Of all the things a son and father can do together, fishing together seems to always come to the forefront of the memory bank when both grow old. It is a safe bet that Mason MacDonald and his dad Brent made a lifetime memory fishing in Venice with Capt. Allen Welch.

If you remember, Mason Macdonald is a familiar name in the fishing community after winning the fishers of men tournament hosted by the fishing life group of Resurrection Life Church. The tournament was the culmination of weeks of classes on nothing but bass fishing hosted by local pros. After the students complete the semester of classes and field trips, in which are all full of fun, the class competes in a pro-am style bass tournament.

This year the tournament was held on Bayou Lacombe and the fishing was tough but Mason Macdonald and his pro partner Bob Palmer came in first spot. The first place trophy, rods and tackle pack also came with a free charter trip for two to Venice for red fish donated by Capt. Allen Welch of Hooked Up Charters. This past month, Mason and his father Brent hit the road and made the drive to Venice and from what I can hear put some memories in the memory bank.

The duo hit the water and put the hurt on some red fish hooking up with plenty of 5-10 pound reds. With a limit of reds in the boat and sore arms Mason and his partner, dad, proved that you can catch a red fish with a bass. Congratulations Mason and Brent and thanks to Capt. Allen Welch for sponsoring the trip and always giving back to the fishing community.

Hunters Trade Days brings food and fun

The Annual hunter’s trade days hosted by the South Mississippi Cur and Feist Hunters Association and sponsored by Cales Farm Supply and Lake Country feeds was a great success even with the heat. The day started about 9 am with folks traveling form Louisiana, North Mississippi and the local area to talk trade and sell anything hunting, especially dog hunting.

It was nice to see the support of the wildlife and fisheries department with a visit from Dave Godwin, Small Game Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks. Dave is a longtime friend of trade day’s coordinator Owen Brayson, owner of East Boley Kennels, and actually squirrel hunts with an East Boley Kennel Feist. The trade days is becoming the “in” spot to be for hunters and with the food that was served this year, looks to be the “in” spot for many years to come, I wonder if Dave just came for the food.

With folks coming and going all day it is hard to get a perfect count but the magic number was between 75-85 folks. I got there a little late but still got plenty to eat and got to see some old hunting friends and make a few new hunting friends. I look forward to the next get together great job Owen.

Upcoming outdoors events and programs

I have several events that are planned between now and October 14. First will be the final bow shoot of the Southern Sportsman/Deerstand Open Archery Tournament. This past week saw several new shooters mixed in with the tournament regulars. The final shoot will take place August 17 and this decides who will win the Southern Sportsman Top Gun Award for 06’. The top gun award will be presented at the Hunters Appreciation Night on Oct 7th at the Deerstand.

The Hunter Appreciation Night on October 7th is one that you will definitely want to mark on your calendar. The evening will be full of food, friends, product give-a-ways, door prizes, archery shoots for all ages and a demonstration by Specialty Kitchens on how to easily bone out a deer for processing.

All the final plans have not been decided but I promise it will be worth your while to make it. With deer season opening the following weekend, it will be the great time to come out and talk hunting and see some of the new products that are out for the 06’-07’ season and this will be the final sign up weekend for the Southern Sportsman Big Buck Contest. The fun will start at 2pm and will end when everybody leaves. Be sure to put it on your calendar October 7 at the Deerstand.

The 9th Annual Southern Sportsman Big Buck contest is getting set and the sponsors are gearing up some great prizes. I will have a few new faces to add to the sponsor list and this will be the biggest and best year yet.

The sign up will start September 1st and will run until October 14th and all the same rules apply. I will have the full set of rules and regulations in the future so be sure to read hear each week or listen every Tuesday at 11:05 to WRJW 1320 AM to the Southern Sportsman Outdoor Show. You can also go the web-site at wrjw@charter.net and click on the outdoor show link.

Plenty to do now and a bushel basket of fun coming later. If you have some photos of your big fish be sure to se them to me along with the who, what, where and why and as always, get outdoors and enjoy what God ahs given us.