Fishing Steelhead Alley

I grew up trout fishing the small streams of western Pennsylvania, but didn’t start steelhead fishing until my last year or two of high school.  I wasn’t very successful at steelhead fishing, so it wasn’t a top priority for me, at the time, to drive an hour and a half to Erie to fish the fall steelhead run.  I was focused on archery hunting and I was perfectly okay with that.  When I graduated from high school and moved to Erie, PA for college at Penn State Behrend I found myself drawn to the fall steelhead a lot more than archery hunting.  It was much easier to drive to the stream for a few hours of fishing than it was to drive home and try to get in the woods.  The deer that I didn’t get while in college I sufficiently made up for  with all of the steelhead I managed to catch.

Hunting Access to Private Land

Article originally feature at Harvesting Nature.

It’s called hunting for a reason. There are no guarantees, and very rarely does it go exactly according to plan.  But when everything comes together, culminating into a successful hunt and a freezer full of meat there are few things that compare.

Where I live in Pennsylvania there are an abundance of hunters, the local schools close for the first day of rifle season, and it’s uncommon to talk to someone that has never been exposed to hunting in one way or another.  Needless to say there are times when the State Game Lands can seem a bit crowded.

Firing Lime Chipotle Squirrel Tacos

October 14 was the opening day of small game season in Pennsylvania.  It is a day I’m beginning to look forward to more and more. For the past two season openers a couple of my friends and I take the kids out for a morning squirrel hunt.

Last year, between five adults and three kids we managed to get one squirrel.  This year, we had three dads, a grandfather, and three kids, ages 7, 5, and 4.  The 7 year-old was equipped with his own Savage Rascal .22 to try to take the squirrels himself.  My daughter isn’t quite ready to handle a gun so I was doing the shooting.  But she is my eagle eye, keeping her head on a swivel and pointing any movement out to me.

Archery Preparation for the Fall

Article Originally Featured at Harvesting Nature

Shooting at the Potter County Bowhunter Festival

Archery season is still a few months away here in Pennsylvania, but it’s never too early to start preparing for the fall. Shooting as much and as often as possible will help shape and hone the necessary skills to be successful with stick and string. The best way I know how to do that and to simulate hunting situations is to shoot at local 3D archery courses and competitions.

Thanks Dad!

In honor of Father’s Day this past Sunday I would like to take the time to thank my Dad for introducing me to the great outdoors. He is the main reason I am what I am today, good and bad. I look forward to hunting and fishing season each year not only to attempt to harvest a deer or catch some fish, but to spend time with him in the woods or on the water.

We were together when I harvested my first wild game, a couple of squirrels. He was archery hunting and I had my 20 gauge. He knew I would see a squirrel before he saw a deer but he let me shoot and ruin his hunt anyway, so that I could get a couple squirrels. I got 2 gray and a red that day, the tails are still in my parents’ basement.

Let’s Go Fishing

Article Originally Featured at www.harvestingnature.com

No matter how many times it happens, there is always an adrenaline rush when I see my float disappear under the surface of water, or my lure gets bumped as it cuts through the creek. I still get that rush now, even after more than 25 years of trout fishing. I was fortunate enough that my Dad took the time to show me how to trout fish when I was younger, to do everything in his power for me to gain the necessary skills, and above all else, have patience. We have spent many hours together, wading through the local streams and creeks, making some incredible memories along the way that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I want my kids to make these same type of memories as they grow up, and they aren’t going to be able to do that in front of a TV or computer.

It has taken me a long time to realize that going fishing is more than just about catching fish. It’s about spending time in the outdoors with my family or a good friend. I’ve seen incredible sights and have had amazing experiences while trout fishing. The bald eagle gliding just above the tree tops with a fish in its talons, the fawn bedded in the bushes on the bank just a few yards away, casting out into the water as the fog lifted off the surface during a cool morning, and catching fish while in the middle of a torrential down pour are all experiences burned into my memory while fishing with my Dad.