BACKWOODS BOUND NEWSLETTER #5

Kenny & Susie Settle and James & Maggie Burns welcome you to the January issue of the Backwoods Bound Newsletter! Hope your holiday season was joy filled. Besides making merry, we kept busy developing exciting new features and products for the site!

Our goal at Backwoods Bound is to be your Family Outdoor Web Site! We provide information on hunting and fishing tips, product reviews, wild game and other recipes, fun facts, links to game and learning sites for the kids, and links to a variety of resource sites and companies where you can purchase supplies or gifts for those on your list. Our Fishin' & Huntin' Photo Galleries are going strong! Stop by to see several pages of awesome "trophies". Of course it's not complete if we don't have your photo yet....so send one in right away!

It's our pleasure to announce two exciting new features, the BACKWOODS BOUND Bulletin Board and links to all 50 State Fish and Game Agencies. Have an announcement, question, comment, looking for something, have something someone may want? Post it for your Backwoods Bound Buddies on the bulletin board! It's FREE! The State Fish and Game Agency links will provide useful information for your next Backwoods Bound adventure. We hope you enjoy these new features and look forward to your participation!

We're also proud to announce our first BACKWOODS BOUND product! "A Table For Two" is a squirrel feeder for those of you who enjoy watching these little guys play in your yard. This sturdy feeder is functional, yet eye-catching, and adds a unique touch to your yard. These feeders are hand-crafted, not mass-produced. Check out our "Table For Two" in use and get purchasing information by visiting our gift page

Prizes! For several months we have been awarding prizes to the person who submits the best idea, hunting or fishing tip, or recipe each month. December's winners were Dave and Polly Pavlakes for an outstanding recipe for "Buckeye Cookies". Thanks you two! We've included the recipe later in this newsletter so all our readers can enjoy!

Cheaper Than Dirt, your one-stop shop for all your hunting and outdoor needs and one of our top affiliates, offered to provide the prize for January's winning entry. The prize is an extra large sleeping bag designed to keep you warm and toasty down to 30 degrees. This would be great to use on your outdoor excursions, keep in the car for emergencies, or just stash in the closet for when you have unexpected guests. Competition will be great for this awesome prize, valued at $30, so don't delay, send us your best photo, tip or recipe, most exciting suggestion, hobby, or craft idea right now! E-mail us at editor@backwoodsbound.com

Time To Check Your Tackle

Now that you have your guns oiled and put away, it's time to get out the fishing poles and tackle box. Late January is a great time to go over your fishing gear and get ready for spring. I don't know about you but, by the time fall arrives and I gear up for the hunting season, my tackle box is put away in quite a disrupted state. Bringing it back out in late January does two things for me; first it gives me a chance to clean it up and replenish tackle and secondly it lets me daydream about fishing trips that I will be on in the very near future. (Note: I always seem to catch monster fish while daydreaming.) Below is a checklist of things to do. I know that as Backwoods Bound fishing men and women, you have many more helpful tips to share, so why not send them in and help us all get ready for spring?

~ Check and repair reels
~ Check rods
~ New line on reels
~ Organize tackle box (Hooks with hooks etc.)
~ Sharpen hooks on plugs, crankbaits, spinner baits, etc.
~ Sharpen fillet knives
~ Check the first aid kit, or, if you don't have one, get a small first aid kit
~ Replace sunscreen
~ Get rod tip repair kit (Believe me, it can come in handy!)
~ Replace or replenish hooks, sinkers, bobbers, etc.
~ Replace or replenish soft plastic baits (Some may have melted.)
~ Buy and try something new this year (You deserve it!)

By the way folks, if you need a new rod, reel, tackle box, or tackle, check out our web site and look at our affiliate Dunhams sports. The products you want are just a click away!

Stren Super Tough With A Plano Acessory Box, 6-8 Pound Test Fishing Line
Limp enough to use on spinning tackle, Super Tough has outstanding abrasion resistance and durability. This line is engineered to haul fish from wicked environs that hold the lunkers. Comes with Plano case to organize lures, hooks, sinkers, etc. See this product on our home fishing page!

December's winning entry: Buckeye Cookies
Many thanks to Dave and Polly Pavlakes for submitting this great recipe!

~1 box powdered sugar
~1 cup graham cracker crumbs, approx.12 crackers
~1 cup coconut - flaked
~1 cup chunky peanut butter
~1 cup soft margarine

*Mix all ingredients together, shape into irregular shaped balls and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. (Overnight is best.)
*In top of a double boiler, melt 6 ounces of chocolate chips & 1/2 cake of paraffin.
*Turn off heat, but leave mixture over hot water. Use toothpicks to dip balls into chocolate. Place on wax paper and refrigerate until cool.
To see more about Polly, the submittor of this recipe, Click here!

Backwoods Bound Visitor Survey
Results of December's survey are in.................!
**67% of visitors surveyed were able to fish 6-15 days last year. I guess 2 weeks out of 52 is a good start!
**75% of visitors surveyed did not have to walk more than 30 yards to track their deer! What remarkable accuracy!
**59% of visitors surveyed prefer ham for their Christmas meal. That's right....lots of company for Christmas. Save that deer for the immediate family!
*Stop by soon to place your vote for the current survey! Let us know how you think!

My First Deer Hunt

This article was submitted by 16 year old Chris Vaughn. We commend Chris for being successful on his first deer hunt and thank him for taking the time to write this for us. See Chris and his buck on our huntin' photos page! "It was about 7:30AM... I was watching a deer through the trees, when I heard the rustle of dry leaves. At first I thought it was just birds but it was another deer under my treestand. The deer had spotted me by that time, luckily I had time to take aim and fire. The shot hit him on his left side near the shoulder. I watched him run into the field and go down. I waited about 10 minutes then climbed down, walked over and tagged him. He was a little spike deer. I wasn't looking forward to field dressing the deer, but I made it. I was successful on my first official hunt!

I need to thank my Grandpa (Country Bob) for helping me set my scope and allowing my Dad and I to stay with him during Deer Season. And thanks to my Uncle James for letting me hunt on his property."

Huntin' Tip - To keep your decoy bag from sinking, tie a piece of foam to the inside. This will keep you from losing your empty bag if you drop it in the water. See more huntin' tips!

Affiliate Review:
We've assembled our favorite affiliates in one place to make shopping for that certain someone even easier! Our goal is to save you time! Time for the important things like huntin', fishin', craftin', and family. There's nothing like gettin' that shoppin' done without even having to scrape the ice off the windshield or warm up the car.
****Cheaper Than Dirt provides a wide variety of hunting gear and outdoor accessories!
****1-800-flowers.com provides excellent gifts for your sweetie for Valentine's Day!
****Hickory Farms. Who doesn't like some kind of sausage, cheese, or crackers?
****999 Central provides a wide variety of products all $9.99 or less!
****Pacific Collection offers an unusual assortment of products including several made from New Zealand sheepskin!
****Dreamaker Gift Baskets provides a wide variety of unique gifts for those collectors or "hard to buy for" folks!
****Candle Mart provides a wide variety of candles at very reasonable prices. If you like candles, check this out. They even have drawings for free candles!
****BeOutdoors provide a variety of fishing gear and outdoor accessories.
****Next Card. Check out this great Visa card rated the #1 online credit card!
Visit our shopping page now while there's still time for Valentine's Day delivery!

Fun Fact - The catfish has the most taste buds of any animal on earth with over 27,000! See more fun facts!

Recipe of the month:
Venison-Stuffed Pepper Halves
~ 1 pound ground venison
~ 4 large RED bell peppers (Red peppers retain their color & sweetness when baked)
~ 1 & 1/2 cups tortilla or corn chips
~ 1 can (2 & 1/4 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained
~ 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
~ 1 medium onion, chopped
~ 1 cup water
~ 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
~ 2 cloves garlic, mined or mashed
~ 1 TBSP chile powder
~ 1 tsp salt
~ 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin seed and oregano leaves

*Cut the peppers in half lengthwise, discard seeds and stems. Arrange, hollow side up, in a 9 x 13 shallow casserole or baking pan.
*Cook the venison, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, and chile powder in a frying pan over medium heat until meat is done. Stir frequently, breaking the meat into small pieces.
*Break chips into small pieces and mix into the meat with the olives.
*Spoon mixture evenly into pepper shells, then pour tomato sauce evenly over top and sprinkle each with cheese.
*Pour water around peppers and bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until peppers are tender when pierced. Enjoy!

---For more recipes and a variety of wild game cookbooks visit our recipe page!

Plano Tour Tackle Box
The tackle box that gives you X-ray vision. Plano's Tournament Boat Box has a see-through lid to make finding baits easy, two compartments for all your lures, and adjustable dividers for up to 50 compartments. Now, if only the fish were as easy to spot! See this product on our home fishing page!

Kenny's Corner: An editorial view of the Backwoods Bound experience!

Cabin fever usually doesn't hit me until late January, but this year the cold and snow arrived in early December. The rabbits are holed up, the ducks have flown south, and I am left with one more deer-hunting trip. After that, it's time to put the guns away and get out the fishing gear.

Let me tell you about a place that I did get to visit this year. The place is F.L.C. Outfitters in Greene County, Illinois. If you would like to book a deer hunt with an outfitter, you can't go wrong here. The price is reasonable, the accommodations are pleasant, and the deer are big and plentiful. I saw at least 10 to 20 deer a day including a beautiful 8 pointer and a monster 10 pointer. ( I could not get a clean shot). Other members of the hunting party in the camp took a 160 pound doe and a huge 150 class, 9 point buck. Gary Fitzjarrell and his son are the owners and operators of this huge farm; they are both excellent deer guides.

Hunts have been filmed at F.L.C. for the televison show " Outdoors in the Heartland", and one of the shows host, Bob Richardson, was hunting and filming while I was there. As of this writing Backwoods Bound has not linked up with F.L.C. Outfitters just yet, but hope to do so in the very near future. For more information and to book a hunt, look up F.L.C. at www.flcoutfitters.com.

The Fitzjarrell's are some of the best people I have ever met and I'm sure they can take care of your hunting needs. That's it for this edition, and as I always say...

I'm Kenny, and I hope I have all of you in my corner!

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We're working hard to develop this site into something for the whole family. We want our site to earn first ranking in the sites you frequent...your input is important! Do you have photos you'd like to share with the world, favorite web sites you'd like us to link with, tasty recipes you'd like to share, new topics for our site, etc? E-mail us anytime at editor@backwoodsbound.com. The best photo, tip or recipe, most exciting suggestion, hobby, or craft idea each month wins a free gift! Remember, this month's prize is a valuable sleeping bag from Cheaper Than Dirt! We'll also make sure we include your name on the submission so the whole world can know you're a Backwoods Bound type of person!