Jake's Outdoors

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

I don’t know about you all, but when I head off into the woods, I like to have a knife that I trust. There have been a couple of traditions that have arisen in our camp surrounding knives, that I think are a bit interesting. I am not sure where they came from, but they are fun to continue.

The first is that no one is allowed to give away a knife. If we are going to “give” a knife to a fellow hunter, he has to give up at least one dollar. I’m not sure how or why this got started, but it a rule. Maybe my dad can share a bit of light on the origins of the tradition.

The second tradition has to do with “luck”. We are not really superstitious, but we have fun with superstition. We have our lucky shirts. And we don’t want to break in more than one piece of new equipment per year. Maybe that is just to keep us from buying too much stuff in any one year. But, it applies to knives as well. I hate to carry a brand new knife…it isn’t “lucky” until it is broken in by eviscerating its first deer. A knife intended for a hunting knife is not allowed to be used for anything prior to field dressing its first deer. All of this is done in good fun, and it is particularly fun to harass one of our fellow hunters who has a new knife that is untested for 2 or 3 years.

That brings me to telling you about my favorite knife. I have been hunting for 22 years, and have only had 2 knives over that period of time. My first knife, which I loved dearly, was a Case Mako Folding Hunter. It was given to me by a good friend, who also made me leather case for it. I carried it for several years, and used it on many a deer. However, about 7 or 8 years ago, that knife began to come apart, and I didn’t want to lose any of the parts (the handle came apart). So, I purchased a new knife. This time I got a Buck Woodsman with a Cocobola (Redwood) handle. This has turned out to be another great knife. It is easy to sharpen when it gets dull, but stays sharp for a long time. I have cleaned and skinned 3-4 deer between sharpening. I am hoping that this knife will last me for several more years. I liked this knife so much that I got the regular handled knife for several of my friends and family. They got the regular handle so that I could tell the difference between theirs and mine!

I don’t know if our little group of hunters is the norm, but most of our folks are pretty attached to their hunting knives. They don’t want to have to trade up or get a new knife. And, if someone forgets their knife at home, it is a major ordeal to have to settle for one of the spare knives (and I have several “spares” in my box). There are some other pieces of equipment that we have the same attachment to (guns for example), but most things can be replaced much easier than a knife.

So, tell me what your favorite knife is. How long have you had it, and how do you feel about it?

If you haven’t had the chance to check out the  Tennessee Valley Angler, jump over there and take a peek.  I have only been fly fishing for about 3 or 4 years (and I haven’t even had a fly rod out in over a year now), but I do enjoy it when I get the chance to go.  I have been wanting to head down into the smokies and fly fish for a few days, but haven’t taken the opportunity to do so as of yet.

You can take a look at the TV Angler site and get some insight into some of the fly fishing in the south.  These folks actually are based close to where my in-laws live, and I head down there at least once per year.  You can check out some of the pictures that are on the site, and see the beauty of the area.  Makes me want to carry my fly rod along and see if I can hit some of the bass and bream streams that are prevalent throughout the area.  I may have to book that trip down to the smokies as well, judging from some of the posts and pictures that are on the TV Angler site!

Make sure to visit the photo galleries when you go over to TVA.  There are some great shots on there, and the bragging board has some great pictures of nice fish.  You won’t be disappointed!

Those of you who read this blog fairly regularly have probably noticed that I have not been updating with my usual frequency here at Jake’s Outdoors. My real world life has kept me incredibly busy over the last few weeks, and the near future doesn’t look like it is slowing down much! I am not complaining, mind you, but it is my explanation for the sparsity of posts lately. I don’t foresee being able to get back to posting much (here or any of my other blogs) within the next week to 10 days at best, and looking at my schedule, I am thinking that regular posting will probably not return until at least late September, or early October. I hope that doesn’t deter you all from keeping up with this blog, but I just thought I should let you know whats going on over here, so you don’t think I’ve forgotten about you all. I try to get around and read a few posts when I can, and I hit many of your blogs, even if I am not leaving comments (I catch up by reading in my reader!) So, check in when you can, and I’ll be doing the same, even if you don’t see a lot written here!

I wrote a few days ago about Skylar shooting the bow, and realized that I didn’t have a video of Jacob. But, his Papaw came through for us, and posted this video of Jacob shooting the bow, so I thought I’d share it!

I know I have been away from the Tuesday’s Tracking for a couple of weeks, but I will try to get back to it soon. Until then, just remember how much great stuff you can get by reading blogs like The Hunter’s Wife, Simply Outdoors (I haven’t forgotten your “Why you hunt” post, Arthur, just haven’t had the time it deserves yet!), the Hog Blog, the Idaho TroutHunter, and Outdoors with Othmar. I am sure that they will keep you fully entertained until I am able to get back on the ball and writing more regularly!

Not too long ago, my dad sent me a link to this article that discusses the increased bear population in the state of West Virginia. This has been a great success story here in the state, amidst all the negative press that we get for things like coal mining, and hog population decreases.

According to this article, the State DNR has decided that it is time to implement a fall bear season, which will be early enough to harvest some of the sows before they head to their dens for the winter. Previously, the season has been later in the winter, and has targeted only the bruins that were still out of den.

The plan for this season is to actually decrease the bear population. This will be the first time since the 1960s that the state has tried to decrease the population. In the counties with the open early season, the DNR hopes to decrease the current population by 10-15%. The reason for this is that the population has grown to the point that there are too many nuisance bears, and residents are not willing to put up with them any longer. Eventually, when a program such as the bear program in WV, is successful, it leads to more liberal hunting seasons, and harvest rates.

The counties which will have the early season this year are:

• September 19-27: Boone, Fayette, Kanawha and Raleigh
• September 22-27: Barbour, Grant, Greenbrier, Hardy, Nicholas, Pendleton, Preston, Randolph, Tucker and Webster

I have been wanting to hunt bears, and have never done so. Perhaps this will open up an opportunity for me to get out and do some hunting, as some of these counties are not too far away from me. I am happy to see such a successful program in our state! It is a testament to good management practices.

We were able to get out of town for a couple of days earlier this week for Memorial Day. We were able to get some of our family together, and had a very nice time. Fortunately, we had a very good day weather wise, and were able to stay outside for most of the day. The kids got to shoot the bow, and a gun before their cousins showed up. They then switched over to climbing the trees, and playing whiffle ball. My dad did take a video of Skylar shooting the bow for the first time. She has been wanting to do it ever since Jacob got it. She has pretended that she was shooting it every time we talk about it. So, we let her shoot it with a lot of help from me:

Jacob was a bit upset that we didn’t get a video of him shooting, so I will have to do that next time we are out. I have a few more pictures that we took during the day, which I may try to get ready to put on here in the next few days.

We had a great time, ate a lot of food, and even got some work done. That will have to do me on “time off” for several more weeks!

Spring bear season is in across much of the US.  But one problem that could certainly come up has become a reality for a Billings, MT man.  He mistook a small male grizzly bear for a large black bear.  With the many different color phases of the black bear, I can certainly see how this mistake could be made honestly.  I have no experience hunting bears (though I hope to remedy that some day), but it seems that this would be a pretty significant problem anywhere the two species overlapped.

According to the article linked above, the consequence for this man’s mistake is that he may lose his hunting privileges for up to three years.  It seems like there really should be some consistency to the application of game laws.  Recently, I wrote of a teen who shot a bear here in WV out of season with his bow and arrow.  He got a warning.  This man made a mistake, and confessed to what he had done.  He notified the DNR  of what he had done.  He could have kept it quiet, cut the bear up, disposed of the hide, and been none the worse off.  But he actually did the right thing, and came forward to tell what he had done.

It seems to me that these two cases have the punishments backwards!  When there is a blatant violation of the game laws, there should be a harsh punishment imposed.  But, when there is an accidental violation, there should be at least some leniency.  There should also be some consideration given for the violator who is willing to fess up to his actions, and try to set it right.

I hope this Billings man is shown a little leniency, and that he won’t have to sacrifice his hunting privileges for so long.  Not too many people would do what he did!

Meigs Local School District must have a great archery coach!  The elementary school, the middle school, and the high school all three made it to the national competition that will be held this Saturday in Louisville, KY.  There will be 3000 students who will meet to compete.

According to one of the students on the team, they practice 2 hours per day, 3 days per week.  I suppose that is why they are so good!  I would have loved to have had an archery team when I was in high school.  I am so glad that there are programs like this where kids can learn the skills that are taught by archery.  An article from the local news station had this to say:

The good thing about archery is you don’t have to be an outstanding athlete, super strong or the perfect weight and size—it’s all about the mental.

“It levels the playing field. You can be a computer geek or a star athlete and still have to follow the same rules and use the same equipment,” said Coach Jones.

And the lessons beyond the target are what keep these kids right on target.

“There’s a lot of concentration and focus that they can also use in the classroom when they’re taking a test or when the teacher is talking to them,” said Coach Jones.

Archery is such a great sport for all the reasons that are mentioned in the quote above.  It is a sport that teaches good characteristics like focus, and concentration (perhaps more than any other sport).  It is also a sport that nearly every person can do.  Even those that are handicapped in some way can participate in archery.  So, kids that may not be capable of participating in other sports, or maybe are just not good at those sports, or don’t like them, can join in with archery.

Good luck to the Meigs Local schools at the national competition on Saturday.  I hope they do well.  Just making it to that level is a great accomplishment.  But, if they are anything like me, that won’t be good enough!  They will do their very best, and try to take it all!

I didn’t even know that there was such a thing as a USA Fly Fishing Team!  But, it appears that it is time to add a few new members to the team.  According to the Patriot News, the team will be adding 6 new members, ages 14-18.  I guess that rules me out.  But just think how cool it would be to be chosen for a National Fly Fishing Team!

The National Championships this year will be in Penacova, Portugal.  What a great opportunity for these young guys or gals to be able to travel to a place like that to fish!  New members are chosen for their fly fishing abilities, as well as their maturity and coachability.  I would think a 14 year old would have a hard time being ready to take the pressures of traveling the world, and fishing in competitions like this, but I am sure there are some out there!  I am also guessing that there is a lot of competition for the limited spots available on the team–much like other sports’ national teams.

Last year, there were two teams from the USA.  One team finished 4th, just one fish out of the bronze medal, and the other team finished 7th in the World Championships.  There were also teams from Canada, The Czech Republic, England, France, Ireland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain.

If I remember to do so, I am going to check up on the new team, and see how they do.  Here’s wishing the Youth USA Team luck during the year!

I heard this on the news a day or so ago, but had not written about it because I am tired of writing about negative things that have to do with hunting.  But, it is a pretty big story, so I thought I would share it with you.

A 16 year old boy was shot while turkey hunting near the town of St. Albans, WV.  Evidently he was hunting with a bow and arrow, and was shot in the head by another hunter who was hunting with a 12 gauge shot gun.  The second man is 19 years old.  You can read a bit more about it in this article from the Charleston Gazette.

This type of story is so discouraging to me.  Here was a young hunter, who evidently was not doing anything wrong, who was shot by someone who was very careless in his hunting methods/ethics.  I was talking about this story with a friend of mine last night, and he said that he couldn’t understand how this could happen.  Rule number one in hunting is:  Identify your target!  If you absolutely know what you are shooting at, then you cannot make a mistake such as this one.  It is a simple rule, and needs to be hammered into the heads of our new, young hunters.  There is no game animal out there worth the life of another person.  That means, if there is any doubt, you have to pass the shot.  I realize that it is often the case that people will get excited, and shoot in their excitement.  That is no excuse for this kind of mistake!

Another huge issue I have with this story is that the shooter simply left this 16 year old in the woods.  He ran away.  How can you be so inhumane as to leave another person, either wounded or dead, in the woods about a mile from the nearest road?  I don’t know the full situation, but there had to be some possibility that the young boy was still alive when he was left behind.  There is no excuse for this type of behavior…and this isn’t about hunting!  It is about common human decency.

I realize that any activity that includes loaded firearms has the potential for being dangerous.  Every state has programs to teach people how to hunt safely.  But, for some reason it just doesn’t seem to be sinking in!  There have been several fatal turkey hunting accidents (carelessness?) this year already.  I don’t know what the solution is, but I am sure that something will be done to try and  bring down the rate of these shootings.  But, as I once heard someone else say, “You can legislate stupidity.”

It appears that charges will be filed against the 19 year old who did the shooting in this case.  That is a good thing.  I think he should be punished severely.  I know some will say, “But it was only an accident.”  That may be true, but it was an accident that never should have happened.  He had full control over what was happening, and he pulled the trigger on another person.  The 16 year old’s family now has lost a son, and he won’t be brought back.  What this story doesn’t mention is that the “family member” who found the body was the 16 year old boy’s little brother.  Imagine that for a minute!  This man needs to be prosecuted for at least manslaughter, and reckless endangerment, and he needs to spend time in prison for this.  Such severe punishment might make the next person think more before shooting.

Folks, if you are going to take on the responsibility of hunting, then you need to learn to do it safely.  Don’t shoot unless you are 100% sure of the target, and what lies behind it.  I can’t imagine pulling the trigger only to find that I had just shot someone.  Don’t put yourself in that position.  I am far more concerned about the idiots out there that shoot first and ask questions later!

SIDE NOTE:  I saw that Arthur has requested a post about “Why I Hunt”, and I am going to do that because it is such a good idea.  I just want to take at least a couple of days to organize my thoughts before getting to it.  I do look forward to the other posts on the subject!  BTW, I love the new graphics Arthur has put up on his site!

Today’s Tuesday’s Tracking goes out to A Blessed Crazy Life.  This blog has been on my daily read since before I started a daily read list.  In fact, it was this blog that inspired me to start a special section on my blog roll highlighting the “Daily Read.”

Blessed (as she is known in the blogging world) writes this blog, which is not strictly a “hunting blog.”  She keeps us informed (albeit cryptically) about much that happens in her life, and with her family, and pets.  She has been writing recently about some of her dogs.  She recently lost one dog, which is always sad.  But she has also been writing about her Labradors, which just happens to be my favorite kind of dog.  I have two of those myself!  Make sure and check out her contest that is running right now (which I still haven’t thought about long enough to send in my entry, but I hope to do soon.)

One thing I have really enjoyed about Blessed’s blog is the pictures of the many mounts that she has throughout her home.  Her family has a great selection of different game animals, birds and (I think) fish.  It makes my collection (one deer head) look pitiful, but inspires me to want to add a few more to what I have!  The mounts she has are very well done, so she must have a great taxidermist!

Blessed is great about visiting other blogs and leaving comments.  She always adds something profitable to the discussion.  I enjoy reading what she writes, on her own blog and in the comments of so many other blogs.  It is nice to see someone so involved in our blogging community.

Blessed also recently took me up on some advertising on another of my blogs, and she wrote a great review of a couple of my blogs.  Thanks so much Blessed for all you do among our group of blogging friends!