Outdoors column: Working on the water original open office plan
The men pulled into the landing’s parking lot in a big, sweeping half circle, piled out of the truck and stepped quickly to their pre-launch tasks.
Sports column: Is Ole Miss this good? Are Mississippi State, Southern Miss this bad?
After 13 hours of watching college football last Saturday – and enduring seemingly 21,989 TV timeouts – this bleary-eyed correspondent is left with more questions than answers.
Office Hours: Are we having fun yet?
I owe you an apology. Last week in this space, I wrote that the Bulldogs, fresh off a disheartening loss to Arizona State in Tempe,
Outdoors Feature: Predator pursuit: Duke family legacy continues mission
Selling traps and buying fur have been a mission for Bill Duke’s family since the 1930s. Their operation on Brame Avenue continues right here today. As they approach a hundred years in business, the opportunity to help wild turkey populations by managing nest predator populations has come to the forefront of the job.
Outdoor Column: Echoes still ringing through the hallways of time
We walked into the wind as we crossed atop a small hill, passing an old house place someone had once worked hard to make, likely scraped and saved to keep, been proud of and called home. Nature had reclaimed most of it and no walls remained by then, though the foundation was still there. Like some memories, old foundations can be a long time fading.
Outdoors Column: Boats laid by for winter recall summers long gone
The lines had been taken up from the big waters, returned to the foam boxes that held their hooks in order row by row for a season yet to come.
Outdoors Column: Unique occasion lives forever in deepest memory
They sat around the perimeter of the pontoon boat and fished from lawn chairs, laughing at old stories, at old memories and at themselves.
Outdoors Feature: Deep and wide: Bass seek cool, dark waters everywhere
When summer’s temperatures go high, largemouth bass go low. Whether you’re working the wide, open waters of Tennessee River impoundments or fishing local lakes and ponds, it’s a safe bet the big bass will be as deep as they can get throughout the majority of the day.
She was Caitlin Clark 74 years ago. Now, Dot Burrow is a Hall of Famer
In Mississippi, Dot Ford Burrow was Caitlin Clark a half century before Caitlin Clark was born, scoring 50 points per game back in 1950 for tiny Smithville High School in Monroe County.
Outdoors Feature: Foil packs furnish foolproof campfire fun
For the end of the day, the end of the trail, or simply the end of an evening outdoors, campfire cooking has never been more simple or satisfying than that achieved by cooking directly on the glowing coals of a hardwood fire.
Outdoors Column: Bugs illuminate life’s true moments on summer nights
We walked quietly through the dark, over moss and freshly-mown grass, beneath low limbs that cast shadows, still, in the glow of the moon. We traipsed through neighbors’ yards, over culverts, below hillsides, careful among landscaping that wasn’t ours.
Outdoors Feature: Rough waters: Outdoors time can be safe if boaters are sober
Inattention and ignorance are a deadly combination on the water, and not only for those in the offending boat. Enthusiasts taking to the water, next week especially, should be on their very best defensive driving behavior. That means choosing a designated sober captain.
Outdoor Column: Calm collection manages most mayhem afloat
The Old Man lifted his feet as the boat settled to a stop and the water inside the hull sloshed forward.
Outdoors Column: Common sense often not a common commodity
Every summer, photos and videos surface of tourists in Yellowstone National Park standing within mere feet of adult bison. The lack of common sense here is astonishing. If nothing else, these folks never fished any pasture ponds like I did when I was growing up.
Outdoors Feature: Smooth draw: Saltillo archery program continues dominance, goes national
The coach of Saltillo High School’s archery team and leader of the program knows keeping high expectations high is just part of the job. He and the team keep winning, largely because they enjoy their time with each other and thrive on all the things that go with the competitions along the way.
Outdoors Feature: Big, plenty fish flow from smaller waters
Small lakes and ponds handy to home are a great way for kids to get access to fishing, and they can be excellent teaching instruments as well.
Outdoors Column: Unexpected needs answered from depth of lake memories
The paddle I used to push us off the riprap was the color of driftwood, toasted silver by the sun. The custom notch whittled into the blade for lifting deep trotlines was worn smooth at its corners.
Outdoors Column: Some, including channel catfish, like it very hot
Sunshine burning into placid brown water, so strong evaporation was almost visible, marked the term of trotline time with the Old Men. It left lessons in stillness that will never go away.
Outdoors Feature: Knot too tough: Well-tied tackle key to success
Among the basic skills necessary for competence on the water, knot-tying may remain the most elusive, but the skill to tie just two while working from memory may be all most need for a long, happy life of fishing.
Office Hours: You don’t need a law degree to be a college sports fan, but it certainly helps
Lately, it’s become difficult to keep up with the changes in college sports. From the transfer portal, to name, image and likeness potential, to conference