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Archive for June, 2010

All You Can Eat Catfish

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

We tend to visit the all you can eat catfish houses.

Used to be a place in Midwest City called Catfish Cabin. I think it was our first foray into all you can eat catfish.

Our friend, Vince is a BIG catfish man and he loves to find new restaurants, some out of the way, and either tell us about them or take us to them.

We’ve eaten the all you can eat at the local VFW, at the restaurant of a seedy motel, little mom and pops all across the countryside. This week Vince introduced us to a place off I:40 in Seminole called Round Up Cafe.

Let me tell you, this is by far, the best catfish we’ve eaten and we’ve had plenty!

First they seat you and take your drink order and before you realize what’s next, a waitress comes around with steaming hot apple fritters. Talk about mouth watering! They were the best apple fritters I think I’ve ever had!

Then came our salads (OK but hard to eat on a saucer), followed by coleslaw (a little tangy for me), out of this world battered fries, hot buttered handmade rolls, AND

just the best catfish you’ll find in Oklahoma!

It’s out of the way, filled with locals, and tasty oh so tasty.

From this point on – Round Up Cafe will be our ‘go to’ for catfish, especially on Friday nights when it’s all you can eat!

Tags: all you can eat, catfish, round up cafe, seminole
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Bassmaster in Oklahoma

Friday, June 18th, 2010

I ‘so’ intended to get over to Lake Thunderbird this past weekend for the tourney. I wasn’t going to enter, but, I wanted to at least see the results…

I missed that one but I sure don’t want to miss the Bassmaster Elite Series. It’s coming back to Oklahoma after skipping us for the last two. The tourney began yesterday on the Arkansas River, with the Muskogee Chamber as host.

Weigh-ins and launches will be at the Three Forks Harbor in Fort Gibson.

Fishermen will be fishing along a hundred mile section of the river from Catoosa to Kerr Lake.

The Sooner Run winner will net a hundred grand.

Tags: bassmaster, oklahoma
Posted in Fishy Stories | 1 Comment »

Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame Inductees

Thursday, June 17th, 2010

Two Texans were recently inducted to the Texas Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Athens — the late Edward W. Bonn of Denison and Phil Durocher of Austin. The ceremony took place on June 5 at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center as part of a celebration to kick off National Fishing Week.

Bonn was one of three fisheries biologists hired by the state in 1946. He was instrumental in helping develop a striped bass stocking program as well as creating a way to cross striped bass with native white bass to produce hybrid stripers.

Durocher was a 35-year veteran with the department who recently retired after a 19-year tenure as director of the agency’s Inland Fisheries Division. He is noted for the aggressive approach he took towards fisheries management in the late 1980s, which resulted in the implementation of more restrictive limits on largemouth bass. Under his leadership, Texas gained recognition as one of best bass fishing states in the nation.

Additionally, Lonnie Stanley of Huntington and the late Allen Crise of Glen Rose, were presented Hall of Fame honorable mention plaques.

Stanley is a legendary lure maker and former BASS pro who made the jig that produced the former state record largemouth bass (17.67 pounds) for Mark Stevenson of Alba in 1986. Crise was a long-time fly-fisher worked tirelessly to infect others with his passion.

Tags: texas freshwater fishing hall of fame
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Skittering

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

What is skittering?

Suppose you’re in a fishing boat, and the water is just thick with weeds. It’s time to skitter.

Get yourself an old fashioned cane pole (or just any old pole and an equal amount of line). Attach a little bit of ‘bait’ on the hook such as a strip of fish belly, (or as in the old days – maybe a frog) and skitter it across broad openings in the weeds. If there’s a bass lurking in the weeds, he’ll jump at your skitter.

Skittering’s been around for ages simply because it’s an effective method of catching bass!

Tags: skittering
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Horizon Relief

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Remember when people were selling little vials of Mount St. Helen’s ash?

Now some business savvy folks are scooping up blobs of oil off the gulf’s beaches, bottling it and selling it. “Some” has reached prices as high as a thousand dollars!

A local charity, Horizon Relief, has stepped in and is selling bottles of the messy blob to raise money for local fisherman, oyster shuckers, deck hands, day laborers. They are calling them ‘Bottles of Hope’ and selling them as souvenirs. Smaller vials called ‘Vials of Opportunity’ can be acquired for $25 with the monies also going towards the same causes.

Horizon Relief is also selling smaller bottles, called “Vials of Opportunity” with $25 donations.

Tags: bottles of oil, horizon relief
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Fishermen Heroes

Sunday, June 13th, 2010

Rescue fisherman aboard the French fishing boat, Ile de La Reunion, pulled 16-year-old Abby Sunderland from her capsized boat in the Indian Ocean. The fisherman heroes found her 2000 miles east of Madagascar, Africa, and and 2000 miles West of Perth, Australia. The weather calmed enough to allow a dinghy to make the transfer.

Australian Search and Rescue,Wild Eyes,Qanta airbusAbby’s dismasted 40-foot sloop, Wild Eyes, had been spotted 24 hours earlier by Australian Search and Rescue volunteers aboard a Qantas Airbus. The crew spoke with her briefly by VHF. The aircraft found her by homing in on the two emergency rescue beacons Abby had activated.

There has been no word yet about the fate of Abby’s boat, which still is adrift, but her quest to be the youngest solo circumnavigator is over. She made it about halfway around, and she became the youngest to round Cape Horn alone.

Abby set sail from Marina del Rey, near Los Angles, California, in January, 2010, in an Open 40 sloop designed by Scott Jutson for just the kind of seas and weather Abby would be likely to encounter, but had to put in at Cabo San Lucas when one of her automatic pilots failed. After completing repairs she left Cabo on Feb 7 to continue her journey, rounding both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, and then sailing across the Indian Ocean before a series of storms finally put an end to her quest June 11.

Tags: abby sunderland
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Oklahoma Turkeys

Friday, June 11th, 2010

I just happened to be driving down 180th just north of Highway 9 the day of that BIG tornado that whipped through the Little Axe area.

I’m ok. I missed it by a few minutes.

As I was driving down 180th, I had to stop for a mama turkey and her little babies crossing the road. Sweet sight to behold.

Was Mama turkey anticipating the tornado that would rip through that road in just a few minutes? Was she moving her younguns’ because of that foreknowledge?

I don’t know, but I do know that’s the first time in my life I’ve ever seen a turkey hen with poults cross the road. Sure I’ve seen turkeys in the road before, but not Mama birds with little babies following along behind her.

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A few days later, after the opened the road back up, you could see the devastation through there. Trees beheaded, like a giant weedwacker had whipped through there. I again found myself wondering about the welfare of the Mama turkey.

Hope she made it out in time.

Tags: oklahoma turkey
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Plan a Fishing Trip with Dad

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

When was the last time you went fishing with your Father?

Fathers Day is almost upon us this year, but, there’s still plenty of time to arrange a fishing outing with your Dad.

You can go all out and include him in the planning stages, or you can handle it all yourself, just like he would have when you were young. Or you can just show up with a couple poles, surprise him and say “Come on Dad.”

Whatever method you choose, you’ll be sure that you’ll get a big old smile outta your Dad and some more cherished memories for the both of you.

Tags: fathers day, Take Dad fishing
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Unpredictable Crappie

Wednesday, June 9th, 2010

Crappies can sure make ya say “crap” alot!!!

About the time you think you have them figured out, they switch up on ya. They’re just unpredictable.

Crappie (aka speckled perch to some, white perch or calico bass to others) can get as big as 4 pounds (or more). The average is a little closer to two though.

So how do you catch an unpredictable fish? You do your best to follow their ‘basic’ patterns.

Spring spawning, when water reaches the 50′s or so will be when you can ‘typically’ catch crappie in the shallows or docks or any other shallow area.

They typically group together, so where-ever you find one, you’ll probably find more. Once the catching/biting slows down leave to another spot and try again later.

Good spots are typically good spots. Just because a spot plays out doesn’t mean it won’t be a good spot later in the day. Once a good spot – always a good spot. Keep going back.

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June Outdoorsman Events in Oklahoma

Tuesday, June 8th, 2010

June 10th: The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Pond Workshop. Pond use and construction considerations; water quality; fish identification and stocking considerations; management of existing ponds. The workshop runs from 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. Registration fee is $15, which includes supper. Please pay online if pre-registering online. Log on to http://www.noble.org/WebApps/Events/Instructions.aspx?EventID=336 .

June 13th: Family Discoveries: Program starts at 2 p.m. and runs until 3:30 p.m. We will take a wildflower walk to see what’s in bloom and select a few blossoms to put in a flower press to create a bookmark. Cost is $2 for general public and free for members. For more information or to register contact Oxley Nature Center at (918) 669-6644.

June 19: State Oklahoma Youth Hunter Education Challenge at Oklahoma City Gun Club, OKC. For more information contact Carey Pribil at (405) 613-8755 or http://www.yhec.org/state .

June 19th: Butterfly Walk at Oxley Nature Center. Program starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 12 p.m. As the weather warms up, so does butterfly activity. Meet at Oxley and bring binoculars if you have them. For more information contact Oxley Nature Center at (918) 669-6644.

June 19th: The Robert L. Hutchins Chapter of Ducks Unlimited in Lawton will hold its 38th Annual Banquet in the Great Plains Coliseum. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Dinner will be BBQ catered by Susie Q’s in Marlow. We will have over $20,000 dollars worth of merchandise for auction and raffles. This is the largest DU banquet in Oklahoma. For more information contact John Anderson at (580) 429-8274. Tickets are also available at the door.

June 25 & 26: Our Future Flies on the Wings of Pollinators. Join us at Oxley to celebrate National Pollinator Week. During this week we’ll have special exhibits and handouts available. Drop in and visit our gardens and view some pollinators. Special Most events are free and no registration required. For more information or to register contact Oxley Nature Center at (918) 669-6644.

June 26th: North American Butterfly Association Butterfly Count at Byron Hatchery WWA. 9 am – 3 pm Bring a sack lunch, hat, insect repellant & sunscreen.

June 26th: Botany Walk at Oxley Nature Center. Program starts at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 12 p.m. For more information contact Oxley Nature Center at (918) 669-6644.

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As always – we are pleased to offer event information, especially for Oklahoma location, but nationwide too. If you’ve an outdoors event, please consider letting us post it for you!

Tags: oklahoma event
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