Snow swirls outside, making the world look like vast tundra. Venturing out for a carton of milk or some bread seems a daunting task in the bitter chill. The only other alternative to adventuring outdoors is staying indoors, which can be as much, if not more so of a challenge. But fear not, friends! The cure for your cabin fever is here!


Ben G. Outdoors, along with a handful of his best blogging compatriot buddies have teamed up to provide some entertainment to break this cabin fever that plagues so many of their chilly readers. The rules are simple if you’ve ever taken part in a scavenger hunt.

On March 1st, Ben G. will be posting the first clue. Once a participant finds the answer within his blog, then he or she will be directed to the next blog; so on and so forth. The following blogs will be participating in this scavenger hunt give-away.

Somethings Fishy
Bullets & Biscuits
Ben G. Outdoors
Abnormal Outdoors
Hunt like You’re Hungry
 Flat Deerheads

The contest will conclude on March 10th. Winners will be announced on the 14th. The prizes are as follows:

• 1st place: Magnum boots Work Pro Ultra WPI CT , $50 Bass Pro gift card, The Complete Trail Food Book - 300+ Recipes for Campers, Canoeists and Backpackers, and two packs of jerky from House of Jerky*

• 2nd place: Flat Deerhead XL wall graphic of the winner’s favorite photo, a Flat Deerheads camo cap, $25 Bass Pro gift card, SEEMZ Scent Elimination and two packs of Jerky from the House of Jerky*

• 3rd place: 3 Trout lures and 3 Bass lures From Fish Creek Spinners, Catch of the Day - 200+ Recipes for the Everyday Angler and a some great Jerky snacks from the House of Jerky*

Happy Searching and Good Luck!

Rules and Regulations:
• Participant must live in the US and Canada to participate.
• Contest begins March 1st and concludes March 10th, EST
• Participant must be 18 years of age or older.
• Only one entry per contestant.
• Participant MUST leave comment with answers on starting blog.
• Only participants that have provided an answer for each of the blogs may be eligible to win the            aforementioned prizes.

Start the Hunt here Breaking Cabin Fever

I am excited to introduce to you a recent friend of mine Matt from Functioning Fishaholics. I recently had the pleasure of writing an article for Matt and his site. If you would like to read it here is Spring Crappie Excitement in Minnesota. Until I did that article I was so into writing about hunting I forgot about the fishing aspect of my blog. Any way Matt's site is one of the best around so if you are a fisherperson I urge you to check it out.

As you read the interview you will find that at first Matt didn't even know how much fishing was ingrained in him. So, Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, A tale of a fateful trip....wait I mean. Sit back and you'll get inside the mind of not only a great blogger, but a fisherman who loves the sport down to his core and it shows. I now introduce to you Matt.

image credit  joedferg

My first opener I was around the age of 11 or 12 my good friend Matt and his dad Art asked me to go up to Milacs Lake and have our bobbers hit the water at 12 AM opening morning. It sure did sound like a good idea at the time, so I tagged along.

Hey everyone I just wanted to let you know why I haven't been posting too much lately. I've been spending a lot of time writing for others so here are a few links to my latest articles.

Earth Sports January 26, 2011
Ice Fishing Tips


NWO PRODUCTIONS January 28th, 2011

How Internet Hunting Videos will affect Hunting Television

The Functioning Fishaholics February 6th, 2011
Spring Crappie Excitement in Minnesota
Foremost Hunting.com January 27th, 2011
My Best Days Afield

February  2011
Converting An Ordinary Shotgun Into The Ultimate Turkey Gun



 

I am pleased to introduce to everyone one of my blogging mentors Albert A Rasch. Albert has helped me out on a number of occasions answering some of my crazy questions about blogging and posting some of my contest stuff. Needless to say Albert has been a great influence on me the past couple of years. Thanks Albert.

So cozy up to you laptop and learn more about one of the outdoor blogging greats. If you haven't already I suggest you check out his blog The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles I think you will enjoy it.




Ben, thanks for having me on Ben G Outdoors! As you know, I'm a big fan of both Ben G Outdoors and Abnormal Outdoors, I only wish there were more hours in the day to read not only your blogs, but the other few dozen I follow!

1. Why did you start Blogging?
Besides the fact that I like to hear myself wax eloquent on any number of subjects, I really thought that I could share some of the things I've learned and experienced. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I have a hard time getting together with like minded folks in my neighborhood, and blogging is much like kicking back at the neighborhood watering hole and talking with friends. You know Ben, so much happens to us on a daily basis that we many times just file it away and ultimately forget about it. With some luck - and a good back-up system - this will be available to educate and entertain my great-grandchildren, and to guide important world leaders years henceforth!

Yeah, yeah, we know—you’ve seen a thousand articles on winter tackle maintenance. That’s why we’re not going to do another one right now. Instead, we’re going to clue you in to what NOT to do. Winter tackle maintenance can lead to more harm than good if you make these faux-pas, so as you get your gear into shape, make sure you don’t:


- Fill your spool with fresh monofilament, and then leave it near a window. Sunlight is the number-one enemy of mono; it degrades it and weakens the line. Leave a rod and reel where the sun beams through, and by the time you use that rig, the line could have lost 10 or 20 percent of its strength. Read the rest of Winter Tackle Maintenance at Earth Sports.

Most everyone who has spent time fishing through the ice has used or at least seen tip-ups at work. These are the heavy-duty rigs for ice fishermen, using heavy line, usually a large live bait, and a flag that pops up and signals a fish is dining. The angler trots over and hand-lines the fish up through the hole.


Whip-ups, relative newcomers on the ice scene, work altogether differently. They are akin to a snare trap one might see in a jungle movie, where the mighty Bwana steps into a noose and triggers a bent-over tree that whips him up in the air and leaves him hanging upside down, held by the ankle. Follow the link to read more Ice Fishing with Whip-ups

Thanks To the Outdoor Bloggers Network & Manzella

When the box arrived at my house I knew exactly what it was and I was excited to try out My New Manzella Trackers. Before I even had a chance to use them I noticed a few things about the Manzella Tracker Gloves.
1. They have the Real Tree AP camo pattern (they also come in Mossy Oak Treestand). Camo is always a plus no matter what you are hunting.



Realtree AP Camo



Mossy Oak Treestand



Ask 10 expert anglers around the country for their pick of the world’s best bass lake and you’ll get 20 opinions; everybody has one or two or three candidates. And to make things more complicated, some lakes that were great five years ago are not all that good today; changing water conditions can turn a world-beater into an also-ran—and if you arrive on the best lake in the country just after a cold-front, forget it—fishing will be tough, no matter how abundant they are. That said, here are a few lakes where you’ll have a great shot at success if the Fates smile on you. Follow the link to find what the World's Best Largemouth Lakes are

By Chris Larsen  who writes for foremosthunting.com.

Despite the title, this story isn't about an wily, experienced buck. In fact it's not about a deer at all. My Grandpa was affectionately known as "The Old Buck". And you'll notice I didn't call him my grandfather, he was my Grandpa. He was a tall, slender man with wide shoulders and Danish likeability. He didn't have a braggart style confidence. He carried himself with a calm coolness.

Almost 25 years ago, Lowrance brought back a limited edition of its Green Box Flasher sonar, the world’s first sonar unit for recreational anglers, and I had to have one. As a child, I’d seen a guy on the ice with one of the original Green Boxes and held him in same awe I’d have held a time traveler from the future.



In my own first experiment with a Green Box, I drilled a hole near concrete pier pilings in the swimming area of a summer camp, put the transducer in and watched, enthralled, as the teardrop baited with a mousie appeared as a red bar and sank lower on the screen. When a thicker red bar appeared on the sonar’s dial below the lure, a shot of adrenalin got my heart beating faster. Excitement built as the thicker red bar merged with the thin one. Anticipation of a big crappie flopping on the ice turned to frustration as the big bar faded, reappeared and faded again, this time for good. After another fruitless hour, I returned fishless and disappointed. Read the rest of the article here How Many Electronic Gizmos Do We Really Need?

Just a quick little up date our baby Nolan turned 1 on the 21st of January. I wanted to post these the day after the his party, but being busy, and getting my wife's camera away from her. I had a little trouble getting the pictures.



Nolan is our little monster




He didn't care for cake. He must take after his mother.

Thanks for taking a look.

Ben G.

PS he's a climber

I haven't done any interviews in quite some time so I thought it was time for another one. Being I have done mostly interviews with people form the hunting industry I figured it would be nice to talk with someone from the fishing side of things. So Here is Mike Agneta of Troutrageous!

Successful ice fishing for bluegills, crappies and perch means good bite detection, and some ice anglers have improvised super-sensitive spring bobbers at the end of their rods that twitch at the slightest touch from a panfish. Or so they think. Fact is, panfish can nab a bait and spit it with such finesse they might never move a spring bobber or pull down a float down.


Some 20 years ago, a fellow from the upholstery department of the automotive plant where I worked as a catalog copywriter introduced me to ice fishing with unbaited flies and highly visible light line—two-pound Golden Stren was the top choice. A 12-inch leader of clear monofilament added a bit of stealth.... Read more here Bright Lining Panfish on Ice

You’ve played Fantasy Football, but what about Fantasy Fishing? You can win big bucks playing in the
FLW’s Fantasy Fishing contest – but enter fast, because it all begins at midnight tomorrow!

If you miss the deadline, don’t despair – you can still play in each individual tournament for top prizes
up to $15,000—but the first tournament in the series is the FLW Tour opener on Lake Okeechobee,
which begins on February third.     Read more Fantasy Fishing, Win Big Bucks!