Outdoor extras, including a freaky fishing lure

Posted on: January 2, 2019 | Bob Frye | Comments

You want outdoor extras? We’ve got outdoor extras…

Lure of the week

Lure name: Freak

Company: Phantom Lures (www.phantomlures.com)

The Freak is a new fishing lure.

The Freak

Lure type: Topwater

Sizes and colors: Available in an 8-inch, 3-ounce model in seven colors: sucker, firetiger, frog, Canadian crush, black, black/orange and hot whitefish.

Target species: Muskie and northern pike.

Technique: These are meant to be trolled, either fast or slow. They work the same at any speed: the blades, near the lure’s “hips,” churn much like the blades on an outboard motor, creating lots of surface commotion. The front hook periodically — and by design – contacts the blades to give off more sound and energy. The body is two pieces of resin joined by heavy wire. Fish the Freak near weed bed edges, around timber and over submerged points.

Sugg. retail price: $28.99.

Notable: The agitation created by the Freak’s blades not enough for you? This lure offers something else. Each has an E-chip near the rear hook. It’s a microchip said to mimic the voltage discharged by the nervous system in live bait. That’s supposed to make it easier for predators to find the lure. Best of all, the E-chip never needs batteries or charging.

Tip of the week

Want to attract more kinds of birds to your backyard feeder this winter? Offer variety. Not just in terms of the food you provide either. Different birds feed in different ways, so cater to their preferences. Forest birds – chickadees, titmice, finches and woodpeckers, for example – are used to clinging to limbs as they eat, so set out tube and wooden feeders for them. Scatter seed on the ground, too, though, and you’ll also bring in juncos, sparrows and towhees. Cardinals, bluejays and the like will use both.

Recipe of the week

Crockpot venison

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds venison stew meat
  • ½ cup onions, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Here’s a super simple recipe that tastes so good it seems it should be harder to make.

Cut the meat into 1-inch cubes and brown it lightly in a skillet with butter. Next, put the celery and onions into the crock. Cover with the meat, then add the other ingredients.

Cover and cook 12 hours on a low setting, 4 to 6 hours on high. Stir occasionally.

When it’s all done, serve over rice.

 

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Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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