Why Do I Blog?

I blog for the sheer narcissistic joy of the glory of having millions of people read my all-important thoughts and…

Oops.  Those are my secret thoughts that are never to be seen or heard. I really should delete those words.

All joking aside, when the OBN writing prompt asked “Why we blog” I did have to stop and think about it.

I’m pretty new to the blogging world – this blog was only started in February. I have started blogs in the past but would make two posts and forget about them. So what made me think I should try again? Why did I even feel like I should?

Website Wednesday: Uncle Mo

Normally Website Wednesday is dedicated to an outdoors site – something that involves fishing, cycling, hiking and other outdoor activities. This week’s website is a little different…it’s a website devoted to a racehorse.

Yes, www.unclemo.com is the place to go for all things Uncle Mo.

Fishing…For Something Other Than Fish

Last night I was wasting time doing research on YouTube and ended up watching videos about fishing…but none of them actually involved fish.

This first video started with an ice fishing trip…and ended with fishing for a Hummer.

How To Launch A Boat

Let me start by saying that this post is not actually a ‘how-to’ on launching a boat. I was going through pictures of last summer’s vacation and was reminded of some of the adventures we had during that week, including launching the boat. I debated calling this post How NOT To Launch A Boat but to be honest, this method worked quite well and it will be used again the next time we visit this particular lake.

Darrell and I spent our summer vacation at a lake up near Killarney, Ontario. Fortunately he had visited this lake many times before and knew what we would be up against because when I first saw the launch I laughed at him.

The 'boat launch' - as seen from the dock.

Online Fishing Tournament From Crestliner

A few weeks ago I found a story about Crestliner’s plans to hold an online fishing tournament. I was intrigued by the concept so I went to the Crestliner Trumped site to find out more.

It’s a simple concept really:

1. Request an official Trumped ruler (the ruler is free and can be requested online);
2. Catch a long walleye, pike, bass or crappie and take two photographs – one of the fish against the ruler and one of you holding the fish;
3. Upload the pictures to a leaderboard.

Website Wednesday: Earth Sports

Imagine a social networking site for anglers, featuring the latest news on fishing, tournaments, college fishing and gear. Imagine being able to find a guide, share fishing reports, and interact with other anglers on a group level or angler-to-angler. That’s what you will find at Earthsports.com.

When you register for the Earth Sports website, or connect using another social network,  you are given the chance to build your profile – providing as much or as little information as you like. You can indicate the zone and style of fishing you prefer and interact with other anglers enjoying the same style as you.

Least Trophy Worthy Catch

The Outdoor Blogger Network posted a photo prompt this week asking for the most un-frame worthy outdoors photos.

I couldn’t find any featuring myself, which is probably thanks to the fact I keep the camera in my possession 99% of the time. But I did find these:

A very un-trophy worthy catch - I don't think we'll be hanging this picture on the wall.

Darrell inspects his 'big' catch of the day. Can you see it?

These pictures were taken on a late spring day when we couldn’t catch anything. I didn’t have so much as a nibble that day and when Darrell hooked this one I insisted on a picture.

Despite the lack of fish it was a wonderful day. The sun was shining, it was warm and the bugs weren’t biting. I entertained myself by watching minnows chase each other back and forth and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery. Jack and Darrell took a stroll through the river while I stayed on the bank.

These pictures don’t represent a failure, despite the un-trophy-like size of the catch, they remind me of a great spring day enjoying the outdoors.

Cheers!

Happy Birthday Argo!

Argo - Taken Winter 2011

Today is a very special day – it is Argo’s 24th Birthday!

The gray thoroughbred horse running circles in his stall and screaming in protest of confinement that winter day in 1997 was not the horse I was expecting to see. At the time I was competing on the hunter/jumper circuit and was looking for a new horse. My coach had arranged a try-out for two horses at a nearby farm – one horse was for me to try and the other was being tried for a friend. I was sure the placid, unexciting bay horse quietly munching on his hay was the one I was supposed to ride. For some reason I had been on a kick of riding quiet horses and while that was probably smart, it was beginning to bore me. The gray, however, drew my eye – not only was he high-strung and excitable, he was exactly my idea of a beautiful horse. When the bay was tacked up I gathered my riding stuff only to be told ‘This isn’t yours, you’re trying the gray one’.

The Country Visits The City…And Gets Lost

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show is currently on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and I had the opportunity to visit yesterday.

Darrell and I left home around mid-morning, picking up his mother and brother on the way. Soon we were eastbound on the 401 and heading for Toronto.  The drive in was steady with no problems on the major highways. Since Darrell was driving I managed to doze off and catch up on some sleep until I felt the car slowing down as we hit traffic entering Toronto.

Now, I suppose both of us could be considered country-folk. We are used to driving on country roads where traffic jams are a result of being stuck behind a tractor, or a result of cars stopping to let wildlife cross the road. Going into Toronto is always somewhat of a culture shock. As we inched our way off the highway (and that is a generous term for the Gardiner at any point of the day) I consulted the GPS on my phone for directions to relay to Darrell. What followed was a comedy of errors.

Website Wednesday: The Functioning Fishaholics

A site that I have found myself visiting more often is The Functioning Fishaholics. According to their Twitter profile The Functioning Fishaholics are:

A group of fisherman from South Eastern PA who have the sickness…An urge to fish to excess or die trying.