After I moved to
the West Coast from Montana I lost touch with hunting and fishing. Montana was, and is,
awash in opportunities for outdoor activities, but I was repulsed by what
passes for hunting and fishing in the Golden State: long drives on crowded
roads to stand shoulder to shoulder by a stream or lake bank and dodging 4x4s
loaded with rifle-gripping drunks as I walked up a ridgeline. I expected I’d be
dodging bullets as well, if game appeared.
Of course there was
always guided hunting and fishing; after hunting for over 30 years as a solo
hunter (sometimes camping with friends) the idea was foreign. Besides, I was
forging a profession, furthering a career – and losing touch with the unpaved,
undeveloped, un-landscaped world.
I used photography
to document natural beauty while on trips, but composing and recording a
beautiful image was far, far removed from joining the ecosystem as a predator
living (temporarily) in the same drainage as my prey.
I moved to crowded
and developed Orange County (California) but fortunately settled near a
relatively-unspoiled park where I gradually renewed my acquaintance with
fields, weeds, and critters. My neighbor, it turns out, was a safari and guided
hunt expert, with many of both to his credit. The park and the neighbor’s
stories rekindled my interest in hunting and fishing.
“It ain’t the same
world out there” would describe my initial reaction to dipping my toe into the
21st Century hunting and fishing world. New rifles, pistols, fishing
rods, reels, bait, technique . . . optics, rangefinders, fish finders, GPS,
wind speed gauges and even an optical/electronic/computer device that could
guarantee long range accuracy.
Catching up – and
booking a couple of trips to get back in touch with the real natural world has
been fun and an ongoing education. This blog is designed to share some of what
I’m learning about the new outdoor recreation milieu. I hope you enjoy learning
from my mistakes and will personally forge or improve your own outdoor sports
life.
