Why do I Blog? - Writing Prompt

Last week the OBN presented the writing prompt, Why do we blog? I pondered this for a day or so, thought mine was pretty simple and straight forward, so what was the point to write it, but I keep find myself wondering back to this topic. So to get this idea out of my head and on to the blog for everyone to read here it is...

I had been reading blogs about everything from hunting and fishing, canning and cooking to cameras and photography. But one thing always bugged me, I couldn't find any blogs centrally located in WV, at least one that encompassed everything I was reading about. During this same time period, I was active on a few message boards and hand writing a journal about fishing and hunting trips, ramp patches I found, and our attempts at QDM (Quality Deer Management) on Bell Hill to name a few things. As the summers would hit full stride my journals always seems to take a nose dive but the amount of pictures would raise, but trying to go back and look at the pictures and try to write in the journal about a picture that wasn't there just seemed to annoy me, so I started to think about what I could do make this process easier.

That's when the idea for Foggy Mountain Meanderings began, I thought a blog would be a good way to keep track of my adventures as well as allow some of my family members and parents to keep tabs on what I was doing as well as letting the out-of-state family members see what was going on during hunting season if they didn't make it in. I never expected to have anyone else look at it outside of a few family members and friends. I looked at it more as an online journal, I wasn't even sure I'd tell my hunting/fishing buddies about it, it took a while but they found out and actually help with my blog.

I registered Foggy Mountain Meanderings back in August, but didn't actually start blogging until the beginning of September. This one was just about remember the past weekend and reminiscing about an old saying my grandfather always told me. Then it progressed to talking about our annual trip to Romney and some pre-season scouting and the ups and downs of the bow and rifle season. Once all that came to an end, I found something that change this whole blogging thing, the Outdoor Blogger Network. It took me nearly a month to convince myself to submit my blog, but I wasn't sure my blog was even worthy of being in the same directory as the blogs that were listed on the OBN and  I had been reading. But with Cassie's assurance and my newly crafted "Goals for 2011", I had nothing else to say, back pedal or do than simply to submit my blog. Since then, in a very short time, I managed to found a great group of outdoor blogging buddies. Not to mention the OBN has been expanding more rapidly than ever. From the looks of it, I wasn't the only one that it took a while to submit their blog. I will continue to record my journal mainly so I can remember my adventures and keep my friends and family updated, but now it seems there are a few more people than I thought that cared about what a kid from a small, river valley town in West Virginia does when he goes out to woods or to the riverbanks.

Now that I've diverged off topic I'm going to try and wrap this up. I'm not even sure I answered why I blog, but hopefully this gave you a little more insight into why I blog even if I didn't answer the question directly.

Playing Outdoor Favorites - Outdoor Blogger Network: Photo Prompt

It sure has been busy the last few days; everything from work,  buying a new toy and the WV Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoors Show. As you can see I have some stuff to write about, it's just a matter of finding the time to write. However, for tonight's post I am using the prompt; The OBN's last photo prompt is "Playing Outdoor Favorites." The task is to choose your favorite outdoor gear, everything from your old trusty deer rifle to that hand me down fly reel from your grandfather or is it that brand new spinning rod and reel you got last year?

There are too many things I use to pick a favorite per se; I hunt, fish, camp, hike, garden, forage, can... I do way to much outdoors to pick just one favorite thing. I took this on as more what are the items you can always find within an arms reach of me almost anytime I am outdoors, that one wasn't to hard to do.

My "Favorites"

I know some of these items a few of you are going to give a little guff for, as I take some from my friends also, but let me explain a little and they'll start to make more sense.

• My Camo WVU Hat - I normally have this thing on 24/7 outside of work and the dinner table you'll normally find me wearing it. Not to hard to explain or understand this one, everyone need a good hat. The only except to this one is during Deer Season it sitting in the Jeep while I'm in stand, due to the fact there is no way this hat would be scent free.
• My Pocket Knife - This is my "multi purpose tool," yes some time I carry an actual Leatherman or a fixed blade knife on my belt depending on my activity, but there isn't a day that goes by that this isn't in my pocket. Currently, for the last few years I've been carrying the Gerber Obsidian, it has been a great knife.
• My Camera - This one is for obvious reasons, I take a lot of pictures, and have even started taking more since I started this blog. It's an inexpensive Canon PowerShot series, that might actually be getting upgrade soon, but we'll have to wait and see on this one.
• My Phone - This one gets on some people's nerves, I understand that. But it is first and foremost, a necessity as far as having it for safety! Secondly, I use it for checking the weather, the hunting and fishing times ( Time2Fish & Time2Hunt), a back up camera and maps/GPS. There are a lot of different things that it can be used for that can help us in the outdoors. 

There's a little glimpse into what my "favorite" things to carry on me outdoors are, they might not be for everyone, but they work for me and always help me along on my outdoor adventures.

GreenFish ~ Promoting a lifestyle of sustainable fishing - Writing Prompt

I had been contemplating if I should do the latest Outdoor Blogger Network writing prompt, they have partnered up with GreenFish, I decided to go a head and attempt it. I love to fish for anything from trout to bass, well actually that's about all I fish for around here. Throw in a few catfish, bluegill, and crappie and that's about all I'm going to catch in a year. The trout get stocked for close to five months, January through May, the bass have always been in the river behind my house, and the catfish, bluegill and crappie are in the farm ponds we fish in the summer. As you can see, sustainability hasn't always been the foremost thought in my mind when it comes to fishing.


As I sat back and thought about all the things that it means to have sustainable fishing and what it takes for a fisherman (or woman) to promote a sustainable style of fishing, all these ideas started flowing in. This list had everything from picking up litter along the shore to helping the biologist collect data on the last group of stocked trout. The shocking part as I started to write down some of these ideas, I started to realize I do a lot of these things.


1.) Litter - The simplest thing of picking up garbage, this helps immensely with stopping the pollution of our waters and helps keep everything healthy and able to thrive. One of the simplest things is making sure to take out the garbage you brought in, it is always overlooked by most people.


2.) Stocked Trout -  Another simple one, if you're not eating it, you're not keeping it (stocked trout). Now you may be wondering how I consider this helping, I know that I am taking fish out, but normally this is only done with the stocked trout that are put in the selected waters for this reason. Also there are a few other things that go along with this, we always make sure the trout is able to survive after being caught (if not, it looks like you're having trout for dinner), if it's a wall mounter, there's normally a pass given on the aforementioned rules, but I've yet to find any for my wall. Haha

A West Virginia Native Brookie

3.) Native Trout - This one ties back to number two. Native trout are off-limits, no it's not that we don't fish for them, it's that we want to keep fishing for them. We always try to find new native streams to fish so that we don't over fish or harm the streams.

4.) Bass, Catfish, Crappie, and Bluegills - All these are normally just caught and released since we fish mostly the same ponds and we always need to have that time to kick back, relax, and catch the next monster.

5.) Teaching - The biggest part of creating sustainable fishing and helping the hatcheries, at least in my eyes, is teaching everyone from the old timers to the next generation about conservation of our resources. And yes, I consider fish and the beautiful places these fish live as a resource.  I want to help people understand they don't need to bring home a stinger full of fish to make them feel good, going back and catching those fish again in two months is just ad fun.

These are a few of the main points I think it takes to have sustainable fishing, they may not be the most earth shattering or scientific, but I'll do whatever I can to make the water ways that I fish sustainable for years to come. Oh, and to define what I believe sustainable fishing; it is as simple as making sure, people know, understand, and appreciate fishing for many generations to come.

This blog entry is my submission for the GreenFish

 and Outdoor Blogger Network Writing Prompt Giveaway

OBN Rendezvous - Who do you wanna meet? - Writing Prompt

When this writing prompt got released on Tuesday, I was tweeting back and forth with Rebecca, one of the Co-Founders of the OBN, and I told her how much I liked this topic and how my list might get a bit extensive. Well with some careful thought I think I've got it so I won't exceed the cap on mentions. We'll have to see how this goes..

I'm still relatively the new kid on the block, it seems that most of you have known each other for some time now, I don't  know why it seems like that because all of you have been very welcoming and helpful. Not to mention I feel like the little brother, as I am only 24, and everyone else seems to be old, like at least in their 30's. Haha. After a few conversations with Cassie, it looks like there might be a possibility both of us will be able to make it out to Denver to the OBN Rendezvous, we'll both just have to see about work, and the fact that it's looking like Denver might fall during our Florida Beach trip. As much as she loves the beach, Cassie said she wouldn't mind delaying the trip if need be, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work out.

Once we got out there, it'll be getting towards the end of July, and my mind will already be changing gears towards bow hunting and deer season. Sorry gurus of fly fishing (Mike at Troutrageous! and Owl Jones at Fly Fishing the Southern Blue Ridge), although I need to talk to you about my roll cast and my improper use of streamers, I think I'll have to have a sit down with you two later on in the day, no hard feelings. With whitetails and bow & arrows fresh on my mind, I'm sure I'll be trying to find the table with Al (The SoCal Bow Hunter), Lisa (Hunt Like You're Hungry), Kari (I Don't Wear Pink Camo to the Woods), Tommy (Following Ghost) Ben (Ben G. Outdoors), Brian (heyBJK), and Bill (Fall Road Archer). That table is bound to have some good, interesting conversations, as well as a few well placed personalities!

But of course, we can't spend the whole time talking about our hunting seasons coming up, because what fun would that be, actually.. Nevermind, must move onto fishing.. Now that I'm back towards the fishing side of things I'd need to go find the Fly Fishing Gurus (Mike & Owl) to get help with that roll cast and streamer problem I am having. I'd also want to find that crazy pier fisherman Josh (Something's Fishy) (That is if we don't meet up for a fishing trip before then), The Functioning Fishaholic himself, Ivan (Yukon Goes Fishing), and Glynn (A Reel Lady).

I know I am missing more than a few here, but this was a quick list off the top of my head. I hope everyone can attend the OBN Rendezvous this summer and I can get a chance to at least start putting some faces (and voices) with a blogs. Plus it should be a fun time for all!!

Where is Foggy Mountain? - Writing Prompt

Since I recently joined the OBN, they post writing prompts every week or so. Since the current writing prompt is something I've contemplated blogging about before, where did my blog name come from, I figured I should make a good showing and do this one.

Some of the stories I've already read are far more entertaining or have more meaning behind them than mine, but here it goes anyways.

Original copy of the picture that my banner was made from.

I've spent all most (I forgot those college years, but don't we all) of my life growing up in a small river valley in West Virginia. Naturally this leads to a great deal of my mornings being consumed with fog, it is something you become accustom to. Not until others, not from this area, come in and comment, do you realize that it is always foggy here. Proof of this is the picture I used for my banner, it is a trail cam picture of a normal foggy morning that randomly tripped the sensor. That explains the foggy part of Foggy Mountain Meanderings.

Now on the the Mountain part. It's pretty plan and simple. I'm from "The Mountain State", everything I do involves them, some times are more fun that others when they're involved, like dragging a deer from the bottom to top, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Nothing to exciting about that part, but now you have the explanation of the mountain part.

Lastly is Meanderings, this one I'll have to admit, I had to ask my parents and friends if it sounded OK before I "officially" deemed my blog this, but there is actual thought behind this one I promise, no more obvious ones. Haha. This one is more of me trying to explain how I wanted my readers to feel while reading this blog, just like I did as I sent most of my youth. I was either meandering through the woods with my grandfather, splashing up and down the river banks with my parents, or spending the night huddled around the campfire with my friends and family. It was just a hope that I could translate half of the meaning and love for the outdoors, that was given to me, on to anyone meandering through my blog. Nothing to special, pretty simple now that I look back at it, but hey it's my story and I'm sticking to it.