When my wife Ginny and I started building our home in 1976, one of the first things on the agenda was digging a farm pond, and using the resulting dirt to fill in around three sides of the house. I can remember the “pond” being nothing but a large, empty crater in the ground. The first water into it actually came from our new well, and the well-digger had recommended doing so to assure that all the pipes were clear of sediment and any metal fragments. I had a long hose going from the hydrant … Read More
Suppressing those sudden loud noises during outdoor shooting adventures
Suppressors for firearms have become quite popular with American shooters, especially so since the $200 Federal Tax Stamp was dropped on January 1, 2026. Prior to that, besides the $200 required fee, it could take several months going through a complicated bureaucratic process to be approved to purchase a suppressor (aka silencer, which isn’t an accurate term, because sound is only suppressed and not completely silenced), which today usually only requires a week or two without all that previous fuss and muss. All the shooters I have talked to who have been using suppressors fully … Read More
The dependable Jeep, an American icon for 85 years and still ticking
The U.S. military began realizing during the 1930’s that it needed a light reconnaissance vehicle due to the quickly developing atmosphere of modern warfare. The British had been using some tough vehicles made by Austin, but they were two-wheel drive and causing issues during reconnaissance in rough country. It was determined the only way to go would be with a light and compact vehicle which featured four-wheel drive. The German blitzkrieg in 1939 put developing an ideal scouting vehicle into overdrive. 1940 found the Army Quartermaster Corps (QMC) seeking designs and bids from various American … Read More
Opening Day 2026
For all the hunters out there, I’m not referring to Bear Camp, Deer or even Turkey Season, though those are important openers, too. The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking about opening day is something I’ve never been to on that glorious first day… a Tiger Baseball game. But for the first time I did partake in the first day of U-pick strawberry season at AJs in Lachine. It was June 16 and my day started early, awakened by God before my alarm clock sounded. It was 47 degrees when I departed … Read More
Failure to Launch
We’ve had the privilege to observe a family of Eastern Phoebe from close range over the past month. We were impressed with the paternal as well as the maternal role in providing for their young, first in preparing their home, then the gestation period. Before long, they hatched a set of triplets. My, they grow quickly, as the parents look on, providing their nourishment, watching out for their safety. But there comes a day, as in the human world, when it’s time to leave the nest. As they began to practically overflow from their dwelling … Read More
I Am the One Percent
So far, I’ve had no success in the trout stream yet this year. My outings have been limited by a knee injury from which I’m gradually recovering with a little rest and TLC after an active weekend with two of our Yooper granddaughters. Oh, what fun and memories, despite some occasional lingering signs of aging. But enough about that. We’re talking about fishing here. Why the title of this article? On the day of my most recent outing, I was more cognizant of the weather as I carefully planned my trip to the stream, in … Read More
Mad Woman Across the Water
Have you ever fished in such uncomfortable circumstances that most in your life would consider you mad for exposing yourself to such extremes? Maybe it didn’t start out that way, but somewhere along the line, you crossed the line of rationality? That happened to us, more specifically me, with my husband as an almost hostile accomplice. We went camping on Muskallonge Lake in Michigan’s upper peninsula with high hopes of indulging in some of Michigan’s finest fishing… his idea. It was late June. We’d read about the famous Two Hearted River that Ernest Hemingway wrote … Read More
Tick tock – it is “tick time” in Michigan
When growing up as a Thumb area farm boy, I rarely ever saw a tick attached to anything. I do remember seeing one attached to the forehead of one our barn cats, and the big tick was very visible because it was fully engorged with blood and all puffed up like a balloon. The cat wasn’t even aware it was there until I pulled the lethargic tick off with my fingers, threw it on the hardwood barn floor and stomped it into a messy splatter. I spent a whole lot of time outdoors in both … Read More
Made in Michigan – the Eppinger Lures Manufacturing Company
The family farm rests atop a range of hills above the Cass River. Whenever I had any free time as a farm kid during the summer, my favorite fishing holes were only a 10-minute bicycle ride away. My fishing gear was on the simplistic side, featuring a Zebco 202 spin casting rod and reel and only a couple red and white Eppinger dardevle lures, one small and the other medium sized. Nothing more was needed to catch rock bass, smallmouth bass and northern pike. A beauty of dardevle lures is they offer the perfect weight … Read More
IT IS WELL WITH MY POLE -The Spiritual Side of Fishing-
Stream time is sacred, an opportunity to commune with nature. This has always been God’s plan for us. Check out the Bible, Genesis 1:20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Mankind has enjoyed the … Read More