be a big seller for me."
For first-time exhibitors, the show was eye-opening.
"The key customers and the key decision makers in the industry are under one roof and that's great for anybody," said Matt Kriesel, chairman of Impact Jel, a first-time exhibitor. "A phenomenal show. I don't see how it can get better with the connections we received."
Retailers, exhibitors and media from outside the United States continue to flock to the show each year. Attendees came from 75 countries.
"I have been to all of the large European shows, but they can't compare to the SHOT Show. This is the best. Everything is here. I have found five or six companies for which I will be their exclusive dealer in Spain," said Rico Cabezas Roca, a dealer specializing in law enforcement from Madrid.
Press attendance at this year's show increased nearly 30 percent. Each year, the show is the largest gathering of outdoor media in the world.
"When it comes to media, there is nothing like SHOT where nearly 2,000 members of the press are in one place," said Tom Taylor, Smith & Wesson vice president of marketing. "This year was great. Press attendance was up, and, since our company has expanded, we were able to meet with many other publications that we hadn't in the past."
Imagine walking through the 715,000-square-foot show floor (a gain of nearly 60,000 over last year and bigger than twelve football fields) and visiting hundreds of booths where manufacturers exhibit their full product lines and the latest in shooting and hunting equipment and accessories for industry buyers. As I made my way up and down the aisles during the four-day show, I felt as giddy as a kid in a candy shop.
When the show ended and I headed back home to Arkansas, I was totally exhausted. But I came away with lots of information on new products you'll be seeing in the year to come. More on that later.
The Little Hound With Big Ears — posted Feb. 13, 2008
The first hunting dog I owned was a registered beagle given to me by an uncle for my fifteenth birthday. I dubbed the black, white and tan pup "Judo" and followed him many days through briar patches and overgrown fields in search of cottontails. He was a natural-born hunter. Despite the fact that Judo never ran with another dog, he chased rabbits like a champ until the end of his days. He was the most dearly loved of many dogs I have owned, a fact that instilled in me an intense interest in the history of the breed.
Despite a limited recorded history, it is generally believed that the beagle is one of the oldest breeds and is one of the breeds closest in appearance to the original hounds. Records of its ancestry point to ancient Greece and France. There is also some evidence that beagle-type dogs were used during the Crusades as an established hunting dog. Talbot Hounds were brought to Great Britain from France in 1066 and are considered to be ancestors to the beagle and the foxhound.
The beagle came into prominence in the 1500s during the reign of King Henry VII of England (1485-1509). The breed's popularity further increased during the reign of his daughter, Elizabeth I (1558-1603). It was the custom in those days for the hunting parties to take the dogs to the fields in baskets attached to the saddles of their horses.
By the 1700s, two types of hounds existed for hunting rabbits: the Southern Hound and the much quicker North Country Beagle. Because fox hunting was becoming increasingly popular, beagles were being kept less and less in favor of foxhounds. Fortunately for the continuing existence of the beagle, farmers in England, Ireland and Wales continued to keep packs of beagles with which to hunt.
In the mid 1800s, Reverend Phillip Honeywood established his pack in Essex, England, which is thought to be the progenitor of the modern beagle. He was breeding for hunting skills though, not looks. A fellow Englishman, Thomas Johnson, was responsible for breeding lines of beagles that could hunt and also looked attractive.
Beagles were imported to America in 1876, and in 1888, wealthy sportsmen promoted the beagle by forming the National Beagle Club. The club was established to hold field trials and bench shows. American breeders began developing beagles that would fit American needs. The English variety of hound had been trained to track foxes and was bred to an average height of 15 to 17 inches at the shoulder. The smaller American beagle was bred for rabbit hunting.
Beagle Trivia
• In the 14th century, beagles became very popular within the British monarchy. Pocket Beagles, only nine inches tall at the withers, were kept by Elizabeth I, and there are references to Glove Beagles, dogs small enough to fit on a gloved hand, being kept in packs by Edward II and Henry VII.
• Beagles were accepted as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1884.
• Lyndon B. Johnson owned three beagles named Him, Her and Edgar.
• In a pilot program launched in the mid-1980s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recruited beagles to sniff out contraband food being brought into the United States through airports. These dogs, part of the "Beagle Brigade," sniff baggage for prohibited food articles to battle pests that endanger the nation's farm products. The USDA chose beagles because they wanted dogs that could do the job without being intimidating to travelers. The dogs are trained to detect beef, pork, citrus fruits and mangoes, although occasionally lime-flavored shaving cream causes quite a stir!
• The beagle also is used by law enforcement personnel to detect arson accelerants at suspicious fires. And beagles also are popular with pest control companies because of their ability to smell termites that are hidden deep inside walls, floors, and foundations in both homes and businesses.
• Who was the most famous beagle of all time? Undoubtedly, it was Charlie Brown's dog "Snoopy."
Elvis the Wonder Dog — posted Feb. 12, 2008
Last week, while hunting ducks and geese near Stuttgart, Arkansas, I was introduced to just such an individual: Elvis The Wonder Dog, a four-year-old retriever owned by Mike Checkett who works with Ducks Unlimited in Memphis, Tennessee.
I had the great pleasure of hunting two days with Elvis, who worked tirelessly to retrieve mallards, snow geese, white-fronted geese and even snipe. This big beautiful dog was incredible to watch. When we were in our blinds, he constantly scanned the sky for incoming, whimpering whenever there was a duck or goose to report. Then, when our shots found their targets, he marked the birds down and waited for Mike's signal before bounding away into the cold water to bring back our quarry.
Surprisingly, Elvis possessed a quality I've seen in few hunting dogs: modesty. He was camera-shy and would turn away from me any time I tried to snap a photo of him. Nevertheless, I captured many good photos of Elvis in action, and I thought you'd enjoy seeing some of them in today's post. (Mike is in some of them, too.)
Toward that end, here's a little slideshow for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
The Aromas of Hunting — posted Feb. 7, 2008
I never fail to be amazed when observing a well-trained squirrel dog or rabbit dog trailing game.
Recently I watched as a world-champion treeing cur, Limbgripper Ranger, took up the chase. Ranger's trainer, Jim Rhea, unleashed the dog, which promptly departed at top speed.
Ranger never gave any indication he was trying to pick up the scent of a squirrel. In an instant, he raced out of sight. But in seconds, the dog barked to indicate he had treed a bushytail. It was the first of dozens Ranger led us to that day.
"How does he do it?" I asked Jim. "He never even puts his nose to the ground."
"His sense of smell is so keen," Jim replied, "he can smell a squirrel even while running with his head up. He can smell one in a treetop that's never been on the ground that day."
"I wonder what it's like to have a sense of smell that keen," my friend said. "What does a rabbit smell like when all you can smell is a trail of molecules left behind as he races ahead?"
I was wondering the same thing.
That question has run through the minds of many other hunters as well. Charles Fergus pondered it in his book, A Rough-Shooting Dog.
"I have often wondered what scent smells like to a dog," he wrote. "Is a certain scent speckled? Is it blue? Does it chime like a bell or honk like a goose? Is it soft or ribbed or jagged or rubbery?"
The human sense of smell is feeble compared to that of many animals, but it is still very acute. We can recognize thousands of different smells and detect odors even in infinitesimal quantities.
Two small odor-detecting patches high in the nasal passages, each composed of 5-6 million cells, enable us to detect various smells. By comparison, a dog has 220 million of these olfactory receptors. Humans nonetheless can detect certain substances in dilutions of less than one part in several billion parts of air. We may not be able to match the olfactory feats of our hunting dogs, but our sense of smell is quite good.
Many things about our olfactory sense remain a mystery, such as why people with certain medical conditions or taking certain drugs have a heightened or reduced sense of smell.
In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales, neurologist Oliver Sacks related the incredible story of Stephen D., a 22-year-old medical student who, after taking mind-altering drugs, dreamed he had become a dog and was surrounded by extraordinarily rich, meaningful smells. The dream seemed to continue after he woke; his world suddenly was filled with pungent odors.
Walking into the hospital clinic, "I sniffed like a dog," Stephen D. told Sacks. "And in that sniff I recognized, before seeing them, the 20 patients who were there.
"Each had his own smell-face," he said, "far more vivid and evocative than any sight-face." He also recognized local streets and shops by their smell. Some smells gave him pleasure and others disgusted him, but all were so compelling he could hardly think about anything else.
The strange symptoms disappeared after a few weeks. Stephen D. was greatly relieved to be normal again, but he felt "a tremendous loss, too," Sacks reported. Years later, as a successful physician, Stephen D. still remembered "that smell-world—so vivid, so real! It was like a visit to another world, a world of pure perception, rich, alive, self-sufficient, and full & I see now what we give up in being civilized and human."
Our sense of smell is something many of us take for granted because it doesn't seem necessary for our survival the way our other senses are. However, odors affect our lives in many ways. Imagine what it would be like walking into a hunting camp or a cook shack and not being able to smell each of their distinct odors.
What if you couldn't smell the hickory smoke from a campfire or the aroma of coffee brewing in the morning or the fresh smell of the woods after a rain shower? The sense of smell adds richness to our lives that we aren't always conscious of, but as soon as it's taken away it dramatically changes our quality of life.
Smells also possesses an uncanny power to move us. A long-forgotten scent can instantly conjure up scenes from the past. Many writers have marveled at the quality of such memories.
In "Letter to a Grandson," one of his Lower Forty columns published in Field & Stream, Corey Ford tells of a man writing a letter to his newborn grandson to be read when the boy is sixteen. The old man describes some of his guns and rods he wishes the boy to have when he reaches this age, but "More important," he says, "I am leaving you some memories." Among these memories are "The smells that men like to remember—pipe smoke and boot dubbing and Hoppe's No. 9, and fly dope on a red bandanna handkerchief, and wet dog fur steaming by the fire, and the smell of leather that is more like a taste, and the before-breakfast smell of coffee boiling and bacon frying, and the smell of a cottonmouth—the smell of fear—and the fall smells of sweet fern and rotting apples and burnt powder in the frosty air."
Read the words again, and focus on each item Ford describes. Pipe smoke. Boot dubbing. Hoppe's. Fly dope. Wet dog fur. Leather. Coffee boiling. Bacon frying. Can you smell these things in your memory?
Now, what if you had to explain how these things smell to someone who had never smelled them? Could you? That is something we would all find next to impossible. Our culture places such low value on olfaction that we have never developed a proper vocabulary for it. There are no names for the tones and tints of a smell, and so it is difficult to share aromas with others who have not experienced them first-hand.
Sitting on a deer stand last fall, I shut my eyes and breathed in the aromas of the woods around me. I am getting old and I smoke too much, things researchers say can destroy one's sense of smell. But when I focused on the balms of the forest without the distraction of sight, I became instantly aware of a whole new sensory world.
There were big smells like the redolence of rich bottomland earth, oak leaves and fields of grass. And I became aware of little smells apart from the big ones—the musty blood-smell of my hunting vest, the pungent odor of spent gunpowder permeating my shotgun, the languid fragrance of cypress needles.
As the day passed, I realized that morning smells different than noon, and noon does not smell like night. And I noticed the autumn air possessed a scent quite different from the hot bouquet of summer or the frigid sterility of winter.
I could smell persimmons and deer scrapes, hunters' campfires and the loud smell of a skunk.
But as hard as I tried, I could not pick up the scent of a single squirrel or rabbit.
Until the end of my days, I will wonder what that must be like.
Snow Storm! — posted Jan. 23, 2008
"It'll be difficult competing with a flock that big," our hunting guide says. "But some should fly over us on their way to that flock, and maybe we can coax them into our little spread of decoys instead."
"Little" does not accurately describe the group of decoys in which we lay. There are more than 1,000, including full-body models and white trash bags draped over soybean stalks to imitate a flock of snows.
Our guide is correct, nevertheless. It will be hard to coax birds our way when 10,000 live, calling snow geese are feeding nearby. Read more.
The Dog On The Duck Stamp, Part I — posted Jan. 22, 2008
Perhaps, like me, you have wondered how this particular dog came to appear on a federal duck stamp. The story is interesting.
In 1959, Reece learned the Federal Duck Stamp Competition program was encouraging artists to enter designs featuring a retrieving dog. The government felt this would emphasize the dog's role in conservation—that of retrieving wounded or dead ducks that would otherwise be lost.
It had been eight years since Reece had won his second duck stamp competition and he wanted to try again. While doing research, he stopped at Nilo Kennels near Brighton, Illinois, and there he found the ideal subject, a retired hunting dog named King Buck.
King Buck was born on April 3, 1948 in Storm Lake, the heart of northwest Iowa's duck country and a stronghold of fine retrieving dogs. He was one of eight black Labs in the litter—five males and three females. Ed Quinn, who owned the sire, managed the pups' first training. They went for water as only young Labs can, and although none was outstanding, all showed early promise as good gun dogs.
All the pups were sold in the fall, with one of the males going to Robert Howard of Omaha for $50. Unfortunately, the pup caught distemper. Howard took it into his home and placed it in a basket by the basement furnace.
The little retriever showed no improvement, and Howard was advised several times to dispose of the dog. For nearly a month, the pup was sick and too weak to stand. No one understood how he managed to live.
Mrs. Howard tended to the puppy, keeping him warm and feeding him an occasional egg. For weeks, the small Labrador clung to life with a remarkable persistence, and Mrs. Howard's loving attention finally turned the battle.
"One night I went downstairs to have a look at him," Howard said, "and he managed to stand in his basket and greet me. I knew that he was going to make it." Soon after this, with the puppy on the mend and able to take light exercise, Howard named him.
The trainer had owned several dogs named "Buck" and liked "the yell of it." Acting on the optimistic hunch that the convalescing puppy might someday rank high in his class, Howard named him "King Buck." At the time, it was a hopeful idea. No one knew it was a prophecy.
When he reached 18 months, Buck began his first real field hunting. He tallied some impressive early victories in field trials but still lacked the polish of a champion. There were times when he marked so poorly, Howard suspected bad eyesight caused by the bout with distemper. But Buck continued to improve and placed in several more derbies.
By this time, Howard sensed a quality of greatness in the young Labrador. Yet he made a puzzling decision and asked Byron "Bing" Grunwald of Omaha to buy the dog. Howard said it was growing knowledge of Buck's potential that caused him to sell because he couldn't afford to run the dog in top-flight trials and give Buck a real chance to prove himself. King Buck was sold to Grunwald in December 1949 for $500, with the stipulation that Howard could continue to train the Labrador and handle him in field trials.
Before he was two years old, King Buck had won a first, two seconds and several third places in various midwestern field trials. He still had wild days, however. Just after his third birthday, for example, Buck was running an open all-age stake at Lincoln, Nebraska. A triple-mark retrieve was set up, and Buck tore over most of the field for each bird picked up. After the trial, a judge told Howard, "That dog is nothing but a runner and will never amount to anything. If you're smart, you'll get rid of him."
That sterling bit of advice plagued the judge ever after, and it's doubtful some dog men in the Corn Belt circuit ever will forget it.
Two weeks after that trial, Buck won the open at Eagle, Wisconsin, displaying a breathtaking ability to "take a line." One well-known trainer later remarked that if King Buck had "taken a line" to England, the Atlantic cable could have been laid along his course.
Stay tuned for Part II.
The Duck Stamp Story — posted Jan. 16, 2008
The Beginning
America's waterfowl were in deep trouble in the early 1930s. Loss of crucial nesting, breeding and wintering habitat, combined with the after-effects of years of unrestricted market hunting and a lingering drought, had devastated waterfowl populations across the continent.
Fearing that many waterfowl species were near extinction, a group of dedicated conservationists, led by Jay N. "Ding" Darling (photo, right), an avid duck hunter and nationally famous editorial cartoonist with the Des Moines Register, began looking at ways to provide money for habitat protection and restoration. Read more.
In Fields Alone — posted Jan. 14, 2008
The boy doesn't notice his feet scuffing through the weeds, but he can taste the dust he stirs. The smells of earth and grass and leaves fill his nose. He hears crows cawing in the distance. A cool breeze brushes his cheek.
In the grass up ahead, he glimpses a movement. Suddenly, his chest feels wrapped in rubber bands. His heart slams in his ears. He puts a shell in his shotgun and inches forward.
There they go! A thousand of 'em in all directions! Everything's a flurry of sound and dust and motion, but the lad finds his mark and then … it's over.
He picks up the bobwhite he has killed, smoothes its feathers, then places the bird in the pocket of his hunting vest. He smiles, knowing his mother and grandmother will be proud. They'll have quail for tomorrow's breakfast.
The boy hunts the old field every chance he gets. It is a world full of bobwhites and cottontails and youthful adventure—the perfect place for a country kid growing up. And while he is there, hunting and exploring, the boy grows up.
The field looks smaller now. I stopped there with a friend recently and looked out across it. Nothing has changed much in forty years. Nothing but its size.
That seemed strange at first. How could a place that once seemed so enormous, a landscape I could explore for weeks without discovering all its secrets, now seem so small?
I pondered the question that night while reminiscing about those boyhood days, and decided the answer must be this: A place seems bigger when you are there alone. Looking back, I realized that when I hunted the old field, I always hunted there alone.
The reasons I hunted alone came back to me as well. I had plenty of friends who enjoyed chasing rabbits and quail as much as me, and all would have loved to accompany me on my hunts in the field. My mother, however, would not allow it.
She bought my first shotgun when I was twelve—a little single-shot 410 from Sears—and when she placed it in my hands on my birthday, she looked in my eyes and told me I could hunt with it near home, but unless I was with an adult, I must hunt with it alone.
I was young, but I understood. My nineteen-year-old cousin had been killed in a hunting accident the year before, an accident where a hunting companion had shot at a sound in the brush. It was a senseless tragedy that had a profound effect on our extended family, and on my mother in particular. Try as she might, she couldn't forget that horrible mishap.
Mom knew, however, I was destined to be a hunter. Her father had been a hunter and his father and his father before him. My uncles were hunters, and my cousins and my friends. I, too, would be a hunter. But if Mom had to cope with that reality, she would do so in her own way. She would worry less if I hunted by myself where accidents were less likely to happen.
And so, at her behest, I hunted the field alone.
More than three decades have passed, but I remember every detail.
The field was covered with golden broom sedge and scattered patches of blackberries and sumac. To reach it, I walked through the pasture and climbed through a barbed-wire fence behind my uncle's barn.
There was a little opening in the fencerow cover where fleeing cottontails would appear for just an instant. Occasionally, in that instant, one fell to my gun.
Quail liked to feed in a patch of beggarweed on the field's far side, so I approached this spot cautiously on every visit …. and still got spooked out of my wits every time a covey flushed.
On a little rise on the east side, I often sat beneath an ancient oak and watched beavers and ducks in a small pond.
In the pecan orchard on one edge, I hunted squirrels that Mom stewed with dumplings or fried for breakfast.
That first year, the year I was twelve, I hunted the field almost daily—always alone. Age thirteen was a turning point. Mom still worried about my safety, but she agreed I could hunt with friends she trusted.
Even so, when I hunted the field, I hunted there alone. It had become by then a special realm where outsiders weren't welcome. It had become my field full of my cottontails and my quail. Hunts with friends occurred elsewhere.
I don't know for sure when I quit hunting the field. I do know that when I did, I still often hunted alone. Going solo became a way to escape and recharge my batteries. Still is. And when I'm out there alone, the place I'm visiting still seems bigger & because I'm alone.
That is one reason, perhaps, I still treasure the occasional moments I'm able to spend in the field, or in the woods, or on the water, with no other person in sight. Every day, our world seems increasingly smaller and more crowded with people. But when I'm by myself, it doesn't seem that way any more. I can imagine I'm the only human for miles around. And though I know it's only an illusion, it's an illusion that keeps me sane.
I was at a friend's house recently when his twelve-year-old son came in and asked his mom if he could go hunting by himself in the field behind his family's home. "I'd rather you didn't go alone," his mother said. "What if something happened? Why don't you call Bobby and see if he can go with you?"
Times change. Perspectives change. People change.
I've changed. If Mom were still alive, I'd tell her that I changed for the better because of a decision she made when I was just twelve.
She sent me out alone because she feared for my safety. In doing so, she allowed me to mature in ways she never imagined.
Out there, alone, I witnessed life and death. I saw beauty and blood. I felt exhilaration and sadness. I learned that success tastes sweet and defeat need not taste bitter.
In a field alone, I became a hunter.
Things I Learned Last Year — posted Jan. 10, 2008
You've heard the old saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Well, that may be true, but some aged mutts like me are still able to learn a thing or two despite being disinclined to fetch or roll over.
I'll turn 52 this month, and the parts of my body that ache every day tell me that's definitely over the hill for me. Despite getting long in the tooth, however, I manage to absorb a few new tidbits of knowledge every year.
2007 was no exception. Consider these facts committed to memory during the 12 months just passed:
1. If your hunting buddy pulls up to a big mud hole in his new 4X4 pickup and states without hesitation, "That'll barely get the axles damp," then you should ask to exit the vehicle immediately for he is certain to bury the truck so deep the doors won't open.
2. A fire ant mound makes a very poor seat.
3. A nine-banded armadillo foraging in the dusky-dark deer woods makes exactly the same sounds as a grizzly bear.
4. The fine for shooting a nine-banded armadillo is $279.30 plus court costs.
5. If you have a hunting dog that exhibits a bad limp every other day, the problem can be simply resolved: sell the dog on the day it doesn't limp.
6. A snake that falls from an overhead branch into your fishing boat should not be immediately interpreted as a sign to abandon ship. Check first to see how many snakes are in the water.
7. Noodling for catfish is best done in water with a scarcity of alligators.
8. The best weeks to go hunting and fishing are those with a Friday in them.
9. Wearing a two-man cow costume designed especially for waterfowl hunters may help you get closer to the ducks on the farm pond you're hunting. But if you're the rear man in the cow suit, it is best to check the surrounding farmland for bulls before trying this ploy.
10. If you forgot to remove the bullet and powder from your muzzleloading rifle after your hunt, and you inadvertently put another load in on top of the first, when you pull the trigger there will be a very loud noise that will sound something like, "YOU NITWIT!"
11. Before selling them at your yard sale, it is best to check the value of the old wooden decoys you found in your grandpa's barn. Ditto old fishing lures.
12. If a guy in camp intends to use the phrase "Get 'er done" more than 50 times in a single weekend, it is probably best that he sleep with one eye open and not eat food prepared by other members of the party.
13. When you plan a fishing vacation, it is prudent to complete all your arrangements then go a week earlier or a week later because that is invariably when the fish will be biting.
14. Knowing how to quickly climb a tree is a handy thing when fishing from a wooded island in a fast-rising river.
15. Putting a lip-lock on a 40-pound blue catfish will damage your thumb no more and no less than smashing it with a 20-pound sledge hammer.
16. Riding an improperly installed climbing treestand from a height of 20 feet to ground level is not as much fun as the log ride at Six Flags.
17. A $699 GPS unit with dead batteries is worth less than a $2.99 compass.
18. If you really like your fancy new cell phone with all the bells and whistles, and want to keep it for the duration of the two-year contract with your service provider, don't let it ring too often while enjoying the peace and quiet of a backcountry fishing excursion with your best friend.
19. You might be foolish betting $100 on the next round of skeet if your competitor is shooting a new Purdey and you're shooting Uncle Fred's squirrel gun.
20. If you never have as many rabbits as you'd like to eat, keep a few mealworms in your hunting vest pocket, and when you're cleaning the cottontails, show the worms to your rabbit-hunting buddies and say, "These rabbits are full of warbles. I better take them home and dispose of them properly."
21. Any new deer stand that comes equipped with its own "Sir Edmund Hillary Commemorative Everest Climbing Sling" could be dangerous to hunt from.
22. The good thing about chiggers is & well, there is nothing good about chiggers. Likewise with ticks.
23. Never take as much bait as you think you will need when going fishing. Fish always bite best when bait is scarcest.
24. When the guy who missed the deer weighs more than 250 pounds and has tattoos of the Grim Reaper and a flaming skull, you might want to explain the tradition of cutting off a bad shot's shirt tail before you take a knife to his favorite camo crewneck.
25. A beagle will eat anything, including a truck key accidentally dropped on the ground.
26. Any key eaten by a beagle is certain to be the original and not a spare, as the spare key is many miles away at your home sitting on the same table where you left your cell phone.
27. It takes approximately 7 hours and 32 minutes for a beagle to pass a truck key that it ate. At some point, while waiting for the key to pass, you will think seriously about strangling the beagle and retrieving the key using quicker means.
28. The severity of heartburn is directly proportional to the quantity of Vienna sausages, potted meat, sardines and/or Slim Jims consumed at a single setting.
29. Never stand next to the toughest-looking guy on the party boat when going saltwater fishing. He's the one person who will, without doubt, get very, very seasick.
30. Ivory-billed woodpeckers do taste like chicken.
Best and Worst of 2007 — posted Jan. 9, 2008
In 2007, there was good news and bad news in the outdoor world. Here's some of the best and the worst.
Best Teenage Angler
In December, 19-year-old Corey Waldrop of Fort Worth, Texas, became the youngest angler in history to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series. He won his 2008 Elite berth by finishing in fourth place at the Bassmaster Elite Series WildCard event on Florida's Lake Okeechobee.
Worst Blind
Bill Carney of Sissonville, W. Va. was deer hunting from a blind the day after Thanksgiving when he spotted a doe and shot it. The deer charged right through the blind where Carney was still sitting, knocking down both the blind and the hunter. "It felt like an elephant coming through that blind," Carney said. "That was the last thing I was expecting."
Best News For Shooting Sports
In November, several of the hunting and shooting industry's most respected executives joined forces to create the Youth Shooting Sports Alliance, a non-profit organization whose stated mission is to "identify and support the needs of successful and safe youth programs that create measurable improvements in youth participation in the shooting sports."
Worst Shot
In August, Police in Massillon, Ohio responded to a call that a firearm had been discharged on the Tuscarawas River. Turns out two guys were fishing, but instead of catching a fish, they caught a snapping turtle. "So these two knuckleheads have this turtle hooked, and I think they were planning to eat it," said Sgt. J.J. DiLoreto with the Massillon Police Dept. "Apparently one man was taking a shot at the turtle [with a 9mm handgun] and his foot got in the way. He shot himself in the foot & it had to have hurt like heck."
Best Comeuppance
In August, Adrian James Teal of Douglas, Ga. was ordered by a jury to pay Gene Brooks of Dublin $10,000 for his hunting dog, Buster. Teal shot Brooks' trained cur in January 2005 after it swam across a river while pursuing a feral hog and entered private land where Teal was hunting deer. Teal left the scene but later was identified in the shooting by members of the hunting club where he was a guest. In court, Teal claimed he shot the dog accidentally, but also said the canine had "ruined his day hunting."
Worst Crook
When Texas game warden Jeff Hill asked to see the fishing license of a young man on Lake Buchanan, the man told him he had left his license at his cabin. Hill wrote him a citation at 4:35 p.m. and told him to contact the judge and present his license for dismissal. At 6:22 p.m., the man purchased a one-day fishing license from a store more than 60 miles away and later contacted the judge to fax his fishing license for dismissal. Upon faxing the license, he realized the later time, so he changed the time to 6:22 a.m. and sent in a second fax. The judge, with two copies in hand, rendered her decision.
Best Use Of A Fishing Rod
According to police, an unnamed man and his young son were fishing in June at a pond in Gaston, N.C. when a robber waved a knife at the pair and demanded their money and valuables. The father distracted the perpetrator while he reeled in his fishing line, then proceeded to beat the dickens out of the bad guy using his fishing rod. In the process, he buried a bright-orange jig in the assailant's arm, which was described by witnesses who saw the mugger fleeing the scene. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term "fighting rod," doesn't it?
Worst Catch of the Day
A Dutch scuba diver swimming in Netherlands' North Sea became the surprise catch for a 13-year-old boy when the boy's hook snagged the man's lip. "I heard a sound on my head and immediately I felt a jerk on my lip," Wim van Huffelen said. The local newspaper ran a photo of the diver with the hook impaling his lower lip.
Best Log Toss
Chris Everhart of Norcross, Ga. was camping with his three sons on Father's Day when a 275-pound female black bear came for a visit. The bear was running off with the family's cooler when the youngest son, 6-year-old Logan, hurled a shovel at it. The growling bear dropped the cooler and headed for the boy. Fearing what might happen next, Everhart grabbed a stick of firewood from his truck and threw it at the bruin. His aim was dead-on, and the hungry heavyweight was killed by the blow. "I thought it just knocked it out, but it actually ended up killing the bear," said Everhart.
Worst Reason To Bring Antlers To A Knife Fight
While blood-trailing another deer, Greg Vincent of Trumann, Ark., his son and a nephew were charged by another 6-point buck. Vincent jumped between the boys and the deer, grabbed the whitetail's antlers and stabbed the animal in the ribs. The deer bowled Vincent over, and the knife flew from the man's hands. One boy retrieved the knife, and Vincent stabbed the deer again, just as his father, Harvey Vincent, arrived with a rifle and shot the animal. "My body is sore all over," Vincent said later. "Now I know what a bull rider must feel like."
Best Irony
In April, elite police commando units from around the world were in North Little Rock, Ark. participating in the Original Special Weapons And Tactics World Challenge, an event designed to hone shooting and tactical skills. Unfortunately, one North Carolina team arrived short of equipment after three rifles, three shotguns and a pair of pistols was stolen from their van while they ate at a barbecue restaurant on the way to Arkansas.
Worst Mystery
In May, Virginians reported hundreds of dead and sick fish in the Shenandoah River and tributaries. The deaths have become a grim spring ritual since they began in 2003. No one knows what's killing the fish, but a task force, established in July 2005 after most smallmouth bass and redbreast sunfish in the river died, is investigating.
Best Bass Angler
In September, Dave Romeo of Elizabethtown, Pa., who already holds a Guinness World Record for the most bass caught in a single season — 3,001 largemouth bass landed in just 77 days back in 1987 — set a new Guinness record by becoming the first person ever to catch, record and release 25,000 bass in 25 years.
Worst Thief
A mounted Dall sheep head used by Utah wildlife officials in an anti-poaching campaign was stolen in January by the same man convicted in 1999 for illegally killing the ram. The head was hanging in the Division of Wildlife Resources' "Help Stop Poaching" trailer at a Salt Lake City event. Mapleton, Utah resident Wade L. Hanks, who shot the sheep unlawfully in Alaska, was working at a nearby exhibit. Authorities said Hanks and Tyrell C. Gray of Spanish Fork swiped the head while the employee in charge of the trailer was running an errand. The theft was recorded by a security camera. Hanks, 37, and Gray, 31, pleaded guilty to burglary and theft in the case.
Best Beard
An eastern wild turkey shot by Cody May in April near his home in New Boston, Texas, was confirmed as the world record for beard length by the National Wild Turkey Federation. The gobbler's beard measured an amazing 22.5 inches.
Worst Day On The Water
In June, after a boat he was fishing in overturned, 51-year-old William Messenger got trapped with his middle and index fingers pinned between the boat and a tree. Fearing he might drown, Messenger used a pocketknife to cut off his fingertips to free himself. On a good note, a surgeon later successfully reattached the fingers.
Best Trout
On June 6, while fishing Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan, Canada, Adam Konrad of Saskatoon landed a 43.6-pound rainbow trout. That gigantic fish broke a 37-year-old IGFA all-tackle world record.
Worst Case of Mistaken Identity
A Reedsport, Ore. man was arraigned in court in February on assault charges after shooting a snorkeler in the Smith River he mistook for a nutria.
Best Name Game
Don't call them game wardens any more. The sworn officers in the Law Enforcement Division of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries are now properly known as "conservation police officers." The state General Assembly approved the change to clarify the authority of these officers who have full police powers and statewide jurisdiction.
Worst Blow For Extreme Anglers
Show-Me State noodlers, folks who like reaching into underwater holes to catch catfish with their bare hands, were disappointed when the Missouri Conservation Commission voted unanimously to end an experimental six-week annual season on three rivers after biologists found higher-than-expected mortality rates among catfish.
Best Reason To Dig Through Grandpa's Old Hunting Stuff
In January, a person who wished to remain unnamed bought a rare 19th-century merganser hen decoy carved by Lothrop Holmes at a Christie's auction in New York. The price was $856,000, the highest ever paid at auction for a single waterfowl decoy.
15 Things That Just Shouldn't Be Made In Camo — posted Jan. 4, 2008
Virginia deer hunter Jim Crumley was unhappy with traditional military camouflage, so he started dabbing splotches of brown dye on some gray work clothes to match his surroundings. After two years of increased hunting success, he meticulously applied a bark pattern with magic marker. Soon, other hunters were pestering him for the new outfits.
Crumley's original printed Trebark was created in 1980, and modern camouflage was born. The introduction of Trebark planted seeds in the minds of Toxey Haas who created Mossy Oak, Bill Jordan who created Realtree, Leland Sikes of Natural Gear and a host of other farsighted individuals who later crafted their own camouflage patterns and subsequently produced specialized lines of camo clothing for hunters.
Nowadays, hunting clothes aren't the only things patterned with camouflage. No, indeed. In fact, it would be hard to name any product you can't buy somewhere in one camo pattern or another. There are camouflage sunglasses, bedclothes, eating utensils, padlocks, hammocks, notebooks, purses, bikinis, teddy bears, pencils, rugs, sofas, chairs, curtains, ceiling fans, seat covers, shoes, bottles, pillows and iPods. More unusual items available in camo include diaper bags, balloons, fishing lures, Bibles, gumballs, toilet paper, Christmas ornaments and refrigerators. If you so choose, you can even be buried in a camo casket.
It would seem to me, however, that some items simply aren't meant to be colored with camouflage. I say this from the practical standpoint of one who has learned the hard way that the ultimate purpose of camouflage is concealment, and if you happen to drop, place or otherwise position a camouflaged object on the ground or in the bushes, it will become as invisible as a copperhead in a leaf pile. For that reason, objects likely to be intentionally or unintentionally placed where there are leaves, bark or other items commonly a part of camouflage patterns should not themselves be camouflaged.
Here are 15 such items:
1. Toddler clothes
Mommy puts Junior down to play in the yard. Junior crawls into the pile of leaves Daddy raked but didn't bag. Junior disappears. Amber Alert time. It should go without saying, camouflage clothes on little kids are a bad idea.
2. Cell phone cover
Bubba is sitting on the ground deer hunting. He has his earbuds in and is listening to Hank Williams Jr. on his new high-dollar, do-everything cell phone when Muy Grandé walks out. He puts the phone down to take a shot, spends the next hour looking for a non-existent blood trail and later can't figure out what he did with his cell. He'll never know.
3. GPS
Bubba's new handheld GPS unit, also patterned in beautiful Realtree camouflage, is laying next to his cell phone. Gone, too.
4. Arrows
Have you ever tried to find a fluorescent-colored arrow that missed the target and skidded up under the leaves? So why would anyone want to shoot camo arrows?
5. Pocketknives
These handy-dandy utensils need no help whatsoever disappearing.
6. Binoculars
You might be OK if you keep them around your neck, but ever tried finding a set of camo binoculars you hung on a tree branch or laid on the ground? It's like trying to cross your eyes and see the spaceship in one of those funny pictures.
7. ATVs
No one could lose something as big as an ATV, right? Only the camo models. Make mine red.
8. Wallet
Mr. Hunter's camo wallet slips out of his back pocket while he's walking through the woods. Odds of finding it again? About the same as his chances for killing the next world-record non-typical.
9. Packs
Daypack, backpack—it doesn't matter. Set it down when you take a rest and it could disappear quicker than a biscuit at the camp dinner table.
10. Guns
A friend of a friend once fell asleep while sitting by a tree with his camo turkey gun laying on the ground beside him. When he awoke, he thought someone had stolen his gun and actually went home without his firearm, which he found the next day right where he left it. Not too bright, that guy, but how many times have you placed your gun by a tree or on the ground while you stepped away to go to the bathroom or do something else? Ever had a hard time finding it again? Imagine if it was camouflaged.
11. Two-way radios
Like cell phones and GPS units, these electronics should be made only in bright colors, never camouflage.
12. Hunting stools
Ditto.
13. Backpacking tents
When you pitch a little camo tent in unfamiliar backcountry, then take a hike to enjoy the scenery, be sure you have something besides a camo GPS to help you find your "home away from home" again.
14. Cigarette lighters
To date, I have lost 342 of these.
15. Baseballs
In fact, it should be against the law to make balls of any sort in camo colors. They always wind up rolling into the woods and are next to impossible to find, even in normal colors.
The interview ended at that point.
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For more of Keith "Catfish" Sutton's views on the world of Outdoors (and just in general), feel free to check out his blog at http://catfishgumbo.blogspot.com/ for more of his musings.
