Close Encounters

In looking back on my outdoor adventures of the past year, one thing that stands out to me is the number of close encounters with creation that I was able to experience. I think back to early in the year crow hunting, and how several 'kamikaze' crows tried to get in the blind with my dad and me before we ended their raid within a few yards of our setup. I vividly recall one morning in the turkey woods a couple months later where 10 or more gobblers were sounding off all around my buddy and me at first light, and two strutters wound up coming in within ten yards of us. Even after smoking one of them, the other continued to stay right there by us, gobbling, strutting and stomping on his expired companion. I would be remiss if I failed to mention being just across the transom from white marlin that had just been tussled to the side of the Jesus Freak. And on those same offshore ventures videotaping bottlenose dolphins within feet of me on the bow as they showed off for the camera and even blew water up in my face! And then this fall, when that mature eight-pointer came into my setup at close range and I was able to keep my wits about me long enough to put him down. I'm not sure I can top how close I have been able to get to some of God's most awesome creations!

Psalm 145:18 (NASB)
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

I must say - the trip to the Eastern Shore certainly did not disappoint. As you may recall from last week's insight, I mentioned that my three lofty goals were to catch a cobia, catch a gator trout and catch a bull redfish. On the first day of the trip, we were blessed with sunny skies and a smooth Bay. We spotted seven cobia and the captain managed to cast to and hook one, then promptly handed me the rod to fight and land the 42" brute. On day two, some of us fished the skinny water on the bayside, and around midday, I hooked and landed a gator speckled trout, which was a mere three ounces away from a citation. Day three wound up being the slowest day of fishing, but I did manage to catch a couple of nice redfish on light tackle towards the end of the day. And to top off the trip, the owner of the lodge allowed us to stay an extra evening, which offered us an opportunity to spend one more day on the Shore. On day four, we tried a different bayside creek, and almost immediately started catching nice redfish on light tackle which averaged around 5 pounds and 22 inches. After trying a few other spots in the creek, we went back to the first spot we fished, and continued to catch the hard-fighting reds. The three of us probably landed 25 of them in a half day's fishing, a memorable ending to an incredible trip.

Romans 3:23 (NASB
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.