Trophy Room
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but we think sometimes that's short-changing the picture! Here are some of your favorites, and a few of ours, from time spent in the woods and on the water. Enjoy!
12-pound cat
Bob Houlihan of St. Clair Shores, Mich., boated this 12-pound channel catfish in August 2009 on Lake St. Clair.
So ... you fellas from around here?
Steve Yancho, the Chief of Natural Resources at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, sent along this trail cam picture of a raccoon trapped in a tree by three bobcats. The picture, taken when the coon's tail tripped the sensing unit, was taken while park officials were checking for cougars. There was no follow-up picture indicating what happened next.
Record book elk
Dawn Pratt of Grayling, Mich., shot this 585-pound 6x6 bull elk on the second day of the 2009 Michigan elk season, making her the first woman to record a Michigan Grand Slam with record-book elk, deer, bear and turkey.
World record brown trout
Tom Healy (right) of Rockford, Mich., caught this 41-pound, 7 1/4-ounce brown trout in Michigan's Manistee River on Sept. 9, 2009. The fish was recognized as a world record. That's guide Tim Roller on the left.
World record brown trout, part deux
Roger Hellen caught this 41-pound, 8-ounce brown trout in Lake Michigan during a fishing tournament in Racine, Wis. The catch netted Hellen a well-deserved $10K prize, and it's also the largest brown trout ever caught. But since it's less than an ounce bigger than the Michigan fish caught in 2009, the two behemoths will share the world record crown.
Wolf track
This picture was taken by GNO's Dave Spratt atop a backcountry Idaho ridge on a 2004 elk hunt. "We had stopped to cow call in hopes of attracting a bull, but instead drew a pack of 10-12 wolves that came within 75 yards of us. The snow was fresh and still falling, and those tracks were all we ever saw."
What a catch
Carol Marenko of Grayling, Mich., took this picture of an American bald eagle grabbing a merganser off an ice floe on the AuSable River near McMasters Bridge in February 2003.
Coulda been a contendah
Juri Geidans of Ann Arbor, Mich., caught this 30-inch northern pike Jan. 30, 2010 on Lake Fenton, where the Moose Lodge was holdinga fishign tournament. Alas, registration ended at 10 a.m. and Juri didn't get on the ice until 11:30. The fish would have been good enough for third place and a $100 check. "Oh well, at least I'm not flexible and agile enough to kick myself," he lamented.
10-year-old's first deer
Micah Kalisz was in the blind with his dad Chris on opening day 2009 in Michigan's Thumb. Since Micah wasn't old enough to hunt with a gun, his dad let him bring his bow. At 10:40 a.m. this button buck came in. Micah's first shot went over the deer's back, but his second shot was true. Micah harvested his first deer with a 20-yard shot. Congratulations, Micah!
Courtney Hatfield's 2010 buck
Courtney Hatfield, 13, of Grayling, Mich., took this dandy 7-point on opening day 2010 with a Browning .243, sitting with her dad and grandfather. Courtney also shot a nice buck in 2009. "We are hunting in northern Michigan where there is a lot of pressure," Courtney's dad Tood wrote. "And to get two bucks like this is extremely rare. She is very patient and is a great shot."
Courtney Hatfield's 2009 buck
Courtney Hatfield of Grayling, Mich., took this 8-point in her first hunt in 2009 at age 12. "During both hunts she was sitting with her grandfather and myself and we're very proud and honored to be there for the experience," wrote her dad Todd Hatfield. "She truly is a great hunter and will carry the tradition on and be a role model for future hunters."
Ooh, barracuda
One of the perks of having your very own web magazine is that when one of your kids slays a beast, you can slap it on the web pronto. Here's the GNO editor's daughter Natalie Spratt, 14, with a barracuda she caught in February 2011 off the coast of Roatan, Honduras.
Matthew's first deer
Matthew Kunkel of Hillsdale, Mich. bagged his first deer October 12, 2010 in Williams County, Ohio. He was hunting with his dad Jeff Kunkel in a two-person ladder stand hung in a cluster of oaks that were dropping acorns. The doe came in, spotted some movement and stopped five yards away but in a bad position for a shot. After about a minute she turned and started to trot straight away, but then unexpectedly turned to the left. Jeff grunted and she stopped. Matthew took careful aim with his crossbow and double lunged her. The doe ran about 75 yards, stopped briefly and piled up. Nice going, Matthew! Welcome to the brotherhood!
Zack Buffington's buck
Zack Buffington, 13, of Gillsville, Ga., shot this dandy 9-point buck on Sept. 3 at Valhalla Ranch near Grayling, Mich. Hunting with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
Nathaniel Jaeger's buck
Nathaniel Jaeger, 10, of Norton Shores, Mich., shows off the nice 9-point buck he shot Sept. 10 at Muy Grande Ranch near Millersburg, Mich. Nathaniel was hunting with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
Lane Milliken's buck
Lane Milliken of Indian Mound, Tenn., shows off the beautiful 10-point buck he shot September 4 at Valhalla Ranch near Grayling, Mich. Lane, 14, was hunting with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
First buck
Carson Dunn of Ashland, Ohio, shot this dandy 8-point in Ashland County during Ohio's 2009 Youth Season. Carson hit the buck in the "drop now" spot with a 20-gauge slug at 60 yards.
Cody Hunt's buck
Cody Hunt (right) poses with former Detroit Lion Tony Semple and the buck he shot Sept. 10, 2010 at the Muy Grande Ranch near Millersburg, Mich. Cody, 14, of Remus, Mich., was hunting with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
John Paul Montgomery's buck
John Paul Montgomery, 21, of Pell City, Ala., shot this fine 10-point buck Sept. 4 at the Valhalla Ranch near Grayling, Mich., during his hunt with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
Austin Miller's buck
Austin Miller of Ossian, Ind. shows off the dandy 8-point he shot at the Muy Grande Ranch on Sept. 10, 2010, during a Tony Semple Foundation for Hope hunt. “I was pumped,” Austin said. “It’s my biggest buck and I was very excited. Then we got back to camp and celebrated and I got even more excited!”
Caleb Stallings' buck
Caleb Stallings poses with the wide 9-point he shot Sept. 4 at the Valhalla Ranch near Grayling, Mich. Caleb, 16, of Ringgold, Ga., was at deer camp with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope.
Alex Choly's buck
Alex Choly of Brighton, Mich., brought this nice 8-point buck back to camp at the Muy Grande Ranch near Millersburg, Mich. Alex, 18, hunted with the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope in September 2010.
Addy York's buck
Addy York shows off the 12-point buck she shot Sept. 4 at the Valhalla Ranch near Grayling, Mich., during the Tony Semple Foundation for Hope’s 2010 hunt. Addy, 17, is from Cookeville, Tenn.
Buckeye Big Buck
Tyler Dunn of Mansfield, Ohio, shot this 19-point non-typical with a crossbow in November 2007.
Buckeye Big Buck
Weston Dunn of Ashland, Ohio, shot this 14-pointer in Ashland County with a muzzleloader in November 2006.
Send us your pictures!
We'd like to share your hunting, fishing and outdoors pictures with the rest of the GNO community! Make sure you include your name and a description of the picture, and e-mail it to trophyroom@greatnorthernoutdoors.net.