The big black bruins that roam the hills and hollows of West Virginia have come a long ways since the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. In 1980 there were 47 bears killed by hunters and the population statewide was estimated around 500. Fast forward to today where the bruin population...
There’s nothing that tastes better than fresh produce from the garden. Sure a little work is involved but it pays off in the end. I like the fact that I know where my food is coming from. That’s why I like to hunt and process my own deer as well....
With the Memorial Day weekend and spring gobbler season coming to a close, it’s time to fish. The grass has been mowed, the garden and flower beds have been tended to so there’s nothing to worry about other than where to fish. I love this time of year as the...
It’s that time of the year where everything wakes up and comes back to life. The trees and wildflowers are blooming providing a colorful landscape once again. Various shades of green are taking over the dull drab woods of winters past. Spring in West Virginia is a wonderful time to...
One of the happiest days of my life was when our daughter Kelsey was born. From that day I couldn’t wait to take her on her first fishing trip and that chance finally came this past weekend. I wanted to make sure she was old enough to understand and listen....
Just the other day while I was out and about I had a possum waddle down the hill into a field. It sat down and started looking around before it even noticed me. They are quite the unique looking creature with their beady eyes and hairless tail. Many times they...
It was good to flip the calendar to the month of March and see that spring is here. Finally, there might just be and ending in sight to this long, cold, snowy winter. The warm temperatures felt great this past weekend and it was good to get outside. Although with...
Late season hunting opportunities have been few and far between with the winter we’ve been having. The last weekend of February the temperatures finally warmed up enough to thaw things out. With a break in the weather my buddy Jason invited me along for a rabbit hunt before the season...
Have you noticed a putrid smell in the air recently? Or why Pepe Le Pew is associated with love and Valentines Day? And most noticeably, more road killed skunks? The reason for all of the above is that right now is mating season for the striped skunks, which is the...
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) released the total harvest numbers for the 2013 deer, black bear and the fall turkey seasons in a recent press release. “Preliminary counts of game checking tags indicate West Virginia hunters harvested a total of 150,268 white-tailed deer during the recently completed...
There aren’t many times when you see the thermometer drop below zero around here, but a couple of weeks ago it was 10 below when I woke up. The weather man said the wind chill was 25 below. Frigid, frozen, blustery no matter how you describe it, it was bone...
It’s hard to believe that another year has passed by already and deer season is over. As December ends it’s time to oil the rifle and put it back in the gun case until fall. I finally picked up all of my hunting stuff and washed all of those clothes...
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) has released the Buck Season preliminary data collected from checking stations across the state and 56,333 bucks were taken during the two week long firearm season this year. There wasn’t much difference from last year when hunters took 56,276 bucks during the...
Let’s see, where to begin. First, we have to rewind to last year to start this story. Last year was a rough deer season for me as I shot a 12 point with my bow but never found it. I looked for a solid week and into buck season without...
With Halloween over and the calendar flipped to November one three letter word sums up the weeks ahead, the ‘rut’. Right now is the best time to deer hunt as the bucks go into seek and chase phase of the rut. The bigger, mature bucks are starting to show themselves...
On Friday, October 25 I had an evening hunt that I’ll never forget and I didn’t even draw my bow back. There are no acorns on the farm I hunt this year and all of the deer are in the fields. It was a no brainer to hunt the shanty...
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR) has released their findings for the 2013 mast survey and they’re calling it the year of the beech. According to the survey, “this year’s index for beech was the third highest since the mast survey started in 1971.” Hickory and walnut both...
For many diehard West Virginia archery hunters, September 28 has been marked on the calendars since the beginning of the year and finally the long wait is over. This past Saturday thousands of camo covered bow hunters took to the trees to kick off another deer season and hopefully tag...
There’s no doubt that the mighty New River is one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the country and it only takes one time fishing it to see why. However, it’s fished a little different this year due to all of the rain and high water we experienced this summer....
Last week we were roaming around the Rocky Mountains near Dillon, Montana. We spent two days floating the Beaverhead River which can best be described as non-stop big fish catching action. Tara and I have grown to love the ‘Beav’ as it’s full of big brown and rainbow trout. The...
