Evolved Harvest’s Duck Commander Waterfowl Blend

Waterfowl need two things-food and water. If you have a water source and food you can keep waterfowl in the area all season long. Evolved Harvest’s Duck Commander Waterfowl Blend is designed to help create favorable habitat and a stable food source for migratory birds. The Duck Commander Waterfowl Blend is the only blend worthy of the Duck Commander name. Created from a blend of white grain milo, buckwheat and white proso millet, the Waterfowl Blend will create habitat and attract and hold ducks and geese on your property. Available in a 20-pound bag.

Coleman’s 10-Cup Portable Propane Coffee Maker

Now you can enjoy a steaming pot of fresh-brewed coffee whether you’re in the blind, boat, pit or back at camp. Coleman’s (800-835-3278; coleman.com) 10-Cup Portable Propane Coffee Maker doesn’t use cords, a stove or percolator. Prepare your pick-me-up just like at home by spooning the grounds into the removable filter basket and adding water. The Coffee Maker operates on a single standard propane cylinder for anywhere, anytime operation. It brews up to 10 cups of java in 18 minutes using the PerfectFlow Regulator that keeps a constant heat, no matter the conditions: cold weather, high altitudes or low fuel. InstaStart Push-Button Ignition for simple, matchless ignition. Durable, shatterproof stainless steel carafe. 4.4-hr. runtime on one 16.4-oz. propane cylinder. Weighs 9.6 pounds. Three-year warranty.

Get Ready For Duck Season!

Most states finalize their waterfowl season dates in mid-August. In states that have early teal seasons, duck season starts in early September, just a few short weeks away. That’s a signal to waterfowlers that they should start planning for the upcoming season.

The first way to get ready this duck season is to look at the last. If you kept a log or journal from last season, that’s the place to start. Look at when you had your best and worst days and what factors contributed to those outings. Maybe one location hunted better when the wind was out of a specific direction. Or, a certain location was hot because of high water or low water that covered or exposed mud flats that the ducks were using. Look at the moon phase if you noted it, when the peak migration occurred in your area, hunting pressure and other specifics that affected your hunts last year that might be an issue again this year.

Before the season is the time to brush up on your shooting. Remember that crossing shot you missed on that bull can? Those are the kind of shots you want to visualize and reenact so you’re ready when that chance occurs this season. Trap and skeet are great for familiarizing yourself with a new shotgun. Sporting clays does a better job of replicating the shots you’re likely to get during the duck season and are better suited to using your waterfowling firearm. Pay specific attention to stations that emulate shots you’re likely to get during the waterfowl season, like incoming teal or crossing wood ducks. If you know the course operator, see if he’ll let you shoot those stations a few extra times to practice those difficult waterfowl shots. Just a few rounds at the sporting clays course will go a long ways towards making sure you’re on target come opening day. If you don’t have a sporting clays course close by, purchase an inexpensive target thrower and take turns flinging clays that simulate the shoots you’re likely to get on ducks in a couple of weeks.

Before the season is a great time to stock up on new equipment. Retail and catalog vendors have ample supply then and you’re going to be able to get products now that won’t be available later in the season. Don’t wait until the night before opening day to rig decoys, pattern new choke tubes or look for paint and stencils to camouflage the new duck boat. Take advantage of pre-season sales and seminars at waterfowl weekends put on by local retailers.

With breathable waders you always stay dry regardless of your exertion levels. Although breathable are super light and thin, by layering you can stay warm and dry in any weather.

Plan a shakedown cruise with your boat regardless of its new or old. Make sure the motor starts easily and is in running order, replace the plugs to begin the season, make sure trailer and running lights are functioning, bunks are secure and life-saving gear is available and current. Plan a short fishing outing, or at the very least, put some muffs on the lower unit and run the motor in the driveway to make sure it’s functioning properly. Fill the tank with fresh gas and the proper oil mixture. It will save a lot of headaches come opening day.

Sprucing up old decoys is a viable alternative to buying new ones. Pull out all your decoys and give them a thorough cleaning first. Get last year’s mud off of them. Scrub them down with some soapy water, spray them off and let them dry. Use a wire brush to scuff off old, loose and chipped paint. Fix holes prior to painting. Then, separate them by species or gender so you can paint an entire group at one time. You can get cans of cheap flat paint in black, white, gray and brown to do the majority of the touch-up work. More specific colors, like green heads and orange beaks, can be done with a brush. Check anchor lines and anchors to make sure they’re not frayed, knots are secure, they’re the right length and weight. Now is the time to organize then into early-season and late-season spreads. Put the teal and wood ducks in one bag, and put the golden-eyes and buffleheads in another.

Take advantage of the pre-season to get you and your retriever in shape. Both of you should start out slow at first and increase you regime as the season gets closer. Work on retrieving and commands with your dog, but be mindful of the summer heat. Plan sessions for early and late in the day. Water retrieves are especially fun for your dog in the heat of summer and are great for getting him in shape for the upcoming season. Pre-season conditioning for his master might be as simple as walking at first, working up to short runs, increasing to running the stairs at the local football stadium and even some light weight training so heavy decoy bags don’t seem so heavy.

Buy a new call this season? Opening day is not the time to try it out. It never hurts to break out the old call and give it a try just to make sure it’s in tune and in working order. If you’ve got a new call, you definitely need to practice a bit before the season opens. Maybe you’ve never used a whistle before and are looking at adding it to your repertoire. Prior to the season is a good time to learn those deadly peeps and chirps.

Always check your gun over prior to the season to make sure it’s in good working order. Give it a thorough cleaning. Check and see that you have the proper choke tube in. You might still have the full tube in after last spring’s turkey or snow goose hunt.

Scouting is paramount before the season. Not only does it give you an idea of bird numbers, but it helps avoid unexpected problems. Water levels have been up and down in recent years across the country. Visiting your prospective hunting destination before opening day can give you some idea of what to expect. Maybe the point you always hunt is high and dry? Or the decoys you have Texas-rigged won’t reach bottom with the higher water levels. Roads can be flooded out and impassible, ramps might not be usable and trees might have fallen across the road since you hunted there last season. Scouting can eliminate some of those pitfalls.

Permanent blinds need to be spruced up before the season. Add some green vegetation to match the surroundings, clean out debris left from storms and critters and make sure it’s in tip-top shape for opening day.

If you’re hunting private land, making contact with the landowner well in advance of opening day is a good idea. Doing so just helps renew good relationships, makes it clear that you still have permission to hunt and puts one more check in the plus column to ensure a successful start to the season.

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1.7 Million Acres Accepted for CRP, Acre Totals Now at 26-Year Low

 

Pheasants Forever has grave concerns regarding continued massive habitat losses through weakening CRP

Washington, D.C. – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will accept 1.7 million acres offered under the 45th Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) general sign-up, lowering Conservation Reserve Program total acreage to 26.9 million acres. Now at a 26-year program low, Pheasants Forever calls this depletion a modern low point for conservation, one which will have serious ramifications not only for wildlife, but for the nation’s soil and water quality as well.

“While we thank USDA for recognizing the need for holding this CRP sign-up and applaud the landowners who are participating in conservation, this news of CRP’s historic low acre total makes it even more apparent there are grave concerns for the health of CRP, our nation’s most successful conservation program responsible for countless benefits to water quality, soil resources and wildlife,” says Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever vice-president of governmental affairs.

“Since 2007, we have lost more than 14.7 million acres of CRP, accounting for 26 percent of the program and setting a 26-year low for total acres enrolled. CRP is significantly below the 30 million acre enrollment benchmark maintained for more than two decades.That 30 million-acre mark had been providing record benefits in terms of soil, water, and wildlife resources,” continued Nomsen.

During this spring’s 5-week signup, the Department received 28,000 offers on more than 1.9 million acres of land. USDA selected offers for enrollment based on an Environmental Benefits Index (EBI) comprised of five environmental factors plus cost. The five environmental factors are: (1) wildlife enhancement, (2) water quality, (3) soil erosion, (4) enduring benefits, and (5) air quality.

“These recent CRP losses combined with an agricultural climate rampant with conversion of native prairies and wetlands, bulldozing and burning of shelterbelts, woodlots, and dry wetlands – is having a catastrophic impact on our landscape,” said Nomsen. “In the aftermath of this announcement, the American people need to recognize what is taking place on their countryside, especially across much of the northern Great Plains. This is not for just the health of pheasant, quail and other wildlife.At stake is a high quality of life in rural areas, loss of America’s hunting tradition, and environmental benefits important to a sustainable agriculture system.”

CRP is a voluntary program designed to help farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers protect their environmentally sensitive land. Eligible landowners receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource conserving covers on eligible farmland throughout the duration of 10 to 15 year contracts.Under CRP, farmers and ranchers plant grasses and trees in crop fields and along streams or rivers. The plantings prevent soil and nutrients from washing into waterways, reduce soil erosion that may otherwise contribute to poor air and water quality, and provide valuable habitat for wildlife. Plant cover established on the acreage accepted into the CRP will reduce nutrient and sediment runoff in our nation’s rivers and streams.

The USDA also announced today the enrollment of 370,000 acres into Continuous CRP, which is a sizeable number given the lack of a Farm Bill extension last fall meant this signup only has been open since May.These Continuous CRP acres are especially important considering their highly-targeted nature.

For more information regarding today’s announcement, please contact Dave Nomsen at (320) 491-9163 or email Dave. For all other inquiries, please contact Rehan Nana, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Public Relations Specialist, at (651) 209-4973 or email Rehan.

Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 135,000 members and 720 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent, the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.

 

 

Sportsmen’s Activity Report: Nebraska Benefits from Economic Impact of Hunting

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has released a major new report documenting the importance of hunting activities to the Nebraska economy. NSSF is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

The report, Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation, provides detailed information about participation and expenditures by America’s hunters. In Nebraska alone, hunting added $847,935,693 to the state’s economy and supported 8,856 jobs.

Information on 40-plus categories of U.S. hunting-related expenditures, which grew 55 percent, is contained in the report, as well as state-by-state statistics for number of hunters, retail sales, taxes and jobs. The report notes an overall nine percent increase in hunting participation between 2006 and 2011. The money hunters spent in 2011 resulted in $87 billion being added to the nation’s economy and supported more than 680,000 jobs nationally.

“The major growth in spending by hunters is good news for businesses throughout the country, particularly small businesses in rural areas,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti.

Beyond their impact on businesses and local economies, sportsmen are the leaders in protecting wildlife and habitats. When you combine license and stamp fees, excise taxes on hunting equipment and membership contributions to conservation organizations, hunters contribute more than $1.6 billion annually to conservation.

“Hunters are without peer when it comes to funding the perpetuation and conservation of wildlife and natural habitats,” said Sanetti.

Read Hunting in America: An Economic Force for Conservation or view the report as a printable PDF.

To request hard copies of the report, email Jim Curcuruto at jcurcuruto@nssf.org (limited quantity available).

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The Quack Shack

Waterfowl hunters go through a progression. When you’re young and first take up the sport, enthusiasm and drive makes up for shortcomings in the area of knowledge, equipment and funds. When you first begin waterfowling, a lot of the gear you start out with is well used, in most cases hand-me-downs and acquired piecemeal. Decoys might be some that were given to you by an old timer who was giving up the sport or picked up at a rummage sale. They’re not the latest flocked versions from GHG, but they matched your limited budget perfectly. A little paint here, a little patching there and they become quite serviceable. More than likely, they’re made of new-age plastic or if they’re older, Styrofoam. If you’re old enough, you might remember your first collection of decoys being made of paper-mâché. I remember going to the local feed store to buy burlap seed bags to haul the decoys in. Back in those days they were .50 cents each.

A neophyte waterfowler’s waders show signs of wear. They may not be the right size, maybe made of rubber instead of high-tech Gore-Tex and Cordura and undoubtedly will have a quilt-like array of patches. One boot might leak a little or you know enough not to get above the crotch in deeper water where the real trouble lies.

Your shotgun is probably an old pump gun that grandpa owned at one time or was on sale at your local discount store. The wood is one notch above what they use to make pallets, but it’s a serviceable firearm, dependable and is responsible for downing your first duck or goose. I remember my Dad bought my brother and I each a semi-auto Winchester 1400 at our local Yankee store. I distinctly remember they were on sale for $99. At the time, I couldn’t have been more proud and happy if the gun were a Benelli Super Vinci that I shoot now. A lot of game died a at the hands of that gun.

Even though you may not have the best or finest equipment when you started out waterfowling, effort was not a shortcoming. When you’re young, you thought nothing of sleeping in the car to be the first one at the boat ramp. Or even spending the night in a first–come–first–serve blind that you knew was in a prime location. You’re there hours before shooting light, waiting in the dark with decoys at the ready and you don’t leave until the sun drops below the horizon. Some days you’re rewarded for your persistence; more often you’re not.

If you persist in becoming a waterfowler, you naturally acquire more stuff. Permanent jobs and careers provide less free time, but more funds for acquiring gear. Decoys are upgraded, increasing in variety and numbers. Modern high-tech clothing in the latest waterfowling camouflage patterns replaces worn hand-me-downs. Special “tuck” funds and vacation time is socked away for trips to fabled destinations.

One of your first major purchases is most likely a boat. A boat gives waterfowlers added mobility; a way of getting away from the crowds. It also allows you to carry more gear. Our first boat, again, is most likely a hand-me-down or well-used craft that needed a little work. The first boat might be a pram or a small V-hull or canoe. Either way, if gets you where you need to go, can carry your gear and adds to your success, whatever it cost was money well spent.

If you become consumed by the waterfowling bug, boats seem to get bigger, more numerous and more expensive. You can sink a lot of money into a rig like a big War Eagle with a mud motor on it. But hey, it’s only money! And it makes your days in the marsh more enjoyable. It’s a good investment. At one point I had a v-hull, camouflaged canoe, a layout boat and a pontoon boat. Like women and black shoes, a waterfowlers can never have too many boats!

The fleet has now been reduced to the v-hull and the pontoon boat. The pontoon boat is a dream to hunt out of. Comfortable, spacious, with plenty of storage area, the pontoon provides a stable shooting platform. It’s really the ultimate waterfowling boat for a lot of situations. It has all the comforts of a pit blind, but you’re not stuck in one place when the birds are flying on the other side of the marsh. With an outboard motor on it, you can move to wherever the birds are flying. Migrating waterfowl look at as just another floating island.

My Dad was an avid waterfowling and got me into the sport so I couldn’t understand when he turned 50 he said he wasn’t going duck hunting anymore. It puzzled me why you’d quit something that you enjoyed so much and have done basically your whole life. But I’ve come to understand. Now that I’m well into my 50’s, I wouldn’t say the thrill is gone, but it’s just not the same. The thought of getting up at 3:00 am to drive a couple hours and then sit in the cold to shoot six ducks just doesn’t have the same appeal as it once did, especially if you don’t shoot six ducks. But it’s not really about the ducks. We all know that. About the only thing that I get up at 3:00 am to do now is to pee.

Duck hunting is a physically demanding sport. When you reach a certain age thick, oozing marsh muck seems to pull and tug harder at legs causing knees to creak and throb. Numb fingers stay numb longer. Getting to a sitting position in layout blind almost requires a goose of its own. Pump guns kick like a mule. The physical price for participating just doesn’t seem to be consummate with the rewards like it once was.

So it’s time to cull the fleet again. My friend refers to the pontoon boat as the Quack Shack. Seems appropriate. The boat is a 20-foot Harrison pontoon. It’s built like a tank. It originally had a console at the rear, but some friends of mine who are master carpenters removed it and built a two-sided bench down the middle of the boat that provides seating on each side, storage underneath and allows four hunters to hunt comfortably. A roof keeps rain and sleet from pelting waiting hunters and conceals them from the eyes of mallards passing overhead. My friends built a frame around the exterior to which we then stapled pasture fence. Mats of grass are cable tied to the fencing. The boat looks like a big cattail island that ducks pay little attention to. The pontoon sits on a Hoosier trailer and is powered by a 40-horse Evinrude. It doesn’t get it up on plane, but moves it at a pretty good clip.

The pontoon has provided a lot of memorable days and a lot of ducks have met their maker via the pontoon boat. But it’s time to pass the boat on to a younger, rabid waterfowler who thinks getting up at 3:00 am and sitting in a driving rain is about as much fun as you can have with two feet on the floor. Decoys are optional. If you’re interested contact me at gnatmt17@optimum.net or call 307-514-1834.

Nebraska Firearm Deer Kill Down

Preliminary reports reveal that 40,301 deer were harvested during the Nov. 10-18 firearm season, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. That is a decline of 27 percent from the 2011 record firearm season harvest of 55,400.

In addition to large numbers of deer lost to epizootic hemorrhagic disease, deer populations, permit sales and hunting success were impacted by a record drought and the elimination of Earn-A-Buck rules in some management units, where a doe had to be checked in before or at the same time as a buck.

The harvest total includes any type of hunting permit that was legal during the nine-day season.

Northeast Nebraska had the largest decline in harvest, while southwest had the least decline. Harvest by region, compared to 2011, was as follows:

Northeast – 8,040 deer (down 43 percent), Panhandle/Northwest – 5,505 deer (down 15 percent), Southeast – 10,870 deer (down 34 percent), Southwest – 15,886 deer (down 14 percent).

Life With Labs

Labrador retrievers are widely considered to be most popular dog breed in the world. It is estimated that there are nearly twice as many Labradors as a next most popular breed. Labrador retrievers are also the most popular assistance dog, prized for their dedication, smarts and working abilities.

It’s easy to see why Labradors are so popular. They are athletic, good with kids and the elderly and good for protection. Their temperament is what makes them most desirable though. They’re kind, outgoing and easily trainable.

The Labrador originated in Newfoundland and was a descendent of the St. John’s Water Dog or Lesser Newfoundland. The dogs were bred and prized for their loyalty and hard-working behavior and were used to retrieve and pull in nets and capture fish that found their way out of the nets. The name Labrador was used to distinguish the breed from the larger Newfoundland dogs.

Labs are prized for their demeanor and loyality.

Because of their lineage from the St. John’s Water Dog, tuxedo or white markings often appear in modern-day Labs. It’s common for small white spots to manifest themselves on the chest or appear as stray white hairs on the feet or muzzle. The Lab that I have right now has five white hairs above his left eye. No one could ever steal him and claim him as theirs with those unique markings.

Labs were brought to the Poole area of England in the early 19th century. Although the area had a rich fishing heritage, the Labrador became more prized as a hunting dog and retriever. Although originally black in color, today the breed also sports yellow and chocolate versions.

I’ve been fortunate to own a number of Labs over the years. I wouldn’t think of having any other dog. They suit my demeanor and the variety of hunting I do perfectly. Our family had a number of Labs over the years. None of them are purebred that I can remember. The first Lab that I had that I could call my own was one named Toby that I got while going to college. His given name was Toby Ben Kenobi, seeing as how it was about the time when the popular Star Wars movie debuted and the house we lived in at college was Tobin House.

I didn’t have any plans of getting a dog, but my friend Larry Clontz said his neighbors had a litter of Labs and they were willing to give me one for free knowing how much I liked to hunt. The dogs didn’t have any papers, but they assured him they were purebred and he’d pick one out for me the next time he was home.

Larry asked me what to look for when picking a puppy. I told him not to pick the most aggressive or dominate one or a puppy that was standoffish or very timid, but to find one that showed affection, was friendly, interacted with the other puppies and liked people.

There were nine dogs in the litter and when Larry went over to the neighbors to see the puppies eight came out to greet him. Larry asked, “There’s only eight here. Where’s the other puppy?”

The neighbor said, “Oh, he’s out swimming in the pool.”

Larry said, “I’ll take that one!”

 

Toby at Nayanquing Point

Larry made a great choice. Though I didn’t have papers for him, Toby was all Lab with the flat ears, stocky build, short, thick coat, long otter tail and incredible intelligence. Toby also had golden, yellow eyes that I’ve never seen on another Lab. They say every man is entitled to one good dog. Toby was mine. Of course, the timing was good, too. Going to college, I scheduled my classes so that I had two or three days a week open and we spent most of those days in the woods or in the marsh. In between, Toby socialized with everyone in the house and visitors. He became our college mascot.

One of the great things about Labradors is their versatility. Although Labs are known as water dogs, they are equally at home in the uplands. Toby proved that. The area where I went to college in central Michigan didn’t have a lot of areas for waterfowl hunting so weekends usually meant a trip home to Saginaw Bay. During the week, there was plenty of time to explore the transitional habitat near Alma. The area was unique in that it bordered a band of transition between Michigan’s southern beach/maple forests and the coniferous forests of northern Michigan. The cover was varied and so was the game. It was common to find a cedar swamp next to a cornfield, or a hedgerow thick with grape vines bordering an aspen stand. The diversity in flora also meant a diversity in fauna. It wasn’t unusual to shoot a rooster pheasant or two and a couple of ruffed grouse or even quail in the same outing. I remember one particularly memorable opening day when I managed to bag a limit of pheasants and three grouse mostly due to Toby’s versatility.

Labs are not generally known as grouse dogs. Toby was the exception. He hunted close when the cover was thick and he knew what the quarry was. We’d be walking down the logging trail and I give a little whistle, he’d stop and all I had to do was point right or left and the dog would begin working the cover. Wild grapevines and their delicious fruit were very common in the area and both grouse and pheasants relished them. Toby figured out the best way to hunt the grape vine tangles. Instead of immediately bulling into the tangles, Toby would skirt the outer edge, winding and come in from the opposite side to flush birds to the right or to the left instead of straight ahead with the tangle placed between us. I wouldn’t have believed he knew how to do this, but I saw it time and time again. During my four years at college, I shot 78 grouse over Toby and countless pheasants. I couldn’t imagine a better dog for the job.

Not only was Toby a great upland dog, but he was the incredible retriever. Knock down a bird and you could count on adding him to the game bag. Friends still talk about some of the retrieves he made. Once, when hunting a storm–damaged field of buckwheat that we leased he made one of his best retrieves. The field was so thick and tangled you could barely walk through it. There were a couple openings in the buckwheat where geese and ducks had trampled it down, but most of the field was impenetrable. Someone nicked a greenhead that came close to the spread and the bird locked its wings and glided 300 or 400 yards to the other end of the field and crashed in the thickest, nasty part of the field. Toby marked the bird, but I had my doubts whether he find it. 20 or 30 minutes later he came back with the greenhead. I have no idea how he marked and found that duck.

Another time friend Rick Morley and I were hunting on a backwater of the Saginaw River. A flock of ducks came screaming over the decoys. We both raised our guns, but at the last instant I realized the birds were hooded mergansers and held my fire. Rick touched off a shot and hit one of the birds. They wheeled and swung out over the open water gaining altitude. Some 500 yards distant, one of the ducks peeled from the flock and crashed half way across the lake in the open water. Before I could keep Toby at heel, he set out on the retrieve. We had time to have a cup coffee and eat a sandwich before he returned. How he even saw the bird fall was beyond me.

Mike Cnudde and Rebel pounce on an unlucky rooster.

Another yellow Lab that I had, Rebel a.k.a. Old Hamlin’s Rebel Yell, loved to hunt pheasants. Occasionally, he point tight-sitting pheasants or grouse. I never taught him that. He just did it. Rebel was a long–legged American Lab that had a great nose and could really cover some ground. Rebel had incredible stamina. Other dogs would be shot for the day with their tongues hanging out and Rebel would still be hunting. He was also a great retriever and one of a couple dogs that I’ve had that retrieved two ducks at one time on more than one occasion. Fortunately, when Rebel was around I had the opportunity to make annual trips to South Dakota and Kansas were he had the opportunity to excel on the long tails. Usually, we’d hunt ducks in the morning and pheasants in the afternoon and Labs, like Rebel, where logical choice for the variety of hunting.

My current Lab, Kiefer a.k.a. Kiefer’s Sweet Water Dilemma, will be 8 years old this spring. True to his heritage, Kiefer is not only a great retriever on land, but also in the water for birds, but also fish. I was fishing on the Michigan River in Colorado a couple of summers ago and hooked a dandy brown trout in a pool. I worked the fish up to shore, but it was a steep drop down to where the fish was and there was no way I was going to attempt it. Keifer realized my dilemma and went down the embankment, snatched the trout and brought it back up dropping it at my feet. Who needs a landing net? After all, that’s’ what Labs were bred for right?

Labs excel in the water.

Like the others, Kiefer been a great hunting companion and a godsend the last couple of lonely, trying years. Not only is he a great hunter, he’s a great listener. He’s probably gotten spoiled more than any of my other Labs. Once I had to have Rebel put down at age 15, Kiefer got extended privileges. Friends will tell you that I’ve spoiled him more than any other dog. They’re probably right. He rarely has to stay outside overnight and usually sleeps in my bed. In the evening, you’ll often find him next to me in my huge lounge chair gnawing on a rawhide bone. He deserves it; in many ways, I need it.

I can’t imagine a life without Labs.

 

Kiefer, Rebel and I in South Dakota.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vanishing Books

I was looking at my bookcase the other day and I was somewhat amazed by the diversity of books that I’ve accumulated over the years. For the most part, I’m not a book person. I don’t read much and I don’t purchase many books, but still the same, I have come to acquire quite a few. Most were given to me or I picked them up at a rummage sale or someone passed them down to me knowing my fondness for the out-of-doors and gave me the books. The variety is pretty amazing.

My most prized book in the collection is one called “Recollections of My 50 Years Hunting and Fishing” by William B. Mershon. The book is special for a number of reasons. For one, Mershon was a lumber baron in the Saginaw, Michigan area where I grew up. According to a historical account on the pages of the William B. Mershon Chapter of Trout Unlimited in Saginaw, “He was one of Michigan’s early conservationists, having watched first hand the indiscriminate plunder of Michigan’s wildlife and, in his early years, having participated in some of it himself. But he realized before most of his contemporaries the need for conservation.”

Mershon’s recollections of hunting and fishing around Saginaw feature some amazing accounts. Stories of bears running through downtown Saginaw while a large portion of the state was ablaze from uncontrolled forest fires stoked by debris left after the monarch white pines were cut down. Mershon tells of branches nearly breaking off of huge oak trees due to the shear weight of thousands of passenger pigeon nests. The skies were blacken with flocks of passenger pigeons when they came to roost at night or headed off into the fields to eat during the day. Entrepreneurs sought to cash in on the passenger pigeon’s abundance. They used axes to fell the giant oaks and their limbs and the nests they contained came crashing to the ground. The squabs were gathered up and sent by the barrel full by rail to the markets in New York. No wonder the passenger pigeon has been extinct for decades. Mershon wrote another book about the subject.

 

 

Mershon also recounted his days of fishing the Au Sable and Manistee rivers and their branches and his love for the Michigan grayling. Mershon’s accounts document the disappearance of this magnificent quarry and the planting of the much-maligned trouts. In the book Mershon writes, “I think 1903 was the last year of the grayling in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.” Published in 1923, this classic is even more special due to the fact that my grandpa, Clarence J. Gnatkowski, gave me the book after he received it from Mershon.

The books case’s top right shelf supports a number of other classics including Streamers & Bucktails by Joseph D Bates, Jr., Trout by Ray Bergman, The Biology Of Mayflies by Needham and Traver, Professional Fly Tying, Spinning and Tackle Making Manual and Manufacturers Guide by George Leonard Herter, Trout Streams by Paul Needham, The American Angler by A. J. McClane and Nymph Fishing For Larger Trout by Charles E. Brooks. All are classic if you’re a trout fisherman.

There are a couple of editions I cherish because they were written and given to me by friends, like Tom Huggler’s Michigan Meanders, and Dave Richey’s “Steelheading For Everybody” and “The Brown Trout Fisherman’s Guide.” Richey was my professional advisor in college. His books were an inspiration because I figured if Richey could write books and articles, I could do it. Richey wasn’t so sure I could and did his best to discourage me. He obviously didn’t know who he was dealing with. His pointed, discouraging critics, not entirely undeserved, only made me more determined. Read-slathered replies to my inquiries drove home the important point that editors were going to be much tougher critics than he and I’d better learn how to proofread and spell if I was going to make a career out of writing. The point struck home. John Gierach’s Trout Bum proved to me that combining fishing and writing could be fun, if not profitable.

 

The middle shelf on the right side of the bookcase is a hodgepodge of textbooks, fishing catalogs and other titles. I’m not sure why I kept books like Michigan Trees, The Earth and It’s History and Biological Science, but I figured I paid for them so why throw them away? You never know when I might need to reference them again. There are several volumes on dog training by James B. Spencer that I received as gifts. I never read them. I’ve had some pretty good dogs over the years, they retrieved ducks, found pheasants and minded pretty well so I figured I was doing something right. The guy that gave me the books should have read them, if he didn’t.  There’s a book edited by outdoor writing legends Erwin and Peggy Bauer called Outdoor Photographer’s Digest that was printed decades before anyone even thought of a DSLR, but the features on how and where to shoot better photographs still apply today.

The bottom right shelf of the bookcase contains reference materials. There’s an entire set of Tom Huggler’s “Fish Michigan” series. The large-format booklets have been a godsend over the years. Huggler’s books give some basic information on Michigan lakes and rivers and the Great Lakes and provide basic maps of each. But this basic information can be very valuable when it comes time to write about a destination you’ve never been to. Huggler was very smart when he hired wet-behind-the-ears college students to do the research and compiled the information into the series. He’s still living of the royalties today. The books give you info on acreage, location, public access and the basic configuration of the lake. There’s also basic data on depths, contours maps and contacts for bait shops, chambers, etc… Most of those numbers and contacts have long since gone by the wayside. The books are old enough that they don’t contain web site and e-mail addresses, something that will be in the new series of books I’m working on.

Fellow members at the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association meetings often asked me how I found the time to fish all of these lakes that I wrote about. Truth is, many times the closest I got to fishing the actual waters was Huggler’s books. Point out some obviously strategic spots gleaned from the map, get some quotes from local experts, add in a chamber contact and a bait shop and I had myself an article.

A similar reference guide that has proved invaluable is the series of guides put together by Sportsman’s Connections. I have the entire set for the state of Michigan, plus the version for SD. Like Huggler’s books, the Sportsman’s Connections books are a godsend for information. Where Huggler’s books were kind of a “best of” series, the Sportsman’s Connection books have every lake in the state. So if Fish Michigan didn’t have it, the Sportsman’s Connection books did. They provide contour maps, access information, road maps, fish stocking data and details on the lake bottom makeup and clarity and make up. Much of the data is now decades old so it’s out-of-date, but I still reference the guides frequently.

The top left shelf of the bookcase is split somewhat evenly between spiritual titles and writing references. The spiritual books contain some classic that no book case should probably be without, titles like Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life, Wild at Heart by John Eldridge, In His Steps by Charles Sheldon, the inspiration for the “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelets, and titles like Giving to God, Tuesdays With Morrie and Spiritual Economics. My most important spiritual titles, like The Bible, are not in my bookcase. They are in places where I can use them every day.

The books on writing represent some of the foundational skills need to be a writer. It includes topics like Selling the Outdoor Story, Dictionary of Concise Writing, Marketing Magazine Articles and Modern Article Writing. Some of these were text books used during college; others I’ve picked up over the years. I don’t reference the books much anymore. Considering that I’ve been a writer for over 30 years, I’d like to think that I’ve mastered some of the topics. Internet sites have replaced the dictionaries and vocabulary books. Signs of the times?

The middle shelf on the left is composed almost entirely of binders with copies of articles that I’ve written. It’s actually kind of a chronological window of my life and the evolution of the industry. The first binder has a copy of the very first article I published in March of 1978 in Michigan Out-of-Doors magazine called “Steelhead On A Fly” and ends with pieces like “Sand Hills Saga” that just appeared in the Dec/Jan 2012 issue of Wildfowl magazine. Not everything I’ve written is in the binder, but there’s a pretty good representative sample of my work, my evolution as a writer and the evolution of outdoor writing. Anything published in the last half dozen years or so has been saved electronically also and I’ve taken the time to dictate some of the older stories and saved them as word.docs so they are preserved and can be potentially resold. Sometimes it’s fun to be able to go back and look at a hard copy and wax philosophically about what went into the piece, but I’m running out of room.

The binders also represent how writing has changed. The early stories meant two or three days of composing and typing (remember typing instead of keyboarding) on a typewriter and then another half day of editing and correcting before finally typing a near-perfect-as-possible final draft to send to the editor. Support images were prints, or slides a little later, which had to be mailed. Boy, have things changed! Computers, e-mail, digital cameras have altered the way we do business forever.  Now I can write an article, start to finish, in a couple of hours and it will be perfect. After checking the spelling and grammar electronically, I hit a key and the editor has it instantaneously. Same with the images.  I never envisioned doing that 30 years ago. That’s another reason I keep the hard copies-to remind me of the good ol’ days.

The bottom shelf has a stack of CD’s containing scanned images. Those images are now saved on an external hard drive and at an off-site storage facility. Better safe than sorry!

The shelf has several extra camera lenses on it, several volumes of the Hunting & Fishing Library, to which I’ve contributed some images, and a copy of MUCC’s cook book, “Wild Chef,” the cover of which served as an inspiration for the cover of my own book, “Wild Game Simple.”

It’s likely that I won’t be adding any more titles to my bookcase. The way this world is evolving, books, real books, are becoming a thing of the past. Technology has now provided us with e-books. I’m not real thrilled with the idea, but it will happen whether I like it or not and I’ve already succumbed to the technology. My cookbook is now formatted for nook, kindle and Smashwords.

The next generation might not even know what a bookcase is, or the joy of physically handling a literary classic.

 

 

The end