Southern Traditions Outdoors - April/May 2013

Complimentary Copy APRIL-MAY 2013

MAKING MEMORIES

ST. JUDE COON HUNT

GOOFY GOBBLER

PICKWICKSTRIPERS

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Advertising Information: Southern Traditions Outdoors | Rob Somerville

(731) 446-8052 [email protected]

DISCLAIMER - Neither the authors nor Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine LLC assume any responsibility or liability for any actions by readers who utilize any information contained within. Readers are advised that the use of any and all information contained within Southern Traditions Outdoors is at their own risk.

On the CoverPictured on this issue’s cover, is Pickwick Lake striped bass guru, Dave Harbin, with a huge rockfidsh.

Photo by Rob Somerville

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine Mission Statement:Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine vows to put forth a publication to promote the outdoors lifestyle in a positive manner. We will strive to encourage veteran and novice outdoorsmen, women, kids, and the physically challenged to participate in the outdoors in a safe and ethical manner. Our publication will bring positive attention to the wondrous beauty of the world of Nature in the mid-south.

Garry MasonWalter WilkersonTerry WilkersonSteve McCadamsKelley Powers

Eddie BrunswickLarry Self John SloanRichard SimmsJohn MeachamBuck Gardner

Scott MarcinEd LankfordDrew BrooksJohn LathamJohn Roberts

Field Staff Editors

Owners - Eddie Anderson Rob Somerville Kevin Griffith Stacey LemonsPublisher - Eddie AndersonEditor - Rob Somerville

Magazine Design - Kalli LipkeAdvertising Sales Rob Somerville - Managing PartnerDistribution Johnathan Anderson

Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine, LLC

PG .................ARTICLE ......................................................AUTHOR 8....................... Making Memories - Fiction ............................................ Rob Somerville12....................... TWRA News ................................................................. TWRA16....................... The Striped Tigers of Pickwick Lake ............................ Rob Somerville22....................... Retriever Training: Mark! Mark! Everywhere a Mark! ... H. Joe King28....................... St. Jude - World’s Largest Coon Hunt .......................... Shawn Todd32....................... Fun, Friends & Fishing .................................................. John Lantham34....................... The Goofy Gobbler - Humor ......................................... Rob Somerville38....................... In Pursuit of a Dream - Fyrne Lake - Part Two ............. Kevin Griffith44....................... STO Recommends ....................................................... Rob Somerville45....................... Kid’s Corner - Crossword Puzzle ..................................46....................... Trophy Room ................................................................

TABLE OF CONTENTS


Where the Magic HappensJust like you, I love the outdoors, and it never fails - I have hit crunch time for completing the design and lay

out of the next edition of the STO magazine. That means 24 waking hours and 18 hours of work ahead of me, and it’s the most beautiful weekend anyone could ask for. But, I sit in front of my computer screen clicking away, while the sun shines, bees hum, and birds chatter outside my window, taunting me to come play. Luckily, one of my other favorite hobbies is graphic design.

I have been picking up freelance graphic design jobs since 2006, and about a year ago I was hired to design and layout Southern Traditions Outdoors. The editor, Rob Somerville, supplies the content and ads to me, and I through the use of design software make a magazine out of it. After we have a final draft, I upload to our printing company. It takes about 24 hours to get a physical copy of the color proof back to us. We then go through the printed proof and check every last detail. I make the necessary corrections, and upload the final to the printer. After it is printed, Rob picks up the copies and distributes (along with a network of friends and co-owners) them across Tennessee, as well as to parts of Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas over the next three weeks, which is how it arrives at the strategic locations where you pick them up and enjoy them ... free of charge!

In addition to designing the magazine, I developed the website - www.southerntraditionsoutdoors.com- which has the publication in its entirety, as well as the ads and links to our advertisers. I have also created social media accounts (facebook & twitter). I unfortunately do not have the time that is necessary to continuously add content to our social media, and ask that you “like” us and upload any photos you may have of your hunting, fishing, and outdoor experiences!

Kalli

From the Art Department

Kalli Bio

STO Position: Magazine

Design & Layout

STO Duration: 1 year

Education: Bachelor’s of

ArtExperience: 7 years

Have a graphic design job?

Email me!

[email protected]

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Making Memoriesn early, misty fog curls

around the cypress knees. It makes me feel as if I’ve trav-eled back in time to a prehis-toric era, untainted by man and his ignorance. The brack-ish water laps gently at my canoe, keeping time for na-ture’s symphony, comprised of the belches of the bull-frogs and the cry of seagulls as they acrobatically soar through the air. Up ahead, a half-sub-merged log supports a col-ony of turtles and they slop into the water, as my canoe closes in on their turf. Not far upstream, a small school of shad frantically skip across the surface of the lake, as an unknown predator, unseen by

human eyes, hunts its break-fast below the surface. As we pass a small creek chan-nel, a mother coon seems to be instructing her young on proper hygiene habits as they playfully wrestle each other. They comically tumble over and into the water, paying

her no mind whatsoever. One baby coon gets in too deep, and we witness the mother coon patiently reach in and grab him by the back of the neck with her mouth, placing him back on the shore. This starts my companion to gig-

gling. We venture too close to the family and the mother rises up, bristling and chat-tering at us. Not wanting to upset nature, I quickly paddle the canoe away. Today is my grandson’s first fishing trip and he is as anxious as a coondog on a

full moon night to begin. We pull up to a secluded group of lily pads that routinely hold fish year after year and I solemnly hand my grand-son my treasured “good luck” pole. His eyes nearly pop out of his head, as he finally gets

to handle the pole that had been previously off limits to him. I set the cricket box on his lap and watch his face turn white, as he sticks his tiny hand in and hesitantly pulls out a cricket. I nod my approval, hiding my smile with my hand. He rears back on the ten-foot cane pole and tosses the line in the general direction of the water. I reach up and pull off my hat, which has his hooked cricket firmly embed-ded in it and both of us gig-gle like a couple of school-girls. A little more cautiously this time, he tries again. This time he is successful and the splat of the bobber causes rings of ripples on the mir-

Fiction by Rob SomervilleA

Today is my grandson’s first fishing trip and he is as anxious as a coondog on a full moon night to begin.


ror calm surface of the lake. Five minutes go by and nothing happens! He starts nervously casting glances at me and I keep pointing back at the bobber. He’s starting to get fidgety with the im-patience of youth, but I only have to chastise him with a single index finger to my lips to be still. Suddenly, the bobber jiggles, and it’s like an electrical current of excitement running through him and into me. He looks at me expectantly and I hold out my hand for patience and whisper, “He’s just playing with it. Wait for the bobber to go under.” Almost immediately, the float pops under the surface and the boy rears back on the pole to set the hook, near-ly toppling us both into the water. Off into battle goes this beautiful bluegill, into its ha-

bitual circular dance and the magic of a lifetime of fishing enjoyment is projected from me into my grandson within a period of seconds. He pulls the fish up and into the boat, and I show him how to unhook it. We pop it into a five gallon bucket and I watch with love as my grandson stares with pride at his first fish. At that very moment an eagle glides by overhead, as if in celebration of this oc-casion and I realize one of God’s greatest gifts to man was ours to share today. A rain comes up out of no-where, soaking us to the bone and extinguishing my cigar. But, we don’t care. We just smile at each other. He reach-es out his tiny hand and puts it into my large and callused one, shaking it firmly like a little man, and simply says, “Thanks Pops.”

I realize then and there that an important moment in both of our lives had just happened. It was the passing on of the great American tra-dition of fishing … as a fam-ily. I raise my hand to the

sky and give silent thanks to the Master Creator of all that is good, while my grandson eagerly reaches for another cricket.

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TWRA REQUESTS PUBLIC INPUT FOR 2014 FISHING REGULATIONS

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is soliciting comments for its 2014 fishing regu-lations. This is an opportunity for the public to share ideas and concerns about fishing regulations with TWRA staff.

Public comments will be considered by fisheries managers and may be present-ed as proposals for regulation changes. Comments may be submitted by mail to: Fish Comments, TWRA, Fisheries Management Division, P.O. 40747, Nash-ville, TN 37204 or emailed to [email protected]. Please include “Fish Comments” on the subject line of emailed submissions.

The fishing regulations are usually set each year during the October meeting by the Tennessee Fish and Wild-life Commission.

This comment period concerning fishing regulations will be open until May 3, 2013.

CHATTANOOGA MAN FACES CHARGES AS A RESULT OF OCTOBER 2012 BOATING

CRASHTennessee Wildlife Resources Agency wildlife of-

ficers have filed charges against a Chattanooga man as a result of an October 2012 boating

crash on Chickamauga Lake.Jason D. Payne, (40), was charged af-

ter TWRA officers secured warrants on Reckless Operation of a Vessel Boat, Boating Under the Influence (BUI), and simple possession of drugs. The charg-es come as a result of the boating crash

that injured Payne and two other persons. Payne was the operator of the vessel when

it crashed into a dock on Chickamauga Lake Oct. 13, 2012.

Payne turned himself in at the Hamilton County jail and has been released on $25,000 bond. He is sched-

uled to appear in Hamilton County General Sessions Court on April 1, 2013.

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“SWING FOR THE TREES” HAS PLANTING EVENT

Officials from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Nashville Sounds, Metro Parks staff, and Friends of Edwin Warner Park, along with other volunteers, gathered at the park to plant trees as part of the “Swing for the Trees” program.

“Swing for the Trees” is a tree planting program to pro-mote the importance of trees to Tennessee. The TWRA par-ticipated in the program beginning last season. During the Sounds home games, where there was at least one broken bat, resulted in the opportunity for obtaining trees to be planted this spring. A total of 114 bats were broken by the Sounds in 2012.

Native trees including sugar maple, sycamore, northern red oak and red were planted along Vaughn Road between the Edwin Warner Park Headquarters and near the Little Har-peth River. The tree plantings will replace some of the trees used to make baseball bats and help to restore the riparian or stream bank habitats. In addition to wood products, trees provide shade, wildlife habitat, cool streams, fresh oxygen, erosion and flood control, and are a key part of contributing to Tennessee’s year-round beauty.

TWRA, along with the Sounds, and the Tennessee Depart-ment of Agriculture-Division of Forestry are set to be partners for the “Swing for the Trees” program in 2013. The Sounds play a 72-game home schedule and start the new campaign with an eight-game homestand beginning April 4.

2013 ELK HUNT APPLICATION DATES SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 12 - JULY 24

The application period for Tennessee’s 2013 elk hunt will be June 12 through July 24, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced. This year’s application period, which also includes the youth hunt application period, will be held concurrently with the Wildlife Management Area (WMA) and WMA Youth quota period.

Tennessee’s fifth elk hunt is scheduled to be held Oct. 21-25 at the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, lo-cated off I-75, north of Knoxville. There will again be five Elk Hunting Zones designated at the WMA.

Previously, the application period for the elk hunts was held April 1 through May 31 each year.

Customers who are interested in applying for both the WMA quota hunt and elk quota hunt will have to submit two applications, one for each. The computer drawings will be handled separately. The rules and regulations for each quota hunt will remain the same.

As in the previous hunts, five individuals will be selected to participate. Four of the participants will be selected through the computer drawing conducted by the TWRA. Nonresident applicants will be restricted to no greater than 25 percent of the drawn permits. The fifth participant will be the recipient of a permit that is donated to a Non-Governmental Organiza-tion (NGO), which this year will be announced at a later date.

When the application period begins, persons may apply at any TWRA license agent, TWRA regional office or online at www.tnelkhunt.org. The deadline is midnight (CDT) on July 24. Mailed applications will not be accepted.

This will be the second year for the Young Sportsman Elk Hunt. After completing the regular elk hunt draw, a special computerized youth drawing will take place for resident ap-plicants who will be between the ages of 13-16 on the open-ing day of the elk hunt. The lucky recipient will be awarded

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and Nashville Sounds were among those planting trees in Edwin Warner Park as part of the “Swing for the Trees” program. From left; Don King (TWRA Infor-mation and Education Division Chief), Pandy English (Instream Flow Coordinator, TWRA Environmental Services), Doug Scopel (Sounds Assistant General Manager), Brad Tammen (Sounds Vice President/General Manager) Steve Patrick (TWRA Assistant Director), and Ozzie

(Sounds mascot). continued on next page


the special youth elk tag. The dates of the youth hunt will be Oct. 26-27 and the participant would be able to hunt on any of the five elk hunting zones designated at the North Cumber-land Wildlife Management Area. A youth entering the draw must select the regular elk hunt or youth elk hunt.

COMMISSION AMENDS COMMERCIAL FISHING PROCLAMATION AT MARCH MEET-

ING IN NASHVILLEThe Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission approved an

amendment to the commercial fishing proclamation among business at its March meeting held at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Region II Ray Bell Building.

TWRA Assistant Fisheries Division Chief Frank Fiss pre-sented Proclamation 13-02. The amendment added black carp to the list of commercial fish species, modified commercial fishing hours on embayments of Kentucky Lake, and changed gillnet mesh size regulations.

On the Mississippi River, legal mesh size will be 3 inches or larger. On other commercially open waters, legal mesh size will be 3 to 4.5, and 6 inches and larger. The changes will be effective 30 days after filed in the secretary of state’s office.

He also reported on a recently-held Asian carp Tourna-ment in Kentucky on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. More than 83,000 pounds of fish were removed in the two day tournament.

Chuck Yoest, TWRA Wild Hog Coordinator, provided a

summary of the 2012 landowner exemption program. The exemption program exists to enable property owners to con-trol wild hogs. There were 1,114 exemptions issued in 2012 to landowners across the state.

TWRA estimates that approximately 3,800 wild hogs were taken by exemption holders in 2012. Of the wild hogs taken, 38 percent were taken through trapping, 38 percent by shoot-ing, 18 percent by other means, and 6 percent by unknown means. TWRA has received overwhelming positive feedback regarding the exemption program, Yoest said.

TWRA Sate Ornithologist Scott Somershoe gave a report about TWRA’s participation in a multi-state project to track the movements of golden eagles. The report indicated that winter golden eagle population is higher than it was origi-nally thought to be in the state.

The March meeting was the first under the direction of the new TFWC officers that were at the February meeting. Dr. Jeff McMillin, the new TFWC chairman, announced the eight committee assignments for the commission for the coming year. One of the committees is new which will be known as the biodiversity/multiple use committee. Commissioners Julie Schuster will serve as the chairperson while Clayton Stout will serve as the vice chairperson.

Bill Reeves, TWRA Chief of Biodiversity, reported on the TWRA receiving the Teaming with Wildlife Partner-ship Award for its efforts with hellbenders. The award was presented earlier this month by the Association of Fish and

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Wildlife Agencies in Washington, D.C. at the Rayburn House Office Building.

Joey Woodard, Executive Director of the Tennessee Wild-life Resources Foundation, spoke to the commission about the upcoming 2013 Governor’s One Shot Turkey Hunt to be held April 5-6. The format for the event has changed this year as the hunt will now be held on two days. The Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin is the new hub for the event. The Governor’s One Shot Turkey Hunt benefits the Foundation and various TWRA outreach programs.

TWRA RECEIVES TEAMING WITH WILD-LIFE AWARD FOR PARTNERSHIPS FOR

HELLBENDERS RESEARCHThe Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has been hon-

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Bill Reeves, TWRA Chief of Biodiversity, received the award in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. at the Rayburn House Office Building. The award is the culmination of ex-tensive work on the current status of the species of giant sal-amanders that is endemic to eastern North America.

Hellbender populations were historically abundant in Ten-nessee and other states. Surveys conducted over a two-year period verified that hellbender distribution and abundance within its historic range have severely declined over the last 20 years.

A team at the Nashville Zoo is developing new reproduc-tive technologies to breed hellbenders in a laboratory setting. It is the goal that when perfected, large numbers will be pro-duced and genetically diverse offspring will be reintroduced into the wild. The Nashville Zoo project launched about five years ago with three male hellbenders and one female from a healthy wild population.

Other partners with the TWRA in the project are Lee Uni-versity, Middle Tennessee State University, Nashville Zoo, Orianne Society, University of Tennessee, Antwerp Zoo, and the University of Idaho.

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Question: What do Bengal tigers have in common with Pickwick Lake rockfish?

Answer: They both have stripes and are considered the most fe-rocious and aggressive mem-bers of their species.

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to meet the resident “striper guru” of Pickwick Lake, David Har-bin. He asked me if I had ever been striper fishing be-fore. I told him I had for small striped bass at Reel-foot. He laughed and told me to plan on coming down and becoming addicted to the stripers of Pickwick Dam. Dave wasn’t very enthused at the timing of the trip though. It seems that TVA does not generate much, if any, water from the dam on weekends. This fact, coupled with the huge crowds coming to holiday at Pickwick, didn’t have his hopes up too high for success. He informed me that during the weekdays, several generators usually are running. The noise of the tur-bulent water is like a dinner

bell sounding off to stripers. But we had a chance, as TVA was running one of their six generators each day.

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Tennessee Dave told me that the con-ditions we would be fish-ing under would require live bait. Unbeknownst to me, the

bait we needed could not be found at your average bait store. We would have to catch our own from Pickwick Lake itself! It seems that the reason gizzard shad are not kept at bait stores is because they can only be kept alive for short periods of times. The same goes for another rockfish favorite - the yel-

low tail shad. The method he used to accomplish this feat was by throwing a six foot diameter throw seine {net} along the rocky shore next to the dam. In our favor, was Dave’s ex-pertise with the weighted net. Going against us, was my in-experience in navigating the boat. I was told to keep the

The Striped Tigers

of Pickwick Lake

By Rob Somerville

continued on page 18

Pictured here are two happy customers and a Pickwick Lake striped bass fishing guide, holding up a day’s catch of five nice rockfish. -Photo by Rob Somerville


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boat steady, about ten feet from the rocks. This proved extremely difficult for me as a rookie, due to the turbulent water and ever-changing cur-rent. But, somehow we man-aged to net some six giz-zard shad, a favorite food for the stripers. These fish look like super-sized minnows and ranged in length from four to eight inches.

Rigged for the Rapids

David outfitted us with me-dium duty spinning rods and bait casting reels. The reels were spooled with twenty-pound test, monofilament line. At the business end of the line was a ½ oz. bell sinker, tied on to a swivel. Approximately twenty inch-es below the weight was a

large Kayle style bait hook. We hooked our shad through both lips from the bottom up, similar to rigging minnows for Reelfoot Lake crappie, dropped our baited hooks in to the live well and motored up-current to the base of the

dam, near the running gener-ator. David instructed me to cast my bait at the base of the dam and to count slowly to twenty, before locking down my reel, as he performed a controlled drift with the cur-rent. A controlled drift is per-formed by using your out-board motor to maintain the nose of the boat, while fac-ing up-current. This prevents

multiple line tangles and rigs getting fouled in the motor propeller. As we drifted, Da-vid said to watch my rod tip. When it bounced randomly, it meant I was bumping bottom and needed to reel in about six to twelve inches, to pre-

vent snagging on the rocky depths.

Running and Gunning

Striper fishing at Pickwick is not for the stereotypical casual angler, who wants to leisurely sit on a bucket un-der a shade tree and nap be-tween nibbles. The action is fast and can quickly become furious. The distance of the

controlled drift is about ¼ of a mile. Veteran Pickwick anglers call this a “run” or “drift”. The preferred meth-od of these Pickwick pros is to constantly run these series of drifts. When they reach the end of the current, they reel in their line and gun the mo-tor back up to the base of the dam, in constant repetition of this process. I was just about to ask David what a striper would feel like when it hits my bait when my rod bowed into an arc and the tip began vi-brating spasmodically. “Fish on,” yelled David, as he ex-pertly maneuvered the boat for me to fight my first Pick-wick striper. The line whirred against my drag, as the fish took off on run after run. I

Striped Tigers of Pickwick Lake Continued

This young angler is shown getting his seine net ready, to catch somegizzard shad, to bait his striper hooks. - Photo by Rob Somerville

Gizzard shad are the bait of choice for striped bass at Pickwick Lake.- Photo by Rob Somerville

" Gizzard shad look like super-sized minnows..."


thought I would never get it in to the boat. I would pump him in and reel, and the mag-nificent fighting fish would take off again, peeling line from my spool. Finally, he tired and David netted the rockfish, mouthing it with a gloved hand, ever cognizant of its sharp teeth. It was truly a Kodak moment. We ended up landing twelve fish in about three hours. They ranged in weight from two to nine pounds each

and we kept four of the de-licious fish to eat for lat-er in the evening. I had my line break on two fish that David said would go better than 15lbs. each. As we all enjoyed a delicious meal of ribs with all the trimmings and homemade pie from the Rib Cage restaurant, David invited me to come back on a weekday striper trip, when several generators would be running. He said that is when we might tie in to some twen-ty and thirty pound fish. Just to be sure, I asked him for a signed invitation. He just laughed and said, “You are now officially hooked.”

Summary The rockfish at Pickwick originate from a salt water species. Many believed that they would not live and breed in this fresh water lake. But, they not only have survived – they have thrived! Striper fishing at Pickwick Lake can be done year-round. Other methods of catching these rockfish are by casting lures

that imitate large shad, blue-gill or crappie. At least for your initial visit to this out-door paradise, I recommend you hire a guide. These folks know the lake pool, the gen-erating schedule and fish transition period. They can definitely put you on some fish. There are many other at-tractions and activities in the area such as world class golf, antique shopping, rus-tic log cabins for rent on

the lakeside and fine restau-rants. Other species of fish that draw many anglers from all over the United States to Pickwick Lake include monster-sized catfish, blue-gill, crappie, and all species of bass. The National Cat-fish Derby is held there each July and it is not uncom-mon to see sixty pound cats at the weigh in. The locals

treat visitors like family and with each trip I make new

friends there.

This family hooked this big striper, while fishing right next to the author. - Photo by Rob Somerville

"I thought I would never get it in to the boat."

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As I stated in the last issue, I hope you have boned up on your retriever’s discipline. Your dog’s obedi-ence, to the sit and stay command, is one of the most important steps in helping you with the marking drills we are about to talk about. Having a non-steady dog will deter him in seeing the mark or dummy thrown. So let’s go with the eager, yet steady dog at heel. The single mark, which can vary from about 45 yards and go up tot 250 to 300 yards, should have the training dummy thrown at a 90 degree angle in front of the dog. Get the dog’s attention with a “Hey, Hey” command, or a blank gun shot out in the field where the dummy was thrown. Take notice of the attention of the dog, as it is looking toward the training dummy thrown. The dog should show eagerness to retrieve, with its ears cocked. Release the dog on your retrieve command. He should return with the training dummy {or dead duck} and deliver to the heel position. The beginning single-mark, leading up to multiple-marks, should be used with the white/black training dummies. You are teaching your dog to look out in front of you. The white/black dummy tumbling in the air will help him marking the object all the way to the ground. White and black flag trailers attached to the dummy will help with the dog’s focus out in the field. Training your dog on marking drills needs to be done in different types of field area terrain. Flat, hilly, tree lines and grassy fields are some of these examples. These different areas of marking are needed to increase focus and confidence in the retriever. Remember to start with short retrieves, extending them in distance to long retrieves, based on your dog’s success. Do not add additional marks until your dog is marking and picking up the singles with repetition and confidence. Your next step in training is the addition of multiple retrieves. Start out by throwing out a mark {training dummy} to the right, then another one to left, at 180 degrees. What you are doing, is standing with your dog at heel, between the two marks thrown. Start short with both marks. Throw the right mark first, keeping your dog at heel and position the dog for the second mark to the left with steadiness. When first attempting this,

you will need to have the dog on a lead. This will help with his steadiness. Send your dog for the last mark thrown, or the mark he is focused on. Finish the first retrieve, and then send him on the second. Repeat these two marks or “Double Retrieve” until the dog is very successful and confident in picking up both marks and return-ing them in the heel position. Practice these doubles in several different field scenarios. After continuous success retrieving doubles, the third and fourth marks can be added. Following plenty of practice with field marks, you can begin training for retrieves on the water, starting with singles and going up to multiple marks. Throw-ing dummies into the center of a pond at 90 degrees, just like you did in the field, is the way to progress. Get your dog’s attention with a “Hey, Hey” com-mand or a blank shotgun blast, then release your dog for the retrieve. Various and irregular areas of the pond (points, irregular banks, flood trees or brush) should be used. This builds confidence in your dog upon suc-cessful retrieves. Just like in the field, not every area is open and all of them can differ while actually hunt-ing. When adding “multiple” water marking retrieves, wide angles between retrieves should be utilized. This will hopefully keep your dog from switching from one dummy to another. If he swaps from going after one mark to a second one, stop the drill and re-throw the dummies, letting him know to finish what he is sent for. Proper marking and retrieving takes time and pa-tience. Start short and extend your distance, adding additional marks one at a time as your dog’s success dictates. Use your different terrains, on both land and water, and with repetition and patience your dog will become a better marker. With all areas of gun dog training we want a willing and eager dog, who wants to work for you. In future articles, we will be talking about further about advance marking and blind re-trieves. Good luck with training!Joe H. King, Jr.Thunder Ridge Retrievers, 731-676-7776

Retriever Training: Part 5 in the Series

Mark! Mark! Everywhere a Mark!

By Joe H. King Jr.



The key to making excellent retrieves during duck season is repetition and patience in your practice sessions.

- STO file photo

Using an artificial dummy to teach your dog to mark, retrieve and re-turn the dummy to the heel position

should first be done on land.- STO file photo

After your dog routinely handles mul-tiple retrieves on various terrains of land, the next step is to repeat the

training process on the water.- STO file photo



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ber shed and four acres of land on the Forked Deer River, the Farmers Mar-ket moved to a covered, open air mar-ket. The former Forcum-Lannom Lum-ber Company property was repurposed to become a River Park and Farmers Market. Main Street, with grant fund-ing from the Tennessee Main Street Pro-gram, USDA Rural Development and

the Tennessee Agriculture Enhancement Program reworked the lumber building to include electricity, lighting, new paint and secure storage. Later, the Yates fam-ily built a stage, so the building could become a multi purpose venue. The land adjoining the Market once was the Dy-ersburg Public Works department. Five buildings were removed by the City

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and the County of Dyer did extensive dirt work to the property to prepare for the walking trails and facilities of the River Park. The Main Street Farmers Market has many public and private partners and advertises to be one of only a few mar-kets that include kayak rental and blue-way paddling trips as a part of its op-eration. Steve Guttery is the Director of Downtown Development for the Cham-ber and is the manager of the Farmers Market. Guttery says, “We seized the opportunity to add some amenities to underutilized property in our down-town area. Most community planners would love to have a river through their downtown. Dyersburg had turned its back on the very river that created the town. Our thought was to do something that would get people back downtown, so we put the market on the River and

invited everyone to come.” The Mar-ket now stands as the centerpiece of the development. “Our success with a farmers market has not been built upon creating a sustainable market. The goal was something much easier - to bring people back downtown”, said Guttery. Of course, you don’t get the people if you don’t run the market correctly and doing that has led to a thriving produc-er-only farmers market for the commu-nity to enjoy. Guttery added, “And yes, it brings people back downtown!” The Main Street Farmers opens June 15th through September 28th, every Tuesday and Saturday. For more in-formation, contact Steve Guttery at 731-285-3433Obion County Farmer’s Market announces their Grand Opening! The extremely popular, Obion County Farmers Market {OCFM} is returning

this year, bigger and better than ever! The OCFM will offer local produce, honey, meat, milk and even fresh gulf seafood. Alongside with local farmers, will be local crafters who will be offering homemade wood making crafts and art, wreaths and much more. OCFM will have its grand opening May 4th in downtown Union City. This year prom-ises more events with a wholesome fam-ily atmosphere. The market will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays – from 7:00 am until the last vendor leaves and on Saturdays from 7:00 am until the last vendor closes shop. So, bring the whole family and come out and support the local traders at the Obion County Farmers Market. Stay up-dated with us on Facebook. For more in-formation call the Obion County Cham-ber of Commerce at 731-885-0211.


St. Jude’s World’s Largest Coon Hunt

By Shawn Todd

This photo depicts one of the championship coon dog trials at the event, from 2009. - Photo courtesy of www.akccoonhounds.org.

ello to all the readers of STO magazine. Last is-

sue, we talked about getting young people involved in the world of coon hunting. To-day, let’s talk about the good that coon hunters do. One such event is the 38th An-nual “Worlds Largest Coon Hunt” to help benefit St. Ju-de’s Children Research Hos-pitals. This year on the week-end of April 11th, 12th, and 13th it was held at the rolling hills and hollows of Parsons, Tennessee. The air was virtu-ally echoing with the beauti-ful sound of hound music. Every cent raised in this

event will go to St Jude’s, and each and every year, with the help of hunters and tire-less volunteers, this event gets bigger and better. The St. Jude hunt was started in 1976, when some caring peo-ple of Decatur County decid-ed to combine their passion for coon hunting with their compassion for sick children to help St Jude Children’s Hospital. The event raised $9,059, the first year. After that in-augural first event, you could say the rest is history, with the hunt raising more than 4.1 million for St. Jude’s

Children’s Research Hospi-tal, over the years. This just goes to show you that there is still good in people’s hearts, and in the world, despite the bad news we see everyday on the idiot box. Let us hope this event will see many more prosperous years in the fu-ture, for this great cause. I know this is one coon hunt-er that will do his best to be there, for as long as I can. On Thursday night, they have a white bean supper for everyone. Let me tell you, the white beans are to die for, and if you know me, food is one thing I know about. Af-

ter the supper, they conduct a youth and a ladies hunt. The youth hunts are divided into two groups. One group for children under the age of 13, and the other group is for kids ages 13 to 17. It is a blast to watch the youth compete. One year, I brought two young men with me to compete. They were Brock “Kid Brock” Elkins and Ryan “PBR” Blalock. They did not win, but they had a great time and were quickly educated on the good that St. Jude’s Children Hos-pital does for sick kids. The last two youth hunt winners

H


for the category of 12 and under, were Chase Rushing (2012) and this year’s win-ner Maddox Derryberry. For the category of 13 to 17, the winners were Blane Burdette (2012) and this year’s winner Ethan Roller. The ladies hunt is also fun to hear about and these la-dies take this as serious as any man does. It offers en-couragement to females of all ages to participate in hunting, while helping a great cause. Some of the past winners of the ladies hunt are Shelia Lewis of Gates, Tennessee, and for the past two years the winner was Bethany Wood of Wildervillie, Tennessee. And all this transpires just on Thursday night! On Friday and Saturday, the main event hunt, kicks off with an average of 100 en-tries. This will make 25 casts of 4 dogs (a cast consist of 3 to 4 dogs competing with

each other, depending on the number of entries). They will be sent through-out various terrain, in Ten-nessee and North Mississippi. I have been fortunate enough to be grouped with some great handlers and hounds in the hunt. The first year I participated, I was with Jake Brasher of Scotts Hill, Ten-nessee. He came in second that Friday night with “2 Goose Skid,” a walker dog owned by Mike and Mac Neal Creasy, with a score of 650 plus. The second year I attended, I was with Mr. Tommy Hall of Medon, Ten-nessee and his black and tan “High 5’s Black Hawk” who won Friday night. The next night, I was paired with Jus-tin Wallace and his female walker “Barking Bell” who won that night. Some winners from the past years are “Carolina Peaches” owned by Billy Bell, and the

2011 winner - “Bedwell’s Hatchie River Max” owned by Jason Bedwell of Scotts Hill, Tennessee. Last years winner was “Two Goose

All Grand Snickers” owned by Mike and Mac Neal Creasy who are also from Scots Hill, Tennessee.

The 38th Annual World’s Largest Coon Hunt, is held each year tobenefit kids like these, being treated at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

- Photo courtesy of www.akccoonhounds.org.

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If you love to coon hunt, watch great dogs work, fel-lowship with other hunters or just believe in the wonderful work that St. Jude’s Children Hospital does – get involved

next year You will get to see some things you have never seen before: water races, treeing contest and hounds of all types. If you stay around

long enough, you can watch the live entertainment each night and eat some mighty fine food. Remember to thank the volunteers and the hunt-ers for doing some good in

the world and helping those that are less fortunate. For more information, go to www.akccoonhounds.org.Until next time, see you at the tree.

Pictured here are the participants and overall hunt winner from the 2011 event. - Photo courtesy of www.akccoonhounds.org.


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Fun, Friends

& FISHINGBy John Lantham

John Latham with a healthy, two pound largemouth bass. - Photo by Rob Somerville


y good buddy (and the editor of STO) Rob Somer-ville, stays very busy selling and designing ads, taking photos, and writing and ed-iting articles for this maga-zine. He hardly gets a chance to hunt or fish anymore. I saw it was wearing on him and know that he started this business due to his love of the great outdoors. So, I called him late one after-noon, told him to load up his fishing poles and meet me at the pond. Joining us on this trip was Rob’s girlfriend, Tammy Headley. She claimed to be a country girl, but proved later to be a little squeamish when handling crickets, tak-ing a fish off the hook and especially when refusing to touch a catalpa worm. But I digress, first let’s load up with some ultra-lite fishing gear, some bass baits and a box full of crickets. We drive the Kubota RTV, which was loaded down with fishing gear, cold beverages and an ice chest for the fish we would keep. The large pond had a prob-lem. It was loaded with bass … too many bass. The owner needed several hundred bass, in the one to three pound range, culled from the pond so that there would be less competition for food be-tween the fish and ensuring the pond would produce a larger quality of bass. Well the Moe, Larry & Curley (3 Stooges) of fishing were ready to comply. The plan was simple. We would be like the Ghost Bust-ers (of movie fame). Only we would be the Bream and Bass Busters. What transpired in-cluded more laughs, fun, and fast and furious fishing ac-tion than our trio had ever

anticipated. Rob and I were using Ea-gle Claw – Ultra-lite spin-ning rods and reels. It was spooled with nearly invisi-ble, 4-lb. test, monofilament line. With these rigs a three pound bass felt like a great white shark and a one pound, hybrid bluegill made it feel like you had Moby Dick on the end of your line. Our less experienced, but better looking, female coun-terpart opted for a basic Ze-bco 202 (just push the button and throw). The bass seemed to like the looks of the double-bladed-willow, 1/8th oz. spinnerbaits that Rob picked up at Hunt Fish Plus in Dyersburg. They had a white head and white skirts. At one point, Rob and I each got four bass, on four consecutive casts. The buck-etmouths were proving to be gladiators of the pond, against the ultra-lite gear and line. They leapt and they dove, peeling line from our spool drag. The nearly invis-ible line made the two aged and grizzled veterans put on our reading glasses to retie lures. In the meantime, the lady of leisure, was sitting com-fortably and contentedly un-der a shade tree, pulling in huge bluegill on her cricket baited hook. The only time she needed one of us was to ask in a sweet southern drawl, “Could one of you boys take my fish off?” or “Can one of you manly men put another cricket on my hook?” We fished from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm and caught and kept over 40 bass and about a half dozen huge bluegill, all in two hours. We were sun-burned, but happy! Later that evening, I spoke

words of en-couragement to Rob, as he filleted forty six fish. After all, that’s what friends are for … right? T a m m y cooked us a fresh fish sup-per, comprised of bass fillets, french fr ies , hush puppies and s law. I t was delicious a n d w e a t e until we felt like we would burst. I think I nodded off on Rob’s couch a b o u t t w o minutes after my plate was cleared. T h a t a f -t e r n o o n w e l aughed un-ti l we cried, cheered each other on and recognized how much we m i s s e d t h e basic joys in l i fe … such as a couple of hours, fishing at a pond with good friends. I remember looking over a t m y b u d -dy Rob while he had a nice b a s s o n t h e line. It seemed like all the wor-ry was gone from his face, replaced with a huge smile and a sparkle in his eyes. That made me feel good for insisting we go fishing

that day. After all, that is what true friends are really all about!

STO editor & co-owner, Rob Somerville, is shown here unhooking a fat 4 1/2 lb. bass from a white

spinner bait. - Photo by Tammy Headley

Self proclaimed country gal, Tammy Headley, is pictured here begging one of the two male an-

glers to take this hybrid bluegill off her line. - Photo by Rob Somerville

M


o, this isn’t an entry-level course in animal

biology. This article is in re-sponse to many of our read-er’s requesting information on how to be more success-ful turkey hunters. I, by no means, am qualified to teach this course. Harold Knight, who many believe to be one of the world’s foremost ex-perts on turkey and turkey hunting, once told me that, “No mere mortal should be considered an expert on tur-key hunting. The only quali-fied expert on turkey behav-ior is a turkey itself.”

So being our readers most accommodating and humble servant, I went right to the source. I interviewed a Mr. Thomas {you can call him Tom} Turkey at a loca-tion deep in the woods of the Obion River bottoms. I hope you enjoy our talk and learn from the expert himself, Tom Turkey.

The interview: As I trudged wearily

through the seemingly nev-er-ending cypress swamps of the river bottom, striv-ing to find the assigned in-terview location that Mr. Tom’s agent, a Mr. Buck Fe-ver, had given me directions to, I came upon a small dry clearing, nestled deep in the

woods. I plopped heavily to the ground, slinging off my backpack. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I struggled to catch my breath in the heavy, damp air. I leaned back against an ancient cy-press tree, wringing the sweat from my bandana, enjoying the unearthly silence of the woods. As I began to relax in this peaceful serenity, a thun-derous gobble shattered the silence directly behind me, blasting my eardrums. I leapt to my feet, and attempted to catch my heart, which had dropped down to around my snakebite-proof boots. I tim-idly peaked around the huge tree. Leaning against the oth-er side of the tree, with his legs casually crossed, stood Mr. Tom Turkey. He was combing his long and luxuri-ous beard with a pine frond, seemingly without a care in the world. He pushed his Mossy Oak sunglasses down to the end of his beak and looked at me with an ex-pression, which held a com-bination of both pity and amusement. Here is how the conversation went.Tom: Gotcha, didn’t I? I hope your writing is better than your woodsmanship skills.Rob: Well I ....

Tom: Never mind, my time is precious! Did you bring the latest copy of the Turkey Talk calen-dar, the one with those hot hens as the pin-ups for the month of April, as was agreed upon with my agent?

{ A s I r e a c h e d into my backpack, Mr. Gobbler let out an alarm putt, and scurried behind a tree. Peering one beady eye through a knothole, he re-laxed as he saw I was merely taking out the calendar and not a firearm. He glanced at me with a sheepish look, stating that he thought he had seen a coyote behind me. When he saw the calen-dar in my hand, he quickly stretched out one reptilian foot and snatched it up with his spur. He rapidly flipped it to the month of April and his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He began purr-ing and cooing, and fanning his tail feathers. In a minute he gathered himself, remem-bered he wasn’t alone and glanced back at me in em-barrassment, with his bright red head turning back to its normal coloration. He quick-ly tucked the calendar under

his wing.}Tom: O.K. humanoid, what do you want to know?Rob: Mr. Tom, my readers want to know how to be more successful at turkey hunting.Tom: Yea right, and Rosie O’Donnell doesn’t eat meat and rap music really is a form of eloquent poetry. It sim-ply isn’t going to happen. For creatures with such large heads, you hideous mam-mals must have the tiniest of brains. We have been pulling your strings for centuries. Go ahead and ask your trivial questions, you {ha ha} high-est link on the food chain.Rob: Well, first of all, why do you drum and spit when performing your mat-ing dance?Tom: In case you haven’t noticed, Sherlock Holmes, there are not too many elec-trical outlets in the swamp to

The GoofyGobbler

N

Humor by Rob Somerville


plug in my boom box. I drum to keep my rhythm while dancing. {With this comment Tom began an elaborate dis-play of break-dancing, his chest drumming to a rhythm and blues beat}. “Move over Elvis, there is a new king in town,” he yelped while spin-ning on his head.

“As for the spitting,” he continued as he pulled a can of Skoal from his tail feath-ers, “Don’t you know that you can get beard rot if you swallow this stuff?”Rob: Why do you gobblers “hang-up,” strutting and dragging your wings out of gun range, refusing to come to our decoy set-ups?Tom: Put on your bifocals you nimrod, and take a gan-der at magnificence. If you looked half as good as I do, the females of your species would flock to you also. It is beneath my macho image to approach them. I mate about 15 times a morning. Discounting your female relatives, y o u p r o b a b l y haven’t even been kissed by a mem-ber of the oppo-site sex in the last six months. I am a “stud muffin.” I make the blue-headed beauties purr!Rob: Wouldn’t that be considered a sexist remark?Tom: You ain’t in Kansas any m o r e To t o . I f Gloria Steinem ever strolled in to my strut zone, I’d spur her in to a new way of thinking.

{At this point we paused for a lunch break. My stom-ach was rumbling for the honey-glazed ham sandwich in my backpack. Tom strolled over to a rotten log, and be-gan munching heartily on some grubworms. At this spectacle, I somehow lost my appetite and tucked my sand-wich away}.Rob: How important is call-ing techniques when luring a mature gobbler in to shoot-ing range?Tom: {After a fit of rau-cous laughter}. We turkeys own a patent on every tur-key call manufactured. We have learned to imitate the sounds these calls make in order to give you lowly hu-mans a sense of accomplish-ment. The money I make ev-ery year on commission from the sales of these calls has made me rich beyond means. I own three duplex swamp

alders, and a chain of Ken-tucky Fried Chufa stores. You idiots will buy anything that is camouflaged and makes a noise. And here is another news flash. You know how all of you mental midgets think we have superlative hearing. Well, Amazing Kreskin, take a close look. Do you see any ears on this handsome head?Rob: You mean you are deaf?Tom: You got it Einstein. But we are excellent lip readers.Rob: Wow! Well, what about camo? Which is the most effective camo pattern for concealment? Don’t tell me you control the camo in-dustry also?Tom: You got it, tall dark and ugly. Allow me to let you in on a little secret. We tur-keys are blind as a bat. You could wear hot pink coveralls and we wouldn’t be able to

see you, unless we bumped in to you. The reason you rum-dums can’t seem to har-vest us, is that we can smell a certain chemical that hu-mans can’t. One of our sci-entists at Proctor and Gobble invented it. The chemical is called “Purr-Fection.” We brokered a deal with all the major camo companies to inject this scent in to their fabrics.Rob: You mean turkeys can smell?Tom: That’s right Dan Rather. These fleshy protu-berances that you underlings call waddles, are actually over-sized scent glands.Rob: Wow! This interview is going to revolutionize tur-key hunting. If there is ever anything I can do for you, just let me know.Tom: Well there is one thing. {Tom reached in to

continued on next page


a hollowed out stump and speared a large envelope with his spur. He handed it to me and I stuffed it in to my back-pack, as I was anxious to get back through the swamp be-fore darkness overtook the woods}.R o b : W h a t ’s i n t h e envelope?Tom: Just a little something I’d like you to spread around to all of your friends.

{Suddenly he perked up, his head rising high like a periscope. “I smell Eau De Strut cologne. The girls must be coming back to roost. See ya later rumdum,” he cackled as he comically waddled over a ridge. I sighed and made my way through the stag-nant waters of the swamp to my truck}.

Summary: Later that afternoon, as I

sat typing the interview at my desk, I remembered the ham sandwich in my backpack. I reached my hand in and felt the bulky manila envelope the egotistical gobbler had given me. I opened it up, and was amused at what I found. Inside the envelope were sev-eral copies of a typed peti-tion. It was titled, “Citizens for the Abolishment of the Thanksgiving Holiday.”

See ya,Rob.

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In Pursuit of a Dream, Fyrne Lake

By Kevin Griffith

Editor’s note: This arti-cle is the second in a series that chronicles Kevin and Diana Griffith’s experiences with their dream property at Fyrne Lake, located just out-side of Dyersburg, Tennessee.

hen we left off in the last issue, my

wife and I had just spent two years searching for our dream property. It was Octo-ber 2004, and I had just bor-rowed a small fortune to pur-chase Fyrne Lake (formerly Viar Lake - just outside of

Dyersburg, TN) and over 1300 acres of surrounding woods and ridge fields. The challenge was that our west Tennessee paradise was 800 miles away from our home in Florida. It would be one thing if we could move, but that wasn’t in the cards. Our

family business was in Flor-ida and we were not going to move or sell it. We couldn’t do that to our employees. They believed in our mission and had helped us build the business, from a home garage operation into a very success-ful company.

Fyrne Lake - Photo courtesy of Kalli Lipke

W


Have your wedding, family reunion or cor-porate picnic at the beautiful natural setting of Fyrne Lake. Our 3000 sq. ft. pavilion has plenty of space, an oversized stone fireplace

and an excellent lake view.727-458-8193

However, Tennessee was calling. The property we found perfectly matched our vision of undeveloped private land with a lake surrounded by wilderness. From the be-ginning our plan was for it to be a destination for fam-ily vacations, long week-ends and eventual retirement. But Fyrne Lake was just too good! There was so much to explore, digest and enjoy. It was painful to leave and seemed like forever between visits. I had to find a way to enjoy the property between trips, if for no other reason but to keep my sanity. The hundreds of pictures from the property I was accumu-lating helped, but they were just NOT enough. I needed a way to see the property and plan out my explorations be-tween trips.

Bert Viar, the previous

owner, had given me a large (38” x 38”) aerial photo-graph of the property that was taken in 1992. It was a very detailed view, reveal-ing highlights of the farm from an overhead perspec-tive. I devoured it! Having it with me in Florida helped to

satisfy my longing to return to Tennessee. I explored ev-ery square inch of the over-head, looking for details to check out the next time up. In an upper corner of the photo I noticed identifying numbers. There was also a label affixed to the back, re-ferring to a USDA office in Salt Lake City, Utah. May-be, just maybe, they would

have aerial pictures of the farm from other years. After calling the office, I discov-ered to my amazement that they have a complete library of aerials from across the US, dating back to 1955. After providing them the details of our location, it turned out

they had photos available of our farm from 1956, 1960, 1965, 1972, 1980, 1992 and 1998! (These were the years available in 2004. Since then, they’ve added several more aerials, the most recent be-ing 2012.)

It turns out that for over 50 years the USDA has been acquiring aerial photographs of most of the nation to help

manage federal farm pro-grams. They are housed in the USDA’s Aerial Photog-raphy Field Office (APFO) located in Salt Lake City, Utah. Accumulated there is one of the largest aerial film libraries in the nation, total-ing more than 70,000 rolls of film and 1000s of digi-tal images. Depending upon the original film type, prints are available in black and white, color or infrared. En-largements of up to 38” x 38” or computer tiff files are available.

I was beside myself with excitement. I wanted them all! I immediately placed my order and anxiously await-ed their arrival. Once re-ceived, I was not disappoint-ed! Since the pictures were taken at different times of the year, and varying times


There was so much to explore, digest and enjoy.

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- 50 Years Experience -


In Pursuit of a Dream Continued

This picture shows the farm in 1960, before the creation of Fyrne Lake. - Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake

This photo shows the completed dam and Fyrne Lake 90% filled (the lake construction was begun in 1978 and reached full pool in 1981). If you compare this to the 1960 image, you will notice the reduced size of some of the ridge fields and the fresh dirt work to control

erosion in the fields on the right side of the lake. - Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake

USDA Map Contact Information

Address:USDA - FSAAerial Photograph Field Office 2222 West 2300 South Salt Lake City, UT 84119-2020

Website: www.fsa.usda.gov

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 801-844-2922

Fax: 801-956-3653

Oppurtunity for Aspiring Young Writers & Photographers! The Outdoor Journalist Education Foundation of America (OJEFA) is an educational arm of the Southeastern Outdoor

Press Association (SEOPA) and they are looking for potential candidates for our annual Lindsay Sale - Tinney SEOPA Conference Scholarship award. The award provides one

aspiring young writer or photographer between the ages of 12 to 25 to attend the SEOPA Conference this October in Lake

Charles, Louisiana. This is a tremendous opportunity for young outdoor media

hopefuls to be able to not only attend the conference, numerous workshops and other learning opportunities, but also to meet and network with some of the most notable

outdoor communicators in the nation. SEOPA brings together some of the biggest names in outdoor writing, photography,

radio and TV broadcasting. There is no way to assign a dollar value to this extraordinary opportunity and the long-term

benefits thereof. One winner will be selected from applications received by

June 1, 2013 with the winner announced by July 1, 2013. The lucky winner will receive one free conference registration,

four nights lodging at the Isle of Capri hotel, and up to $750 toward travel expense.

We need your help to get the word out to anyone who would qualify and benefit from this one-of-a-kind career building

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might help spread the word. Much more information including the application procedure may be found by contact-

ing: SEOPA-OJEFA * P.O. Box 115 * Badin, NC 28009 * 704-984-4700



When compared to the 1980 image of Fyrne Lake, this beautiful 2006 color picture will showcase that several fields have been retaken by woods, the outline of the lake has changed and kudzu (light green area) has taken over in two upper regions of the farm.

- Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake


of day, each picture revealed unique details of the farm. Another cool benefit was the time lapse effect, cre-ated by possessing over 40 years of historical pictures. I could track the clearing of fields, progressing erosion, pond building, farming ac-tivity and the before, during and after views of the lake’s construction. These photos were exactly what I needed to explore the farm from 800 miles away!

Starting in 2006, I began

ordering the more recent pho-tographs in high resolution tiff file format. Besides being in full color, having them in a digital format allowed me to print out different areas of the farm for use in planning specific projects. This fall we’ll have owned the farm for 9 years and have made countless improvements and additions. It’s interesting to see the progress we’ve made, year after year, through over-head pictures. The images are detailed enough to track

our erosion control efforts, kudzu eradication, road/trail construction, orchard plant-ings, farming activities and new structures. I still anx-iously await the arrival of the next photograph like a child at Christmas!

If you are interested in obtaining pictures of your family’s property or poten-tial dream acquisition, you’ll find the USDA’s contact in-formation on page 40. Be-sides needing your contact info (name, shipping address,

email and phone number), they’ll need your help in identifying the location of your property. A legal de-scription (section, township, range, etc.) will work, as well as the latitude and lon-gitude location, parish de-scription, or a map with an outline around your area of interest. Also, remember to let them know the years of your interest. If you’re like me YOU’LL WANT THEM ALL!

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2013 Hustler Turf ATZ

“Don’t try this with your zero-turn mower!” By integrating their patented, SmoothTrak™ steering and a potent 35 hp Kawasaki FX engine into its clean, compact design, the

Hustler ATZ (“All Terrain Z”) brings zero-turn mowing efficiency to an even higher

level. With its extended frame, special 24” bar-tread tires, and a combination of wheel

weights and added frame weights, the remarkable Hustler ATZ delivers mowing

flexibility that’s tough to match. You get a sure footing and uniform cut every time, even on slopes up to 25 degrees! If slopes are on your job list, nothing compares to the agility, speed

and efficiency of the Hustler ATZ. Trees,obstacles, square corners and tight circles are

no hill for a climber!To view this and the other awesome line of

Hustler mowers, visit our friends at Century Equipment, located at 855 Hwy. 51 Byp N. in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Their phone number is

731-285-2875 or you can email them at [email protected] Rob Somerville

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VIN

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NEW BUSINESS REVIEW!

VINTAGE NURSERYDYERSBURG, TN

Most Hunters and fishermen like to hit the water and woods during the weekends. But, we must keep our significant other happy, by maintaining our yard and garden. If you live anywhere near Dyersburg, Tennessee, you can now make brownie points with your wife, by visiting Vintage Nursery - {formerly Virgin’s Nursery} owned by Ricky and Tammy Horner. I bought two potted ferns, eight potted begonias and five 8” tomato plants - and all this for under $75.00! They are open MON through FRI - from 8am to 5pm and are located at 1937 Upper Finley Rd.- Rob Somerville

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTGRECIAN STEAKHOUSE

DYERSBURG,TN

Grecian Steak House, in Dyersburg, is a West Tennessee Hallmark restaurant. Most of our readers are farmers, hunters and fishermen, or working class folks. This means that they want a delicious hot meal, fast and courteous service, and a fair price. The owner, Chris, and his staff are all of that and much more. Whether you are eating from the largest salad bar and buffet in the area, or chowing down on one of their mouth watering, select cut steaks, you will be satisfied. Grecian Steak House is conveniently located just off the Dyersburg 412 exit at 2623 St. John Ave. You can pick up their convenient carry out order menu and call them at 731-286-6842.- Rob Somerville

RECOMMENDS...


KID'S KORNER


Luke Cooper {7 years-old} of Huntingdon, Tennessee shot his first ducks ever on Feb. 9th, 2013, during the youth duck hunt. Luke also won the Mike McLemore Memorial Duck Calling contest at the Carroll County Fair last fall for his age division. Pictured with Luke is his proud dad, Leslie Cooper on the South Fork of the Obion River near

Mckenzie, Tennessee - Photo provided by Dale Cooper

Tom Thomason from Birmingham, Alabama caught and released this 6 lb. 7 oz. bass on a red/motor oil

colored worm on March 9th, 2013. Tom, aguest of Jeff Caldwell, was fishing around some recently added structure in Fyrne Lake, located

northwest of Dyersburg. - Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake.

Ray Lewis was fishing with his father, Otha, in Fyrne Lake on Feb. 23rd, 2013 and caught this

nice bass. It was a cold day of fishing, but it was worth it! - Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake.

Tom Hall caught this huge, 6 lb, 2 oz. bass

on a crappie pole rigged with a minnow on

March 30th, 2013 at Fyrne Lake.

- Photo courtesy of Fyrne Lake.


ConvenienCe – When it Matters!

introducing Mobile Banking from First Citizens national Bank

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And that’s not all! Our FREE Mobile Banking service offers many other advantages:• It’s Secure – Even if your phone is lost or stolen, your personal information is protected.• It’s Convenient –Nowyourfinancesarewithyouanywhere,anytime.• It Works with Any Mobile Phone – Plus, we have apps for the iPhone®, AndroidTM!

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*iPhone is a federally registered trademark of Apple, Inc. Android is a trademark of Google Inc.


introducing Mobile Banking from First CitizensWhether you need to check your account balance at the grocery store, locate an ATM while on the go or transfer money between accounts, First Citizens National Bank has you covered with Mobile Banking.

And that’s not all! Our FREE Mobile Banking service offers many other advantages:• It’s Secure – Even if your phone is lost or stolen, your personal information is protected.• It’s Convenient – Now your finances are with you anywhere, anytime.• It Works with Any Mobile Phone – Plus, we have apps for the iPhone® and AndroidTM!

Enjoy the convenience and security of Mobile Banking from First Citizens. Sign up today by calling 285-4410!



introducing Mobile Banking from First Citizens national Bank

Whether you need to check your account balance at the grocery store, locate an ATM while on the go or transfer money between accounts, First Citizens National Bank has you covered with Mobile Banking.

And that’s not all! Our FREE Mobile Banking service offers many other advantages:• It’s Secure – Even if your phone is lost or stolen, your personal information is protected.• It’s Convenient –Nowyourfinancesarewithyouanywhere,anytime.• It Works with Any Mobile Phone – Plus, we have apps for the iPhone®, AndroidTM!

Enjoy the convenience and security of Mobile Banking from First Citizens. Sign up today by calling 285-4410.



introducing Mobile Banking from First CitizensWhether you need to check your account balance at the grocery store, locate an ATM while on the go or transfer money between accounts, First Citizens National Bank has you covered with Mobile Banking.

And that’s not all! Our FREE Mobile Banking service offers many other advantages:• It’s Secure – Even if your phone is lost or stolen, your personal information is protected.• It’s Convenient – Now your finances are with you anywhere, anytime.• It Works with Any Mobile Phone – Plus, we have apps for the iPhone® and AndroidTM!

Enjoy the convenience and security of Mobile Banking from First Citizens. Sign up today by calling 285-4410!


Entertainment & Humor

Southern Traditions Outdoors - April/May 2013