I try not to write much about myself. After all, I’m just an old outdoors writer and broadcaster with a passion for writing and, more importantly, spending time in the woods, fields hunting or on the water fishing. Through the years, I’ve had favorite writers that I read on a regular basis.
It’s human nature for a reader to wonder what makes his or her favorite writer ‘tick’. I’m sure many of you have been reading this corner of this fine publication for quite some time, I’ve been here a long time and I thoroughly enjoy coming to you via the written word each week. Hopefully, some of the experiences and people I meet and write about will help provide you with helpful information and cause you to reflect upon outings you have enjoyed.
Now, about Ole’ Luke! If you ran into me while fishing out on the lake and didn’t recognize me from my mug shot, you’d probably think “Heck! I’m catching more fish that that old boy, but he seems to be enjoying himself, even though he’s obviously not the best fisherman!” Should you walk into one of my hunting camps or into a hunting lodge with a big fire going in the fireplace and see me warming up from a cold stand in the woods, you’d never know the unassuming old guy setting by the fire was me and, I’d probably never tell you that I make my living writing about the outdoors. If I did, I’d be afraid you might ask me something about hunting of fishing that I could not answer! In truth, I’m not the most technical of guys; I couldn’t tell you where the sear is on a shotgun’s trigger any more than I would know how to repair a hole in a fiberglass boat. I’d rather set there by the fire with you and listen to YOUR stories. I’ve know few outdoor writers that I considered ‘good’ that weren’t great listeners.
The late Bob Hood, a veteran outdoors writer from Texas that was outdoors editor for the Fort Worth Star Telegram for over 40 years is one of the best listeners… and outdoor writers that I’ve known. Bob and I were great friends and we’ve hunted and fished together on many occasions through the years. I’ve watched Bob ‘interview’ pro anglers and guides in a manner that was very relaxed. He gleans the information he needed for his article through casual conservation and he has excellent recall. If, a few years ago, you walked up on Bob and I at deer camp, you’d probably find a couple of old guys that share your love for just being ‘out there’, enjoying the simple life. It just so happens we earn out living writing about the outdoors.
Before you begin to get the idea that I’m a greenhorn Nimrod, I better set the facts straight. You need to know that I have some knowledge to pass along! I’ve been tramping the fields and wood for 65 years now, (I just turned seventy five) and could tell you story after story about my adventures in the outdoors through the years. I’ve bass fished in Japan, hunted the Rockies for elk deer, caught northern pike and Arctic Grayling from wild remote waters near the Northwest Territories where the fish have never seen a hook, shot upland birds and waterfowl up on the Canadian border and, went south of the border in quest of game and fish. When it comes to spending time in the outdoors, I’ve been around!
I love bow hunting and I’m a pretty good bow hunter and do much of my hunting from the ground. To be good at anything, whether it be writing or shooting a bow, one has to be actively involved and I shoot a bow, just as I write, on an almost daily basis. As a full time outdoors writer, I write about myriad topics and in order to write from an authoritative prospective, I need to be out there ‘doing it’. Sometimes ‘doing it’ equates to hunting with a muzzleloader, big bore air rifle or hunting hogs at night, trying out a new thermal scope.
I might be learning a new catfish catching technique from a pro or hunting with a predator pro and learning new tricks to call coyotes in close. Regardless, it’s a pretty good bet that I was ‘out there’ actually doing what I’m writing about. I can quickly pick out a writer that is simply relating details from one that is personally knowledgeable on a given topic.
I’m really no different that you (assuming you love the outdoors)! I have a tenacity to stretch the truth about the size of that bass or catfish that broke off or the B & C score of that buck that walked by my bow stand last fall with affording that standing broadside shot that I need. My son kids me every time I hold up my outstretched arms, showing the length of the last bass or crappie I landed. I’ve got long arms and he says the dimensions I span more closely depict the length of an adult tiger shark than a keeper crappie!
So, should we cross paths at the boat ramp out a hunting lodge, try not to expect too much from me. Please don’t ask technical questions about parallax of rifle scopes or the best way to install a new impeller on your outboard engine. But, if you want to talk about patterning wild hogs or possibly bow hunting elk, I’m your man. Get me off to the side of the campfire and I’ll talk your ears off about how to bait a hole for channel catfish or tighten those groups with your hunting bow. But, put me in front of a crowd and my reclusive nature comes to light. I’ve found most outdoors writers, when I finally met them face to face, to be pretty quiet, introspective folks. Keep in mind the fact that we are accustomed to spending a lot of ‘quiet’ time in the great outdoors or, back at the desk hammering out our next article. Don’t expect the majority of us to enjoy being in the limelight, after all, we’re WRITERS who accomplish our work from quiet places, rather than in a setting with bright lights in our faces!
I sincerely hope you will continue to read about the outdoors in this space my editors provide. I promise to continue to ‘keep it real’ and write only about topics that you and I can relate to. When I hit on a new outdoor endeavor in which we both are learning, I’ll make it a point to let you know the tips are from a bonified pro. When I’m writing about a facet of the outdoor life that I feel well qualified to share with you, well, I hope you will be able to know through my writing that I have truly been ‘out there’!
Listen to “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and Friends” whereevery you get your podcasts or online at www.catfishradio.org
