Bass: it's what's for dinner

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to catch Don Kleiner of Maine Outdoors with some free time on his hands and convinced him to take me fishing. We could not have picked a more perfect day to be away from the world and on the water.

We set off to catch Smallmouth Bass. Having caught my first fish with Robin, I was hopeful that I could at least catch something besides grass. Don was brave enough to attempt to teach me how to fish a few years ago and I hoped, as I stepped into the boat, that I had improved my skills a little bit since then.

Our first spot was a fairly shallow spot near some overhanging trees. Don taught me that fish do not have eyelids so when it is sunny out, they usually hid in the shade so that they can keep watch over any predators that may be around - like eagles, osprey or us. My first cast was horrible but I kept reminding myself that I did just fine with Robin and needed to not over think it. The next few casts were a lot better. Don would point out a spot to cast to and I would try my best to hit that spot or as close to it as I could.

Before too long, I had a bite and reeled in my first fish of the day! We took some photos, tossed him back and continued to cast.

Me and my dinner: a smallmouth bass

We went to four different spots on the pond and second was my spot. At my best, I was catching fish on my second or third cast. Some were nice and legal, some were small. They were all smallmouth. Don caught a pickerel and a largemouth as well as a bunch of smallmouth.

Largemouth bass

Pickerel with a mouth full of teeth.

It was a lot of fun to work on my casting and learn more about fishing in Maine. Don is a Master Maine Guide and takes all kinds of people out fishing through his business Maine Outdoors.

At the end of the day and after catching maybe 15 fish on my line, I had two bass that were coming home for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised and learned a lot about how to work on my cast, side cast and what happens when you hook a nice big branch (I never lost the lure!) and need to retrieve your line. I was able to work on my casting, my comfort level and learn so it was a fantastic day outside.

Already this summer, I have fished more than I ever have before. I am still freaked out by hooks and the idea of having one piece through my skin, but the more I fish the more comfortable I will hopefully become. It is a lot of fun and maybe I can get my kiddo interested soon!

It was a great day on the water with Don and hopefully, I will get to be out a few more days before my thoughts and plans change over to bear hunting.

Healthy Coyote coming through

I still have a few trail cameras out to see what the deer are up to. I have gotten pictures of the big buck that is around and most recently, I got these pictures. Normally, I wouldn't be too freaked out but now that we have a dog, it is a little unnerving. Add that this camera is about 50 feet from our lawn and less than 100 feet from our front door... I hope that this one is just passing through. (Sidenote: I put new batteries in this camera so the date and time are wrong BUT I walked in front of it so it would take my picture and I could figure out what the actual time and date were: 7am Saturday morning.)

Where are the women?

This week, my interview with Steve at The Maine Outdoorsman went live. Steve said yesterday 200 people hit his site viewing over 500 pages. That is a lot of people reading about little ole me and hunting. Why? When I think of women who are in the general public's eye and hunt, I can think of 2 - Country singer Miranda Lambert and Sarah Palin. Why only two? Why is the female hunter such a fascinating thing? (I should probably note that I do not have cable so any and all female hunters on the hunting stations are lost to me. I'll keep it to the general public because that's what I am familiar with.) People/media were fascinated by the fact that they could get footage of Palin and her gun, shooting (and gutting) animals but I feel like the nostalgia would be lost if they had the same footage of McCain. Lambert and her hubby Blake Shelton tweet photos of their kills, and comment on what/where they are hunting. I only know this because I follow both. That's it....

Do Outdoor Women need to toughen up?

I hope you get shot out in the forest and wolves gnaw on your dying corpse…..WHILE YOU’RE STILL ALIVE I’d like to rip off your f*$%ing head and pour gunpowder down your f*$%ing throat and light it on fire Only c*%t’s shoot animals and take pleasure in it. I hope you die a horrible painful death As I began to look at how female hunters were being bullied, I had to ask myself if it was because we were easy targets as women or if we needed to just toughen up a little. Once I started asking my fellow female hunters about their experiences, the things that they sent to me as examples of what they deal with daily made me sick to my stomach. I’d like to meet you outside someday with a gun in my hand, I would shoot you several times and laugh over your f*$%ing body as you die like you do to those poor animals that can’t defend themselves. MURDERER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Generally threats are basic name calling. They include sexist remarks, racist remar...

and a strong cup of coffee

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