Caught Turtle

Amber Garrison of Newton, Mississippi caught a turtle recently but released it back into the water.  

She is also a cowgirl and a bull rider.  You go, Amber!

A catch and release in our great wild Mississippi outdoors!

Very First Fish!

Scott Slage of Poplarville, MS, took his son fishing recently and look what he caught...his very first fish!  What a nice catch for a little fisherman in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors.  Congratulations little fellow!  

Proud of Son's Catch!

Lisa Johnson said her sons did pretty good last week and they learned the famous man lie - Just one more cast, Momma! Congratulations to these two young fishermen in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors! A proud Momma for sure!

A really nice catch for her son.

"Look at my wall hanger momma," her son said.

A Great Catch!

This past Sunday David Bond and his buddy Rick Triplett hit Bond Lake in Stone County, MS.  A very nice 9lbs.14 oz. fish was caught in our great wild Mississippi outdoors!  Congratulations!  

Bone Brothers & Company of Oakland County

My Facebook friend, Mike Persichini has a set-up in his backyard feeding all the wild creatures of the neighborhood and boy do they eat well. Mike has really spoiled them all.   Here are four cam pictures that were taken on the 24th of July of all the visitors to the Boneyard. 

Only in the Boneyard!

They are all locked up! 

An 8, 9 and a 10!

What a mess of bone - no room for the poor guy on the left Mike said. Appreciate all the pictures that Mike shares on Facebook in our great wild Michigan outdoors.

MS Deer Hunting Misinformation Addressed

New Deer Regs, Misinformation  

Some of the questions raised recently stem from changes in the 2017-18 bag limits.

American Duchess Coming To Town?

I blogged in June about the American Duchess Coming To Town but her inaugural stop was postponed until Friday, August 18th. She is the newest vessel for American Steamboat Company, and carries 166 passengers, and will be the fourth vessel now making regular stops in my hometown of Vicksburg, MS.

The Duchess joins the American Queen, the America and Queen of the Mississippi making scheduled stops.   American Cruise Lines, the parent company of the American and Queen of the Mississippi has already scheduled a visit from a new, unnamed riverboat in September 2018.

In 2016, we welcomed 76 visits by passenger riverboats.  That number was higher than the year before and the year before that.

According to Ashley Gatian, sales manager with the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (VCVB), and the main point of contact for many of the riverboat companies, traffic along the riverfront is about to pick up.

"This year, we have seen or have booked 102 visits," Gatian said.  "And, in 2018, we already have scheduled 128 dockings."

Gatian said the visits last year brought an estimated 20,000 visitors to the shores of downtown Vicksburg, with more than 25,000 expected this year.

She also said the VCVB has seen a number of return visitors to Vicksburg, of those who made their first visit to Vicksburg by riverboat and then scheduled another trip because of their experience.

The Hog Killing Queen

My Facebook friend, Kareen Beinhauer of Alpine, TX, is a hog killing queen machine shooting #125 last night.  She saw this hog coming in at 9:17 on the game card the night before so that is where she wanted to be last night.

Her hog story in her own words - 

I was out by 8:30 because the game card had shown that a medium sized boar coming in after 9:00 p.m. At 9:08 I could see someone coming out of the horse trap and I thought, darn, he will hear/see that truck and lay low for awhile. Of course, the javelinas were there and I watched them closely and when they bolted and ran off, I knew he was coming. He circled the outside of this so called pen and then came in and started eating and I took my shot at 9:23 p.m. and dropped him in his tracks. RIP medium sized hog!

Kareen forgot to say that while coming in from killing the hog she was walking down their sidewalk in the back and at one point she heard a "little" rattle. She went inside and thought that wasn't a cicada so she got the flashlight and sure enough, below the sidewalk, there was a small rattlesnake. It was not in a place where they could shoot it so they got it to move and her hubby, Roy chopped its head off and threw it in the creek. Never a dull moment around here she said. 

Congratulations to my hog killing friend and I'm looking forward to her getting hog #126.   You go get'em Kareen!

Love

Haha

Wow

Sa

A Wide Spread & Finished Product

Jessica Lowery from Vicksburg, MS (my hometown) husband shot this 10-point buck at Flowers in Warren County this past deer season in January 2017.   

It had an 18-1/4 inch inside spread and main beams were 22-1/2 inches. 

It's a buck of a lifetime coming from my territory. What a proud and lucky guy showing off his buck with his two sons in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!

The finished product!  My congratulations!

A Big Rat

Jimmie Chism of New Albany, Mississippi is so proud of "Sassy" his Mountain Cur dog that killed this big rat recently.  He said she kills moles, mice and tells on snakes!  She is also a fairly good squirrel dog as well. Sassy is a 'good girl' to get this big old rat in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!   Way to go Sassy!

Look Who's 10 Years Old Today!

My second to the youngest granddaughter, Emma, is the BIG 10 TODAY! Emma lives in Virginia and was visiting family here in Mississippi and Louisiana last month.  It has been two years since I had seen her last. Lucky me will get to see her again in September to celebrate her Mom's 45th Birthday! Wishing my sweet Emma a very Happy 10th Birthday and I love you so much!  Gran Gran! xoxo

Doe PG & Horns?

Bradley Spencer of Port Gibson, Mississippi asked the question last week...is it him or is this doe pregnant?  Also, another hunter said obviously it is pregnant but the real question is...does it have horns?  

Yes, she is pregnant and most likely a late breeder being further south in the state.  Mainly south of I-20 does are dropping as late as September and October. 

Every now and then a doe can produce antlers.  This is a result of her having excessive testosterone in her system.  Her antlers will typically stay small and will not cycle and sheds like those of her male counterpart. Here is an article that explains this a little better. Doe With Antlers - Doe With Horns?

In our great wild Mississippi Outdoors!

Little Doe

Sheila Ann Gordon of Forrest, Mississippi said that she raised this little doe from less than 24 hours old. Her mom was accidentally killed by highway workers. She learned more about deer by raising her until she was 18 months old than she had in a lifetime. The most important thing she instilled in me was to continue to hunt ethically. To EVERYTHING there is a season.

Sheila Ann Gordon, Huntress

Some Fawn Sweetness!

I love these pictures taken by my Facebook friend, Mike Persichini of this young fawn somewhere in Michigan.  

He said he had some sweetness to join him yesterday morning in his dugout. 

Someone asked if it was an orphan and Mike said it might be because he has not seen her with her mother at all.  

She is big enough to eat on her own and she loves what he brings her.

 I think Mike has him a new deer friend!

Sweetness!

Ring Of Fire Weather Happening Now!

Rain storm, heat storm, hail storm, lightning storm, dust storm, wind storm...it's happening now and will continue through the weekend.  Wave after wave of storms continues...try to stay safe and sound.

820-Pound Hog Killed In Front Yard In AL

Wade Seago, a deer hunter, and taxidermist in Samson, AL, said he knew something was up outside his house on July 11 when his family's dog started barking and wouldn't stop.  

His daughter began screaming as he got up to check on his dog, Cruiser.

He looked out the back window and saw nothing, so he ran to the front of the house and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Cruiser was barking at a massive wild hog, which was about five yards from the family's front porch.

Wade said it was not a good situation and went and grabbed his .38-caliber revolver and went back onto the front porch.

It took three shots to take the hog down before it hit the ground.  

The next day, he took the hog to a nearby peanut company to use its scales to weigh the wild beast.

He plans to display the hog's stuffed head and shoulders at his taxidermy shop.  Rest of meat was thrown away because of the heat and humidity.

He had no regrets in killing the hog and would do it again, which had tusk-like teeth that were 6 inches long. Feral hogs cause millions of dollars in damage annually, and hunters on private land can kill as many of them as they want under the AL and MS law.

Big Buck & MS Hunting Season 2017-2018

Sylvester Badeaux just got his "once in a lifetime" mounted buck recently. He said he killed it on free range private land in Claiborne County, Mississippi.  My very first deer (6 point buck) was shot in Claiborne County as well but nothing to compare to the one above. I was so proud and had it mounted like it was a 20 point buck!  

Mississippi Department Wildlife Fisheries

 and Parks Hunting Season 2017 - 2018  

Whitetail Deer

Hunting season will soon be here again and wishing my congrats to Sylvester on a 'very fine buck' in our great wild Mississippi outdoors.

He Was Not Drinking!

I received a message from my nephew today who was at work near the Grand Gulf Nuclear Generating Station in Claiborne County, MS when he spotted a mostly white/brown doe that was standing in the road.  He asked me had I ever seen a deer like that before and told him no.  It must have been a piebald deer which is rare to see one. He said the color threw him off.  He thought from a distance it was a goat.  As he got closer to it, she turned and ran across the road! It happened so fast that he had no time to take a picture with his phone and was so confused at first...and he was not drinking!   Only in our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!

Genetics On Display - A genetic variation (defect) produces the piebald condition in white-tailed deer, not parasites or diseases. Piebald deer are colored white and brown similar to a pinto pony. Sometimes they appear almost entirely white.

A Catch & Release!

Russell Buras, Jr., of Poplarville, MS took two of his children fishing recently and said it was only a catch and release lesson.

Proverb states - Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.  

Russell is doing it right in taking his children fishing our great wild and wonderful Mississippi outdoors!

Wishbone & Boneyard

My Facebook friend, Mike Persichini, takes a lot of pictures of deer in Michigan and even names some of the deer.  This one is called "Wishbone!"  Wishbone has an awesome velvet rack this year.  The deer he takes pictures of are in a park area and also in his backyard that he calls the Boneyard!  The deer know him well and feel safe in his presence and also feeds the deer, squirrels, etc.  Mike said Wishbone is a 3-year-old and he counted 20 points!  He will be taking a lot of pictures and will keep you updated on Wishbone's progress in our great wild and wonderful Michigan outdoors! 

Mike's Boneyard!