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Outdoors

  • STRAIGHT ARROW: Summer months

    With turkey season over and archery deer season four months away, what’s a bow hunter to do?

    I’ve been getting a lot of guys in who are reporting seeing a lot of gars and some carp on the lakes while they are fishing. Several guys were going to go bow fishing, but I haven’t had any back in to report on their trips.

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  • STRAIGHT ARROW: Friends, old and new

    This time of year things slow down a little in the archery shop and I can spend more time getting to know new customers and help them get their equipment set up and learn how to shoot properly. Ultimately, we become friends.

    We have several customers who have been coming to the shop for nearly 30 years. When they get a chance they stop in to see how things are going and sometimes we may get to talk for up to an hour and catch up on everything old friends talk about, from how the kids are doing, in what sports the kids are participating and how their hunting has been going.

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  • OUTDOOR TALES: Big Oaks wildlife refuge open for public use

    Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Indiana recently opened to public use. It’s an old military testing ground facility now benefiting wildlife.

    For the public, Big Oaks offers hunting, fishing, bird-watching and more. An area in the northeast section of the refuge is available for public day use, and additional acreage around the facility is open during hunting seasons.

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  • OUTDOOR TALES: Take mom fishing, or on a picnic

    Mother’s Day is a special day. It is a time to remember and honor Mom. 

    There’s the traditional flowers and candy, or a trip to the restaurant for Mom, but how about giving her an outing, a trip to a state park, or even a fishing trip?

    Many moms enjoy fishing, and if fishing really isn’t something they like, most would enjoy a day outdoors. In many cases, it was Mom who helped introduce me to the outdoors, and often today in single-parent families it is Mom who is teaching youngsters to hunt, fish, or otherwise enjoy nature.

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  • STRAIGHT ARROW: Turkey season winds down

    Eric had tagged out on his second turkey on Saturday, April 27, and decided to go with me on Sunday morning. We left the house at 4:50 a.m. going to Hart County. To make a long story short, after a lot of walking and hard work, we finally got into a good set-up with three gobblers coming in and I MISSED.

    Both of us were tired, but I was really frustrated with myself for blowing a fairly easy shot. This was my seventh hunt of the season and only my second encounter with a gobbler. Oh well, I was getting a lot of exercise and still had one more week to hunt.

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  • STRAIGHT ARROW: A memorable hunt

    Friday evening, as Eric and I were planning our turkey hunt for the morning of Saturday, the 27th, I decided to hunt here in Nelson County, mainly so I could sleep late. I wouldn’t have to get up until 5.30 a.m.

    Eric, after thinking back on past hunts, decided to hunt our farm near Munfordville partly because this would be the same field that he had taken his grandpa on his first turkey hunt, and at the age of 73 my dad had taken his first gobbler.

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  • OUTDOOR TALES: Flooding creates unique fishing opportunities

    Every spring brings with it rain, and this year has been no exception. In fact, for many there has been too much rain to really enjoy the season’s fishing.

    Hopefully, flooding has passed. But if we get river waters back over the fields, it can be a time to catch catfish. There’s no better place to catch a stringer of fish on some spring days than in a cornfield.  

    The fishing action can be hectic at times, and an angler can put a lot of fish on the stringer. Sounds a little crazy, but true. Conditions have to be just right.

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  • STRAIGHT ARROW: April 14

    I slipped out of bed at 5:15 a.m. and started getting dressed and ready to meet Eric for the second morning of the spring turkey season. Before I left the house I wrote Bonnie a note wishing her a happy anniversary and that I would be home in a few hours.

    When we had planned our wedding 41 years ago, there were no turkeys in Kentucky. At that time we had no idea that our anniversary would usually fall on opening weekend of turkey season or that I would have such a passion for turkey hunting.

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  • OUTDOOR TALES: Lipless crankbaits good spring bait

    Lipless crankbaits have always been a popular and productive lure for catching bass, and some crappie anglers even use them to land big crappie.

    While fishing for crappie a few years back at Kentucky Lake, some of us were finding the fish uncooperative, but a couple of Crappiemaster tourney anglers headed out to use Rat-L-Traps for crappie. By far, they had the best success of the day.

    Todd Faircloth, fishing pro sponsored by Yamaha, recently was interviewed related to his use of lipless crankbaits, and their special value during spring fishing.

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  • STRAIGHT ARROW: April 13

    With turkey season opening the morning of April 13, I got all my gear together, then watched the NASCAR Nationwide race until 11:30 p.m. before going to bed. Eric was going to pick me up at 6 a.m., but I woke up at 3:30 a.m., and after all these years was excited enough about opening day that I couldn’t go back to sleep. I had no trouble at all being ready when Eric arrived.

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