Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Social Tour 2011
Sorry for the delay in posts I have had some miserable personal problems getting in the way of doing anything fun which leads to not much to write about. Then along came something to take my mind off of problems for a little while plus something to look forward to.
A couple of months ago I was talking with my friend Rudy on Twitter, about his real life hunting video he shot last year. He traveled around filming average hunters on public or small tracks of private land. Hunters that can’t afford $20,000 high fenced hunts and wouldn’t go on one if they could, girls and guys hunting like the “Pros” want you to think they are. In passing he mentioned hunting with me sometime but since he lives in Colorado and I live in Tennessee I took it as just a friendly comment, little did I know how wrong I was, turns out, he had a plan.
Jump to a couple of weeks ago and he asks when I am going to have time for him to come out and film while I hunt. Since I am the last person wanting to be on camera, had never mentioned wanting to be, plus Rudy is still many miles away I was surprised. My feeling being that the last thing a hunting video needs is another old, fat white guy sitting in a tree. We talked for a bit then he said we would firm up a date later that week. Our next call confirmed a date of November 3-4 which is a short 5 day archery only season between muzzleloader and gun. Now for the big news.
Rudy had a great idea. This year he was going to put on the first “Getting Social With America’s Whitetail Deer Hunters“. A tour of 5000 miles through 12 states with 19 hunters. Hunters who use social media and love the outdoors as it should be, not because we have big name product sponsors, most of us don’t, but because we love what we do. We pay out of our own pocket to hunt these small tracks of land, dealing with all the problems that brings just to enjoy our sport. Putting up with thieves, idiots walking in on us, no place for food plots, limited access. In short, real hunters doing what you do, working hard all year long to hunt those few weeks in fall and winter for that thrill of hearing leaves crunch as a deer heads your way no matter the problems. We aren’t the chosen few of TV channels, we are you.
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Two stands in Marshall county less than 150 yards from a subdivision on 30 acres.
Let me give you a list of Twitter names along with their states of the hunters on this year’s tour.
@TeamSST and @Team_mlt, Michigan
@firstlightgear, Michigan
@lukekujacznski, Michigan
@jesseshaver, Michigan
@Bigbrother010, Ohio
@BigBuckPW, Maryland
@TheWillToHunt, Virginia
@Writinghuntress, North Carolina
@hunttrophywife, Georgia
Drop Tine, Georgia
@ghost1066, Tennessee
@MAC71LH, Arkansas
@MKOTZUM, Oklahoma
@Deer_Commander, Oklahoma
From October 16 to November 9 Rudy will be driving from state to state filming as we do what we do. Nothing staged, no guarantees, good or bad, just like you do it. Until then you can keep up with what the hunters are doing to get ready for the tour. Whether it is working out, scouting, practice, whatever, we will be sharing it through social media which is how all this started. Most of us are tagging tweets with #deertour or #deertour2011 so you can search it to see what we are talking about.
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Views from my stand in Jump Off Tn 18 acres surrounded by woods for miles.
I hope those of you that can follow along as we go through the pre season and the hunts. Posts will be put up from stands and blinds during hunts along with many posts being put now showing food plots, deer and gear since for us the Tour has started. Passing along information for people to see, comment on and share is what the social part is all about.
If you use Twitter, Facebook or follow the blogs feel free to jump in and talk or leave comments as we go, remember we got invited for being social and sharing online, who knows Rudy may send you a DM next year and surprise you like he did me.
A couple of months ago I was talking with my friend Rudy on Twitter, about his real life hunting video he shot last year. He traveled around filming average hunters on public or small tracks of private land. Hunters that can’t afford $20,000 high fenced hunts and wouldn’t go on one if they could, girls and guys hunting like the “Pros” want you to think they are. In passing he mentioned hunting with me sometime but since he lives in Colorado and I live in Tennessee I took it as just a friendly comment, little did I know how wrong I was, turns out, he had a plan.
Jump to a couple of weeks ago and he asks when I am going to have time for him to come out and film while I hunt. Since I am the last person wanting to be on camera, had never mentioned wanting to be, plus Rudy is still many miles away I was surprised. My feeling being that the last thing a hunting video needs is another old, fat white guy sitting in a tree. We talked for a bit then he said we would firm up a date later that week. Our next call confirmed a date of November 3-4 which is a short 5 day archery only season between muzzleloader and gun. Now for the big news.
Rudy had a great idea. This year he was going to put on the first “Getting Social With America’s Whitetail Deer Hunters“. A tour of 5000 miles through 12 states with 19 hunters. Hunters who use social media and love the outdoors as it should be, not because we have big name product sponsors, most of us don’t, but because we love what we do. We pay out of our own pocket to hunt these small tracks of land, dealing with all the problems that brings just to enjoy our sport. Putting up with thieves, idiots walking in on us, no place for food plots, limited access. In short, real hunters doing what you do, working hard all year long to hunt those few weeks in fall and winter for that thrill of hearing leaves crunch as a deer heads your way no matter the problems. We aren’t the chosen few of TV channels, we are you.
Let me give you a list of Twitter names along with their states of the hunters on this year’s tour.
@TeamSST and @Team_mlt, Michigan
@firstlightgear, Michigan
@lukekujacznski, Michigan
@jesseshaver, Michigan
@Bigbrother010, Ohio
@BigBuckPW, Maryland
@TheWillToHunt, Virginia
@Writinghuntress, North Carolina
@hunttrophywife, Georgia
Drop Tine, Georgia
@ghost1066, Tennessee
@MAC71LH, Arkansas
@MKOTZUM, Oklahoma
@Deer_Commander, Oklahoma
From October 16 to November 9 Rudy will be driving from state to state filming as we do what we do. Nothing staged, no guarantees, good or bad, just like you do it. Until then you can keep up with what the hunters are doing to get ready for the tour. Whether it is working out, scouting, practice, whatever, we will be sharing it through social media which is how all this started. Most of us are tagging tweets with #deertour or #deertour2011 so you can search it to see what we are talking about.
I hope those of you that can follow along as we go through the pre season and the hunts. Posts will be put up from stands and blinds during hunts along with many posts being put now showing food plots, deer and gear since for us the Tour has started. Passing along information for people to see, comment on and share is what the social part is all about.
If you use Twitter, Facebook or follow the blogs feel free to jump in and talk or leave comments as we go, remember we got invited for being social and sharing online, who knows Rudy may send you a DM next year and surprise you like he did me.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Breaking Bored
Summer has gotten here far too soon with record heat for weeks now. The fish have gone on bed finally, weeks late, they have lock jaw now. With highs near 100 and heat indexes well past it is tough to make myself get out to do outdoorsy stuff. I still need to go clear out pigeons from the barn and would love a quick fishing trip but the weather has to break first.
The pigeon hide out.
My view while stalking the barn birds.
What to do when you just get so bored you can’t stand looking at walls anymore? I shoot. This is when I practice with my bows and air rifle to keep tuned up or so I tell myself, really it is just to have fun. I’m lucky, I can shoot in my backyard with whatever I want but I keep it to things that don’t go boom since I don’t like it when someone shoots real guns near my house. This time of year begs for you to be outside and shooting lets me get out with minimal setup or tear down when I just want a few minutes to relax.
Pile of fun about to begin.
Recently I got a traditional long bow to go with my compound and crossbow. This is a treat since it is really back to basics shooting, stick and string plus a target. I traded for a Bama Bow done in bocote and maple with horn. Not only is it beautiful, it is a dream to shoot, light, easy to draw, fun. For an air rifle I still shoot my Gamo 440 springer I bought years ago. It is nothing fancy but gets the job done whether punching paper or popping small game and pests even with Gamo’s terrible trigger, more on that in a bit. Just these two things can mean getting out for a bit when most people are hiding under the A/C.
For my long bow I use an old deer target that has literally been shot to pieces. I use it like you would stump shooting, simply putting the pieces on the ground and fling away. Yes I chase a lot of arrows that go snake on me (hiding in the grass after I miss) but this is so much fun. My groups are huge compared to my compound but that is fine it is a different form of shooting which I am just starting to relearn. One thing I like is shooting with both eyes open which I can’t do with my sights. This allows me to get involved with technique instead of technology. Concentrate on the spot, envision the impact, draw, anchor, release, follow through. It also shows off my habit of shooting high and left. Yes I know why I do it but I still have to fight it every time I shoot despite muscle memory.
My backyard version of stump shooting. This was my first group at 11 yards with the long bow.
This is a typical 20 yard group with my compound. 4 arrows in a bottle cap and 2 close by.
My hope is to get good enough to hunt with it this fall to take my first traditional bow deer. It is odd watching arrows take what can only be called a leisurely flight to the target when matched against my Bear. At close to 300 fps with hunting weight arrows my compound is screaming compared to a traditional. So why go back? Because I learned on a recurve, a Ben Pearson, I can’t remember the model, I had before compounds existed. I never got to take a deer with it before technology moved me away from stick and string. Now as I get older I want to correct that while I still can.
Many people take shooting long guns they will use for hunting for granted. How many do you know who go out the night before opening day to throw a rifle across the hood of the truck, fire two rounds and call it good? Be honest, we all know those folks. To be fair many don’t have the luxury of shooting their real guns year round. My solution is to shoot my air rifle every chance I get. This keeps me in practice for when season rolls around and is fun watching holes form in the targets.
To make it easier I keep my Gamo sitting by the backdoor for when I need to thump a rabbit or groundhog raiding my garden. Some shoot and see targets are close by along with a tin of pellets. This way when I get a minute for trigger time I can be out the door and set up in a couple of minutes. I don’t shoot from a bench but try to take shots the way I do in the field, offhand or using a rest from a standing position. The only bad part is again the absolutely miserable fake two stage trigger Gamo puts on their guns. This makes it almost impossible to get consistent shots since it is not a true two stage and the fact that I hate those types of triggers. I want one with zero creep or backlash but air rifle companies are obsessed with using two stage. Even with this I can still get sub ½” groups from a bench at 15 yards. Under more realistic conditions the groups are no where near this good but I know what to expect when I get to the woods.
Headed to chase pigeons on an earlier outing.
I shoot Crosman pellets, these are inexpensive but work well. I can shoot for less than a penny a shot plus they double as a good hunting pellet, too. I haven’t shot these through a chronograph so have no data for speed or energy but they work as many a blackbird and rabbit can attest. I did weigh several to see how consistent they are and was surprised to see they are extremely close to the same weight.
If you don’t have an air rifle and don’t want to spend a ton of money on one of the higher dollar adult versions here is a tip. Crosman makes one you can pick up at most box or super stores or order online from Pyramydair or Crosman for around $60.00. This is the model 2100 that has been around for many years and holds up even with tons of use. It is a fairly inexpensive way to shoot during the off season. It will shoot either pellets or BB s both of which are cheap. Check out the full reviews on one of my favorite youtube channels, EdGunUSA
I hope most of you live in an area where you can do this in your yard. It doesn’t take much room, is quiet for the most part and you can invite a neighbor over to play along. I help some of the kids living close to me learn to shoot with their inexpensive air rifles which is another reason to get out. You can download free targets online then print whatever you need for a range session.
This time of year for me is about relaxing, having fun just getting outside for a short time despite the heat. I will get down to serious practice as the season draws closer and the time I spend now will make it easier when late summer rolls around.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated by any companies mentioned in any way. These are just the products that I buy and use.
What to do when you just get so bored you can’t stand looking at walls anymore? I shoot. This is when I practice with my bows and air rifle to keep tuned up or so I tell myself, really it is just to have fun. I’m lucky, I can shoot in my backyard with whatever I want but I keep it to things that don’t go boom since I don’t like it when someone shoots real guns near my house. This time of year begs for you to be outside and shooting lets me get out with minimal setup or tear down when I just want a few minutes to relax.
Recently I got a traditional long bow to go with my compound and crossbow. This is a treat since it is really back to basics shooting, stick and string plus a target. I traded for a Bama Bow done in bocote and maple with horn. Not only is it beautiful, it is a dream to shoot, light, easy to draw, fun. For an air rifle I still shoot my Gamo 440 springer I bought years ago. It is nothing fancy but gets the job done whether punching paper or popping small game and pests even with Gamo’s terrible trigger, more on that in a bit. Just these two things can mean getting out for a bit when most people are hiding under the A/C.
For my long bow I use an old deer target that has literally been shot to pieces. I use it like you would stump shooting, simply putting the pieces on the ground and fling away. Yes I chase a lot of arrows that go snake on me (hiding in the grass after I miss) but this is so much fun. My groups are huge compared to my compound but that is fine it is a different form of shooting which I am just starting to relearn. One thing I like is shooting with both eyes open which I can’t do with my sights. This allows me to get involved with technique instead of technology. Concentrate on the spot, envision the impact, draw, anchor, release, follow through. It also shows off my habit of shooting high and left. Yes I know why I do it but I still have to fight it every time I shoot despite muscle memory.
My hope is to get good enough to hunt with it this fall to take my first traditional bow deer. It is odd watching arrows take what can only be called a leisurely flight to the target when matched against my Bear. At close to 300 fps with hunting weight arrows my compound is screaming compared to a traditional. So why go back? Because I learned on a recurve, a Ben Pearson, I can’t remember the model, I had before compounds existed. I never got to take a deer with it before technology moved me away from stick and string. Now as I get older I want to correct that while I still can.
Many people take shooting long guns they will use for hunting for granted. How many do you know who go out the night before opening day to throw a rifle across the hood of the truck, fire two rounds and call it good? Be honest, we all know those folks. To be fair many don’t have the luxury of shooting their real guns year round. My solution is to shoot my air rifle every chance I get. This keeps me in practice for when season rolls around and is fun watching holes form in the targets.
To make it easier I keep my Gamo sitting by the backdoor for when I need to thump a rabbit or groundhog raiding my garden. Some shoot and see targets are close by along with a tin of pellets. This way when I get a minute for trigger time I can be out the door and set up in a couple of minutes. I don’t shoot from a bench but try to take shots the way I do in the field, offhand or using a rest from a standing position. The only bad part is again the absolutely miserable fake two stage trigger Gamo puts on their guns. This makes it almost impossible to get consistent shots since it is not a true two stage and the fact that I hate those types of triggers. I want one with zero creep or backlash but air rifle companies are obsessed with using two stage. Even with this I can still get sub ½” groups from a bench at 15 yards. Under more realistic conditions the groups are no where near this good but I know what to expect when I get to the woods.
I shoot Crosman pellets, these are inexpensive but work well. I can shoot for less than a penny a shot plus they double as a good hunting pellet, too. I haven’t shot these through a chronograph so have no data for speed or energy but they work as many a blackbird and rabbit can attest. I did weigh several to see how consistent they are and was surprised to see they are extremely close to the same weight.
If you don’t have an air rifle and don’t want to spend a ton of money on one of the higher dollar adult versions here is a tip. Crosman makes one you can pick up at most box or super stores or order online from Pyramydair or Crosman for around $60.00. This is the model 2100 that has been around for many years and holds up even with tons of use. It is a fairly inexpensive way to shoot during the off season. It will shoot either pellets or BB s both of which are cheap. Check out the full reviews on one of my favorite youtube channels, EdGunUSA
I hope most of you live in an area where you can do this in your yard. It doesn’t take much room, is quiet for the most part and you can invite a neighbor over to play along. I help some of the kids living close to me learn to shoot with their inexpensive air rifles which is another reason to get out. You can download free targets online then print whatever you need for a range session.
This time of year for me is about relaxing, having fun just getting outside for a short time despite the heat. I will get down to serious practice as the season draws closer and the time I spend now will make it easier when late summer rolls around.
Disclaimer: I was not compensated by any companies mentioned in any way. These are just the products that I buy and use.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Camp Dog, Review
When you are a famous internet and social media personality such as myself hardly a day goes by when something doesn’t darken your door from companies wanting you to try, wear, taste, endorse some product or other…..oh crap. Sorry I was ghost writing this for someone else.
Let me start over. Only a couple of times have I ever gotten anything from a company to try as far as our outdoor community goes. I know people that get everything from shirts and hats to rods, reels, guns, you name it, they just seem to attract merchandise like some weird freebie magnet. I am not one of those people. I have on rare occasions, by that I mean a total of 2, been offered something. In both cases I told them they didn’t have to send anything since I know they get hit up for samples a lot. Both sent something saying they wanted me to try it and give an honest opinion. That I can do, actually, the only thing I will do. No shill here. If it is good I tell you, if not you get that, too. If you send me something and it sucks don’t get mad when I tell people. Hmm, maybe that’s why I don’t get stuff. Anyway.
Now that the explanation/disclaimer/warning is out of the way let me tell you what I got. I opened the mailbox to find a manila envelope inside. I was only expecting one thing other than bills and the return address confirmed it. Straight out of the great state of Louisiana I had my first container of Papa Scott’s Original Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning. I love me some spicy and couldn’t wait to try it. I read the cool/funny back story on the container then headed to the kitchen.
It was just about supper time and according to the label it works on anything that “flies, walks, crawls, swims or jumps”. I happened to have some bluegill fillets waiting so they won the “Wonder what to try it on first” contest. To be fair I didn’t read the ingredients, wanting the taste to stand on its’ own. The other thing I did was to make two piles of fillets, one got just Camp Dog Seasoning while the other was coated in Camp Dog then breaded with self rising cornmeal. Hey, sue me I’m southern, we bread everything in cornmeal and fry it.
I cooked both piles the same, dropped into vegetable oil in an iron skillet. I used the vegetable oil since it doesn’t add flavor. Once they were a nice toasty brown I was ready for the tasting. I only added a bit of chow chow to cut the oil some between bites, again to keep from adding other tastes from slaw, fries, hush puppies, a slice of onion, dang I should have fixed all that it sounds good. But I digress. To be honest I am not a big fan of fish that isn’t breaded but wanted to see how Camp Dog held up without help. I started with the unbreaded and it worked, good flavor, not too salty and a bit of heat at the end. Next was the breaded batch. These really worked for me. The added crunch with Camp Dog flavoring the cornmeal was what I was hoping for. It was good, really good, just the taste and texture I like. I found out later that I had used too much oil on the unbreaded fish which should have been more blackened than what I did so anything wrong there was on me.
First batch in.
One of my favorite sights.
According to the package you can also use this on critters that walk and fly, not just swim. Since I had already fried something I decided to grab a chunk of bovine, fire up the grill and see what we had. Finding a likely looking bit of cow critter ( I grabbed a small pack of chicken thighs ,too) I headed back to get it ready. I got a chuck roast because it isn’t the most tender cut. Camp Dog is supposed to work as a tenderizer, we’ll see. I added seasoning to the chicken the night before to let it have time to work. For the beef I put it on about 7 hours ahead of cooking to see if it will tenderize the meat as per Papa Scott‘s instructions when we talked. I only added Camp Dog, no salt, pepper, Worcestershire, beer, nothing else to season the meat. Again we are testing here. Kick ‘em out of the nest, fly or die, no help. I know the smoke will add some but that was part of my test, too. At times seasonings can turn bitter when grilled. I’ve heard other people besides me like to grill, who knew, so thought I should see what that did to the taste.
I use a charcoal grill not one of those gas thingies (sorry to get so technical). I had some hickory chips and decided to add some during cooking, that would be the only help besides regular smoke from the coals, besides I like hickory smoke. When they were ready I got the meat on, top closed and let the smoke roll. The worst part, the wind kicked up and blew all that good smell away while it was cooking. 45 minutes later we were ready to go. Both meats had taken beautiful color and smelled great, the chicken was done through, beef was at medium, let the eating begin.
Note the green onions right out of the garden on the top shelf. Pic is in focus that is smoke you see.
I started with the chicken. Many times when I season chicken the spices will just sit on top, once the skin is gone so is most of the taste. Not this time. It was flavored all the way through with a nice even taste. Nothing bitter from grilling, the seasoning held up great to the smoke. Luckily I had done my part by not over cooking the chicken which I am prone to do. This was just plain old good. Flavored but not too hot or spicy and with the smoke….well good thing there was only a couple of pieces since I still had the beef to try and couldn’t keep eating chicken.
My other side was sweet potato, boiled then finished on the grill for a few minutes.
The beef could have come off a couple of minutes earlier but wasn't past medium. Chuck roast can turn tough on the grill but not this one. I let it rest for maybe 10 minutes before cutting and when I did it was perfectly tender. The seasoning had made a light crust, taken good color and just like the chicken, tasted great. The difference, to me, with the beef the little heat from the seasoning wasn’t as pronounced which makes sense with the heavier beef taste. Now when I say heat don’t panic if you don’t like hot, this isn’t hot just a bit of spice that you taste near the end of a bite.
A good thing with Camp Dog is the fact that it isn’t salt based which helps the other flavors come through and allows people to use it on low salt diets. They have another flavor that takes the celery and heat out for those that might not care for them. There are several products I think you will want to try from Original like I have to Fish Fry Batter, Hush Puppy Mix and more. Click their link here Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning and take a look, nice looking site with all types of goodies even gift baskets for the hard to buy for cook in the family.
Well, there it is a quick look at Papa Scott’s. Not only is it as good as it says, works like it should but the folks that make it are some of the best around. I tried to find a way that it wouldn’t work as advertised but it came through. I can't wait to try it on other critters and I hope you give them a try rather than just more off the shelf stuff from the grocery store you won‘t be disappointed.
Let me start over. Only a couple of times have I ever gotten anything from a company to try as far as our outdoor community goes. I know people that get everything from shirts and hats to rods, reels, guns, you name it, they just seem to attract merchandise like some weird freebie magnet. I am not one of those people. I have on rare occasions, by that I mean a total of 2, been offered something. In both cases I told them they didn’t have to send anything since I know they get hit up for samples a lot. Both sent something saying they wanted me to try it and give an honest opinion. That I can do, actually, the only thing I will do. No shill here. If it is good I tell you, if not you get that, too. If you send me something and it sucks don’t get mad when I tell people. Hmm, maybe that’s why I don’t get stuff. Anyway.
Now that the explanation/disclaimer/warning is out of the way let me tell you what I got. I opened the mailbox to find a manila envelope inside. I was only expecting one thing other than bills and the return address confirmed it. Straight out of the great state of Louisiana I had my first container of Papa Scott’s Original Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning. I love me some spicy and couldn’t wait to try it. I read the cool/funny back story on the container then headed to the kitchen.
It was just about supper time and according to the label it works on anything that “flies, walks, crawls, swims or jumps”. I happened to have some bluegill fillets waiting so they won the “Wonder what to try it on first” contest. To be fair I didn’t read the ingredients, wanting the taste to stand on its’ own. The other thing I did was to make two piles of fillets, one got just Camp Dog Seasoning while the other was coated in Camp Dog then breaded with self rising cornmeal. Hey, sue me I’m southern, we bread everything in cornmeal and fry it.
I cooked both piles the same, dropped into vegetable oil in an iron skillet. I used the vegetable oil since it doesn’t add flavor. Once they were a nice toasty brown I was ready for the tasting. I only added a bit of chow chow to cut the oil some between bites, again to keep from adding other tastes from slaw, fries, hush puppies, a slice of onion, dang I should have fixed all that it sounds good. But I digress. To be honest I am not a big fan of fish that isn’t breaded but wanted to see how Camp Dog held up without help. I started with the unbreaded and it worked, good flavor, not too salty and a bit of heat at the end. Next was the breaded batch. These really worked for me. The added crunch with Camp Dog flavoring the cornmeal was what I was hoping for. It was good, really good, just the taste and texture I like. I found out later that I had used too much oil on the unbreaded fish which should have been more blackened than what I did so anything wrong there was on me.
According to the package you can also use this on critters that walk and fly, not just swim. Since I had already fried something I decided to grab a chunk of bovine, fire up the grill and see what we had. Finding a likely looking bit of cow critter ( I grabbed a small pack of chicken thighs ,too) I headed back to get it ready. I got a chuck roast because it isn’t the most tender cut. Camp Dog is supposed to work as a tenderizer, we’ll see. I added seasoning to the chicken the night before to let it have time to work. For the beef I put it on about 7 hours ahead of cooking to see if it will tenderize the meat as per Papa Scott‘s instructions when we talked. I only added Camp Dog, no salt, pepper, Worcestershire, beer, nothing else to season the meat. Again we are testing here. Kick ‘em out of the nest, fly or die, no help. I know the smoke will add some but that was part of my test, too. At times seasonings can turn bitter when grilled. I’ve heard other people besides me like to grill, who knew, so thought I should see what that did to the taste.
I use a charcoal grill not one of those gas thingies (sorry to get so technical). I had some hickory chips and decided to add some during cooking, that would be the only help besides regular smoke from the coals, besides I like hickory smoke. When they were ready I got the meat on, top closed and let the smoke roll. The worst part, the wind kicked up and blew all that good smell away while it was cooking. 45 minutes later we were ready to go. Both meats had taken beautiful color and smelled great, the chicken was done through, beef was at medium, let the eating begin.
I started with the chicken. Many times when I season chicken the spices will just sit on top, once the skin is gone so is most of the taste. Not this time. It was flavored all the way through with a nice even taste. Nothing bitter from grilling, the seasoning held up great to the smoke. Luckily I had done my part by not over cooking the chicken which I am prone to do. This was just plain old good. Flavored but not too hot or spicy and with the smoke….well good thing there was only a couple of pieces since I still had the beef to try and couldn’t keep eating chicken.
The beef could have come off a couple of minutes earlier but wasn't past medium. Chuck roast can turn tough on the grill but not this one. I let it rest for maybe 10 minutes before cutting and when I did it was perfectly tender. The seasoning had made a light crust, taken good color and just like the chicken, tasted great. The difference, to me, with the beef the little heat from the seasoning wasn’t as pronounced which makes sense with the heavier beef taste. Now when I say heat don’t panic if you don’t like hot, this isn’t hot just a bit of spice that you taste near the end of a bite.
A good thing with Camp Dog is the fact that it isn’t salt based which helps the other flavors come through and allows people to use it on low salt diets. They have another flavor that takes the celery and heat out for those that might not care for them. There are several products I think you will want to try from Original like I have to Fish Fry Batter, Hush Puppy Mix and more. Click their link here Camp Dog Cajun Seasoning and take a look, nice looking site with all types of goodies even gift baskets for the hard to buy for cook in the family.
Well, there it is a quick look at Papa Scott’s. Not only is it as good as it says, works like it should but the folks that make it are some of the best around. I tried to find a way that it wouldn’t work as advertised but it came through. I can't wait to try it on other critters and I hope you give them a try rather than just more off the shelf stuff from the grocery store you won‘t be disappointed.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Gary, Doing It Right
Gary does more than fish, he is an electrician, amazing gardener, founded a program to get kids fishing and on and on. On top of that he is a good friend and just a good person. Not a couch sitter that’s for sure. Like I said in the Pro Staff post he also helps in designing shapes and colors for some of the lures I make and doesn’t mind telling me what doesn’t work. But I wanted to show everyone what he does on the water and why the fish are scared.
He sent me some shots from his last few trips on Logan Martin which just makes me wish I could get there to fish with him. Remember he does all of this out of a canoe in a part of the country ruled by high powered bass rigs. I won’t spend a bunch of time telling about each fish the pics do it better than I can, but can you imagine getting these just about every trip? He told me he had 9 a few days ago before switching baits to go after spotted bass. I couldn’t do that in a month of fishing here especially on topwater.
If you are on Twitter you would be hard pressed to find a better person to talk to about fishing or just talk with, period. He takes time every day to study what is going on in the sport then pass it along to others. Unlike some people or companies using social media, Gary talks. Need to ask a question or just talk for a bit, he will gladly do both.
So thanks to Gary I don’t need to write a lot to get this one done. He provided some cool shots that saved me from thinking and on that note here we go……
In no particular order, a photo essay on a few of Gary’s trips to his honey hole in Alabama.
Photo Credits: Gary Hanson
This is the kind of fishing I wish I got to do as often as Gary does. I can promise it wouldn’t be hard to find me if my truck wasn't in the driveway.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Nickajack Cats
Friday I got to the lake for some bluegill, Monday rolls around and I am headed to Nickajack for cats. I have a neighbor that feels better having someone go with him when he heads to the river. At 86 he is still going and doing but likes some help now. I told him a few days ago, as I was helping thin pigeons out of his barn, I would go if he ever needed someone to fish with. Monday was the day. We planned on leaving at 4:30, when it arrived so did rain and wind. I checked the weather, it looked fine in South Pittsburg so we headed out. The weather improved and was about perfect when we got to the ramp. The only bad part was not enough water being released from the generators to get the biggest cats feeding.
I had never fished this part of the river before, I knew the technique but not the area. We ran all of 100 yards, shut down and got started. Our rigging for drift fishing is simple, we used 3 way swivels to drop a 1 ounce sinker to the bottom and hold a short leader about a foot up. I kept the hook leader to about 6-7 inches long to keep the bait off the bottom and keep tangles with the sinker to a minimum. I was using my 9’ 6” casting rod, BPS Catmaxx reel loaded with 20 lb Firewire. For hooks I started with a 4/0 circle hook but changed to a 4/0 Kahle because of the way the cats were hitting. For a vertical presentation a Kahle hook is hard to beat. Bait was rooster and turkey livers.
As I was getting rigged and baited up Kaiser had already put a bait in the water. Just as I dropped mine down he set back hooking a good fish. With a big smile he told me this was a big one so I grabbed the net. A few minutes later he had it beside the boat and it was big, turns out the biggest of the day. Just over 25 pounds of blue cat which he calls white cats for some reason. We got it wedged into the live well and dropped back in for another try. Just a few minutes later he puts a good 10 lb blue in the boat.
Since this was my first trip he really wanted me to hook a big blue but all I managed was a 2-3 lb channel cat. He thought I was crazy for wanting to keep (A) a channel cat and (2) one that size. To him if it doesn’t weigh 20+ it really isn’t much of a fish. To me, I am filling my freezer along with some other folks that want fish. A 2 lber eats good. He just gave me that I’ll tolerate it look and kept fishing.
We drifted along waiting for more water to be released getting a few hits but I just couldn’t hook up. He managed one or two more smaller fish. The whole time cats were rolling on top all around us. Blues do this every morning which helped us figure out which runs they were using consisting of rock piles and small channels providing them cover. When we would hit rocks with our sinkers we knew a strike was coming. The cats were stacking up just downstream, grabbing bait just as it dropped off the deep side.
After an hour or so I had a hit that bent my rod to the handle. Finally I had hooked a decent fish. Blues tend to stick their nose down and hug the bottom which this one did so I knew what I had, channels like to twist and thrash about. Over 9 feet of heavy rod made it change its’ mind pretty quick and I had my first 10+ blue of the day. Now it was on. After catching this one things clicked. Sometimes you just need to break the ice.
We made drift after drift which is boring to write about and worse to read but that was the formula for the day. Each drift usually produced a fish or five with, what to me, were some good cats running 6 to 11 lbs. The day got hot but if we found the right drift fish would hit. All along the way he would tell me stories of past trips and where to fish this stretch all the while apologizing for it being a bad day. Funny since I catfish a lot and we were catching more big cats than I ever do, I tend to target channel cats in the 2-5 lb range on Percy Priest.
We fished for about 7 hours before running out of bait. The wind had gotten up and without much current the boat wouldn’t go downstream or up. Weird to sit in a wind and current but not move. I put one last 6 lber in the boat and we wrapped it up with a total of 14 fish in the boat. The cooler was full, 3 more good fish were in the live well, I had too much sun and was tired. Time to go.
What a day. 85-90 lbs of cats on ice, some great memories along with enough knowledge about a new stretch of water to go back on my own. Can’t get that sitting on the couch. I am ready to head back as soon as I can. For such a fun day it is hard to get into words for some reason. Sorry about that. I hope the pics will add a bit to where words fell down.
One final thought, if you have a neighbor that needs a little help with something it might be a good idea to give them a hand. Because I did I got to fish with a cool guy that had some great stories plus got invited to hunt his place again after 2 years. He is 86, a veteran that served in the Philippines after entering the Army in 1943, lived here all his life and just knows stuff. A great guy to spend time with.
Not bad for just helping get rid of pigeons.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Lunch Time 'Gills
After a wait that was far too long I finally got to head to the lake. Friday morning and I went to teach a class only to find out it was changed to next week. From there I went to a meeting where the lady looked at me with glazed eyes when I told her some pricing. Guess she thought working all day plus buying material wasn’t worth $25.00. So, I went fishing.
I had planned on going anyway but after all that I had to get away for a few minutes. I stopped off long enough at Big Charlie’s Bait shop and Fried Pie Emporium to grab a tube of crickets and an apple pie. Driving the last few miles munching on fried dough and apples, hoping the recent floods hadn’t done too much damage I was happy to just get out. As I pulled into one of my favorite spots to fish for bluegill I saw signs of the flood laying in the parking lot far from the lake. Logs and smaller debris were everywhere.
I grabbed my gear and started picking my way through a big drift line littering the picnic area. Twigs to logs, it was everywhere along with mosquitoes approximately the size of sparrows. Seems flood waters make for a great skeeter breeding ground. But I was going fishing.
I got to my spot which is the top of a bluff that is just at water level. The river channel runs against the bank and drops off to 85 feet just a few feet off the bank. Schools of bluegill cruise along just a short cast away, I usually find them down 3-4 feet. I rigged up with a Thill slip float with a bobber stop, enough split shot to pull it upright and a #8 long shank light wire hook. I put on a worm from my backyard worm ranch, threw my first cast and within a few seconds had a nice ‘gill on. The next 6 casts produced fish on worms and crickets.
Just right of my rod tip past the submerged rock is the spot.
Keeping it simple. Crickets, worms, hooks, sinkers, floats and a couple of spinning rods.
As I stopped to string what I had the guy fishing beside me asked what I was doing to catch them. He was fishing just a few feet away and couldn’t get a hit. He had been there for awhile without a fish. I told him the depth, rigging and even said throw where I was casting. He still couldn’t get it right, don’t know what he was doing wrong. I baited up and threw back and they started again. I love it when bluegill are doing this which in this spot is pretty much any day from spring to fall.
Didn't get this guy's name. Note the classic black socks with shorts. Logs are from flood.
This is about halfway through the trip.
I spent the next couple of hours repeating the process. Cricket or worm, change depth a few inches at times, swat skeeters and reel in fish. Every 5-6 I would stop to add them to my stringer. Near the end of my trip 5 guys on a party barge came trolling by just as I lifted the stringer and I heard,
“Man, look at that stringer of bluegill.” come from the guy on the back of the boat.
They all turned to look so I’m guessing it looked good to them not just me.
This is what got the comment from the guy in the boat. 40 nice 'gills headed to the house.
After 2 hours they had slowed down since it was past noon with no wind or clouds. I had plenty to clean plus was tired of mosquitoes and biting flies, so, I packed it in. After close to a year I finally got to go spend a little time at the lake. Hopefully it won’t be that long till my next trip to Priest and my standing on the bank bluegill spot.
Well, not much of an epic tale of outdoors adventure or conquest but for anyone that has gone any length of time without getting to the lake or woods you can understand this was a big deal. This was a great couple of hours even with heat and bugs. I would happily brave both tomorrow and do it all again just to watch that float disappear.
I had planned on going anyway but after all that I had to get away for a few minutes. I stopped off long enough at Big Charlie’s Bait shop and Fried Pie Emporium to grab a tube of crickets and an apple pie. Driving the last few miles munching on fried dough and apples, hoping the recent floods hadn’t done too much damage I was happy to just get out. As I pulled into one of my favorite spots to fish for bluegill I saw signs of the flood laying in the parking lot far from the lake. Logs and smaller debris were everywhere.
I grabbed my gear and started picking my way through a big drift line littering the picnic area. Twigs to logs, it was everywhere along with mosquitoes approximately the size of sparrows. Seems flood waters make for a great skeeter breeding ground. But I was going fishing.
I got to my spot which is the top of a bluff that is just at water level. The river channel runs against the bank and drops off to 85 feet just a few feet off the bank. Schools of bluegill cruise along just a short cast away, I usually find them down 3-4 feet. I rigged up with a Thill slip float with a bobber stop, enough split shot to pull it upright and a #8 long shank light wire hook. I put on a worm from my backyard worm ranch, threw my first cast and within a few seconds had a nice ‘gill on. The next 6 casts produced fish on worms and crickets.
As I stopped to string what I had the guy fishing beside me asked what I was doing to catch them. He was fishing just a few feet away and couldn’t get a hit. He had been there for awhile without a fish. I told him the depth, rigging and even said throw where I was casting. He still couldn’t get it right, don’t know what he was doing wrong. I baited up and threw back and they started again. I love it when bluegill are doing this which in this spot is pretty much any day from spring to fall.
I spent the next couple of hours repeating the process. Cricket or worm, change depth a few inches at times, swat skeeters and reel in fish. Every 5-6 I would stop to add them to my stringer. Near the end of my trip 5 guys on a party barge came trolling by just as I lifted the stringer and I heard,
“Man, look at that stringer of bluegill.” come from the guy on the back of the boat.
They all turned to look so I’m guessing it looked good to them not just me.
After 2 hours they had slowed down since it was past noon with no wind or clouds. I had plenty to clean plus was tired of mosquitoes and biting flies, so, I packed it in. After close to a year I finally got to go spend a little time at the lake. Hopefully it won’t be that long till my next trip to Priest and my standing on the bank bluegill spot.
Well, not much of an epic tale of outdoors adventure or conquest but for anyone that has gone any length of time without getting to the lake or woods you can understand this was a big deal. This was a great couple of hours even with heat and bugs. I would happily brave both tomorrow and do it all again just to watch that float disappear.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Turning Freedom
Sorry for the gap in posts but I was down for over a week with an attack of vertigo. Good times. Like being on carnival rides without leaving home. Wobbling, falling, tripping on stuff and with throwing up optional.
As I sat around trying to get my eyes to focus and get a few lures painted and shipped I really didn’t feel much like writing. Since I was stuck in the house I didn’t have much to write about anyway. Then I went to the Post Office and while trying to figure out the most cost effective way to send something the man helping me asked what I was sending, when I said fishing lures that was all it took. Now I had my story to pass along, one worth telling, that means something and one everyone should find a small way to help with. Please, indulge me while I climb on my soapbox for a bit which I try not to do.
As we tried to get my stuff shipped, David, who works at the PO, mentioned he was a woodworker, too. When he found out I turned my lures on a lathe he invited me to his shop only a few minutes from me. As we talked about what we made he said he was involved, along with many others, in the Freedom Pen project. If you have never heard of this here is the short version, wood turners across the states donate time, money and materials to turn custom ink pens that are then shipped to our combat troops stationed around the world. This is an organization that has been around for 7 years now and many people have never heard of. As soon as I heard what they did and had the chance to go learn to make pens so that I could help I couldn’t wait. I told David that I would be over in a couple of days to see how they were made thinking the whole time that I needed to pass this along.
When I got to his shop there was one other turner there. This was Keith who had driven an hour and a half bringing pen blanks along with him. Later Lewis joined us with even more blanks and an amazing collection of pens he had turned. These guys are just a few that have taken this to heart, to send a small bit of home and a thank you to our troops.
We talked for awhile about what we turned, different materials, shows and sales then they started teaching me how to make pens. I love to turn but never claim to be all that good, I know how to do what I do but love to learn new techniques. We picked out some blanks then went through the process of getting everything set up, turned, finished and finally assembled. This is the results of my first attempt.
We didn’t get much turning done since they were spending more time explaining things to me but the results of some of David’s work was there waiting to head home with Keith to be added to the pens being sent to the troops. In this shipment were 20 pens he had ready in a variety of materials mainly turned in one style. The people turning think about the people using these and make them to fit inside the narrow sleeve pockets many use on their uniforms. Just another bit of care these folks put into what they are making.
Mini Jet Lathe loaded with Osage Orange blanks.
Assembly area.
Well, enough about our day in the shop, this is about what these folks are doing and more importantly, who is getting the pens they make. We have troops stationed in combat areas all over the world. They do a dangerous job under hard conditions with no where near enough contact with home. Simple things that they receive means a lot to them from cards sent by school kids to packages from family, these are things that let them know we care and they aren’t forgotten. This is the idea behind the Freedom Pens project. People from across the nation provide materials, time, talent and yes, money, to send what is a simple thing to us to our people in the field. While it is a pen and some people think, ”So what?”, it is much more. When you are out where they are and receive something hand made from home it tells them we are thinking about them, hoping they are safe and come home that way. Then add the fact that it comes from someone you never heard of, may never meet but thought enough of you and your job to make it for you just to say thanks.
So here is the organization that started it Freedom Pens if you would like more information and history. This is one of those ideas that you can help with if you never walked into a wood shop in your life. Almost every one of us has family or friends that serves or has served and they deserve our support. Pen kits used in making these aren’t terribly expensive but have to be paid for as do packing materials and shipping. If you can give a few dollars to help a group in your area, please, do. These people are doing all they can and many don’t have much money to give away. What they do have is everything else in their shops it takes to make the pens and small donations can provide enough kits for this project to keep moving forward.
If you can help with the cost of a trip to grab a hamburger this will provide several kits to a turner. Any amount helps any organization with their project but since, at least locally, I have seen no administration costs of any kind all money donated here pays for materials. I’m sure this is the case wherever this is being done since it is all about the troops not making a penny from it. If you can donate a couple of dollars to this project I hope you will it means a lot to someone you may never meet but deserves our thanks.
And with that I will leave you with a few pictures from David’s shop while stepping down from my soapbox.
This is Lady who lost an eye and has been shot but is one of the sweetest girls around.
L-R David, Lewis in back and Keith.
David with a few of the pens heading overseas.
Pens headed to the troops. Sorry for the flare in the pic.
As I sat around trying to get my eyes to focus and get a few lures painted and shipped I really didn’t feel much like writing. Since I was stuck in the house I didn’t have much to write about anyway. Then I went to the Post Office and while trying to figure out the most cost effective way to send something the man helping me asked what I was sending, when I said fishing lures that was all it took. Now I had my story to pass along, one worth telling, that means something and one everyone should find a small way to help with. Please, indulge me while I climb on my soapbox for a bit which I try not to do.
As we tried to get my stuff shipped, David, who works at the PO, mentioned he was a woodworker, too. When he found out I turned my lures on a lathe he invited me to his shop only a few minutes from me. As we talked about what we made he said he was involved, along with many others, in the Freedom Pen project. If you have never heard of this here is the short version, wood turners across the states donate time, money and materials to turn custom ink pens that are then shipped to our combat troops stationed around the world. This is an organization that has been around for 7 years now and many people have never heard of. As soon as I heard what they did and had the chance to go learn to make pens so that I could help I couldn’t wait. I told David that I would be over in a couple of days to see how they were made thinking the whole time that I needed to pass this along.
When I got to his shop there was one other turner there. This was Keith who had driven an hour and a half bringing pen blanks along with him. Later Lewis joined us with even more blanks and an amazing collection of pens he had turned. These guys are just a few that have taken this to heart, to send a small bit of home and a thank you to our troops.
We talked for awhile about what we turned, different materials, shows and sales then they started teaching me how to make pens. I love to turn but never claim to be all that good, I know how to do what I do but love to learn new techniques. We picked out some blanks then went through the process of getting everything set up, turned, finished and finally assembled. This is the results of my first attempt.
We didn’t get much turning done since they were spending more time explaining things to me but the results of some of David’s work was there waiting to head home with Keith to be added to the pens being sent to the troops. In this shipment were 20 pens he had ready in a variety of materials mainly turned in one style. The people turning think about the people using these and make them to fit inside the narrow sleeve pockets many use on their uniforms. Just another bit of care these folks put into what they are making.
Well, enough about our day in the shop, this is about what these folks are doing and more importantly, who is getting the pens they make. We have troops stationed in combat areas all over the world. They do a dangerous job under hard conditions with no where near enough contact with home. Simple things that they receive means a lot to them from cards sent by school kids to packages from family, these are things that let them know we care and they aren’t forgotten. This is the idea behind the Freedom Pens project. People from across the nation provide materials, time, talent and yes, money, to send what is a simple thing to us to our people in the field. While it is a pen and some people think, ”So what?”, it is much more. When you are out where they are and receive something hand made from home it tells them we are thinking about them, hoping they are safe and come home that way. Then add the fact that it comes from someone you never heard of, may never meet but thought enough of you and your job to make it for you just to say thanks.
So here is the organization that started it Freedom Pens if you would like more information and history. This is one of those ideas that you can help with if you never walked into a wood shop in your life. Almost every one of us has family or friends that serves or has served and they deserve our support. Pen kits used in making these aren’t terribly expensive but have to be paid for as do packing materials and shipping. If you can give a few dollars to help a group in your area, please, do. These people are doing all they can and many don’t have much money to give away. What they do have is everything else in their shops it takes to make the pens and small donations can provide enough kits for this project to keep moving forward.
If you can help with the cost of a trip to grab a hamburger this will provide several kits to a turner. Any amount helps any organization with their project but since, at least locally, I have seen no administration costs of any kind all money donated here pays for materials. I’m sure this is the case wherever this is being done since it is all about the troops not making a penny from it. If you can donate a couple of dollars to this project I hope you will it means a lot to someone you may never meet but deserves our thanks.
And with that I will leave you with a few pictures from David’s shop while stepping down from my soapbox.
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About Me
- Tommy Ellis
- Born and raised in middle Tennessee.I'm a working wildlife and landscape artist specializing in watercolors. Now making cedar lures and custom turkey calls.
