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"My Stand" - 5 new articles
- Real Fisherman.
- The Mentor
- Becoming a Bowhunter
- A good time to honor turkey conservation
- Get active in the protection of our rights
- More Recent Articles
- Search My Stand
(Originally Published on Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer, July 26, 2008)
© By Othmar Vohringer
I do visit fishing forums from time to time to read what other fisherman/women talk about and what their opinions are on a variety of topics. Or I check in to share experiences and tell tall tales. Recently though, each time I visit these places it gets my dander up. It seems that there can’t be any half decent conversation anymore that does not end up with anglers going at each other. The " rage on for pages about whose fishing method has more merit and is more noble. Fylfishers against bail reel fishers and it still gets worse in discussions about keeping fish or releasing them.
If you think that only fly fishers turn their noses up at others think again. The boat paddles the other way too. Lure and bait fishers have no hesitation to belittle fly casters as elitists. Anglers subscribing to the catch-and-release method have no hesitation to call those that keep fish for the dinner table "unethical" and a determent to the fishing sport.
Since this is my column I am going to tell you honestly what I think about the endless and pointless squabbling and finger pointing. It’s utterly counterproductive to the future of fishing sport because it drives young and novice anglers away.
Many young and novice fishers seek information and advice on Internet forums. Ask yourself, what must newcomers to fishing think if they read all that trashing ad nausea, page after page? Do these opinionated people really think that they can educate and promote fishing by slandering others that do not happen to share their views or type of fishing method?
Does it really matter what motivates a person to fish? Is it important what tackle and tactics a angler prefers to use? Is a person stalking a salmon with a fly rod nobler than the fisher fighting a big bass out of a lily pad? Of course none of it matters or makes one dime of a difference. Unless you think that God personally has approved of your fishing method and opinion you formed of it.
Here is how I see it. We’re all fishers. We're all equals. Not one single way of pursuing our activity is superior, nobler or better than another one. We’re all anglers enjoying our rich fishery and pursuing happiness. Not one of us deserves any more or less consideration or special attention than any other legal fisherman. Now I suggest that we all head out to our favorite lake or river and do some fishing, and if we see another fellow angler say hello and wish him/her good luck rather then judge the person on the tackle he/she uses and what method he/she prefers, because it really doesn't matter.
Tight lines…and don’t forget to have fun!
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me
(Originally Published on Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer, November 19, 2008)
© By Othmar Vohringer
Kristine from Gun Safety Innovations issued a challenge on the Outdoor Blogger Summit (OBS) to write about a person that was influential as a mentor or inspiration for us to hunt, fish or to write a blog. This challenge is part of an ongoing series called “Write About the Good Challenge” whose purpose is to write about the positive things that happen in our lives or motivates us to carry on with what we’re doing as outdoor enthusiasts and blog writers.
It is difficult for me to choose one single person that inspired me to hunt. There have been, and still are, so many to be thankful to for spending their time in mentoring or inspiring me. Without a doubt if it were not for the good folks at Cimmaron Archery in Richmond, Illinois I would have never become a bowhunter. Their dedication, good will and patience renewed my will to become a bowhunter at a time when I was about to give it up. There have been many people throughout my life, and no doubt will continue to enter my life, that inspire and mentor me. As my late mother used to say: “Life is an ongoing learning process from the day we’re born to the day we die.” And, “Inspiring people are everywhere; you only have to keep an open mind.”
But since I have to make a choice as to who was my greatest mentor I will have to say that it was both of my parents- and I say “both” because they were a strong and undivided team, even in raising their children. Things like “go ask Mama”, or “Wait until Papa comes home.” were foreign phrases in our house.
Since both of my parents were enthusiastic outdoors people who hunted, fished and loved to hike in the beautiful mountains of Switzerland I was naturally raised to do the same. The passion for the outdoor lifestyle was consciously nurtured and encouraged from early childhood on and no doubt influenced me when I decided to found Othmar Vohringer: Smart Hunting Strategies through which I became able to apply another lesson I learned from my parents: “Share your knowledge freely with the less knowledgeable and those willing to learn. Knowledge is only useful if it is made accessible to many.”
My writing, blogs, seminars and other hunting related activities such as hunting courses, hunting strategy consultation and becoming a hunter education instructor of British Columbia are a direct result of the mentorship and inspiration of my parents. The people I have encountered in my life that further inspired or mentored me can also be seen as a direct result of the values and beliefs my parents instilled in me.
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If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me.
© By Othmar Vohringer
Spellbound the young boy sat in his father’s “hunter den” which was decorated with the memories of past hunting successes, and listening to the hunting adventures of a well traveled family friend he called uncle Heinz. The uncle told stories of hunters that pursue wild game on foot in the vast forests of North America and the savannas of Africa with nothing more than bow and arrows.
Fascinated by the magical stories his eyes gazed upon pictures of African tribesmen with crude longbows made from wood that was capable of taking down a big elephant or even a lion. Other pictures the uncle handed to the boy showed hunters in North America sitting and smiling next to a majestic whitetail deer or elk and proudly displaying their longbows with which they had shot the animal. From that moment on the boy had but one dream: to travel to these far off countries and hunt like the men in the stories and pictures of uncle Heinz.
Fast forward from 1959 to 1989.
On a rainy February day in 1989 the airplane touched down at O’Hare airport in Chicago. A driver of my new employer was waiting to drive me to my new home and workplace about seventy miles north of Chicago. It was in the middle of the night and there was not much to see on the way there but that didn’t matter too much to me since I was very tired from the long flight and several times almost fell asleep.
Within the next few days I got acquainted with my new surroundings, saw my very first whitetail deer in the back yard and had an unfortunate encounter with a very smelly animal they called “skunk”.
Over the next few weeks I got to know the rest of the staff and one of them in particular got me curious.
Tim regularly left after work with what looked like a gun case and I assumed he was going to a shooting range. After wondering about it for some time I finally decided to ask him “What are you carrying in this case?”
“A bow” came his reply.
A bow? Did he say a bow? Instantly I had flashbacks to my childhood memories of listening to the stories Uncle Heinz told me about the bow hunters. Needless to say my interest was at its peak when I asked Tim: “What are you doing with the bow? Do you go hunting with it?” Tim answered back: “Not yet but soon. Hunting season is opening in two weeks and so I head to the archery range to get in shooting shape”. All of a sudden my childhood dream of bow hunting suddenly and totally unexpectedly seemed to be within reach.
Not a week later I was the very proud owner of a compound bow that I purchased in a well-known chain store. A dozen arrows and a few other must-have-items to get started and soon I was on my way to becoming a bow hunter.
At this particular time my employer had sent me on an 8 month trip that would take me through America and parts of Canada and it was at this point that my trials and tribulations of becoming a bow hunter began. A complete novice to archery I was just barely able to understand the fundamentals of holding and shooting a bow but eventually I was able to get the arrows to hit somewhere on the portable target. Getting the arrows to group tightly, however, was proving to be a little more difficult.
I was getting pretty frustrated about this and so, while in a small town in Texas I visited an archery store telling the clerk about my dilemma. What do you know? He had the solution for my problem. “What you need” he said, “is better arrows.” That made sense to me and the next day I was the proud owner of a dozen brand new arrows but an hour later my hopes were crushed by a grouping of arrows that was so open that a deer would have to be the size on an elephant to make sure I could hit the vitals.
In yet another archery store in a town in Kansas it would be the same story; again I walked out with a new gadget to ad to my bow that promised to improve my shooting. Alas, the results were the same: wide open groups. This went on for eight months; my bow started to resemble one of those contraptions that you would see in a Rambo movie. The bow was brimming and heavy with add ons, gadgets and gizmos that were designed to make me become a better archer. By now the bow also had considerable weight and got very noisy to shoot but my shooting had not improved one bit.
I was ready to give up and stick with rifles - something I knew plenty about since I grew up with them. I was even ready to admit that the European hunters were right when they said “bows are children’s toys and not for hunting”.
But then how did the men in the stories of uncle Heinz do it? Had they a special talent that I somehow lacked? In any case I was sick and tired of trying to get a hang of archery and spending my hard earned cash on gadgets that didn’t work. I decided that as soon as I got off the road I would visit the archery shop in town and ask them to sell my bow for me. That’s it - I was done with it.
Shortly after coming home to Illinois I visited Midwest Cimmarron Archery fully intending to end my bow hunting dreams. But things turned out quite differently and I am glad it did. I am a great believer in fate. It just so happened that Joe entered the store at the same time I did. Was that really just a coincidence?
Will, the owner of Midwest Cimmarron Archery, after listening patiently to my sad story of disgust with archery simply replied: “I will take your bow but I would like you to talk with Joe before you make up your mind and in the meantime I will have a good look at your bow.” Not one to turn down a reasonable suggestion without giving it some consideration I agreed.
I followed Joe to his truck were he took a traditional longbow from the trunk. Then he proceeded to show off what he could do with it. My jaw hit the ground in sheer amazement as I watched arrow after arrow hit the bull’s eye squarely in the middle. Then Joe proceeded to operate a manual clay launcher and again I watched in astonishment as each clay disc was blown to pieces in midair. What really surprised me about Joe was that his bow was nothing more than a bent wooden stick with a string attached. How did he do that without fiber optic sights, stabilizer, peep sight and all the other gadgets that I was told you needed to become a proficient archer?
I ended up having a long talk with Joe and it came quickly to light that he not only loved archery and bow hunting, he lived it every minute of his life.
In our conversation it started to hit me that, for reasons I can’t even explain, I had foolishly come to believe despite the fact that I should have known better that gadgets really could make me a better archer. I had abandoned common sense and had fallen for the salesman’s pitch. Of course Joe was right with the advice he gave me that in becoming good at something required dedication and a need to keep things simple. How could I have forgot this important lesson that has served me so well all my life?
Joe and I went back into the store after the shooting demonstration where Will was waiting for us. Will gave my bow a good expert look and found that my el-cheapo super-store bow had a bent riser which explained why I could not get it to shoot right no matter how hard I had tried. In short, it was a piece of garbage. Will offered to set up a brand new bow and a dozen arrows for me for which I would not have to pay. “Take it home and try it out and if you’re not happy with it bring it back, no questions asked. If you like it you pay for it and it’s yours to keep.” What an offer that was and what great customer service.
At home I took the new bow to my backyard range and after the first arrow hit the target right in the middle my confidence climbed high and when the second arrow stuck less than an inch next to the first I was ecstatic. That evening I was hooked on archery and bow hunting and the next day I went back to Midwest Cimmarron Archery and wrote a cheque out.
Thanks to Joe and Will I am a dedicated bow hunter today and in honor of Joe in particular, for the time he generously took to show me what archery was truly all about, who shockingly and sadly passed away only a few days after our one and only meeting, I named that new bow “Joe”.
I still own that bow, a Jennings Buckmaster, and I still use it every hunting season in the woods and fields in the pursuit of deer and other critters.
By today’s standards “Joe” is an old bow but it is still the perfect hunting bow. It has a simple three pin sight in combination with a peep sight and the only additional gadgets you will find on that bow is a detachable Kwikee Kwiver. Another product that I found helpful in making the bow quieter is a set ofLimb-Savers mounted on each bow limb and string silencers. That’s all there is to it; plain and simple. I also still use aluminum arrows that are a bit on the heavy side tipped with cut-on-impact Magnus 125 grain 4 blade broadheads.
My advice to people who are taking up archery or bow hunting for the first time would be to keep it simple so that you can shoot more and worry less.
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If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me.
© By Othmar Vohringer
The resurrection of the wild turkey population is one of the most successful conservation programs in conservation history. The success continues and keeps showing astounding results.
It’s spring. The days get longer and warmer as thousands of hunters all over North America feverishly anticipate spring turkey hunting season. The wild turkey is one of North America’s most popular game species, second only to the whitetail deer. Small wonder. With the exception of Alaska, Hawaii and the northern provinces of Canada turkeys number in the millions.
Millions of hunters take it for granted to see these magnificent game birds everywhere they go but not so very long ago, about three generations, the wild turkey was an inch away from total extinction. There have been a few, at best feeble, attempts to restore the turkey. It was not until sometime mid-century when there came a breakthrough as biologists discovered the success of the trap-and-transfer methods. This made it possible to capture birds in locations and transfer them in other suitable habitat. Despite this new method the re-establishing of the wild turkey could be best described as agonizing slow.
In the early 1970’s a few hunters and biologists got together and founded the National Wild Turkey Federation. At the time of the founding the estimated turkey population numbered 1.3 million compared to an estimated 1.5 million turkey hunters the birds were outnumbered. Thanks to the hard work of many volunteers in corporation with state and provincial wildlife agencies, there are now more than 7 million turkeys and nearly 3 million turkey hunters.
The resurrection of the wild turkey population is one of the most successful conservation programs in conservation history. The success continues and keeps showing astounding results. Today we have turkeys roaming the wild, even in areas that traditionally never has been known to hold turkeys. It is no wonder that turkey hunting has become the fasted growing segment with the second highest participation of any type of hunting.
Since 1985 the National Wild Turkey Federation has spent more than 258 million dollars on upholding and promoting the hunting tradition and conserving more than 13.1 million acres of wildlife habitat. The land not only supports wild turkeys but a vast variety of wildlife and flora. The NWTF has today 550.000 members in 50 states, Canada and Mexico plus 14 foreign countries, supporting wildlife management and habitat conservation on public, private, and corporate lands.
So if you head out this spring in the pursuit of a big tom take a moment to remember who you have to be thankful to for the opportunity to go turkey hunting. Or still better yet join the National Wild Turkey Federation and become active in your state or province chapter in the conservation effort of one of the most majestic game birds in North America.
For more information on the National Wild Turkey Federation, check out the NWTF
web site or call (800) THE-NWTF.
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Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please
email me.
© By Othmar Vohringer
I don’t know about you, but when I read the blasphemous accusations the antis make against us, calling us criminals and liabilities to societies safety I feel personally insulted.
A few days ago our local newspaper published a reader’s opinion letter of an animal rights activist, mocking a car sticker that read "Kids who hunt or fish don't rob old ladies", in the most derogatory way with the usual ranting and rhetoric common to all animal rights activists.
Over the course of the week the newspaper published more letters of animal rights activists. This in turn led to many angry and outraged comments made by hunters on a hunting forum, not to the newspaper in question. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer and just had to ask the complaining forum members: “and what are YOU going to do about it?”
Only a handful of the responses to my comment said that they are going to write a letter to the newspaper to set the record straight. The vast majority of the responses consisted of the usual “I don’t have time” and “it’s a waste of time” to the worst response of all “I don’t care what this bunch of lunatics says about us.”
Here is what one forum poster said about the hunters that could not be bothered for one or another reason to reply to the slanderous attacks by animal rights:
“We can all just bitch and say whatever, another granola cruncher etc... but if all the crunchers put the effort to write in and we don't, well we fall on silent ears and their way will be etched into peoples minds.”
Very true words!
There are many good organizations at the national, state/provincial and local level in America and Canada that defend our rights and actively lobby the governments and authorities on our behalf. Many of these fine organizations struggle because hunters are reluctant to support them in the numbers needed to make a real impact.
We live in a time where we can no longer blithely sit back and enjoy our outdoor pursuits with no regard for the future of it – we can’t just take it for granted any more. Our outdoor heritage faces huge challenges and if it is to survive into the future we all have to do our bit to protect it. To rephrase a famous quote attributed to John F. Kennedy, “Ask not what your hunting organizations can do for you; ask what you can do for them.”
Standing up for our rights to hunt, fish and own firearms takes time, effort and money. In order to give the many fine hunting organizations the clout they require to fulfill their purpose they need volunteers, members, and money. Getting active goes much further than just joining an organization and then letting them worry about your rights. The thing you can do that will go a long way towards educating the general public and persuading politicians about hunting and fishing is writing letters to the editors of newspapers and local government representatives.
Writing letters works, why do you think that the animal rights activists get so much exposure? Because animal rights activists tirelessly write letters to editors and local political representatives. They write responses to every article where animals, meat, rodeo, circuses, hunting and fishing are mentioned. They let no opportunity pass by to make sure the public hears, sees and reads their opinions. I don’t know about you, but when I read the blasphemous accusations the antis make against us, calling us criminals and liabilities to societies safety I feel personally insulted.
Unless hunters and fishers stand up and make their side known the public never will hear the truth and the antis will therefore gain more influence. In order to help you to write letters I leave you with a few simple tips that will make sure your letters will be read, published and make the desired impression.
Writing an Advocacy Letter
Negative Issues
You should write to your Member of Parliament or your political representative whenever you feel that your governments have infringed your rights to hunt, fish, shoot, or trap on.
Positive Issues
It is important that you write to politicians and let them know that they have your support when they have done good things. If your politician has opposed the efforts by anti-hunters, write them a letter and let them know you appreciate the stand they have taken and that they have your continued support.
Letters to Newspapers
Remember that the letters-to-the-editor section is, after the first page, one of the most widely read sections of any newspaper. Bear in mind as well that roughly speaking 10% of the population are pro-hunting, fishing, and trapping and a little less than 10% are opposed. That leaves an astounding 80% with no pre-defined opinion one way or another on our issues. So your letter-to-the-editor does matter! There are a lot of people out there ready to hear what you have to say. The outdoors community must reach that 80%. They are out there waiting to be convinced.
To stay in power politicians must listen to their constituents. Letters-to-the-editor regularly find their way onto the desks of your political representatives. Your representative will know if your letter-to-the-editor has been read and believed by their electors. Their political future depends on knowing.
When to write letters to the Editor?
Negative Issues
Any article which contains negative, slanderous or inaccurate information on hunting, fishing and trapping, demands an immediate flood of letters-to-the editor by the outdoors community. More specifically, any time the slander, deliberately confused facts, "junk biology" and "junk" consumer polling employed by animal rights activists appears in a newspaper.
Positive Issues
When a positive article is published it warrants a congratulatory letter-to-the-editor. Editors tire of constantly being bombarded with bad news. A positive response to a positive piece of journalism is certain to get publicity.
How to write letters to the Editor?
Pay close attention to how you address the letter. Articles should always be addressed to:
"Letters to the Editor" / name of newspaper
Street Address
City, Province or State
Postal or Zip code
Always start your letter with:
1.) Exact headline name of article you are writing about and the name of the writer
2.) Date that the article appeared in the paper.
If you do not follow this format your article will not be considered. Always check the editorial section of the newspaper you are submitting your letter to; there may be slight variations in the format outlined above.
With letters-to-the-editor timing is of the essence. For your letter to be current you must submit it to the newspaper’s editor within a day or two of the appearance of the article upon which you are commenting. So it really should be faxed or emailed.
When writing your letter-to-the-editor it is imperative to remain cool-headed and factual. Making threatening statements will guarantee that your letter will not be printed. Reflecting anger is fine but sounding hysterical is not. Positive and constructive criticism will gain you the respect of the editor and ensure your letter is run.
Disputing a fact is OK. Say what the right fact(s) about a case are. Then draw a conclusion and in the process state your views. Don’t try to give them pages upon pages of facts. Remember that a letter-to-the-editor is more than anything else about your views. The editor wants opinions on the op-ed page.
And letters-to-the-editor should be short. Keep it under 100 words. Any longer than that and it will not pass muster.
So there you have it and now please spend ten to fifteen minutes to write a letter to your political representative and/or the newspapers. The more of us that take the time to write the more we will be heard and that might very well be what it takes to save the future of our hunting and fishing heritage for future generations.
Visit
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please
email me.
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