Outdoor Life — The Source for Hunting and Fishing Adventure

Michael Foor has fished Michigan’s Grand River for the better part of two decades, so when he felt the weight on his line one evening last week, he could tell it was something big.

The Plainfield resident was fishing near a bridge in Grand Rapids when he boated the first part of his unusual catch.

A windshield wiper.

Later that evening, with the aid of divers from the Grand Rapids Police Department and a truck with a powerful winch, the remainder of Foor’s catch was eventually hauled ashore.

Even though he chose not to officially weigh or measure his catch, Foor was confident that the sludge-covered, burned-out 1989 Dodge Omni will rank up there as the biggest thing he’s ever hooked.

We predict that Foor’s unpretentious comments, appearing in the Grand Rapids Press, will not soon be forgotten by the News Hound faithful.

“I’ve caught a lot of stuff in this river,” he said, “but I ain’t never caught a car.”

Well, now you have, Mr. Foor. Now you have. [ Read Full Post ]

Ambitious legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week is aimed at reducing the increasingly high costs associated with non-resident big game hunting permits on federally owned lands located primarily in the Western U.S.

On Tuesday, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) announced his introduction and sponsorship of the Teddy Roosevelt Bring Back our Public Lands Act, a bill that would limit the amount states could charge those from other states who hunt big game exclusively on U.S. Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management lands.

Congressman Hunter—who is also an announced candidate for President on the GOP ticket--is an avid deer and elk hunter. He said he believes the inflating cost of elk and deer-hunting tags to out-of-state hunters is a direct affront to the average American who would like to hunt big game on public land in the West.

“Today, bureaucracies in state governments are closing down the outdoor opportunities for average Americans,” Hunter said “They are slamming the door on outdoor families the old fashioned way: with outrageous fees for non-resident hunters, even when the hunting is done exclusively on federal land.”

Hunter cited non-resident... [ Read Full Post ]

There’s a gang of terrific new 2008 fishing tackle coming. Some of it will even be available late this season and some of it is ready now. Periodically I’ll be reporting on some items that caught my attention at the recent tackle trade show; stuff I think that answers a real need and that I think you’re going to like.

For instance…

PERFORMANCE YOUTH TACKLE

When kids start outgrowing start-up Pirates-of-the-Caribbean, Barbie, Batman spincast rods/reels, what do you get them? One good choice would be the new Advanced Youth Systems (AVS) combos that Zebco/Quantum teamed up to create. The transitional outfits target two age groups: 6-10 and 9-14. The AVS v1.0 rigs for the younger group include spincast, spinning and triggerspin (the reel hangs under the rod and a trigger controls the freespool) models. The latter reel is fitted onto a 4-foot, 8-inch two-piece rod, while the spin and spincast reels are on 5-foot, 4-inch two-piece rods. AVS v2.0 for the older kids includes two spinning reel sizes on appropriate 5-foot, 8-inch or 6-foot, 2-inch medium-light rods. There are two baitcast... [ Read Full Post ]

The massive online commerce Web site eBay has announced it is expanding its restrictions for the listing of gun-related items to include “any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun,” effective mid-August.

The move is in apparent reaction to the shooting tragedy that occurred at Virginia Tech earlier this year, after it was revealed that some of the items used by the killer might have been acquired on eBay.

In an announcement posted on eBay this past Monday, Matt Halprin, eBay’s Vice-President of Trust & Safety, revealed that restricted items will include "bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins and trigger assemblies."

Specifically citing the Virginia Tech shooting rampage, Halprin wrote that eBay executives determined that the policy change was “the right thing to do.”

Though the popular Web site has never been known as being particularly “gun-friendly,” it was considered by many to be a good source of firearm replacement parts, magazines, accessories and hard-to-find items necessary for gun repair.

It’s a shame the eBay corporate suits and lawyers can’t see beyond their own apparent firearm prejudice... [ Read Full Post ]

Those of us who spend much time in the field with hunting dogs often find ourselves in awe of the canine olfactory prowess. But even the best tracking dog’s nose doesn’t come close to the sniffing ability of grizzly bears, says a former pioneering neurosurgeon who today specializes in bruin physiology.

Dr. George Stevenson, a retired neurosurgeon who now hails from Jackson Hole, Wyo. has been studying the brains of grizzly bears for the past several years, publishing papers and presenting seminars on the bruin’s incredible sense of smell.

When it comes to sniffing things, bears are simply the best, Dr. Stevenson says.

“These bears are amazing creatures,” Stevenson told the Missoulian newspaper. “I believe they have the most impressive olfactory system of any animal on the planet. Their nose is the very best.”

Just how good is a bear’s sense of smell?

Considering that the average dog’s nose is 100 times more sensitive than a human’s, and the very best dog may have a sense of smell 300 times greater than man—a grizzly’s sniffer is at least 7 times more powerful than the best hound, according to Stevenson.

“It’s how... [ Read Full Post ]

I pulled this excerpt from a Reuters story at yahoo news:

…conservationists are concerned that a planned border security fence to stem illegal immigration from Mexico could cut this delicate area up even more and possibly remove the corridor of vital riverbank habitat that remains.

Scientists for the Wildlife Conservation Society (and other greenie-weenie groups based in New York, Chicago and other cities I am sure) fret that a fence/wall built along our southern border would restrict and/or isolate some animals and put species like the ocelot (wild cat) and several birds and butterflies at risk of local extinction.

Birds and butterflies? I thought they could fly a wall, and I thought most of them thrived in the edges of new, cut habitats. But I’m just a redneck hunter, what do I know?

I can confirm what U.S. Border Agents say, that the illegals are trashing the environment down there. When I hunt the West Texas plains (that's a wide-open Mexico... [ Read Full Post ]

“There is much confusion in the world today concerning creeks and cricks. Many otherwise well-informed people live out their lives under the impression that a crick is a creek mispronounced. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A crick is a distinctly separate entity from a creek, and it should be recognized as such. After all, a creek is merely a creek, but a crick is a crick.”
-Patrick McManus
“How to Fish a Crick”
A Fine and Pleasant Misery, 1978 [ Read Full Post ]