OUTDOORS

WITH LUKE CLAYTON

Like all of you I’m sure, the past year provided great times in the outdoors that we will never forget as well as a few challenges. Looking back on the past twelve months, it’s the many positive experiences that I best remember. Funny how that works, the overwhelming positives always seem to negate the few negatives. As an old outdoors writer, I still sometimes suffer from a case of wanderlust. I enjoy going to new places, meeting new friends that share my love of the outdoors. In retrospect, it’s the new friends that I make that I remember more than the fish I caught or the game I might have taken. Folks that have a love for the outdoors are some of the finest people on the planet, regardless where you encounter them.

I’ve had the opportunity to fish the pristine waters of the far north up in Saskatchewan with the fine folks at Tazin Lake Lodge, and I’ve hunted and fished with wonderful friends close to home. Looking back, the experiences blend into a fine memory that I often ‘relive’ in thought. No need for a counselor when life’s problems arise when you have fond memories to recall. On the occasion I might get in a foul mood or indulge in a bit of self-pity about something of little consequence, I simply recall that big bull moose my buddy Jeff Rice and I saw while fishing with a great guide up in the far north or possibly that nice “home buck” I took close to home with my friend Kenneth Shepherd.

Making new friends is a trait that I have always been gifted with. There are those we meet that we instantly enjoy being around and with whom we share a kindred spirit. A huge benefit of being in the outdoor media is meeting lots of new people, some of which become lifelong friends. Take the Cotton family for instance. David Cotton and his father Edgar read my outdoor column

in the newspaper and had a passing idea of who I am, but we didn’t get to know each other until this past fall when I was invited to their Becker Bottoms Ranch to hunt deer. I’ve had the opportunity to hunt with these fine folks several times and, to date, have not fired a shot at a deer. I was present when my friend Jeff Rice took a fine trophy buck. I’ve come to enjoy our quick, simple ‘after hunt’ meals back at camp, and this father and son have become great friends. We often heat up some hot dogs or brats over the campfire embers, wrap them in light bread and add a little mustard or sometimes I might bring a skillet full of venison steak and gravy. Then, after wolfing down a quick dinner and warming up by the fire after the hunt, we are on our way back home to a warm house. Hunting close to home will spoil a person!

I was fortunate to be present to help celebrate Edgar’s eighty-second birthday. I know few eighty-year-olds that not only took a fine bull elk in Colorado this fall but shot what I refer to as a big “witching hour” whitetail buck this past week. While hunting with the Cottons a couple weeks ago, Edgar spotted a giant buck during the waning minute of daylight. There was not enough light to clearly make out the scope’s crosshairs and, back at camp, I named the deer the ‘witching hour buck’. A couple days ago, David texted me a photo of his Dad with a very nice buck he had just taken just before shooting

light faded, his “witching hour” buck! These are fine memories that I hope I never forget, memories that I can rekindle years from now when I’m in a rocking chair telling stories to my great-grandchildren.

Even closer to home, I was fortunate to take a fine ten-point buck during early rifle season while hunting with my friend Kenneth Shepherd. Kenneth is about fifteen years my junior but we share a lot of the same traits, and one of them is a love for everything outdoor related. I think I do pretty good keeping up with him in the woods, for an old timer! When he asked me to join him this fall hunting some prime whitetail habitat within a mile of my home, I was thrilled. We enjoyed some great time together on several hunts, watched some nice bucks and each of us managed to put mature, heavy horned bucks on the meat pole.

When it comes to fishing, I was a blessed to fish with some of the finest guides in the business, also great friends. Tony Pennebaker at Tawakoni and I enjoyed several trips for catfish that were the centerpiece for some fine fish fries. I always enjoy fishing for stripers with my longtime friend Bill Carey and his son Chris up on Texoma. Bill began his guide service, Striper Express, almost forty years ago and now it’s the largest and oldest guide service on the lake. I did a lot of fishing with one of my newer friends, Brandon Sargent on Lake Ray Hubbard. Brandon and I bonded the first time I fished with him and now consider him part of the family. He is one of the ‘newer’ guides in north Texas that is quickly building a great reputation. As I look back on the past year, I am also busy planning for what’s ahead. The first Saturday in March, we will host the Fourth Annual Outdoor Ren de Voux in Greenville at Top Rail Cowboy Church. The event is on 14 oakcovered acres. Folks that have never attended often ask what takes place at the event. We always have several campfires burning, live music all day, chuck wagon cooking, lots of free booths with folks marketing everything from hunting and fishing trips to jewelry. If you would like to be an ‘official’ part of the event, contact me at 214-435-1816 or Pastor Charlie Nassar at 903-2173378.

Contact outdoors writer Luke Clayton through his website www.catfishradio. org.