Redneck Santa

Many think of us Christians as stuffy with a lack of humor. Here is a post thanks to Ted McKinney to prove that wrong.

Jeremy Herrill's Huge Buck

Jeremy Herrill of Cornerstone Baptist Church helped us start Colonial Outdoors Ministry. We are grateful for his help and guidance to get us going, and as a brother in Christ.

It's only right that we show his trophy buck he harvested in Kansas, one that any of us would be proud to have. This big boy scored 145 4/8, a number that any hunter would like to have.

Jeremy loves the Lord and pours his heart and soul into men's lives through outdoor ministry. He has become a dear friend to Colonial Outdoors and we are so glad God blessed him with this prize deer.

Plagiarized from Heart of a Sportsman directly from Jeremy (this is the link to the original blog):

Today was a good day...No, today was a great day! Today, I hunted with my soul brother Alan Davis on his farm in Kansas - and harvested a monster Kansas buck. The events surrounding this momentus kill are much to detailed to describe here (but, you will surely get tired of me telling them when I get home!).

Every whitetail hunter dreams of killing a deer big enough to get his name in the record book. Today, that dream became a reality for me. I haven't got the deer scored yet but am confident that it surpasses the 125 inches to make the Pope and Young record book. God is so good!


I was thinking today as we talked about the deer making the record book, that God has a record book too. His book is called the Book of Life. His book contains the names of every person who has accepted his gift to us, of His son Jesus. Those whose names are in that book will spend eternity in heaven. Having your name in that book is more important than any record book! It is our prayer that your name is there - in God's book ... Revelations 20:15.

Ted McKinney Gets a Nice One

In one of the earliest posts, I asked for pictures of the hunt or fishing trip. Since Ted sent these photos, up they go.

Here is a nice 6 pointer that Ted got while hunting in Carthage.

From Ted: I shot this buck with my 30-06 on Sat.Nov. 21, morning about 8:30 as he was chasing a doe out into a cut0ver near Carthage, NC. He ran only 20 yds and dropped.
He was about 185-190 lbs. His antlers are 16in. wide outside and 3 1/2 around the bases.

My true trophy was a beautiful 8pt. I shot with my bow. I tracked him for a mile and lost him in a cutover at dark ! Bummer !

Colonial Outdoors Safety Course Produces a Harvest

How do you know if your programs are successful? What lessons are we learning or teaching?

At any Hunter Safety course, they confirm that passing on the tradition of hunting and the love of outdoors to the next generation is of vital importance.

One of the goals of Colonial Outdoors is to reach seekers who have interest in the outdoors. Here is an example of killing 2 birds (deer) with one stone.

We've begun hosting and soon will be teaching Hunter Saftey at Colonial Baptist as part of the Outdoors Ministry.

One of our first graduates shows off the fruits of her labor and was rewarded with a good hunt.

Lauren Sutphin attends Colonial and Wake Christian. As far as we know, this is the first deer taken by one of our female hunter education class graduates. She was in our class last week and had her first deer by Wednesday.

By any scale, this was a success for the ministry and for the hunting tradition.

Way to go Lauren and I hope the lessons you learned about safety and about the Lord are etched in your heart forever.

In the PotHole - When trouble Hits You

There is little that is exciting to an Outdoorsman than the anticipation of the hunt or fishing trip. There isn't enough coffee to describe how awake you are and the pounding of your heartbeat when you hear footsteps, the honking or quacking of your prey or a splash on the water right in front of you. These are the good moments that God provides for you.

There are also the challenges during the hunt just like life. This is one of them.

Ed Strickland describes his Canadian hunt below:

Well I have just returned from my yearly trip to Canada where each year several of us head up to do some waterfowl hunting and just relax and enjoy the beauty of that area and each other company.

This was a special year as well because I had my eighteen-year-old son Dale along with me. It has been five years since he has been to Canada with me. This hunt was a graduation gift from Frances and me. Also an Old Friend Odell Thompson who took me up to Canada for the first time about nine years ago. I was looking forward to hunting with the two of them this trip as well as the other fellows I go with each year.

We headed out before dawn Monday to hunt a pothole that had been scouted by a couple of the guys Sunday evening. It was just perfect conditions for a good duck shoot with tall cattails and bulrush all around. The fog was heavy and you just could see the water.

Just at seven AM official shooting time it just rained ducks, three and four at a time they dropped out of the fog right into the decoys wings cupped and flipping right down in perfect range for us all to get good shots. We ended the morning with six limits in about one hour. WOW! What an awesome start to the week.

Afterwards we headed in to have some breakfast and recap the morning and plan try and figure out how we were going to top that hunt.

Tuesday we went out to the field and set up on some Canada geese we had scouted the day before. Sure enough another great hunt and we got about thirty geese and ten ducks on the morning. Half of the geese were greater or big honkers and we had two weighed that came in about thirteen pounds each. These birds were huge.

Wednesday was a bit slower and we had to scout pretty hard to find some birds to hunt for the rest of the week and we decided to check out that pothole again because we knew we had not hurt the population of ducks and it should have settled down enough to have another crack at them one afternoon. So we decided Thursday after lunch to go get’em.

It was just a beautiful afternoon, to beautiful for ducking, but hey we were hunting so I’m not complaining. Sure enough the ducks were there and we had another good shoot. With darkness quickly closing in we decided it was time to pick up. Karl Blackley and myself headed in to get up the decoys and the days bounty.

This pot hole as beautiful has it was from the outside was a mess on the inside with mush for a bottom that the moment you stopped your feet sank about a foot. Well Karl headed to one side and me the other. I headed out to retrieve a duck that had drifted out toward the middle. The water was about waist deep and about the time I got to the duck I started to loose my balance and down I went. I landed on my knee and immediately started to sink in the muck. Well this was not good and my waders were taking on water fast. It was right then the cold temperature of that water hit me and away went my breath. This water is black as used motor oil and as I was going under I knew if I went down and could not get back up the guy’s would never find me, so as I was headed under I called out to Karl that I was in trouble. At that time I started fighting with all my life to keep my head above water and try and dig my way to the bank. I had forgotten and left on a fleece and neoprene pullover and it was getting heavier by the second, to the point I could not right myself back up so I had to dig with my hands and push with my feet all the while sinking in the muck. Each pull felt like someone was adding weight to my back.

Karl was about fifty yards from me, and with that bottom like it was he could only move toward me but so fast and as he tried he kept yelling for me to get to the bank. “Keep going Ed, Get to the bank, don’t stop!” Dale and the other guys could only watch as I struggled to get in shallow enough water to keep from drowning. As I approached the bank and thought I was there the water started getting deeper as I had picked a spot with a drop off close to the edge, but thank God I made it. This water was cold, it was frozen just a week before and I was out of breath and shaking like crazy and Karl was still trying to get to me all I could do wait. I tried to stand up only to fall back in so I just lay there trying to catch my breath until he could help me up and out.

Well wrapped up and in the truck with the heat on I was safe. All that had just happened shook us all and realized how quick things like this can happen.

As I laid in bed that night thinking about the events of the day, a thought came to my mind, you see earlier that day we asked Dale my son to find a pair of waders that fit him so he could help in the water. He’s a size thirteen and the largest we had were twelve’s and he could not get his feet in any we had. And then it hit me, had those waders fit him that could have been him in that water. That could have been me on the bank watching helplessly as he struggled to safety. It was not the he might not know what to do in that situation, or that he would have handled it any different than I did. I just had that peace that I was the one supposed to be in those waders.

A funny side to this story that came to my mind on the plane ride home as I was thinking back, I never let go of that duck. When Karl was getting closer to me I chunked that duck toward the bank and he asked, “What was that?” I said, “It was that stupid duck I went after”. I don’t know why I held on to it so tight.

Later I thought about a verse in Ecclesiastes. Verse 4-10 talks about one that falls and his friend can help him up, but pity the man that falls and has no one to help him. I was glad God and Karl were there to pick me up.

I try to practice safety whether I’m hunting or fishing and we actually have hunter safety courses at our church. But I came face to face with how quickly things can go wrong and how blessed I was to survive. Another thought came to mind about that day. What if I had drowned in that pothole in Canada? What if that were my last hunt. And I realized how Glad I am that I know Jesus Christ has my Savior. And I don’t have to fear death or dying. Do I want to die? Well sure I don’t, Like Paul says for me to die is gain. I would be in heaven with my Lord. What about you friend? If you found yourself facing death in any situation, do you know what your eternal outcome would be? Could you have the same peace that I did and know you would go to heaven? Or is it possible you could spend eternity in Hell separated from God Forever? Be sure! There is only one way and that way is

through the saving grace of a loving God through the Blood and sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ for us.

If you are not sure and you need some guidance call me anytime, because one day your going to be in some sort of pothole and you want have your friend Christ to help you up.

God Bless

Ed Strickland

919-422-1111

Centershot Ministry Takes Off

Just like the Hunter Safety program that God provided for us as an opportunity to reach out, Centershot Ministry was laid on the heart of Chris Crum.

He spoke to our group and then we prayed for the resources for the training and supplies and the Lord delivered everything, including a full class.

A group went to West Virginia for training and they have begun the ministry which includes Bible study and archery instruction.

Here is an update:

Well, after October 8^th the Centershot Class will be halfway over. It has been great seeing God put this whole thing together and we are looking forward to our next class.

Here is Chris Crum showing the correct nock position.

After only three days of class, we have some real sharp shooters.

Mike Hayes is watching Dirk Steckmann prepare to stick the bullseye.

From left to right Daniel Wood, Maggie Cooley, and Caroline Cearley are emptying their quivers as they practice the 11 steps to archery success.

Yes, God has been good to our fledgling group, but we give him the glory and hope to reach new souls and new hunters.

Colonial Outdoors Holds It's First Hunter Safety Course

Part of our mission at Colonial Outdoors Ministry is to find a way to reach out to others who love the outdoors. God has provided the ability for Colonial to be able to host the Hunter Safety Course at our facility.

Later, we will be able take classes to become instructors as part of the NC Wildlife program.






This week was our first class. In this pictue we have our mother/daughter participants Ann Marie McCarroll and Devon McCarroll along with Steve Wade and daughter Morgan studying the rules and regulations of the Safety rules including proper handling of weapons, shooting and ethical harvesting of game.







Thanks go out to Officers Brent Ward and Kelly Brantley who came to Colonial. Here they are with Ed Strickland who organized it for our group.






We are proud that over 25 people took and graduated the course including Ann Marie and Devon McCarroll show off their official Hunter Safety Cards, They are Our first mother/daughter duo to attend and pass the course.










Stay tuned as we will offer two more classes before the end of the year

Tuesday's Topic: Quality Deer Management

Make sure to come to our meeting on the 25th where we have a guest speaker to discuss Quality Deer Management.

Also if you know any young hunters that would like to learn some cool things about deer like how to age a deer from the jaw bone, be sure to bring them or invite them.

If you have some land or hunt lease property and want to maximize you efforts, these are the folks that can help, so come out and support them and their taking the time to come and share with us.

We Meet at 6:30 in the Family center, second floor, room 218/219

UPATE FROM QDMA!!!!

I am pleased to announce the opening of our pre-registration website for next year's Youth Day at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds - March 5, 2010.

http://www.capefear-qdma.org/ncqdma.html

Workshop schedules will be developed based on the interest of those who pre-register before November 15th. Remaining seats will be filled after that on a first-come, first-serve basis.

The NC State Chapter of QDMA is once again playing an integral role in its design, launch, and delivery. Please extend our reach by spreading the word!

Under the umbrella of the Wake County Wildlife Club, youth day organizers including volunteers from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, NC State University, NC National Wild Turkey Federation, NC State Chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, and other community-minded organizations have been working hard to identify and define workshops which would be of the most interest to students and best match current standard course of study academic objectives. We think you'll like what we've come up with!

Public or private school groups, home schools, 4-H, Shooting clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Youth Groups at Church, Grandparents & grand kids will all enjoy the day.

Come for an hour or stay for the day!

• Each 1-hour workshop will be hands on / interactive
• Topics range from wildlife conservation to outdoor skills and wildlife careers - build a turkey call, assemble a personal first aid kit, learn more about that wily white-tail, or bring home a portable composting kit
  
• A special appearance by 13-yr old pro-staffer Zac Cooper will be enjoyed by all
• All workshops will be free; parking is fee; goodie bags for the kids are free!
• Kids can then walk over to the Dixie Deer Classic (open from 11am - 9pm that day). Youth 12 and under will be admitted for free; Youth 13-18 will be admitted for half-price that day. Remind kids to have their hands stamped on their way out for a free return on both Saturday and Sunday.
  

Questions? Check out this web link, then send us an e-mail via the pre-registration forms.
http://www.capefear-qdma.org/ncqdma.html; or feel free to give me a call.

Thanks for supporting area youth - the future of Wildlife Conservation and our Hunting Heritage!

Colonial Outdoors Now Offering Hunter Safety Course

As part of our outreach program, Colonial Outdoors will be offering Hunter Safety Courses at the church. We are working with the NC Wildlife Commission and this is a great outreach program

THE DATES
The first round of courses will be September 28th, 29th and October 1st.

WHOT TO CONTACT
Either contact Ed Strickland at # 919-422-1111 for info, or contact Colonial Baptist at 919-233-9100.

TIMES
Times for class will be I believe from 6PM to 9:30 pm each night. The class has to be 10 hours. People should be aware that even though they may be grand fathered here, other states will require it if they go out of state to hunt.

Ironman Catfish Results

This report comes to you via Ed Strickland who was there, and a link to The Heart of a Sportsman, our Brothers from Cornerstone who put this on. I'll throw in a few of Ed's pictures, but if you click on the in link above, you can see each of the 3 churches and read their version of the trip as it is good. If anyone knows the blog from Stanleyville, please send it to us and we'll link to it.


From Ed:

Well it's official, the Ironman Catfish tournament is in the books. Did we win?....well no, was God honored? Absolutely. What an amazing evening of what our ministry is all about, fun and fellowship with other Christian men, 70 to be exact between the three churches. Seventy guy's that had never met came together and ate an awesome meal, laughed and acted like we had been friends all our lives.


As many of you know it started out with a ton of trash talking by the guy's from Cornerstone, and that video. And when we arrived, just before dinner they announced that they were in a Christian way going to "put a monkey stomping on us" meaning Colonial and Stanleyville.

Well, I'm sad to announce they delivered, 98lbs later in 10 fish and well... Enough about that! The truth of the matter is we had an awesome time. We had twenty-three from Colonial Outdoors and two ringers in Jamie Olive and David Moss Jr. We really worked hard to prepare for this event. Jamie led the charge with advise for many of us who had never fished for catfish. Chris Crumm went out Thursday night to catch some bait and Dale Strickland, Cody Pigot and David Moss spent almost all day of the event catching our bait in some local farm ponds. We were stoked. But in our defense, none of us but Jamie have ever even been on High Rock Lake. We knew we had our work cut out for us, and we knew these guy's could catch some big cat's, but we felt we could make a decent showing. We are kind of like an expansion team in the world of cat fishing, I mean let's face it, it's hard to go to New York and beat the Yankees, but you give us a season or two and it will be on like donkey kong.

I must say Thanks to the guys from Heart of a Sportsman,Cornerstone Church for all their hard work putting this on, and thanks for including Colonial Outdoors. Thanks to the gang at Stanleyville for participating with us, you guys did an awesome job. And the men from both of these churches are some of the most Christ like guys I have ever met.

You know, the neatest thing of all is this, Colonial Outdoors did not even exist a year ago, and God put it all together, and put Jeremy and the folks at Cornerstone in our life and in just a little bit of time we had the awesome opportunity to participate in an event like this, and I am certain it want be the last. Oh! By the way, we finished third, and it takes a man to admit that.

Gratuitously plagiarized from their website, the words are good enough to reprint:

Impressed by the large number of men at the event, I heard one guy say before we started and after seeing all the boats beached along the shoreline at the tournament that “the night was already a success even if we didn’t wet the first hook.” Another fella said, “it’s awesome to see this many guys who don’t even know each other come together for a night of fellowship.” One church leader said, “Just think, one year ago our guys didn’t even know each other and now we’ve got over 20 dudes together for this event.” That’s what it’s all about. We came together to not only fish but to glorify the one who created the fish, and the lake and the land around the lake: the Almighty God.

Seeing all these men come together made me think of those guys that Jesus used. They were regular men. Many were tough, rugged men - Men who liked to fish – just like these guys. He chose 12 regular men just like this to change the world. Imagine what He can do with 70! It is my prayer that we fish for men as hard as we fish for fish!
God is good all the time...and all the time God is good!



Special congratulations to Brian Cain of Stanleyville Baptist go for the biggest fish of the night (28 pound flat head catfish) and Eddie Ritchie of Cornerstone for the smallest fish (unable to register a weight on the scales). Oh yes, Cornerstone did get lucky and won the Ironman trophy with 98 pounds of cats on the night – but the real trophy was hanging out with 70 cool dudes. Thanks for all the fun...we look forward to doing it again!

Attention Outdoorsmen: They called us Sissies, Wimps and Baby Christians; Catfish Challenge

Centershot Ministry, Our Guys Get Training to Help Reach Out Via a New Ministry

(From left to right) Chris Crum, Mike Hayes, Ted McKinney, Manny Montoya and Polly Montoya all completed the Basic Archery Instructor course on May 30, 2009.

It was taught by Charles Larue in Clendenin, WV. The course will enable these individuals to teach International Target Style Archery through the fundamentals put together by National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) www.archeryintheschools.org .

It is the goal of Colonial Outdoors to combine this training with the gospel message through the Centershot Ministries program www.centershotministries.org . The archery class can be available to people of all ages, gender, and abilities by using a bow (Matthews Genesis) that is not draw length specific. The class can connect children to the church, strengthen a relationship between child and parent, reach children for Christ, and even allow people with different levels of abilities to compete against others.


“I am excited about the possibilities that will be available at Colonial”, said Manny Montoya. “I know God has laid it on my heart to start this program at Colonial”, stated Chris Crum. The bows have already been purchased and the program is in need of about $1,500 more dollars for equipment to get started.

If you read this and feel led to contribute please contact Chris Crum tyson1978@yahoo.com or Ed Strickland estrick318@aol.com .

Hunting and Fishing for Souls (and New Members)

Colonial Outdoors had a booth outside the worship hall to help tell about our ministries. There were a couple of fellows who came by to talk and you could tell that their hearts were being convicted to join.

Plus it was fun to wear camo to church.

In the pictures are John Simonds, John Simonds III, Pastor Davey and Ed Strickland.

Some families came up and you could see the bonding between Dad's and Son's beginning. Some came up alone, but (almost) everyone was interested

The biggest smile I saw though was Pastor Davey when he came up and saw the display. It's good to have him support our efforts.

We're praying God will convict a few souls through our ministry.

Lord Of The Spring Video - Please Watch

We are partnering with our Buddies at Heart of a Sportsman of Cornerstone Church.

Please let everyone you know see this video and help raise funds to reach people for the Lord.

Take a look and enjoy, then let your heart decide on helping out.

What we need to communicate to people is the fact that every dollar raised now is for evangelism. The Booth at the National Wild Turkey Federation and production cost are done. We need $12,000.00 for I believe 15,000 videos and it works up in five thousand increments from there.

If someone would like to partner with us on this project, they can make checks out to Things Men Do and earmark it Lord of the Spring Project. We need to pray for Gods provision on this that He will provide these funds and that He will use this and us through it to further His Kingdom.

Ted and Brian's Great Hunting Adventure

My hunting partner, Brian, and I had been drawn for a special three day wild turkey hunt on the NC. Game Lands and we were excited at the prospects! We arose early at 5 am, put on our cammo, and grabbed a snack, our guns and flashlights and headed into the woods with high expecations. The barred owls were the only things responding to our calls, and they were putting on a concert. It was too early to use a hen yelp or crow call. I headed down river while Brian headed up river.

Picking my way through the dry noisy woods with the aid of my headlamp, I had barely gotten in sight of the river in the pre-dawn darkness when suddenly from a large tree along the bank, a big gobbler struggled to get airborn, beating his powerful wings in the branches. He sailed effortlessly across the river and crashed-landed in the trees lining the opposite bank.

Immediately, I sat down under a large oak and after putting on my gloves and facenet began softly clucking and yelping on my old slate call. Each time he would respond with a booming gobble or double-gobble. This went on back and forth for at least half hour and by now it was broad daylight. Suddenly I saw him pitch off the roast and sail toward an old clearing across the river. Remaining in the same location, I called occasionally to which he responded on the ground from the other side. Still he refused to fly back across the river. Already the action was smoking hot! Could I expect more of the same?

Deciding a change of location might even kick things up a notch, I relocated on a slight tree cover hill overlooking the river. It reminded me somewhat of an Indian mound and afforded a good view of the swamp to my left, and the 60 yard stretch of beautiful river bottom hardwoods and grassy green forest floor between me and the river. Another half hour of sitting produced no desirable results, so I decided to stalk slowly from tree to tree along the edge of the swamp, watching ahead for movement. Suddenly, I spotted two gobblers and a hen feeding in the park-like river bottom at approximately 60 yards.

Dropping to my knees, I crawled to some trees and brush in order to hide and observe these turkeys and get a diaphram call in my mouth. In response to soft purrs and clucks, all three stopped feeding and stretched their necks to look, but no gobbles. They went back to feeding. I was a little disappointed they did not break into a full strut display, or come running toward me immediately.

Both were mature gobblers, but one was a true Trophy with a huge white head. We later came to call him "snowball head." I wanted desperately to make a "jelly head" of him with my 12 ga. 3 inch magnum copperplated load of number fours ! He was a wise old tom, 20 plus pounds, with many seasons in his ten inch beard. He knew all too well that a "chick" in tow is worth more than ten hens clucking in the bush! He stayed close to his "chick" and fed just out of range.

However, at my urgent calling, the younger of the two toms began to feed in my direction, and would pause to look when I purred. By now, my heart was pounding and I was beginning to shake. When he went behind a tree, I got on my knees and raised the camoflauge Browning pump, steadying it against a tree.I was in the appropriate posture, because I was praying hard he would keep on coming !

Determining the small opening in front of him to be about 30 yards, I aimed the shotgun there. When I saw the red head emerge, I trained the bead on it and squeezed the trigger. There was an explosive flurry of feathers and flopping!!! Instantly, I ejected the shell and prepared to shoot him again, but that would not be necessary. He was down for good !

Here it was only the first morning of a three day hunt and God had blessed me already with an
eighteen pound bird with a nine inch beard ! I was jubilant and praising Him.

I had the luxury of sitting for hours,soaking up the beauty of His creation,reading my little
New Testament that I always carry in my hunting pack, and meditating on the Truth of His Word. There was abundant wildlife to observe also, such as ducks, crows, hawks, owls, squirrels,piliated woodpeckers,and coyotes.

Later I took Brian to my "honeyhole" and he saw a number of gobblers and hens. He shot a large tom, knocking it down,but before he could get to it the bird jumped up and ran off. A
major disappointment- but he eventually shot a nice jake out of a flock of four on the last morning.

What a hunt ! One for the record book- at least our record book !

Enjoying Gods Great Outdoors, Ted McKinney

Pond Fishing Last Tuesday - Pictures and Words

Last Tuesday, we went to Yates Pond as a group to do a little fellowship via a pole. It was a good group that was able to come. We opened the day with a prayer...then got to it.




Some brought spinning rods, some fly rods, some baitcasters....both artificial and live bait got uses and everyone had lots of high hopes. I even saw the Hank Parker super hook set on a 10 incher ;-)




Here's Ed Strickland hoping for old Bucketmouth to stretch his line...















I think everyone caught either a bass, bluegill or a perch, most about this size
















But with out a doubt, the two best fishermen of the day were Steve Wade's daughters, Morgan (11) and Mary Bishop (9),who were wearing out both the bluegills and the other fishermen. I stood next to them at one point and they caught four fish on four casts....












A good time was had by all and next week we'll be back in the classroom studying God's word. On this night at the pond, we got to fellowship with God and each other on his turf.

New Meeting Information, Next Week Is Pond Fishing

Colonial Outdoors is meeting on Tuesday nights, 6:30-8:00pm, FC218/219.
Next Tuesday, May 12, we will have a pond fishing outing. Meet at the church 6:30pm and bring the kids for a fun time at a local pond that a church member has graciously allowed us to fish in.

Ed will be putting on a fishing clinic on rod retrieval (this in an inside joke). Mark your calendars for the beginning of an exciting study of the word about being an “Authentic Man” on May 19.

If you would like to participate, we can get a study guide for $10. Please email estrick318@aol.com or ray.pigott@pgnmail.com if you want us to get it for you or you can pick one up at Lifeway. It is called The Quest for Authentic Manhood by Robert M. Lewis.

New Date and Room for Our Meeting

To the Colonial Outdoorsmen:

We will meet on Wednesday for the next two weeks, this Wednesday and next, and then BEGINNING MAY 5TH WE WILL START MEETING ON TUESDAY NIGHTS.
The group that has been getting together decided to make the switch so that many of you that have been involved in other things at the church on Wednesday night would be able to participate with us.
So please mark your calendars for Tuesday May 5th. We will continue to meet in the Family center building. We will have a new room. It is # 218/219.

The Turkey Hunt - By Chris Crum

This morning I went to a spot where I had been successful in the past. I started walking in the woods at 5:30. I went too far and as I was trying to find the place I intended to set up, I decided that where I was standing didn’t look too bad. I figured if the birds were too far I would just move. The ground was all charred from a recent burn and it made me question my camouflage, but I was happy to have on my “usually too dark” jacket. There was plenty of time before daylight so I just got comfortable and waited for the break of day. As the little birds began to sound off I opened my eyes to find that it might be getting light enough for a tree call. After I did some light tree yelping a gobbler sounded off. Far enough to call to without being seen, but close enough for me to stay put. After a few gobbles a jake sounded off. The jake was much closer and after it got light I could see him in the tree. I was anxiously waiting for the big bird to pitch down to determine my next move. After my “long” wait the gobbler took flight toward the jake and landed up hill from his tree just out of my sight. I gave some calls to let him know where I was. The jake pitched off in the same location and then a third bird (I didn’t know was even around). After a few more calls I waited for them to show. The jake showed and the gobbler was chasing him. They both came into sight and looked my direction. After a look they both went back from where they came. I was thinking, “What happened?” “Did they see me?” “Did I scare them?” I called a few times out of desperation and debated on going after them. As I sat there contemplating the turkeys started to come back. The gobbler strutted again to be sure the jake knew who was boss and they started my way. There were a lot of saplings and branches near the ground and I was trying to keep an eye on them and the bird. That way, if he stopped I would know if I had a shot or not. He didn’t seem like he intended to stop. He was closing ground in a half strut walking position. At about 22 yards I didn’t see any saplings between us and he had come close enough. At the shot he dropped like a sac of potatoes. I ran over to claim my prize and thanked God for providing me with another great turkey this season. The other birds just stood there, looking. I had to run after them to chase them away. Dang, my heart was pounding. -Chris Crum 4/15/2009

Member Mike Hayes gives an Outdoors Report

Mike starts out with this verse:

Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

It's Spring again, that means it's time to knock the dust off the fishing and hunting gear and get out into the Lord's playground. Crappie are heading to the bank this time of year. They will hit about any small artificial spoons, minnow baits, spinners, jigs, flies, streamers, and live minnow is hard to beat.

This time of year, fish artificial baits slow and near the bottom. Live bait should be fished under a float. I fished Jordan two weeks ago and had good luck landing 17 nice Crappie ranging from one pound to three pounds. Fish were found ten to fifteen feet off the bank, three to five feet deep. I was fishing minnows under a slip float.

This time of year, cold fronts can push fish off the bank, so you might have to adjust your game plan due to the weather. With the Dogwoods blooming, look to the lake's head waters for the White Bass spawn. Water temperature is key to finding fish, and I look for water 58-64 degrees. The same artificial baits used to catch Crappie will work fine on White Bass.

Clouser Minnow type flies and streamers work well for flyfishing. Don't forget about the poor man's tarpon, the shad, they are in all your coastal rivers this time of year and are great fun on lite tackle and on the fly. Shad darts, trailed 6 to 10 inches behind a small spoon, work well on ultra light gear. Any type of bright shad fly will work well, but it must be weighted if fished on a floating flyline. I prefer a slow sinking flyline on a six weight flyrod with a fast action.


Largemouth Bass are leaving their deep winter holes in all our local lakes to spawn and will be heading to shallow water backbays and coves; look for water temps of 65 degrees to get things started. Small ponds warm earlier this time of year, so if you don't have a boat they can be a great place to find some quiet action. Largemouth will hit a variety of baits from soft plastics to hard baits. When asked what is the best bait to be using, I say the one you have the most confidence in.

Ed Strickland and myself were out on Harris this past week and had five fish from about 1.5 pounds up to one that weighted 7.5 pounds. It was a great day.

Turkey season starts April 11, through May 9, 2009. So cut that TV off and unplug that computer and get out into the Lord's playground. You will be truly blessed.

Mike has graciously offered to speak to anyone if you want to call him at 919-481-0331 for help on rigging and gear selection as he's happy to give anyone a hand. I'd take him up on it if I were you!

Josh Strickland's Hunt in Canada

Here is a picture of Josh Strickland with this huge honker he shot in Sask, Canada. This was his first trip up to our house up there we have with some guy's I have hunted with for several years. We had some great shoots while we were up there. Also had some snow that week. I love the sunrises and sunsets up there with those big wide skies.

God provided well for this hunter

Fishing in San Diego

This is Ed Strickland and it was his first bass caught sight fishing in San Diego last Feb. It ws awesome, clearest water I have ever seen. They caught about five with the largest about four lbs.


The other is his son Dale caught at Harris last year in the Triangle Bass Anglers Classic tournament. This fish got him big fish money for the day and put him in third going into the last day. He would end up fourth. TBA fishes three lakes in two days between Harris, Jordan and Falls. This Fish was 6lb 6oz.

Both great fish and I'm sure they gave thanks to God for providing good times and a good catch.