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By Louie Stout
Did you know that if fishing, hunting and shooting sports were combined as a corporation, it would rank 25th on the Fortune 500 listing – ahead of Microsoft.
That’s what Rob Southwick, president of market research firm Southwick Associates, said after analyzing statistical data from the American Sportfishing Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.
Expenditures in 2016 (the latest of such in-depth national surveys) for hunting, target shooting and fishing gear supported 1.6 million U.S. jobs, provided $72 billion in salaries and wages and generated nearly $20 billion in local, state and federal taxes.
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By Louie Stout
Back in the day, you could walk into a tackle store prior to the ice fishing season, pick up an inexpensive rod, a few jigs, a box of wax worms and even a few accessories for about $10-$15.
Those memories flitted through my head as I wandered through the Clear H2o Tackle Shop near Edwardsburg during its recent Ice Tackle Open House. Several buyers stood in line at the checkout counter with arms full of gear valued at a heckuva lot more than that.
They held $40 to $80 rods, $500 fishfinders, $400-$500 in specialized clothing and lightweight $200 ice augers.
Obviously, today’s ice angler is a lot more sophisticated and dedicated to the sport than my generation.
Does that mean you can no longer catch panfish by sitting on a bucket while jigging a tiny leadhead jig with a maggot attached?
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By Louie Stout
Ken Price with Walleye
A few weeks ago we wrote about how fishing can be so darn unpredictable and cited several examples where anglers had some exciting battles with big fish.
We noted that several state records or giant catches were made by anglers not targeting that particular species or who were novice fishermen.
Since then, several anglers have written to share their unique catches that involved some luck as well as skill.
But, is luck really required in fishing? I posed that to a professional angler a few years back.
“If luck plays any role in fishing, it’s because you put yourself in position to be lucky,” he said. “You made the decision to make the right cast, with the right lure in the right place.”
Apparently, Ken Price of Granger did just that.
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By Louie Stout
Bow Hunter Gets Two Deer with One Arrow
When he’s not tending to his congregation at the United Pentecostal Church in Bourbon, Ind., Pastor Mark Cottrill is deer hunting.
He’s shot his share of deer during the 30-plus years he’s been hunting Indiana, but his experience Oct. 27 was one that few hunters can claim.
He wandered into the woods late afternoon that day and propped his bucket next to a tree. Unlike some hunters who prefer hunting from a tree stand, Cottrill likes sitting on the ground.
“I’ve always done that,” he said. “I’m completely camouflaged. I don’t like getting up in trees and I like hunting at ground level. I feel it’s more a challenge.”
Cottrill is not a trophy hunter. His family loves venison and he’ll take two or three deer a year.