By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Jim Dicken, owner of Fishing Guides Home Page and editor of Fishing.com sent us this video of him hauling in a near-15-pounder.

He writes: “I was fishing with a #4 Mepps--actually not a #5 [mentioned in the video]. I tied on the smaller version by mistake. I was trying to get a muskie on film only to hear the guide say ‘big ole walleye.’ My idea of big is 7 or 8 pounds. I was NOT prepared for the size of this fish.”

Thanks, Jim. Great catch.

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

When we last asked you this question, Thompson had just declared his candidacy on Leno. There’s been a lot of buzz--both pro and con--about him since. Here’s some of the latest:

First some pro, from The Washington Times:

While the NRA waited until October in each of the past two presidential election years before endorsing a candidate, the group plans to take a more high-profile role early in the 2008 Republican nomination process.

Former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who earned an "A" rating from the NRA during his time in the Senate, was the group's favorite.

And here, in the interest of balance, is some scathing con, from Rolling Stone: (Be warned that the full text contains profanity.)

[Thompson’s] campaign is basically a referendum on what America wants out of its president. Do we want an executive who solves problems. . . . Or do we want a lead actor to star in a television show about a fantasy America . . . where poverty and war and insecurity can be solved simply by keeping them off camera?

The people who are buying this fantasy are buying out of fear, because they can't bear to look anymore. They've simply given up trying to deal. If Thompson wins -- and he very well might -- that's what it'll be: total surrender. The lowest we've ever sunk.

Check out both stories in full and tell us your reaction.

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

If you think your right to hunt is iron clad or written in stone, you should talk to New Jersey bear hunters, whose season was infamously shot down by politicians. Now, a pair of anti-hunting legislators are taking aim at all outdoorsmen—and potentially providing a model by which other states could move to effectively ban hunting and fishing.

From the Asbury Park Press:

Instituting a law to prohibit fishing would be unimaginable only a generation ago. Fishing is so intertwined in New Jersey's recreational and economic past and present that it is hard to imagine living without it. Sadly, Monmouth County politicians may outlaw this essential part of our outdoor heritage.

Legislative bills A-3275 and S-2041 have been introduced by Assemblyman Michael Panter and Sen. Ellen Karcher, both D-Monmouth. These bills will eliminate freshwater fishing, hunting and trapping in New Jersey. It will be achieved by changing the structure of the Fish and Game Council.

Check out the full article and tell us your reaction.

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Rocky Mountain National Park rangers are giving new meaning to “No Dumping,” as they encourage visitors to carry out everything they carry in—and we’re talking everything. What you might otherwise deposit and leave under a rock (with several squares of toilet paper), you are now asked to tote home. More bluntly, rangers want you to bag that B.M. And for your convenience, they’re providing the bag. Read all about it here.