How I Started
Here is a breakdown of my current outdoor adventures:
fly fishing :: So after a lifetime of fascination with fly fishing, I have finally been bitten by the fly fishing bug. Join along as you hear about my latest fly fishing experiences as I explore this awesome fishing lifestyle.
canoeing :: My wife and I canoe just about every available weekend during the late spring to early fall. Our current canoe is the Old Town Guide 147 but my dream canoe is an Old Town Discovery 169. We are fortunate to live in one of the most beautiful areas in the country and are blessed with incredible canoeing opportunities in our immediate area. We are proud to boast that we have a 95% success rate in spotting Bald Eagles on our trips. I also take a solo canoe camping trip every year that I enjoy immensely.
cycling :: My wife and I enjoy riding our bicycles for pleasure & exercise through the rural roads of Hampshire County, WV. We are by no means fast but we love to ride regardless of our skill level. I have owned several bikes including a Specialized Road, Trek Road and Giant sport comfort. For several reasons, I ditched the road bikes and am solely riding a Giant Cypress that I've owned for many years. I also enjoy participating in charity tour rides including the Capital Tour de Cure and the Shenandoah Heritage Ride.
survival/bushcrafting :: I have practiced my skills since I was a 9 year old attempting to light a fire with one match. I now enjoy practicing with my 18th century flint and steel combo as well as more modern fire starting tools. I am now blessed with a few acres of wooded land where I can practice my skills anytime. I also enjoy learning to tie knots which fits into this category very nicely. For the last three or four years I have followed Dave Canterbury and Nutnfancy on youtube and most recently discovered The Survival Podcast.
deer hunting :: I started deer hunting 10 years ago at the age of 29 and only regret that I did not start sooner. When work doesn't get in the way I enjoy bow, rifle and smoothbore muzzleloading hunting for deer. My largest rack is a 98" gross Maryland Public Land 8 Pointer which I call, The Lesson Learned Buck. However, one of the most exciting hunts I've witnessed, was last year when the landowner shot a 140 class 11 pont West Virginia Mountain buck.
turkey hunting :: I've turkey hunted in the past without any luck and usually fell asleep because no turkeys were anywhere around. Two years ago, one of my friends took me with him on a turkey hunt and I picked his brains for two days. On return, I went on a solo hunt and called in a nice gobbler to within thirty yards, on my first morning alone. I was using a smoothbore flintlock and took a shot and missed that ol' tom. I have since called in 3 more gobblers and either got spotted or on the last tom realized I left my flint at the house and could not take a shot. I wasn't able to hunt last year because I bought a foreclosure right before gobbler season and was way too busy. I am anxiously awaiting to harvest my first tom this year.
small mouth bass fishing :: I caught my first smallie around the age of 9 or 10, it was a 12" lake smallie and I've enjoyed it ever since. I enjoy getting out on the river in my canoe and fishing for this incredible species. It's been said that pound for pound, the smallie is the most fighting fish to catch. Its not unusual to catch 40-50 smallies per person on a 4 hour canoe trip.
camping :: I've been camping since I was about 8 years old. The older I get, the less gear I want to lug around with me, so I really enjoy ultra-light camping and canoe camping. I really enjoy combining both canoeing and camping. Right now my favorite tent is a Kelty Quartz 4 season tent.
shooting guns :: I have shot a lot of different types of guns in my life from a .22 all the way up to the Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher and a few years ago was a licensed FFL3 Curio and Relic license holder. I also possess a West Virginia Concealed Carry License and carry often. Right now my two carry guns are an older Ruger P95 decock model that I bought back in October 2004 after the faulty assault weapon ban was lifted and a Bersa .380 Concealed Carry Model that I bought shortly after they released it. I love to shoot guns and I wish someone would invent cologne in gun powder flavor.
gardening :: My wife and I have had several gardens over the last 14 years and while I do not enjoy picking weeds, I love planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables. I have recently discovered permaculture and will be applying some of its principles to my garden this year. This is the first year for our garden at our current location, so you will be able to learn with me as we design and build the garden and begin to apply permaculture techniques to our land.
barbecue :: I have always loved barbecue sauce and eventually bought just about every major brand of store bought sauce there is in the grocery store. I eventually made my own smoker out of a trash can and learned the art of smoking meat. About six years ago I upgraded my well used trash can smoker for a Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker and have not looked back since.
hiking :: I usually take a few short hiking trips each year with my wife. I enjoy it but I do not really engage in a lot of hiking throughout the year.
As you can see, I am a fairly well rounded outdoorsman and enjoy many types of adventures and activities, so while other podcasters may deliver expert opinions and facts about their main topic; I plan to take a different approach and share with you about a number of activities that I enjoy and hope that you will follow me along the way.
I started this podcast to share my passion in the outdoors with whomever will listen. I hope to create an online community of like-minded people who enjoy the outdoors. I hope that you enjoy The Outdoor Podcast, just remember that I am not an expert, but I do have lots of knowledge to offer and am very opinionated about a few things.
Finally, I believe that everyone should live their life to the fullest with God, Guns and Country Music.
