The Outside World
Where it's banned, baiting isn't coming back
I just read a recent news story that said some Michigan deer hunters hope this year will be the last for the Lower Peninsula baiting ban the state imposed in 2008 after a captive deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
read more 1Dear neighbors...
My people don't hunt doves. They tried to make it happen, but some deep-pocketed anti-hunting groups managed to bamboozle voters with a lot of half-truths, sleight of hand and outright falsehood.
read moreWhere are the perch? It's a long story
I got an e-mail today from a long-time perch angler, asking if I knew what happened to the glorious perch fishery on Lake Huron. Back before the Saginaw Bay became Walleye World, back before the salmon exploded like a supernova, generations of anglers used to sit on Lake Huron piers and pull out dozens of yellow perch, those tasty morsels that seem to have disappeared. The reason that's not happening any more is a fairly long story.
read more 1New plan: Question sound science!
It is an unfortunate sign of our time that people who hear things they don't want to hear -- for instance, Asian carp are about to enter the Great Lakes and could destroy the food webs there if they're not stopped -- demand scientific proof and then discredit it when it's not what they want to hear. It has become the default tool of the self-serving. We cannot refute your evidence with our own, so we'll throw yours into doubt. Welcome to 21st Century America!
read moreBig, bigger, biggest -- ever
As a Michiganian, I must admit I hoped that Tom Healy's world-record brown trout would stand for a while. But I'm not sure the split decision that's coming from the International Game Fish Association is ideal. And our hats should be off to Roger Hellen regardless.
read more