Downriver Outdoors: A Tale of Two Enablers

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

2014 was the best year I’ve ever had hunting and fishing, and I just turned 60, but the worst on a personal level. In September I lost my Brother in a car accident. He was heading back to his beloved Maine after a summer visit to the old stomping grounds. He was my birding tutor and I still enjoy bird watching to this day. Then in November I lost my Father in Law of 40 years. Not an unexpected event but one that shakes you to the core anyway. He was my hunting enabler.

My family never hunted or even owned sporting firearms. I never thought about hunting growing up instead fishing was my family’s outdoor endeavor. My FIL was big into pheasant hunting and during the 1950s our surrounding area was pheasant heaven. His favorite story was the 5 for 5 on pheasants. Deer hunting is also very big on both sides of my wife’s family. The first time I was invited I had no gun and the only coat I had was a black pea-coat with matching black and white striped scarf. Not the best color scheme for deer hunting being white was a deer color and black was bear, you could hunt bear during deer season at the time. They let me go out anyway with a bead sight shotgun and 2 slugs. I found a spot next to a two track and sat down only to be startled a couple of hours later by a deer that I promptly missed. So started my love affair with hunting.

Jack not only lent me guns but helped be buy guns for myself once I had the finances to do so. He also made sure whom ever wanted to hunt had a place to stay and somewhere to hunt. Making many memories in the process. Like my second time in deer camp he let me use a newly acquired 8mm rifle. This was quite a step up from the shotgun, in both aesthetics and kick, and I got a deer with it. I now had an attachment to the gun being my first deer and all but he ended up horse trading it away that night with the neighbor so back to square one I went. On the way home I asked for his daughters hand in marriage but due to a problem with communication a lot of swearing and gnashing of teeth ensued. Remembering all the stashed handguns Jack had I quickly straightened out the problem and was given his blessing. The enabler and memory maker will be missed dearly.

Now to the best of 2014. Not to mince words here’s some pics.

10.5 pound walleye