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1 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
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THE OLD MAN AND THE MONARCH
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FORECAST
2 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 3
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Advertising Information:
Southern Traditions Outdoors | Rob Somerville
(731) 446-8052 stomag1@gmail.com
DISCLAIMER - Neither the authors nor Southern Traditions Outdoors
Magazine LLC assume any responsibility or liability for any actions
by readers who utilize any information contained within. Readers
are advised that the use of any and all information contained within
Southern Traditions Outdoors is at their own risk.
On the Cover
Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine Mission Statement:
Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine vows to put forth a publication to
promote the outdoors lifestyle in a positive manner. We will strive to encourage
veteran and novice outdoorsmen, women, kids, and the physically challenged
to participate in the outdoors in a safe and ethical manner. Our publication will
bring positive attention to the wondrous beauty of the world of Nature in the
mid-south.
Garry Mason
Walter Wilkerson
Terry Wilkerson
Steve McCadams
Kelley Powers
Shawn Todd
Eddie Brunswick
Larry Self
Cody Rodriquez
John Sloan
Richard Simms
Dana Watford
Buck Gardner
Richard Hines
Ed Lankford
Drew Brooks
John Latham
Will Gregory
John Roberts
Richard Hines
Rob Hurt
Mark Buehler
Richard A. Fagan
Neill McLaurin
Sam Bradshaw
Daryl Ratajczak
Jonathon Holden
Field Staff Editors
Owners - Eddie Anderson
		 Rob Somerville
Kevin Griffith
		
Publisher - Eddie Anderson
Editor - Rob Somerville
Advertising Sales
	 Rob Somerville - Managing
Partner
Distribution
	 Johnathan Anderson
Mike Robinson
Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine, LLC
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A chill is in the air. Your lab watches you closely to see if you are wearing camo. Excitement fills
the minds of all duck hunters as they dream about a mallard and a suzey, gliding into their decoy
spread. Photo by Rob Somerville
PG..................... ARTICLE ............................................................AUTHOR
6 ......................... Waterfowl Forecast............................................................Steve McCadams
12 ......................... The Old Man and the Monarch ........................................Rob Somerville
16 ......................... Norman Yoder Memorial....................................................Rob Somerville
17 ......................... 2019 West Tennessee Fur Takers Rendezvous................Rob Somerville
18 ......................... Sometimes Hunters Can Be a Pain...........In the Back......Dr. Barry Cole
22 ......................... Crankbait Crappie.............................................................Cody Rodriquez
28 ........................ Family Farming is on the Rise...........................................Jonathan Holden
34 ......................... National Farm to School Month.........................................Jonathan Holden
40 ......................... Business Profile - Cypress Creek Outdoors......................STO
46 ......................... A Single Drop of Dew........................................................John Sloan
50 ......................... Traditions Tips...................................................................Richard A. Fagan
52 ......................... Trophy Room.....................................................................STO
53 ......................... Cooking on the Wild Side..................................................Rob Somerville
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 5
6 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
Most duck hunters across the
Volunteer State took it on the
chin last year. Still bruised from
one of the worst seasons on re-
cord, the camouflage clad army of
waterfowlers are a resilient bunch
and ready to rebound.
Every year about this time
when a little north wind puts a
chill in the early autumn air, wa-
terfowlers get pumped up and be-
gin asking that redundant ques-
tion: “How does it look for the
upcoming season”?
That’s a popular question among
the ranks. Easy to ask; tough to
answer!
Here in Dixie, all water-
fowlers seem to be at the mer-
cy of Mother Nature and to her
mood swings. Weather is the pri-
mary factor on how duck seasons
come and go for us southern duck
shooters.
Last year was a prime exam-
ple. It was a warm season overall
with way too much water spread
out over several states, both here
and to our north.
Mix extended spells of warm
weather with flooding along the
Mississippi River in just about
every state that touches the big
muddy stream and it’s a tough
hurdle for duck hunters every-
where. That’s what happened
last year. Too much water; not
enough ducks!
Most veteran waterfowl-
ers say they can’t recall a sea-
son that was as poor as last year.
From the Bootheel of Missouri,
to the rice fields of Arkansas and
river bottom swamps and hard-
woods of Tennessee, Kentucky
and even down into Mississippi,
By Steve McCadams
FORECAST
It looks like we will have a better season in our region this year. Mallards coming in like these will be a
welcome sight to local “quacker smackers.” Photo by Rob Somerville
WATERFOWL
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 7
ducks just didn’t show up for the
party. Some of the most popular
public hunting areas across the
five state region never reported a
significant influx of ducks when
aerial surveys were taken by state
wildlife agencies. Federal refuges
in the region didn’t attract ducks
and geese either, as most all sur-
veys reflected numbers below 5,
10 and 20-year averages!
High dollar hunting clubs on
private land suffered too. There
were a few exceptions---as there
always are---but overall, the lion’s
share of duck hunters were all in
the same boat last year.
For some it may be tough to
mount the level of interest needed
to jump back on the wagon this
time around. Duck hunting is an
expensive sport. It takes a lot of
time and effort to get going.
Even sporting goods stores
and manufacturers seemed to feel
the pain of a poor season. Shells,
shotguns, decoys, clothing and
more were left in inventory at
some major retailers. When hunt-
ers don’t do well, the economy
can suffer.
Yet with a new season fast
approaching, optimism has a way
of healing the wounds of a bad
season. Known to be some of the
most optimistic sportsmen ever
to slip on a boot, duck hunters
start getting that far-away look
in their eye as leaves begin to fall.
It’s just something in the
blood that fuels their fire. That
yearning to share a sunrise with
friends and dogs when season
arrives is a powerful magnetism.
It’s a force that’s hard to over-
come and even more difficult
to explain to the
non-believers!
So, how is
the season ahead
shaping up in
terms of the fall
flight forecast? No
one can control
the weather pat-
terns, but prac-
tically every wa-
terfowler wants
to know how the
numbers look
from the breed-
ing grounds.
If we do get
good weather and
cold fronts return
to their normal
patterns are duck
numbers suffi-
cient to set the
stage for a good
season ahead?
Inquiring minds
want to know!
From reports
by Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Un-
limited, U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service plus input from the Ca-
nadian Wildlife Service comes
the following summary as to
how things went in the breed-
ing grounds of the Dakotas and
Canada.
North America’s spring duck
population declined, but most
species remain above long-term
averages, according to the 2019
Waterfowl Population Status Re-
port this summer.
The annual survey, con-
ducted jointly by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service and Cana-
dian Wildlife Service since 1955,
puts the breeding duck popula-
tion at 38.90 million, a 6 percent
decrease from last year’s popu-
lation of 41.19 million, but still
10 percent above the long-term
average. The 2019 survey marks
the first time since 2008 that the
estimated breeding duck popula-
tion has fallen below 40 million.
“The fact that the numbers
are down is a reflection of last
year’s dry conditions for nesting
ducks,” said Dr. Frank Rohwer,
president of Delta Waterfowl.
“We know that production drives
duck populations, so it’s no sur-
prise that after a year of poor
production, the USFWS counted
fewer ducks.”
The graphic chart on numbers this year, compared
to last year, helps hunters gain a perspective on
trends. However, weather is always a big factor on
what lies ahead.
8 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
There is good news to be
found in the survey. Mallards in-
creased 2 percent to 9.42 million,
19 percent above the long-term
average. Green-winged teal rose
4 percent to 3.18 million, 47 per-
cent above the long-term average.
American wigeon climbed slight-
ly to 2.83 million, 8 percent above
the long-term average.
Notably, gadwalls climbed 13
percent to 3.26 million, putting
them 61 percent above the long-
term average.
“The real surprise to me is
that gadwalls seem to be almost
drought-proof,” Rohwer said.
“They’re pretty amazing ducks.”
Other dabbling ducks de-
creased, but remain above long-
term averages. Shovelers declined
13 percent to 3.65 million, 39 per-
cent above the long-term average.
The largest decrease was observed
among blue-winged teal, down 16
percent to 5.43 million, but still
6 percent above the long-term
average.
“The bluewing estimate makes
sense,” Rohwer said. “Bluewings
didn’t fare well last spring given
the dry prairie, and didn’t pro-
duce many ducks.”
The only below-average
population estimate among pud-
dle ducks is for pintails, which
dropped 4 percent to 2.27 mil-
lion, 42 percent below the long-
term average.
“Many pintails settled in the
Dakotas seeking better water con-
ditions, as did all ducks,” Rohwer
said. “But the core of the pintail’s
traditional breeding range is in
southern Alberta, where they’re
down 79 percent, and south-
ern Saskatchewan, where they’re
down 85 percent. More than a
million pintails — almost half the
breeding population — settled in
the U.S. prairie this year.”
All three diving duck spe-
cies surveyed showed declines in
2019. Redheads fell 27 percent to
730,000, putting them right at the
long-term average. Canvasbacks
dropped 5 percent to 650,000,
but remain 10 percent above the
long-term average. And scaup
(greaters and lessers combined)
declined 10 percent to 3.59 mil-
lion, 28 percent below the long-
term average.
“I’m concerned that blue-
bills may return to restrictive har-
vest regulations, if their recent
population trend isn’t reversed,”
Rohwer said. “And we’ve been
living off high redhead numbers
for a long time, but we just had
Many pintails settled in the Dakotas seeking better water conditions,
as did all ducks.
Photo by Rob Somerville
Redheads fell 27 percent to 730,000, putting them right at the long-
term average.
Photo by Rob Somerville
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 9
two average to dry years.”
“Overall both total ponds
and total populations of breed-
ing waterfowl in the Prairie Pot-
hole Region were down slightly,”
Ducks Unlimited Chief Scientist
Dr. Tom Moorman said. “How-
ever, important breeding areas in
southern Alberta and Saskatche-
wan were much drier than last
year, which contributes to re-
duced numbers of breeding wa-
terfowl observed in the survey.
Fortunately, eastern North
Dakota and South Dakota saw
an increase in both ponds and
breeding waterfowl, especially
mallards, blue-winged teal, gad-
walls, northern shovelers, and
northern pintails. Typically, when
the Dakotas are wet and south-
ern Alberta and Saskatchewan are
dry, we see the aforementioned
species settle in the Dakotas, re-
minding us that we must con-
serve habitat across the prairies
because it is rare for the entire
Prairie Pothole Region to be wet.
Ultimately, however, hunt-
ing success and numbers of birds
observed will vary with the on-
set of fall and winter cold fronts
and the arrival of winter condi-
tions necessary to force birds to
migrate, and also with regional
habitat conditions.”
“This year’s pond count and
nesting conditions are truly a tale
of two countries,” continued Del-
ta’s Frank Rohwer. “Canada is in
bad shape — it started dry and
got even drier. I haven’t seen por-
tions of Canada this dry since the
mid-1980s. However, the prai-
ries in the Dakotas started wet
and stayed ridiculously wet. The
problem is that while many of the
duck estimates in the U.S. are up,
it wasn’t enough to compensate
for dry conditions in a region as
massive and important to ducks
as prairie Canada.”
However, Rohwer told me
that production in the highly
wet eastern Dakotas region —
where mallards are up 54 per-
cent, pintails rose 64 percent,
bluewings jumped 19 percent
and total ducks are up 29 percent
— has been exceptional. That’s
good news for hunters, who shoot
the fall flight, not the breeding
population.
Even though breeding duck
numbers are down overall, the
U.S. prairies were incredibly wet
from south to north, which will
lead to strong duck production.
Conditions remained wet and ac-
tually improved
d u r i n g t h e
breeding sea-
son, with tem-
porary and sea-
sonal wetlands
retaining water
into July and
August.
“So when
the prairies were
dry last year, it
hurt duck pro-
duction, and in
turn, duck hunt-
ers,” he said.
“We saw it in
Louisiana and
elsewhere. But
this year, ducks
nested and re-
nested in the
U.S. prairies
with a vengeance and should
have high brood survival in those
landscapes.”
Strong production in the
U.S. prairies should also increase
the number of more easily de-
coyed juveniles in the fall flight,
compared to the savvy, adult
birds many hunters encountered
last season.
“There will be plenty of
ducks in the fall flight, and I ex-
pect duck hunters, especially in
the southern U.S., to have a better
season this year,” Rohwer said.
Tennessee duck hunters have
already put last year’s bad season
behind them. It’s what ahead that
matters most!
Editor’s note: Steve McCadams is
a professional guide and outdoor
writer from Paris, TN.
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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 11
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12 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
The Old Man
The old man figured he had
harvested more than his share of
whitetail deer in the sixty plus
years he had resided on this earth.
He found he had gone through all
of the stages of evolution a bow
hunter could experience.
As a young man he entered
the beginner stage where “ego is
king.” Bragging rights of harvest-
ing a deer were of the utmost im-
portance. Doe or buck, it didn’t
matter, because even seeing a deer
was rare during his youth.
In his early adult years, he mor-
phed into the “numbers game.”
Deer were more common, and
most of his peers judged your
hunting skills by the number of
deer you harvested in a season.
In his forties, he reached the
trophy stage. During this period
he enhanced his woodsmanship,
tracking and scouting skills. He
would study topographic maps and
venture into land that few hunters
had seen in search of quality racks.
Then, something he thought
would never happen, occurred
as he neared the age of sixty. He
seemed to no longer care about
the harvesting of a deer. He would
let bucks pass through his shoot-
ing lanes that other hunters would
have given a month’s wages just
to see!
Sometimes, he even left his
bow at home and just reveled in
the world of nature. That is, until
the afternoon he encountered the
Monarch.
The Monarch
Regardless of what region you
hunt in, there is always talk of a
monster buck being sighted some-
where nearby. Whether real or
imaginary, this buck sends chills of
excitement down hunter’s spines
and makes the hairs stand up on
the back of their necks. Tales of
these legendary bucks are shared
as hunters gather around camp-
fires, or recline in the warmth of
their hunting lodge. Very seldom
will you hear of one of these myth-
ical creatures being hauled into
a checking station with a tag on
their antlers. These stories are part
of the mysticism of deer hunting.
They are the reason you crawl out
of your warm bed at 4:00 in the
morning, walk miles in the frig-
id temperatures and sit on a hard
metal platform for hours at a time,
perched twenty-five feet in the air.
The old man enjoyed hearing
these stories as much as anyone,
but listened to them with a patron-
izing smile, knowing
what he was hearing
about were mainly
phantoms that exist-
ed in the mind of the
storytellers.
At least that’s the
way he felt until one
brisk autumn after-
noon, deep in a riv-
er bottom swamp, on
that momentous day
when the old man
regained the excite-
ment of the hunt. He
was sitting high up in a cypress
tree in his favorite strap-on stand
when it happened. He was chew-
ing on a handful of trail mix, in be-
tween mouth grunting at a yearling
buck. The fork-horn had amused
the man for nearly an hour, as
each time it started to meander
away he would grunt the curious
young deer right back in. Sudden-
ly the old man liked to choke on
raisins and nuts. In the clarity of
the frosty morning a loud guttural
echo had followed his last sequence
of grunts. The young yearling also
took notice and wasted no time in
evacuating the area at a sprint.
A Phantom Comes to Life
Loud footsteps crunched on
the frosted floor of the swamp.
Suddenly, an enormous buck, so
large it seemed surreal, emerged
from behind a blow-down. Nostrils
flaring out billows of fogged breath
in the coolness of the morning, the
behemoth walked in a stiff-legged,
dominant gait. Its hairs stood up
The Old Man
and the MonarchBy Rob Somerville
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 13
in bristles along its back, and its
muscles rippled effortlessly as it
moved. The monarch’s rack was
huge. The walnut colored base
would measure at least ten inch-
es in circumference, and its tines
seemed to reach into the heavens.
This symmetrical twelve-pointer
was an old warrior, with lots of
white on its face and neck; show-
ing its age. It was the best buck
the experienced old man had ever
seen on the hoof. It was a living
legend, and it was real. The mon-
arch walked up to a four-inch di-
ameter swamp alder and thrashed
it to smithereens with the fury of a
tornado. Then it raised its head and
lip-curled, scent checking the air. It
caught wind of the only thing on
earth it feared … man. It immedi-
ately bolted, with hooves thunder-
ing across the bottom.
The old man felt his chest about
to explode and his brain had to
remind his lungs to take a ragged
breath. He heard a tapping noise,
which his subconscious identified
as a woodpecker gouging some in-
sects out of a dead tree. When the
adrenaline rush began to subside,
he realized that what he had been
hearing was no woodpecker, but
his left leg spasmodically jumping
up and down, causing his foot to
rap against the metal base of his
deer stand. Could it be that for the
first time in nearly thirty years that
the old man had felt the rush of
“buck fever”?
After he somewhat calmed
down, he eased his way gingerly
down the tree and began the long
walk back to his truck on some-
what “rubbery” legs. He realized
that he had become somehow
careless in the nonchalance of his
hunting techniques. Was old age
slowing down his mind along with
his body? Years ago that old buck
would have never winded him. Fi-
nally, after all these years he had
found a worthy adversary.
When he got to his cabin that
evening he carefully scrubbed his
hunting clothes in a spring-fed
creek and stuffed the pockets with
acorns and cypress needles. He
sharpened his broadheads with a
diligence and intensity he had al-
most forgotten he possessed. He
carefully checked out his bow,
and waxed the cables and string.
Grabbing his knee-length rub-
ber boots, he liberally
sprinkled the inside
with baking powder.
He retired to bed
early, only to begin a
nearly sleepless night
filled with visions of
the monarch of the
swamp.
He got up two
hours before sunrise,
amazed at his ener-
gy level after a rest-
less night’s sleep. The
old man arrived at the woods en-
tering from the down wind side
of his alternate stand site. He uti-
lized only the moonlight to navi-
gate his way through the swamp.
He was taking no chances with this
one. The monarch didn’t get to be
this old by being careless. The old
man would have to blend into the
woods, making himself virtually
invisible. His senses were honed
like a finely stropped razor. He was
a true hunter once again.
The Confrontation
The old timer sat in his stand,
as still as a statue, with all his sens-
es fine-tuned to the sounds of na-
ture. As the inky blackness turned
into the hazy grays of morning, he
reached into his pack for the re-
sealable plastic bag containing the
deer bladder and tarsal gland he
had removed from his freezer and
thawed out last night. He punc-
tured the bladder with the tip of his
knife, and soaked the tarsal gland
with the urine, tossing it lightly 20
yards in front of his stand.
He picked up the rattling ant-
lers he had knocked the dust off of
yesterday and clashed them togeth-
er vigorously, alternately raking
the tines together in an imitation
of two bucks in a full-blown fight
for domination. He continued his
rattling session for about two min-
utes, then reached behind him and
shook the cypress bough, which
thrashed the dry limbs together.
All the time he was doing this he
was making tending grunt sounds
with his mouth. He stopped the
commotion and held his bow ready
with an arrow nocked and leath-
er gloved fingers on the string....
waiting.
As he had envisioned it would
happen, the monarch appeared,
cautiously sniffing the thermal cur-
14 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
rents. But it was to no avail today,
as the old man had set up down-
wind of where he felt sure the old
buck was bedding. Confident now
that he was secure, the monarch
caught a whiff of the urine-soaked
tarsal gland, and with his nose to
the ground he entered the clearing
headed for the old man’s careful-
ly trimmed shooting lane. As the
monarch’s massive head went be-
hind a huge cypress knee, the old
man slowly and steadily drew back
his bow. One more step and the
old man’s pin was directly behind
the huge animal’s broadside shoul-
der. The old man’s fingers began to
loosen on the string.
Then, as if with a will of their
own, they tightened back up and
he let down his bow. This motion
caused the magnificent creature
to jerk his head up and seeming-
ly stare into the old man’s eyes.
Within a fraction of a second the
monarch leaped effortlessly across
a nine-foot finger of the swamp
and disappeared as if by the wave
of a magician’s wand. The old man
sighed with a mix of emotions, but
eventually contentment won out.
He realized that he had just en-
tered the final stage in the evolu-
tion of a bow hunter.
He knew he had possessed the
skills and knowledge to harvest
this beautiful animal. But the en-
counter had given new life to his
old bones and heart and he desired
the need for others to feel the same
thrill he had felt on this momen-
tous day, so he had passed on the
double-lung shot.
He looked to the sky and
thanked the Great Creator for all
the marvelous gifts of nature He
had allowed the old man to en-
joy during his long life. Climb-
ing down from his stand on rock-
steady legs, he walked with more
pep in his step than he had in de-
cades, for he knew that he was now
a complete hunter. He had entered
the final stage as a hunter. He burst
out in a Gospel song and his spir-
it was full
“Your Waterfowl Headquarters!”
640 Hwy 51 Bypass E - Dyersburg, TN
731-287-0427
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15 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 16
West Tennessee lost a good one recently and many who will
remember Mr. Norman Yoder are readers of STO Magazine. I
personally feel that Mr. Norman was a hard-working and kind
man, who “walked the walk” of a man of God. Norman would
always greet people with a smile and take time out of his busy
schedule to visit with anyone he crossed paths with.
To relate as to the quality of this man, I will share a story
with you. I was going through a very rough time in my life and
really needed my spirits lifted. I happened to be delivering maga-
zines and was at Yoder Brothers Meat Processors to drop off three bundles of magazines. When I went back out to my
Jeep, I had a blow out on a tire and had no jack. I was out there staring at the tire and the patriarch of the Yoder family
came outside with one of his workers and Norman asked him to go get a jack and help me change my tire. I offered to
pay for the help and he simply said with a smile, “You just have a better day Rob.” That moment of kindness completely
changed my demeanor and lifted my spirits. I will always remember him for that.
Norman was born on 10/29/1957 in Stuarts Draft, VA, a little town nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of
Virginia. His father started a meat processing business, as well as farmed on the side, until he moved his family to Ten-
nessee in 1970. Upon settling, his father went into dairy farming.
In Norman’s early 20’s, he and a brother moved to Mayfield, KY and began a meat processing business. After 5 years,
Norman returned to Paris, TN in 1987 and co-founded Yoder Bros Meat Processing, along with another of his brothers.
It has remained a family business and has grown to 3 times its original size. Norman also operated a livestock and row-
crop farming enterprise.
Wild Game meat processing was one of the services that quickly rose to the top of the company’s reputation in the
West TN area. In past years Yoder Bros has processed up to over 2500 deer in a single season. In more recent years, the
processing of USDA inspected, and private labeled Beef, Pork and Lamb has enabled many West TN farmers to take
their farm goods to Farmers markets in the greater West Tennessee cities of Jackson, Memphis and Nashville and mar-
ket their products meeting legal requirements.
Norman was from a large family of 11 children. He and Mrs. Dorothy had eight children. The Yoder family has
decided to continue the family business.
Norman cared deeply about the community and has shared his success in numerous ways. He provided services and
products to local charities as well as discounts to not-for profit entities.
More recently, Norman purchased a retail store (Yoder’s Country Store) close to the Meat Processing plant. It has
become the retail point for the Beef, Pork and Poultry meats raised on the Yoder Family Farm.
In 2001 Norman completed a Dale Carnegie Training Course. During this course he won the Dale Carnegie “High-
est Award for Achievement”.
Norman was a deacon in the Mennonite Church since 1989 and was a devout man of faith.
I hope that all of you that have carried your deer to Yoder’s Brothers will take a moment to reflect on him the next
time you are sitting in a deerstand, during the quietness of the pre-dawn.
Rest in Peace Brother Yoder - Rob Somerville
Norman Yoder - A Tennessee Treasure
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 17
18 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 19
20 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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22 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
Hello to all our STO Maga-
zine readers. I have had several
people over the last few months
ask me questions about how I use
the technique of pulling crank-
baits. In this article, we are go-
ing to talk about pulling crank-
baits for mid to late summer and
early fall crappie. We will discuss
different types of equipment and
tactics, and put together a general
game plan for pulling crankbaits.
We will call it a “crankbait crash
course” for anyone who wants to
give it a try.
Pulling crankbaits can seem
intimidating to someone who has
never done it before, but once
you start, it may become your
method of choice! Getting start-
ed just takes a little work and
research, and then some testing
and adjusting on the fly to make
it work for your situation. Let us
start out with equipment. Any
boat with a trolling motor will
work for pulling crankbaits. It
makes it easier if you have a troll-
ing motor that can be run from
a remote control. I fish out of a
24-foot SeaArk Big Daddy with
a Minn Kota Ulterra 112 pound
thrust trolling motor. I have my
boat set up to pull mainly from
the rear of the boat. Some crap-
pie anglers have their boats set
up to pull from the front of their
boat. It really comes down to how
your boat is designed and your
personal preference. The rear of
my boat is setup with a Millenni-
um Sidekick double fishing seat.
It will allow up to three people
to sit side by side across the back
deck of my SeaArk.
Next, come the pole racks. I
have a Millennium Spyder Loc
rod holder mounted on each side
the rear deck. Each rod holder
will hold 4 rods. As far as rods
go, the choice is up to your per-
sonal preference. My personal
choice is the B’n’M - Pro Staff
Trolling rods. I actually have two
sets of these rods. I have one set
of a dozen 16-foot rods that I use
for spider rigging and pushing
jigs out the front of my boat, and
another set that I use for pulling
crankbaits and longlining jigs
out the rear of my boat. The set I
use for longlining and crankbaits
consists of 2 rods for each length
of 12, 14, 16, and 18 feet. I use the
shorter rods on the inside of the
rack and the longer rods on the
outside of the rack. This helps to
keep your baits separated for less
tangles and messes.
Crankbait Crappie
Chad and Ashley Allen are pictured here pulling crankbaits on the Big Sandy portion of Kentucky Lake.
You can see Chad is measuring a crappie to make sure it meets the size regulations to be kept.
Photo by Author
By Cody Rodriquez
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 23
Fishing with these eight rods
will let me cover a swath of water
around 44 feet wide. One of the
reasons I love to pull crankbaits
is because an angler can cover so
much water while doing so. If I
am pulling 1.6 miles an hour and
coving a 44 feet swath, I can cov-
er a lot of water acreage in a day’s
time of fishing. For my reels, I
have Okuma Magda 15 DX line
counters and Shakespeare ATS 15
LCB line counters. Both are good
reels and I have had excellent
service out of both. The Shake-
speare is a cheaper option, if you
are looking to save a few bucks.
Line counters are not necessary
for successful crankbait pulling
but they can definitely make it
more user friendly. All of my
reels are spooled with 14-pound
HI-VIS line.
Last, but not least, are the
crankbaits themselves. The crank-
bait conversation often comes
down to sounding like a Ford
guy, a Chevy guy, and a Dodge
guy having a truck talk! Once
again, this will eventually come
down to your personal preference
and what brand or brands work
best for you. I have two good
friends that are really experienced
at pulling crankbaits. If you get us
all together, you will hear three
different stories of what brand
each one likes the best.
One prefers Arkie brand 350
crankbaits, one prefers the Pico
crappie crankbaits and I have
had the best luck with the Ban-
dit brand 300 crankbaits. I am
not sure if I have a true prefer-
ence of brand or not, because
some days you will find me pull-
ing all three brands at the same
time! The Bandits dive deeper
than the Arkies with less line out
and have a little larger hook. The
Arkies seem to have more rattle
to them and are louder than the
Bandits. The Pico brand have in-
dentions on the sides of their
crankbaits that resemble the look
and texture of a golf ball. I real-
ly like that look because to me it
should displace more water and
put off more “fish signal.” There
are also several other lure compa-
nies that make crappie crankbaits
such as Jenko and Strike King. I
encourage you to try a couple of
each brand and see what works
best for you.
The next question that often
comes up is how do you know
how deep your crankbaits are
pulling? Bandit and Arkie both
have charts out that tell you how
many feet of line to let out to get
you to an approximate depth.
Bandit’s chart is made for troll-
ing 1.6 miles per hour and I have
found that Arkie’s chart works
well running that same speed. The
Pico brand crankbaits pull very
similar to the Bandit brand, so I
have been using the same chart
for those two. I had a vinyl stick-
er made of the depth charts and
applied it to the top of my Suzu-
Catching them two at a time!
Pictured here are two Kentucky
Lake slabs being “water skied”
to the boat.
Photo by Author
Here is a view that includes the right, side rear of the authors pulling
setup. You can see the B’n’M rods, the line counter reels, the Millenni-
um rod holder and the line depth chart on top of the outboard motor.
Photo by Author
24 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
ki 225 outboard motor so that I
could use it for a quick reference
guide while pulling.
It really helps me to be able
to see the fish on my Hummin-
bird Helix 10 G2N fish finder,
on down scan mode, and then
be able to reference the crap-
pies depth to the chart and make
quick adjustments before the
crankbaits get to the crappie.
Now, on to the good stuff,
the fishing! When pulling crank-
baits, the wind plays a large role
in the direction I pull {95% of the
time, I pull the direction the wind
is blowing}. This makes for less
work on the trolling motor, so
your batteries last longer, hence
more fishing time. It also helps
keep your crankbaits down at the
desired depth. Pulling against the
wind allows the wind to get un-
der your lines and it applies lift
to your crankbaits. The wind will
not change your crankbaits depth
drastically, but could possibly
have a minor influence on them.
After you find a location you
want to pull your crankbaits, get
your boat positioned with the
wind and headed in the direction
you want to pull. All you have to
do is start fishing! Start out by
getting your boat up to speed.
Once again, my average speed is
around 1.6 MPH. After you have
your boat up to speed, it is time
to start putting out your crank-
baits. For example, if you are in
water that is 18 feet deep pulling
Bandit 300s or Pico brand crank-
baits and the crappie are 15 feet
deep, then you need to have out
around 91 feet of line (97 feet for
Arkie brand). If you have line
counter reels, you just let your
crankbait out to 91 feet and start
fishing. If you do not have line
counters, you can still get your
baits out accurately. Sticking with
our 91 feet of line out, if you have
a 14 ft rod you can let the line
out the length of the rod 6 and a
half times to get to 91 feet. Bran-
don Mayse taught me this and he
calls each rod length you let out
“a pull.” Therefore, a 14-foot rod
would be 6 and a half pulls to get
to 91 feet, where as a 10 foot rod
would need 9 pulls to get to the
same depth.
To do this, hold your rod up-
right and let your line out until
your crankbait is at the bottom
of your rod handle. Place your
crankbait in the water and let it
float away from you (remember
your running 1.6 MPH it does
not take long for it to float away).
As it is floating away place your
rod tip down towards the water,
as the line gets tight bring your
rod tip from the water straight up
to 12 o’clock while letting out line
as you do so. Repeat this process
five and a half times (you already
completed one pull when you ini-
tially let your lineout) and you
should be close to your 91 feet
mark. If the crappie are around
15 feet deep, I do not run all of
my crankbaits at 91 feet of line.
I like to mix it up a little, so if 91
feet gets me to 15 feet deep then I
am going to run my 8 baits some-
where between 87 and 94 feet.
This allows you to make sure you
are covering your targeted depth
zone. So, you do not have to wor-
ry about being dead-on accurate
if you are using the “pull method”
because you want a little variance
in your baits anyway.
The next question people often
asked is “How do you get a fish
to the boat without it getting tan-
gled in your other lines?” My first
Aidan Pruitt assists Luke Smith, as he drags in a nice Kentucky Lake
Slab and Jerry Rodriquez prepares to net the fish.
Photo by Author
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 25
answer to that is usually “VERY
CAREFULLY!”
Actually, it is not as bad as one
might think, as long as it is not
a 10-pound catfish or a 5-pound
largemouth bass on the other end
of the line. I promise if you pull
crankbaits long enough you will
get a catfish or bass large enough
that it will cause you some trou-
bles with tangled lines. Another
reason I like to pull crankbaits is
that you never know what is go-
ing to be on the other end of the
line. I have caught crappie, large-
mouth bass, smallmouth bass,
white bass, catfish, sauger, and
several other species of fish while
pulling crankbaits on Kentucky
Lake. The key to limiting your
line tangles is soon as you see a
fish hit your bait, set the hook,
hold your pole upright and reel
as fast as you can. If it is a crap-
pie, it will come to the top of the
water and you can “water ski” it
all the way to your landing net.
As with starting anything
new, this adventure of pulling
crankbaits will have some trial
and error. I hope that this arti-
cle will give you a bit of a jump-
start into trying a technique that
may be new to you. There are also
some good resources to use on-
line. Facebook has several crap-
pie groups that are good places
to ask questions. There are peo-
ple in those groups that can give
valuable advice. I also encour-
age you to join Crappie.com. It
is another online forum that you
can use to ask questions. You
can look at other people’s ideas
that have worked and some that
have not played out so well. Until
next issue, stay safe on the water
and I wish you all tight lines and
screaming drags!
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Dave French proudly shows off
a nice largemouth bass that he
caught while pulling Bandit crank-
baits. A bass this size is a good
fight on a 16-foot B’n’M rod.
Photo by Author
26 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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28 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
In the 21st century, there are
few families that can step outside
on a warm summer morning and
hear poultry clucking and cattle
bellowing in the field. Even fewer
will be taking a trip to the chicken
coop for eggs or to the garden to
get fresh vegetables from the vine.
Family farms have always been an
important part of our history.
Farmers are held in high esteem
in the United States and around
the world. In the past, people like
Thomas Jefferson believed strong-
ly that the farmer best exemplified
the kind of independence and vir-
tue that should be supported by the
world. The farmers respected and
revered over the years by Jefferson,
Smith, and others were a particu-
lar kind of farmer. Smith’s agrarian
farmer was an independent entre-
preneur who possessed the extraor-
dinary judgment and discretion
needed to cope with the vagaries of
nature. Jefferson’s yeoman farmer
was hard working and honest, with
a sense of spiritual connectedness to
the land. In later times, these same
basic virtues were used to describe
the family farmer.
A farmer doesn’t always have
to be a member of a family to car-
ry on the family farm with integri-
ty. When we think about the fam-
ily farmer many people think that
this ideal and life style is dying, but
to the family farmer it is not going
away. The family farm is one that
is owned by a family, even a large
family corporation. Family farms
includes more than 98% of all farms
in the U.S.
Many of these family business-
es are just agribusinesses, which
means that they are used to maxi-
mize the economic bottom line. In
the world of agribusiness, the family
farm of Jefferson and Smith is con-
sidered economically obsolete. On
family farms, the family, the farm
and the consumers are all insepara-
ble wholes. The sustainable family
farm is not just a means of making
a living but also a means of achiev-
ing a desirable quality of life, for
consumers as well as farmers eco-
nomically, socially, and spiritually.
However, the family farm is
making a comeback both in the
ideal and the reality sense. The
ideal and reality of family farming
could be the solution to social, eco-
logical, and economical problems
that we are all facing now. There
is a loss of interconnectedness and
interdependence with each other
and the world we live in. There are
a lot of consumers that are seeking
foods and products that are locally
grown by the family farmer. Such
descriptions of family farms are la-
beled as idealistic by those who see
agribusiness as the future of farm-
ing. There a lot of people that still
believe that these ideals of the farms
exist, and this is being supported by
hundreds of thousands of farmers
and millions of consumers across
the world. Sustainable family farm-
ers today are helping to reconnect
people with each other and with
FAMILY FARMING
IS ON THE RISEBy Jonathan Holden
Rebecca Holden is seen here teaching her two boys about farming, like
her dad did with her.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 29
the earth. This is what drives the
buy local, organic, or natural food
movements in the U.S.
I wanted to look at two differ-
ent farms in west Tennessee to see
their background on the farm and
to see what their views were about
family farms. The first farm that I
interviewed was the Jones-Hill {a
part of Anderson Farms} that is
on Hog Wallow Rd., in Dyersburg,
TN and the other was Wilkerson
Farms located on State Route 105
in Trimble, TN.
While interviewing Mr. Eddie
Anderson it was clear that farming
was his way of life. The Jones-Hill
farm was traced back by Mrs. Vir-
ginia Ann Jones to 1870. She be-
lieves it may go back further than
that, but that is as far as the records
that she found show. The fami-
ly farm is a Century Farm, which
means the farm has been worked for
100 years of continuous Agricultur-
al Production. It is a huge honor to
have as a Century Farm since there
have been a lot
of hardships
that have taken
place in those
hundred years,
like the Great
Depression and
wars. The farm
has been passed
down for three
generations and
now is on to its
fourth genera-
tion as Mr. Ed-
die and Mrs.
Ann’s son {Jon-
athan} is now
running the
farm operation.
The farm had 90 acres in 1870 and
now the farm is up to 317 acres. At
the peak of Mr. Anderson’s farming
career, he had a 200 momma cow
operation on some of the land and
he row crop farmed nearly 7000
acres. Now he presently has around
3500 acres that they row crop farm.
When asked, what does family
farming mean to you? Mr. Eddie
responded “God, family, and the
world”. He explained that farming
meant the world to his family and
they wouldn’t trade it for anything.
He said over the years he has spent
in the field he has learned a lot of
lessons and had a lot of ups and
downs. In his 53 years of farming
he has never lost sight of what he
set out to accomplish and that was
to make an honest living and to be
able to pass the farming tradition to
his children. Mr. Anderson also said
that he felt that all the agriculture
community was family and that is
why he loved the Dyer County Fair
so much and stayed active in it for
so many years. He also contributes
his ability to farm so long to his wife
of 52 years and his family who has
stuck by his side through thick and
thin. He gives all the credit to God’s
graces and plenty of hard work.
The next farmer that I inter-
viewed was Mr. Richard Wilker-
son with Wilkerson Farms. Wilk-
erson Farms has been in operation
Mr. Eddie Anderson and his son - Jonathan Anderson
feel that family farms are the backbone of America.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
Farmers like Mr. Eddie have supported the community, which in turn,
supports him. In the farming community that is how strong bonds and
great friendships are made.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
30 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
for close to 70 years. Mr. Richard’s
dad was row crop farming 350
acres and had livestock on the oth-
er 120 acres. He sold cattle, sheep,
sheep wool, pigs, and goats and he
told him that you can make more
money by walking grain out of the
farm on hooves than you can in a
truck. Mr. Richard started farming
with his father in high school and
still helps out his son in-law farm
today. The farm currently has 2200
acres that they own or lease to row
crop farm. Mr. Wilkerson’s daugh-
ter, son in law, and two grandsons
farm, and since he is now retired,
he still helps out from time to time.
When asked, what does family
farming mean to you? Mr. Wilker-
son responded, “I started farming
not for the money, but because of
my passion for agri-
culture and love for
the land.”
As the years went
by he told me that
his meaning of fam-
ily farming changed
from a way of life
to being able to pass
this tradition to his
daughter and grand-
kids. He said that the agriculture
community that he has dealt with
over the past 50 years has become
family and that is what you need to
be successful … family working to-
gether. He added that he is always
ready for harvest, because then he
gets to see what he and God have
grown. He added that he takes pride
in farming and strives every day to
do his best, saying there is a lot of
prayer and worship to god that also
goes along with being a farmer.
Family farms remain an essen-
tial feature of agriculture in the
United States. Family farms make
up 99 percent of America’s 2.1 mil-
lion farms and 89 percent of agri-
cultural production. Most farms in
the United States are small. Ninety
percent are small family farms that
operate nearly half of America’s
farmland. It is essential for us to
keep the ideals and way of life of a
family farm alive.
While interviewing these
two remarkable men, fathers,
farmers, and brothers in faith it
was evident that they keep God
first, then family, and to al-
ways be courteous to everyone.
These are two of what I see as
the models for the American
Family Farmer. It was my priv-
ilege to be able to talk to these
two true farmers; men that are
as compassionate about agri-
culture as I am.
Editor’s note: Jonathan Holden is
an Agriculture Education Teacher
at Dresden High School. His back-
ground is in Agriculture and Ani-
mal Science.
Mr. Richard Wilkerson has retired
and passed the tradition down to
Kris Holden his son in law, Rebecca
Holden his daughter, and their two
sons Hunter and Hayden Holden.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
To be awarded this sign your farm
has to have 100 years of continu-
ous agricultural production. This
is a high honor in the farming
community.
Kris Holden is moving equipment to
get ready for the next day of work.
His Wife Rebecca Holden and two
boys are in the vehicle behind him
taking him back and forth to get
the equipment.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 31
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34 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
October is National Farm to
School Month, a time to celebrate
the connections happening all over
the country between children and
local food. From taste tests in the
school cafeterias and nutrition ed-
ucation activities in the classroom,
to farm visits and school garden
harvest parties, farms, communities
and organizations in all 50 states.
The National Farm to School Net-
work was advocated for the creation
of National Farm to School Month
by Congress in 2010 and now or-
ganizes the annual celebration with
hundreds of partner organizations
across the country. This Month is
a great month to plan a farm to
school activity, organize a special
celebration of your current efforts,
or initiate a new partnership.
The question that most peo-
ple ask is “WHAT IS FARM TO
SCHOOL?” The farm to school
initiative is trying to help make
connection between communities
that have fresh, healthy food and
local food producers - by enhanc-
ing food purchasing and educa-
tion practices at schools and early
care and education sites. Farm to
school is a program that will give
more opportunities to address ra-
cial and social disparities in the ex-
isting food system and it will help
with the health of all school chil-
dren, farms, environment, econo-
my and communities.
The three core elements of farm
to school are procurement, school
gardens and farms, and education.
The procurement of the local pro-
duce and foods will add more access
and healthier school meals to more
than 24 million students across the
United States. It will also help the
income for local farmers. School
gardens and farms offer opportuni-
ties for the student body to develop
a sense of responsibility and con-
nection to their community. Help-
ing to educate the students about
food and farming will help to ele-
vate the need for local agriculture.
Another question that comes
about is “WHY DO FARM TO
SCHOOL?” When doing the farm
to school program the kids, the
farmers, and the communities all
win in the end. The kids win be-
cause every child gets a nutritious
locally grown meal, so that they are
ready to learn and are not hungry.
Also with this the activities can help
the kids learn about nutrition, ag-
riculture, health and food. Next
the farmers, fisheries, food pro-
cessors, food manufactures, and
The Weakley County Livestock Facility has a production farm consist-
ing of swine and bovine. They sell the animals either for show or for
meat.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
By Jonathan Holden
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 35
ranchers. win because it is a great
steady financial opportunity. Lastly,
communities win because farm to
school will benefit students, teach-
ers, administration, farmers and
parents by providing opportuni-
ties to help build more community
engagement. If we buy locally for
the farm to school program it will
boost the local and state economy
as well as create more jobs at each
farm and school. This will also im-
pact economic development, educa-
tion, public health, and community
engagement.
The National Farm to School
Network, along with local food net-
works like the Northwest Tennes-
see Local Food Network, are hav-
ing meetings and hosting events
at schools across the United States
to help create networking between
farmers, schools, businesses and lo-
cal and state governments to help
initiate this program into their
school.	
In Dresden, TN the Weakley
County Farm to School Kickoff
drew nearly 90 representatives of
business, government, and school
leadership to Dres-
den High School to
hear more about
the initiative and
offer input on ways
to increase farm
and school interac-
tions. The informa-
tion sharing and
gathering took the
form of surveys, a
farm tour, presen-
tations, and table
discussions over
plates of farm-to-
table produce and
sausage from the
Weakley County
Schools Livestock
Program.
“We’ve been noted as being the
‘last remaining’ farm of this kind
in the state,” said Weakley Coun-
ty Schools director Randy Frazier
after participating in the evening’s
instruction and vision-casting. “But,
we’d like to change that to ‘cur-
rently we are the only school-based
multi-species production farm.’
With collaborations like this one
with Northwest
Tennessee Local
Food Network, we
have the potential
to be a model for
other districts.”
The evening be-
gan with visitors
greeted by one of
many Dresden
FFA members who
were volunteering
to set up, explain
the livestock pro-
gram, and clean up
the school grounds
after the event was
over.
First, the visitors traveled by
hayride to the various barns located
on the Weakley County Livestock
production farm. Student farmers
Ben Ellis, Travis Platt, Kyle Elam,
Parker Maxey, Natalie Weidenbach
and Bennett Higgs served as tour
guides explaining the various as-
pects of large animal science, veter-
inary science, and small animal care
that students receive via hands-on
learning at this facility.
Bethany Allen, Coordinator of
School Health Director and a mem-
ber of the Farm-to-School plan-
ning team, provided an overview
of current ag-related endeavors in
county schools. She noted that each
school has a healthy school team, ag
is taught in kindergarten through
fifth grade classrooms in science
class, and each high school offers
ag. Sharon School has a several-bed
garden, county FFA programs have
greenhouses, and all county fourth
graders participate in an annual
Farm Day.
One week, students were asked to weigh in on the
taste of the sausages that are coming from pigs on
our Weakley County Production Farm at Dresden
High School. The young food critics have over-
whelmingly given the product a thumbs up.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
Jason Kemp, who teaches agriculture and serves
as an FFA advisor at Dresden, invited Congress-
man Kustoff on a tour of the farm to show him the
plans the farm has to provide, in partnership with
the Weakley County Schools’ nutrition program, a
farm-to-plate initiative.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
36 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
Allen also addressed areas con-
sidered challenges to overcome.
She noted that 45.5% of the stu-
dent population were deemed
overweight or obese in 2018-19 by
health standards. Though all stu-
dents can receive a free breakfast,
more than 60% of our students are
eligible to receive free or reduced
lunches. Trista Snider, supervisor of
school nutrition, offered her com-
ments via video as she was attend-
ing a statewide conference on Tues-
day. She expressed gratitude to the
team’s efforts thus far and pointed
out that her goal was to expand op-
tions beyond the current sausage
served in the Dresden cafeteria to
offerings from more local produc-
ers. Since becoming an Agriculture
teacher at the high school level, I
personally have seen kids throw
their school lunch food away and
then at 3 P.M. watch them line up
at the fast food restaurants to get
food, because they are still hungry
after not eating the food at school
due to taste and processed foods.
“Anytime our students can grow
the produce themselves or be in-
cluded in the process, it helps them
to be open to trying new things,”
she said. Goyret agreed. “We’d like
our kids to know where their food
comes from,” she said, adding that
with Weakley County schools serv-
ing over a half a million lunch-
es each year in the farm to school
initiative also can mean economic
benefits. “When you source food
locally all the money stays in our
county. Not only do kids win by
getting local foods and eating fresh-
er, but farmers win as well, because
it’s providing them a solid income
base.”
Jason Kemp, ag teacher, FFA
advisor, and farm manager told the
crowd that in addition to working
through the process to provide US-
DA-approved sausage to not just
Dresden but eventually all county
schools, the program is currently
working with Tosh Farms to ensure
that students who, due to farming
realities, may not be returning to
family farms, will receive training
to go directly into a Tosh program.
“We’ve got a lot of things in
store,” Kemp concluded. “You’ve
got to dream big if you’re going to
get anywhere.” Those big dreams
include a veterinary science labo-
ratory, a meats lab and small-scale,
and a USDA processing facility.
Wendy Sneed who graduated from
the Dresden program and is now
a Tennessee Department of Agri-
culture business development con-
sultant attended the event and af-
firmed that such forward-thinking
was critical.
“We are no longer your grand-
daddy’s farm,” she said in a brief
conversation with Weakley’s Ca-
reer and Technical Education direc-
tor Lindsey Parham who was noted
several times throughout presen-
tations as helping to pave the way
for innovation in the county. “Over
the years, ag has become extreme-
ly technology-based and tech is go-
ing to be the way to bring in a new
generation of agriculture. Weakley
County is in a great position with
a forward-thinking CTE director
who has taught the curriculum and
comes as a fourth generation farm-
er and with Jason Kemp who, as
president of the National Associa-
tion of Agricultural Educators, has
traveled around the country and
can bring back innovative ideas to
utilize here.”
Guests had a meal prepared for
them that consisted of sausage from
the onsite farm, biscuits and gravy
from Simply Southern; breakfast
potatoes prepared with items from
Commissioner of Agriculture, Hatcher praised Weakley County Schools Production Farm. He said that
we have some work to do but we are going to make this happen.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 37
Jill Magness Farms, Hidden Hill
Farm, and Barefoot Garden; hy-
droponically grown mixed greens
salad from Blackberry Pond Farm
and additional salad items from
Richard Turnbow and Turnbow
Family Farm; scrambled eggs from
Danna Stafford; homemade jams
and local honey; and fried pies from
Oma’s Country Kitchen. Keisha
Stafford, the cafeteria manager for
DHS, supervised the presentation
of the meal.
Before taking home apples from
Dixie Chile Ranch, they were asked
to discuss how they would com-
plete the sentence: I believe that a
successful farm to school program
includes.…” The visioning exer-
cise netted several responses which
were collected to inform the pro-
cess. Answers included noting the
financial advantages from reduced
food costs, raising chickens for eggs,
using hydroponics, educating stu-
dents in schools on career oppor-
tunities and producers on how to
inform the students of those oppor-
tunities and thereby grow the work-
force, a potential Weakley County
Ag Leadership program modeled
after Weakley County Leadership,
and a summer garden program.
Goyret concluded the evening
with an invitation for interested
persons to contact the Local Food
Network to learn more about be-
coming a part of the planning team
which is seeking a one-year com-
mitment from team members. This
is only one of the programs that are
happening across the United States.
There are lot of ways that you
can help out this program as both
teachers, school support staff, stu-
dents, school food services, farm-
ers, producers, families, and every-
one else. LFN co-founder Samantha
Goyret relayed that nationally, the
farm to school focus ranges from
taste tests in the cafeteria and nutri-
tion education activities in the class-
room, to farm visits and school gar-
dens. You can serve a locally made
snack at a daycare or preschool or
make a local farm visit to show the
students where food comes from.
As a family you can read a book
together about agriculture, cook
together or simply go to a farmers’
market together. For farmers and
ranchers, you can have farm tours
on your farm and show the public
what you grow and its value, talk to
the local school nutritionist and see
what your farm can offer them, also
share family recipes and take pro-
duce and locally grown food to your
farmers’ market. School admin-
istration can do in-service train-
ing teachers and employees on the
farm to school program, know the
positive benefits of working with
your hands and growing your own
food, and campaign for the farm
to school program. Also, the pub-
lic can let everyone at the schools
know how much you appreciate
their efforts on the program and
how you support it, participate in
the school and community gardens,
and talk to state and local represen-
tatives about the programs and how
they can support them. If we all try
we can help this program greatly.
The farmers, schools, businesses and local and state governments met at Dresden High School and collab-
orated on how they could help out the Farm to School program.
Photo by Jonathan Holden
38 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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44 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
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46 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
The frost was heavy, that
morning. The grass field shone
silver in the three-quarter moon.
He wondered how his hair and
beard must look, shot through
with frosty silver. Everything is
still in black and white.
He watched him come, slowly
and quietly slipping through the
frost-brittle grass. Still far enough
away as to not cause alarm. But,
worth watching. It was still a
monochrome morning, better for
smelling than seeing. He tasted the
wind, again.
To the east, just touching the
edge of the sky, dawn was com-
ing. It reminded him of a bowl
of golden oatmeal, tilted just so
the oatmeal reached the rim of
the bowl. It was cold and the
frost was heavy on the remain-
ing leaves of the white oak, just
a few yards in front of him. Once
again, he tested his safety harness
and rope.
He lay quietly, watching and
tasting the air. There was a light
layer of frost on his back. His ant-
lers blended with the tree behind
him. It was cold in the leaves on
which he lay. He watched the
man. His bones ached.
The sun came slowly, shifting
From cover, still in monochrome,
he watched the man cross the field.
The leaves on which he lay were cold. His bones ached.
A Single
Drop of Dew
By John L. Sloan
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 47
through the trees, spotlighting
branches and slowly beginning
to melt the frost, turning it into
sparkling diamonds of dew. A
drop, one single drop, slowly
made its’ way to the edge of a
white oak leaf. There it hung.
Like my life, thought the
man. Like that single drop of
dew, I hang in limbo. Too old to
go back, just waiting to drop. As
the sun warms the leaf, just as
it warms by bones, the dew will
fall. As the clock ticks by, so will
I fall? He leaned back against
the tree, not really hunting. Not
searching for a tell-tale flick of
an ear or tail. Just thinking.
He is not alert. He is not
hunting as he has done in past
days. I could slip behind him,
easy. For some time, he and I
have played this game. But to-
day, much as it is with me, he
is just waiting.
The dew moved. Not much.
Another quarter-inch and it
would fall. Just a single drop of
dew. How close it is, he thought.
Not far to go. Maybe, much as
it is with me. Not far to go. But,
what a journey it has been. He
lightly touched the long scar on
his chest, flexed his back and
smiled.
He slowly turned his head
and licked the long scar on his
side. It had been close. He low-
ered his head, resting his chin
on the leaves. A drop of dew fell
near his nose. He swiveled an ear
and tasted the wind. Once again,
he looked at the man.
A light breeze moved through
the trees, still, the one drop of
dew held on. The man tasted
the wind, just touching his face,
ruffling his beard. Somewhere, a
murder of crows was torment-
ing an owl. A raccoon with
three young ones, shuffled by,
on the way home from a night
of raccoonery. Still, the single
drop of dew, held fast.
Crazy ‘coon, he thought.
Should have been in the hollow
tree an hour ago. The man saw
the coons. Saw the drop of dew,
too. Maybe he saw me…I doubt
it. The three of us. From frost to
dew, simply lying on a leaf. Is
that what it is all about?
And now, the sun began to
The shafts of sun began to penetrate the leaves, turning the drops of dew into diamonds.
48 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
“We don’t cut corners .... we clean them”
THE RED BARN ANTIQUE MALL
Owners :Tami & Gerry Neese
2150 Hwy 70 East - Jackson, TN. 38305
731-444-0058 731-240-1368
gerryneese@gmail.com
NEW NEW
top the trees. It warmed his face
and then his toes. I could have
shot, he thought. I know he
knows I am here, just as I know
he is here. But why shoot? Soon
enough, the dew will drop and
the journey will be over for the
three of us.
A man, a deer and a single
drop of dew. The story of life.
He once again, lowered his
head to the leaves…and closed
his eyes. He heard it fall…
The single drop of dew.
The man dozed in the sun.
Ground fog began to rise and
out in the field, near a single
dew-laden tree, a young, lone
buck, accompanied by two tur-
keys, tasted a single drop of
dew.
Out in the field, near the dew-laden tree, a young, lone buck tasted a single drop of dew.
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 49
WILKERSON’S TAXIDERMY
FROM A “MOUSE TO A MOOSE”
AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!
TRUST WILKERSON’S TAXIDERMY
AND THEIR 30-PLUS YEARS
IN ALL PHASES OF TAXIDERMY!
STATE, NATIONAL & WORLD
AWARD WINNING TAXIDERMISTS!
1529 Morgan Rd - Dyersburg, TN
731-286-0853
AlBradshaw
1960-1999
421 W. COURT ST.
DYERSBURG, TENNESSEE
731-285-5767
sam@bradshaw4insurance.com
Sam Bradshaw
Contact information:
50 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 51
While you’re hunting or fishing on Reelfoot
Lake, stop by and see Johanna and her crew
for a quick, delicious meal.
Or, beat the heat with their
“World Famous” ice cream.
Dine-in or eat outside on their Patio!!
Home Owned and operated
731-253-6311
HWY 78 - Tiptonville
Less than 5 min from Reelfoot Lake
“Something Different”
our hospitable
LICENSED INSURED
OWNER CODY WALKER
731-676-4796
Katelyn
Pharmacy Tech
Crystal - Pharmacy
Tech / DME
Kim
CPhT
Ginger
CPhT
Heather
Sales Associate
Christen
Sales Associate
Chasity
CPhT
Sydney
CPhT
Tiffany
CPhT
Emily
CPhT
Brandy
Pharmacy Tech
Sales Associate
Jerry
Delivery Driver
Jamie
Bookkeeper
Kalli-Rae
Sales Associate
Hillary
CPhT
Carolyn
Sales Associate
Krissie
CPhT
Here are two simple ways of telling us what you need and
we will take care of the rest.
1. Call us at 285-0844.
2. Come by and see us at our new location
at 2490 Parr Ave., Lewis Creek Place.
Have
you been
wondering
how to
join the
C&C
family?
• FAST FRIENDLY ONE-ON-ONE SERVICE
FROM LOCAL PHARMACISTS
(being locally owned means we support Dyer County not a
BIG pharmacy chain)
• ACCEPTANCE OF OVER 3,000
PRESCRIPTION PLANS
(including the new State Employee Prescription Plan-
Caremark) (your co-payment will stay the same)
• LOW PRICES ON ALL PHARMACY NEEDS
(we will match all competitors generic plans or programs)
• MOST CONVENIENT LOCATION IN TOWN
(with drive-thru and handicap accessibility)
• FREE DELIVERY ANYWHERE IN CITY LIMITS
(delivery also available countywide for small fee)
• MEDICARE BILLING
(for all your diabetic & durable medical equipment needs)
• IMMUNIZATIONS
(flu, shingles, school, job & travel vaccinations)
• PROFESSIONAL COMPOUNDING
PRESCRIPTION SERVICES
(for more information, visit dyersburgfyi.com/cande)
SERVICES TO LOOK FORWARD TO!!
Dr. Mark Brooks
PHARMACIST/OWNER
Dr. Emily Crum
PHARMACIST/OWNER
Dr. Kevin Cook
PHARMACIST/OWNER
52 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 201952 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
Robert “Doc” Jackson with a big Pickwick smallie!
Here is young hunter Alex Dye once more, with his1st deer ever that he shot on Oct 27,th 2019 againwhile hunting with his Papaw.
Photo submitted by Terry Wilkerson
Lynn Parker caught these nice, slab crappie at Lake
Enid, Mississippi recently.
Alex Dye harvested his first
turkey ever – with a little
help from his Papaw, last
April.
Photo submitted byTerry Wilkerson
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 53
54 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55
OUR EXPERIENCED STAFF IS HERE TO FILL YOUR
EVERY NEED DAY OR NIGHT!
DYERSBURG ELEVATOR COMPANY
300 PRESSLER RD - DYERSBURG, TN - 38024
731-287-7272
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55
56 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
We're Married
toFarming
www.FirstCNB.com
We're Married
toFarming
www.FirstCNB.com
We're Married
toFarming
www.FirstCNB.com

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November - December 2019

  • 1. 1 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 www.southerntraditionsoutdoors.com Please tell our advertisers you saw their ad in southern traditions outdoors magazine! FAMILY FARMING TROLLING FOR BUCKS COLD WEATHER CRAPPIE THE OLD MAN AND THE MONARCH FREE DUCK FORECAST
  • 2. 2 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Helena is one of the foremost agronomic solution providers in the United States.We stand by our tagline, People...Products...Knowledge...With our knowledgeable people, we are committed to providing our customers with innovative products and technologies to exceed their production goals. Learn more by contacting your local Helena representative or visit HelenaAgri.com. HelenaAgri.com | Important:Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states and counties. Please check with your Helena representative to ensure registration status. Helena and People...Products...Knowledge... are registered trademarks of Helena Holding Company. © 2019 Helena Holding Company. HPG1019S
  • 3. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 3 Riding an ATV can be dangerous. To ensure your safety proper protective gear should always be worn. Remember to always wear a helmet, eye protection and protective clothing. Never ride on paved surfaces or public roads. Never carry passengers unless the ATV is specifically engineered to accommodate them. Riding at excessive speeds or engaging in stunt riding is extremely dangerous. Be extremely careful on difficult or unknown terrain. Never ride while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Many ATV’s are recommended only for highly experienced riders 16 years and older. Please make sure that you are riding an ATV that is age appropriate. Riders younger than 16 years of age should always be supervised by an adult. We recommend that all ATV riders take an approved ATV training course and read their vehicle owner’s manual thoroughly. When riding your ATV always stay on established trails in approved areas. Keep your riding areas clean and respect the rights of others. Always obtain permis- sion before riding on private lands, and obey all the laws and regulations governing your riding areas. 470 US Highway 51 Bypass N. - Dyersburg, TN 38024 (731) 285-2060 Open Tuesday - Friday: 9am to 5pm and Saturday: 9am to 3pm WWW.OUTERLIMITPOWERSPORTS.COM ® TM and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. or its affiliates. Christmas Layaway on all units and accessories. Just put a deposit down and make weekly payments until Dec 20th. We can even store your unit in our warehouse untl Dec 20th! WORK HARD ..... PLAY HARDER! 2020 CAN-AM DEFENDER
  • 4. 4 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Advertising Information: Southern Traditions Outdoors | Rob Somerville (731) 446-8052 stomag1@gmail.com DISCLAIMER - Neither the authors nor Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine LLC assume any responsibility or liability for any actions by readers who utilize any information contained within. Readers are advised that the use of any and all information contained within Southern Traditions Outdoors is at their own risk. On the Cover Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine Mission Statement: Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine vows to put forth a publication to promote the outdoors lifestyle in a positive manner. We will strive to encourage veteran and novice outdoorsmen, women, kids, and the physically challenged to participate in the outdoors in a safe and ethical manner. Our publication will bring positive attention to the wondrous beauty of the world of Nature in the mid-south. Garry Mason Walter Wilkerson Terry Wilkerson Steve McCadams Kelley Powers Shawn Todd Eddie Brunswick Larry Self Cody Rodriquez John Sloan Richard Simms Dana Watford Buck Gardner Richard Hines Ed Lankford Drew Brooks John Latham Will Gregory John Roberts Richard Hines Rob Hurt Mark Buehler Richard A. Fagan Neill McLaurin Sam Bradshaw Daryl Ratajczak Jonathon Holden Field Staff Editors Owners - Eddie Anderson Rob Somerville Kevin Griffith Publisher - Eddie Anderson Editor - Rob Somerville Advertising Sales Rob Somerville - Managing Partner Distribution Johnathan Anderson Mike Robinson Southern Traditions Outdoors Magazine, LLC TABLE OF CONTENTS A chill is in the air. Your lab watches you closely to see if you are wearing camo. Excitement fills the minds of all duck hunters as they dream about a mallard and a suzey, gliding into their decoy spread. Photo by Rob Somerville PG..................... ARTICLE ............................................................AUTHOR 6 ......................... Waterfowl Forecast............................................................Steve McCadams 12 ......................... The Old Man and the Monarch ........................................Rob Somerville 16 ......................... Norman Yoder Memorial....................................................Rob Somerville 17 ......................... 2019 West Tennessee Fur Takers Rendezvous................Rob Somerville 18 ......................... Sometimes Hunters Can Be a Pain...........In the Back......Dr. Barry Cole 22 ......................... Crankbait Crappie.............................................................Cody Rodriquez 28 ........................ Family Farming is on the Rise...........................................Jonathan Holden 34 ......................... National Farm to School Month.........................................Jonathan Holden 40 ......................... Business Profile - Cypress Creek Outdoors......................STO 46 ......................... A Single Drop of Dew........................................................John Sloan 50 ......................... Traditions Tips...................................................................Richard A. Fagan 52 ......................... Trophy Room.....................................................................STO 53 ......................... Cooking on the Wild Side..................................................Rob Somerville
  • 5. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 5
  • 6. 6 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Most duck hunters across the Volunteer State took it on the chin last year. Still bruised from one of the worst seasons on re- cord, the camouflage clad army of waterfowlers are a resilient bunch and ready to rebound. Every year about this time when a little north wind puts a chill in the early autumn air, wa- terfowlers get pumped up and be- gin asking that redundant ques- tion: “How does it look for the upcoming season”? That’s a popular question among the ranks. Easy to ask; tough to answer! Here in Dixie, all water- fowlers seem to be at the mer- cy of Mother Nature and to her mood swings. Weather is the pri- mary factor on how duck seasons come and go for us southern duck shooters. Last year was a prime exam- ple. It was a warm season overall with way too much water spread out over several states, both here and to our north. Mix extended spells of warm weather with flooding along the Mississippi River in just about every state that touches the big muddy stream and it’s a tough hurdle for duck hunters every- where. That’s what happened last year. Too much water; not enough ducks! Most veteran waterfowl- ers say they can’t recall a sea- son that was as poor as last year. From the Bootheel of Missouri, to the rice fields of Arkansas and river bottom swamps and hard- woods of Tennessee, Kentucky and even down into Mississippi, By Steve McCadams FORECAST It looks like we will have a better season in our region this year. Mallards coming in like these will be a welcome sight to local “quacker smackers.” Photo by Rob Somerville WATERFOWL
  • 7. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 7 ducks just didn’t show up for the party. Some of the most popular public hunting areas across the five state region never reported a significant influx of ducks when aerial surveys were taken by state wildlife agencies. Federal refuges in the region didn’t attract ducks and geese either, as most all sur- veys reflected numbers below 5, 10 and 20-year averages! High dollar hunting clubs on private land suffered too. There were a few exceptions---as there always are---but overall, the lion’s share of duck hunters were all in the same boat last year. For some it may be tough to mount the level of interest needed to jump back on the wagon this time around. Duck hunting is an expensive sport. It takes a lot of time and effort to get going. Even sporting goods stores and manufacturers seemed to feel the pain of a poor season. Shells, shotguns, decoys, clothing and more were left in inventory at some major retailers. When hunt- ers don’t do well, the economy can suffer. Yet with a new season fast approaching, optimism has a way of healing the wounds of a bad season. Known to be some of the most optimistic sportsmen ever to slip on a boot, duck hunters start getting that far-away look in their eye as leaves begin to fall. It’s just something in the blood that fuels their fire. That yearning to share a sunrise with friends and dogs when season arrives is a powerful magnetism. It’s a force that’s hard to over- come and even more difficult to explain to the non-believers! So, how is the season ahead shaping up in terms of the fall flight forecast? No one can control the weather pat- terns, but prac- tically every wa- terfowler wants to know how the numbers look from the breed- ing grounds. If we do get good weather and cold fronts return to their normal patterns are duck numbers suffi- cient to set the stage for a good season ahead? Inquiring minds want to know! From reports by Delta Waterfowl, Ducks Un- limited, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service plus input from the Ca- nadian Wildlife Service comes the following summary as to how things went in the breed- ing grounds of the Dakotas and Canada. North America’s spring duck population declined, but most species remain above long-term averages, according to the 2019 Waterfowl Population Status Re- port this summer. The annual survey, con- ducted jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Cana- dian Wildlife Service since 1955, puts the breeding duck popula- tion at 38.90 million, a 6 percent decrease from last year’s popu- lation of 41.19 million, but still 10 percent above the long-term average. The 2019 survey marks the first time since 2008 that the estimated breeding duck popula- tion has fallen below 40 million. “The fact that the numbers are down is a reflection of last year’s dry conditions for nesting ducks,” said Dr. Frank Rohwer, president of Delta Waterfowl. “We know that production drives duck populations, so it’s no sur- prise that after a year of poor production, the USFWS counted fewer ducks.” The graphic chart on numbers this year, compared to last year, helps hunters gain a perspective on trends. However, weather is always a big factor on what lies ahead.
  • 8. 8 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 There is good news to be found in the survey. Mallards in- creased 2 percent to 9.42 million, 19 percent above the long-term average. Green-winged teal rose 4 percent to 3.18 million, 47 per- cent above the long-term average. American wigeon climbed slight- ly to 2.83 million, 8 percent above the long-term average. Notably, gadwalls climbed 13 percent to 3.26 million, putting them 61 percent above the long- term average. “The real surprise to me is that gadwalls seem to be almost drought-proof,” Rohwer said. “They’re pretty amazing ducks.” Other dabbling ducks de- creased, but remain above long- term averages. Shovelers declined 13 percent to 3.65 million, 39 per- cent above the long-term average. The largest decrease was observed among blue-winged teal, down 16 percent to 5.43 million, but still 6 percent above the long-term average. “The bluewing estimate makes sense,” Rohwer said. “Bluewings didn’t fare well last spring given the dry prairie, and didn’t pro- duce many ducks.” The only below-average population estimate among pud- dle ducks is for pintails, which dropped 4 percent to 2.27 mil- lion, 42 percent below the long- term average. “Many pintails settled in the Dakotas seeking better water con- ditions, as did all ducks,” Rohwer said. “But the core of the pintail’s traditional breeding range is in southern Alberta, where they’re down 79 percent, and south- ern Saskatchewan, where they’re down 85 percent. More than a million pintails — almost half the breeding population — settled in the U.S. prairie this year.” All three diving duck spe- cies surveyed showed declines in 2019. Redheads fell 27 percent to 730,000, putting them right at the long-term average. Canvasbacks dropped 5 percent to 650,000, but remain 10 percent above the long-term average. And scaup (greaters and lessers combined) declined 10 percent to 3.59 mil- lion, 28 percent below the long- term average. “I’m concerned that blue- bills may return to restrictive har- vest regulations, if their recent population trend isn’t reversed,” Rohwer said. “And we’ve been living off high redhead numbers for a long time, but we just had Many pintails settled in the Dakotas seeking better water conditions, as did all ducks. Photo by Rob Somerville Redheads fell 27 percent to 730,000, putting them right at the long- term average. Photo by Rob Somerville
  • 9. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 9 two average to dry years.” “Overall both total ponds and total populations of breed- ing waterfowl in the Prairie Pot- hole Region were down slightly,” Ducks Unlimited Chief Scientist Dr. Tom Moorman said. “How- ever, important breeding areas in southern Alberta and Saskatche- wan were much drier than last year, which contributes to re- duced numbers of breeding wa- terfowl observed in the survey. Fortunately, eastern North Dakota and South Dakota saw an increase in both ponds and breeding waterfowl, especially mallards, blue-winged teal, gad- walls, northern shovelers, and northern pintails. Typically, when the Dakotas are wet and south- ern Alberta and Saskatchewan are dry, we see the aforementioned species settle in the Dakotas, re- minding us that we must con- serve habitat across the prairies because it is rare for the entire Prairie Pothole Region to be wet. Ultimately, however, hunt- ing success and numbers of birds observed will vary with the on- set of fall and winter cold fronts and the arrival of winter condi- tions necessary to force birds to migrate, and also with regional habitat conditions.” “This year’s pond count and nesting conditions are truly a tale of two countries,” continued Del- ta’s Frank Rohwer. “Canada is in bad shape — it started dry and got even drier. I haven’t seen por- tions of Canada this dry since the mid-1980s. However, the prai- ries in the Dakotas started wet and stayed ridiculously wet. The problem is that while many of the duck estimates in the U.S. are up, it wasn’t enough to compensate for dry conditions in a region as massive and important to ducks as prairie Canada.” However, Rohwer told me that production in the highly wet eastern Dakotas region — where mallards are up 54 per- cent, pintails rose 64 percent, bluewings jumped 19 percent and total ducks are up 29 percent — has been exceptional. That’s good news for hunters, who shoot the fall flight, not the breeding population. Even though breeding duck numbers are down overall, the U.S. prairies were incredibly wet from south to north, which will lead to strong duck production. Conditions remained wet and ac- tually improved d u r i n g t h e breeding sea- son, with tem- porary and sea- sonal wetlands retaining water into July and August. “So when the prairies were dry last year, it hurt duck pro- duction, and in turn, duck hunt- ers,” he said. “We saw it in Louisiana and elsewhere. But this year, ducks nested and re- nested in the U.S. prairies with a vengeance and should have high brood survival in those landscapes.” Strong production in the U.S. prairies should also increase the number of more easily de- coyed juveniles in the fall flight, compared to the savvy, adult birds many hunters encountered last season. “There will be plenty of ducks in the fall flight, and I ex- pect duck hunters, especially in the southern U.S., to have a better season this year,” Rohwer said. Tennessee duck hunters have already put last year’s bad season behind them. It’s what ahead that matters most! Editor’s note: Steve McCadams is a professional guide and outdoor writer from Paris, TN. BEAGLE CHASE HUNTING SERVICE “Hunting rabbits with Billy Montague is a real treat. Best dogs ever!” Rob Somerville - STO MAG. “LET’S GO RABBIT HUNTING” - BILLY MONTAGUE OWNER & GUIDE Booking Now For The 2017-18 Season - Nov. 4th – Feb. 28th $100 per gun on your land in TN., ARK. or MISS. $150 per gun on my land - minimum 3 guns Build lifelong memories with family & friends. HOME: 901-465-3852 CELL: 901-626-5822 www.rabbithuntwithbilly.virb.com www.facebook.com/rabbithuntwithbilly Makes a Great Gift! MAN..... THIS IS FUN!
  • 10. 10 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019
  • 11. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 11 NOW BUYING: • OLDER DC, CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED & MAR- VEL COMIC BOOKS • ROOKIE AND SUPERSTAR BASEBALL, FOOT- BALL & BASKETBALL CARDS • CERTIFIED SPORTS MEMOROBILIA • ANTIQUE TOYS • BEER SIGNS • OLD METAL AND PORCELAIN ADVERTISING SIGNS • CAST IRON SKILLETS - LODGE, GRISWOLD • KNIVES & ANYTHING OLD, COLLECTIBLE & IN GOOD SHAPE NEED CASH QUICK? CONTACT: ROB SOMERVILLE at 731-446-8052 stomag1@gmail.com
  • 12. 12 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 The Old Man The old man figured he had harvested more than his share of whitetail deer in the sixty plus years he had resided on this earth. He found he had gone through all of the stages of evolution a bow hunter could experience. As a young man he entered the beginner stage where “ego is king.” Bragging rights of harvest- ing a deer were of the utmost im- portance. Doe or buck, it didn’t matter, because even seeing a deer was rare during his youth. In his early adult years, he mor- phed into the “numbers game.” Deer were more common, and most of his peers judged your hunting skills by the number of deer you harvested in a season. In his forties, he reached the trophy stage. During this period he enhanced his woodsmanship, tracking and scouting skills. He would study topographic maps and venture into land that few hunters had seen in search of quality racks. Then, something he thought would never happen, occurred as he neared the age of sixty. He seemed to no longer care about the harvesting of a deer. He would let bucks pass through his shoot- ing lanes that other hunters would have given a month’s wages just to see! Sometimes, he even left his bow at home and just reveled in the world of nature. That is, until the afternoon he encountered the Monarch. The Monarch Regardless of what region you hunt in, there is always talk of a monster buck being sighted some- where nearby. Whether real or imaginary, this buck sends chills of excitement down hunter’s spines and makes the hairs stand up on the back of their necks. Tales of these legendary bucks are shared as hunters gather around camp- fires, or recline in the warmth of their hunting lodge. Very seldom will you hear of one of these myth- ical creatures being hauled into a checking station with a tag on their antlers. These stories are part of the mysticism of deer hunting. They are the reason you crawl out of your warm bed at 4:00 in the morning, walk miles in the frig- id temperatures and sit on a hard metal platform for hours at a time, perched twenty-five feet in the air. The old man enjoyed hearing these stories as much as anyone, but listened to them with a patron- izing smile, knowing what he was hearing about were mainly phantoms that exist- ed in the mind of the storytellers. At least that’s the way he felt until one brisk autumn after- noon, deep in a riv- er bottom swamp, on that momentous day when the old man regained the excite- ment of the hunt. He was sitting high up in a cypress tree in his favorite strap-on stand when it happened. He was chew- ing on a handful of trail mix, in be- tween mouth grunting at a yearling buck. The fork-horn had amused the man for nearly an hour, as each time it started to meander away he would grunt the curious young deer right back in. Sudden- ly the old man liked to choke on raisins and nuts. In the clarity of the frosty morning a loud guttural echo had followed his last sequence of grunts. The young yearling also took notice and wasted no time in evacuating the area at a sprint. A Phantom Comes to Life Loud footsteps crunched on the frosted floor of the swamp. Suddenly, an enormous buck, so large it seemed surreal, emerged from behind a blow-down. Nostrils flaring out billows of fogged breath in the coolness of the morning, the behemoth walked in a stiff-legged, dominant gait. Its hairs stood up The Old Man and the MonarchBy Rob Somerville
  • 13. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 13 in bristles along its back, and its muscles rippled effortlessly as it moved. The monarch’s rack was huge. The walnut colored base would measure at least ten inch- es in circumference, and its tines seemed to reach into the heavens. This symmetrical twelve-pointer was an old warrior, with lots of white on its face and neck; show- ing its age. It was the best buck the experienced old man had ever seen on the hoof. It was a living legend, and it was real. The mon- arch walked up to a four-inch di- ameter swamp alder and thrashed it to smithereens with the fury of a tornado. Then it raised its head and lip-curled, scent checking the air. It caught wind of the only thing on earth it feared … man. It immedi- ately bolted, with hooves thunder- ing across the bottom. The old man felt his chest about to explode and his brain had to remind his lungs to take a ragged breath. He heard a tapping noise, which his subconscious identified as a woodpecker gouging some in- sects out of a dead tree. When the adrenaline rush began to subside, he realized that what he had been hearing was no woodpecker, but his left leg spasmodically jumping up and down, causing his foot to rap against the metal base of his deer stand. Could it be that for the first time in nearly thirty years that the old man had felt the rush of “buck fever”? After he somewhat calmed down, he eased his way gingerly down the tree and began the long walk back to his truck on some- what “rubbery” legs. He realized that he had become somehow careless in the nonchalance of his hunting techniques. Was old age slowing down his mind along with his body? Years ago that old buck would have never winded him. Fi- nally, after all these years he had found a worthy adversary. When he got to his cabin that evening he carefully scrubbed his hunting clothes in a spring-fed creek and stuffed the pockets with acorns and cypress needles. He sharpened his broadheads with a diligence and intensity he had al- most forgotten he possessed. He carefully checked out his bow, and waxed the cables and string. Grabbing his knee-length rub- ber boots, he liberally sprinkled the inside with baking powder. He retired to bed early, only to begin a nearly sleepless night filled with visions of the monarch of the swamp. He got up two hours before sunrise, amazed at his ener- gy level after a rest- less night’s sleep. The old man arrived at the woods en- tering from the down wind side of his alternate stand site. He uti- lized only the moonlight to navi- gate his way through the swamp. He was taking no chances with this one. The monarch didn’t get to be this old by being careless. The old man would have to blend into the woods, making himself virtually invisible. His senses were honed like a finely stropped razor. He was a true hunter once again. The Confrontation The old timer sat in his stand, as still as a statue, with all his sens- es fine-tuned to the sounds of na- ture. As the inky blackness turned into the hazy grays of morning, he reached into his pack for the re- sealable plastic bag containing the deer bladder and tarsal gland he had removed from his freezer and thawed out last night. He punc- tured the bladder with the tip of his knife, and soaked the tarsal gland with the urine, tossing it lightly 20 yards in front of his stand. He picked up the rattling ant- lers he had knocked the dust off of yesterday and clashed them togeth- er vigorously, alternately raking the tines together in an imitation of two bucks in a full-blown fight for domination. He continued his rattling session for about two min- utes, then reached behind him and shook the cypress bough, which thrashed the dry limbs together. All the time he was doing this he was making tending grunt sounds with his mouth. He stopped the commotion and held his bow ready with an arrow nocked and leath- er gloved fingers on the string.... waiting. As he had envisioned it would happen, the monarch appeared, cautiously sniffing the thermal cur-
  • 14. 14 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 rents. But it was to no avail today, as the old man had set up down- wind of where he felt sure the old buck was bedding. Confident now that he was secure, the monarch caught a whiff of the urine-soaked tarsal gland, and with his nose to the ground he entered the clearing headed for the old man’s careful- ly trimmed shooting lane. As the monarch’s massive head went be- hind a huge cypress knee, the old man slowly and steadily drew back his bow. One more step and the old man’s pin was directly behind the huge animal’s broadside shoul- der. The old man’s fingers began to loosen on the string. Then, as if with a will of their own, they tightened back up and he let down his bow. This motion caused the magnificent creature to jerk his head up and seeming- ly stare into the old man’s eyes. Within a fraction of a second the monarch leaped effortlessly across a nine-foot finger of the swamp and disappeared as if by the wave of a magician’s wand. The old man sighed with a mix of emotions, but eventually contentment won out. He realized that he had just en- tered the final stage in the evolu- tion of a bow hunter. He knew he had possessed the skills and knowledge to harvest this beautiful animal. But the en- counter had given new life to his old bones and heart and he desired the need for others to feel the same thrill he had felt on this momen- tous day, so he had passed on the double-lung shot. He looked to the sky and thanked the Great Creator for all the marvelous gifts of nature He had allowed the old man to en- joy during his long life. Climb- ing down from his stand on rock- steady legs, he walked with more pep in his step than he had in de- cades, for he knew that he was now a complete hunter. He had entered the final stage as a hunter. He burst out in a Gospel song and his spir- it was full “Your Waterfowl Headquarters!” 640 Hwy 51 Bypass E - Dyersburg, TN 731-287-0427 Open: Monday - Saturday - 10am to 6pm EST 1952
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  • 16. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 16 West Tennessee lost a good one recently and many who will remember Mr. Norman Yoder are readers of STO Magazine. I personally feel that Mr. Norman was a hard-working and kind man, who “walked the walk” of a man of God. Norman would always greet people with a smile and take time out of his busy schedule to visit with anyone he crossed paths with. To relate as to the quality of this man, I will share a story with you. I was going through a very rough time in my life and really needed my spirits lifted. I happened to be delivering maga- zines and was at Yoder Brothers Meat Processors to drop off three bundles of magazines. When I went back out to my Jeep, I had a blow out on a tire and had no jack. I was out there staring at the tire and the patriarch of the Yoder family came outside with one of his workers and Norman asked him to go get a jack and help me change my tire. I offered to pay for the help and he simply said with a smile, “You just have a better day Rob.” That moment of kindness completely changed my demeanor and lifted my spirits. I will always remember him for that. Norman was born on 10/29/1957 in Stuarts Draft, VA, a little town nestled in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. His father started a meat processing business, as well as farmed on the side, until he moved his family to Ten- nessee in 1970. Upon settling, his father went into dairy farming. In Norman’s early 20’s, he and a brother moved to Mayfield, KY and began a meat processing business. After 5 years, Norman returned to Paris, TN in 1987 and co-founded Yoder Bros Meat Processing, along with another of his brothers. It has remained a family business and has grown to 3 times its original size. Norman also operated a livestock and row- crop farming enterprise. Wild Game meat processing was one of the services that quickly rose to the top of the company’s reputation in the West TN area. In past years Yoder Bros has processed up to over 2500 deer in a single season. In more recent years, the processing of USDA inspected, and private labeled Beef, Pork and Lamb has enabled many West TN farmers to take their farm goods to Farmers markets in the greater West Tennessee cities of Jackson, Memphis and Nashville and mar- ket their products meeting legal requirements. Norman was from a large family of 11 children. He and Mrs. Dorothy had eight children. The Yoder family has decided to continue the family business. Norman cared deeply about the community and has shared his success in numerous ways. He provided services and products to local charities as well as discounts to not-for profit entities. More recently, Norman purchased a retail store (Yoder’s Country Store) close to the Meat Processing plant. It has become the retail point for the Beef, Pork and Poultry meats raised on the Yoder Family Farm. In 2001 Norman completed a Dale Carnegie Training Course. During this course he won the Dale Carnegie “High- est Award for Achievement”. Norman was a deacon in the Mennonite Church since 1989 and was a devout man of faith. I hope that all of you that have carried your deer to Yoder’s Brothers will take a moment to reflect on him the next time you are sitting in a deerstand, during the quietness of the pre-dawn. Rest in Peace Brother Yoder - Rob Somerville Norman Yoder - A Tennessee Treasure
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  • 22. 22 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Hello to all our STO Maga- zine readers. I have had several people over the last few months ask me questions about how I use the technique of pulling crank- baits. In this article, we are go- ing to talk about pulling crank- baits for mid to late summer and early fall crappie. We will discuss different types of equipment and tactics, and put together a general game plan for pulling crankbaits. We will call it a “crankbait crash course” for anyone who wants to give it a try. Pulling crankbaits can seem intimidating to someone who has never done it before, but once you start, it may become your method of choice! Getting start- ed just takes a little work and research, and then some testing and adjusting on the fly to make it work for your situation. Let us start out with equipment. Any boat with a trolling motor will work for pulling crankbaits. It makes it easier if you have a troll- ing motor that can be run from a remote control. I fish out of a 24-foot SeaArk Big Daddy with a Minn Kota Ulterra 112 pound thrust trolling motor. I have my boat set up to pull mainly from the rear of the boat. Some crap- pie anglers have their boats set up to pull from the front of their boat. It really comes down to how your boat is designed and your personal preference. The rear of my boat is setup with a Millenni- um Sidekick double fishing seat. It will allow up to three people to sit side by side across the back deck of my SeaArk. Next, come the pole racks. I have a Millennium Spyder Loc rod holder mounted on each side the rear deck. Each rod holder will hold 4 rods. As far as rods go, the choice is up to your per- sonal preference. My personal choice is the B’n’M - Pro Staff Trolling rods. I actually have two sets of these rods. I have one set of a dozen 16-foot rods that I use for spider rigging and pushing jigs out the front of my boat, and another set that I use for pulling crankbaits and longlining jigs out the rear of my boat. The set I use for longlining and crankbaits consists of 2 rods for each length of 12, 14, 16, and 18 feet. I use the shorter rods on the inside of the rack and the longer rods on the outside of the rack. This helps to keep your baits separated for less tangles and messes. Crankbait Crappie Chad and Ashley Allen are pictured here pulling crankbaits on the Big Sandy portion of Kentucky Lake. You can see Chad is measuring a crappie to make sure it meets the size regulations to be kept. Photo by Author By Cody Rodriquez
  • 23. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 23 Fishing with these eight rods will let me cover a swath of water around 44 feet wide. One of the reasons I love to pull crankbaits is because an angler can cover so much water while doing so. If I am pulling 1.6 miles an hour and coving a 44 feet swath, I can cov- er a lot of water acreage in a day’s time of fishing. For my reels, I have Okuma Magda 15 DX line counters and Shakespeare ATS 15 LCB line counters. Both are good reels and I have had excellent service out of both. The Shake- speare is a cheaper option, if you are looking to save a few bucks. Line counters are not necessary for successful crankbait pulling but they can definitely make it more user friendly. All of my reels are spooled with 14-pound HI-VIS line. Last, but not least, are the crankbaits themselves. The crank- bait conversation often comes down to sounding like a Ford guy, a Chevy guy, and a Dodge guy having a truck talk! Once again, this will eventually come down to your personal preference and what brand or brands work best for you. I have two good friends that are really experienced at pulling crankbaits. If you get us all together, you will hear three different stories of what brand each one likes the best. One prefers Arkie brand 350 crankbaits, one prefers the Pico crappie crankbaits and I have had the best luck with the Ban- dit brand 300 crankbaits. I am not sure if I have a true prefer- ence of brand or not, because some days you will find me pull- ing all three brands at the same time! The Bandits dive deeper than the Arkies with less line out and have a little larger hook. The Arkies seem to have more rattle to them and are louder than the Bandits. The Pico brand have in- dentions on the sides of their crankbaits that resemble the look and texture of a golf ball. I real- ly like that look because to me it should displace more water and put off more “fish signal.” There are also several other lure compa- nies that make crappie crankbaits such as Jenko and Strike King. I encourage you to try a couple of each brand and see what works best for you. The next question that often comes up is how do you know how deep your crankbaits are pulling? Bandit and Arkie both have charts out that tell you how many feet of line to let out to get you to an approximate depth. Bandit’s chart is made for troll- ing 1.6 miles per hour and I have found that Arkie’s chart works well running that same speed. The Pico brand crankbaits pull very similar to the Bandit brand, so I have been using the same chart for those two. I had a vinyl stick- er made of the depth charts and applied it to the top of my Suzu- Catching them two at a time! Pictured here are two Kentucky Lake slabs being “water skied” to the boat. Photo by Author Here is a view that includes the right, side rear of the authors pulling setup. You can see the B’n’M rods, the line counter reels, the Millenni- um rod holder and the line depth chart on top of the outboard motor. Photo by Author
  • 24. 24 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 ki 225 outboard motor so that I could use it for a quick reference guide while pulling. It really helps me to be able to see the fish on my Hummin- bird Helix 10 G2N fish finder, on down scan mode, and then be able to reference the crap- pies depth to the chart and make quick adjustments before the crankbaits get to the crappie. Now, on to the good stuff, the fishing! When pulling crank- baits, the wind plays a large role in the direction I pull {95% of the time, I pull the direction the wind is blowing}. This makes for less work on the trolling motor, so your batteries last longer, hence more fishing time. It also helps keep your crankbaits down at the desired depth. Pulling against the wind allows the wind to get un- der your lines and it applies lift to your crankbaits. The wind will not change your crankbaits depth drastically, but could possibly have a minor influence on them. After you find a location you want to pull your crankbaits, get your boat positioned with the wind and headed in the direction you want to pull. All you have to do is start fishing! Start out by getting your boat up to speed. Once again, my average speed is around 1.6 MPH. After you have your boat up to speed, it is time to start putting out your crank- baits. For example, if you are in water that is 18 feet deep pulling Bandit 300s or Pico brand crank- baits and the crappie are 15 feet deep, then you need to have out around 91 feet of line (97 feet for Arkie brand). If you have line counter reels, you just let your crankbait out to 91 feet and start fishing. If you do not have line counters, you can still get your baits out accurately. Sticking with our 91 feet of line out, if you have a 14 ft rod you can let the line out the length of the rod 6 and a half times to get to 91 feet. Bran- don Mayse taught me this and he calls each rod length you let out “a pull.” Therefore, a 14-foot rod would be 6 and a half pulls to get to 91 feet, where as a 10 foot rod would need 9 pulls to get to the same depth. To do this, hold your rod up- right and let your line out until your crankbait is at the bottom of your rod handle. Place your crankbait in the water and let it float away from you (remember your running 1.6 MPH it does not take long for it to float away). As it is floating away place your rod tip down towards the water, as the line gets tight bring your rod tip from the water straight up to 12 o’clock while letting out line as you do so. Repeat this process five and a half times (you already completed one pull when you ini- tially let your lineout) and you should be close to your 91 feet mark. If the crappie are around 15 feet deep, I do not run all of my crankbaits at 91 feet of line. I like to mix it up a little, so if 91 feet gets me to 15 feet deep then I am going to run my 8 baits some- where between 87 and 94 feet. This allows you to make sure you are covering your targeted depth zone. So, you do not have to wor- ry about being dead-on accurate if you are using the “pull method” because you want a little variance in your baits anyway. The next question people often asked is “How do you get a fish to the boat without it getting tan- gled in your other lines?” My first Aidan Pruitt assists Luke Smith, as he drags in a nice Kentucky Lake Slab and Jerry Rodriquez prepares to net the fish. Photo by Author
  • 25. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 25 answer to that is usually “VERY CAREFULLY!” Actually, it is not as bad as one might think, as long as it is not a 10-pound catfish or a 5-pound largemouth bass on the other end of the line. I promise if you pull crankbaits long enough you will get a catfish or bass large enough that it will cause you some trou- bles with tangled lines. Another reason I like to pull crankbaits is that you never know what is go- ing to be on the other end of the line. I have caught crappie, large- mouth bass, smallmouth bass, white bass, catfish, sauger, and several other species of fish while pulling crankbaits on Kentucky Lake. The key to limiting your line tangles is soon as you see a fish hit your bait, set the hook, hold your pole upright and reel as fast as you can. If it is a crap- pie, it will come to the top of the water and you can “water ski” it all the way to your landing net. As with starting anything new, this adventure of pulling crankbaits will have some trial and error. I hope that this arti- cle will give you a bit of a jump- start into trying a technique that may be new to you. There are also some good resources to use on- line. Facebook has several crap- pie groups that are good places to ask questions. There are peo- ple in those groups that can give valuable advice. I also encour- age you to join Crappie.com. It is another online forum that you can use to ask questions. You can look at other people’s ideas that have worked and some that have not played out so well. Until next issue, stay safe on the water and I wish you all tight lines and screaming drags! ASPHALT SEALCOATING & STRIPING COMPLETE PARKING LOT MAINTENANCE FREE ESTIMATES! REFERENCES AVAILABLE! CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED! THOMAS MINLEY 731-589-1775 katstriping@gmail.com Dave French proudly shows off a nice largemouth bass that he caught while pulling Bandit crank- baits. A bass this size is a good fight on a 16-foot B’n’M rod. Photo by Author
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  • 27. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 27 Ag Solutions Call a Nutrien crop consultant today for all your agriculture needs: DYERSBURG 445 Lenox Nauvoo Rd. Dyersburg, TN 38024 (731) 287-8979 WYNNBURG 3630 Highway 78 S Wynnburg, TN 38077 (731) 253-7700 2851 Hwy 88 South Alamo, TN 38001 731-663-0100 www.nutrienagsolutions.com
  • 28. 28 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 In the 21st century, there are few families that can step outside on a warm summer morning and hear poultry clucking and cattle bellowing in the field. Even fewer will be taking a trip to the chicken coop for eggs or to the garden to get fresh vegetables from the vine. Family farms have always been an important part of our history. Farmers are held in high esteem in the United States and around the world. In the past, people like Thomas Jefferson believed strong- ly that the farmer best exemplified the kind of independence and vir- tue that should be supported by the world. The farmers respected and revered over the years by Jefferson, Smith, and others were a particu- lar kind of farmer. Smith’s agrarian farmer was an independent entre- preneur who possessed the extraor- dinary judgment and discretion needed to cope with the vagaries of nature. Jefferson’s yeoman farmer was hard working and honest, with a sense of spiritual connectedness to the land. In later times, these same basic virtues were used to describe the family farmer. A farmer doesn’t always have to be a member of a family to car- ry on the family farm with integri- ty. When we think about the fam- ily farmer many people think that this ideal and life style is dying, but to the family farmer it is not going away. The family farm is one that is owned by a family, even a large family corporation. Family farms includes more than 98% of all farms in the U.S. Many of these family business- es are just agribusinesses, which means that they are used to maxi- mize the economic bottom line. In the world of agribusiness, the family farm of Jefferson and Smith is con- sidered economically obsolete. On family farms, the family, the farm and the consumers are all insepara- ble wholes. The sustainable family farm is not just a means of making a living but also a means of achiev- ing a desirable quality of life, for consumers as well as farmers eco- nomically, socially, and spiritually. However, the family farm is making a comeback both in the ideal and the reality sense. The ideal and reality of family farming could be the solution to social, eco- logical, and economical problems that we are all facing now. There is a loss of interconnectedness and interdependence with each other and the world we live in. There are a lot of consumers that are seeking foods and products that are locally grown by the family farmer. Such descriptions of family farms are la- beled as idealistic by those who see agribusiness as the future of farm- ing. There a lot of people that still believe that these ideals of the farms exist, and this is being supported by hundreds of thousands of farmers and millions of consumers across the world. Sustainable family farm- ers today are helping to reconnect people with each other and with FAMILY FARMING IS ON THE RISEBy Jonathan Holden Rebecca Holden is seen here teaching her two boys about farming, like her dad did with her. Photo by Jonathan Holden
  • 29. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 29 the earth. This is what drives the buy local, organic, or natural food movements in the U.S. I wanted to look at two differ- ent farms in west Tennessee to see their background on the farm and to see what their views were about family farms. The first farm that I interviewed was the Jones-Hill {a part of Anderson Farms} that is on Hog Wallow Rd., in Dyersburg, TN and the other was Wilkerson Farms located on State Route 105 in Trimble, TN. While interviewing Mr. Eddie Anderson it was clear that farming was his way of life. The Jones-Hill farm was traced back by Mrs. Vir- ginia Ann Jones to 1870. She be- lieves it may go back further than that, but that is as far as the records that she found show. The fami- ly farm is a Century Farm, which means the farm has been worked for 100 years of continuous Agricultur- al Production. It is a huge honor to have as a Century Farm since there have been a lot of hardships that have taken place in those hundred years, like the Great Depression and wars. The farm has been passed down for three generations and now is on to its fourth genera- tion as Mr. Ed- die and Mrs. Ann’s son {Jon- athan} is now running the farm operation. The farm had 90 acres in 1870 and now the farm is up to 317 acres. At the peak of Mr. Anderson’s farming career, he had a 200 momma cow operation on some of the land and he row crop farmed nearly 7000 acres. Now he presently has around 3500 acres that they row crop farm. When asked, what does family farming mean to you? Mr. Eddie responded “God, family, and the world”. He explained that farming meant the world to his family and they wouldn’t trade it for anything. He said over the years he has spent in the field he has learned a lot of lessons and had a lot of ups and downs. In his 53 years of farming he has never lost sight of what he set out to accomplish and that was to make an honest living and to be able to pass the farming tradition to his children. Mr. Anderson also said that he felt that all the agriculture community was family and that is why he loved the Dyer County Fair so much and stayed active in it for so many years. He also contributes his ability to farm so long to his wife of 52 years and his family who has stuck by his side through thick and thin. He gives all the credit to God’s graces and plenty of hard work. The next farmer that I inter- viewed was Mr. Richard Wilker- son with Wilkerson Farms. Wilk- erson Farms has been in operation Mr. Eddie Anderson and his son - Jonathan Anderson feel that family farms are the backbone of America. Photo by Jonathan Holden Farmers like Mr. Eddie have supported the community, which in turn, supports him. In the farming community that is how strong bonds and great friendships are made. Photo by Jonathan Holden
  • 30. 30 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 for close to 70 years. Mr. Richard’s dad was row crop farming 350 acres and had livestock on the oth- er 120 acres. He sold cattle, sheep, sheep wool, pigs, and goats and he told him that you can make more money by walking grain out of the farm on hooves than you can in a truck. Mr. Richard started farming with his father in high school and still helps out his son in-law farm today. The farm currently has 2200 acres that they own or lease to row crop farm. Mr. Wilkerson’s daugh- ter, son in law, and two grandsons farm, and since he is now retired, he still helps out from time to time. When asked, what does family farming mean to you? Mr. Wilker- son responded, “I started farming not for the money, but because of my passion for agri- culture and love for the land.” As the years went by he told me that his meaning of fam- ily farming changed from a way of life to being able to pass this tradition to his daughter and grand- kids. He said that the agriculture community that he has dealt with over the past 50 years has become family and that is what you need to be successful … family working to- gether. He added that he is always ready for harvest, because then he gets to see what he and God have grown. He added that he takes pride in farming and strives every day to do his best, saying there is a lot of prayer and worship to god that also goes along with being a farmer. Family farms remain an essen- tial feature of agriculture in the United States. Family farms make up 99 percent of America’s 2.1 mil- lion farms and 89 percent of agri- cultural production. Most farms in the United States are small. Ninety percent are small family farms that operate nearly half of America’s farmland. It is essential for us to keep the ideals and way of life of a family farm alive. While interviewing these two remarkable men, fathers, farmers, and brothers in faith it was evident that they keep God first, then family, and to al- ways be courteous to everyone. These are two of what I see as the models for the American Family Farmer. It was my priv- ilege to be able to talk to these two true farmers; men that are as compassionate about agri- culture as I am. Editor’s note: Jonathan Holden is an Agriculture Education Teacher at Dresden High School. His back- ground is in Agriculture and Ani- mal Science. Mr. Richard Wilkerson has retired and passed the tradition down to Kris Holden his son in law, Rebecca Holden his daughter, and their two sons Hunter and Hayden Holden. Photo by Jonathan Holden To be awarded this sign your farm has to have 100 years of continu- ous agricultural production. This is a high honor in the farming community. Kris Holden is moving equipment to get ready for the next day of work. His Wife Rebecca Holden and two boys are in the vehicle behind him taking him back and forth to get the equipment. Photo by Jonathan Holden
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  • 34. 34 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections happening all over the country between children and local food. From taste tests in the school cafeterias and nutrition ed- ucation activities in the classroom, to farm visits and school garden harvest parties, farms, communities and organizations in all 50 states. The National Farm to School Net- work was advocated for the creation of National Farm to School Month by Congress in 2010 and now or- ganizes the annual celebration with hundreds of partner organizations across the country. This Month is a great month to plan a farm to school activity, organize a special celebration of your current efforts, or initiate a new partnership. The question that most peo- ple ask is “WHAT IS FARM TO SCHOOL?” The farm to school initiative is trying to help make connection between communities that have fresh, healthy food and local food producers - by enhanc- ing food purchasing and educa- tion practices at schools and early care and education sites. Farm to school is a program that will give more opportunities to address ra- cial and social disparities in the ex- isting food system and it will help with the health of all school chil- dren, farms, environment, econo- my and communities. The three core elements of farm to school are procurement, school gardens and farms, and education. The procurement of the local pro- duce and foods will add more access and healthier school meals to more than 24 million students across the United States. It will also help the income for local farmers. School gardens and farms offer opportuni- ties for the student body to develop a sense of responsibility and con- nection to their community. Help- ing to educate the students about food and farming will help to ele- vate the need for local agriculture. Another question that comes about is “WHY DO FARM TO SCHOOL?” When doing the farm to school program the kids, the farmers, and the communities all win in the end. The kids win be- cause every child gets a nutritious locally grown meal, so that they are ready to learn and are not hungry. Also with this the activities can help the kids learn about nutrition, ag- riculture, health and food. Next the farmers, fisheries, food pro- cessors, food manufactures, and The Weakley County Livestock Facility has a production farm consist- ing of swine and bovine. They sell the animals either for show or for meat. Photo by Jonathan Holden By Jonathan Holden
  • 35. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 35 ranchers. win because it is a great steady financial opportunity. Lastly, communities win because farm to school will benefit students, teach- ers, administration, farmers and parents by providing opportuni- ties to help build more community engagement. If we buy locally for the farm to school program it will boost the local and state economy as well as create more jobs at each farm and school. This will also im- pact economic development, educa- tion, public health, and community engagement. The National Farm to School Network, along with local food net- works like the Northwest Tennes- see Local Food Network, are hav- ing meetings and hosting events at schools across the United States to help create networking between farmers, schools, businesses and lo- cal and state governments to help initiate this program into their school. In Dresden, TN the Weakley County Farm to School Kickoff drew nearly 90 representatives of business, government, and school leadership to Dres- den High School to hear more about the initiative and offer input on ways to increase farm and school interac- tions. The informa- tion sharing and gathering took the form of surveys, a farm tour, presen- tations, and table discussions over plates of farm-to- table produce and sausage from the Weakley County Schools Livestock Program. “We’ve been noted as being the ‘last remaining’ farm of this kind in the state,” said Weakley Coun- ty Schools director Randy Frazier after participating in the evening’s instruction and vision-casting. “But, we’d like to change that to ‘cur- rently we are the only school-based multi-species production farm.’ With collaborations like this one with Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network, we have the potential to be a model for other districts.” The evening be- gan with visitors greeted by one of many Dresden FFA members who were volunteering to set up, explain the livestock pro- gram, and clean up the school grounds after the event was over. First, the visitors traveled by hayride to the various barns located on the Weakley County Livestock production farm. Student farmers Ben Ellis, Travis Platt, Kyle Elam, Parker Maxey, Natalie Weidenbach and Bennett Higgs served as tour guides explaining the various as- pects of large animal science, veter- inary science, and small animal care that students receive via hands-on learning at this facility. Bethany Allen, Coordinator of School Health Director and a mem- ber of the Farm-to-School plan- ning team, provided an overview of current ag-related endeavors in county schools. She noted that each school has a healthy school team, ag is taught in kindergarten through fifth grade classrooms in science class, and each high school offers ag. Sharon School has a several-bed garden, county FFA programs have greenhouses, and all county fourth graders participate in an annual Farm Day. One week, students were asked to weigh in on the taste of the sausages that are coming from pigs on our Weakley County Production Farm at Dresden High School. The young food critics have over- whelmingly given the product a thumbs up. Photo by Jonathan Holden Jason Kemp, who teaches agriculture and serves as an FFA advisor at Dresden, invited Congress- man Kustoff on a tour of the farm to show him the plans the farm has to provide, in partnership with the Weakley County Schools’ nutrition program, a farm-to-plate initiative. Photo by Jonathan Holden
  • 36. 36 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Allen also addressed areas con- sidered challenges to overcome. She noted that 45.5% of the stu- dent population were deemed overweight or obese in 2018-19 by health standards. Though all stu- dents can receive a free breakfast, more than 60% of our students are eligible to receive free or reduced lunches. Trista Snider, supervisor of school nutrition, offered her com- ments via video as she was attend- ing a statewide conference on Tues- day. She expressed gratitude to the team’s efforts thus far and pointed out that her goal was to expand op- tions beyond the current sausage served in the Dresden cafeteria to offerings from more local produc- ers. Since becoming an Agriculture teacher at the high school level, I personally have seen kids throw their school lunch food away and then at 3 P.M. watch them line up at the fast food restaurants to get food, because they are still hungry after not eating the food at school due to taste and processed foods. “Anytime our students can grow the produce themselves or be in- cluded in the process, it helps them to be open to trying new things,” she said. Goyret agreed. “We’d like our kids to know where their food comes from,” she said, adding that with Weakley County schools serv- ing over a half a million lunch- es each year in the farm to school initiative also can mean economic benefits. “When you source food locally all the money stays in our county. Not only do kids win by getting local foods and eating fresh- er, but farmers win as well, because it’s providing them a solid income base.” Jason Kemp, ag teacher, FFA advisor, and farm manager told the crowd that in addition to working through the process to provide US- DA-approved sausage to not just Dresden but eventually all county schools, the program is currently working with Tosh Farms to ensure that students who, due to farming realities, may not be returning to family farms, will receive training to go directly into a Tosh program. “We’ve got a lot of things in store,” Kemp concluded. “You’ve got to dream big if you’re going to get anywhere.” Those big dreams include a veterinary science labo- ratory, a meats lab and small-scale, and a USDA processing facility. Wendy Sneed who graduated from the Dresden program and is now a Tennessee Department of Agri- culture business development con- sultant attended the event and af- firmed that such forward-thinking was critical. “We are no longer your grand- daddy’s farm,” she said in a brief conversation with Weakley’s Ca- reer and Technical Education direc- tor Lindsey Parham who was noted several times throughout presen- tations as helping to pave the way for innovation in the county. “Over the years, ag has become extreme- ly technology-based and tech is go- ing to be the way to bring in a new generation of agriculture. Weakley County is in a great position with a forward-thinking CTE director who has taught the curriculum and comes as a fourth generation farm- er and with Jason Kemp who, as president of the National Associa- tion of Agricultural Educators, has traveled around the country and can bring back innovative ideas to utilize here.” Guests had a meal prepared for them that consisted of sausage from the onsite farm, biscuits and gravy from Simply Southern; breakfast potatoes prepared with items from Commissioner of Agriculture, Hatcher praised Weakley County Schools Production Farm. He said that we have some work to do but we are going to make this happen. Photo by Jonathan Holden
  • 37. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 37 Jill Magness Farms, Hidden Hill Farm, and Barefoot Garden; hy- droponically grown mixed greens salad from Blackberry Pond Farm and additional salad items from Richard Turnbow and Turnbow Family Farm; scrambled eggs from Danna Stafford; homemade jams and local honey; and fried pies from Oma’s Country Kitchen. Keisha Stafford, the cafeteria manager for DHS, supervised the presentation of the meal. Before taking home apples from Dixie Chile Ranch, they were asked to discuss how they would com- plete the sentence: I believe that a successful farm to school program includes.…” The visioning exer- cise netted several responses which were collected to inform the pro- cess. Answers included noting the financial advantages from reduced food costs, raising chickens for eggs, using hydroponics, educating stu- dents in schools on career oppor- tunities and producers on how to inform the students of those oppor- tunities and thereby grow the work- force, a potential Weakley County Ag Leadership program modeled after Weakley County Leadership, and a summer garden program. Goyret concluded the evening with an invitation for interested persons to contact the Local Food Network to learn more about be- coming a part of the planning team which is seeking a one-year com- mitment from team members. This is only one of the programs that are happening across the United States. There are lot of ways that you can help out this program as both teachers, school support staff, stu- dents, school food services, farm- ers, producers, families, and every- one else. LFN co-founder Samantha Goyret relayed that nationally, the farm to school focus ranges from taste tests in the cafeteria and nutri- tion education activities in the class- room, to farm visits and school gar- dens. You can serve a locally made snack at a daycare or preschool or make a local farm visit to show the students where food comes from. As a family you can read a book together about agriculture, cook together or simply go to a farmers’ market together. For farmers and ranchers, you can have farm tours on your farm and show the public what you grow and its value, talk to the local school nutritionist and see what your farm can offer them, also share family recipes and take pro- duce and locally grown food to your farmers’ market. School admin- istration can do in-service train- ing teachers and employees on the farm to school program, know the positive benefits of working with your hands and growing your own food, and campaign for the farm to school program. Also, the pub- lic can let everyone at the schools know how much you appreciate their efforts on the program and how you support it, participate in the school and community gardens, and talk to state and local represen- tatives about the programs and how they can support them. If we all try we can help this program greatly. The farmers, schools, businesses and local and state governments met at Dresden High School and collab- orated on how they could help out the Farm to School program. Photo by Jonathan Holden
  • 38. 38 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 THE MID-SOUTH’S EXPERTS IN THE MOST MODERN AND AFFORDABLE SECURITY MONITORING SYSTEMS! ■ Instant & convenient data backup using CD/DVD or USB drive ■ Intuitive Mouse Operation ■ Exclusive backup data player ■ Free Dynamic DNS ■ Built-in Pan/Tilt/Zoom/Focus camera protocols over 30 models. ■ Automatic Video Input and Video loss detection ■ Multiple Client Software and web-viewer for PC ■ NTP (Network Time Protocol) ■ Free Dynamic DNS PROTECT YOUR HOME, PROPERTY, FARM OR BUSINESS! WEST TENNESSEE COMMUNICATIONS 1295 HWY 51 S BYPASS - DYERSBURG, TN - 38024 731-286-6275 WWW.WETEC.COM WE SUPPORT THE DYER CO. SHERIFF FARM WATCH! YOUR HOMETOWN STORE DYER CO FERTILIZER 731-627-9335 BIG BOY JUNCTION 731-285-0202 NEWBERN 731-627-2525 TRENTON 731-885-1891 DYER 731-665-6161 MILAN 731-787-6618 Like us on Facebook at Gibson Farmers Co-op Follow us on Instagram @gibsonfarmers www.gfcoop.com
  • 39. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 39 ANTIQUES COLLECTIBLES GLASSWARE VINTAGE TOYS PRIMITIVES METAL SIGNS DUCK CALLS & DECOYS COINS & CURRENCY TOOLS OLD COMICS MILITARIA CAST IRON FURNITURE JEWELRY PETROLIANA NEWBERN SALES ON-LINE AUCTION ON FACEBOOK! • Our weekly internet auctions on our FACEBOOK page will begin on Saturdays and end on Thursday at precisely 7:00 PM. • You must join as a member of our group in order to bid. • Any bids after 6:59:59 PM will be disqualified - so bid often and early! • Each auction we will be posting a huge diversity of antiques, collect- ibles, furniture, memorabilia, decor and even high-quality, newer items of all types! • The owner of the property of each album will be identified by name and will not be allowed to bid on their own items. • You may come in and view auction items during our open hours. • There will be no deleting of bids. Anyone attempting to do so, will be removed from group. • Bidders caught blocking other bidders bids will be barred from the group. All bids are to be shown. • Items that are won at auction must be picked up on the Friday or Saturday following the auction. • Pick up time for items on Friday are 8 am to 6pm, Saturday 8am to noon. • All won auction items will be held for a maximum of two weeks. • If items are not picked up on two separate occurrences bidder will be blocked from site. • All things are sold as is - no refunds. • For now, we accept cash, personal check, certified cashier’s check and money order STORE:301 JEFFERSON ST. - NEWBERN, TN Store Hours of Operation and to preview items: Mon.-Thurs. 8 am-11 am. Live auction 6:00 pm - Fridays HIGH QUALITY NEW ITEMS ... AND MUCH, MUCH MORE! WEEKLY! NEWBERN SALES
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  • 42. 42 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 WE BUY, SELL & TRADE FOR VINTAGE: • DUCK CALLS • GOOSE CALLS • HUNTING/FISHING LICENSES • HUNTING PINS • DECOYS • DUCK BANDS • LANYARDS • BOOKS • SIGNAGE/ADVERTISING • HUNTING RELATED PICTURES FREE APPRAISALS OF YOUR COLLECTION! I WANT TO BUY YOUR DUCK CALLS!! THE UPS STORE Your one-stop office shop 710 HWY 51 BYPASS DYERSBURG, TN 38024 GREEN VILLAGE SHOPPING CENTER IN THE FIRST CITIZENS NATIONAL BANK Phone: (731)285-7474 Email: store5973@theupsstore.com www.theupsstorelocal.com/5973 • SHIPPING SERVICES • PACKAGING SERVICES • MAILBOX SERVICES • POSTAL SERVICES • BLACK & WHITE COPIES • COLOR COPIES • FAX SERVICES • OFFICE SUPPLIES If it can be shipped, mailed or copied ... We can get the job dome! If it can be shipped, mailed, or copied... we can get the job done! SEE US FOR ALL YOUR HOLIDAY SHIPPING NEEDS!
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  • 44. 44 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 STOP!WASTING YOU AD DOLLARS! ADVERTISE IN THIS MAGAZINE AND REACH OVER 47,500 READERS! YOUR AD WILL ALSO APPEAR ON OUR INTERNET MAGAZINE, WHICH CAN BE VIEWED AT SOUTHERNTRADITIONSOUTDOORS.COM AND ENJOYS 830 PLUS HITS PER DAY FOR FREE! FOR ADVERTISING INFO THAT WILL GIVE YOU MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK CONTACT ROB SOMERVILLE 731-446-8052 stomag1@gmail.com MOBILE APP v2.0 NOW AVAILABLE! TWRA ON THE GO ALL MAJOR TIRE BRANDS ALIGNMENT - EXHAUST - BRAKES - SUSPENSION OIL CHANGE - MUFFLERS - CUSTOM EXHAUSTS AIR CONDITIONING ... AND MUCH MORE! OWNERS - RANDY MORRIS & FAMILY FAMILY OWNED & OPERATED SINCE 1986! THREE CONVENIENT LOCATIONS! DYERSBURG, TN: 1960 ST. JOHN AVE. 731-285-9010 GLEASON, TN: 3747 HIGHWAY 22 731-352-2255 PARIS, TN: 210 MEMORIAL DR. 731-642-8745
  • 45. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 45 REELFOOT LAKE A SPORTSMAN’S PARADISE! FOR MORE INFORMATION ON LODgINg, FIShINg & OThER ThINgS TO DO: cONTAcT uS OR vISIT OuR wEbSITE AT 731-253-2007 - www.REELFOOTTOuRISM.cOM HUNTING FISHING BIRDINGOUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
  • 46. 46 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 The frost was heavy, that morning. The grass field shone silver in the three-quarter moon. He wondered how his hair and beard must look, shot through with frosty silver. Everything is still in black and white. He watched him come, slowly and quietly slipping through the frost-brittle grass. Still far enough away as to not cause alarm. But, worth watching. It was still a monochrome morning, better for smelling than seeing. He tasted the wind, again. To the east, just touching the edge of the sky, dawn was com- ing. It reminded him of a bowl of golden oatmeal, tilted just so the oatmeal reached the rim of the bowl. It was cold and the frost was heavy on the remain- ing leaves of the white oak, just a few yards in front of him. Once again, he tested his safety harness and rope. He lay quietly, watching and tasting the air. There was a light layer of frost on his back. His ant- lers blended with the tree behind him. It was cold in the leaves on which he lay. He watched the man. His bones ached. The sun came slowly, shifting From cover, still in monochrome, he watched the man cross the field. The leaves on which he lay were cold. His bones ached. A Single Drop of Dew By John L. Sloan
  • 47. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 47 through the trees, spotlighting branches and slowly beginning to melt the frost, turning it into sparkling diamonds of dew. A drop, one single drop, slowly made its’ way to the edge of a white oak leaf. There it hung. Like my life, thought the man. Like that single drop of dew, I hang in limbo. Too old to go back, just waiting to drop. As the sun warms the leaf, just as it warms by bones, the dew will fall. As the clock ticks by, so will I fall? He leaned back against the tree, not really hunting. Not searching for a tell-tale flick of an ear or tail. Just thinking. He is not alert. He is not hunting as he has done in past days. I could slip behind him, easy. For some time, he and I have played this game. But to- day, much as it is with me, he is just waiting. The dew moved. Not much. Another quarter-inch and it would fall. Just a single drop of dew. How close it is, he thought. Not far to go. Maybe, much as it is with me. Not far to go. But, what a journey it has been. He lightly touched the long scar on his chest, flexed his back and smiled. He slowly turned his head and licked the long scar on his side. It had been close. He low- ered his head, resting his chin on the leaves. A drop of dew fell near his nose. He swiveled an ear and tasted the wind. Once again, he looked at the man. A light breeze moved through the trees, still, the one drop of dew held on. The man tasted the wind, just touching his face, ruffling his beard. Somewhere, a murder of crows was torment- ing an owl. A raccoon with three young ones, shuffled by, on the way home from a night of raccoonery. Still, the single drop of dew, held fast. Crazy ‘coon, he thought. Should have been in the hollow tree an hour ago. The man saw the coons. Saw the drop of dew, too. Maybe he saw me…I doubt it. The three of us. From frost to dew, simply lying on a leaf. Is that what it is all about? And now, the sun began to The shafts of sun began to penetrate the leaves, turning the drops of dew into diamonds.
  • 48. 48 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 “We don’t cut corners .... we clean them” THE RED BARN ANTIQUE MALL Owners :Tami & Gerry Neese 2150 Hwy 70 East - Jackson, TN. 38305 731-444-0058 731-240-1368 gerryneese@gmail.com NEW NEW top the trees. It warmed his face and then his toes. I could have shot, he thought. I know he knows I am here, just as I know he is here. But why shoot? Soon enough, the dew will drop and the journey will be over for the three of us. A man, a deer and a single drop of dew. The story of life. He once again, lowered his head to the leaves…and closed his eyes. He heard it fall… The single drop of dew. The man dozed in the sun. Ground fog began to rise and out in the field, near a single dew-laden tree, a young, lone buck, accompanied by two tur- keys, tasted a single drop of dew. Out in the field, near the dew-laden tree, a young, lone buck tasted a single drop of dew.
  • 49. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 49 WILKERSON’S TAXIDERMY FROM A “MOUSE TO A MOOSE” AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN! TRUST WILKERSON’S TAXIDERMY AND THEIR 30-PLUS YEARS IN ALL PHASES OF TAXIDERMY! STATE, NATIONAL & WORLD AWARD WINNING TAXIDERMISTS! 1529 Morgan Rd - Dyersburg, TN 731-286-0853 AlBradshaw 1960-1999 421 W. COURT ST. DYERSBURG, TENNESSEE 731-285-5767 sam@bradshaw4insurance.com Sam Bradshaw Contact information:
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  • 51. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 51 While you’re hunting or fishing on Reelfoot Lake, stop by and see Johanna and her crew for a quick, delicious meal. Or, beat the heat with their “World Famous” ice cream. Dine-in or eat outside on their Patio!! Home Owned and operated 731-253-6311 HWY 78 - Tiptonville Less than 5 min from Reelfoot Lake “Something Different” our hospitable LICENSED INSURED OWNER CODY WALKER 731-676-4796 Katelyn Pharmacy Tech Crystal - Pharmacy Tech / DME Kim CPhT Ginger CPhT Heather Sales Associate Christen Sales Associate Chasity CPhT Sydney CPhT Tiffany CPhT Emily CPhT Brandy Pharmacy Tech Sales Associate Jerry Delivery Driver Jamie Bookkeeper Kalli-Rae Sales Associate Hillary CPhT Carolyn Sales Associate Krissie CPhT Here are two simple ways of telling us what you need and we will take care of the rest. 1. Call us at 285-0844. 2. Come by and see us at our new location at 2490 Parr Ave., Lewis Creek Place. Have you been wondering how to join the C&C family? • FAST FRIENDLY ONE-ON-ONE SERVICE FROM LOCAL PHARMACISTS (being locally owned means we support Dyer County not a BIG pharmacy chain) • ACCEPTANCE OF OVER 3,000 PRESCRIPTION PLANS (including the new State Employee Prescription Plan- Caremark) (your co-payment will stay the same) • LOW PRICES ON ALL PHARMACY NEEDS (we will match all competitors generic plans or programs) • MOST CONVENIENT LOCATION IN TOWN (with drive-thru and handicap accessibility) • FREE DELIVERY ANYWHERE IN CITY LIMITS (delivery also available countywide for small fee) • MEDICARE BILLING (for all your diabetic & durable medical equipment needs) • IMMUNIZATIONS (flu, shingles, school, job & travel vaccinations) • PROFESSIONAL COMPOUNDING PRESCRIPTION SERVICES (for more information, visit dyersburgfyi.com/cande) SERVICES TO LOOK FORWARD TO!! Dr. Mark Brooks PHARMACIST/OWNER Dr. Emily Crum PHARMACIST/OWNER Dr. Kevin Cook PHARMACIST/OWNER
  • 52. 52 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 201952 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 Robert “Doc” Jackson with a big Pickwick smallie! Here is young hunter Alex Dye once more, with his1st deer ever that he shot on Oct 27,th 2019 againwhile hunting with his Papaw. Photo submitted by Terry Wilkerson Lynn Parker caught these nice, slab crappie at Lake Enid, Mississippi recently. Alex Dye harvested his first turkey ever – with a little help from his Papaw, last April. Photo submitted byTerry Wilkerson
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  • 55. NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55 OUR EXPERIENCED STAFF IS HERE TO FILL YOUR EVERY NEED DAY OR NIGHT! DYERSBURG ELEVATOR COMPANY 300 PRESSLER RD - DYERSBURG, TN - 38024 731-287-7272 SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2019 | SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS 55
  • 56. 56 SOUTHERN TRADITIONS OUTDOORS | NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2019 We're Married toFarming www.FirstCNB.com We're Married toFarming www.FirstCNB.com We're Married toFarming www.FirstCNB.com