The girls want me to take them on a little trip to Grand Ile Louisiana, this summer. It's all salt water and beach. If we go, it'll be Salt water fishing and crabbing. The knives I bring will all need to be Stainless Steel. The salt water is too hard on my Carbon steel knives. There is a lot of great Seafood there, Shrimp, Oysters, Crabs and a variety Salt Water Fish. Like Spec. Trout, Flounder and Red Fish, oh and a favorite of mine, Sheep Head.  

It would sure be fun to be one of those girls.

When you look at a map of Louisiana, Grand Ile is almost all the way out on the end of the boot. [ Louisiana shaped like a boot] The Ile is about 1/2 to 2 miles wide and about 12 to 15 miles long. It might be a little bigger I'm not sure. When I go there, I usually rent a cabin. They have seafood cleaning and cooking facilities. I hope we are able to go. Kelly's boy friend has never been there before.

A Knife Story: Last October I was in the swamp hunting and fishing. When I got back to my camp, I noticed I had lost my Swamp Knife. { A picture of it is on the main page of the Carbon Steel Group ] I went back in the swamp and searched very hard but I had no luck. I got some help and we went back, again no luck. I just couldn't figure out what happened to my Swamp Knife.

  It was handmade by Matt of ML Knives. Hammer forged 1095 with a Dessert Iron Wood Handle. It has a shoulder strap type sheath. There's no branch or sapling that could tell it no. I went where I wanted with my trusty ole Swamp Knife.

  Time passed and I figured I'd never see my old knife again. Then my Grand Daughters boyfriend talked to an old swamper friend of mine and he was telling him he had found a great knife. How well it cut and kept and edge. That's when Paul asked if it's stamped ML, that's ole Paw Paw's knife, he lost. He said yep, that must be Rob's Swamp Knife.

  To say I'm excited is to say the least. I haven't got it hand yet but it won't be long. Yahoo!

Great story Robert, I hope you get it back.

We are going fishing tomorrow at Old River. I'll take some pictures to show ya'll. I hope we catch, I need a fish fry....lol

Good story, Robert.

We're back from fishing. We caught 1 Catfish and 1 sack of Crawfish. Fish just weren't biting well. Oh well. Boiled Crawfish for supper. I think they took a few pictures. I will post later.

So sorry Robert- ONLY a crawfish boil for supper??  I would type my condolences but I'm drooling too much on my keyboard to see the letters!!   LOL

Well what happened was, I hoped the fish had started biting in Old River but they hadn't. It's close to my camp and we are hoping to camp, fish and work on our camps, as soon as the fish start biting. When I realize the fish weren't going to co-operate, I call a friend and asked if we could go Crawfishing on his property. He said yes and the crawfishing was on. We caught 35# and quit, not to over do our privilege. I am sure, I'll owe him a favor or maybe he owes me one now. 

The Crawfish were good but they could have been bigger. The girls invited friends and cousins over to eat. A Crawfish boil around south Louisiana is always time for a party....lol

Not a name that jumps out at you when you think OUTDOOR gear????

BUT MAYBE IT SHOULD

Colonial is once again supporting “Seek the Peak”. The 14th Annual Hike-A-Thon to support the Mount Washington Observatory's largest annual fundraiser and the Nation's Premier Hiking Event! Learn more and register on SeekthePeak.org.

AND

Colonial Knife sponsored six VICE (Vertical Ice Climbing Enthusiasts) members to Kyrgyzstan in July 2013 to attempt unclimbed peaks in the Central Tien-Shan Mountains.... more

Preliminary trip report 1
Preliminary trip report 2

Thanks for the info, Miss Jan.

Remember, time is getting short to post an outdoor adventure, to WIN a FREE Queen Knife. Remember to, a walk in your yard or garden will qualify as an adventure. The contest ends at the end of May. Good Luck.

Memorial Day Week End....time to hit the outdoors.

Miss Jan will be at the Blade Show for the end of the Outdoor Adventure Contest, May 31. She will get someone at the Blade Show to do the drawing. Good luck everyone. If you haven't posted for the contest yet, time is running out, hurry up. The contest ends at the end of May.

That's cool Tobias.

   We are waiting for Miss Jan to pick a Winner of the contest, if Ya'll are wondering about the winner. She is on a trip right now and may be busy but she will get around to it. Thanks to all that participated.

I spent some lovely time hiking out this past week. Hoping to upload some pictures of our Dutch landscape and woods.

This is the group of boys that I was hiking with (we had 3 groups) out in the woods. I love being in the woods. Even if our woods are a little flat. No hills in sight.

Out by the edge of the woods it looks more like this:

Sometimes We'd have a little break

There's more. But my work laptop is Fighting the iKC software. So I'll save another one for another time.

It is so much fun to experience the outdoors with young people. They seem to enjoy the little things. Good for you for taking them. They will remember the trip for a life time.

I agree Robert,sometimes even a taste can bring back fond memories- My GF escorted a group of  boy scouts on a camping trip a few years ago- Boys will be boys and she started running out of makings for meals-BTW, she is an excellent campfire cook- In desperation, she made a pot of potato soup- A pretty basic farmer meal- One little boy, who had never eaten potato soup before, ate 6 bowls of it swearing it was the best thing he had ever eaten- You think, he has forgotten that trip ?? LOL

I can hardly wait for my Grandkids to get here - Jun 23 - we will fish, hike, camp, enjoy the farm and woods, drive the pickup, shoot rifles and pistols and Bow. I just can't wait.

The older I get the more I enjoy doing things with the young ones. To see them experience things for the first time. Ask question after question, then say "how do you know that". If someone hasn't taken the young ones afield they just don't know what their missing.

  Ken, I know you will enjoy the Grand Kids. I still remember going hunting with my Grand Father when I was just a small boy. The patience he had, with me. That's what you need to have with the young ones, patience.

Oh John, no that little boy may be telling that story to his Grand Kids one day...

Somehow I can't get this picture to show up any way but upside down. But hey....that's life.. This is the last of the pictures.

Thanks Ron. Somehow even when it was rightside up on my computer it'd still go upside down everytime I uploaded it.

You're quite welcome, Alex.

I simply copied the image, pasted it into MS Paint, rotated 180°, saved it, and then added the saved image here.

Aside from the saved image appearing somewhat smaller, your smiling face does not seem any the worse for wear.

Cheers, my friend!

Louisville, KY -(Ammoland.com)- The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries would like to congratulate all the Louisiana student archers who competed at the 2014 NASP National Tournament held May 8-11 in Louisville, Kentucky.

The state was represented by 115 archers from seven different Louisiana schools in this National Archery in the Schools Program event. All of these students participate in the Archery in Louisiana Schools program which teaches international target style archery to students in grades 4-12.

The top finisher from Louisiana was the team from Benton Elementary in Bossier Parish. Benton Elementary students, along with their coach Perry Norcross, finished eighth in the nation and will be headed to the World Tournament in Madison, Wisconsin in July.

Benton Middle School had a strong performance as well, finishing 21st in the nation out of nearly 200 teams. Benton Middle School student Abbie Rutledge was Louisiana’s best female shooter at Nationals with a score of 285, ranking her 31st in the nation in the middle school division and fourth among all 6th grade girls competing.

Gabe Fradella from Benton High School was Louisiana’s top male shooter at Nationals with a score of 285.

Louisiana schools which were represented at Nationals:

• Benton Elementary School – Bossier Parish

• Phoenix Magnet Elementary – Rapides Parish

• Benton Middle School – Bossier Parish

• Haughton Middle School – Bossier Parish

• Cope Middle School – Bossier Parish

• Benton High School – Bossier Parish

• Caddo Magnet High School – Caddo Parish

Full tournament results can be found at Nasp Tournaments.

Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2014/06/louisiana-student-archers-compete-a... 
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution 
Follow us: @Ammoland on Twitter | Ammoland on Facebook

Ken,

I know what you are talking about when it comes to grandkids. Are your Texas GCs coming?Starting 'em right!

The Gkids like to fish and do what they are big enough to, and try som they aren't big enough to! :)

Alan, yes its the Texas Grandkids that are coming, they are the ones I have the most fun with, they like the outdoors. Mine used to love the horses to, but that was 12 yrs ago.

Alan, your picture brought back a flood of memories for me. My adoptive father had served in the horse cavalry with the 8th Cav. out of Ft Bliss, TX. in the 1920's. He had me on the back of a horse practically before I had learned to walk. 

His favorite joke was to tell folks that he had been a pilot in the horse cavalry.

They would always exclaim in disbelief, "A PILOT?!"

To which, he would reply: "Yep! They would hand me a shovel and send me into a stall. Then I would 'pile it' here and I would 'pile it' there (gesturing in different directions on the ground). I was a 'Pile it!'" He would proclaim with a chuckle.

Great to see you've got them young'uns started out right! I like that second pic, too! If I were to give it a title I would call it: "Barefoot n' Boots!"

Okay speaking of go WAY OFF topic, Ron your "pilot" comment brought me back to a research paper I wrote back in  Grad School that discussed the Roll of the Machine Gun and its impact on the evolution of modern warfare. 

After World War 1 (late 1920s early 1930s several very smart military strategists argued the the Horse Cavalry was no longer needed because it was ineffective against entrenched machine guns.   However, one very bright young officer argued otherwise.  He argued that the role of the horse cavalry remained vital until other means of transportation became reliable and easy for the common soldier to use. (automobile and motorcycle) He argued that while it was ineffective against an entrenched enemy it was no less effective that foot infantry.  He went on to argue that Tanks were required to remove the entrenched  machine gun but until something better came along, the horse cavalry remained the most effective an economic way to exploit an gap in an enemy line and that the caissons (supply trains) of Cavalry units needed to include Machine Gun Companies to provide support for the horse cavalry until the infantry could catch up. 

The article appeared in Infantry Journal.I'm not exactly sure when it was written but I  know it was before 1934.   I know this because the author  was a Major when he wrote it.  And Major George S.  Patton was promoted to  Lieutenant Colonel in 1934.

And the horse cavalry in the U.S. lived on for another decade and was actually finally done in by the Jeep.

Thanks for the info, real interesting.

Good stuff.  So, you were in Grad school AFTER, Patton made LTC, or before?

Anyone been in the Outdoors lately? I need to make a fishing trip. I feel it in my bones....lol

Noodling anyone?  This is at the dock at the edge of my front yard.  This Flathead Cat is about 30-35 lbs.

Nice catch!

That's cool. He has eaten his share of Bream. That's the best eating catfish they have. We have a special name for them, down here in Acadiana.

These three guys come out a few times a year.  When I was growing up my Dad and I would fish for these in the Flint River in Georgia with spinning rods and reels, heavy line and weight and a small bluegill for bait.  We called them Aplaloochies.

We call them Opelousas Cats or Gojion Gai. Pronounced Goo shon guy.

Robert, I'm guessing you mean the Flathead Catfish and NOT the three men catching them!

Yep, a Flathead Catfish. The fish goes by many different names. Some people call it A Yellow Cat. I know one thing it is very good eating and highly sought after. Some catfish as they get bigger their taste sort of goes down but not an Opelousas Catfish, they keep their great taste no matter their size.

  When we fish for them, we use small live Carp or small live Bluegills. A live bait is better than a dead fish for bait. I have one rod and reel that is rigged just for catching them. I have braided line on it, that is small in diameter but strong in breaking strength. The reel is an open face style that is a little heavy duty. The rod is also a bit heavy duty. We usually fish for them in the Atchafalaya River. They are usually found near old logs and tree tops that are piled up along the bank of the river. Being able to land a fish, out of that trash can be hard to do, without him wrapping your line around some branch. When going after the Opelousas Cat, it's like going big game fishing.  

We have them and Channel cats which will top 40 lbs.

Wow, I had no idea they were that far north.

We have Channel, Flathead, and Blues in the Ohio River.

Those whiskered fish are fun to catch and eat. I also like chasing blackbass, hybrids, and even circle netting tilapia in the power plant lake. Tilapia is about a giant perch anyway! :)

Nice fish, Alan. They are fun to catch and I'll bet good eating too.

Great looking fish Alan, looks like a good time. What lake is that? I have fished Rayburn and Toledo Bend in Texas.