Opening day for Ohio deer hunters is Monday, but for some, especially those used to seeing several deer by noon, it may be slim pickings. Yes, the deer herd in some areas of Ohio has been noticeably affected by epizootic hemorrhagic disease, a cruel and quick deer killer born by tiny midges, which most typically [...]
It’s gift buying time. Like, hate it, or anything in between, it is time for Santa to emerge and do the deed. I’ve assembled a few of my favorite pieces of gear, things that make outdoor pursuits more enjoyable, comfortable and successful. Binoculars are like good gloves. Hunting without binoculars is like bowling with a [...]
I get an armload of questions about long distance big game hunts, namely hunting trips for elk, antelope and bear. Most questions concern the choice between outfitted and guided hunts. Just a few weeks back, I was part of a four-man group that hunted elk in south western Colorado. We used an outfitter based on [...]
GUNNISON Colo. — Luck trumps skills every time and, yes, getting an eyeful of elk, a bull at that, and in reasonable shooting range, involves a basket full a good old- fashioned luck. A beauty There he was, a decent bull at about 200 yards, a slam dunk if ever there was one. I belly [...]
GUNNISON, Colo. — A group of four friends are here to live a dream — to hunt Rocky Mountain elk, the most coveted of all lower 48 big game. But given that, there are more critters involved in this play than elk. Take the golden eagle that winged up from a nearby kill to create [...]
Time flies, it really does. Pictures don’t. Pictures freeze time, age, and reality. Such is the case of the pencil image that I’ve used for decades. That one. Yes, that timeless image that leads this column, a snap shot turned classy by the hand of an artist, of a much younger me. I don’t know [...]
For those who seek excitement, a sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction an adventure provides, climbing mountains is right up there. Not just climbing of course, but summiting — the actual ascent to the very top, the highest point, the summit. The question of “why climb at all” is paramount to those who prefer armchair [...]
A pound of cotton socks weights the same as a pound of sharp knife. You need to pare down your duffle so what do you leave at home? It’s your choice. Do you value warm feet and do you see a need for a good skinning knife? Yes to both questions, so back to the [...]
Pre-season target practice is a basic requirement for hunters. To depend on last year’s shooting performance is to ask for problems. Indeed, what it was does not predicate what it will be. Shooting Here’s what is known about shooting. Erratic scores, inaccurate groups, missed targets, and other shooting fu-paws are typically not caused by the [...]
My sister says everything is on the Internet. It hurts to admit this, but she’s right. I hope she doesn’t read this. According to Mark Drury, a call maker, archery pro staffer and hunting show producer, time spent on the Internet prior to hunting season can be time well spent. That Drury proclamation was one [...]
Good pictures don’t just happen. And, too, the best camera can’t take a good picture on its own. Good pictures are born in the eye of the photographer and all the rest is basic, easily learned technique. Let’s talk about cameras first. The best camera for any person without exception is the one that the [...]
Western packers (wranglers and cowboys who move gear on the backs of sturdy animals) love a good mule and it’s easy to see why. A creation of planned outcross breeding, a mule is the result of crossing a mare and a donkey; and a mule, typically anyways, is a fine beast of burden indeed. Mules [...]
In the distant past, hunters could be blamed for discouraging new hunters or at least failing to encourage participation, reasoning that more people in the field meant more competition and less personal opportunity. The same can be said for tradesmen who did little for years to encourage newcomers to the trades, fearing that more workers [...]
Ohio anglers have plenty of opportunities to become record holders if catching the largest specimen of one of the 47 types of fish recorded by the Outdoor Writers of Ohio, an organization of outdoor communicators in charge of the record book, is their mission. All it takes is fishing skill, determination, focus, an investment of [...]
PORT CLINTON, Ohio — In a soldier’s trained hands an automatic weapon looks right. It is powerful, fast, and reliable. But in my hands, those assemblies of mostly thumbs, the AR felt every bit as heavy as a lead pipe and as foreign as a lion in a petting zoo. Levers here, switches there, adjustable [...]
Port Clinton Camp Perry is alive and well. It’s media day and opening day for this summer’s annual National Matches, the Super Bowl of rifle and pistol shooting. And it’s a good media day because it isn’t just about seeing what others are doing. A bunch of us are hunched over our rifles and going [...]
A spelling bee contestant would probably spell Ashtabula with a capital A, but it might make more sense to start the name of Lake Erie’s top summer walleye fishing spot with a capital H, maybe even three capital H’s as in Hot, Hot, Hot. Ahead of schedule Indeed, walleye fishing success in the deep central [...]
ABOVE: Columnist Mike Tontimonia’s grandson Ian Frame won fishing honors at the family’s annual “guys” trip, with a huge 12-pound walleye that he landed on our last evening on Lake Temagami. TEMAGAMI, Ontario — Although a chubby bird and all the fixings have been our traditional Father’s Day meal, a menu change seemed appropriate this [...]
The stiff stems of the mowed hay field were as brittle as the business end of a straw broom and each step produced an easily heard crunch. I was doing a clumsy crouch toward the crest of the slope and trying my best to stay as hidden as possible behind a well packed and neatly [...]
Olcott, New York, a prime Lake Ontario fishing port just east of Niagara Falls, has been named America’s Ultimate Fishing Town, an honor bestowed by a record number of votes tallied by the World Fishing Network organization. Winner In what has become an annual competition, Olcott and 504 other fishing oriented U.S. towns were nominated [...]
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