Missouri Bow Hunting - What A Day!

Wow, I just got back from my evening bow hunt! It was quite an afternoon, and excellent evening! I just bought a good outdoor ground blind, its all camouflaged
and roomy enough to shoot a bow! Pretty good size you might say.Anyway, it was drizzling rain all afternoon and sometimes the rain came down pretty hard, if you catch my drift! Hardly was a breeze a blowin and when it did blow it was for a minute or two and then you could hear everything!

As I said in an earlier post, the squirrels are as thick as rats on a ship, and they are dropping acorns all over the place, so your on your own in the woods right now, hard hat may be required! They are running all over the woods, and a small flock of turkeys came feeding by my blind and I considered a shot at one but, declined the shot as I didn't want to spook the site!

They were scratching and digging and feeding on bugs and such, and the squirrels are raisin Cain, if you don't mind me saying so, and the rain keeps coming on down, but in a slow misty drizzle. Now this is about 2 pm and I am sitting in my chair, yes, I said chair, as in an easy chair, out in the woods, like I said the blind has plenty of room, I have a small coffee table for coffee, snacks, apples, you know the routine!

So I am killing some time, I pour a cup of coffee, and peel me an apple, conveniently throwing the peelings out the window onto the ground! I kinda like the smell and I hear the deer do too! I am sitting there enjoying my apple, and coffee, when all of a sudden, the squirrels got quiet! The turkeys got quiet and starting doing those turkey things like puttin and stuff! For some reason this alerted me to maybe something might not be right! Either a bobcat,coyote, or maybe a deer, could have shut all the creatures up, and only one other problem!

My bow is lying on the floor of my blind, no arrow in the nock of course and I have a cup of coffee in one hand , an apple in the other! Ha! Now what? I slowly turn to see behind me and there, not 15 yds away from my blind, nose down, licking and chawing on my salt block and mineral blocks, was a nice 6 pt buck!

Now I immediately, put down the coffee, dropped the apple, grabbed the bow and the arrow, cocked it slowly swung back around and.....He was GONE! He had somehow gotten out of my line of site and so I turned back around the other way and banged my coffee cup with my broadhead and the Buck was about 30 yards and turned broadside and stopped, staring at the blind but still not sure what was wrong, just knew something was wrong!

Well this is the moment of truth, I raise my bow and take a site, and I let go...........! He took off like a fire in the prairie and acted as though I didn't even touch him but it looked like the arrow was on the mark so I sat there for about an hour, and climbed out of my blind and walked to where I shot him and looked for blood or hair and found neither! Around 4 pm I called a friend of mine to come help me track this deer! We searched until well after dark and found only my arrow! Now this is good news, for me as the arrow was clean accept the dirt it hit! No blood, now I am not happy about the miss, but I am glad I did miss because he will live to see another day!

I guess I will live to see another day myself, so all is well! I loved the afternoon and the creatures and just being in the outdoors, nice and warm and dry! Thanks to my new deer blind, all went well! Hope you enjoyed this post and you can comment if you would like. Make your self at home and check out the archives, and be sure to subscribe if your not already, either by a reader or email your choice, so feel free to subscribe and keep up to date with the latest updates, here at "Kenny's Great Outdoors"

So until next time keep your tail dry and enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" See ya out there!

Fall Outdoor Adventures - Very Busy?

Wow, the last week or so has been so busy, what with all the last minute activities of fall! Busy time of the year here as all outdoor activities are in full swing! Fall bass fishing is fantastic and has been easy to catch them fall bass! Went twice last week, once on Truman Lake, and once on Lake of the Ozarks! Both trips were really good! I caught a lot of large mouth bass on Bill Dance fat free shad! Caught several on rattle traps, spinners, and bass bandits were all good!

I found several mushrooms in the past week! We all call them "deer antler" mushrooms or coral mushrooms! They are excellent rolled in flower and fried in vegetable oil! They are excellent just sauteed in butter too!

Bow season is in full swing, which is what I mainly am doing right now! I have seen several deer, but haven't had a shot yet! There is a lot of squirrels, and the acorn crop is good this year so squirrel, deer, and turkeys are surely to be scattered every where! I have had squirrel and dumplings quite often as of late, yummy!

Gigging season is in full swing and I have been getting several suckers, wow, they are tasty and plentiful, as I have been eating, probably more than my share, though the river is up and muddy right now, so the gigging seems to be out for a few days till the rivers around here clear up again.

Oh well, that still leaves plenty to do around here, as I am still cutting fire wood and clearing some land around here, I cut and sell fire wood so that is a lot of work in itself, so yes, it has been extremely busy around here , doing all the work , and fishing, around here! It 's a tough job but someone has to do it! It might had well be me, don't you think?

Rabbit season and the gun deer season is still around the corner, but by then the fishing at the lake will be red hot again and well as you can see, no wonder, I haven't had time to post anything, even though I have had lots of things to post , just not nearly enough time to sit down and type! So this is just a recap of the last week or so to bring you all back up to sluff, here at "Kenny's Great Outdoors"

So until next time, keep your hooks wet, and your lines tight!
See ya all out there I hope!

The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles

I want to take a moment to, point you all , to an excellent blog, that I personally follow and HAVE on my blog roll favorites list! The Rash Outdoor Chronicles . Albert is an excellent author and very professional! He is always, on top of everything in the outdoor niche! I have copied, with his permission, this entire post, on Blog Rodeo: 9/12/09. If you don't follow or know about his blog take the time to go over to his blog and check him out, You won't be sorry! Tell him Kenny, over at Kenny's Great Outdoors sent you!

Blog Rodeo: 9/12/09

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Well, here is another Saturday and it is time for another Rodeo!

I've picked out posts that I especially enjoyed this week from the hundreds of blogs I follow. Remember if you bump into a post you especially like, drop me a note and I'll include it in the Rodeo. You can even feel free to copy this whole post and run it on your own blog; always nice to give a little link love to our fellow bloggers!

Blog Rodeo: 9/12/09

Wild Ed's Texas Outdoors: Texas Eurasian or Collared Dove nice biology lesson by Wild Ed. As it turns out do not have to count them in your bag limit as they are an exotic. Ed recommends that you have a great time shooting and eating this bonus species.

From my favorite tech and security blogger comes an important security update for all of you that use Wordpress. Bore Patch: IMPORTANT: Wordpress Bloggers: upgrade now Hurry up and get it fixed!

Mr Ron over at Ron's Primitive Skills has a great little device/project that is a must have for your E&E kit. The Fire Starting Rig is a great project for Scouts, your kids, and anyone else interested in making sure they can start a fire.

Whit Spurzon recounts the start of a spectacular bear season with at least eight of his fellow hunters tagging their bears. Bears Down! One of them even did it after bicycling in.

Rick over at Whitetail Woods has a couple of back to back posts that I thought were very informative. First on Savory Sundays #30 Rick reviews a couple of cookbooks dedicated to venison, and then Rick goes and visits with Nate, the "CrackShotHunter" and enjoys not only the company and camaraderie of a fellow deer hunter, but does a little shooting, and gets to try some savory smoked venison that Nate made up for the occasion!

What Would You Do? Good question. What would you do if your adult daughter was being stalked by her ex-husband, if you could see that sooner or later he was going to kill her, if you had exhausted the legal steps, and the police were telling you that once you daughter was dead, they would arrest her abuser? Do you abide by the law and watch your daughter terrorized, knowing that it will lead to her death? We all know the answer, the question is would you do something about it? He did. Read about it: What Would You Do?

Afghan Lessons Learned is the Internet leader in getting soldiers prepared for the reality that is Afghan warfare. Donations Needed for Coin Library They are setting up a school in Kabul at the foot of the ruins Queens Castle to teach and expand the doctrine of population centric concepts for operations; in other words teach 'em how to fight the Taliban with every weapon in the arsenal: legal, intellectual, agricultural, sociological, you name it they're going to teach it to beat the savages at their own game. They need our help to get the fellows books and supplies. Remember, while you're here, all cosy in front of your computer, there are guys with sand up there asses and ducking bullets. Think about it...

Marian's Hunting Stories has a great refresher on firearms, gun control, polotics, and good things to know.
Check out Marian's Firearms Refresher Course, it's short, educational, and very entertaining.

Chad Love has a great post, hell he's got lots of great posts, but I'll limit myself to this new one. Photographic Chronicle of Youth Versus Age a small reminder of who we were, and who we are. Time, what a bummer.

Kenny's Great Outdoors: Take A Stand - Get Involved - Speak Up! Kenny's on an informational crusade against pollution in his neck of the woods. It seems that people are begining to take the waterways for granted again and pollution is on the rise. Let's give every waterway the respect and care it deserves. As Kenny says, "Being quiet is not the answer, people!"


Over at the Daily Limit, US v. Stevens goes to the Supreme Court covers the soon to be heard case against a certain type of abhorrent and deviant behavior. Unfortunately, the way the law is written it would most certainly be used against hunting and fishing videos. DK has it covered and is keeping us abreast.

Now for the "You really shouldn't piss Albert off first thing in the morning," category. Seems some lowlife named Dell left a really, really nasty and profane comment at the OBS. Kristine handled him quite handily, but I really want to go whip his sorry ass. I'll just have to settle for dismembering his online persona...

The Survivalist Blog has an impressive set of links to virtually anything related to prepping, survival, and self sufficiency. The Ultimate Collection is pretty darned near Ultimate!

That's it for this week. Remember, if you have a post and you want me to highlight it, just let me know!


Albert

I personally like this blog post and you can find it here @ National Hunting and Fishing Day

Hope you enjoy all of these interesting and informative articles! So Until next time enjoy
the " Great Outdoors!" See ya all out there soon, I hope!

Tips On Removing A Hook From A Fish - Catch And Release!

Today, we are going to talk about how to properly, and safely, remove a hook from a fish. Recently, I have received a lot of emails from readers wanting to know, how to remove a hook from a fish and release it back into the water, without hurting the fish. This is a important for those who practice catch and release, and especially important for fish that are smaller than the legal size limit for possession!

Handling fish should be kept to a minimum and it should be done with a gentle hand! Where the fish is hooked is important, and should be observed and considered, before hook removal is attempted! Below is a list of tips for handling and releasing fish! The list I am sure, is not all the tips for all species, but works well for most species of fish! The order of these tips are in random order and does not reflect order of importance, or procedure, so use a little common sense and successful release will result in the survival of a healthy fish, for future fishing adventures!

1 Always wet your hands before handling a fish, as this helps to prevent damaging the fishes mucous or slime covering that protects them from disease and sickness!

2 Use caution, and grasp the fish firmly, but gently, to avoid dropping and damaging the fish, as this can hurt the fish and cause injury, and makes for a healthy release and the fishes survival! Be careful not to squeeze the fish too hard as to cause internal damage!

3 Always carry and use hemostats, needle nose pliers, etc, to remove hooks, using a twist and pull motion. Using your fingers can result in damage to the fish, and possibly hooking yourself in the process! Then you will be emailing me and asking me how to safely remove a hook from your hand, without causing you, too much stress!

4 Never, and I repeat, NEVER, pull a hook from a fishes gills or throat as this almost always results in death of the fish. Just cut the line, or cut the hook if possible, to retrieve your lure, and leave the hook, as most hooks will rust or dissolve in a fairly short time, thus insuring the survival of the fish!

5 Never stick your fingers into the eyes or gills of fish, this too, results in damaging the fish and more times than not will cause death to the fish!

6 When ever possible, grasp larger fish by the lower lip, and smaller fish around the mid section, after wetting your hands of course! Lipping a fish with teeth is not recommended for obvious reasons, so handle these fish by grasping them across the gill plates!

7 Fish too small to legally keep and fish that you don't intend to keep should always be handled with extreme caution and should be released immediately, to increase their chances of survival!

Handling fish and removing hooks from them causes a lot of stress on the fish, so be gentle, and quick and this will help reduce the amount of stress on the fish. Quickly release the fish back into the water, making sure the fish has the best possible chances of survival! You can not always remove a hook from a fish without damaging it but , if you use caution, you can greatly increase the odds of the fishes survival, without inflicting too much discomfort or damage to the fish!

I hope this answers your questions about how to remove a hook from a fish to ensure the release of healthy fish and greatly increase the chances of a healthy recovery, and increase your chances to catch a bigger fish the next time you go!

If you enjoyed this article, then be sure to check out my archives, and subscribe to this blog to make sure you get all of my latest updates, tips and articles! Please feel free to leave a comment, and browse thru the archives! There are many articles, tips and pictures of the "Great Outdoors" for your viewing pleasure!

So until next time, practice catch and release, and see ya out there I hope! Good luck on your next "Great Outdoor" adventure!

It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose yours! - Harry S. Truman

Take A Stand - Get Involved - Speak Up!

As summer draws to an end and fall settles in, I want to address an issue, that, believe it or not, effects all Missourians and those of you in all the other states of this country. Water Pollution!

I fish in several streams and reserviors in Missouri and Arkansas and I have been observing for many years, that the quality of water in our reserviors and streams has been slowly but surely, becoming polluted in one way or another! Being quiet is not the answer, people!

Those of us who fish, or boat for recreational purposes, have become careless and down right inconsiderate to the fish, and wildlife that depend upon these streams and water sources for their very survival!

How many times have you flipped a cigarette, lure box, trash, or whatever on to the bank or into the water? I have observed jugs used for cat fishing just floating around, deserted and left for some one else to worry about. Well in fact here in Missouri, there are people who do care, and I am one of those who do care!

I remember a commercial on TV, of an Indian in a canoe, paddling down the river and the Indian, was observing trash, broken glass, etc! At the end of the commercial it showed the Indian with tears streaming down his face. I, as a little boy was touched by this commercial and all my life, I have had high regards for the outdoors, whether it be rivers and streams or lakes and woods. The very wildlife that we seek depend on us to keep it clean!

Here is an exact copy of an article, that I hope you will read and get involved!!!!! You don't have to be a Missourian to get involved, because, whether you know it or not, affects all the people in the USA! Not only does the wildlife and fish depend on clean water, but so do WE!

Read on Please! This is the article from the - "Missouri Coalition For the Environment"

Please join in the effort to restore and protect Missouri's streams -- your streams -- for ourselves and generations to come.

Missouri is a "water" state, being home to over 180,000 miles of streams, as well as many lakes and reservoirs. We would like to say that all of these waters are clean, safe for recreation, and healthy enough to support a full range of aquatic life. But we can't--not by a long shot.

In fact, Missouri streams are in serious trouble, and they need your help.

Platte Creek More than 85% of Missouri's streams lack basic protections for recreation and aquatic life -- protections required by the federal Clean Water Act but never put in place in Missouri. As a result, most of the thousands of legal waste water discharges to our streams do not remove dangerous bacteria or keep hazardous toxics to levels safe for fish and other life.

And then there are the other sources of damage to our streams:

* agricultural runoff that dumps huge amounts of soil into streams as well as nitrogen and phosphorus that create algae blooms and suck critical oxygen from the water
* storm water that erodes streams and fills them with oil, grease, bacteria, road salt, and other chemicals from streets, parking lots, and lawns
* development construction that covers, channels, and allows sediment to wash into streams
* gravel mining that alters stream channels and destroys ecosystem integrity
* 4-wheel drive vehicles and ATVs that damage stream beds and banks
* and, unfortunately, much, much more...

So, there are lots of problems. Can you really make a difference? Yes!

Click on this link to learn more---->"Missouri Coalition For the Environment" Do Not be quiet when you see some one or a business polluting our land and streams, it is our responsibility to maintain and preserve our outdoor lands and water resources, if not for the wildlife, just do it for yourself and the future generations of your family!

So, until next time, boat safely, and take your trash home with you! Report all violations of pollution whether it be an individual are a big enterprise, It Is STILL POLLUTION! GET INVOLVED, SPEAK UP!



Cool quote of the day:

Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. --Anonymous

Out Door Reflections - Sharing With Others!

Here not to long ago, Kristine , over at the "Outdoors Bloggers Summit" asked the members to answer a question! " Why do you Blog?" Sounds simple doesn't it? Well, doesn't it? I sat down at my computer and got ready to answer this "simple" question. I got writers block or something! I have pondered on this for a few days and I think I am ready to share my feelings on this!

First off, I always wanted to be a writer of some sort, even at a very young age! I loved the outdoors and all it had to offer! And I might add, she has a lot to offer!

Well I met a lot of people and talked of the outdoors and all the different activities, like river fishing , lake fishing deer hunting, etc... You get the picture, and a lot of them didn't even seem to relate to the outdoors in that way! They always seemed to ask a lot of questions and enjoy
the stories I told them of my personal experiences in the outdoors!

About 2 years ago, I decided to start a blog and share these experiences with the world wide web and I just love to write and share my outdoor life with all that will read! I guess what I am trying to say is this.. I want to contribute to society in some way that all mankind can benefit from it. I figure if I share my knowledge of the outdoors, and the conservation of all the wildlife etc. in the out doors, then I can do my part to ensure the next generation of outdoor people can enjoy all that I have and maintain it for all the future generations!

Some blog to make money, some blog for fun, some blog for both reasons. The money is not so good so far, but I have made a lot of friends and I love to share all of my 54 years of outdoor wisdom With all of you who want to read about it. Your comments and feedback brings me satisfaction in knowing that people are reading and enjoying what I write about! That about sums it up!

Kristine, is one cool lady and I hope this gives her some insight as to why we do what we do! If you all don't support her cause at the "Outdoor Bloggers Summit" then you should, I have a gut feeling you will, if you will just visit the site, and it costs nothing to be a member or supporter! All those who support the Outdoor Bloggers Summit, have formed a large community of Outdoor supporters and bloggers!

Fall Bass Fishing - Truman Lake Always Good

Hello, and welcome to "Kenny's Great Outdoors", where bass fishing is the main topic and sometimes the tales are pretty tall, but always true! I just got back from a 2 day trip on Truman lake!

Rather than tell you all the lures we did use, we will tell you the lure of choice, not my choice, but the lure that the bass seemed to choose! This is of course what we are suppose to be doing when we fish, what the fish want seems to pay higher dividends in the long run!

With the days getting shorter and the weather and water cooling down, the bass are going into the transition of getting ready for winter! This in itself can be a challenge, and can be a hit or miss, situation. Friday we spent half the day giving the bass a wide selection and a large variety of lures to choose from. Mid afternoon I stumbled upon the lure of choice, again, the bass chose, and I limited out on large mouth bass in about 3 hours!

The rattle trap, chrome with a black back, 1/2 ounce, turned out to be the ticket for the afternoon limit! I caught 6 bass ranging from 2-4 lbs. Now mind you these fish weren't big, but we cleaned and fried them, along with some potatoes, and lounged around the campfire all evening and turned in early as to rest up for a long day Saturday. We got up at day break and fried some eggs and bacon, and a pot of coffee. We had to fuel up for the big day. I tied on a Zara spook and Steve tied on a chrome wiggle wart.

We fished hard all morning and Steve hammered me pretty hard catching 3 four pound large mouths, with me catching only 1 two pound bass. I was catching some nice hybrids on the spook as we caught them surfacing for about 5 minutes! I caught 3 nice hybrids and Steve caught 2 on his wiggle wart!

I had notice, Steve, was getting a lot of action on the chrome wiggle wart, so I decided to try the black backed chrome rattle trap again, why not, It was a hot lure Friday! I fished it hard for about an hour and was about to change lures when, BAM a big one hit and the fight was on! I thought I had hung a big striper and Steve grabbed the net to help me! Now for you regulars , you know I have had trouble landing stripers (big ones) this year! Not to be the case this time. When I got it up to the boat and we saw that it was not a striper , but a huge large mouth!

Steve netted him for me and he came off as he entered the net! I got lucky this time, we weighed him on my digital scales and he weighed in at 11.50 lbs. Not the biggest bass for me but a lunker never the less! Steve made a cast while I was taking care of jaws and hung a huge striper! He fought him for a while and I netted him. He weighed in at 27.25 lbs.

We both limited out on bass, and had close to 30 whites, 27 to be exact. Turned out to be a rather enjoyable trip. The weather was awesome, in the upper 70's partly sunny and partly cloudy. To top it off, the wind was almost non existent, which made it a beautiful day on Truman Lake! Steve caught an 8 lb walleye trolling back to the truck and he had another big one get off at the boat with me trying to net it! That's OK, you can't catch them all. Better luck next time, Steve!

With winter closing in some of the best bass fishing is just ahead! Bass fishing gets really hot on Truman in October and November! So get your butts out there and make sure to try the rattle trap, You can fish it fast and cover a lot of water quick. Once you find them you can really catch a lot of them old lunker jaws.

So until next time, keep your hooks wet and boat safe! Make sure you enjoy the "Great Outdoors!" See ya out there, I hope! Good luck to you and yours, and practise catch and release, after you keep what you can eat! See ya!