National Hunting and Fishing Day

Today is National Hunting and Fishing Day. Yes, it's a real day, check it out at National Hunting and Fishing Day.  It celebrates wildlife management and conservation of outdoor resources, and honors and educates those who love to hunt and fish.

I would like to present my own honorarium of outdoorsmen (and women) today- some of my favorite family fishing and outdoor photos of 2010. Not all my favorites, I'm pretty sure you don't have 6 weeks to spare. It was hard, very hard, to narrow it down.  I went through an entire bag of M & M's trying to decide.  Or maybe I found a few photos while I was plowing my way through the orange and black halloween ones.  Sometimes causal relations confuse me.



You know my motto: "There's an outdoor activity for everyone, and everyone should get outdoors."  I really believe that, and think that whether it's roller blading, walking down the street and waving to the neighbors, deer hunting, fishing, or lying in the hammock with a good book, it all counts as outdoor activity.  It's good for your body and soul.  It's brain cleansing. Even a desperate housewife can do it.

So here's my family in the great outdoors, mostly fishing, sorta hunting, and always finding their niche in outdoor activity.


Water ballet.  Or more like, pre-water ballet.

Cousin Jed always hooks something.  It just ain't necessarily always a fish...

One of my personal favorite outdoor activities, backpacking!  And one of my favorite persons to pack with!

Everyone has their own fishing style.  Some are just a little more laid back than others.

This weirdness might be hunting gone amuck!

I hope you celebrate today, just because it's today and you're you and the sun came up.

                           Happy Trails!

Bait the Press

After reading a recent news story on Ted Nugent and his inappropriate hunting behaviors out in California, (read about it) I thought to myself, surely I don't have to state the obvious. But I couldn't help myself. I'm going to state the obvious.
As sportsmen and women who hunt and fish, we are exposed to the possibility of outcries of animal cruelty. I think we've fought that battle many times in the last two decades and would not like to go through that again. We are also liable for our actions, both to the ecosystem members upon which we intrude, but also to our fellow hunters who are impacted even peripherally by our actions.
Obviously in this case, Nugent did not uphold his responsibility to nature when he killed an immature deer. He did not uphold his end of the social contract when he broke California law by baiting the deer. And he certainly did not uphold his responsibility to other hunters to hunt in such a way to demonstrate knowledge, expertise, and environmental responsibility. To make matters worse, all of this was conducted in front of a television camera, recorded and broadcast, leaving us all exposed to ridicule and attack.

Even if you are not hunting in front of a television camera, remember that you are being watched, observed, and judged. Consider the fact that you are part of a larger community, the hunting community, and be a good citizen.