Moving to L.A. by Rob Robinson

Well the move of Robinson Outdoors to L.A. is complete. No I haven’t lost my mind and gone to Los Angeles. That is L.A. as in lower Alabama. My paying gig has caused me to move to Hartford Al., a small agricultural town outside Dothan. I now live where over one half of the world’s peanuts are grown. The good news is hunting and fishing here isn’t something people do for recreation, it is more of a responsibility.

I am enjoying exploring new woods and waters of Alabama and learning new techniques and traditions. The deer population is healthy and doves are abundant. I have only had one chance to get the boat out before it went into the shop for major surgery but she is recovering and should be out by the weekend with the writing of a large check.

On the only trip we went to the Chattahoochee River which creates the border between Alabama and Georgia. It is a deep river averaging over 20 feet. There are a series of locks and dams to control water flow and make it navigable. We caught a variety of species from largemouth bass to brim and even a channel cat. Next summer I plan on getting out on the river to target some of the monster blue cats that push the one hundred pound mark. But now it is hunting season.

With next Saturday being the first day for deer season that is all anyone can focus on. I have seen trail cam pictures of some monster racks and am looking forward to chasing them. I haven’t done any real deer hunting since leaving Pennsylvania. We did take part in dove shoot that was less than spectacular. It is hard to shoot doves in 50 MPH winds. They just don’t fly. But we still have two phases of the season to go and none of the Northern birds have shown up yet. I hope to have many reports in the coming weeks.

Wrapping up some loose ends from sunny Florida. Alligator season was a success we managed a respectable 9 footer. Our first experience with Alligator hunting was very educational. We hunted for 2 nights with numerous opportunities before refining our skills. Hunting at night really levels the playing field and in Florida it is not permitted to set out baited lines as you might have seen on the History Channel in Louisiana. You can either shoot the gator with a bow and pull him in or snag them with a snatch hook and then use a bang stick. A bang stick is a 5 to 6 foot metal rod with a shell in the end that when you bang it down on the back of the gators head fires. We were able to snag the gator using a surf rod and a large treble hook and after a battle pull it alongside the boat and harvest him. All in all a once in a lifetime experience.

I hope everyone is finding plenty of time to get this fall and enjoy the beauty of the outdoors. It is the eclipse of hunting and fishing at no other time of the year are some great times available to be had. Share your passion for the outdoors to protect our resource.