Arcole 2020: The Third Time Wasn't the Charm

December 14-17, 2019 & January 3, 2020

Arcole, Mississippi

Arcole Hunting Club

There is always an optimism in deer camp at the beginning of a hunt and this was my 3rd year hunting at Arcole with David and Mark. Everyone is excited to get back into the woods and reconnect with your hunting partners from years before. Hunts are typically planned well ahead of time so that all of the major factors can be considered and optimized: a new moon is always preferable to a full moon because it's more difficult for the deer to be active at night, colder weather always incites daytime activity and the mating cycle of the local deer population. We started this hunt a little earlier in the year and most of the influencing factors were not in our favor. For most of the hunt we had a full moon and lots of nocturnal deer activity, warm weather and limited reports of rut activity. We saw a few deer but it was mostly during the middle of the day and the pigs on the property were more active during hunting hours than the deer. I caught a quick video of a big black boar one morning running through the woods but he never really stopped so I could get a shot. David continued the hunt in January when the weather was colder and the bucks were rutting and he was able to take a nice 8-point.

Trout Fishing in North Georgia

August 31, 2019
Clayton, Georgia
Tallulah River

My trout fishing trip to North Georgia started well before daylight as I met my friend, Kellan, and his dad to fly fish the Tallulah River. We researched the trout stocking schedule published by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to determine which mountain stream we would fish. We went from fishing "hole" to fishing "hole" roll casting the flies upstream of the strike zone. We caught several brown trout and a few rainbows!

Deep Sea Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico

June 27, 2019
Gulf Shores, Alabama

"We need to go deep sea fishing this year." That statement marks the start for the planning phase of our annual family beach vacation. For my dad, it wouldn't be a true beach vacation without some saltwater fishing with his sons. This year we had the whole family together so dad and I were joined by Garrett, Joseph and Kala. We were shocked that some of the women wanted to go on the fishing trip and, I think it's safe to say, that may have been their last fishing trip. 

Saltwater fishing trips come in many forms - early morning bottom fishing, late afternoon trolling and overnight, deep-water adventures. On this trip. we met at the marina before dawn not knowing that we were about to have a world-class fishing experience. We started fishing under the infamous Perdido Pass for baitfish which is where most deep-sea fishing trips begin. After loading the live bait well with mullet we motored out to deeper water in search of some red snapper. 

We caught mangrove snappers and red snappers until we could barely hold our rods upright. The midday sun was our cue to begin the slow ride back to the dock. We smelled like sweat and sea salt but we had caught our limit of red snapper!

Colorado Rockies

February 22-26, 2019
Breckenridge, Colorado

It was a long-time dream to ski the Rocky Mountains while they are covered in late-season snow. This was a memorable trip for so many reason but mostly because of the lack of oxygen. I thought of myself as a resilient young man that could handle the altitude with no problems. I could barely sleep at night because I couldn't catch my breath. Most mornings started with a quick ski lesson and the afternoons ended sharing coffee or hot chocolate in a warm restaurants.

My favorite part of this adventure was riding snowmobiles at Vale Pass. The drive to the outfitter wound through narrow mountains roads covered in ice at times but getting to such a remote location was part of the experience. The snowmobile trail increased in altitude so much that the weather changed at the halfway point and it began snowing and visibility dropped so that you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. The sun came out for just a few minutes at the peak of the trail and I was able to take a quick picture.

Arcole Time

January 16, 2019
Arcole, Mississippi

Arcole Hunting Club 

The second annual Arcole hunting trip was a success. David, Mark and I have made a tradition of hunitng this property every year. I made the trip from Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday and we started the hunt on Monday morning. The weather was cold and the Mississippi river was high. The flooded Mississippi river bottoms had pushed even more deer to Arcole's hunting property and we were excited to get into the stand. The first day was slow and very few hunters saw deer. We were fortunate enough the find a section of the property that had not been hunted much and held rutting bucks. I shot an eight point on Wednesday that was trailing a doe on Wednesday. Freddy Smith at Wildlife Reflections Taxidermy does great work and is going to get this trophy on my wall!

This camp is a special place. The members come from all walks of life including doctors, lawyers, judges, retired military officers and law enforcement. 

Cades Cove and the Abrams Falls Trail

November 11, 2018 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

Cades Cove

Abrams Falls is know for being a small waterfall, only 20 feet in height, with a a large volume of water rushing overs the falls. The long, deep pool at its base is very picturesque and quite dangerous. The October 2008 issue of Backpacker Magazine listed Abrams Falls as their 9th most dangerous hiking trail largely due to the risk of drowning and hypothermia. The slippery rocks and strong current around the pool have caused 29 deaths since 1971. 

Dog Hunting at Briar Creek Sportsman's Club

January 13, 2018 
Augusta, Georgia 

I had the pleasure of dog hunting at the Briar Creek Sportsman's Club this weekend. This was the final deer drive of the season which is a special event for the club. The hunt starts before dawn when the club cooks a breakfast for the members and the member's families. Yes, it's a family affair at Briar Creek and everyone is invited. I was invited by the club's president so I could vet the club for membership in the upcoming 2018-2019 season. 

The Chief Huntmaster designed the hunt and the standers loaded the trucks as the sun started peaking over the planted timber. The club hunts 15,000 acres of land that is owned by a timber company. The first hunt of the morning started while I was watching clear cut timber and listening to the beagles howl several hundred yards away. This morning was cold, really cold. The temperature wasn't too cold at 32 degree but the wind was blowing at a constant 13 mph which brought the wind chill down into the low 20s. I sat all morning listening to the dogs run deer and crack of buckshot in the distance. I was anxious squeeze the trigger on my new Benelli Nova but the deer had other plans. Our group killed 2 deer that morning and the other groups dropped 3-4 more. The nicest deer was a mature 6 point (it would have been an 8 point but it didn't have any brow tines) that weighed 127 pounds. 

We quickly moved onto the second hunt after the dogs were collected. We had standers lined up on a power line while the dogs pushed deer through the neighboring pines. As a group, we killed another 2-3 deer. Then it was time for lunch. We all met back at the camp and shared lunch as a group. I could tell everyone was eager for the afternoon hunt. 

The last hunt of the day was the big finale. We had standers along the perimeter and in the center of a several hundred acre area when they started driving 19 packs of beagles. The dogs worked for hours and I heard several shots. The nicest deer was shot that afternoon, a mature 8 point. He even had a buckshot pellet lodged in the base of his antler which was very interesting to see. I had a great time, even though I didn't see any deer on the dog drives, and I'm planning on coming back next year for next season!