Southern Traditions Outdoors | May-June 2014

Complimentary Copy May - June 2014

REELFOOT BLUEGILL

QUAIL RESTORATION

COOKING WILD GAME

GIANT PICKWICK CATS

GET READY FOR DEER SEASON www.southerntraditionsoutdoors.com

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2 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | MAY - JUNE 2014 MAY - JUNE 2014 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 3

MAY - JUNE 2014 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 54 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | MAY - JUNE 2014

BONUS EDITION8 EXTRA PAGES

Advertising Information: Southern Traditions Outdoors | Rob Somerville

(731) 446-8052 [email protected]

DISCLAIMER - Neither the authors nor Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine LLC assume any responsibility or liability for any actions by readers who utilize any information contained within. Readers are advised that the use of any and all information contained within Southern Traditions Outdoors is at their own risk.

On the CoverThis awesome photo shows a gobbler attacking a hunter’s decoy set up, during the month of May.

Photo courtesy of the NWTF

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine Mission Statement:Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine vows to put forth a publication to promote the outdoors lifestyle in a positive manner. We will strive to encourage veteran and novice outdoorsmen, women, kids, and the physically challenged to participate in the outdoors in a safe and ethical manner. Our publication will bring positive attention to the wondrous beauty of the world of Nature in the mid-south.

Garry MasonWalter WilkersonTerry WilkersonSteve McCadamsKelley PowersShawn Todd

Eddie BrunswickLarry Self John SloanRichard SimmsJohn MeachamBuck Gardner

Scott MarcinEd LankfordDrew BrooksJohn LathamJohn Roberts

Field Staff Editors

Owners - Eddie Anderson Rob Somerville Kevin Griffith Stacey LemonsPublisher - Eddie AndersonEditor - Rob SomervilleMagazine Design - Kalli Lipke

Advertising Sales Rob Somerville - Managing PartnerDistribution Johnathan Anderson Mike Robinson

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine, LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS PG .................. ARTICLE .......................................................... AUTHOR 6...........................Reelfoot Lake Bluegill ........................................................Steve McCadams12..........................Tennesee Quail Restoration ..............................................Paul E. Moore18..........................American Farmer ...............................................................Rob Somerville22..........................Fyrne Lake - The Saga Continues .....................................Kevin Griffith28..........................Kids and Coons .................................................................Shawn Todd34..........................Business Spotlight .............................................................STO38..........................TWRA News ......................................................................TWRA41..........................Giant Catfish of Pickwick Lake ..........................................Rob Somerville42..........................Cooking on the Wild Side ..................................................Rob Somerville48..........................Summer Slabs at Kentucky Lake ......................................Steve McCadams50..........................Kid’s Korner .......................................................................STO52..........................Trophy Room .....................................................................STO

Now is the time to get ready for deer season!

Spring is in the air and before too long we will be experiencing the “dog days” of summer. Then, before we know it, deer season is right around the corner. Many hunters get cabin fever right about now, because unless they chase coyote, there are no open hunting seasons in our area. What is a camo-clad warrior to do?

How about taking this time to get ready for deer season?There are many things you can do right now that will make the upcom-

ing deer season be more successful for you than ever before. Here are just a few:

Be prepared:• Make sure that your deer stands are in good shape. If you use

climbers, check that all of the safety features are not damaged and that moving parts are oiled to avoid squeaking.

• If you hunt from ladder-type or homemade stands, make sure that your stand endured the harsh elements of winter. Repair or replace them if they did not. Trim your shooting lanes now, to get deer used to any changes in their home range long before season. Relocate old stands or put up any new ones for the same reason. Remove any limbs or fallen trees from the access trails to your deer stands.

• Practice, practice, practice! I cannot emphasize enough the time hunters should spend in the field with their weapons of choice, making sure they can make an accurate and clean harvest of their prey. You never want to have that trophy buck lined up, only to make an errant shot, due to lack of practice.

Bring the deer to you and monitor their activity:• Go on the internet and search for “PVC deer gravity feeders.”

These moveable “whitetail buffets” can be inexpensive to build and are easy to relocate, as well. They are made out of 6” PVC pipe. You bungee cord them to a tree, resting them on a tree root. They can be filled with feed corn, capped to keep out rain and painted camo to blend in. Gravity does the rest, as when deer eat the corn piled at the bottom, the corn level slowly feeds down. Most feeders will hold twenty five pounds of corn, so they are good to go for at least a week before refilling.

• Use Trail cameras. These digital cameras will scout your deer property for you, while leaving little to no human scent. You simply strap the camera to a tree, turn it on, return a week later and pull the card. Then you plug the card into a computer and enjoy the images that will tell you the size, quality and quantity of deer in your herd … all from the comforts of home. The cameras are motion activated and come with a flash, so you’ll even catch those monster bucks that are mostly nocturnal.

I hope all of you “horn hunters” enjoyed these tips. Have a great summer and always remember that our kids are our most precious natural resource. They are our future!

See ya,-Rob Somerville

From the Desk of the Editor

PVC deer gravity feeders are moveable “whitetail buffets” that can be inexpensive

to build and are easy to relocate as desired.- STO File Photo


orcupine quill floats, disap-pearing beneath Reelfoot Lake’s bald cypress tree’s overhang-ing limbs, made time stand still. Shady sides of the big rooted canopies were hideouts for the bronze bombers that cut di-does in the placid water, slicing the moss and lilies with my braided line and clear monofilament leader. In my youth there were many encounters with bedding bluegill; with sculling paddles, cane poles and the unique sound and ride of a Calhoun family-built Reelfoot Lake boat. The put-put rides and stump jumping from submerged obstacles was as much a part of the fishing trip as the fish them-selves. Briggs and Stratton engines pushing the wooden vessels had a distinct sound. Sometimes I fall back in time and dream of outings where the lawnmower-sounding lake boat rental took me, old met-al ice boxes with bottle openers on the side, block ice, and a lard stand full of roaches to my favorite fish-ing hole. From the likes of Harry Miller’s and Hamilton’s docks is where the fishing expedition usually be-gan. Every spot at Reelfoot looked Disappearing bobbers from hungry bluegill are a great way to intro-

duce kids to the sport of fishing. - Photo by Steve McCadams

REELFOOT LAKE BLUEGILL

bringing back memories of my youthBy Steve McCadams

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memorable, as all sorts of wildlife creatures were observed here in Tennessee’s answer to the Ever-glades. Spooking big fish, hiding around huge bonnets was always a shock to both the fish and the fishermen, as big splashes set the stage for what lay ahead. I was lucky to have a dad that took me fishing and taught me the do’s and don’ts. Boy, were those outings special. While it has been more than 50 years since my first fishing trip to Reelfoot, I can still recall the fun and excitement.

Having a big dragonfly light on my quill seemed to bring good luck, or so I thought. We called ‘em “snake doctors” and this aquatic wonderland usually had a few cottonmouths sunning on a log or cypress knot. I remember those too! Dad told me not to mess around with the snakes. He only had to tell me once! Nostalgia takes over when warm days descend and word of bluegill on the bed dominates the fishing reports.

Each year, I target bedding blue-gill and shellcracker here on my home waters of Kentucky Lake, where some dandies can be caught in big numbers. I do it from the comfort of a nice bass boat, but I often fall back in time to those little wooden back-breaking seats and low-riding, stump jumping boats at Reelfoot. Times and tackle have changed, but one thing never goes out of style, and that’s catching bluegill. They still look the same as those

fishy, but the finicky fish had a way of choos-ing specific ar-eas for reasons known only to them. I learned a few of these hot spots and knew history repeated itself every year when the fish went on the bed. Spawning time for bluegill was,

and still is, one of fishing’s finest hours. My health seems to im-prove each year, in the late spring and early sum-mer, when these feisty panfish set up housekeeping and turn territo-rial. There’s just something about bobbers fading away before the fight. Tugs of war with hidden war-riors protecting their homestead and battling like bull elk in a jeal-ous rage. When these olive drab power rangers turn up the heat each spring you can be young again in the presence of a hot bluegill

and shellcracker bed. Makes no difference if you’re 8 years-old or approaching 88; all anglers return to their youth when the bluegill are biting. Catching bream, a southern term coined to refer to bluegill, or perhaps their hefty cousins known biologically as redear sunfish but labeled shellcracker by our south-ern delegation, never goes out of style. Where else can an inexperi-enced youngster and a veteran angler compete on the same level playing field? The power of the panfish knows no boundaries. Bream fishermen’s tackle and techniques of yesteryear have been replaced by modern technol-ogy. It seems the old Indian Head boat paddles used to silently scull up to secret spots have lost out to electric trolling motors. The art of maneuvering the boat with paddle in one hand and cane pole in the other exists only in faded photo-graphs, filed deep in distant mem-ories. Light-action graphite rods are the norm, often armed with ultra-light spinning reels, loud colored slip bobbers and loaded for bear with crickets, meal worms, red wigglers or some such larva imi-tation. The old black roach caught with mesh wire traps at feed mills, or at water meter holes in the yard beneath metal covers and milk barns, is a bait unknown to most modern day fishermen. Through the jungle of lily pads and flooded cypress, up to an area known as Tri-Bar, is where my dad took me to search for hid-den treasures. The ride alone was

Hefty catches of bulky bluegill and redear sunfish, better known as shellcrackers, will tip your taste buds and provide fond memories

whether your 8 years old or 80 years old!- Photo by Steve McCadams

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The ride alone was memorable, as all sorts of wildlife creatures were observed here in Tennessee’s answer to the Everglades ... Reelfoot Lake. - STO File Photo

continued on next page

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days of the past, as the males take on a handsome dark color, cour-tesy of hormonal changes during spawning phases. The females sport a light yellow color, which clearly distinguishes them from the bull males. You can capitalize on their hab-its today just like folks did eons ago. The fish still head to shal-low water and fan out craters in the substrate, where a little gravel and mud mix together. Sometimes it’s just a mud bottom, but the big males congregate and pretty much run off the little fish once spawn-ing gets underway. That’s why finding a good bed-ding area likely offers some hefty size fish. Most veteran anglers toss the females back and choose to box only the males.

It doesn’t take a huge tackle box to get things going. Arm yourself with some long shank size #6 bait keeper style hooks in the bronze, light-wire variety. A few split-shots in the #4 size range will help get you going, whether you use a casting style slip bobber, a fixed mounted Carlyle style or round spring loaded plastic type. You’ll want to keep some long-nose pliers handy for both rigging and hook removal when the hun-gry fish swallow the whole mor-sel. Putting your fish on ice works best, as it preserves the flavor of the meat and makes filleting much easier too. Now is the time to head out to these waterways. Bluegill are spawning in the shallow farm ponds of Tennessee and also on

the big waters of both Reelfoot and Kentucky Lakes. Take some youngsters too and help make memories together. Odds are that the fish will do their part if you show up and do yours. Don’t be surprise if one of these days you find yourself growing old and yearning for youthful fishing trips. The fountain of youth never lived up to its claim, but you can be young again if only for a day, when you drop anchor, battle the bluegill and let the world go by!

Editor’s Note: Steve McCadams is a professional guide and out-door writer from Paris, Tennes-see. You can reach him at [email protected].

REELFOOT LAKE BLUEGILL

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here is still a dedicated contingent of quail hunters

in Tennessee, but without ques-tion, the numbers of hunters and bobwhites has declined dramati-cally over the past few decades. The trend is not just in Tennessee. Throughout most all of the tradi-tional core range of the bobwhite quail, bird numbers have been on the decline for quite some time. Fortunately, there is now a coop-

erative effort being made across this core range to help curb this downward spiral. There are lots of contributing factors to the decline in quail numbers such as certain farm-ing practices, land use methods, and predation. However, biolo-gists and quail researchers are unified in the belief that the most significant reason for the decline is loss of suitable habitat. It has

been proven in recent years that if abundant quality habitat is created in areas where quail exist, there is a rapid positive response in bird numbers. Unfortunately, creating that habitat is the greatest chal-lenge faced by the quail restora-tion movement. Roger Applegate, Wildlife Pop-ulation Biologist for the Tennes-see Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), is dedicated to doing

By Paul E. Moore

T

whatever is possible to improve quail habitat and numbers, but ad-mittedly, it is a frustrating uphill battle. Changing decades of habi-tat loss and bad land management practices is no easy task. It is an even harder task to convince peo-ple set in their ways that there is a better way of doing things. Regarding the population de-cline Applegate said, “The major reasons have been regrowth and maturation of forest with the co-inciding loss of early successional (old field) habitat, intensification of farming practices including cleaner fields, and extensive use of pesticides. There is some in-dication that the steady increase in production of soybeans in the state has some relationship with the decline, but it is hard to put a finger on. But, most importantly, is the continued fragmentation of suitable quail habitat into smaller and smaller acreages so that good habitat is no longer continuous across the Tennessee landscape. Where good quail habitat occurs; it is in isolation of other patches of good habitat so that quail cannot repopulate when numbers decline on a particular area. A quail popu-lation must be relatively continu-ous across a landscape in order to thrive. They really require large blocks of habitat rather than small fragments.” The loss of these continuous blocks of quality quail habitat has had huge impacts on quail num-bers and hunter success in har-vesting these birds across much of the country and is easily seen here in the Volunteer State. Apple-gate added, “Back in the day, you

could hunt from sunrise to sunset without ever leaving quail habi-tat, as long as you had access to the land. You did not need dogs to be a successful quail hunter, because they were so abundant. These birds were truly native wild quail.” One of the best things to hap-pen to quail restoration across the country is the formation of the National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative (NBCI). The NBCI is a collective effort, bringing togeth-er wildlife agencies from 25 states across the core range of the bob-white and partnering with other organizations to create a unified effort at restoring habitat and na-tive grasslands. Bobwhite quail are the main focus of this effort, but there are many other benefits to restoring or creating quality grasslands and habitat. Various bird species, rabbits and other ground dwelling critters all ben-efit from habitat restoration. Another vitally import aspect

to restoring quality grasslands is increasing the number of pollina-tors. Applegate said, “Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was one of the founding members of the NBCI and played key roles in development of this plan, in-cluding funding support. It has also led the charge for incorpo-rating various necessary changes in the NBCI that address Tennes-see’s specific needs. Because the NBCI covers such a huge part of the U. S., it is difficult for all pos-sible conditions to be addressed without a great deal of continual change to the plan. For example, the NBCI started out addressing only agricultural land, but with the realization that agricultural land is not the best possible place to secure good quail populations; the NBCI has incorporated man-agement of quail in non-agricul-tural landscapes into its model. There is still room for the NBCI to grow and to change as we learn

Tennessee Quail Restoration

The effort to increase quail numbers requires a unified strategy, hard work and funding. - Photo courtesy of John Brunjes.


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more about what works or does not work, but it will take time and sweat equity.” The TWRA has also partnered with other groups to work on quail restoration over the years, but most notably, Applegate said was the former Quail Unlimited and the present Quail Forever. He added, “There have also been ac-tivities sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation and many other similar organizations. Pub-lic entities such as the U. S. Forest Service, Tennessee Valley Author-ity, Army Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army and Air Force, Tennessee Division of Forestry, and Tennes-see Department of Environment and Conservation, among others have been very important. Com-mercial timber companies and mining companies have played roles at various times.” As mentioned, getting away from decades-old practices that do not make significant differences is tough. Practices such as breaking up good habitat by planting shrub hedges and the planting of food plots instead of managing the old field early successional habitat that quail need are no longer pro-moted. Instead, the NBCI encour-ages what is known as focus ar-eas. In Tennessee, Applegate and the TWRA are working within a strategy known as focus and an-chor. The biologist explained, “The way this works is that you select anchor areas that may still have quail and that are large enough, so that those quail populations can be built up by careful maintenance of habitat and restrictive hunting.

Then as quail p o p u l a t i o n s build up, you make use of various USDA Farm Bill pro-grams, to try to incorporate quail habitat on surround-ing lands, so that the build-ing quail pop-ulation can expand into this area. An-chor areas in this model are mostly going to be publicly owned lands such as TWRA wildlife man-agement areas. The reasoning for this is that TWRA and some other public land holders can make a perma-nent commit-ment to man-aging quail on these lands. The surround-ing area, which we call a fo-cus area, can be any type of ownership where fund-ing can be se-cured to assist with manage-

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There is still a dedicated contingent of quail hunters in Tennessee, but without question, the numbers of hunters and bobwhites have declined dramatically over the past few decades. - Photo courtesy of John Brunjes

Quality habitat such as this savanna at the Catoosa Wildlife Manage-ment Area is vital to quail, rabbits, birds, pollinators and many more

wildlife species. - Photo by Paul Moore



ment. What is most important in this model is that the anchor will always hold populations of wild quail, whereas economic pres-sures may dictate whether or not quail habitat will be maintained on the focus area.” Applegate said, “There are no silver bullets or quick fixes that will bring back quail to Tennes-see in large numbers. We need the ability to restore old field habitat in sufficiently large blocks, to sus-tain long term populations, where sources of quail already occur. We need conservative hunting sea-sons; the emphasis is on the root of the word ‘conservation.’ We need to be careful with releases of domestic quail into areas where we wish to restore wild quail pop-ulations in order to assure they can survive. We do not need to micromanage quail with planting of food plots, and other expensive techniques. We need the ability to carefully measure hunting and quail populations. We need a pro-gram of quail research that will al-low us to answer important ques-tions in restoring quail. Finally, we need as many partners as we can get that understand the biological realities of what it takes and that will work with us to achieve that goal. None of these is easy or fast to attain.” Certainly the challenges are many, but progress and success are not out of reach. It will take understanding, agreement and a willingness to embrace change. Most importantly, it will take funding and a lot of hard work, or what Applegate referred to as sweat equity. The task is not one

to be left just to the TWRA, but each of us must get involved and play a part.Editor’s Note: To learn more about quail res-toration, visit the NBCI web-site at www.bringbackbob-whites.org.

There are many contributing factors to the decline in quail numbers such as certain farm-ing practices, land use methods and predation. - Photo courtesy of Obie Williams.

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What Do America’s Farmers Grow?By Rob Somerville

Do you know what America’s farmers grow? You may think you know the answer but they do so much more than grow crops and raise animals. For example, did you know America’s farmers grow 23 million American jobs? That’s right; the Ameri-can agriculture industry supports 23 million U.S. jobs, making them the largest employer in the nation. America’s farmers also grow the economy with a trade surplus of 34 billion dollars – that’s more than any other U.S. industry. Not only do they grow the crops that feed, clothe, and fuel us but they do it all on less land. Since the introduction of pesticides, farmers have been able to produce bigger crops on less land, increasing crop productivity anywhere between 20 and 50 percent. In 2005, herbicides increased the value of U.S. agri-cultural productivity by $26 billion. In fact, just to equal the amount of food grown today, farmers from 50 years ago would need their fields to cover every square inch of the U.S.

Some Food for Thought Did you know America’s farmers support 24 mil-lion jobs? Or that U.S. farmers supply 41.56% of the world’s corn? How about that one acre of soybeans can create 82,368 crayons? America’s farmers produce many products for not only the U.S., but also the world. Yep, America’s Farmers grow a lot more than just crops. America’s farmers grow America!

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In 2004 we “bought” the farm (Fyrne Lake Farms, just outside of Dyersburg) and two years later we completed our home. My wife, Diana, was happy and I was ec-static! Now there was a place Di-ana, Andrew (our 2 year-old at the time) and I could stay at when we came up from our home in Flor-ida. There was even extra room for guests! What else could we have possibly needed in paradise? Well… the more time I spent on the farm the more projects and con-cerns were being added to my to-do list. Erosion here, kudzu there, a lake and its fish in need of man-agement, a tree down across the driveway, fields to mow, trails in need of clearing, trespassers tear-ing down fences… the list didn’t

stop (and it still doesn’t). At first it was overwhelming! However, the accumulating challenges with our new property started to excite me. We were creating something special here at Fyrne Lake and the process of its creation and its care touched the same place deep with-in me that became excited about building and running my own business 30 years before. At that point in my life, I was still managing the day to day operations of Depco Pump, my company in Florida. With the challenges accumulating in Ten-nessee, I was getting excited about changing careers. I could never leave my baby (Depco) 100%, but I just knew there must be a way to have my cake and eat it too. So,

I started plans to move forward my training of a general manager to take over the day to day opera-tions of Depco. That would allow me more time in Tennessee to cre-ate our dream at Fyrne Lake. By now our dream was growing (Diana would say it was Kevin’s dream, not hers). I wanted Fyrne Lake to become a gathering place of our family and friends for gen-erations to come. To do that, it would need to develop income sources from the property to make it self-sustaining. I also wanted it to remain a pristine and natural place, with minimum develop-ment and controlled access. The vision that kept coming to me was of a national park. That was it! I now had a picture of our vision!

My business training started to kick in and I knew that if I was se-rious about this dream, I needed to create a vision and mission state-ment for Fyrne Lake. Here they are:

Vision Statement Fyrne Lake is a pristine, self-

sustaining private park that we share with family, friends and the

community.

Mission StatementWe will maintain the land and lake to the standards of a national park. We will develop income sources that do not violate our vision and will enable the property to remain family owned for generations.

Over and over again I have proved to myself the value of hav-ing clear vision and mission state-ments. They have been crucial to my success. These statements function together to guide every decision and motivate each ac-tion having both helped me build Depco from a small operation, consisting of myself and a couple part-timers, to the successful na-tional pump distributor it is today. To me, one of the most surprising effects of having a vision and mis-sion statement is what they STOP from happening. You see, in busi-ness and in life we encounter op-portunities every day. Many we never visualize, some we recog-

nize and a few we might accept. The challenge is to recognize opportunities when they come and wisely decide which ones to pursue and which ones to ignore. Knowing when to say “NO” is as vital as when to say “YES.” You need to verify whether an opportu-nity moves you toward your goal and is in alignment with (doesn’t violate) your vision and mission. Saying “YES” when you should have said “NO” will squander your time and resources while possibly moving you further away from your goal. I’ve had plenty of opportunities presented to me concerning Fyrne

Wildlife abounds on the farm. Here’s a picture of a coyote pup and young fawn. - Photos courtesy of Fyrne Lake

Fyrne Lake FarmsThe Saga Continues

By Kevin Griffith

Fyrne Lake shares its property with the Boy Scouts. This picture shows a few of the scouts at their campsite on May 18th, 2013. - Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake

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Lake including developing it into a subdivision, cutting the timber, selling a few hundred acres on the lake for a training/classroom facil-ity or just selling it all at a hand-some profit. If I didn’t have a clear vision for Fyrne Lake, I may have been tempted. But since I did, it was easy to say no. All that being said, there were many things I was eager to say yes to and plan for. Our vision talks about the prop-erty being a pristine park. Those words alone paint a picture in my head of a peaceful lake, surround-ed by thick forests and teeming with wildlife. “Self-sustaining” adds another dimension to the vi-sion by requiring the goal of de-veloping income sources that will “sustain” the property for genera-tions. However, these self-sus-taining income sources shouldn’t violate the “private” part of the vi-sion by causing us to lose person-al control over its access or over commercializing or developing the property. There’s also another component that could disqualify potential income sources. They could violate the vision of Fyrne Lake being “pristine” meaning we need to avoid income sources that might contaminate the lake’s food chain, damage forest habitat, cre-ate erosion issues or overuse/wear the property in anyway. So, mov-ing forward, I needed to be very selective about the income sourc-es I would consider. The vision also calls for sharing the property with family, friends the community. This was the easy part, or so we thought. Shared ex-cessively and we could start dam-aging the pristine nature of the

property or lose the private “our home” aspect of the farm. Luck-ily, we eventu-ally discovered the power of saying “no” was occasion-ally required to protect our farm and family time. Every day on the farm has brought a new adventure, chal-lenge or oppor-tunity. Added together, we have years of choices, guided by Fyrne Lake’s vision and mis-sion statements, for the alloca-tion of our time, talent and re-sources. There is a lifetime of work yet to do. However, I can take sat-isfaction that we have made great progress in creating the dream that is Fyrne Lake.

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like the school, but I am not doing very well in Bible studies.” I told him that if those grades did not go up there will be no more hunting for him, and his grandpa agreed. Rusty and Dalton got to the dogs first and acknowledged to me that the coon was in a hole, but before we could handle the dogs, my dog - Heidi dug the coon out of the hole and the fight was on. Now I know PETA may not like this situation, but let one of them get between a 75 lb. Walker Coon Hound that is mad and about a 10 lb. male coon that is even mad-der, and see what they do. All we could do was watch and finally, after about 30 minutes, the fight was over and we loaded the coon in our game bag and went back to the truck. About two weeks later I asked Rusty about Dalton and he said, “His grades are up and when I asked him why, and if was it because of what Shawn said or leav-ing that Xbox alone?” Dal-ton replied, “It was both and anytime you or Shawn want to go coon hunt-ing this Xbox will be put away and I am going with ei-ther one of you to the woods.” I looked at Rusty and said,

“Can you believe that a kid these days was wanting to go to the woods and hunt, instead of sitting on the couch and playing a video game? Miracles do happen.” That really made this old coon hunter proud to hear these words coming from a young kid. Hunt-ing over technology, who would have ever thought it? Winning over one kid at a time to the out-doors; that is the key. Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, but after this hunting trip I now think that may-be there is hope in this crazy world after all. Like I have said in my articles before, we need to get the young people in the woods. Just ask and you might be surprised at the answer. On closing this ar-ticle I would like to congratulate Corey Jeffries and Chad Smith for placing fourth in Batesville, Mis-

sissippi at the UKC Winter Clas-sic with their Black and Tan Dual Champion “Muddy River Ice”. Great job, fellows. Until next time, I hope everything is great, in everybody’s life, and I’ll see you at the tree.

ello, to all you fine readers of STO. I hope the weather this early spring has not gotten you down. As you all know, spring is here and the hunting seasons are closed, except for turkey and squirrel. I hope everyone gets their game bags filled. Hunting season for coon closed Feb 15th, but training season is open all year, except where it is noted in your trapping and hunting guides. All you readers of STO know that I try to get young people out in the world of hunting. I am in agreement with the people that say “The youth of today are our future and without them we will have no future.” Also, you readers know I can be somewhat pessimistic, but things may be looking up for this

old coon hunter. Why, you ask? The following is a ray of hope in a world where the kids are growing up too fast and too in sync with technologies of today. This story started a few years ago with my brother, Rusty Blalock and his grandson, Dal-ton Noles. Dalton started hunt-ing with us when he was around seven and has been going ever since then. In December of 2013, Rusty and I took Dalton on a hunt at local spot. The weather that night was great, kind of warm and not too windy. As we got every-thing ready, Dalton (who is now 12 tears-old) said, “Paw, I want to haul the coons and shoot them out of the trees.” Rusty said with a lit-tle snicker and a gleam of pride in

his eyes, “Sure Dal-ton, if you want to.” I realized what Rusty was plan-ning so I didn’t say a word. I knew this can either make or break a young hunter by hauling a game bag full of coon through the bottoms for a few hours. In fact, it may even break an experienced hunter as well. We released the hounds and they were off, and within 30 minutes we treed, found the coon and shot it out. The coon

weighed about 15 lbs. and Dal-ton shot it out (one shot and it fell out dead). I thought to myself that this little devil can shoot even bet-ter than me or his granddad. We were all thrilled. We packed him up with the coon and off we went. Luckily, we were not far from the truck and he hauled the heavy coon, never once complaining on the walk back. We went down the road and released the hounds again. Once more the hounds treed. We got out and located the coon. Dalton, once again with one shot, shoots the coon out. We figured that it was not bad for an hour long hunt and decided to call it a night and go again some other time. Fast forward to January 14th. I called Rusty to see if he and Dalton wanted to go again and sure enough they did. We loaded up and got to the spot where we decided to hunt and released the hounds. As they tore through the night, Dalton said once again. “I will haul the coons and I want to shoot them.” We said, “Okay big boy, you can.” About that time we heard Heidi strike and run deep off in the bot-toms. We stopped to listen and I told Rusty that it sounded like the coon was in a ground hole and Rusty agreed. As we were walk-ing to the dogs I started asking Dalton about school (Christ Clas-sical Academy) how he likes it and about his grades. He answered, “I

Kids and CoonsBy Shawn Todd

H

All we could do was watch and finally, after about 30 minutes, the fight was over and we loaded the coon in our game bag

and went back to the truck. - STO File Photo

Can you believe that a kid these days was wanting to go to the woods hunting, instead of playing a video

game? Miracles do happen. - STO File Photo


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FIRST CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK For 125 years, people in Dyersburg, Dyer County and the surrounding areas have depended on the strength and stability of First Citizens National Bank. Today, they are still the friendly faces that help guide you, your family, and your business to a bright financial future. First Citizens offers a variety of services

including: Checking Accounts, Commercial Loans, Mortgage Loans, Savings Accounts, Online and Mobile Banking, Investments, Retirement Accounts, plus much more. First Citizens National Bank is headquartered in Dyersburg, with locations throughout the state of Tennessee. They have financial centers in Union City, Troy, Newbern, Ripley, Munford Atoka, Martin, Millington, Bartlett, Arlington, Oakland, Collierville, & Franklin. A new Jackson, Tennessee office is now under construction and is expected to open in 2014. Upon completion of a current merger with Southern Heritage in Cleveland, Tennessee, First Citizens will be a full service community bank with 24 locations and approximately $1.5 billion in assets. For more information about First Citizens National Bank, please visit www.FirstCNB.com. The folks that work there are very professional, but they are also the perfect example of Southern Hospitality. I know this for a fact, because it is where STO Magazine does its banking. - Rob Somerville

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Your local Gibson Farmer’s Co-op is your one-stop shop for farm, home, your lawn and garden and the great outdoors!For farmers, they carry shelled corn and feed for cattle, swine, horses and poultry, minerals for cattle and horses, seed for forage, fescue, turf grass, rye

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About Dyersburg State: Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) was founded in 1969 by the State Board of Education as the second community college in West Tennessee. Today, Dyersburg State provides higher education to thousands of students throughout three locations: including the Dyersburg campus, the Jimmy Naifeh Center at Tipton County and the Gibson County Center in Trenton. These convenient locations help serve the communities of Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Lake, Lauderdale, Obion and Tipton counties. Approximately 3,400 total students attend Dyersburg State Community College.

Under the leadership of President Karen Bowyer, Dyersburg State has become a major resource for workforce development and training for region-al business and industry. Offering courses in the arts and sciences, business and technology, and nursing and allied health, Dyersburg State is a compre-hensive community college that provides traditional and non-traditional students with high-quality career programs and courses designed to enable them to obtain their associate degree for professional career opportunities or to easily transfer to a four-year college through the Tennessee Transfer Path-ways (TTP) program. Instruction is delivered through traditional, online and interactive television classes. Dyersburg State also offers a very successful Dual/Joint Enrollment program to eligible high school juniors and seniors who wish to get a jump

start on college. The college also provides Learning Support and continuing education courses at each campus. Enriching the culture of West Tennessee through its performing and fine arts programs, Dyersburg State hosts a variety of music concerts and recitals, theatrical productions, art exhibits and an annual Literary and Visual Arts Celebration. On a personal note, I actually attended Dyersburg State at their Trenton Campus, as a forty year-old father of two, taking Business Management courses. I found their curriculum to be comfortable, informative and very educational. - Rob Somerville

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combines a fuel price cheaper than charcoal with the convenience of cooking with gas. They also offer grilling tools, accessories, and seasonings, including BadBob’s signature line of rubs and sauces. Cooking schools are offered periodically through the year to teach you the finer points of grilling as well, for your home barbeque or the competition circuit. They often have special deals on these grills, along with manufacturer’s rebates to help take a load off of your pocketbook. Feel free to call and find out more, or drop by in person to see them yourself in their showroom. Bad Bob’s LLC is located at 2005 St. John Ave. in Dyersburg, Tennessee. You can call them at 731-286-5256 or visit them online at www.badbobs.net. - Rob Somerville

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that the agency has received an aquatic nuisance species grant for $24,286. Real Estate Division Chief Tim Churchill announced that the agency had received a Federal grant for $417,000 to purchase 205 acres in Hickman County. The TFWC approved both budget expansions.

Registration is underway for the Fifth Annual Wounded Soldier Open Bass Tournament to be held at Paris Landing on Kentucky Lake, Saturday, May 17th.

The tournament format will be a 3-fish limit with a guaranteed first prize of $2,000.

The cost of the tournament is $110 per boat (two anglers maximum). Entrants who register by the end of the day on May 1 will receive a free T-shirt

The tournament benefits the Wounded Soldier Program and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources

Agency serves as one of the sponsors of the event. The tournament is presented by Smyrna Ready Mix.

To register for the event or for more information, go to the Foundation website at www.twrf.net or contact Todd Spann (615) 642-6670 or [email protected]; Mitzi Spann (615) 587-3392 or Bill Terry at (615) 878-5099. KENTUCKY LAKE WOUNDED SOLDIER OPEN BASS TOUR-NAMENT SCHEDULED FOR

MAY 17Registration is underway for

the Fifth Annual Wounded Soldier Open Bass Tournament to be held at Paris Landing on Kentucky Lake, Saturday, May 17th. The tournament

format will be a 3-fish limit with a guaranteed first prize of $2,000. The cost of the tournament is $110 per boat (two anglers maximum). Entrants who register by the end of the day on May 1st will receive a free T-shirt.

The tournament benefits the Wounded Soldier Program and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency serves as one of the sponsors of the event. The tournament is presented by Smyrna Ready Mix.

To register for the event or for more information, go to the Foundation website at www.twrf.net or contact Todd Spann (615) 642-6670 or [email protected]; Mitzi

Spann (615) 587-3392 or Bill Terry at (615) 878-5099.For more information on these or other TWRA news, go to www.tnwildlife.org.

TWRA’s Strategic Plan Meets Commission’s ApprovalThe Tennessee Fish and Wildlife

Commission approved the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s proposed strategic plan among its agenda items at their March meeting.

Commission members received a copy of the TWRA’s new strategic plan last February. TWRA Executive Director Ed Carter gave a brief presentation on the plan. The new plan, to be unveiled in 2014, is unlike any previous strategic plan implemented by the agency.

In the past, due to the depletion of wildlife resources, throughout the early parts of the 20th century, the agency focused mainly on species restoration and protection. The agency followed the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation that identifies wildlife as a public trust belonging to all the people. The agency has successfully restored many species that were once considered rare or non-existent in the state.

The strategic plan identifies four core areas in which the agency strives to provide these services, while still protecting our natural

resources. The areas are Wildlife Management, Outdoor Recreation, Law Enforcement, and Information and Education.

The plan, approved unanimously by the commission, will begin to be implemented immediately.

In other business, new statewide Waterfowl Coordinator Joe Benedict was introduced to the TFWC, and reported on the recently-held technical meeting of the Mississippi Flyway Council held in Nashville.

The TWRA supported a recommendation for a new teal season for northern states and proposed increasing the daily bag limit to six birds and for more teal-only days during the September wood duck and teal season. A teal assessment study completed in 2013 indicates that teal are under-harvested. Final decisions on these recommendations will be made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August.

Benedict said a U.S. Senate bill was introduced to increase the Federal duck stamp from $15 to $25 to maintain buying power. However, no companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, which indicates that the bill is

unlikely to pass this year. TWRA will ask to sell federal

duck stamps via point of sale vendors this fall. Currently, this is a pilot project with eight states participating. This will provide convenience for hunters to purchase a stamp and receive them by mail.

Brant Miller, TWRA staff forester, gave a report to the commission regarding the announcement of the agency receiving the Arbor Day Foundation’s 2014 Forest Lands Leadership Award. The award is in recognition for the TWRA’s bottomland hardwood forest restoration program in West Tennessee. The award is given annually to an individual or organization from across the nation whose outstanding work provides leadership in advancing sustainable forestry efforts on public forest land. The TWRA will officially receive the award next month in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Rusty Rust, a professional bass angler, made a presentation on Florida bass and fishing tournaments held in Tennessee.

Bobby Wilson, TWRA Fisheries Division Chief, announced

TWRA NEWSFrom the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency

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Three Generations of Mitchells take First Place!Near record Big Fish of the Pickwick Event!

This past April, the Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail hit the waters of the Pickwick/Wilson Lakes at Sheffield, Alabama. In the event, over 65 of the top anglers from 11 different states were competing not only for the cash and

prizes, but the opportunity to qualify for the 2014 Cabela’s King Kat East and West Championship. This year’s West Championship will be held September 19th & 20th, 2014 on the Mississippi and Rock Rivers at Quad Cities, Iowa. The East Championship will be held October 3rd & 4th,

2014 on Lake Wateree at Camden, South Carolina. Be sure to check out their website at: www.kingkatusa.com. It’s

a site with new and exciting information on their events along with special information on catfishing for catfish

anglers everywhere. - Rob Somerville

MONSTER CAT FROM PICKWICK LAKE!

It tipped the scales at 86.98 pounds. Displaying the trophy catch are Jackson, Michael and Sammy Mitchell of Albertville,

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All of my friends love to hunt and fish, but even more than enjoying these outdoor adventures, they love to eat. Today, we will look at some unique and delicious wild game recipes. Fish and wild game are some of the healthiest foods you can eat. They are one hundred percent pure and natural and not injected with growth promoting steroids. Wild game is high in protein and low in fats and carbohydrates. The most important factor in preparing a delicious meal of fish or game is the care you take in the field or on the water, after catching or harvesting them. It is important to immediately dress and cool the fish or animal, rinse it thoroughly and immediately refrigerate or freeze it. Hope you enjoy these unique recipes. If you have a favorite of your own, you can email me at [email protected]. Now, roll up your sleeves, pull up to the table and enjoy!

Monterey Jack cheese Toothpicks (soak in water) Duck breasts Hot Pan Sausage Italian Dressing Bacon Jalapeno peppers Cajun spices Onion

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Cajun Duck BreastsINGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Pound out the duck breasts with a meat cleaver. Roll the sausage into a small sized hot dog shape and place in the middle of the breasts. Add a slice of onion and a whole jalapeno and fold the breast over. Wrap bacon around breast and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle generously with Cajun spices and marinate in Italian dressing for 24 hours. Grill on the pit until done. Place foil over the breasts while grilling. Add cheese before removing from grill. These are great and the sausage adds flavor, plus prevents the breasts from drying out.

8 bone venison racks, trimmed and cut into double chops 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 TBSP olive oil 8 peppercorns, crushed several sprigs fresh thyme 3 ounce port wine

Venison Rib Delight with Sweet Potatoe Puree and VegetablesRIB INGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Combine ingredients and massage into venison. Marinate overnight or for several hours. Bring to room temperature before cooking. Cook in stove at 350 degrees for twenty minutes. Do not overcook.

3 sweet potatoes, baked for 45 minutes 3 TB butter Salt and pepper

SWEET POTATOE PUREE INGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Peel potatoes and put through a food mill with salt, pepper and butter. Set aside and keep warm.

VEGETABLES INGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: In separate pans, add Brussels sprouts, parsnips, and carrots. Add to each a pinch of salt, pepper, sugar, 2 TBSP of water, and a little butter. Cook until glazed for about 10 minutes. You may need to add a little more water if it evaporates before the vegetables are tender.

8 Brussels sprouts, halved 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 3 inch by 1/2 inch pieces 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch by 1/2 inch pieces

2 TBSP butter Salt and pepper Pinch of sugar Water


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1 pound crappie fillets2 TBSP vegetable oil 1 & 1/2 cups celery, cut diagonally 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips 1/4 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 and 1/2 cups water 1/4 cup soy sauce

Stir-Fry CrappieINGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in water. Heat oil in heavy skillet. Cut fillets into 1 and 1/2 inch strips. Sauté the fish and vegetables for 3 minutes. Add cornstarch, garlic powder, soy sauce and bouillon. Bring to a boil for 3 minutes, until thickened and hot.

2 squirrels (6 quail or 2 pheasants can be substituted) Flour Oil Two onions, sliced

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Smothered SquirrelINGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Quarter game and dust with flour and brown lightly in small amount of oil. Transfer to Dutch oven and lay onion slices over the top of each piece of game. Mix milk and seasonings together and pour over the game. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes or until tender.

Zesty Italian Dressing (bottle) 1 can of Jalapeno Peppers (pickled) Salt Worchestshire Sauce (3/4 cup)

Bacon 25-30 strips of cut venison – cut in 1” by 5” strips

Deer PoppersINGREDIENTS:

Cooking Instructions: Soak meat overnight in salt water to remove blood. Cut the peppers in half - long ways. Wrap the 1/2 pepper in deer strip, and then wrap with bacon. Push toothpick all the way through the center to keep everything together. Mix Worchestire sauce and Zesty Italian dressing together in a bowl. Marinade meat all night in fridge. Grill the next day for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Do not over cook. Serving Suggestions: Serve like hors devoirs. Make sure grill is hot and don’t overcook venison or it will dry out.

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rappie don’t just dry up and disappear after spring spawning takes place. Neither should you and your fellow anglers.

After a cold and windy spring I’m reminded just how much I love the great, early summer crappie fishing here on Kentucky Lake. Stability of lake levels cou-pled with predictable weather pat-terns, help anglers land con-sistent stringers, as fishing patterns hold up from week to week.

Crazy cold fronts that ar-rive overnight, blown in by gale force north winds can really upset the apple cart, but odds of drastic weather changes are slim this time of year.

It seems that so many fishermen overlook and un-derrate the early summer bite that has been proven to be consistent for years. The li-on’s share of crappie anglers here in Tennessee, and really all across the nation, fall un-der the umbrella of “spring only” slab seekers.

While it’s true that spring fever always stimulates a high level of enthusiasm among the ranks of crappie fishermen, especially when the dogwoods bloom and fish blitz toward shal-low water, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the only season crap-pie bite.

Once the crappie spawn here on Kentucky Lake, they slowly transition back toward deeper wa-

ter, where summer venues await them. However, between the hot summer hideouts and the post-spawn phase, crappie stage in midrange depths and congregate around structure in the 10 to 14 foot depths.

The fish find a comfort zone in between their shallow spawn-ing hot spots and the deep, main

lake drop-offs where the dog days of summer will find them in the months ahead.

For the last several years I’ve logged some consistent catches of hefty fish throughout the period of late May, June and early July, from these midrange hideouts. In fact, some of my best catches have occurred during the early summer

period and throughout the fine fall months of September, October and early November.

There are just so many vari-ables to deal with during the late winter and early spring. Those variables don’t throw curves to anglers in the early summer phase and that’s why crappie caught in one depth range or area of the

lake will likely stay put for anglers returning the follow-ing week.

Popular techniques to use are vertical jig or live min-now presentations, around submerged cover in the form of manmade fish attractors, such as brushpiles and stake-beds. Trolling crankbaits is another strategy that works well this time of year.

Earlier in the year, crappie often suspend and scatter, but as surface temperatures warm into the upper 70’s and low 80’s it seems the fish take on a more structure oriented mood. They relate closely to the cover and possess a vora-cious appetite too.

Perhaps the fish relate closely to the structure for

shade, or because schools of shad have now migrated back to these midrange depths. The crap-pie love to hold tight and ambush their prey and structure in mid-range depths.

I usually rely on a 1/16th or 1/8th ounce jig, armed with a tube skirt or sometimes a hair body. Popular color choices can

vary from chartreuse variations to some motor oil, or clear skirts sporting glitter.

Tipping a jig with a minnow, or a Berkley’s Power Bait in the form of white or chartreuse nib-bles, seems to entice strikes even more.

Using monofilament line in the six to eight pound range works well. Moving up to ten pound test line is okay too and may help bend snagged hooks free and help get your jigs back.

Tight-lining the bait of your choice can be done on long spin-ning rods, or on two-piece graph-ite rods, in the nine to eleven foot lengths. These long poles work well with light duty reels, so depth can be easily adjusted.

Light strikes can be detected easily on these sensitive rods and watching the line and your rod’s tip is important.

Sometimes, just tight-lining a minnow will pay dividends too. The crappie are the ultimate judge when it comes to your decision to use live bait or a certain color choice of tube skirts. Keep a buf-fet of colors available in your tackle box and don’t be too stub-born to experiment.

Even if you don’t have your own fish attractors buried in the lake, there’s enough natural cover still left along the shallow flats and upper edges of main lake drop-offs to harbor fish. Pay close attention to your sonar screen and key in on areas where both struc-ture and baitfish activity are found in close proximity.

Keeping structure marking buoys handy is another tip to help

you conquer these early summer pat-terns for consistent crappie catches. Once you find submerged struc-ture, you’ll need to pinpoint the spot and stay on it with your trolling mo-tor. Tossing a buoy marker out will help you stay in the right place, as winds can easily push you away, causing you to lose the location where buried trea-sure troves of fish await you.

Most crappie fishermen on Ken-tucky Lake got beat up this past spring by the stubborn winds and uninvit-ed cold fronts. As a result, catch rates were down for a lot of anglers, who bat-tled the weather and lost the war.

If you were the victim of a crazy spring, and haven’t quite met your quota for catching crappie, then give this early summer gig with a jig a try. You just might find that you too have overlooked this fine fishing time!

Editor’s note: Steve McCad-ams is a professional guide and

outdoor writer from Paris, TN. He can be reached at

[email protected].

Nice catches like this can be taken in midrange depths once spawning is over, as the crappie slowly transition toward sum-

mer patterns. - Photo by Steve McCadams

The author displays one of several early-summer, slab crap-pie he has taken on Kentucky Lake, during his 39-year career.

- Photo by Steve McCadams

Summer Slabs at Kentucky LakeBy Steve McCadams

C

Slabs still have to eat during late spring and early sum-mer, long after spawning time. Late May and throughout the month of June are prime crappie months that are overlooked by many anglers. - Photo by Steve McCadams


WHO’S YOUR BABY?DRAW A LINE CONNECTING THE

BABY ANIMAL TO IT’S NAME!

EAGLET

PUP

CUB

GOSLING

DUCKLING

KIT

OWLET

FAWN

POULT

CALF

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.ANSWERS:

1. - BABY BEAR - CUB, 2. - BABY FOX - KIT, 3. - BABY MOOSE - CALF, 4. - BABY MALLARD DUCK - DUCKLING 5. - BABY EAGLE - EAGLET, 6. - BABY DEER - FAWN, 7. - BABY TURKEY - POULT 8. - BABY GOOSE - GOSLING, 9. BABY COYOTE - PUP, 10. - BABY OWL - OWLET.

We’re here for

GOOD.

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Calling all youngsters who want to catch fish and win prizes at the same time!

The 15th Annual Steve McC-adams “Casting For a Cure” Kid’s Fishing Rodeo returns to Carroll Lake on Saturday, June 7th for a fun-filled morning, where even little fish bring on big smiles.

Girls and boys, ages 15 and under, are invited to participate in the FREE event, which will ben-efit the American Cancer Society. Each year, McCadams teams up with the Tennessee Wildlife Re-sources Agency and the big event is fast approaching.

More than 3,900 kids from five different states have been in-troduced to the great sport of fish-ing since the rodeo’s conception.

Special plaques and bicycles will be awarded to kids catching the most and the biggest fish in four separate age brackets. The age brackets will be 5 and under, 6-9, 11-12, and 13-15 years of age.

“Returning to my hometown and hosting this rodeo is my fa-vorite fishing day each year,” said McCadams, nationally known outdoorsman who lends his name to the event. “Thanks to the help of the TWRA and lots of volunteers and donations, the festivity will build some self-esteem in these future fishermen, as they fight fish

and cancer at the same time.”

“With the help of donors, who open their hearts and pocketbooks each year, we send every youngster home with a prize and fond memo-ries. I know we’ve made a positive impression on these kids over the years and in so doing we helped fight cancer at the same time,” con-tinued McCadams, who grew up fishing Carroll Lake and participated in rodeos there in days gone by.

Participants are asked to arrive early and check-in at the registra-tion tent, where each contestant will receive a bag of goodies. Onsite registration will be from 7 to 9 a.m. with the actual competition taking place from 9 to 11 a.m. {except for the youngest age bracket of 5 and un-der, who will just fish for one hour and weigh in at 10 a.m.}.

Loaner rods will be available, courtesy of the TWRA, so every kid will have a chance to fish. However, kids are encouraged to bring their own bait and tackle. Concessions will be available, courtesy of the McKenzie Relay for Life teams.

“It’s a great opportunity for kids to learn about the great sport of fishing, while sharing some time with their family and friends,” said McCadams, himself a cancer survivor. “I wanted to do something to help fight this ter-rible disease that affects so many people. It’s especially sad to see young kids stricken with cancer, but with events like these we can give them hope, as we work to-gether to find a cure.”

The event will coincide with National Fishing Week across

America and June 7th is also Free Fishing Day in Tennessee.

Carroll Lake is located one mile east of McKenzie, Tennessee and five miles west of Hunting-don, on U.S. Highway 22. For additional information, log on to www.stevemccadams.com or call 731-642-0360.

To support the event, or per-haps honor someone special, send your tax deductible donation to: Steve McCadams “Casting For A Cure” Kids Fishing Rodeo, 655 Anderson Drive, Paris, TN 38242.

Steve McCadams “Casting for a Cure” Kid’s Fishing Rodeo14th Annual Event Puts Big Smiles on Small Faces

The 15th Annual Steve McCadams “Casting for a Cure” Kid’s Fishing Rodeo returns to Carroll Lake on Saturday, June 7th for a fun-filled morning, where even catching little

fish brings on big smiles. - Photo provided by Steve McCadams

Every child that participates in this free day of fishing is a winner. The top “fisherkids” with the biggest and most fish caught in several age categories, will be awarded special prizes, such as plaques and

even bicycles. - Photo provided by Steve McCadams

WHO’S YOUR BABY?DRAW A LINE CONNECTING THE

BABY ANIMAL TO IT’S NAME!

EAGLET

PUP

CUB

GOSLING

DUCKLING

KIT

OWLET

FAWN

POULT

CALF

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.ANSWERS:

1. - BABY BEAR - CUB, 2. - BABY FOX - KIT, 3. - BABY MOOSE - CALF, 4. - BABY MALLARD DUCK - DUCKLING 5. - BABY EAGLE - EAGLET, 6. - BABY DEER - FAWN, 7. - BABY TURKEY - POULT 8. - BABY GOOSE - GOSLING, 9. BABY COYOTE - PUP, 10. - BABY OWL - OWLET.

We’re here for

GOOD.









or online.


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This is Bo Rider of Union City, Tennessee with his hog taken at Working Man’s Bow Ranch in Dangerfield, Texas on 4/19/14.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s

Taxidermy

Robert Jackson shot this nice gobbler in Wayne County, just south of Collinwood,

Tennessee this year.

Hawkins Wolcott {14 years old} and son of our good buddy, Stuart Wolcott, shot this awesome longbeard on April

12th, 2014 In Hickman County, Tennessee.

Photo submitted by Primm Springs Wildlife Company


Autry Sartin shot this gobbler in Lenox, Tennessee on March 22nd,

2014. It sported a 10 inch beard and had 1.25 inch spurs.

Photo courtesy of Sartin Motors.

Cooper Adams {nine years-old} is proudly posing with his first gobbler ever, which he shot this year! - Photo courtesy of Outerlimit

Powersports.


Burton Colvett is shown here with this nice buck, which was his first

ever and that he shot in Carroll County, Tennessee. - Photo courtesy

of Lankford Taxidermy

David Hunter of Dyersburg, Tennessee with his hog taken at Working Man’s Bow Ranch in Dangerfield, Texas on 4/18/14.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s

Taxidermy

Donna Hunter and her two hogs taken at taken at Working Man’s Bow Ranch in Dangerfield, Texas on 4/18/14. - Photo courtesy of

Wilkerson’s Taxidermy

David Hunter of Dyersburg, Tennessee with his hog taken at Working Man’s Bow Ranch in Dangerfield, Texas on 4/18/14.Photo courtesy of Wilkerson’s

Taxidermy

Quade Gentry shot this gobbler during the juvenile weekend with his dad on the Mississippi River. It weighed 18

lbs., had a 7 and 3/4 inch beard and 1/2 inch spurs.

Photo submitted by Levi Gentry.

Robert “Doc” Jackson caught this nice - 5lb. smallmouth bass on a

live shiner.


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2014 special events at two of america’s best state parks iuka & tishomingo, mississippi

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jan. 1. second annual first day hike

jan. 11-12. 14th annual ice bowl disc golf tournament

march 8-9. 17th annual spring disc golf tournament

april 12. 36th annual long/lee ole tyme music festival may 10. second annual native american customs & traditions

june 1. second annual national trails day less litter more beauty hike

oct. 11-12. 17th annual fall classic disc golf tournament

oct. 16. 28th annual fall fling for the young at heart

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feb. 1. aba fishing tournament

feb. 15. bfl fishing tournament

feb. 22. aba fishing tournament

march 8. aba fishing tournament

march 15. bass weekend fishing tour.

april 5. aba fishing tournament

may 3. bass weekend fishing tournament

may 10. aba fishing tournament

june 14. bass weekend fishing tour.

august 8-9. bass weekend fishing tour.

august 14. dulcimer festival

september 13-14. bfl fishing tournament

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FOR 37 YEARS!DINE IN OR CARRY OUT!

Monday - Thursday: 4:30 am to 8:00 pmFriday - Saturday: Open 24 Hours

Sunday: Open until 2:00 pm

216 E. Court St. - Dyersburg - TN 38024 731-285-9954

NORTH DELTA SOIL SOLUTIONS INC.The Precision Farming Experts

Services include Cutting Edge Variable Rate Technologies.

2.5, 5.0 & 10 Acre Grid Sampling Technique Maintenance Applications To 2 Year Builds

Fertility Needs Based On What The Producer Wants, What The Plant Needs And Economics.

Variable Rate Seeding Soil Fertility Background.

Soil Chemistry Paste Testing

We’ll save you money and increase your yield!Brennan Booker, Soil Fertility Specialist

731-487-0968P.O. Box 266 Dyersburg, TN 38025

We’ll save you money & increase your yield!Jason Hamlin731-571-5076

MIKE COLEMAN COMPANYELECTRICAL

HEATINGAIR CONDITIONING

SHEET METALPLUMBING3594 HWY 51 SOUTH

DYERSBURG, TN - 38024731-676-2184

A/C QUALITY COMFORTHEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

• NEW INSTALLATION• SERVICE ON ALL BRANDS• RESIDENTIAL• COMMERCIAL• DUCT WORK• BONDED & INSURED

TRENT HORTON731-676-6595

FREEESTIMATES!

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Southern Traditions Outdoors | May-June 2014