About this time each year, many of us that enjoy spending time on the water fishing or in the field or woods hunting decide we need to make a few changes in the way we operate. Looking back over the past 12 months, I can find many areas in my outdoor activities that would bode well with a little ‘tweaking’. There are many little things that can be done to increase the ‘fun’ aspect of an outdoors experience and lessen the work; after all, hunting and fishing does require a good amount of spent energy. Sportsmen detest calling this ‘work’ but when one is in his or her upper fifties, as is yours truly, it’s time to take stock and hunt and fish a bit smarter than in those early days when there was a bit more energy to expend.

Hitting a fast moving target, be it made of clay or feathers, is a daunting task that has challenged shotgunners since the day someone first discovered that lead pellets pushed by a charge of powder was the proper means for shooting flying targets. I’ve been shooting scatterguns for fifty years and can truly state that I still don’t have it figured out. The concept is simple; begin your shotgun swing behind the bird or clay target, push the barrel past the moving target so that the shot column and target arrive at the same place at the same time. Sounds easy, doesn’t it?

The sun was just beginning to break over the eastern horizon, a welcome sight to Jacob Sands and myself as we huddled low in the marsh grass, waiting for legal shooting light. The temperature was in the low twenties and a brisk northwest wind made it seem colder. Whistling wings could be heard overhead as teal, pintail, mallards and an assortment of diving ducks stirred from their night’s rest on the water. Across the wetland, the sound of a big flock of geese, a mixture of snows, white front and Canada’s could be heard as the big birds stirred and took flight from their night’s roost and headed to a distant field to feed. The day was coming to life and legal shooting time was seconds away.

A mature redfish is built like a torpedo with a boat paddle tail. A brute of a fish, a mature or ‘Bull Red’ as the big females are called, is one of the hardest fighting fish in salt water and beyond question, the hardest fighting of all fish in freshwater. Granted, redfish (red drum) are not native to freshwater lakes but several years ago, Texas Parks and Wildlife began an aggressive stocking program on a few power plant freshwater reservoirs in Texas. The top two largest freshwater redfish in the state came from Fairfield and, after fishing the lake yesterday with guide Cory Vinson and my friend outdoors writer Bob Hood, I can testify that the big fish are on a good bite.

We are now in the coldest period of the year and we’re all waiting for the spring warm up to head back to our favored waters in quest of bass, catfish and stripers, right? Granted, many anglers do wait for spring and warming weather but, with a little knowledge and preparation, there’s some line sizzling action to be had, and RIGHT NOW!  If you’re looking for a cure for cabin fever and the very real opportunity to catch some of the biggest fish of the year, let me introduce you to my top winter fishing destinations.

Hunting season has been underway for over 3 months now and chances are good many of you have a freezer well stocked with everything from dove breasts to venison steaks. Game meat is far more nutritious than domestic but it does require different cooking techniques. Take venison, for example. Venison is very lean and what fat there is in the meat should be removed; it’s the fat that sometimes contributes to the ‘gamey’ taste that some folks complain about.

Christmas is just around the corner and it’s time to give some thought to gifts for the hunters or fishermen on your Christmas Shopping list. If you’ve taken a look at a catalog from one of the major retail stores catering to outdoor types, you won’t have any problem finding ‘a’ gift. Let’s spend a little time and decide what might be ‘the’ perfect gift.