My first post direct from the wild. I’m using the new Iphone 3G with a WordPress app designed for the Iphone. More to come. This is really Outdoorblogging! Oooh! I hear coyotes. If I can figure out how to attach pictures I’m all set.

When I was a kid all I ever fished with was live bait.  On the way to the fishing hole Dad would take us by the bait shop to pick up whatever our target fish was fond of.

We would fill our bucket with minnows for White Perch.  A cardboard cylinder of chirping crickets guaranteed a stringer full of Bream.  Night Crawlers packed with soil in an old ice cream container meant Large Mouth Bass was on the menu.  Lastly, a tub of the nastiest puree to ever come out of a blender; a combination of pig blood, old cheese, and rotted meat fished off the bottom of the pond on a big treble hook would have Catfish as big as me flopping around inside the boat in no time.

Every cast was filled with anticipation because there were only two outcomes, either you caught the fish or the fish took your bait. Read the rest of this entry »

I devoted a sizeable chunk of July to chasing the Speckled Trout, Redfish, and Blue Crabs of Grand Isle, Louisiana.  My eagerness to fill my freezer with fish fillets and lump crab meat would have been better served by learning how the tides and moon phases effect fishing in coastal areas.

I’ve heard old fishermen talking about how good the fishing gets when the tides and moon are just right, but I always wrote that off as superstition and mumbo jumbo…I’ve learned it’s not. Read the rest of this entry »

I arrived in Grand Isle late last night, and I’m getting my first look around this morning.

I’m staying at a rental cabin on the bay side of Grand Isle.  There’s a nice pier off the back of the cabin so I’ll have easy access to the bay with my kayak.  I plan on carpet bombing the entire island with every bait and lure known to man before I’m done though.

This morning I started fishing the marshes skirting Caminada Bay.  The tide was coming in and I could see dolphins catching their morning meal as the sun started to rise.

I was fishing a Berkley Gulp artificial shrimp off the bottom.

These little fake shrimp were getting me some bites, but I didn’t catch any Speckled Trout of legal size.  I caught three 10 inchers and they all went back to grow some more. Read the rest of this entry »

These nasty buggers have launched their attack on my tomato plants, and I’m showing no mercy.

The Tomato Hornworm is laid by the Hawk Moths I see fluttering around my tomatoes in late May.  It starts out the size of a grain of rice and matures over the span of a month into this leaf chomping monster.

Despite their 3-4 inch size the hornworm can be hard to spot with its green camouflage.  I scan my garden daily too keep their numbers at bay.

One hornworm can strip a tomato plant clean of its leaves in a few days.

I have a favorite stone step in the garden that has hosted the execution of many Tomato Hornworms.  The hornworm is no match for shoe and concrete.

I am very happy with the way my hay bale garden is producing.  Eliminating trips to the grocery store, at least for fruit and vegetables, is a major step on the road to self-sufficiency.

Once ripe, these fruits of my labor aren’t going to last long unless I find a way to preserve them for later.

I’ve been using several preservation methods.  I’m drying my herbs and fruits.  I’ve put up about 10 jars of pickles and tomato sauce too.  The quickest method I’ve found is the vacuum sealer though. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a big fishing trip down to Grand Isle, Louisiana planned.  The goal is to fill my cooler with Speckled Trout.  A few Red Fish, Spanish Mackerel, and Blue Crabs wouldn’t hurt either.

I’m preparing my fishing gear and assessing the state of my tackle because I’m leaving in a few days.

I never seem to get my gear cleaned properly after salt water fishing.  I rinse my reels and even give them a coating of oil after each trip, but I always lose one or two to the salt water. Read the rest of this entry »

The man with two last names, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall took his custom built gastro-wagon on a journey across Britain.  The catch was he had to forage, hunt, and fish for all his food.  He could barter the things he found, but he could only spend money on gas for the journey.

Here’s a clip of Hugh first firing up the gastro-wagon.  Too bad his first meal was a meager serving of hog weed and fried minnows.

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

This was the premise for A Cook on the Wild Side , a series Hugh produced for the BBC back in the mid 1990’s.  You can see how this journey really changes Hugh as he leaves his life in London and heads into the wilds of Britain. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a secret cabin deep in the woods of Mississippi.  When gas hits $8.00 a gallon and food shortages send civilization into a riotous panic this is where I will seek sanctuary.

I’m going to hope my nightmare scenario never happens, but it’s good to have an escape plan. The cabin is far from the main roads, there is no Internet service, and no cell phone coverage.  It’s the perfect place when you really need to get away for awhile. Read the rest of this entry »

I like to take advantage of nature’s bounty if possible when I’m camping.  A fish cooking on the fire, some wild greens, and various nuts & berries would be my ideal “living off the land” camp meal.  This perfect sampling of nature’s treats only exists in my imagination though, and it sure didn’t happen on my last camping trip.

The fish weren’t biting, I can’t tell an edible wild green from poison ivy, and the birds have cleaned out all the berry bushes in the area. Read the rest of this entry »