OUTDOOR
GUIDE
November-December 2020
MAGAZINE
Wild turkeys............ Page 2
Deer hunt dates........ Page 6
Turkey vulture.......... Page 8
A perfect place........Page 16
30 CELEBRATING
YEARS
ys
id a
!
Boats in winter........Page 21
ol
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p p a HUNTING • FISHING • CAMPING • BOATING • SHOOTING • TRAVEL H Reelfoot Lake..........Page 27
Missouri - Illinois - And Other Exciting Outdoor Destinations
Outdoor Guide
Page 2
November-December 2020
Missouri almost had no wild turkeys
Those of us who get to enjoy the great outdoors – hunting, hiking, fishing or just having fun in the woods and on the water – have much to be thankful for. While our country and our planet have plenty of environmental concerns, there are also many success stories of conservation and preservation. One of those great achievements is the restoration of wild turkeys in Missouri. Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect on the history of turkeys in the United States and in Missouri in particular. While they may have been plentiful in the country when the pilgrims and native Americans were celebrating the first harvest feast, it is not likely that the big bird was on the menu. The same goes for candied yams, pumpkin pie and that jiggly cranberry thing. Researchers believe that by the 1800s, 10 million turkeys called North America home. By 1950 their population was reduced to about 300,000 throughout the continent. BIG LOSS IN MISSOURI In Missouri the decimation was similarly significant, from about 250,000 birds in the late 1800s to an estimated population of 3,000 only 60 years later. Those survivors were isolated in the most remote regions of the Ozarks. Unregulated market hunting put the biggest hurt on the populations, but habitat destruction took its toll. Timber was clear-cut, open grazing mowed through remote forests, and people staked their claims to land that had previously been
mostly unmolested. As early as 1925, efforts were made to limit the decline in Missouri by restocking the population with farm-raised birds. Those efforts were not successful, and it was determined that only true wild turkeys would survive and thrive. In 1937 voters approved establishing the Conservation Commission, and turkey hunting was prohibited in the state. Trapping and relocating began in the 1950s after the Department of Conservation purchased large tracts of land for collecting birds and provided protection for them to survive in different parts of the state. By the spring of 1979, turkeys had been moved to 142 areas in 87 counties. Since then Missouri has provided turkeys for restoration efforts in other states. HUNTING RETURNS Turkey hunting season returned in the April 1960 for three days in 14 counties. By 1985, restoration efforts allowed hunting in all 114 counties in the state. Firearms hunting seasons are held for three weeks in the spring, with hunters permitted to take two male turkeys, and the entire month of October in the fall with a limit of two birds. Archers can harvest two turkeys of either sex throughout the bowhunting season between Sept. 15 and Jan. 15. There are six subspecies of wild turkeys across North America, and Missouri is home to the Eastern subspecies. Related to pheasants, grouse and quail, turkeys are the largest wild birds on the continent, with adult males weighing up to 30 pounds and hens closer to 10 pounds. Male turkeys are called toms in general, but further classified at gobblers as adults and jakes as juveniles. This time of year the gobblers group together while the jakes hang mostly with the flocks of hens. During the spring, winter flocks disperse and gobblers battle each other for breeding opportunities. Hens make nests and lay clutches of up to a dozen eggs that they incubate for about 28 days. After they hatch, the hen provides all the protection she can from predators and poor weather. DOMESTIC VS. WILD The turkeys that most people will enjoy for their Thanksgiving Day feasts will only slightly resemble the wild birds
The restoration of wild turkeys in Missouri and across the country is one of many reasons to be thankful throughout the holiday season. – National Wild Turkey Federation photo
in Missouri. While the grocery store variety are bred and raised for incredible size and roundness, wild turkeys are more slim and streamlined. The feathers on wild turkeys are often bright and colorful. Domestic birds look significantly less appealing on the outside. Wild turkeys are susceptible to disease transmission from domestic fowl, but fortunately wild and domestic birds rarely come in contact with each other. Releasing domestic birds into the wild is illegal, in part to protect the wild turkeys from disease. The opportunites to enjoy the great outdoors and spend time among our natural resources are certainly good reasons to be thankful this time of year and always. Happy Thanksgiving! John J. Winkelman is manager of marketing and sales at Liguori Publications. If you have news for Outdoor Guide Magazine, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.
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Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
Page 3
NATURE is
Healthy Feeling tired? Spending just 20 minutes outside can give your brain an energy boost comparable to a cup of coffee.
Spending time in nature, conservation areas, woods, backyards, and urban parks may ease stress levels.
Getting away from busy schedules allows people to connect with nature and themselves in a way that brings calm and a sense of well-being.
Taking a nature walk may increase attention spans and creative problem-solving skills by as much as 50 percent.
Exposure to nature contributes to physical wellbeing, reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones.
Nature is good for you! Learn more about getting your daily dose of “Vitamin N” by checking out season two of MDC’s podcast, Nature Boost, available wherever you download your favorite podcasts.
Outdoor Guide
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November-December 2020
Finding adventures in some odd places
Photo and Text By BRENT FRAZEE When I was a little guy, I took my first true adventure. There was a pond back in the woods near our house, the neighbor kids told me. It was hard to get to, with no path leading the way. You had to
fight your way through some brush and trees, but it was worth the effort, they said. There were fish as big as logs hanging out in the shallows. And they had hardly ever seen a lure. I wanted to find out. So I talked one of the ringleaders of our group into letting me
tag along. I grabbed my dad’s old tacklebox – not the new one where he kept his mostprized lures – and got my fishing rod and headed out. The hike wasn’t nearly as difficult as my friends described. After about 15 minutes, the woods opened up and I set eyes on this magical fishing hole. We spent the rest of the day casting our lures into holes in the vegetation and catching fish. I even caught a 16-inch
bass that became the envy of our small band of fishermen. I eased it back into the water, mainly because I didn’t have a stringer, and we headed back, satisfied that we had found adventure in our everyday surroundings. THE ESSENCE OF EXPLORING I often look back on that experience and realize that I discovered the true essence of
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Frazee finds adventure in a subdivision lake near his house in Parkville MO.
outdoors exploration that day. It doesn’t have to involve rafting a whitewater river, climbing a snow-capped mountain, hiking into a foreboding rainforest or hunting in some far-away wilderness. Adventure is what touches our individual soul. It’s discovering the unexpected, whether it be in some faraway wilderness or a hidden jewel on the outskirts of town. We spend so much time daydreaming about adventures featured in the outdoors magazines that we forget to really explore what is around us. I remember doing a story on a bow hunter who lived on the edge of Kansas City, Kan. He had taken many wide-racked bucks and I assumed he was going to tell me a tale about traveling to some private land miles away. Instead, he took me to his backyard, where a short ways into a patch of timber, he had a tree stand set up. “A lot of people think you have to be out in the middle of nowhere to shoot a big buck, but I stand a better chance here,” he told me. “This is the only timber around, but it goes quite a ways. These city deer get comfortable here. They aren’t hunted real hard, and they aren’t going to move.” LARGEMOUTH SURPRISE I too have found adventure in unexpected places. I remember stopping at a lowwater crossing on a stream along a neighborhood road I frequently travel. For most of the year, the creek carries not much more than trickle of water. But it had been raining that spring, and that was enough to put water into a pool beneath a riffle.
I looked down to see a big bass and a school of its smaller counterparts circling that pool. I rushed to get one of the fishing rods I always carry in the back of my Jeep and made a few casts. When I passed my grub in front of the leader of the pack, it immediately struck and I had a fight on my hands. That bass weighed five pounds, and for a while, was the biggest largemouth I had ever taken. I kept that fish to have it mounted, primarily to remind me of the day I caught a trophy bass in a totally unexpected setting. THE LIST GOES ON Even during this year filled with COVID-19 restrictions, when travel has been reduced, I have found excitement in the nearby outdoors. I have hiked trails that led to a beautiful waterfall and to a meadow where I saw a hen turkey and her poults feeding on insects in the Parkville Nature Sanctuary, and I have caught blue catfish out of the Missouri River, both not more than a couple miles from my home in Parkville, Mo. In magazines bearing covers with teasers that scream, “I survived a grizzly attack” or “How to survive in the wilderness,” those adventures would seem pretty tame. But to me, they were special nonetheless. Yes, I still have my bucket list of adventures I’d like to complete before I die. I still want to fish for peacock bass in Brazil, catch a big tarpon in Costa Rica, land giant walleyes in Canada and pursue giant bass in California. But until that happens, I’ll continue to pursue adventure close to home. Maybe it isn’t glamorous, but it’s still enough to get me excited.
November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
Page 5
HUNTING Benton County, MO Hunting
Whitetail Deer • Turkey • Waterfowl • Squirrel Rabbit • Dove • Quail are abundant around Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks. With over 100,000 of acres of public land to hunt, you are sure to get that trophy buck or turkey. Be sure to check for permits and regulations on the species you are hunting at https://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/.
and FISHING Truman Lake is a sprawling 55,600-acre reservoir offering excellent fishing for • Bass • Crappies • White Bass • Striper • Bluegill • Catfish • Spoonbill The great outdoors are open to the public. Benton County is a fisherman’s paradise with 55,600 acres of Truman Lake fishing and 54,000 acres of Lake of the Ozarks fishing in Benton County!
Independent fishing and hunting guides available year-round.
Benton County really does have it all!
HIKING • BIKING • SHOPPING • DINING • BOATING • ATV TRAILS • EVENTS/FESTIVALS FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO WWW.VISITBENTONCOMO.COM AND “LIKE” BENTON COUNTY TOURISM AND RECREATION ON FACEBOOK
660-438-2090 • lstokes@visitbentoncomo.com EXPERIENCE THE GREAT OUTDOORS WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING
#LoveMyBentonCoMo #BentonCoMoCares
For current safety guidelines in Benton County, please visit the Benton County Health Department’s website at BentonHealth.org. Face masks and hand sanitizer are available at the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce during regular business hours before you begin your adventure. Supplies are limited and only one per person.
Outdoor Guide
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November-December 2020
A great state for hunting whitetail
By BARB BRUEGGEMAN Visit Missouri
It’s autumn. The leaves are falling, and the days are cool and crisp. It’s the time of year when the thoughts of men and women across the country turn to deer hunting in Missouri. And why not? It’s one of the top 10 places to hunt whitetail in the U.S. One of the main attractions for hunting in Missouri is the abundant public lands open to the sport, and one of the best – if not the best – conservation programs in the country, funded by a designated sales tax voted in by the people of the ShowMe State. In the year of COVID-19, hunting is the perfect socialdistancing activity. With our chilly fall weather or as camouflage, you may be already planning on a face covering – but if
Missouri Department of Conservation
you are sharing transportation or a blind with someone not living in your household, it’s definitely a good idea to wear a mask this year. Whether you’re new to the sport or a seasoned hunter, coming from out-of-state or hunting near to home, here is the vital information on the 2020 Missouri deer season. • Firearms dates: Nov. 14-24 with an antlerless weekend, Dec. 4-6. Youth seasons (no older than 15 on opening day of the early youth portion) are Oct. 31-Nov. 1 and Nov. 27-29. These dates apply to firearms hunting only. Firearms/alternative methods are Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Deer archery is Sept. 15 to Nov. 13 and Nov. 25 to Jan. 15. • Hours: Half an hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset • Regulations: All deer must be checked by telephone or on the Internet by 10 p.m. on the
day harvested. You can transport unchecked deer within the state as long as the transportation tag is attached to the leg. • Places to hunt: The MDC website has an extensive list of places open to hunting under “where to hunt.” • Permits and limits: The required Firearms Any-Deer Hunting Permit allows one antlered or antlerless deer. Check the MDC website for antler point restrictions in some counties. In addition to that permit, you can buy as many antlerless deer permits as you want. However, some counties do limit the number available. • Clothing: Wearing hunter orange is required when you are hunting any species of game during firearms deer season. Some limited exceptions are allowed. SHARE THE HARVEST One of the very best parts
deer season. The change was prompted by ongoing cases and publichealth concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The change will affect hunters who harvest deer during the opening weekend of the November portion of the firearms deer season (Nov. 14 and 15) in any of the 30 CWD
OUTDOOR
Management Zone counties: Adair, Barry, Cedar, Chariton, Christian, Clark, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Hickory, Howell, Jefferson, Knox, Linn, Macon, Mercer, Oregon, Ozark, Perry, Polk, Putnam, St. Charles, St. Clair, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Stone, Sullivan, Taney, Warren, and Washington.
GUIDE
November-December 2020
MAGAZINE
HUNTING • FISHING • CAMPING • BOATING • SHOOTING • TRAVEL Volume 28, No. 6 • Published six times a year Office: 505 S. Ewing, St. Louis, MO 63103 News department — 618-972-3744
www.outdoorguidemagazine.com e-mail: news@outdoor-guide.com COVER created by Kathy Crowe, graphic designer.
Carl Green, editor – carl@labortribune.com John Winkelman, associate editor — ogmjohnw@aol.com Bob Whitehead, editor emer. – ogmbobw@aol.com Lynn Fowler, circulation manager Kathy Crowe, graphic designer — Account executives — Dan Braun, marketing director 314-256-4136 Lauren Marshall 314-256-4141 — Regional and specialty editors — Curt Hicken Bill Cooper Thayne Smith Steve Jones
Bill Seibel John Neporadny Jr. Rick Story T. J. Mullin
Ron Henry Strait Larry Whiteley Ted Nugent Ron Bice
– In Memoriam —
Jared Billings • Charlie Farmer • Richard Engelke • Mark Hubbard • Spence Turner • Hank Reifeiss Kay Hively • Bill Harmon • Barbara Perry Lawton • Danny Hicks • Ron Kruger • TJ Stallings • John Sloan
Scott Pauley Tim Huffman John Meacham Bob Holzhei Jeannie Farmer Jerry Pabst Ryan Miloshewski
Firearms season for deer in Missouri runs Nov. 14 through 24. – MDC photo
Sampling to be voluntary on opening weekend
The Missouri Department of Conservation has changed its mandatory sampling requirements for chronic wasting disease to voluntary sampling in 30 counties during the opening weekend of this year’s November firearms portion of
Joel Vance Darrell Taylor Ray Eye Brent Frazee Brandon Butler
of deer hunting in Missouri is eating what you harvest. But with the generous limits, some hunters can end up with an embarrassment of riches. That’s where the Share the Harvest program to feed the hungry comes in. If you have an extra deer, just take it to an approved processing plant (list found on the website) and tell them how much meat you want to donate. Often, the processing fees are covered in part or in full by sponsors, and hungry families gratefully line up at food pantries for this otherwise-rare offering of high-quality protein. The MDC website has details on all hunting seasons. Hunters may enhance their experience using the MDC’s free app, Mo Hunting. It can be used to purchase and store permits, telecheck deer or turkey and track your success from year to year.
— Staff writers —
Claudette Roper Brad Wiegmann Mike Roux Craig Alderman Randall Davis Jo Schaper Jed Nadler
Kenneth Kieser Gerald Scott Russell Hively Roxanne Wilson Gretchen Steele Larry Potterfield Tom Watson
Don Gasaway Terry Wilson Bill Keaton Charlie Slovensky Michael Wardlaw Tyler Mahoney
SAMPLING STILL ENCOURAGED While sampling is no longer required Nov. 14 and 15 for the 30 counties, the 71 sampling stations located throughout the zone will remain open. MDC encourages hunters to have their deer sampled on the day of harvest. “CWD represents a great threat to the health of Missouri’s deer and elk herds and to our hunting culture,” said Mandatory Sampling Coordinator Kevyn Wiskirchen. “Sampling deer for CWD allows early detection of the disease and allows for rapid management intervention to slow its spread. Hunters play a critical role in helping MDC find and manage CWD by having their deer sampled.” “Although sampling is voluntary this year, to help us detect CWD as early as possible and protect the state’s deer herd, we strongly encourage hunters in Management Zone counties to have their deer sampled at one of our stations on opening weekend, or at other locations throughout the duration of deer season,” Wiskirchen added. The department will be taking precautions to ensure the health of both staff and the public during CWD sampling. Social distancing will be practiced by staff at all stations. Staff will wear gloves and face masks at all times. Hunters and those with them will be asked to remain in their vehicles while their deer are being sampled. Hunters will only be asked to provide the county of harvest and will not be asked to identify harvest locations on a map. Hunters and others exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, or who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 or have a known COVID-19 exposure, are asked to refrain from visiting sampling stations.
MDC officials sample a fresh carcass for chronic wasting disease. – MDC photo
SAMPLING STATEWIDE MDC will continue to offer statewide voluntary CWD sampling and testing of harvested deer during the entire deer season at select locations throughout the state, including participating MDC offices, cooperating taxidermists and new freezer head-drop locations. Sampling and test results are free. Find locations and more information online at mdc. mo.gov/cwd or by contacting an MDC regional office. Deer hunters should follow carcass movement restrictions when traveling to a sampling station. Learn more at huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/huntingtrapping/wildlife-diseases/ chronic-wasting-disease-cwd/ carcass-transport-and-disposal. Before having deer sampled for CWD, MDC requests the following: • Field dress and Telecheck deer before arrival at a sam-
pling station.
• Bring the carcass or just
the head.
• Position deer in vehicles
with heads and necks easily accessible.
• Capes may be removed
in preparation for taxidermy before going to a sampling
station.
• The person who harvested
the deer must be present.
• The hunter’s conservation number will be required,
along with county of harvest. • If using a paper permit, have it detached from the deer for easy access. • If using the MO Hunting app, have permit and Telech-
eck information available. CWD is a deadly disease in white-tailed deer and other members of the deer family, called cervids. The disease has no vaccine or cure and eventually kills all cervids it infects. There have been no reported cases of CWD infecting people, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly recommends having deer tested for CWD if harvested in an area known to have the disease, and recommends not eating meat from animals that test positive for CWD. Get more information on CWD and related regulations online at mdc.mo.gov/CWD, or from MDC’s 2020 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations & Information booklet, available where permits are sold and online at huntfish. mdc.mo.gov/fall-deer-andturkey-hunting-regulationsand-information.
November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
Three experts on winter crappie
Photo and Text By TIM HUFFMAN
Winter crappie fishing can be great in the heartland. Temperatures determine how long waters stay ice-free, with waters in the southern part of the region often remaining soft. Three experts shared these tips to help you put more coldwater crappie into the boat. VERTICAL & DEEP “Kentucky Lake crappie will move to deeper ledges as the water keeps cooling,” said Crappie USA Classic Champ and former Kentucky Lake guide Richard Williams. “Winter is a good time to catch fish with crappie getting into a more stable pattern. That’s when the fish get on the ledges. They use the ledges like highways but will settle on favorite spots like a stakebed or little cut in the ledge when water gets cold.” Williams says thousands of stakebeds and brushpiles have been placed in the lake. A fisherman can go there, use electronics and find cover on ledges. Start at about 18 feet and adjust up or down from there. One strategy is to slow troll with multiple poles. It’s great for slowly moving along while searching for active fish and cover. After cover is
found, the boat can be stopped to keep baits in the strike zone. Two fishermen in the front of a boat, using three poles each with two baits per pole, can saturate a spot with 12 baits.
FINDING COVER Start by using maps and sonar to find a ledge. The next step is to search for cover or other potential spots. Set up by facing the wind, putting poles in the holders and inching along to the marked spots. Poles should be 12-16 feet long. Because bites can be light in colder water, poles’ tips should be very sensitive. Williams recommends BnM BGJP poles to show the lightest bites. He also recommends six-pound test line, and sometimes as small as four pound, because small diameter lines have proven to get more bites when water is clear. SHOOTING DOCKS Travis Bunting, a threetime Classic winner, says Lake of the Ozarks is a good winter lake because of less boat traffic and more active fish. Docks are a good place to catch fish in December. “Shooting gives more accuracy and lets a fisherman get into spots where no other presentation can get,” Bunting said. “The bow-and-arrow technique has been around for a long time but has gotten
Tim Huffman displays a crappie taken in Illinois. Staying warm is a key to enjoying winter crappie fishing, so dress appropriately. more popular. The fish come into the docks when the water gets down to about 70 degrees, and they move back out when it reaches the high 30s.” Bunting uses six-poundtest high-vis line and a variety of jig sizes. He starts with a 1/16-ounce head and a Muddy Water 2.5-inch body. The larger body gives a slower fall. “On my first shot, I start reeling as soon as the jig hits the water. My second shot, I’ll count to three and then reel. Third shot, I might flip the bail, let it sink, then work it back. If I do it right, I’ll learn the strike zone. If I catch a fish
really shallow, I’ll switch to a 1/32-ounce jig, but if deep I might go to a 3/32 to get it down faster. “I like to stop and start every two or three cranks of the handle. I believe it creates a few reaction bites. Especially in clear water, the fish can see the bait a long way,” he said. “Docks are good spots to find crappie. Look for fish shallow and under overhead protection, like a pontoon boat or walkway. Also, deep beds under and around docks can hold crappie when fish go deep. My best tip is to check the cables anchoring
the docks on the deep end. Crappie move up and down on those just like they do wood cover.” HAND-HELD POLES, VERTICAL PRESENTATION Illinois has great crappie fishing lakes and rivers. Guide Kyle Schoenherr (618-314-2967) fishes several of these waters including Rend and Kinkaid lakes. “Fish will be along creek channels and usually on manmade or natural cover,” Schoenherr said. “Holding a pole in each hand and using a double-jig rig is a good way to fish. Jigs are good on a Capp-Coleman style rig because the jigs add to the overall weight of the rig, and you want enough weight to keep the rig down as you search around for active fish. They can be tipped with minnows if needed.” Schoenherr uses sensitive BnM Bucks Ultra-light 12-foot poles with rear reel seats. Small spinning reels are used for quick and easy depth adjustment. Line is braided 15-pound-test highvisibility with monofilament leaders. “For this type of fishing, I like running electronics split-screen with 2D sonar and Down Imaging,” he said. “Down Imaging is great for
Page 7
picking out cover, fish and even big fish. LiveScope is new and the best yet. Also, pay close attention to areas with a lot of baitfish. “At bridges, like we have on Rend Lake, most of the fish are going to be on rocky points, ledges and after a few windy days, the backside of the bridges. There is no secret depth, but 10-14 feet is a good place to start. Keep the nose of the boat into the wind for good boat control. “Holding poles makes it easier to feel cover, feel light bites and for setting the hook. A fisherman can hold one pole in each hand,” he added. The weather can be brutal, so dress accordingly to stay warm and safe. A final tip from Schoenherr: “The newer electronics are great, but a good, basic unit will show what is needed to catch fish. I sometimes fish cover even when I don’t see fish, because fish can get so tight or under cover, it’s difficult for electronics to separate them.” Editor’s note: Tim Huffman’s new book, 300+ Crappie Fishing Tips, recently won the 2020 AGLOW (Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers) best book award. It can be purchased from Grizzly Jig Co (800305-9866) or from Amazon.
Prepper’s Guide
Gardens will help defeat hoarding By DAVID HOSKING In the early 1990s, I worked in Russia immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a time of widespread food shortages for ordinary citizens; empty store shelves and long bread lines were common, although beer and vodka remained plentiful. Russians have a long history of suffering from deprivations caused by revolution, war and economic turmoil while, at the same time, surviving through self-reliance, individual hard work and perseverance (not, though, socialism or communism). During my train travels, I observed countless passengers returning on Sunday evenings to the cities from their rural dachas while carrying huge bags of vegetables harvested from their gardens. A dacha is a small plot of rural land (typically 0.15 acres) allocated by the government to ordinary urban dwellers primarily for growing vegetables for personal consumption. Historically, these gardens have been essential for a family’s winter food supply. Upon returning to their city apartments, these gardeners preserved their home-grown produce by pickling, salting
or preparing jams. In effect, ordinary Russians have a long history of self-reliance and preparing for tough times, especially for food shortages. THE WAKE-UP CALL Fast-forwarding to the U.S. in 2020, the initial stages of the COVID-19 crisis, starting in March, brought shortages of toilet paper, paper towels, medical masks and gloves, respirator protective devices, hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, disinfectant sprays and wipes, medical thermometers and certain medications. Also, due to high demand, often by hoarders, grocery stores were forced to limit the quantity of beef and egg purchases for each customer. On the bright side, these shortages have been a wake-up call for smart people about the need to prepare for future shortages of food and consumer products. Last spring, there was a record number of suburban Americans who, fearing food shortages, planted vegetable gardens, many for the first time. The seed company, W. Atlee Burpee & Co., sold more seed in March than at any time in its 144-year history, and Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine saw a 270 percent jump in seed orders the week of March 16,
after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the coronavirus. I think most of these new gardeners intended to supplement fresh produce from grocery stores and to minimize shopping trips. However, I also think that the surge in home gardening suggests that many have awakened to the need to prepare for possible tough times, and that learning new skills such as gardening is a valuable step toward self-reliance. THE RUN ON CANNING SUPPLIES Many of these new gardeners focused on growing but were unprepared for processing and preserving their harvest. By mid-summer, it was nearly impossible to buy canning supplies such as Mason jars and canning pots due to unprecedented high demand, and by the fall, it was practically impossible to find lids for Mason jars. While the jars can be re-used many times, the seals on the lids are designed for one-time use only. They should not be used again if they’ve been heated and sealed during the canning process. Similarly, making jams and jellies from this fall’s fruit harvest was made difficult due to a shortage of pectin, a
key ingredient without which jellies and jams won’t gel. With the shortage of canning supplies, the next best way to preserve the harvest is by blanching and freezing the vegetables, or dehydrating the produce. However, this was also made difficult due to very high demand in the summer for freezer bags and freezers (and dehydrators). In fact, it was very difficult to buy a freezer anywhere and of any size. I wanted an extra freezer for my own garden’s harvest, and virtually none were to be found in my home area. Fortunately, I was able to buy one from Lowe’s only because I was lucky enough to be in the store when they were unloading three freezers from their delivery truck. It was good timing. VICTORY GARDENS The important lesson to be learned from these shortages and our efforts to become more self-reliant is that, even if you successfully grow your own food, it is vitally important to think through the entire process, not just on growing the food but preserving it as well. It is interesting to note that the recent surge in gardening is not new to America. During WWI and WWII, Americans were encouraged to produce
The photo shows one week’s food rations for a single British adult during WWII.
their own food by planting vegetable gardens in their backyards, churchyards, company-owned lands, and public property such as city parks. These were known as Victory Gardens or War Gardens and were intended to feed locals as well as the military. With the introduction of food rationing in the spring of 1942, Americans had an even greater incentive to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Even First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden on the White House lawn. By 1944 there were an estimated 20 million victory gardens that
produced more than 40 percent of all fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S. Wartime food and material rationing made life difficult for Americans and far more difficult for the British. They survived then, and we can survive today on such meager portions if tough times should again befall the U.S., but growing and preserving your own food will make life more tolerable. Editor’s note: This is the fifth article in a series offering advice to readers about preparing for emergencies, catastrophes and disasters.
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Learning life lessons from a bug’s death By RICHARD AITES On a recent visit to the August A. Busch Conservation Area in St. Charles County to get some much-needed exercise, I trekked along a secluded trail and came across a big, colorful bug buzzing about the forest floor. I figured the cicada was nearing the end of its long life cycle because it toiled about, struggling to stay upright. I pondered how relevant or irrelevant this bug’s life truly was. Though this particular specimen’s demise wouldn’t a ff e c t t h e s u rrounding ecosystem, the species itself is very important to the local environment. And though I am by no means an ecologist or biologist, I know the cicada is a valuable food source for birds and other wildlife and am certain they’re beneficial in other ways. Eventually the cicada lay still, so I continued on with my journey. Like many people, I find solace in nature, and this time was no different. In fact, it was very much welcomed considering how chaotic 2020 has been in regards to the pandemic, the political strife and division amongst our politicians and citizens, and the violence and chaos occurring in our streets. In regards to my own life, in the few short months leading up to 2020, I lost my 71-year-old father to cancer and shortly afterwards suffered a minor heart attack myself. RELEVANT, IRRELEVANT As I trekked on, I took in the wonderful flora and fauna that encompassed me while considering how relevant and irrelevant we humans truly are. Unlike the poor bug, whose major contribution is procreating and being a part of the local food chain, I have been fortunate to raise two sons who are both fine young men. I had the opportunity and pleasure to teach them how to hunt, fish and shoot while my wife and I provided for them as best we could. My point is that we
are all important when it comes to our family and friends. And as a career law enforcement officer, I know I’ve been beneficial to the community where I have patrolled. Yet I also realize there are 330 million people in this country (and six billion worldwide) and most of them don’t have a clue as to who I am or what I do. THE BIGGER PICTURE I’m certainly not suggesting that our lives are as insignificant as a bug’s. However, in this day and age of identity politics and racial strife, I believe we all need to step back and focus on the much bigger picture, which is the Human Race. Maybe, just maybe, we need to get over our damned selves and suffer a little humility! We’re also a part of something much greater than ourselves. We’re all connected regardless of race or gender or political affiliation. Many of us will accomplish much in life while others will sadly fail. And each and every one of us will at one time or another experience both success and failure. Yet without one another, we couldn’t experience either. And without God we truly are nothing. Unlike the other inhabitants of this wonderful planet, humans, who according to scripture were created in his image, are both blessed and cursed. Blessed with the ability to recognize and acknowledge the existence of the creator while cursed because our foolishness has led us to stray from him by submitting to the temptations of this world. We also have the profound ability to disregard God and ignore his laws, but I guess this is the price of possessing a free will. A FINAL THOUGHT I hope, even pray, that eventually we will overcome our personal grievances and realize that we’re all a part of something much grander than ourselves! Until then, maybe it’s not so bad being a bug.
Guest Editorial
He saw a big, colorful bug buzzing about the forest floor.
– National Wildlife Federation photo
November-December 2020
— Random Shots — Call it a buzzard, but it’s a turkey vulture
What if you were a buzzard? By JOEL M. VANCE
Of course, you’d have to be a little weird to want to be one... But, if you were a buzzard – a turkey vulture – you would prefer a squashed dead squirrel to a thick-crust pizza. That’s one basic difference between buzzards and people – probably not the only one. Turkey vultures are big birds, “scavengers,” meaning they eat dead things. We do, too, but we cook ours on a stove rather than on a hot asphalt pavement in July. Maybe you’ve been in a car that surprised a buzzard dining on an animal that was killed by another car and watched it flap awkwardly out of your path. Author William Faulkner once wrote: “If I were reincarnated, I’d want to come back a buzzard. Nothing hates him or envies him or wants him or needs him. He is never bothered or in danger, and he can eat anything.” Most of that is true – but it’s not true that we don’t need buzzards. ONE PERFECT DESIGN Maybe you shudder and make a face when you think about a buzzard eating stinking, dead animals, but if he didn’t, those dead things could be the source of disease. So if you were a buzzard, you’d be nature’s cleanup patrol. It’s a mystery how buzzards can eat things that would kill people. A buzzard can gulp down meat that has the germs that cause botulism or anthrax, two deadly diseases, but the bird suffers no harm. So if you were a buzzard, a green-apple bellyache is something you’d never have to worry about. And you’d be perfectly designed for what you do. You’d have an ugly (by people standards) red head with no feathers, and your neck feathers would form a natural bib that would shed leftover food. When you have your head buried in dinner, you don’t want it to get all bloody and messy, do you? Your beak would be as sharp as a pair of poultry shears. You’d have a raspy tongue that could probe for bits of food. Your Latin name means “cleanser.” You’d be a cousin to the fierce hawks
A buzzard can handle a little anthrax.
and eagles ... but your chicken-like feet wouldn’t let you grab prey the way those birds do. So you’d concentrate on what was already dead. IF YOU WERE A BUZZARD… If you were a buzzard, you might not know when to stop eating and when you finished dinner. You might have to squat on the ground for a while until you became light enough to fly again. If you thought you were in danger ... well, like it or not, you’d throw up to lighten your load and take off to safety. And that’s also the way you’d feed your young for the first 10 weeks or so of their lives. You’d probably set up housekeeping sometime between February and June in a cave or crack in the rocks and help take care of the usual two eggs the female turkey vulture lays. For a long time, everyone thought buzzards found their food by sight, but experiments now show they also use smell. Maybe a buzzard even has limits to what it eats – one observer saw two buzzards eat a dead skunk ... but they left the skunk’s scent gland. GRACEFUL IN THE AIR If you were a turkey vulture, you’d be the most common of the three kinds of vultures found in North America. The others are the black vulture of the south, and the very rare California condor. With your drab brownish-black feathers you wouldn’t be pretty (or handsome if you were a male buzzard) but the higher you’d fly, the better you would look to people. You wouldn’t start flying before about 9 a.m. because the updrafts that let you soar almost forever without flapping your wings don’t start until the sun heats the earth. You’d migrate south in the winter and head back north in the summer. Ah! Once in the air, you would be more graceful than any other bird. You could soar endlessly on rivers of air, wheeling and hovering far above everything. Maybe you would be sniffing the updrafts for some really rotten (and perfectly wonderful) dessert, all bloated up and stinking on the highway. But maybe you would just be looking down at the people looking up at you with admiration, and you’d be thinking, “I may be ugly, but let’s see you fly like this.”
November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
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November-December 2020
Late season waterfowl tactics
Photo and Text By JERRY PABST
Since nearly everything ducks and geese do these days is weather-dependent, the first thing a late-season hunter needs to do is look out the window. Never mind the calendar; just look out the window. The calendar will tell you if it is late December or midJanuary, but a glance through that pane of glass will tell you if the birds are in fall or winter mode. That knowledge will enable you to employ the tactics that take advantage of your quarry’s likely movements for that day. If the first thing you see upon arising is snow blowing sideways in a 30 mph wind, go back to bed. Geese won’t even try to fly in that stuff, and very few ducks will either. They would much rather sit tight and go hungry than take to the air and risk a life-threatening injury. In extreme cold, most ducks will flee south to warmer climes, but geese will usually wait out the harsh weather until a thaw arrives. I once observed a flock of several hundred Canada geese that huddled together on a frozen pond for three days in sub-zero temperatures. They were living off their body fat
to keep warm and refused to expend the energy needed to fly out to feed. Since this was instinctive behavior, you can rely on geese to respond similarly to bitter weather every time. THEY CAN DEAL WITH SOME SNOW When you encounter such conditions, which are becoming rarer with each passing season, keep looking out of that window until you see the tree tops rustling with a warming south wind, then get out to your goose field as fast as you can; the action will be phenomenal. Normal winter weather these days will be on the warm side of cold, often five or 10 degrees above or below freezing. There may be snow on the ground, but unless it is more than five inches deep and has been around for more than a week, it won’t matter much. The geese will remain active, but their feeding patterns will probably change a bit. FALL FEEDING Earlier in the fall, Canada geese usually fly out to feed twice a day – just after sunrise, and again a few hours prior to sunset. But when the nights become colder, geese will often stay in their roosts until mid-morning, sometimes even until noon,
Don’t be too quick to pick up your decoys.
conserving energy. And they may stay on their feeding grounds until late afternoon, when they pour back into the roost. With this in mind, don’t be too quick to pick up your decoys if you get little or no action early on. Stick it out, and good things will happen. Late in the season, how you set your decoy spread can be very important. When
you initially set up, a normal feeding pattern will be fine, but remember, the geese don’t feed all day. They stay in the feeding field to avoid expending the energy it takes to fly back and forth to their roosting area, so after filling their gullets, they go into a loafing pattern. This gives the flock quite a different look and one that incoming birds will recognize.
WINTER LOAFING In winter, a flock of loafing geese will huddle together in one tight bunch. There will be no apparent family groups, and only an occasional sentry will be standing along the edges of the flock. The rest of the geese will be lying on the ground, many with their heads under their wings. They will be quite still and mostly quiet. The best decoys you can use to imitate a flock of loafing geese are shells, with the feet removed. Just bunch them all up around your pit or layout blinds. Or take the feet off of full-bodied fakes and nestle them in the stubble. A little long distance flagging, and very little, if any, calling should do the trick. Keep in mind that under frigid winter conditions, these loafing birds will take little notice of passing flocks and will remain silent. Heavy calling will appear unnatural to incoming geese and may well flare them. Just let ‘em work in on their own. DUCKS IN WINTER As far as winter duck hunting is concerned, the bad news is that when a total freeze-up occurs, the majority of those birds head south. The good news is that a hardy few, mostly big, fat mallards, manage to find some open water
and stick it out. The open water they find is usually running water in obscure small streams and ditches that attract little notice from passers-by. About the only way you are going to locate these mini-refuges is to notice the ducks flying into or out of them, so keep your eyes open. And if you find one, don’t over-hunt it. There won’t be a lot of ducks there, and it won’t take much to convince them to move on. I would limit my hunts to one or two per week, and I would not jump shoot the birds off the water. That would only force the ducks to find another refuge, and they may not return again. Instead, let the birds fly out to feed, set up and pick off the first few to return, and then get out of Dodge fast, allowing the reminder of the flock to return unmolested. Since open water is the main attraction that brings the birds in, you won’t even need decoys, so just pick up your game and hit the road. Cold weather and snow stresses waterfowl to the point where even the most wary of them make mistakes. If you adjust your tactics to take advantage of the wintry conditions, you can have excellent hunting right up to closing day.
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Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
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November-December 2020
Wild Wine Life
Take comfort in Venison Dressed Rice Photo and Text By RAY MAXWELL
Dirty Rice and Dressed Rice are wonderful comfort meals that became favorites for me while I lived in New Orleans. My Venison Dressed Rice does not meet the technical definition of Dressed Rice or Dirty Rice in Cajun country, but you will find this to be a simple, easy to cook and very tasty meal that you and others will enjoy at home or camp. INGREDIENTS • 2 pounds ground venison
(I prefer no other meat added). • 2 teaspoons each of the following for the meat seasoning: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, venison rub. • Vegetables chopped – one red bell pepper, one garlic clove, five jalapenos, one sweet yellow onion, five green onions, five celery stalks, two shallots. • 2 teaspoons ginger. • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
(to be added later).
First, mix the spices for the meat seasoning into the ground venison. Then take a large pan or cast-iron skillet and pre-heat. Pour some olive oil into the pan. I prefer olive oil as a healthy alternative, where traditional dirty rice or dressed rice uses animal fat. Once the skillet is heated and the oil is hot, add the chopped ginger, shallots and garlic into the pan until all are slightly brown. Add the jalapenos to the skillet; the more seeds you leave in the peppers, the hotter the dish. I generally remove seeds from
three of the jalapenos for more widespread appeal. After the peppers slightly soften, add the holy trinity of yellow onion, celery and bell pepper. I prefer red bell pepper to add a bit of color to the dish, though green is the traditional bell pepper in Cajun dishes. Then add the kosher salt to the dish. Once the vegetables begin to soften but still are firm, add the venison to the dish. Once the venison is cooked, add half of the green onion and cook slightly. Scoop rice into a bowl and then scoop the mixture from the pan into the bowl. The ratio of rice to vegetables and meat is a personal preference. For additional heat, you can add your favorite hot sauce. Place some additional green onion on top for eye appeal and crunch and serve. BALANCING WINES Adam Puchta Vignoles, and Willm Alsace Riesling both are white wines and non-oaked, and they offer a wonderful contrast to this
Adam Puchta Vinoles (at right) is a nice white wine from Hermann, MO.
dish. Both wines have just a balance of sweetness acidity to pair with food and neutralize the heat from this dish, offering you a roller coaster ride through your meal. Both wines work very well with this dish, no matter what level of heat you decide on. Both can be found for about $20 per bottle. • Willm Alsace Riesling, you will find to have wonderful
Tips, Tricks and Thoughts for the Great Outdoors
Hunting helps during a pandemic
By LARRY WHITELEY
COVID-19 came to America shortly before the spring turkey season. If you were traveling to another state to hunt turkeys or had a guide hired, that all got canceled. For those of us who hunt on our own and in our state, we found that it was easy to practice social distancing, and we wore a mask anyway, so we went turkey hunting and really didn’t care if we were successful or not. We slowed down and enjoyed our time outdoors away from the pandemic, politics and the news media. If anything, it made us appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to be out in the great outdoors,
not having to worry about it all for a little while. I even got to take out a little of my own frustration with this virus, negative news and politicians on a turkey that was trying to get away from me. He didn’t make it. It’s eight months later and we are out there hunting again. COVID-19 is still around and won’t go away. So are the negative news and politicians. Our daily lives still mean wearing masks and social distancing in some places. Those of us who love hunting deer, waterfowl, upland game and even squirrel or rabbit are escaping it all as much as we can to do what we love to do and feed our
families. I hope that when you are out there hunting you take the time to enjoy, meditate and appreciate God’s splendor that is all around us. Thank Him for your time outdoors and pray this will all go away. SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT “I go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have my senses put together.” –John Burroughs MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD There are millions of us hunters, fishermen, boaters, campers, hikers, wildlife watchers and overall outdoor enthusiasts in America, as well as those of us who enjoy
President Trump signs the Great American Outdoors Act at a ceremony in the Oval Office, with conservationists and officers looking on. – New York Times photo
the shooting sports and those that conceal carry. Together we spend billions of dollars annually on the pursuits we love. What our politicians need to remember is we also vote. If you haven’t voted yet and plan to go to the polls or mail in your ballot, make sure you know how candidates stand on issues that are important to you and our great outdoors. Stand up and be counted and make your voice heard. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE OUTDOORS We have all heard on the news about how the pandemic has hurt our nation’s economy, but amid all the gloom and doom is a shining star. It’s called the great outdoors. A 2012 Outdoor Recreation Economy Report conducted by the Outdoor Industry Association showed what the value of the outdoors is to our economy. It found 140 million Americans making outdoor recreation a priority in their daily lives and spending $640 billion doing it. The outdoor industry supported 6.1 million jobs and contributed almost $80 billion to federal, state and local tax revenues. That ranks the outdoors right up there with financial services, insurance and construction. The report took a conservative approach in tracking
floral and citrus aromas and flavors with a nice mineral finish that assures you the wine is from Alsace. The wine is considered dry and shows what quality dry Rieslings offer to the world. • Adam Puchta Vignoles, from Herman, MO, offers wonderful stone fruit aromas such as peach, with strawberry and tropical kiwi aromas that provide complexity. You will
find these same flavors in the wine. A wonderful Missouri wine that over-delivers when you desire something slightly sweeter but very balanced, this is a very safe and wonderful choice. For the video version of this recipe along with other recipes and information on wine, and wild game, visit and “like” WILD WINE LIFE on Facebook and Youtube.
LARRY L. WHITELEY is the host of the internationally syndicated Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World Radio and nationally syndicated Outdoor World newspaper and magazine tips.
direct annual spending by Americans in pursuit of outdoor recreation. It did not include every activity that could be recognized as outdoor recreation. The report focused on direct economic impact, rather than using indirect, implied, multiplier or ripple effects that included impacts of spending, jobs and wages as they circulate further throughout the economy. If these effects were used as the basis of the report, the economic impact would be an amazing $1.6 trillion and a job impact of 12 million people. You can see the full report if you go to www. outdoorindustry.org. You probably won’t hear about any of that on the national news, but those numbers are huge to the economy of America. The news did cover the tremendous increase in ammunition sales and gun sales as well as the increase in gun sales to first-time buyers during the pandemic. They also covered the big increases in sales of boats and RVs. I must have missed their coverage on the increase in fishing and hunting license sales. A BIT OF GOOD NEWS On Aug. 4 of this year, the media did cover a rare bipar-
tisan move when the House of Representatives joined the Senate in approving one of the most significant pieces of legislation regarding the outdoors in generations when the Great American Outdoors Act was signed. It represents a huge win for the public lands of America and the outdoor enthusiasts who use them. Our politicians must have read the Outdoor Recreation Economy Report. Of course, the outdoors has been affected some by this pandemic, but also because of the pandemic, more people are discovering the outdoors is a great place to get away from it. They are also discovering the exercise and sunshine they get in the outdoors helps build up their immune system to help fight COVID-19. The outdoors is good for your health, both mentally and physically. It’s good for your body, it’s good for your soul and it’s good for our economy. BEST WISHES From my family to your family, have a happy Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas, and I pray our New Year will be better than the one we have had this year. God bless you all! – Larry Whiteley
November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
Tips for late-season duck hunting
Photo and Text By DON GASAWAY
Early in the season, ducks feed heavily on protein-rich grains. They rest at night on large water areas for protection from predators. By day they move to grain fields available in the area. Once they have built sufficient stocks of protein, they turn to the invertebrates found in shallow water areas including potholes and ponds. The secret then must be to find the water/land mix that is supporting ducks and is not crowded. For the most part this is the little pond and creeks hidden in the thickest brush and timber habitat. Unlike the geese, which move to the more open areas, ducks will secrete themselves in small ponds in thick areas. They are happy in the close quarters and seldom bothered by intrusion from the outside world. How is one to find these waters when not intimately familiar with the area? A mapping and scouting expedition is the only way to find them. First one must secure a map of the area you intend to hunt. This might be one on line from Google Maps or similar website. It can be a highway map published by state or county highway departments. SCOUT’S HONOR Once a map is in hand it is a matter of scouting with map in hand. This is best done by marking food plots and the flight direction of any birds sighted. Mark the approaches to the area that will allow hunters to get within range without being observed by the birds. Mark locations of natural and manmade blinds. When complete, the map is a blueprint for a successful duck hunt. Duck hunting is tough and
getting tougher. With the use of a good map, a pair of binoculars and some legwork, one can find good hunting locations. Duck hunting continues thanks to the positive wetlands measures to preserve and re-establish habitat. In the meantime, find those backwater locations and enjoy the sport of waterfowl hunting. Wind seems to influence movement of ducks in the area. It takes wind to get ducks to move. On still days as it warms, clear or cloudy, they just do not want to fly. As it gets warmer in the late season, they seem to head out to the smaller water areas. The birds hold in big water during colder air temperatures. Big water stays open longer and is not prone to freeze over. When hunting small areas of water near large areas, change your decoy set-up. Late-season birds pitch out of the air and decoy easily. But then they will land 100 yards away. By watching live ducks and how they react to other live ducks, you will notice the flocks are composed of even numbers of birds. It may be that this, coupled with their becoming so territorial, means they have already paired up. They do not want to be harassed by the flock. SCALING BACK Using this information, change your use of decoys in small water. Scale back your decoy spread and constantly change it each day. Expect to find the birds tend to be a little more active before weather fronts. The change in barometric pressure is the key to starting the changes right before the arrival of a front. Right after the front, the pressure rises. Birds become more active after the passage of a front because they can fly at higher altitudes with high pressure. The hardest part of a duck’s exertion
Powder Valley Nature Center is open again
The Missouri Department of Conservation’s Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is now open for limited public access, following a COVID19-related closure. The building’s operating hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30, Tuesday through Saturday, until further notice. Powder Valley’s front desk is available to the public for information or gift shop and permit sales. Because of ongoing public health and safety concerns, the rest of the building, including the exhibit galleries and classrooms, is currently not accessible. To help minimize person-to-person contact, one person or family will be allowed into the building at a time. The nature center’s outdoor spaces, including all trails, remain open and fully accessible to the public. THREE PAVED TRAILS Powder Valley Conserva-
tion Nature Center rests on 112 acres of picturesque oak hickory forest and offers three trails, all paved, which cover more than two miles in length. The Tanglevine Trail features interpretive signage and is disabled-accessible. Both the Hickory Ridge and Brocken Ridge Trails offer more varied terrain. “We hope people will continue to hike our trails and enjoy the fall colors. The trails are open every day,” Nature Center Manager Tamie Yegge said. For the safety of participants and staff, MDC asks all guests to observe social distancing guidelines and maintain at least 6 feet from others. Local ordinances requiring face masks will be observed. Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center is located at 11715 Cragwold Road in Kirkwood, near the intersection of I-44 and I-270.
is the exhaling part. In highpressure situations, birds can fly higher, and it is easier on them to make long-distance flights. The long-distance flights make hunters want to pull their hair out. Hunting in any one given spot becomes hard. Late season waterfowl hunting and calling is a constant case of analyzing what is going on with the birds. You always must be wary and think, “Lets figure it out,” and then figure it out. You may never figure it out completely, but you might get a little bit closer.
Page 13
Late-season duck hunting in the Show-Me State is a little different than hunting the early season flights. The hunter willing to adapt his pattern can expect to find and harvest some great eating waterfowl.
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Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
Claudette’s Kitchen
Hully beans, shelly beans and squirrel By CLAUDETTE ROPER
What a year it has been! Traditionally I review and comment on my previous months’ articles to give you corrections, updates or commentary. That won’t be the case this year – it’s just been one of those years. Mountain Man has spent about a month in Montana this year, enjoy-
ing time with several of our sons, the fabulous Montana countryside, dodging grizzlies and looking for elk. Yours truly was soloing as a rancher/farmer and was not cooking as much. Canning, however, was another story. Thankfully, I had enough canning lids to complete all canning projects and have some left for broth and venison throughout this winter. Our shelves are full of tomatoes, green beans, hully beans, salsa, okra and other good veggies. Wanting to make the most of everything in the garden and also keeping my food sensitivities in mind, green beans got special attention from me this year. Being unable to keep up with picking them and canning them in a timely manner provided the perfect opportunity to try something new.
Southern-style shelly beans
– Christian Science Monitor
HULLY BEANS ARE NOT ONLINE When I married Mountain Man, I had to learn a new language – southern Missourian. I’ve noticed that even the Internet can’t quite keep up with this language. If you search for “hully beans,” everything except that pops up. A link to “shelly beans” was the best that I could find. For those who are unfamiliar with either one, these beans are the inside of a green bean. We usually eat the latter in the form of an immature pod. Hullies are the harvested mature bean seeds. Once picked, the pod is pulled away and the seed is kept. It can be dried and stored, or it can be cooked or canned. The dried ones shrink and turn the color of kidney beans. They are delicious prepared in soups or in other beans recipes such as baked beans. As the garden waned, we also took a cow to be butchered, and of course deer season went into full swing. What that meant to us is that we had to actively work on using up everything in the freezer. What I discovered was that this wouldn’t be too hard. FISH HEADS AND INNARDS Hidden behind all the “real” food were buckets of fish heads, a variety of “innards” and a few other things too gross to mention. Apparently, they were to be used for baiting trotlines or something. One of the goodies still left was an ice-cream pail full of squirrel. If you enjoy ethnic foods as much as we do, you may enjoy this Missouri style of Jamaican Stew Peas. Our son and daughter-in-law first turned us on to this. If you don’t have squirrels, you can use stew beef or venison. Have fun with it. JAMAICAN STEW PEAS • Rinse – 2 cups dried black-eyed peas (or hullies). • Place them in a large Dutch oven with 3 garlic cloves (chopped), 1 tsp allspice, 3 squirrels and six cups of water. Let this simmer until both the beans and squirrels are tender – about 60-90 minutes. • Add a chopped medium onion, 2 chopped stalks of scallion (green onion), 1 chopped green bell pepper, 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 cups of water and one can of coconut milk. Bring it to a boil. • Pull off small pieces of dough and roll it between your palms to make spinners (see note below) and add to the pot until all dough is used up. Add 1-2 sliced carrots, a scotch bonnet (I prefer a habanero or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes), 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Keep stirring to prevent the spinners from sticking to the bottom of the pot. • Let this simmer for about 40 minutes and add one more chopped scallion in the last 10 minutes of cooking. Use additional salt and pepper to taste. This dish is traditionally served with white rice; however, the dumplings (spinners) make it hearty enough to be served with just a salad. • To make dough for the spinners, add 1 cup flour and 1/4 tsp salt to a small bowl. Add a scant 1/3 cup of water a little at a time and knead to form a smooth dough. The exact amount of water you need can vary day by day. Cover and set aside until needed. Note: If you add a whole scotch bonnet or habanero, please take care not to break it while stirring the dumplings. Additionally, consider the circumstances under which these will be served. If you have company who aren’t the sort to want to dig the squirrel out and take it off the bone as they eat, consider deboning at the end of cooking and before serving. Best wishes as you go into the last few months of 2020!
November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
Page 15
Tiny beetles do the cleaning on skulls Photo and Text By TOM WATSON When it comes to cleaning a game skull in preparation for creating a European mount (a preserved skull detailing all the intricacies and detail of the specimen’s natural bony structure), taxidermist Ken Hansen says, “Little dermestid beetles are nature’s vacuum cleaners when it comes to removing dead and decaying flesh, skin and hair.” Hansen is the owner-operator of Kodiak Bones and Bugs Taxidermy and arguably one of only a handful of experts on dermestid beetles in the world. He’s the “bug guy” to clients in 17 countries, selling to Russia, China and Canada on a weekly basis. Typically, bones are cleaned either by maceration (boiling/ soaking) or by beetles – processes that eventually dissolve or consume the meat and other tissues throughout the entire bone structure (tiny skull cavities, for example). Hansen regards the dermestid beetle (a species native to North America) as “… basically the white rat of the skull-cleaning world,” favored by museums, forensic departments and even hobbyists. BEETLES & BONES Here are a few comparisons
to consider when deciding whether to use maceration or beetles to clean your prized bone specimens: • Boiling tends to loosen or separate bones, particularly tiny/delicate ones that tend not to fuse together in the skull or skeletal structure. • Delicate bone features can be taped or otherwise secured when using beetles, but not so with boiling. • Boiling tends to shrink a skull by 1 to 2 percent, which can be critical for trophies. • “Grave wax” tends to build up in macerated specimens, none when using beetles, and beetles do not loosen sutures nor crack teeth, as can happen during boiling. Skulls can either be sent to a taxidermist who specializes in dermestid beetle cleaning or by developing your own do-ityourself beetle colony. Expect to ride herd over a minimum of 1,000 bugs if you plan to clean deer or smaller bear-sized skulls. VERSATILE BUGS Besides the normal trophy skull goal, Hansen says, there’ve been several unique uses of this particular species of beetle (in the same family as the common carpet beetle). Because the bugs are drawn exclusively to decayed flesh, they have been funneled into
Ken Hansen of Kodiak Bones and Bigs Taxidermy shows the results of beetle cleaning.
openings in walls in which an animal has become wedged and died. Using the rotting odors of decaying flesh to zero in on the odor-causing area within the wall, the bugs can be channeled behind the wall, where they will seek out the flesh and clean the carcass completely! Once their food source is depleted, the bugs simply die and dry up. “Some people have the misconception that if a colony of dermestid beetles
gets loose, the little insects will devour human flesh and become like the plot for a horror movie,” Hansen said. “They only consume dead or decaying flesh; they will not bite or eat living flesh - including humans!” Once all the meat from the specimen is removed, both processes require that the bones be de-greased. THE DAWN SOLUTION “Dawn soap is the gold standard for de-greasing,” Hansen said. “We’ve all been looking for the holy grail. Everything’s been tried, but it all trickles back to Dawn.” De-greasing is simply a soaking process. The soapy water is changed repeatedly until it remains clear. The final process before the bones are ready for handling is whitening. The 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide sold in stores is the “bath” used (you can get stronger solutions at hair salons). Specimens are soaked for about 24 hours, longer if visually necessary. After a thorough soaking, wet skulls can be placed in the sun where UV radiation will further whiten the bones. “Never use bleach,” warns Hansen, as it will ruin the bone structure. Raising a colony of dermestid beetles is not really
different from maintaining a terrarium or simple fish tank, except for the particular care of the beetles (watering, infestation from invasive critters like flies and mites, and basic bug hygiene.) Whether you want to add a European mount to your wall of trophies, need to run
a forensic examination for a wildlife enforcement case, or re-assemble a bird skeleton of a bird for a museum exhibit, dermestid beetles should be a critical part of that process. For an in-depth description of dermestid beetle uses and tips, go online to http:// bonesandbugs.com.
Before and after photos show what dermestid beetles can do to make a skull look good.
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Outdoor Guide
Page 16
November-December 2020
Too much time, in a perfect place
Photo and Text By BRANDON BUTLER
With Labor Day behind us and cooler temperatures setting in, it’s time to start the process of reflecting on another summer gone by. Plenty of trips were taken, and many memories were made, but now having been the proud owner of a rural retreat for three summers, I’m beginning to wonder if some of the warnings I was given by other lucky retreat owners hold more merit than I suspected. I call my place Driftwood
Acres. It’s only 43 acres, but the surrounding expanse of public lands lends to a freedom I’ve found in few other places. One can walk out of the county 20 miles away without fear of setting foot on a piece of privately owned dirt. The crystal clear creek at the base of my mountain is the greatest place I have ever found for simply sitting in the water with a cold beer in hand while the entire world flows by. The lodge is a testament to the love of family and friends. So many people I care about
have left their mark on the place. Shags and Paddle Don hung countless board-feet of rough-cut cedar on the walls. Frank Oberle handcrafted the cherry wood island top. My cousin Derek cleared acres of land and cut substantial amounts of brush. My uncle and Pete put in hours of work. Bruce Sassmann taught me how to burn the hillside. So many more have contributed. And then there is my dad. He’s given so much time and effort to help make my dream – one he knows I have harbored
all my life – a reality. Grateful is not a strong enough word. A PERFECT PLACE, BUT… By all accounts, the place is perfect. But perhaps too perfect. My girls are nearly grown. We are rapidly running out of summers before they leave for college then head off to whatever corner of the world beckons. So many plans to visit places I know they would appreciate have failed to come to fruition. Of course, this summer was different. Having a wilderness
Owning a wilderness retreat is great, but don’t forget how big the world out there really is.
retreat where we could isolate was a gift. But still, another summer slipped by without a journey to a destination on the bucket list. A big part of the reason is most travel has been tabled while our property has been developed. Coming to own a second home, especially one that serves as a camping, fishing, hunting and floating destination, has been one of the great blessings of my life. Yet it hasn’t come without a cost. Travel brings my greatest joy, and for the past four years, most of my travel has been to Driftwood Acres. Others I know who have been lucky enough to own similar properties warned me that having one home is more work than most diehard sportsmen can handle. Two will leave you fraught with anxiety as you struggle to find time for anything but maintenance. While that’s not quite been true, it’s not far off. ALASKA CALLING I need to find a better balance. I need to force myself to relinquish weekends and longer blocks of time to visit places I hope to take my girls before it is too late.Alaska has somehow eluded me for 41 years. I really hope to take the girls up there
soon to explore Denali National Park and see the glaciers before they are gone. I also want to fly to Rome, drive to Venice and take a boat across the Adriatic Sea to meet up with a distant cousin who lives in Croatia, who I have come to know through the good side of social media. Driftwood Acres is a dream come true, but how many other dreams are going unfulfilled because of too intense of a focus on this one? So to all of you wanderers who live to leave boot leather on the ground yet dream of having your own special destination, heed my warning – you may find yourself over-committed to a single destination. Before you know it, other dreams will seem distant. I certainly encourage you to buy that property and build your cabin. Just don’t lose sight of how big the world is. Keep those travel plans in the front of your mind and strike a balance. No matter how many stars we wish upon, we’re never going to have more time than we do at this moment. Use it wisely. For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast on www.driftwoodoutdoors. com or anywhere podcasts are streamed.
New Hunt Illinois website launched The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has launched the new Hunt Illinois website, an online resource for Illinois residents and visitors to the state. The website includes information on Illinois hunting seasons, places to hunt, licenses and permits needed, hunting and trapping regulations, hunter harvest reporting, hunter safety, wildlife management and conservation programs. “The new Hunt Illinois website is an easy-to-use, one-stop resource for hunters to find just about everything
they need to know about planning a hunt, no matter the species, no matter the season,” said IDNR Hunter Heritage Program Manager Jared Duquette. The website was developed in cooperation with the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, with funding support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration Program. The website can be accessed through most desktop and laptop computer web browsers, or by using most mobile devices, at https://huntillinois.org/.
Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
Page 17
Hunting for bear in Michigan
Photo and Text By TED NUGENT
We all know that every hunt is a very special experience. We so eagerly anticipate each fall season that it is hard to put into words the excitement we actually feel coursing through our veins this wild time of year. People often ask me what my all-time favorite hunt is, and I always respond, “My next one!” Each outing provides its own unique set of dynamics, and as we move on in life, we tend to cherish each and every detail of the overall adventure. As I excitedly plunged into the 2020 hunting season, my long-awaited Michigan bear tag represented one of the most desirable hunt opportunities of my life. I’ve killed many bears over the years across North America, and each and every one of them is powerfully special and memorable. Bears are a fascinating animal, and the wild grounds they inhabit accentuate every hunt for sure. GOT THE TAG But when you draw a bear tag for your own privately owned, bear-infested family hunting grounds in an area that had no bears at all
when I first explored that region 50 some years ago, the hopes and dreams of this hunt take on a whole accelerating dynamo. Add to all those stimulating details the shared adventure with my son, Toby, behind the SpiritWild video camera, and the world sure appears to be a perfect place. We established a killer bait station deep in the wild, big-timber north country, expertly maintained by my gung-ho, dedicated outdoorsman nephew Brennen, and the number and size of bears on trailcams hitting our honey hole was enough to drive an old bear hunter crazy! Unfortunately, as it is with all bureaucrat-tainted policies across America, our quality hunting experience was all but destroyed due to the anti-hunting insanity of opening up the early gun deer season the day before we could hunt! VANISHED OVERNIGHT Obviously, the eruption of all that human activity completely disrupted the bear patterns we had painstakingly established, and all the large bears vanished overnight, not just from our bait, but from every bait by every hunter we met.
Receiving a Michigan bear tag made this a special year for Ted Nugent. – Nugent.com photo
Adding insult to injury, after only one day of bait hunting, the state opened the hound hunting, which further disrupted the bear activity. Such buffoonish policies by the Michigan Depart-
ment of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Michigan Natural Resources Committee (NRC) can only be described as premeditated, anti-hunting ruination of quality hunting, and the
hunting families of Michigan could not be more let down or angry at such irresponsible bureaucratic tomfoolery. THE BEAST APPEARS With all these conditions making things as goofy as possible, we nonetheless kept at it and after much mosquito swatting and long, long hours on stand, a beautiful black beast cautiously skulked out from the swampy marsh into our little woodland clearing. At that moment, the world was perfect! As this stunning beast slowly tiptoed to the bait, my predator spirit was one with the spirit of the bear. With a muscle memory life of its own, my arrow came to anchor and my 50# Mathews VXR sent a scalpel-sharp, cold steel, 185-grain, two-blade broadhead clean through the pump station, and my beautiful Michigan black bear was dead, at 35 yards, in less than four seconds. Father and son rejoiced and celebrated on the ridge we had shared for 44 years, and that moment in the forest took on a life of its own. A BEAUTIFUL BEAR The rich, luxurious coated
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250-pound sow with the gorgeous brown and gray muzzle was as beautiful a black bear as anyone could ever want. Though there were numerous mature boars more than three times her size on trailcams that would have been a very realistic opportunity had the game department organized the bear hunt properly, Toby and I were in a little heaven of our own, all too aware that government agencies never get anything right. The failures of the DNR and NRC literally vanished in that time and place, and our joy was immeasurable. I have already made numerous calls to elected employees in Michigan, as I have always done nationwide, alerting them to their abject failure to follow sound science when making wildlife regulations, as is the law. I got my bow-killed Michigan bear, and I am one very happy Michigan bowhunter. But I will continue my American we the people duties and hold my elected employees accountable to proven truth, logic and commonsense wildlife management policies. All hunters across America should do the same and demand sound science-based game laws in every state.
Outdoor Guide
Page 18
November-December 2020
Fishing for bass in winter cold fronts
By JOHN NEPORADNY
The passage of cold fronts can be a tough time to catch bass, but Brian Maloney believes this situation negatively affects anglers more than bass. “You are freezing your tail off and you are thinking it is killing the fish, but you have to remember that those fish are already in their winter mode,” Maloney said. “Their metabolism is already shut down. So in the wintertime, just don’t get wrapped up in
what the front is doing. I think that is more the front messing with the fisherman than it is messing with the fish.” The former Bass Fishing League All-American champion notices that cold fronts in the spring have a more drastic effect on bass than wintertime cold fronts. “In the springtime, the fish are getting ready to spawn and all of a sudden they get hammered with a 30- to 40-degree change of a cold front that screws it all up,” he said.
Bass are already sluggish during the dead of winter, when water temperatures plummet into the upper 30s or low 40s, so a cold front that drops air temperatures into the 20-degree range makes little difference to the fish. “I don’t think that hurts the fish as much, but I do believe that they will seek out any source of heat they can come up with, which might be a good chunk rock bank, slab rocks and brush piles,” Maloney said. “If the water is clear enough, the brush piles
will absorb enough of the UV rays and hold the heat.” THE COLD FRONT The arrival of a cold front works in your favor because bass will move up shallower on a rocky bank seeking the warmth of the rocks and taking advantage of the cloud cover to feed. Maloney suggests those bass will remain shallow the morning after the front passes until the sun shines on them. “If you go two or three days of cloud cover and then
An angler shows that big bass can be caught in winter – In-Fisherman photo Maloney moves deeper to catch bass the day after a cold front.
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all of a sudden slap a bluebird sky on bass, it messes with them,” he said. “I believe as the day goes on, with a bright bluebird sky, it kind of messes with the fish’s eyes and they haven’t adapted to the light yet, so they tend to pull off the bank and sink down a little deeper in the brush.” The former Forrest Wood Cup qualifier still keys on shallower shady areas on the first day of sunshine after a cold front, but he has to move deeper to catch bass the second day after the front. He agrees with the old axiom that fishing is toughest on the second sunny day of a cold front. “We struggle because we are not realizing what is going on with the fish, and we are fishing what we had two days before when we had cloud cover,” he said. AFTER A COLD FRONT Water clarity dictates how deep bass will move after a winter cold front. Maloney suggests bass in off-color water might only drop down two feet, but fish in clearwater lakes dive 15 feet or deeper. On 45-degree rocky banks void of cover, post-frontal winter bass will move away from the rocks and suspend in open water. Bait fish also leave the bank and head for the middle of coves after a winter cold front. “The baitfish might be 3 to 10 feet deep maximum on good days, but on those cold fronts you will see them push out and the next thing you know they are hugging the bottom at 20 feet,” Maloney said. The Missouri angler throws the same lures during and after a winter cold front. If Maloney has caught
bass during a cold front with a suspending stickbait, Alabama rig or finesse jig along a chunk rock bank, he will continue to throw the same lures after the front in the low light of morning or shady areas. He has to probe deeper water with the Alabama rig or jig when the mid-day sun eliminates the shade option. Maloney claims he has dragged his A-rig 50 to 60 feet deep to catch winter post-frontal bass at Table Rock Lake. IN MID-WINTER In the middle of winter, Maloney downsizes his suspending stickbaits to 2 1/2- to 3-inch models to catch finicky bass. When the larger gizzard shad start dying in late winter, Maloney opts for bigger stickbaits such as Megabass Vision 110 and 130 models or magnum-size Rattlin’ Rogues. Maloney is a finesse jig fanatic so he continues to fish his 5/16- and 7/16-ounce finesse jigs throughout all wintertime conditions. He advises that a slow lure presentation is a must during the winter whether fishing before, during or after a cold front. “You are already slowed down on your baits,” he said. “The surface temperature is telling you to do that regardless of what the sky looks like. If it’s 35 to 40 degrees surface temperature, you should already be going as slow as you can possibly go. So I don’t think you have to change up your approach or cadence.” When a winter cold front hits your favorite bass fishery, bundle up in layers of warm clothing and ignore the cold, because bass are still biting.
More great articles on outdoorguidemagazine.com
Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
Page 19
Wildlife Wrangling and Outdoor Ramblings
It’s great to be loved, but gee…
Photo and Text By RANDALL P. DAVIS
Apparently, I’m quite the likeable guy. Just ask the telemarketers and politicians who call at supper and bedtime. Come to think of it, other lower forms of wildlife must have noticed I’m such an easy mark as well. They continually rally with brethren creeping creatures and go out of their way to visit, knowing well they can make a decent living off me and my tender flesh. For instance, I’m always a big hit with the ticks. From mushroom season until late duck season, adults, nymphs, and larva of this arachnid strain will wade through poison ivy vines, brave multi-flora rose bushes and breach gooseberry briars – just to have a crack at my epidermal layer. Of course, mosquitoes go out of their way to visit me ... intimately. This winged horde often looks upon my carcass as virgin territory and descends with the fluid extraction vigor of a petroleum company on a new oil field. SECOND ANT QUEEN Ants think of me as their second queen, regularly touring the kitchen and bathroom to see if I need anything. But
this is just a cover. What they’re really hoping is that when I apply honey on my oatmeal, they can send a few members scurrying across the table. Then, as I swat those with one hand, the other hand holding the honey bottle will go wide and drizzle outside the bowl – unseen by me. A few hours later there will be a wad of ants the size of a buck’s scrape reaping the benefits of sacrificing a few measly team members. However, enduring the wife’s wrath after discovering all this makes me think those few didn’t have it so bad after all. Then there’s the gaggle of flies waiting just outside the door to hitch a free ride inside. (Probably to see if the ants left anything.) It lends the feeling that perhaps I’m the new “Lord of the Flies.” FEAST OF A CHIGGER Chiggers always find favor in feasting in my delicate flesh. These menacing mites burrow deep in yours truly’s epidermal layer, liquefying tender tissue and slurping up the sauce. But that’s not what causes me to scratch like a mangy Plott hound. No, it’s that hardened saliva tube they created, breaching the skin’s surface
Hackberry Lace bugs often reach huge populations during the fall and have become the author’s new best friends.
so they can breathe. Trouble is, by the time I start clawing and digging, the little buggers have feasted, foundered and fled – leaving their discards comparable to the last day at Woodstock. HACKBERRY SURPRISE But as I write this, I’ve discovered another seasonal groupie doing it’s best to become my next BFF. Recently, we’ve had some intricate concrete work done around our kennel. Like some contractor-oriented jobs, it’s taken much longer and the project is much bigger than expected. What contributed to the construction’s longevity was the necessity to pour a concrete
foundation and retaining wall delicately under a couple of sprawling hackberry trees. The whole purpose is to include the kennel building and runs within the tree’s cooling shade. To make it all work, I had to trim back a few lower branches. Nothing big, just a couple small “hat knockers” that I could lop off from a stepladder. I dutifully accomplished this, and that’s when I noticed it looked like I had just stepped from beneath a giant pepper mill. Flakes of black and white covered me, the lopper and the ladder. Looking more closely, the pepper flakes were moving. Getting the bifocals to screw down tight, I could see
this “seasoning” had wings, too. Being busy with the task at hand, I didn’t think too much about it and merely brushed them off. But when I started feeling a prickling under my collar and a nipping sensation on my ears, I took a little more interest. BITING LACE BUGS I then stepped back and looked up at the hackberry as one does when seeing the redwoods for the first time – head back, eyes squinted, nose wrinkled, mouth agape. There were jillions over the entire tree. Later, daughter Sarah consulted Uncle Google and found these delightful denizens are lace bugs, sap-feeding insects that call hackberry trees home throughout the summer, culminating in huge populations by early fall. Another aspect – as I found out – is that lace bugs sometimes fall out of trees, land on people and bite. Although slightly painful, it’s a minor nuisance. (See, just like telemarketers/politicians.) I wanted to tell the concrete crew, but the project was finally moving along and I didn’t want any more interruptions. Besides, they were sweating
so much I figured the lace bugs couldn’t survive the torrents of saltwater anyway. DON’T TELL THE CREW Eventually the job was finished. No one succumbed to the ravages of lace bug bites. And though I never told the crew about my new form of animal husbandry, some of them developed contemporary dance moves likely to be quite impressive on other jobsites. But hey, another new buddy in the wildlife world discovered me. I suppose I should find it quite comforting to know I’m such an animal magnet and loved by so many. But really, all I want to know, when is the next Polar Vortex due?
But he didn’t know they brought a painful bite with them.
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Outdoor Guide
Page 20
November-December 2020
Your Guide to
GREAT GEAR Mountain House has freezedried food for your next outing
Mountain House, out of Oregon, has been cooking up and selling pre-packaged, freeze-dried meals for camping in sizes ranging from individual servings to family-size entrees to big No. 10 cans to feed everybody. And what do you know? The demand is so high they can hardly keep up, and half the items on their menu are sold out at any given time. But they have so many offerings, many are still available Delicious and filling, the meals are designed for camping, backpacking and emergency food storage and can be prepared in minutes. Just add hot water. Some of the popular options are chicken and dumplings, lasagna with meat sauce and beef stroganoff. The current offerings can be seen at mountainhouse.com and at many Wal-Mart stores. Recent prices included $9.49 for a two-person pouch of beef stroganoff and $9.99 for a beef stew pouch.
Siren life jacket protects but allows easy movement
Female paddlers will appreciate the NRS Siren PFD (personal flotation device) life jacket, designed to provide comfortable protection while allowing easy movement on the water. The Siren uses six panels of soft foam to achieve a lowprofile, athletic fit without sacrificing safety. The Siren is made with 400-denier ripstop nylon to last many years. It comes with padded shoulder straps, strap garages and safety reflectors. AirMesh panels provide ventilation throughout. Six adjustment points provide a custom fit. A front pocket holds essentials. It is Type III rated and Coast Guard certified. Its three sizes fit chest sizes from 30” to 56” and it comes in red or black. The NRS Siren PFD life jacket is available for $99.95 at NRS.com or REI.com.
Ocoopa hand warmer just right for winter
Have you heard? It’s winter, or soon will be. So how about a great product for the season that also makes a great gift? It’s the Ocoopa rechargeable hand warmer, rated among the best hand warmers available and coming in several models. It’s used in outdoor sports and by Raynaud’s sufferers, who are overly susceptible to the cold. The smooth and warm palm-size gadget is made of hightech aircraft-grade aluminum. It’s portable and compact, with anti-skid surfaces. Press a switch and the warmth comes on both sides in seconds. It has three temperature ranges – 95-107 degrees, 104-118 degrees or 118-131 degrees. Ocoopa rechargeable hand warmers are available at retailers including Amazon starting at $25.99. Information is at ocoopa.com.
Monument RV chair is versatile and comfy
Shop4Seats.com is offering the Monument captain’s chair for RVs, with a diamond-stich cover and accented piping trim. It has a multi-position reclining back, no-sag spring and foam suspensions, slide tracks, a rear seat pocket, skirting, a heavy duty tubular steel frame, a three-year warranty and it meets all safety standards. Available colors are macadamia, desert taupe, fawn and midnight. The chair is a counterpart to the popular Monument recliner model, and it coordinates with the Cambria sofa-bed and Monument dinette. The cover of “Ultimate Leather” is durable, stain- and fire-resistant and easy to clean, with “much of the look and comfort of actual leather,” the maker says. Upgrades include high-resilience foam, seat heater, seat massage, lumbar support, six-way base for right or left hand, power leg rest and power recline. For information, go online to shop4seats.com or call 800-454-1801.
Citizen Bike has folding bicycles for camping and more
Citizen Bike is a manufacturer and seller of well-built folding bicycles that are great for camping and traveling or for life in the city or country. Citizen’s bikes range from 16” to 26” wheels, with many of them in 20” and 24” sizes, with frames of either steel or alloy. They sell the bikes online from their website, citizenbike. com, and buyers can choose how they want them outfitted. “Our foldup bikes are perfect for your RV, truck, boat and airplane, and also to just enjoy the amazing convenience and versatility of folding bikes for every day and every ride,” the company states on its website. For example, the Miami model has 20” wheels, six gears with a grip shifter and a steel frame that can fold or unfold in seconds. Among the accessories is a rear carrier rack. Citizen Bike models range from $279 to $549. They weigh from 27 to 32 pounds. Some electric versions start at $489. The only way to get one is to go online to the website citizenbike.com.
Camp lantern ready for bad weather or good times Inflatable kayak feels like a fixed-hull in water
What if an inflatable kayak could perform like a fixed-hull kayak but still provide the convenience of an inflatable? Check out the highly rated, 15-foot Advanced Frame Convertible Tandem Inflatable Kayak, which features a rigid bow and stern with a multi-chamber inflatable hull. It can carry up to 550 pounds. It’s easy to set up. Just unfold, inflate, attach the seats and hit the water. Its valves are compatible with most pumps for quick set-up. It can switch from tandem to solo mode, and zip-on spray skirts are available for either one or two paddlers. The rigid bow makes it feel like a hard-shell touring kayak. It comes with a 5200mAh lithium rechargeable battery with a USB-C charging port, to keep the warmer ready for use, and it also doubles as a power bank that can charge a phone or electronic devices. The Advanced Frame inflatable kayak is available for $699 at REI.com or airkayaks.com
We would like to have a lantern that does it all, with no muss or fuss, and at a very affordable price. It might just be the AlpsWolf Camping Lantern. This lantern is rechargeable and waterproof, with LED bulbs and its own USB charging cable. Beyond all that, it has six different modes – low and high lantern, low and high flashlight (800 lm) and two kinds of red lights, steady and strobe. It’s also lightweight, at about half a pound. The lantern has two built-in lithium-ion batteries and can be used as a power bank for other smart devices. It’s waterproof and drop-resistant and ready for use in the worst kind of weather. It has a handle and two-way hook for hanging. The AlpsWolf lantern lists for $25.99 but was selling for $19.99 at Amazon.com.
Missouri tent-maker ALPS has a great four-season model, Tasmanian 2
ALPS Mountaineering, from New Haven in nearby Franklin County, MO, is making one of the top-rated four-season tents on the market, the Tasmanian 2. It has 7,000-series aluminum poles, a full-coverage rainfly and two vestibules for storage. An additional pole on the fly creates a larger vestibule. Each side has two doors, and eight extra-large zippers allow for ventilation all year. Its unique configuration of free-standing poles gives it excellent stability in harsh weather, and you can use it on an incline. It always sets up quickly. The tent sits at 5’2” by 7’8” for two people, center height is 46 inches, and it weighs 7 lbs., 15 ounces. The Tasmanian tent is available at both ALPSbrands.com and Amazon.com for $299.99.
Outdoor Guide
November-December 2020
Page 21
Winterize your boat but avoid scams Photos and Text By BOAT U.S. It soon will be time to winterize the old boat (or the new one), especially the engine, but how do you start and how do you do it right? The Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatUS), from Springfield, VA, offers a free, online resource at its webpage, BoatUS.com/ Winterization, to help you get the job done on time and right. The Boaters Guide to Winterizing has checklists, tips and can be downloaded, said Scott Croft, the BoatUS spokesman. “In addition to winterizing the engine, there are a few other important things boaters should know,” Croft said. “Like, should you use a plug-in heater? How do you store a boat that has E10 fuel in the tank? Or, once preparations are done, how can you keep your boat safe over the winter months?” The webpage has checklists on boat engine winterization for both outboard and inboard engines. Another list is about what to do if the “winter storm of the century” approaches. So following winterization guidelines from BoatUS.com can help you get back on the water faster next spring.
SALES SCAMS BoatUS is also warning boat owners to be alert to boat sale scams during the cold-weather buying season. On snowy nights, potential buyers will hunch over computers and cell phones looking at boats for sale while current owners look to sell so they can get larger boats. Nearly all boat buying and selling scams involve emails, and they often have clues that can alert you. Here are some of the most common: • The boat is undervalued
– Despite lots of pictures and a good description (likely swiped from a real ad), the boat doesn’t exist. If a boat you’re seriously interested in is an out-of-state vessel, send an accredited marine surveyor or someone you trust to verify there really is a boat and that the seller has the actual title and registration. If it seems too good to be true, it likely is. • Cobbled-together email addresses – Scammers con-
stantly change their email addresses to avoid detection, and they may have ones with fairly normal-looking names but lots of numbers. • No phone contact – Scammers will go to great lengths not to talk to you and will give reasons ranging from being out of the country to being in the military.
FISHING
Boat sales scammers prey upon eager owners checking online for deals during winter. • Demands to use a certain escrow or shipping service with no alternate – If you
choose to use an escrow service to settle the transaction, suggest your own after visiting the Better Business Bureau online site and verifying it’s legitimate.
WINTER THIEVES Millions of recreational boats will be put into winter storage to await next year’s season. They can easily become a target for thieves. Boat
they don’t take very long to remove and are expensive to replace. Consider removing the outdrive each fall at winter storage time and store it in a safe location, which can also allow for annual preventive maintenance such as a critical bellows inspection. • Outboards – Leaving a portable outboard on a small boat transom just begs a bad guy to come take it. Small outboards should always be removed and stored in a secure location, such as a locked garage or basement. Install a lock on larger outboards. Boat U.S. is an insurance provider for boat owners and covers electronics, the most common insurance claim during winter storage. To compare your insurance policy or get a free quote, go to BoatUS.com/com/Insurance.
The most common boat theft is of outboard-powered boats less than 26 feet long and stored on a trailer.
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stalled electronics, take pictures and record model and serial numbers in case you need to file a claim or police report. • Gear – Fishing gear, water sports equipment, expensive life jackets and other gear often get stolen with electronics. Bring them home, too, along with the boat’s registration. The title should never be stored aboard. • Storage – If storing your boat at home on a trailer, arrange it so the tongue does not face the street for an easy getaway. Remove one wheel from an axle. Hitch receiver locks may also deter theft. PWCs should be stored inside a locked garage or secure storage facility. • Outdrives – On stern-drive powered motorboats, outdrives are targets for theft, as
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Outdoor Guide
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November-December 2020
Outdoor Gallery Send in your favorite outdoor photo to news@outdoor-guide.com and you could be the winner of a $50 gift card from Kenrick’s Meats & Catering.
FOREVER ROB – Rob Robinson, founder of Forever Outdoors, caught this redfish caught near New Orleans this summer. He is from Eupora, Miss. The group raises money for people in need of organ transplants and makes outdoor adventures happen for people who would not get the chance otherwise.
WINNER
from Sept-Oct 2020 ADAM DEMOSS Congratulations!
BRO & SIS – The Campbells were fishing this summer, and young Titus caught his first-ever carp at age 8. His mom says he lives, breathes and eats fish. His little sister Abigail, 2, likes to tag along when he goes fishing.
TEXAS DRUMMERS – Tatum and Haley Crowell of Killeen, TX, caught these black drum in the Gulf of Mexico out of Corpus Christi this summer.
EYE ON THE PRIZE – Ray Eye, above right, led this group on a youth deer hunt not long ago. Deer camp is a special experience for young hunters, instilling great memories and adding numbers to the hunting ranks. Says Ray, “It is so much more than just taking a deer. It builds confidence, character, and how to work with and interact with others.”
November-December 2020
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Archery season offers a great escape Photo and Text By BRANDON BUTLER Perhaps more so than in any other year of my life, I have been ready for archery deer season to open. Thankfully, the wait has finally ended. Archery season for deer opened Sept. 15 in Missouri, runs through Nov. 13 and resumes Nov. 25-Jan. 15. As often as possible this fall, I plan to escape into a forest where the squirrels and rabbits and deer have never heard of coronavirus and are unaware it’s an election year. Growing up in Indiana, where the early archery season kicks off Oct. 1, I have always mentally marked October as the start to deer hunting. I have never really gotten excited about hunting deer while mosquitoes are still buzzing about. It’s the frosty mornings that appeal most to me. This year is different. Having lost so many amazing opportunities, including trips to South Africa and Iceland, to travel bans, I couldn’t wait to start hunting. What I mean by hunting, though, may surprise nonhunters who have a misconception about what deer hunting really looks like. Some of society’s depictions of deer hunting, fueled by false narratives like the hunting scene in Bambi and the incompetence of Elmer Fudd, are far from reality. For the record, PEACEFUL HUNTING Archery hunting is an incredibly serene and peaceful experience. Some of you may be shaking your head, wondering how an activity that results in death could be called serene and peaceful. I’ll do my best to explain. Most bowhunting takes place from an elevated platform called a treestand. So the hunter is literally sitting up in a tree. This is to provide concealment from deer and other critters on the ground. Deer, of course, do look up, so it’s not like they can’t see you. You have to sit very still and can’t make any fast
GUIDE
May-June 2020
OUTDOOR
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to Bobby Whitehead upon his retirement, 18 starting on Page
Elk hunt lottery
... Page 4
........ Page 5
30 CE LEB
Spoon feeding
just take someone out in the woods and sit them in a treestand, or sit with them in a ground blind. Have them hunt with binoculars and a camera. Let them see what you have been so fortunate to see. Show them what deer hunting is really about and maybe bring a calm to their soul in the midst of all this chaos. For more Driftwood Outdoors, check out the podcast at www.driftwoodoutdoors. com or anywhere podcasts are streamed.
Early archery season offers a chance to escape to the woods for much-needed peace and quiet.
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movements. There is peace in the stillness. While you’re sitting, statue-still, up in a tree, the natural world goes about its business as if you are not there. The order to the natural world doesn’t include you. That’s how far we humans have become removed from nature. Everything is afraid of us. So you’re an intruder hiding in a world that hasn’t invited you. This is your chance to observe the goingson of animals oblivious to your presence. Watching squirrels gather nuts and horde them away for winter. Watching a coyote hunt a mouse among leaves on the forest floor. Birds land on branches near you. Deer hunters spend more time birdwatching than most serious birders could hope for. Then there are the deer – the quarry. For every 100 deer I see, I may shoot one. I know my family isn’t going to consume more than two deer per year, so there is no need for me to kill more than that. For the most part, I’m a deer watcher. And I love it. THE MAIN DRAW Being able to witness deer activity in their natural environment is the main draw for most hunters. I don’t know anyone who hunts deer that would have any interest in doing so if they shot a deer every time they went hunting. That’s not the point. It’s the experience of being in nature, watching wildlife and coming away with stories and memories about what you witnessed. This year has been stressful, much more so on some than others. I have been blessed not to have lost anyone close to me due to the virus, so far. My livelihood has for the most remained intact. Others have not been so lucky. If ever there was a year to take a new person hunting, to introduce them to the serenity and peacefulness of the natural world, this is it. To introduce someone to hunting, they don’t have to carry a bow or plan shoot themselves. I’m telling you,
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RATING
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EL TING • TRAV ING • SHOO ING • BOAT ations FISHING • CAMP or Destin HUNTING • ng Outdo Amazing wolves
......Page 24
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November-December 2020
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Getting back to squirrel hunting Photo and Text By KENNETH KIESER During my youth we went squirrel hunting every fall. October quickly became my favorite month because of the beautiful leaves and cool daytime temperatures. The generation before me loved squirrel for dinner, and my grandmothers really knew how to cook it to perfection, fried to a golden-brown. Their generation is mostly gone now, and many of the younger folks consider eating a squirrel dinner totally gross. That is sad because squirrel meat actually is very good, and the hunts are a lot of fun. • Where to hunt – Squirrels like nuts. That’s old news, but a key to hunting the sneaky little critters. Hickory or oak ridges are perfect places to sit, watch and listen. Eventually you will hear squirrels working in the trees or on the ground. Many of the young squirrels will be playing, chasing each other up and down trees. • Sneak in – Wake up early and position around walnut trees or cornfields before daylight. Mornings are cool, and wildlife is moving this time of year. Sit, look and listen for squirrels and remember, you may hear squirrels before you see them. You might even enjoy the show of young squirrels chasing their kinfolk up and down trees, especially in areas with limited hunting. • Still hunt – Still-hunting is the term used for a dead slow walk. Most still-hunters only move two or three feet in 10 minutes or longer. You don’t travel far fast, but you will
definitely see more. Watch each step to avoid cracking sticks or making any type of unnecessary noise – easier said than done in the fall. But if you do crack a stick or make some other type of noise, freeze and pretend you are a tree. Squirrels have sharp eyes, making a good case for camouflage. Remember to move slowly and only move your eyes. • Buddy hunting – Buddy hunting may be the best way to squirrel hunt. Still-hunt from tree to tree, about 10 feet apart. Then study the trees you pass and look behind you occasionally. You might just get an easy shot. Squirrels move from one side of the tree to the other to escape danger. They are hidden by the tree, but during a buddy hunt, the squirrel will move around the tree to hide from one and become easy prey for the other. But beware of careless or even inexperienced hunters. • Squirrel dogs – Hunters once depended on dogs to tree squirrels. A good dog was considered a prized possession. The dog would chase a squirrel until it sought refuge in a tall tree. Hunters would either have to scan the branches for a hiding squirrel or one would occasionally sit on a limb and bark at its tormentor, who was still barking back. That causes quite a commotion in a quiet woodlot. • Black powder – Want to try something different? Black powder rifles are great fun for squirrel hunting. Most hunters choose a .32 or .38 caliber black powder squirrel rifle. Bigger bores may tear
up the squirrel, making it inedible. Loading the old-fashioned guns is simple. Start by pouring a pre-measured amount of black powder or Pyrodex down the barrel. You will probably use from 30 to 40 grains of powder for squirrels, but this is best determined by spending time at a target range to find your rifle’s most effective load. Next place a cloth wadding around a small lead pumpkin ball and use a small ball
starter to push the load just inside the barrel. The cloth and ball are both lightly lubricated with commercial jells, but saliva will do in a pinch. The load is then pushed down the barrel with a ramrod until it will push no farther. When you are certain the load will go no further, mark your ramrod against the barrel’s end with a sharp knife to ensure that the load is all the way down every time. Occasionally a load will jam in the barrel, creating a messy
situation when the spark hits black powder. READY TO HUNT When you are ready to start hunting, cock your hammer back to the safety position (the clicking point just before locking the hammer back for a shot) and insert a percussion cap over the nipple. The cap shoots a spark down to the black powder when you drop the hammer by pulling the trigger. You can use percussion
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caps to clear out the barrel of dampness or debris before loading. This is accomplished by placing a cap on the nipple, cocking the hammer back and pulling the trigger. First make sure the rifle is pointed in a safe direction. The first step to blackpowder hunting is a long visit at the shooting range. All black-powder rifles are slightly different. Only practice shooting will determine the best load for your rifle.
May-June 2020
OUTDOOR
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MAGAZINE
July/August 202
0
MAGAZINE
A SPECIAL TRIBUTE to Bobby Whitehead upon his retirement, starting on Page 18
The Big Woods
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..Page 4
A Veteran’s Tale ..............
Beaver’s lesson
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She’s fishing again ... Page 4
Spring Turkey Hunt
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Missouri wildlife
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Elk hunt lottery ........ Page 5
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The Visiting Otter......
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Spoon feeding ........Page 15
A Bluegill Pond ..............
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Spicy Squirrel ..............
Amazing wolves ......Page 24
CELEBRATING
Coyote language
YEARS
Kayak fishing .........P
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30
age 21
CELEBRATING
HUNTING • FISHING • CAMPING • BOATING • SHOOTING • TRAVEL Wrangling Badgers
Missouri
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age 31 Fishing for Trout .............P
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Devil’s Lake..........
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Hunting, Fishing, Boating, Camping and Outdoor Travel is NOW available for pick-up at over 80 locations. If your advertising needs an extra punch, consider taking advantage of the expanded reach of Outdoor Guide Magazine. ILLINOIS Moto Mart-Rte 157 Caseys General Store Randalls Wine and Spirits Eckerts Belleville Sports Sales Town Hall Archery Rural King Rural King Moto Mart Caseys General Store Dori Marine Moto Mart Gary’s Restaurant Rural King Caseys General Store Toms Market Rural King Schneiders Market ST. LOUIS COUNTY Chesterfield Power Sports Sybergs Smokee Mo’s BBQ Top Gun Shooting Sports Clancys Irish Pub / Grill Randalls Wines Uncle Bills Balabans Daves World Famous Bar/Grill Terra inside Ace Hardware Bones French Quarter
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November-December 2020
Outdoor Guide
Page 27
Reelfoot Lake is a place like no other Earthquakes created a haven for fish and birds and the people who love them By CARL GREEN Outdoor Guide editor Reelfoot Lake, one of middle America’s most unusual and appealing natural settings, is also within a short day’s drive from St. Louis in the northwest corner of Tennessee. It’s a lake, all right, like the name says, but there’s a lot more to it than that. • BIRDS –It’s one of America’s best places for birdwatching. • SPORTS – It hosts a full range of outdoor sports including hunting, fishing, boating, hiking and even biking. • MORE BIRDS – It’s one of the best places for duckhunting, seeing bald eagles and spotting rare bird species, and it’s part of the Mississippi Flyway. HOW IT HAPPENED The lake is some 12,000 acres of water plus surrounding public lands making a total of about 18,000 acres, designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior. How did such a wondrous place come to be? Surely it was a big, expensive public works project! But no, it’s as natural as the sun setting in the west. In 1811 and 1812, before the surrounding area had been properly settled, the New Madrid series of earthquakes rattled this region just a sneeze east of the Mississippi River. The Reel Foot River had run through the area and been described as 30 yards wide and seven miles long. Legend has it that it was named for a foot deformity seen on a local tribal chief. But after the earthquakes, the river was just gone, replaced by this large, shallow lake that would prove irresistible to birds and fish of all kinds.
SORTING IT OUT It took another century to sort out who would own the lake and hold its valuable fishing rights, following a series of violent events, a tale we will leave for another time. But in 1909, the governor of Tennessee declared it public domain, and a long series of public acquisitions began, leading to the present combination of Reelfoot Lake State Park, Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge and Reelfoot State Wildlife Management Area. Here are few of the highlights of what this unusual lake has to offer to visitors: • Eagle pairs – Upwards of 200 bald eagles spend the winter at Reelfoot Lake, many of them paired off, and the park offers guided tours to go and see them. The Reelfoot Eagle Festival is held each February. • Pelicans – If you haven’t seen a big crowd of pelicans occupying a river or lake, it’s something not to miss. Hundreds of them come to Reelfoot Lake each fall; they just had a three-day pelican festival there in mid-October. • Ducks and geese – The lake attracts an estimated 150,000 ducks and geese, typically at the north end in the afternoon, and some 600,000 in the region. Hunting packages and guides are available, using both stationary and boat blinds. • Fish – There have got to be some fish in a lake like this – indeed, something like 50 species, prominent among them largemouth bass, catfish, bream, crappie and bluegill. • Rare birds – Unusual species seen here also include golden eagle, Swanson’s warbler, peregrine falcon and Mississippi kite. • Rare plants – These include copper iris, American featherfoil and yellow water-crows foot, among others. • More birds – Familiar species at Reelfoot also include
Reelfoot Lake is a cypress forest, both under and above the water.
pied-billed grebe, Bonaparte’s gull, double-crested cormorant, barred owl, eastern kingbird, eastern bluebird, warbler, ring-billed gull, great blue heron, osprey, oriole and tree swallow, among many others. • Cypress trees – The whole place is a cypress forest, with giant trees rising out of the water and stumps lurking just under the water’s surface. PLACES TO GO Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge covers the upper third of Reelfoot Lake and is managed as a refuge for migratory birds, providing a wintering ground for waterfowl and bald eagles. It extends northward into Kentucky. It has a new visitor center, but it’s currently closed because of the COVID-19 virus. But they can offer free eagle and waterfowl tours, tell you about self-guided canoe trails, describe the four seasons at the lake and help you become a volunteer, all using their webpage. Reelfoot State Wildlife Management Area has about 24,000 acres of fields, forests, swamps and mixed habitats, plus a one-mile hiking trail. It has a wetlands area that is pumped with water for waterfowl in winter, and has a hunting access for handicapped hunters. It covers the middle of the region from the west side of the rambling lake. Reelfoot Lake State Park sits alongside the south and west ends of the lake, by the town of Tiptonville, where most services are available. The park offers two wellequipped campgrounds, a 20-room inn, several hiking trails and an auditorium that can seat 400 or convert to a banquet hall for 240. The park also provides the R.C. Donaldson Memorial Museum and Nature Center, free and open every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving, and featuring wildlife that cannot be released, including raptors, snakes and more. The state park’s visitor center also connects to a short
boardwalk that passes through a swamp to the lake. A state park report states, “The diversity of habitat and the large scale and continuity of the landscape offer a significant refugium for all types of wildlife that are migrating through or inhabiting this Mississippi River floodplain.” What does all that mean? We think it means, “Go check it out.” CONTACTS AND DIRECTIONS Getting to Reelfoot Lake from the St. Louis area and southern Illinois starts out easy enough. Just head south on I-55 and take I-155 eastward at Hayti, MO, to pass into Tennessee. Then go north on Tennessee 181, east on Tennessee 79 and north again on Tennessee 78 until you reach the lake area. Tiptonville and Samburg are the nearest towns. More specific information about hunting and fishing seasons, guided tour availability and special events can be reached by using the following websites and phone numbers:
to tn.gov/twra and search for Reelfoot Lake. • Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge – The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services manages it; go online to www.fws.gov/ refuge/reelfoot or call (731) 538-2481. • Reelfoot.com – This website lists resorts and lodging, hunting and fishing guides and packages, restaurants, camping, eagle tours and information, and upcoming events, license information and much more. • Reelfoottourism.com – This website has lodging guides, visitor guides, fishing guides and more tourism
Eagles and pelicans are chief among the birds visitors watch.
information, plus a Facebook page. For the fishing guide, go to reelfoottourism.com/ reelfootlake/attractions/fishing or call (731) 253-2007. • Visitreelfootlake.com – This website has information about lodging, dining, outfitting and events. It comes from the town of Samburg, TN.
• Reelfoot Lake State Park
– Call (731) 253-9652 or go online to tnstateparks.com. The address is 2595 Rte. 21E, Tiptonville, TN 38079. Send email to Ask.TNStateParks@ tn.gov. • Reelfoot State Wildlife Management Area – Call
(731) 423-5725 or go online
Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge is the place for self-guided canoe trails.
Reelfoot Lake State Park has campgrounds, an auditorium and a 20-room inn.
Outdoor Guide
Page 28
November-December 2020
OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS
FRIGHTFUL, BUT MY RV IS SO
DELIGHTFUL
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