Our Outdoors

Our Outdoors: Lead On By Nick Simonson Another cast, another strike, another hookset met with the sensation of nothing on the other end.  The line wound haphazardly on the spool of my reel without the weight of the lure to keep some tension on the retrieve.  It wasn’t the first time I had been bitten off in the swirling blue-green surf of southwest Florida, but it would be the last as I whipped the tip of my rod into the salty gulf water in frustration. As fast as my legs could pedal the rusty roadster bike back to our family’s […]

Our Outdoors: Gopher It By Nick Simonson While my own speed has never been hare-like, or cat-like or really like any fast animal in the natural world, I felt speedy as I made the turn on my first morning run of vacation with a pace of 7:40, a full 20 seconds faster than my usual average. I’d give some of it back on the last three miles of the run, but would still finish up at 7:49 per mile.  Perhaps it was the rush of being on new paths and out of the resurgent winter and second spring back home […]

Our Outdoors: Fish Formulas By Nick Simonson   Catch and release angling isn’t anything new, in fact the conservation tool has been around long enough to have its own acronym of C&R, which is universally known in fishing circles.  At the outset, providing the length or maybe the length and girth of that monster fish of the day wasn’t the most glorious statistic for anglers to share at the boat launch after a trip, as success was typically measured in pounds not inches.  Over time however, as C&R caught on, anglers began to either accept the tale of the tape […]

Our Outdoors: Set the Hook By Nick Simonson   A snap of the wrist, a drop and a sweep, an upward lift with a downward pull; however you set the hook, the energy and excitement that comes from connecting with a fish is half of the fun of angling.  Whether the fish rockets up to the surface or thunders in the depths, that positive connection is what sets the stage for the battle and, at this time of year, is the moment that many open water anglers wait all winter for.  Not all hooksets are created equal, and not getting […]

Our Outdoors: Banquet Season By Nick Simonson This year, my chapter of Pheasants Forever eclipsed the $7 Million mark in habitat acquisitions and restoration projects.  Through funds leveraged through a state grant program, partnerships with the state and national PF organizations along with the much-appreciated assistance of nearby PF chapters and local conservation clubs, our alliances have opened nearly 4,000 acres to public hunting and converted marginal ground into major habitat complexes in the last 34 years.  While the vetting process, financing and organizational efforts for these projects can take time, it all starts with one annual spring event which […]

Our Outdoors: The Shift is On By Nick Simonson   The flock rose and fell like a slow pulse, banking and turning against the southerly gusts. They made the sky look like static on an old black and white TV screen long after the daily programming had stopped and the national anthem signaled the end of the broadcast day.  The growing crowd standing with me alongside the rapidly-shrinking snow piles in the brown, muddy parking lot of the tree nursery at the edge of town began estimating the number of snow geese that squeaked and honked just to the north […]

Our Outdoors: The Ice Derby By Nick Simonson   There’s something mind-boggling about a couple hundred, or a couple thousand, or maybe more than 10,000 anglers huddled on the ice, staring at their bobbers, electronics and the slush melting around their one hole; hopefully that lucky spot in a grid of many, many similar holes.  The fact that ice gets thick enough to support that many people, vehicles, RV-based weigh stations, on-ice restaurants and tiki bars, even in this winter which has lost much of its punch in the last few weeks, is what carries us, both literally and figuratively, […]

Our Outdoors: All Natural By Nick Simonson   These days, it seems as if all companies are selling the world on food that’s non-GMO, preservative-free, contains no artificial colors and is all-natural, in an attempt to hook consumers on a “better-for-you” option.  If it looks like it came from a pristine garden, is minimally processed, or would be something you’d eat right off the tree or from the ground, their bet is that you will buy it and more importantly, feel good about it in this age where the Big Mac is still a top seller and most of us […]

Our Outdoors: Midseason Electronic Edges By Nick Simonson   The rush of first ice is in the rear view mirror, and that stretch of more challenging mid-winter fishing is underway.  While February marks the traditional seasonal slowdown in on-ice action in the upper Midwest, the midseason doldrums rarely prevent anglers from making their way out after fish.  Heightened technology specifically designed for ice fishing is a primary reason why, even during the tough middle stretch of winter, many anglers can find more success than in past years and can still locate aggressive fish that rival the early season bite, or […]