This post came to me via email from my brother Robo…thanks buddy:

The photographs of the piebald deer shown below are real, although the animal was apparently taken in East Texas (not Wisconsin), and it was not sold for $13,000.

According to the Texas Big Game Awards website, “Bellville resident James Curtis took this unique piebald whitetail in Palestine opening weekend of deer season” in November 2008. The Buck Manager website provides the additional information from Curtis’s wife that:

The deer was actually killed November 2, 2008, on a privately owned ranch outside of Palestine, Texas. The piebald deer scored 138 5/8 gross with a total body weight of 195 pounds. My husband is getting the deer full body mounted. Anyways, I just wanted to give you this information since there are lots of emails going around saying the deer was harvested in Michigan, Arkansas, West Virginia, and Georgia just to name a few. One email even says that the deer was sold to Cabela’s for $13,000! It is crazy.

Prez. @ Davis. J. Hennes, LLC

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It was a typical opening day of fishing season, cold and miserable. But my brothers and I were young, and the anticipation we felt could not be daunted by near freezing weather. Our fishing spot was to be a neighbor’s dock where we had seen several northerns swimming about earlier that spring. We approached the dock with much stealth and caution as to not alarm any fish. But no fish were to be seen. Neither would any unseen fish bite the spoons and various lures we casted to weeds and deeper water.

Like many young anglers I quickly became bored of fruitless casting. For a change of pace I asked my oldest brother if I could try a few casts with his new spinning outfit. He grudgingly complied with my insistance and handed it over. Excitedly I wound up for long cast and really fired it out there. The lure went a long way alright, but the reel handle popped off at the same time and also went into the drink.

Quickly I was informed I could either undress and wade out to get the reel handle or get thrown in. So in my skivies I slid into the near freezing water and felt around for the handle. I can still feel the intense cold numbing sensitive parts of my body. Perhaps the greatest sensation of my life was when my fingers felt the handle in the silt. But needless to say, my fishing for the day was done, and I have never fished without making sure my equiptment was in good working order. Many fishing trips have been ruined by lack of gear maintenance. And now is the time to groom your tackle, check waders for leaks, and other necessities. Here are a few things you can do.

Clean and straighten your tackle box. If you’re like me, when the fish are biting I don’t take the time to carefully store my lures. It isn’t long before the tackle box is a tangled mess of hooks, leaders, and baits. Sort out lures and make a list of favorites you need to replace. Brighten old spoons and spinners with silver polish, touch up plugs with high-gloss enamel or fingernail polish, and sharpen or replace old hooks.

Check your line guides for wear by running the cotton end of a Q-Tip through each one. The cotton fibers will catch on any grooves or worn spots. Wear will appear first on the tip guide and the guide closest to the reel. A worn guide will fray and weaken your line in no time, so replace it if necessary. Disassemble each reel and clean and lubricate each part. Instructions for reel maintenance come with most reels. Inspect each part for wear and replace if necessary. Particularly pay attention to the drag system. Discs and washers sometimes stick together and lock up during the winter.

The next time you get bored with old fishing magazines or watching other people catch fish on TV, try some tackle tinkering. It is fun and a proven cure for cabin fever.

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What a great weekend at the 29th Anniversary Minnesota Deer Classic & Outdoor Expo for Davis J. Hennes, the parent company of the Rod and Rifle Rag. We met a wonderful amount of people, from other exhibitors to visitors at our booth. The feedback we received in regards to the Rag was beneficial and valuable, whether it was the specialty journals we will be developing or the current journal, and we appreciate it very much. That type of feedback, from YOU the hunter and angler, is what will make the Rag a better overall product for everyone. Read More of the Story…

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Black bears typically have two cubs; rarely, one or three. In 2007, in northern New Hampshire , a black bear sow gave birth to five Healthy young. There were two or three reports of sows with as many as 4 cubs, but five was, and is, very extraordinary. The photographer learned of them shortly after they emerged from their den and set a goal of photographing all five cubs with their mom Read More of the Story…

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