Hunting, fishing, critter catching etc.
I have loved the outdoors for as long as I
can remember. I can recall chasing all kinds
of reptiles, insects and small mammals since
I was just a little fella. My dad started me off
hunting very early in my life and I have been
part of the natural order of things since. We
humans are part of nature, and I realize the
importance of balance in nature
to have a healthy ecosystem. With our ever
expanding population, this balance may
never be what we would like it to be, or how
it should be(what ever that is). What we can
do though, no matter what our belief, is
communicate and work together as much as
possible to keep our natural resources
healthy and pure. The following photo's
represent many years of hunting, catching,
studying, and enjoying the many wonders
and gifts God has provided us with in the
great outdoors!
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Me clowning around on some south GA land I am
fortunate to be able to hunt and play on because
of my good friend and hunting partner, Chris.
Many of the following photo's were taken on this
property. I will be forever grateful.
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All of these bucks were taken in GA on
fairly heavy to heavily hunted tracts
of land. Lots of scouting, long hours,
quite a few seasons and a Tree-Lounge
climbing stand are what it
took to harvest these elusive deer. The
mounted deer are 8,9,10,11& two
12 pointers.
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Me with a rather
large indigo snake
in south GA in 1999.
I released it
unharmed. I asked
the DNR about
posting some of
these photo's. I
now know that we
are not supposed to
mess with any wild
animals without
permits. Do not
attempt to catch
any wild snake. I
have been studying
snakes my entire
life and can easily
identify venomous
from non-venomous
individuals.
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Another invention of mine! I designed,
built & painted this ascending crank bait. I
had a co. interested, but once again
another co. came out with a very similar
bait before we could do anything. I came
up with the idea in 2005 or 2006 but didn't
build and show it until 2007.
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This is my wife and I in 2004. Our 1st child is on
the way and I wanted to do something that he/she
would appreciate later in life. I painted my wife's
very pregnant belly to look like a watermelon and
set up a picnic situation to make the photo more
convincing. It was a lot of fun and we love the way
the photo turned out! By the way, A fantastic little
girl was in there!
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A fun day small game hunting with a great
companion named Black-Jack in Feb.
2000. He was my father-in-law's black lab
and everyone that met him loved him. He
is no longer with us, but the thought of him
always brings a smile. I hope the same will
happen when others think of me when I'm
gone.
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Me and a 71/2 lb. bass caught in a private pond in
GA. 5/26/07 about 1:00 p.m. shallow crank bait.
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A beautiful black phase Hognosed snake I
photographed while scouting for deer in
Hancock County GA. 7/24/04
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Me at age 12 with my 1st buck! I could fill a whole
page with the events of this one day, but I won't.
Any hunter and most parents have a idea of what
this day means to me!
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The photo's at left show a set of antlers belonging to
a well known hunter. The buck must have been
injured at some time which caused the stunted antler
growth. I really should not have made them quite so
symmetric but I couldn't help myself to see how close
I could get them to appear. I used the downward
beam to make one of the points on the antler that I
built. I used epoxy to build the antler. This was the
second antler I had ever made.
I spent many hours on this little project and really
wanted to please the owner of the antlers and only
charged $50. Unfortunately, he was not happy with
the color, which I matched quite well with the other
side, and he roughly tossed them behind his seat
which broke a point. I do not know what he did with
them after that. Oh well, you can't please everyone
no matter how hard you try. At least he did pay me
the $50 for my trouble. I would have changed the
color to please him for no extra charge, but I did not
know he was unhappy until weeks later and that was
the end of it.
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This was my 1st hunt with my 1998 invention
I called the Gun-Cam. I built and patented a
device that attached to most any rifle or
shotgun that would hold a video camera to
film your hunt. It had a shock absorber to
protect the camera from the recoil of the
gun. I was able to film this hunt and later on
a hunt where I harvested a larger gobbler. I
also captured a deer hunt on film where I
got a small 8pt. buck. I really enjoyed the
device because I do a lot more watching
and filming than I do shooting With my new
invention, I didn't have to worry about
missing a big buck because of a camera in
my hand instead of my gun. I wasn't able to
get my idea on the market, so I let the
patent expire. Now there are several similar
versions on the market and one company
even uses the name gun-cam. One
company that has a similar device is Deer
Ridge innovations Inc. They seem to be
nice guys and you can find them on my links
page. I have had several different hunting
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and fishing concepts that I have tried to get on the
market, but I have always been a day late and a
dollar short. At least I know my Ideas work because
they are all making someone money. I suppose I am
to be an artist and not an inventor. I have learned
from each event and maybe someday, I will be an
artist with hunting and fishing products on the
shelves as well!
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I made this a few years back when I wanted
more realistic looking decoys, now there
are several good looking ones on the
market. I made this hen from clay and
added glass eyes,cotton and paint.
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Alligator season opens in GA 2003!!! My
father-in-law and some other friends were drawn for
the hunt. This is my Monster Gator ! Yes, I let it go
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Mommy, baby, and egg! Look closely just
above her back. I flushed her while
scouting the deer woods and had to wait
motionless for some time to get this photo.
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Colored pencil art of buck shedding velvet. I did
this one while healing up from hernia surgery in
1999.
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Me catching my 1st Eastern Diamondback
Rattlesnake!!! I caught it in south GA in
2002. I let him go unharmed. My wife
was very upset when she found out I
caught this fella.
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Cute baby turkey, 5/20/2000. I Ran up on a hen
and her little ones while walking around in a GA
WMA. I was able to snap this photo before they all
ran off!
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Me at age 16 with my 1st bow buck! I was
alone on this hunt in another GA WMA and
could hardly wait to get home and show my
dad! I suppose at that age a smile is out of
the question.
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This is the big gobbler mentioned earlier, which the
hunt was captured on film! My invention worked
great again! 3/27/2001
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Nice healthy looking copperhead I found
under a piece of tin in a WMA. I left her
unharmed. GA 2001
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I found my 1st Gopher Tortoise in Tattnall County
GA in 1999. These guys, like the Indigo snake
shown earlier, are threatened and could use our
help. Habitat loss and road kill is taking a toll on
them. I hope they will be around for my
grandchildren to enjoy.
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My 1st Cottonmouth! The bigger one got
away but I was able to catch this one. Yes
my wife was mad again. I guess she loves
me or something?! And I did let the snake
go. 7/24/04 in Hancock County GA
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I harvested these two long beards on the same
morning a couple of hours apart. I have gotten
pretty good at calling them in using my voice only.
The 1st one was with no calls other than my voice.
The second one was with two other long beards and
I used calls and my voice. Both had 10-1/4" beards.
3/24/07 in south GA.
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Replica bass. I know several taxidermists, but I am
so picky that I decided to try painting my own replica
of the 81/2 lb. bass shown on the home page. I did
tons of prep work before finally attempting to paint
the form. I tried to match the color of my particular
fish as best I could. It is my 1st one but I couldn't be
happier with the outcome I don't think! I look forward
to catching more big bass and painting more
replica's. Assuming I can catch more any way.
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