Garmin & Tri-Tronics, took you long enough.

August 2, 2012

When I saw Garmin and Tri-Tronics get together last year, my first thought was, "They are going to make an awesome tracking e-collar." For those of you who don't know, Garmin is a leader in the field of GPS and location devices, and Tri-Tronics is, in my opinion, the best ecollar manufacturer around.

For years people have used the tracking devices with bulky antennas that look like the old TV antennas dad would make you crawl on the roof to move around until he could catch the Cowboys game on Sunday afternoon. They are a bit cumbersome and have a limited range.

A few years ago, Garmin came out with the Astro. It started as a harness antenna, then to a collar antenna that transmitted to a handheld GPS. You could literally tell when your dog was running, stopped, how much distance was traveled, and at what speed he covered the distance. This was amazing to me, but they all had a problem. Both with the older style tracking collars and the new Astro, your dog was going to have about 3 collars around his neck.

3 collars are a little bulky for small dogs.

With the heat in Texas, I like to run smaller, 40-50 pound dogs. Big labs and pointers, while they may be perfectly suited for the duck blind or the snow banks of South Dakota, tend to break down in the heat a lot quicker. When you have an everyday collar, ecollar, and tracking collar on a 40 pound dog, their neck starts to get a little busy.

Ladies and Gents, may I introduce the Garmin/Tri-Tronics Alpha.

I hope this unit lives up to the hype I'm giving it, and I hope somehow I can someday afford one. The unit comes with thousands of U.S. topo maps already downloaded on an easy to use (looks like to me) touch screen. The stimulation controls for the ecollar are the 3 buttons across the top. You can add up to 20 collars to the unit (what for, I don't know), and you can adjust the update frequency to allow for longer battery life. This is basically like the iPhone 5 for the upland bird hunter.

With this new technology, also comes the iPhone like price. About $800 for the collar and transmitter, and $300 for each additional collar. Looks like I'm going to need to put in a little overtime for this new toy... Or I'm open to field testing or sponsorship, Garmin? Tri-Tronics? Just throwing it out there.

I look forward to hearing some first-hand reviews on this product. According to their website, there is a 3-5 week wait for processing, so it sounds like a lot of other people are excited about this also. Now I'm off to see what I can sell on ebay to afford this thing. Hunting season will be here before you know it. Until next time...

Happy Hunting,

Weekend at Matagorda

June 8-10, 2012

Matagorda, Texas

     Several months ago, my father-in-law decided we needed to take a fishing trip down to the coast. This sounded great to me; catching fish in the bay is about my favorite kind of fishing. So with a couple phone calls, we had a house rented and a fishing trip booked with a friend of mine through his guide service in Matagorda.

     Gus (father-in-law), Michael (brother-in-law), Adam (cousin-in-law ??) and I all got down to the house Friday afternoon and unpacked the trucks for the exciting weekend to come. We met our landlord, who is an older (crazy) gentleman who has befriended the local wild hog population across the river from the house. He hurt his back diving the rigs offshore that morning, so we helped him haul his water and corn over to them.



     For supper, we headed to Fireman's Hall where they were having a crawfish boil to kick off the Texas Trio Tournament taking place Saturday. After eating, we drove down to look at the surf and pulled in to 3 Mile Cut to explore a little bit. There was quite an interesting car sitting in the cut.



     After looking over the scene of the crime, we headed back to the house for a little night fishing off the dock. The action was a tad slow, but I did manage to catch a few of these little fellas.

     On Saturday morning, we had a big taco breakfast (the Gus Special) and headed to the water. The surf looked a little dirty, so we pulled into 3 Mile Cut and unloaded for a wade. The fish big enough to put on a stringer decided they did not like shrimp that morning, so we drove back to the house for a nap.

     Saturday evening, we went back to the water with a new game plan. Michael and I got on a few fish. Only 2 trout were big enough for the stringer, but it was fun to catch the rat reds and Michael specials (hardheads). We watched the sun go down over East Bay and went back to prepare for our trip in the morning.

   Sunday morning we woke up bright and early and headed down to the dock. Our guide, Nick, picked us up and we started the 30 minute boat ride to West Matagorda Bay. Nick had fished a tournament Saturday and had found quite a few fish in the spots he was taking us. Well.... the fish decided to leave. We fished pretty hard all day long with not a lot to show for it. But I guess that's why they call it fishing and not catching. We did get enough fish for all of us to take a bag of filets home, though.

Gus with a 26" red.

The day's haul

     It was a great weekend had by all. We have a couple family beach trips planned this summer, so hopefully I can get on a few more fish. Until next time...

Happy Hunting,







Sawyer's College Fund

May 12, 2012

Yoakum, Texas

With all the recent rains, Sawyer's college fund is looking pretty good.

Happy Hunting,

Wild Game Dinner 2012

April 14, 2012


Dripping Springs, Texas

We have just completed the third annual Wild Game Dinner that my father-in-law hosts. The event gives everyone a chance to clean out their freezers and try a few new recipes, while enjoying the company of close friends and family. This year the Good Lord decided to bless us with 30 mile per hour winds that successfully kept us cool but definately made keeping fires and pits at the correct temperature for cooking somewhat of a task.

Tara, Sawyer and I arrived at her parents a little after 8:00 Friday evening, and we began preparing the feast for Saturday. The backstrap "crown", the whole pig and a new item to the menu this year, the "fattie" were prepped.

The Venison Backstrap "Crown"

Whole Pig

Beginning the "Fattie"

Ready for the Grill

We made two "Fatties". The first we made with venison/pork pan sausage and assorted vegetables. The other had an Italian spin with marinara sauce, mushrooms and spinach.

Original Fattie

Italian Fattie

We lit the fire around midnight to get the coals going for the pig. Dealing with wind and trying to get the pit to the desired temperature took a little longer than anticipated, and we finally put the pig on at 2:00 AM.

After some much needed sleep, it was time to put a few more logs on the pit with the hog and start the Crown.

5 1/2 hours on the heat

As the day progressed, we cooked the Fatties and quail.

Time to eat!!!!

Quail

The Crown

The pig

Original Fattie

Italian Fattie

There were several other dishes I did not get pictures of including chukar and fried venison backstrap.

Hard at work.

Lori Darlin' sneaking snacks

This event is the once a year time that Tara wears a camo shirt. This was also Sawyer's first time to wear her camo.

After a long night and day of cooking and eating, everyone was full and worn out... Even the dogs.

Now it is time to start restocking the fridge for next year.

Happy Hunting,



Last Quail Hunt of the Year

March 11-12, 2012

Inflight Outfitters, Lake Mathis, Texas

We wrapped up the 2011-2012 quail season with a Sunday afternoon and Monday morning hunt. Sunday afternoon started out a little warm, but the dogs worked well as we battled through the sweat in our eyes. After a great dinner and early morning breakfast, we were back in the field again. The fog lifted around 9:00, and we had another enjoyable hunt.

Thats another great season in the books, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Happy Hunting,