Pamela Bautz, Outdoor Writer

What I love about Sundays: Early morning coffee and conversation with my kids. Reading a book before doing any chores. Cooking a finger licking good meal we can all sit and share. The moment I can change out of my Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes so I can play outside. I’m a big kid at heart and every […]

A friend of mine and I have two things we are total opposites about: weather and hobby sports. I, being a fisherman, love the warm weather and water. He, being a hunter, loves the cold and woods. We often jab at each other about the skills required to participate in each other’s hobby and we […]

“A sailboat in the moonlight and you. Wouldn’t that be heaven? A heaven just for two.” From the first time I heard Billie Holiday’s raspy voice sing these words, I have always wanted to do a moonlit water outing. But back then in college, we could only rent a canoe to take down the bayou […]

For as long as I can remember shopping for holiday items, I’ve noticed fishing gear for kids appears on the store shelves in time for Easter. Shortly after, you can see a wider variety of tackle and gear arriving on the shelves, but between Memorial Day and Father’s Day, stores will have full displays of […]

BELLVILLE — Math has never been a favorite subject of mine and in fact I might have eaten peas (which I hate with a great passion) when I was in college if it would have allowed me to skip all necessary math classes. But since that wasn’t a viable option, I decided somehow that taking […]

Last weekend, as we were launching the boat for the maiden voyage of 2022, the smell of campfire drifted across the water at Charles Mill Lake and a big smile spread across my face. The start of sun-filled days and campfire nights has arrived. Camping for many is a way of life, much like those […]

May has arrived and so have the morel mushrooms. Here in Ohio, these edible (and delectable) spores are pure treasure to Ohioans. A highly sought after commodity, the morel mushroom has an extremely large and diverse fan base, made up of hunters, culinary experts, business enthusiasts and the average individual who has sunk their teeth […]

DEERSVILLE — Easter sunrise along the winding banks of Clendening Lake near Deersville provided the first early morning fishing of the year. It was just us, the lake and all of nature’s beauty. This has become a tradition for us. There is no significance to it, but our love of it. Although, if I were […]