Meridian Star - Outdoors

19th Annual Sandy Ridge Bream Open
What started out as an experiment to get rid of an overpopulation of bream has turned into a labor of love and passion for Frank Tillman of the Clarkdale Community. Tillman was originally reluctant to open his lake to the public for the tournament, but once he did the results were very successful. Not only did he rid the lake of the overpopulation of bream, but he helped introduce a generation of kids to the sport of fishing.
Last minute gobbler
Distant thunder boomed to the west as an approaching cold front sounded its impending fury. All but the most dedicated turkey hunters had been repelled by the severe weather threat and flood watches that had been predicted for central Mississippi on the last Saturday of the spring turkey season.
The Turkey Nest
Another time and another place in our gorgeous springtime woods. I rode the four-wheeler over behind my house to look for turkey tracks one afternoon about two weeks ago Low and behold I discovered much more by being quiet and looking carefully.
About two years ago we clean cut some timber, then burned the area and re-planted young pine trees to replenish it. I wanted to look over this spot to see if there were any fresh turkey tracks and also to see if the stand of young pines had lived. Parking the four four-wheeler on a log road, I carefully stalked out into this land looking intently for any tracks that might be found.
Kids’ Bream Tournament Scheduled
Giving a good friend his due
I am not much of a practical joker, but a few weeks ago I planned and carried out a good one on my friend Glynn Harris, who needed his goat gotten badly. You see, he and I were somewhat in the same skill range as guitarists and boy did we have fun playing guitars together. Glynn is a lead guitarist and I am a rhythm guitarist and do a little Chet Atkins style picking. I always wished I could play lead and Glynn has said he envied Chet’s picking.
Mr. Jesse’s Unbelievable Stories
As the final days of the 2008 spring gobbler season wind down, I was moved to go back into a folder of notes I have on this revered endeavor. The file contains scribbled remnants of interviews and ideas generated over many years chasing turkeys and the great stories that these marvelous birds generate.
Dean hunter’s gobbler fever
Peering down his gun barrel, Dean Hunter waited with rapt attention for the trophy gobbler that was about to step into his sights. Just a few more steps and the old bird would be history.
More than a few years back J. D. Doerner made a trip to Idaho with a friend on an elk hunt. During that trip Doerner made the acquaintance of Dean Hunter and the two began a friendship that would last a lifetime. That first trip eventually sparked Hunter’s interest and desire to tangle with a gobbler after hearing tales of Doerner’s battles.
Want to reach out farther with your turkey gun?
Federal Premium Ammunition has made yet another improvement in shotgun shells for wild turkey hunting. Just when you thought the heavier-than-lead shot, specially designed wads and super screw-in chokes were the total package of shell improvement, along came a new shot size that further extends the killing range of turkey loads. Read on if adding another five yards or so of range to your shotgun interests you.
‘Carpe diem,’ Albert Paul call fools them again
“I think I might have some good news for you,” offered my still young bride. For the life of me I couldn’t imagine what she was talking about so early in the morning. She continued uninterrupted, “I heard a turkey gobble three times while on my walk.”
Annual Kids Fishing Derby set for this Saturday
How and why hunters disappear
I had grown tired of tramping over blowdowns, scrambling up rocky slopes and hiking the rims of huge basins. The air at 9,000 feet elevation was thin and it was hard to get enough of it. I sat down on a big log to let my lungs catch up with the job of supplying my blood with the oxygen that my working parts were demanding.
Tough tumble with a turkey
Opening day of turkey season found Johnny and Hunter Cumberland in the woods locked up in battle with a wise old gobbler. Try as they might, they couldn’t get the old tom to come any closer than 75 yards. He had hung up, as wise old birds do many times.
Annual Kids Fishing Derby set
The 7th Annual Kids Fishing Derby will take place Saturday, April 19, at Q.V. Sykes Park. Registration will begin on site at 7 a.m. until 7:50 a.m., with fishing beginning at 8 a.m. This anticipated event will introduce kids from ages 5-17 years old to the great sport of fishing. Parents will have the opportunity to teach their children an appreciation for a fun leisure activity that can be a part of their lives for a lifetime.
Tip of the Week
The passing of a turkey hunting legend
A pioneer in the world of turkey hunters has died. Earl Mickel, of Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, died last July 12 after a lengthy battle with cancer. The inimitable gentleman made a hunt with Jack Dudley and me in Kemper County. It is hard to realize it was eight years ago this week, but there it is, written in his handwriting in the book he gave me. “To Otha, Warmest regards, good hunting, shoot no jakes! Earl Mickel 3-24-2000.”
Corn bill headed to governor’s desk
During this election year politics has been at the forefront of the news and on the minds of voters all over our state, and this is as it should be. However, one of the hottest political topics this year has been playing out in the halls of our state legislature during the last couple of months- and that deals with legally hunting deer with the aid of corn or grain.
Hard turkey lessons
We turkey hunters must have a suppressed need to be frustrated because we suffer a lot of it and still keep going back for more. We get up at three in the morning, wade through snakes and briars in the dark, sit perfectly still for hours while mosquitoes puncture our bodies and we do it day after day in March and April.
Marascalco tags state record gobbler
Don Marascalco moved stealthily in the pre-dawn darkness shortly before daylight last April. The veteran turkey hunter had spotted a mature gobbler and a large harem of 24 hens in a pasture on a previous outing. Once the gobbler belted out a lusty mating call to any would be suitors, Marascalco got a bead on his position and quietly moved in under the bird’s radar screen to a near perfect set up.
A story that inspired hundreds
Uncle Gene’s one good eye always glistened when he told me stories about his outdoor exploits. His adventures seemed rare to me when compared with what we enjoy today because I envisioned him working long hours at the sawmill where he lost one of his tiny dark brown eyes to an errant splinter. So I, around the age of puberty, listened wide-eyed when he spoke, which was not often enough.
Outdoor Notes
A look inside Turkey Hunting
To folks with no interest and no knowledge of hunting, it is quite understandable that they would assume that the object of hunting is to “catch” or kill the hunted animal and that that goal is the essence of the hunt. For most hunting the first part is true if the strict meaning of objective is honored – the end toward which the activity is directed. Conversely, the second assumption, that collecting the animal is the hunt’s essence, is rarely the case.
Crappie Time on the Big O
Fishing my way along a flooded willow line on Okatibbee Lake shortly after sunrise recently, I went about 100 yards with nary a bite. Pitching my jig and cork combo along a patch of dead weeds brought my first strike. After a quick miss I cast the jig right back into the same hole and bam, the cork plunged out of sight. As I set the hook I finally had my first keeper in the boat.
What Do You Mean, We?
I stepped into the bow of the little eight foot pram and pushed off the riverbank with my right foot. I couldn’t even see my hunting partner Mike Daniels because of the ominous black of the night. An eerie blanket of fog covered the banks of the rain swollen river. Mike sat on the stern seat of our craft as we started out across the dark void.
Spring break — a perfect time for fishing
Spring break is a time of fun for kids of all ages. During my early years it was a time for playing baseball and fishing in between games at the old Meridian Invitational Tournament. And so it is even today for youngsters like Mason Wooldridge. While baseball isn't cranked up full force yet, the fishing is another matter.
How to enjoy a worry-free turkey camp
A typical scenario for us redneck spring turkey hunters is a return to our “deer camp” minus the 30-06 and the O.S. Stenks buck lure and equipped with the shotgun and mosquito dope in anticipation of turkey season.
Knight makes strong showing on Toho
Monte Knight started the 2008 FLW Tour season off with a bang by catching 17 pounds of bass on the first day of competition at Lake Toho in central Florida. Anglers were greeted with a strong cold front on the first day of competition and the bite slowed down drastically. Knight adjusted to the weather change in grand fashion and put together an impressive string in the process.
Of bird dogs and days in yesterday’s fields
Those of us who depend on regular retreats into the outdoor places to fuel our passions and who crave the punch of a long gun against a shoulder and the smell of burnt gunpowder are faced each year with a blank period following rabbit and squirrel season.
What we need is a National Squirrel Day
If you put off your last squirrel hunt until the last day of the season and you have believed that today, February 29, was the final day, you missed out. Yes, the Mississippi squirrel season closed yesterday, the 28th. Why would the end of squirrel season be of any significance?
Soft jerk baits mean lunker time
With temperatures dipping into the 20s and 30s every night one might be inclined to think that prime time fishing is still a ways off. However, don’t tell that to the lunker bass that are now staging along the offshore drops and points just waiting for the water temperature to rise a few more degrees. Those bass are probably more susceptible to lures right now than at any time of year.

Order a classified ad

Need extra income?
Deliver the Meridian Star!

Popular business directory searches

Order a classified ad

Need extra income? Deliver the Meridian Star!

Popular business directory searches

Need extra income?
Deliver the Meridian Star!