I own the Lansky LSPAD - Double-Sided Folding Paddle and carry it with me for daily use as my knife blade becomes dull through constant use.  It is two sided with course (green) and fine (blue) surfaces that alow for rapid touch-up in the field.

Of course, to use the paddle, you must have the skills to sharpen a knife blade freehand.  I find that the sharpener has the ability to put a razor edge on the blade and it will shave hair from my arm when properly sharpened.

Anyone in the Houston area wishing to learn knife sharpening skills can contact me and I will hold a clinic to explain how to sharpen any knife from the kitchen butcher block to survival knives, to pocket folders.

I've been sharpening knives since nine years old and learned the skill from my dad who was a journeyman machinist.  His Case XX pocket folder would shave too!

We just got back from a trip to Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Ephesus, and Private Tours in Istanbul did a fantastic job for us. All of our transfers from the airports were smooth, all of our travel guides to the various sites (mosques, Topkapi Palace, Ayasophia, Dolmabahce Palace, Hagia Sophia, Topokapi Palace, Blue Mosque and of course the Turkish night Ephesus, historic sites in Cappadochia) www.privatetoursinistanbul.com were great. I highly recommend this travel group. Very seamless. Makes for a terrific trip. Visited August 2011

Season Duck Lease being auctioned at banquet:

2011/2012 Water Fowl Season Membership
Executive Membership

HUNTING PROPERTIES
1. Franz (Brookshire)- New property with 6 duck ponds and a roost. 2. Turkey Creek (Beasley) New property 30 minutes from Houston 4 ponds and roost. 3. Reed (Lissie) New Property 2 ponds in Rice. 4. Glen Flora (Wharton) New property 10 acres of flooded green timber and 40 acres of crawfish ponds with rice. 5. Blue Creek (El Campo) 4 ponds and a roost. 6. Grady Allen's (El Campo) 1 Pond in rice. 7. Blockers (Bay City) 80 acre D.U. project can hunt 3 groups. 8. Darnell (Bay City) 2 ponds in rice. 9. Red Gate (El Campo) 1 pond. 10. Silivas (Bay City) 3 ponds. 11. Nada 2 (Garwood Prairie) 4 ponds (In Negotiation) 12. Coastal (Markham) 6 ponds (In Negotiation) We are in negotiation on two properties right now. If they do not work out we plan on replacing them with something equal in size, location, and quality.
MANAGERS
Nick Stillwell and Lane Thompson With 20 Years Of Water Fowl Management Experience

For The Entire 2011/2012 Season, No Guest Fee, Only One Guest Per Hunt Allowed Child Or Adult
GUIDED HUNT OPTIONAL
If You Book A Guide, Guide Fee Is $50.00 Per Person, Extra Scouting, Guide, Retriever, Decoys And Hunt Set Up Are Provided
HUNTING TIMES
You Are Allowed To Hunt Monday-Sunday As Much Until 12:00pm
RESERVATION PROCESS
Hunt Is Booked By E-Mail or Phone Call Four Days In Advance Or Sooner
FOR QUESTIONS OR DETAILED INFORMATION CONTACT
TO GET SIGNED UP AND RESERVE YOU’RE SPOT
Pay On Line At www.ghcof.org
Or
Mail A Check to GHCOF, P.O. Box 3082, Sugar Land, Texas 77487-3082, Attention: General Membership

Yes, I really had a lot of fun back then. However,if it becomes "legal", I don't know if I will try it now. My skin grows back to slowly !!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember one time Joe and I found a 9# blue and he " ATE US", we finally got him, but we were both very well blooded.

 Try chicken liver,or live shad. These baits also work great for hybrid stripers. Good Luck!!!

Made it over to the convention hall about 9:40am this morning.  Eva Wilson & Ron Bartels were both waiting there for me at the Humanitarian Services booth.  (That's the branch of safari club that runs the <strong>blue bag</strong> program and all the disabled hunter services which includes the pathfinder award.)

We all went over to the Oelofse's booth so I could introduce my dad to Jan & Annette and Ron could present Jan with yet another donor plaque for his generosity toward the program.  Dad bought Jan's book and we had another long talk about hunting in Namibia.  Alex and I talked about maybe going after a mountain zebra on my safari.  I'm pumped!

From there, Ron took us over to Jim Shockey's booth so we could meet and talk to him too.  Ron has hunted several times with Jim and I believe he knows almost everybody that's worth knowing in this whole building.  About every ten steps, someone stops to talk to him.  Ron said both Jim and his daughter Eva were there earlier (and that Eva is really "worth meeting").  They weren't there though.  Rumor had it that Jim had slipped away to book a few hunts for himself before his wife Louise found out about it.

From there, Dad & I headed off on our own to browse through the myriad of outfitters, artists, merchants, taxidermists, tv personalities & auction items that were spread out among four different rooms.  The place was vast, and let me tell you, some of the highest quality show stuff I've ever seen.  We could've literally spend three solid days here looking at just the art & awesome taxidermy.

Passed by the African Hunting Gazette booth next.  As I rolled up, I asked the lady behind the counter if the next issue was out, to which she replied "Yes, and you're in there.  Don't worry."  Ha!  I wasn't expecting her to recognize me.  I didn't know she was the person in charge of article submissions.  Needless to say, I was impressed and now y'all know I have a published piece in one of the 'big' safari magazines.  They gave me a few copies and we were on our way.  Oh by the way, they had a full mounted porcupine at the booth that was a gorgeous mount.  I'm putting one on my wish list for Namibia this summer.

Since my award dinner was that night, dad & I left early so I could get some rest before it was time.  Whew!

(On the way out, we heard that we'd missed Sean Connery by about ten minutes at the humanitarian services booth.  Sorry dad, you could've met one of your idols and the
2nd best James Bond.)

From the web pag above:

It is named Public Hunt Region 7 - Houston/Beaumont

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/public/lands/table_contents/7houston.phtml

J.D. Murphree WMA

783n Jefferson County: Big Hill Unit

783s Jefferson County: Salt Bayou Unit

Jefferson County Complex 1

2069 La Belle Road | La Belle Road aerial view
2070 Latta Road | Latta Road aerial view

Jefferson County Complex 2

2228 South China Road | South China Road aerial view
2350 Broussard Farms | Broussard Farms aerial view

2226 Jefferson County: Bordages Road | Bordages Road aerial view

2380 Jefferson County: South Needmore | South Needmore aerial view

2399 Liberty County: US Highway 90 | US Highway 90 aerial view

729 Matagorda County: Mad Island WMA

Lower Neches WMA

738 Orange County: Nelda Stark
728 Orange County: Old River

712 Orange County: Blue Elbow Swamp - Tony Houseman State Park/WMA

Orange County Complex

2256 Vidor | Vidor aerial view
2258 Rose City | Rose City aerial view

1044 Walker County: Huntsville State Park

905 Walker/San Jacinto/Montgomerty Counties: Sam Houston National Forest WMA

Waller County Complex

2412 Hebert Preserve | Hebert Preserve aerial view
2438 Pattison Road | Pattison Road aerial view

2055 Waller County: Repka Road | Repka Road aerial view

Best of Luck to you!

Very well said Jon. I to believe that a kid's first deer should be a spike or doe. And those first few trips should be for the kid not just to kill something. The first trip to the fishin hole with my daughter was great, we caught a lot of blue gill, however the best part was when we took a coke break and she looked down and saw all of them sea shells. My wife was not impressed at me for bringing home a gallon bucket of shells, but hay me and my daughter had a great time.