The Coyote Countdown

First, let me say that I love coyotes, I think they’re easily one of the most beautiful animals in this world. One of my favorite blogs of all time is The Daily Coyote, the story of Charlie a wild-born orphan coyote that was cared for by a local farmer and raised alongside her cat and other farm animals.

3. Encounter with a hungry wild coyote in BC

The story of Charlie is very heartwarming, but make no mistake that Coyote are dangerous animals. If you don’t believe me watch this video below of a guy working in at a remote post in British Columbia who has a very close encounter with a wild and hungry coyote. He’s really lucky there was only one.

2. Coyotes roam the streets of Chicago

As dangerous as they can be, coyotes are mostly nocturnal and prefer to avoid human contact, and apparently can be quite useful. City officials in my home town of Chicago have even released several (radio tracked) wild coyotes to deal with the rabbit and rat population- and occasionally cull subs at Quiznos.

1. Topwater Coyote action

Bruce Chandler also had his own close encounter with a wild coyote, but unlike any story you’ve ever heard, or will hear for that matter. Chandler was fishing in a bass tournament on the Mississippi river, casting a bit phat frog in to the thick stuff looking big bucket mouths. But you’d never believe what he caught if he didn’t snap this photo. As quick and shocking as a bolt of lightning, a coyote sprang from the tall grass along the shore, into the water, and bit down hard on Chandler’s frog.

After pulling his boat out to deeper water with the trolling motor Chandler sent the photo to a friend also fishing the tournament asking for help. If it weren’t for the photo, I don’t think his friend would have sacrificed any tournament time to chase what most would think was a hoax. Luckily the hook came out easily with the help of some really long pliers, both the coyote and the lure were freed, and both men returned to the tournament.

Name That Fish! Win A Beer Koozie From Manitou Boats

It’s been probably 20 years since I caught one of these fish and it could be another 20 till I catch another. This fish makes it’s home in the Mississippi River and it’s tributaries, can weigh up to six pounds, and fights like a champ! Manitou Pontoon Boats has graciously donated the prize for this contest, a sweet beer koozie.

Manitou Boats is an industry leader in the manufacture of leisure, luxury and performance pontoon boats. They have received numerous awards over the last 22 years including seven straight CSI awards for customer satisfaction, and being ranked the highest in customer satisfaction for pontoon boats in 2008 by JD Power and Associates. Manitou Pontoon Boats are made to match ever boaters needs from the casual family to the performance driven enthusiast, the speed and handling of their V-Toon technology is unparalleled.

World Record Blue Catfish

Recently a massive 79 pound (35.8 kg) blue catfish was caught by Jayson Zerda of Unadilla, New York, setting a new Maryland state record. This amazing catch beat the old state record by more than ten pounds!

The fish was 49.5 inches long with a girth of 38 inches.

As impressive as Mr. Zerdas record catfish looks, its not even remotely close to the current world record blue catfish – just have a look at this!

Caught by Tim Pruitt, this world record blue catfish weighed 124 pounds (56.2 kg) and was caught on May 22 2005 near Alton, Illinois in the Mississippi River.

The fish measured a staggering 58 inches in length and was 44 inches around! Just last month an even larger blue cat was caught, weighing 130 pounds. It is currently under review by the IGFA and may take the world record title from Tim Pruitt.

Caught by Greg Bernal, of Florissant, Missouri – July 20 2010.

Continue reading “World Record Blue Catfish”…