The time is at hand, once again, where thousands of people from all over the world gather together, working separately, to complete a feat not often undertaken by the faint of heart. That feat is called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. Those of us crazy enough to undertake this unique challenge pledge to do our level best to write 50,000 words of a first draft of a novel in November. 30 days. 50,000 words. It sounds like a lot. And it is! But for those of us who love the written word, we are happy to give it a try, and to write the worst strings of words we may ever see hit the “page.”

The thing with NaNo, which is the shortened version of what we call our challenge, is to get a writer to write every day. It is also to shut off the “internal editor,” who will always be the doubter. The one to say our writing will never be good enough. The one who, really, stops us from writing junk that we can later turn into gold.

You cannot write gold before you write junk. You just can’t. We all get that, but we all doubt ourselves as we stare at a blank Word document, or as we open to the first page of a “really cool” notebook we bought specifically because we have an idea we want to get down on paper. But, largely, that idea never gets written. We never feel “good enough.” We never feel that we are “important enough” that anyone will want to read our work.

Here’s the great thing about fiction, though: We do not have to be “good enough” or “interesting enough” or “important enough.” We need to leave that to our characters. Let them be important or interesting or “good enough!” That is their job.

Okay, part of our job is to craft those characters. But that is not going to happen in a character sketch. That is not going to happen in the first character interview we conduct with our protagonist (that’s the good guy). It will also be hard for us to want to get to know our antagonist (the bad guy) enough to write about him or her. But we need to get to know them, so we know why people may actually feel sorry for them. We need to know why and when, long before our story started, readers should care about them.

The good news? We get to keep writing about our characters until they prove themselves worthy of our time. They need to prove themselves to us. As authors, we are in the background. Sure. We need to tell the story, but it up to our characters to shoulder the big weight. They need to make people care about them and what they go through in our novel, right?

I hope this idea might get just one more person to get involved in NaNo this year. Or to support a writer who undertakes the challenge. I know this is an aside from where I normally go with my blog, but it’s also something about which I am passionate. I believe everyone has a story. I also believe all of those stories deserve to be told! If you would like to get involved, check it out on the National Novel Writing Month website: nanowrimo.org

Not only do I love the outdoors, but I have a deep love of books that started even before I could read myself. I remember memorizing a book before I could read, and I would “read” that book to anyone who would listen.

Being an outdoor reporter has a bunch of perks. One of them is access to local authors’ books. I have been lucky enough to have many authors within the state send me a copy of their book, which I gladly read and reviewed in my column in the newspaper. I will always read local authors whenever possible and enjoy buying their books and attending book signings.

When I first saw the title of this book, “Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned from 60 Years of Gardening,” I immediately felt like I was about to get my grandma or grandpa back again. The book is by Jerry Apps with photography by Steve Apps and recipes by Ruth Apps. While I have never met the author, the lessons he was willing to share in the book made me feel as if I knew at least a part of him.

For one thing, there is something about reading a local author, or even one who writes about things close to home. It just makes it that much more personal and fun, at least for me. I would always recommend, for those looking for a good read, the Wisconsin Historical Society Press, It is one of the greatest places I have ever found to immerse oneself in an adventure or a different time in this place. We have so many talented authors in our midst and so many incredible stories to be told.

But back to Apps gardening book. It would be easy to write a book about successes. It would also be easy for any gardener to discount that in hand. Gardening is about learning, and it is an undertaking in which I do not think most ever stop learning. Gardening was something that I learned to enjoy at an early age, regardless of the work involved.

To say that my childhood was a happy one would be a gross overstatement. But I do remember two places where I was happy. One was in the woods with my Dad. The other was in the garden alone. Of course, I would never want Mother to catch me “stealing” vegetables out of the garden while weeding or picking rocks, but the reward was more than worth the punishment to me, so I often munched to my heart’s content. After all, we had bunnies and squirrels and so many other animals that helped themselves as well, I figured there would be little harm in it. We had plenty of food in the house, of course, but there was something about picking a fresh vegetable, brushing off the dirt, and just enjoying it in a moment of solitude.

App’s situation was different than mine, with actual acreage of farming going on, but it was his vegetable garden, and his mother’s vegetable garden, which brought back the most memories for me. I do not remember that my sister nor I were ever involved in choosing what would go in the garden, but I know we looked through seed catalogs, just like Mom did. One of the simple joys, I suppose. Apps, too, remembered his mother doing the same thing – looking for specific seeds from particular catalogs at just the right time.

While I do not have a lot of space currently for a garden, I make use of the space I have. In my old house, I had a large deck that was probably half the size of the apartment in which I now live. And that was perfect, because I lived in the woods. With the deck, I did not have to worry about bunnies or deer or any other critters, for the most part, getting into my garden. Although, in the winter when I thought it would be fun to hang some suet for the birds, some sort of mustelid did come up on the deck and help himself. I think it may have been a raccoon, although I had never seen one around. The other option was a porcupine, which I did find evidence of from time to time.

But, in both instances, it almost feels like cheating to not have to deal with those things. This year I grew two small tomato plants, which suffered some life-ending blight fairly early in the season (I believe I still got 3 or 4 yellow tomatoes, though, and I did manage one sauce tomato). My peppers fared much better, with the jalapenos and garden salsa peppers outperforming the banana peppers. My herbs, too, thrived on the north-facing balcony.

Reading Apps book, and learning about his successes and failures – not only his but those of his parents, and how his gardening has changed as he has gotten older, I am reminded of an elderly gentleman I had the pleasure of living next to when I did have a large garden. He was a botanist, as a stroke of luck, and a teacher at the local high school. I always thought I might bother him by asking “stupid” questions over the fence between our yards – until he told me a story about being overseas in the army and learning to darn sock via mail from his mother. That must have been quite the long process for him! Apps book reminded me of those days, too, and wondering if I would ever have all of the answers to gardening.

The answer to that, by the way, I believe is “no.” Even Apps, in 60 years of gardening, still has a degree of trial and error in his gardening. His book allows us to learn from his mistakes as well, and to follow his lead in his successes. And that is one of the great things about books like this – he is a Wisconsin gardener, just as many of us are. Granted, he likely has more experience than many of us, certainly more than I have, but to know that he is still learning, too, is comforting in some ways. I hate to put it as akin to misery loves company, but those who garden understand. We pour our hearts and souls into some of our gardening adventures, only to be wiped out by a pathogen or a torrential rain!

As you create your winter reading list, I really hope you will consider Gardener’s Wisdom by Jerry Apps. It will truly be time well spent, and hopefully will give you inspiration for next year’s garden.

It has been a long time coming, but Fish Like a Girl Baits is finally here. As some know, this is something I have been working on since I started hand pouring baits about a year ago. Now I have a dual injector, and a good start on the molds that I want for my business. I have a Facebook page set up and a fairly good start. But, of course, there is still more work to do.

I have several photographs of my baits posted on my Facebook page under photos. I will post them here, as well, for those who come to my website looking for products. I will also list my stock colors, but many more colors will be available.

I will be also doing laminate baits as well as swirl baits. Those will be posted after I get all of my stock baits listed. Those looking for a color they do not see, please shoot me an email. If you have a bait you use quite a bit, that I do not stock, please let me know that, too. I will be purchasing more molds in the next month or two and would be happy for the input! Stay tuned for more information. Here is the start of the catalog of baits. I will add a separate page when I get more samples done.

Buying baits online is easy. Buying baits from a local manufacturer may seem more difficult – where do I find local guys? How do I know they will provide what they say they will? The answer is social media and word of mouth. All small bait manufacturers rely on those two avenues to gain customers.

We could all shop on Tackewarehouse…. and most of us get at least some of our products there. It is easy. It is a one-stop shop, if you will. But there are many reasons to shop local when it comes to artificial baits of any kind.

Color choice

Every angler has their favorite color. Many of us have an idea for a color, but it is not one we can get in a the type of bait in which we want it. While I have heard Gary Yamamoto is an awesome guy, I cannot believe I could call him on a Monday after a tournament:

“Hey Gary! Yeah, Beckie Gaskill from Fish Like A Girl in Wisconsin. Hey, I have this great idea for a color for your twin tail grub….” Not only will Mr. Yamamoto likely not answer his phone, but if he does, I would imagine he long ago tired of random people asking him for different colors. On the other hand, I can call one of the several local bait makers I have a relationship with, and likely get the bait and color that I want by next weekend’s tournament. I make soft plastic baits now, too, and have for a couple of years. But I know people who have molds for baits that I do not have, nor do I want. I will certainly rely on them when I am looking for a certain thing.

Turn around time

Expedited shipping from a major supplier can be bought, of course. But, for the most part, you and I are just a number – not that I would expect it to be any other way. At some point in a business’ growth, everyone needs to be treated equally. But, I cannot tell you how many times I have called a local soft plastic bait maker and, really, called in a favor. Can you get me # of X by Friday? Any chance? The answer is almost always yes.

Individual attention

In a world where your order number is your identity, most local bait makers will follow you back on social media. They will start to understand who you are, how you fish, and a million other things about you. While you will most definitely get individual attention when you call or text to place your order, occasionally you will get that text:

“Hey, I saw what you were fishing last week. I made this color I want you to try out.”

Input

Local bait makers get out on the water, too, but they may not be on the bodies of water we are on. They may have different experiences on the water. When they find people who are ambassadors of the sport, and who really put in the time and the effort, they often reach out to us – what is working, what is not working. Our input can help shape their business. For me, there is no bigger honor.

Networking

To me, there is never a harm in networking. I love to learn from everyone I meet. Occasionally I learn what not to do – as others learn from me what not to do! That is part of fishing and part of pitting yourself against any other animal on the planet. While we like to see ourselves as top predators, and we are, we can easily be tricked fairly easily by our prey, as any angler or hunter knows. There is a reason we celebrate our wins.

Networking allows us to meet people and get an insight into why they do the thing they do, why they fish the areas they do at certain times of the year, how they break down a lake, why they choose certain colors…when we order from a local bait maker, he or she wants us to be as successful as possible. They want us to talk to other anglers about what we caught on their baits and how it worked for us. Again, social media and word of mouth is the life blood of, really, any small business. The bait making business is no different.

I would highly recommend taking a look at what bait makers are near you. Find those who seem to have the same vision as you do, and place some orders. I do not say this only because I am making a few soft plastics myself. I am saying it because I love this industry and I would like to see people throw something created by their neighbor, or the guy down the street, across the county, etc.

Of course, we cannot discount the big tackle guys. Even though I make a lot of my own baits now, I will likely always have some Yamamoto, Strike King, and Reaction Innovations in my boat. But, for the rest of my tackle, I will rely on local people to get the big fish in the boat.

What are your favorite baits? Do you have a local bait manufacturer you love? Feel free to share that information here!

Another topic from the 30-day challenge is admiration. Writing about one person I admire or look up to in the outdoor world is so difficult. There are so many of them in the outdoor world. So many.

One who comes to mind is a man I was lucky enough to meet, and even interview, when he was being inducted into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. Greg Bohn, the innovator who brought us slip bobber fishing – I do not know what I can even say about him. I wrote a two-part series about him, the first of which was entitled, “Faith, Family and Fortitude, triangulating a fishing career.” Honestly, that is what he is all about. His faith is so strong, and his family bonds seem even stronger. I was able to meet his wife and daughters at his inauguration party. What a down-to-Earth and genuine bunch of people. I do not say that lightly.

My interview with Mr. Bohn was like sitting down with a good friend I had never met before. We talked about how guiding, and fishing, used to be, with him telling me more stories than I could ever remember. I will always cherish that time, and will likely never delete the recording of that interview.

Another who comes to mind is a very good friend of mine, who may not be too excited about me telling the world how great he is, but I will take my lumps for that. Again, he is a man with a great deal of faith and a super strong family. I first met Gregg Kizewski through my late husband. He struck me as a no-nonsense tournament director who was also such a genuine human being. He used to own Super K Jigs, and has since sold that business, but I learned so much about jig fishing from him while he owned the business. One thing about Gregg is he is always willing to help. I can text him with some random question whenever, and he always gets back to me with a real and helpful answer.

Gregg was also one of the most important people in my life when my late husband was sick. Rod was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and we fought that for two years. During it all, Gregg took Rod fishing on the opposite week of his chemo treatments, at least as long as Rod was strong enough to get into a boat. When Rod got too sick to fish anymore, he wanted me to keep fishing and told me to find someone to fish with that we both trusted. I did that, but when Rod was home on hospice at the end of his illness, I was not sure if I should fish. Gregg came over and sat with Rod for the entire day. I was happy it was one of his last lucid days and the two could talk. Later Gregg brought me the last jig Rod ever asked him to make, a design the two came up with together. That jig has a prominent place in my fishing room right now and forever.

Later, Gregg came over to help me with the boat. I had several problems that he was right there to help me with. After my husband passed, once Gregg had become a concealed carry instructor, I took his class and, again, he helped me with weapon choice and made sure I knew what I was getting myself into and how to conduct myself in situations that we both hope I will never be in.

Gregg is first class all the way, and again this year, I am looking froward to fishing his newly revamped bass tournament series, The Upper Midwest Bass Challenge Series (UMBCS).

That would bring me to the reason I fish tournaments today, my late husband Rod Gaskill. He taught me a great deal, but also let me learn so much on my own. I remember when we were running a Thursday night league, he let me make the decisions on the water for the first time. It was on the lake that is now likely my favorite lake, Mohawksin, but at the time I knew little about it. I picked a bay that looked like perfect bass habitat. Rod pulled in there and put the trolling motor down. He fished what I thought was going to be super-productive water.

“So, are you ready to go somewhere with fish?” he asked about 45 minutes later. He knew the bay we were in, and had fished Mohawksin for many years. He knew we would not catch any fish there, but let me figure that out for myself. Of course I slapped him, well, backhanded him in the arm, really, but I doubt he felt it. He just grinned at me and idled out of the bay.

Over the course of almost 15 years, he taught me so much about bass fishing, and about owning a boat in general. We bought a boat for me several years before he died: a 1985 Tuffy Maurader with a 50 hp 1963 Mercury on it. Now that he is gone, I wish I knew or could remember every single thing he told me. But we all know that never happens. A certain amount of information dies with everyone who leaves us.

All of these men, and so many more, are those that I admire in the outdoor arena. One thing I have learned is that I can always learn, and I will always find more people that I admire. I will likely get in trouble for this one, too, but my boyfriend Chet Netzel is one of those that I have admired for his fishing skills, which was how we originally met. In fact, he was friends with both Rod and I, and we fished a lot of the same tournaments. When Rod told me to find someone to fish with that he could trust to not do anything crazy on the water, and I told him Chet had asked me to fish with him, Rod was happy. He knew Chet was a good guy. I did not know, for quite some time, that there would wind up to be more to the two of us than just fishing together, but he was another person who never let me be alone with everything I was going through with Rod’s illness. As a friend, he cared more than I expected anyone to. As a fishing partner, I learned a lot from him, as our ideas are much different. While it is sometimes great to have two people in a boat who fish very different strengths but can still be friends, to me, the most fun I have is when I am learning about how other people fish.

How many people do I admire in the outdoor world? As I said, there are really so many. Hunters in pursuit of all types of game, anglers, small business owners in the outdoor world, and other journalists and outdoor writers who bring the outdoor world to the page and electronic screen.

Who do you most admire? I would love to hear your comments…

This is another prompt in the 30-day challenge, which I decided to undertake for the month of April. We always say that bad things always come in threes. So, perhaps good things always come in fours! Four seasons, four elements (Earth, wind, fire, and water). Those were the two that stuck out to me. On a side note, yes there are WAY more than four littles in the geese photo, but it is a fun summer photo that I took that I wanted to share.

Four seasons. Every outdoors man has their favorite. Some of us cannot choose a specific one, as we find beauty and fun in each of them, but in much different ways. While I am not a fan of winter, and tend to dread some things that come along with it, I do have to say it can be quite beautiful. Crucnhing snow under my feet, pine trees heavy with a fresh few inches, animal tracks in the snow that give me an idea of “who” has traveled this path before me. I had the opportunity to do a bit of wolf tracking while I was up north, and that is something I may get into again, if for no other reason than to strap on some snowshoes and get out and do something in the winter.

Fall has been my favorite season for many years. Hunting season, and the beauty of the trees as they change and prepare to hibernate for the long, cold winter make that so. Those things have always been close to my heart. I enjoy getting together with other hunters to talk about what they do, how they do it, and how their most recent hunt turned out. I love all of the stories. I also enjoy the fall harvest and attending farmers’ markets to talk to growers about their season.

Summer, of course, is a favorite, too. It means fishing tournaments and bon fires, grilling out and gardening. There are so many reasons I can say that I love summer. And, I suppose, all four of the elements I mentioned above, are part of those reasons. When I became an outdoor reporter, it gave me a strong reason to learn more about photography, and summer allows for being out and doing a lot of that – and I am always learning. In fact, I have a Great Courses course on photography going in the background as I write this. Shooting storms as they come in is exciting and fun, really. I have yet to get the lightning strike I would love to add to my photos, but summer is the best time to get those. I am also a storm spotter for NOAA, so getting those shots is not only interesting, but important, so I can look back and see what I reported, and what I photographed.

Summer. How much is going on in the summer? I love to be out on the water. But I also love to dedicate my time to water quality and things such as aquatic invasive species (AIS) management. I am now also looking into monitoring a stream or two near where I live in central Wisconsin. This week I attended the Lakes and Rivers Convention online and learned about a stream monitoring program into which I fully intend to get involved. Those who know me know I will also dedicate my small balcony garden to pollinators. I had a bit of success last year, and I look to build on that this year.

It is interesting, too, how a person feels about season can change over time. Spring, when I was a child, meant picking rocks out of a garden that was bigger than the house in which our family of four lived. It was a job I would not want to do again – but then the year came that I decided I was going to try out for Little League. My sister had an old wooden bat, and I took it over. I batted rocks for hours per day, out of the garden and as deep into the swamp as I could get them. Suddenly, picking rocks was not so bad. On a side note, I did make the majors in Little League during tryouts, but my best friend did not make it, so I played in the minors that year.

Summer, too, felt different as a child. I used to have pretty harsh reactions to mosquito bites. My doctor told me mom I was allergic to mosquito bites, but I have no idea if that was the case. But I did have a bad reaction to them. A mosquito bite on my forearm, for instance, would soon become a three-inch welt at least an inch tall. If I were to get bit too many times, I would get a fever and start to feel pretty horrible. My mom would make me stay inside until I felt better, which could be days. I do not remember how many years this went on, but I know I did eventually outgrow it – thankfully! Imagine how different my life would be!

What is your favorite season? Can you pick one? Or do they all have their draw for you?

Since learning to use a baitcaster effectively, I have not been a big fan of spinning reels.  I am not a big finesse fisherman, and maybe that’s why I stay away from spinning reels.  But, at the same time, I know I’m missing out on some fish because I don’t like to throw light stuff.  Sometimes you just need that.

I was recently introduced to a company called Piscifun, and had the opportunity to try out their Viper II spinning reel.  The 2000-series reel is smaller than what I am used to, and maybe that makes part of the difference.  I was always throwing at least a 3000-series spinning reel at the urging of my former fishing mentor and late husband (who is one and the same).This may have been part of the issue, but I don’t think it was all of it.

The Viper II is very well constructed, from what I have seen so far, and I’ve had the chance to use it several times.  It feels good in my hand.  Everything is tight and secure. It lets me get those long casts out there and is small enough for even a klutz like me to keep out of my own way with it.  I have thrown both braid and mono on the set up with solid results.

The construction of this quality-priced reel will get you right out of the package. It is super light, at just 9.6 ounces, but just feels tougher than most. It did not give me the feeling of having a fairy stick in my hand when paired with the same Denali rods I have been using for several years now. The reel has a 10+1 bearing set up, which makes it really smooth.  The line went on the reel well, and, like I said, I had no problems casting it as far as I wanted to.  Not only that, but because the reel is light, it works great for pitching and flipping, too.  That makes a difference to me, and it might not to some, but I don’t like a heavy, bulky reel when I’m pitching all day.

Also, when it comes to pitching, I tend to want to pitch into some pretty nasty stuff, which is not always the best idea with a spinning set up. But, the 6.2:1 gear ratio in the Viper II helped me get some good fish out of some nasty stuff.  I’m not saying I “couldn’t have” gotten those fish out with a lesser reel, but I am saying after the first time I felt completely confident that this one would not fail me when combining the speed with a really strong drag.

Lastly, the reel just looks good.  While that is probably one of the least important things an angler should consider, I think we can all kind of agree, it’s cool to have a cool-looking reel. This reel is black with green highlights that pop. It also have a comfortable handle grip that is not just stylish, but it keeps your hand from slipping off when reeling in those big fish, no matter the conditions. Even an all-day rain will not make the handle grip slippery and, unfortunately, I found that out one day.  Hey, a person only has so many days they can get on the water. You have to take the weather you’re dealt!

Overall, I have to say, especially for the price (you can get this one on Amazon for about $40), I would recommend this reel.  So far I haven’t found any drawbacks.  If you happen to see me on the water this summer, take a close look.  You might just see something weird – me with a spinning set up in my hand!  I’d love to hear what other people think of this reel, too, so leave a comment if you’ve tried it and let me know what you think.