August 09th, 2008
By Arthur

This post is part of our new “Inside the Frame” weekend series here at SimplyOutdoors. This series showcases pictures from our archives, and attempts to tell the story about the picture you see in the post. If you would like to read other Inside the Frame posts you can do so here.

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This picture is definitely nostalgic. My sister Melissa, who is now 24, couldn’t of been more than 10 in this picture. If we do the math, that would put this picture being taken around 1994. The dog that you see pulling Melissa through the field edge is probably the best bird dog that ever lived.

Okay, so maybe I’m biased a little, but Kathy, the Brittany Spaniel, was just an awesome, awesome dog. We acquired her from the local paper. My dad was looking for a bird dog and happened to stumble upon an advertisement that was looking to give away a Brittany for free. For free? We had to call and find out the story.

It turned out that her owner was in his mid-70’s and couldn’t take Kathy hunting anymore. He felt so guilty about it, that he put the ad in the paper just simply hoping that he could find someone to take her hunting again. My dad went out to take a look at her, liked what he saw, and brought her home a few days later. My best bird hunting memories were about to begin.

I honestly have never been a big bird hunter, and I’m still not a huge one ’til this day. But my dad did it a ton when he was younger. It didn’t take long to realize that hunting behind Kathy was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Jeff and I took her out behind our house for a trial run, and immediately she hit on this little pile of brush on the edge of this field. This was not in an area of prime habitat for pheasant, and Jeff and I glanced at each other at the same time-both of us thinking that this dog was crazy, and wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. Being the optimist that Jeff is, he gave her the command to flush, and sure as you know what a hen took off into the air out of that brush. We swore we would never doubt the dog again.

That wasn’t her first bird that she put up, and it definitely wasn’t her last, but I knew right at that point that we had something special. We took Kathy everywhere-to local state game areas, friend’s properties, and just about anywhere else we could think of that might hold birds and she always performed. I will never forget a bird being shot, and Kathy running the thing down and bringing it back to us-carrying it like it was a carton of eggs. I can only think of one bird that got away while Kathy was around. She was awesome!

I will also never forget, when our sweet little dog, who would never hurt anyone, tore into an Akita that lived a couple of houses down. This dog had broke off her leash, and came on a rail towards Jeff and I. We only had bb guns at the time (we were just running the dog), so we felt helpless right up until the point where this Akita bit Kathy on the butt. Right then our sweet little dog turned into Kujo-attacking the other dog and making sure that we were safe. It was great, and a moment I will never forget (that same dog ended up biting a little kid in the face a few months later-thank god we had our fierce fighting dog).

Kathy was probably the best mannered dog we ever had. She was type of dog you could let out in the yard and not have to worry about a thing. Our yard wasn’t fenced when we were growing up, but she always just stayed around. She was so well-behaved it was amazing. I still have yet to encounter a dog that was as well mannered as she was.

Kathy also had something else that I have never experienced with other dogs. After hunting with her all day, we came home and she was basically lethargic in our garage. I could barely get her to respond to anything, and she just didn’t seem right. I stayed with her out in the garage, and waited on a late night call back from the vet. I was amazed at the events that transpired after that. The vet had a hunch, and after coaxing Kathy to drink some warm water with some Karo syrup mixed in, we realized the vet was correct-she was diabetic. That was nothing some mini-sized chocolate wouldn’t solve every hour we hunted with her though (yeah, we gave our dog chocolate. Only a little bit though per the vet’s orders).

All in all Kathy was an absolutely great all around dog. We’ve had a few bird dogs since, but none that compared to her. We all have great memories of hunting with Kathy, as well as the memories of just being around her. She was a wonderful companion, a great hunter, and as the pictures shows, not used to being on a leash!

Popularity: 18% [?]

August 02nd, 2008
By Arthur

After writing the story the other day about about the picture of Tyler and his steelhead, I came up with an idea. I normally don’t do weekend posts, but I know that by doing weekend posts, it helps to maintain readership. With that in mind I came up with this idea. From now on, on the weekends here at SimplyOutdoors.net, we are going to be featuring a new series entitled “Inside the Frame”.

Inside the Frame will be posts that show a picture from our archives, and attempt to tell the story behind that picture. While all of the facts might not be exactly right, since our minds are not as young as they once were, I will do my best to tell the story of what is “Inside the Frame”.

I hope all of you enjoy this series, and this weekend we will kick it off with a story about Hunting in the North Woods.

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A few years back Jeff and I decided to embark on somewhat of an adventure. Our Uncle and cousins had spent some time living in Wisconsin, and although at the time they were living in South Carolina, they decided they wanted to venture back up to the Dairy Capital, and try their luck with some whitetails. Since Jeff and I were closer, they wondered if maybe we wanted to make the 9 hour trip as well and join them.

After a few conversations, and realizing that our room and board would be pretty much free, we were in. My Uncle still had a friend up that way who owned some acreage that butted up to some state land in the area. Plus, this friend offered up his cabin for us to stay in as well. Bonus! So off to Fence, Wisconsin we went.

We got up to there a few days before the firearm season started and checked out the place, and I decided that the first place I would hunt would be on the state land that was next to the property. My one cousin, who will be part of the Simplyoutdoors staff soon, decided that he would join me there as well.

Right at first light I had a few does pass by and of course I decide to let them pass because it is only the first morning. If only I had known that those would be the only deer I would lay my eyes on for the entire 5 days. I had them right in the crosshairs of the scope and decided at the last minute to let them walk. Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20 isn’t it.

The week held many surprises and challenges, one including a little disagreement about some property lines, but that story will have to be told another day (you know what I’m talking about Matt). The other surprise in store was deer drives.

Now, I’m not a big fan of deer drives, but in this area of Wisconsin they take this deer driving stuff seriously. All of the gentlemen you see in the picture were involved in the drive. There is so much wilderness in this area of the state that you need quite a few guys to cover all the escape routes for the deer. It was a mass of gun-toting individuals and I honestly loved every second of it. While they do take their deer driving seriously in these parts, they also took safety seriously too. Everyone that was a “shooter” was stationed high on a hill, and were only allowed to shoot towards the base of the hill in front of them, while all the “drivers” pushed the deer from the other side of the hill. It was a great setup-the only problem was that there wasn’t any deer.

We sat for our first couple of days of hunting and did the drives for the next two, and out of the twenty some guys that were there, only one deer was taken-a tiny little doe that made for some good eating. It didn’t matter though, because just being Up North was awesome and I had a great time.

From the cabin that we stayed in, to the food, to the hospitality that we received from our hunting party, the whole trip was just great. The cabin was awesome, and something I wish I owned myself. The wilderness was spectacular and Jeff got to have his first encounter with a fisher. Plus we all got to enjoy good company and had a great time. Of course the minute Jeff and I had to head home the deer movement kicked in and a few deer were taken including one by my Uncle. Go figure!

So there is the first story about what’s “Inside the Frame”. I hope you all enjoyed.

One last note. When we got home from this trip, Jeff asked me if I wanted to do a stalk with him behind the house he was living in at the time, and of course me being me, I opted to go home and try to catch up on some things I needed to get done. I wasn’t even home yet (I had a 35 minute drive), and Jeff already had a deer on the ground. Just my luck.

Popularity: 13% [?]

July 04th, 2008
By Arthur

By Kristine

I don’t really remember the first time I saw the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  I’m guessing that’s because I was still a baby when I originally encountered those mountainous sand hills.  I know we made a pilgrimage to the dunes every year for most of my childhood.  I can still remember fighting to climb through the slippery sand, and thinking the top of the dune looked much too far away.  I can also remember emptying my shoes, my pockets and generally my clothes of small piles of dune sand when we headed back to the car. 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore lies in Benzie and Leelanau Counties in Northern Lower Michigan.  The Dunes themselves took their names from an Ojibwa legend about Mother Bear and her two cubs that were driven out into Lake Michigan by a fire.  The cubs swam bravely, but were too small, and finally slipped beneath the waves.  When Mother Bear reached shore she climbed to the top of a sand bluff and waited in vain for her cubs.  Finally, the Great Spirit took pity, and raised North and South Manitou islands to mark where Mother Bear’s cubs had been lost.  He also sent Mother Bear to sleep and gradually the dunes grew over her.

For those who’ve never visited, the Dunes can be quite an awesome site.  They look like some giant child has dumped buckets of sand everywhere.  Wind and water carve some of the dunes into fantastic shapes.  The odd tuft of grass gains a foothold here and there and sprouts bravely like the last few hairs on a balding man’s head.  There are trails to walk, and huge hills of sand to scramble up, and clear blue water in which to cool your feet when the sand gets too hot.

A day at the Dunes is also a fairly economical way to spend a vacation day. Up until 1998, the Park Service did not charge fees for walking the Dunes.  Today a Park Pass, good for seven days, is 10 dollars, and an Annual Park Pass, good for 12 months, is 20 dollars.  Fees for camping near the dunes are also quite economical.  You can learn more about the Dunes at the Official Sleeping Bear Dunes Website.  If you’re a rebel, you can also read about the Dunes at the Unofficial Sleeping Bear Dunes Homepage.

If you’re looking to add some water to the sand of your Dunes adventure, you might also want to canoe the Platte River.  We did this several times when I was a kid, and it was a lot of fun.  The Lower Platte, which we canoed most often, ends on a sandy beach in Lake Michigan.  The Upper Platte is not white water, but is a faster water trip.  The river also has a lot more twists and turns, so it is a trip for canoeists who are more experienced.

Finally, if you like music, you may want to consider attending the Sleeping Bear Dunegrass and Blues Festival at the end of July.  I’ve never been to this music festival but I’ve heard from people who have been that it’s a lot of fun.  The dates of the festival are July 31 - August 3, and there are already a lot of local and national artists scheduled to play. 

Popularity: 36% [?]

June 20th, 2008
By Arthur

The Grand River is the largest river in the state of Michigan. It runs for 260 miles and passes through many cities including Grand Haven, Lansing, Jackson, and Grand Rapids. The Grand also passes through 8 counties before emptying itself into Lake Michigan.

Since the Grand River covers so much of Michigan’s lower peninsula there are many places that this natural resource can be utilized. I have fished on the Grand in multiple locations, and have also fished for a variety of different species that reside in the river as well. It is truly a one-of-a-kind river that we are fortunate enough to have so close to us.

My whole family has fished the river, and we always visit it at least once during the year, if not more. I have fished it for salmon in Portland, seen carp caught out of it in Grand Ledge, and caught many a nice smallmouth bass out of it in Grand Ledge and Portland. You will also catch an occasional pike on the river. It even holds trout in certain stretches as well.

You can see why there is such an attraction to this river just because of the sure number of fish that are available to be caught as well as the variety of species available to catch. There is nothing I like better than to be running a #3 mepps spinner through its dark water just waiting for a nice smallie to be on the other end of the line.

I think the best part of the Grand is its sure accessibility. There are a variety of places where all you have to do is park your car along the bridge and walk a short trail to the river, as well as some places that are “secret” and allow for some prime fishing.

So if you’re in Lower Michigan and bored on a Saturday afternoon, grab a pole, a few mepps spinners, and try and catch yourself one of the variety of different fish species that call the Grand River home.

Popularity: 20% [?]

May 20th, 2008
By Arthur

My brother and I were shooting the bows last weekend and we got to talking about doing an activity that I really do miss. We realized that we hadn’t shot an archery 3-d course in quite some time.

When I first got into archery, we used to shoot these courses all the time. We would start around May, and then just make our rounds through the local courses. Honestly, at the time, it made for a great Saturday morning ritual for myself and a buddy of mine. I can’t think of a better way to spend 3 hours on a weekend then shooting the bow. It was awesome.

While we will have our 3-d course set up on my cousin’s property again this year, it is just not the same as getting out and shooting a true 3-d course. It is much easier, and closer to my house, but it doesn’t provide for the different scenarios that you can experience while shooting a 3-d course for the first time. It is a great experience, and I think the closest representation of actually shooting at an animal, that you can find. Sure there are video shoots and such, but they don’t provide the feeling of realism that being outside, deciding the yardage, and taking the shot does. It is great practice and a great time.

So my first outdoor intention for this year is to get out and shoot a couple archery 3-d courses. It might be hard, with the newborn on the way, but I’m sure the wife will be nice enough to let me work it in.

I’m looking forward to it.

Author’s note: That is not one of us in the picture. It was just a very good representation of the activity I am talking about.

Popularity: 41% [?]