Thanksgiving for the Outdoorsmen...

And then it was Thanksgiving week: the frantic spring walleye run is a faint memory, the exhilaration of the musky season opener but a fond recollection, and the hot humid months on the “big lake” chasing drag-burning salmon and bull-dogging lake trout a thing of the past. Gone are the late-summer evenings spent engaging tackle-busting catfish, the oft-brilliant sunny afternoons in the early fall chasing aggressive smallmouth bass, and the mystique involved with stalking autumn steelhead in tributary rivers and streams.

While we collectively have said good-bye to a host of outdoor opportunities as sportsmen and sportswomen for the year, it is not only a time to reflect on the bounty of the seasons past, but also of the seasons present and to come. It is always with trepidation that I write my last apparent “open water” piece of the year . While I embrace winter and the outdoor opportunities she brings, I find it increasingly difficult to say good-bye to the “open-water” months; it’s as if we were long-time childhood friends faced with the proposition of the other moving far, far away.

First things first – in the spirit of the holiday, there is so much to be thankful for. I am blessed to be able to spend a great deal of time here in God’s country without a roof over my head. While I realize for some the idea of spending significant amounts of life under the open sky might be intimidating, even frightful, for me it’s a slice of heaven. While I am a fishing addict to be sure, my pulse rapidly quickens just the same when offered the opportunity to hunt deer, turkeys, pheasants, ducks, or geese.

During this Thanksgiving holiday, take the time to reflect back on the bounty of the past year: maybe it was that “first” or “biggest” specimen you were finally able to capture, be it fur, fish, or fowl. Maybe it was the opportunity to ply the depths of a body of water you had never before had the privilege, or the occasion to hunt a new tract of land. Even better so - perhaps it was simply the opportunity to spend time in God’s great outdoors with close family or friends, truly a blessing in and of itself to be thankful for!

So enjoy the turkey and stuffing, do your part in cheering the Packers to victory, and take the time to cherish the memories of time not yet so distant but gone. For us, the sportsmen and sportswomen of Wisconsin, the next chapter is ready to be written. I’ll see you on the water…