Columnists

The open water fishing season is speeding away as fast as a jet ski would, after crossing over your fishing line. I cannot believe that we are already at the end of August. There are so many things that I haven’t done and I am going to have to cram a lot of trips into the remaining time.

There seems to be one common theme as the 2010 Lake County prep football season gets set to kickoff. Call it the R-word.

High school football games start this week, and fans might notice some significant rule changes that will be in effect this season.

The recent article about Carpapalooza raised a number of reader questions asking what is done with all of the harvested fish.

I used to be able to adequately handle technology. I was never one of those who were unable to get their VCRs to stop blinking “12:00.” I now find myself losing the battle to keep up with the electronic devices of today’s world.

Sometimes I wonder, if we really want to tackle the big problems in our society or if we’d rather just beat the other party over the head with them.

I just got back from the annual family trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Although fishing takes a back seat to other activities on this yearly vacation, I was able to get a good amount of fishing in.

The first time I heard about bowfishing, I thought it to be a very strange sport. The thought of people armed with bows, peering down into the water, on a hunt for carp, bowfin and other species of rough fish seemed a little bizarre to me. But to each his own, I figured. It’s a legal sport, so who was I to say what seemed strange.

Conservationist. Marksman. Spokesman for the Far Right. Author. Loyal husband. Loving father. Political animal. Patriot. Wild-eyed rock and roll maniac. I can only be describing the incredible Ted Nugent. Love Ted or hate him, he is often misunderstood.

At www.NWHerald.com, the website for the Northwest Herald (a sister paper of the Lake County Journal), you’ll find that you can post comments about articles and columns. (You can do the same on the Journal website.)

I received a mass e-mail from Steve Pennaz of the North American Fishing club. Steve is a great guy, publishes a great magazine and also serves as a great source of information on the world of the outdoors. In Steve’s e-mail, he explained how fishing guides operating on federally classified navigable waterways needed a Coast Guard OUPV license in order to be legal.

From Ed DeVries, president of the Bowfishing Association of Illinois, to his large list of members:

ANTIOCH – They say the true measure of a team’s heart and character is how it responds to adversity.

I often get asked for names of good guides. The economy is tough, but I think a day with a guide to learn about a body of water is a good investment. Here is a list of a number of guides working Illinois and Wisconsin waters within a reasonable drive that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend for a day on the water. I’ve fished with most of them and have gotten great recommendations for others from people whose opinions mean something to me.

Under the past presidential administration, we saw a program introduced called “No Child Left Behind.” The results reported were less than what was hoped. Here’s hoping that a new state program with a similar sounding name has much more spectacular results.