We started planning a deep sea fishing trip during our family's first trip to Florida back in 1989. Fourteen years later we had the cash and the kids were big enough to either babysit themselves or go along. The time had come. I checked Backwoods Bound for guides/charter services for the Destin, Florida area first, but, finding none, located a charter service on the net.

 We arrived early with a light breakfast and a dose of Dramamine in our bellies. The slightly overcast sky had become a wicked storm by the time we arrived in Destin. Torrential rains flooded the parking lot and turned stairwells into raging waterfalls. We waited. What else do you do when you've planned a two week dream vacation covering over half of Florida with a full itinerary? The storm wouldn't budge and the captain cancelled. We juggled our itinerary and rescheduled for the next day.

 Arriving early with a light breakfast and a dose of Dramamine in our bellies. Dawn broke into a beautiful sunny Florida morning. We eagerly waited on the dock and watched ship after ship head out to sea. Our ship had engine problems. We did get to enjoy a 20 minute boat ride as the captain tried to work out the kinks, but alas, the trip was cancelled. We were due in Jacksonville the next day so it was today or never.

 The boat we had booked for the trip was part of a larger charter service, Harborwalk Fishing Charters (Visit them at www.harborwalkfishing.com). The captain referred us to them for help. The best they could arrange on such short notice was an afternoon trip on the Miss Chloe. With several hours to kill, we rearranged our itinerary again and tried to maintain our good humor.

 We arrived back that afternoon with a light lunch in our bellies. (It was too early for more Dramamine.) I must admit I held a certain degree of dread for the trip considering the previous problems as an "omen". Meeting John Bass, the captain; Steve, the mate; and seeing Miss Chloe, our ship, eased my fears. John announced we would fish for King Mackeral. (I realized the only mackeral I knew how to cook was from a can.) He gave a run-down on what to expect on the trip and reviewed several what-to-do-if situations. He ended with "it's as smooth as a dinner plate out there!"

 Of course we no sooner left the dock than my six year old had to use the facilities. (I think kids abuse this physical need as a chance to explore their surroundings.) By the time I managed to take her, we were out in the open sea. I realized the definition of "smooth as a dinner plate" varied greatly between a sea captain and a landlubber. I struggled to maintain my balance as we descended the ladder leading to the head. Within minutes my head was spinning and nausea rolled over me in waves. Getting back to the fresh air helped settle my stomach, but left me with a dawning unease that I would be sick before the trip was over.

 Captain John drove the boat while Steve's sharp skills and gentle nature helped us quickly catch our bait fish. He changed rods and baited lines as we donned the belts that would help hold the rod should we snag a "keeper." In no time we had a "fish on" and Emma was given the rod. The Miss Chloe has a rule, the youngest catches the first fish! Six year old Emma, with a little help, soon landed a King Mackeral. Before hers was out of the water we had two more on. John barked orders to help us keep our lines untangled, while Steve helped us carry them out. Before long, five of us boasted a catch. Always the gentleman, my husband had let everyone else have a turn before him. He busied himself helping Steve instead of grabbing a piece of the action. There was a lull in the action.

 This waiting time, with few distractions, allowed my body time to concentrate on the motion. My youngest had crashed on the floor of the cabin while coloring a picture. My second youngest complained of not feeling well and fell asleep on the cabin couch. The other three in the family (the thrill seekers, the roller-coaster enthusiasts) looked relaxed and comfortable. I was envious. At least I was grateful John had covered sea-sickness in his "what-if" talk. I knew where to go and how to clean up after myself. I was miserable, but I managed to hold on til my husband landed his fish before I asked to head for land.

 So, why me? Motion sickness doesn't discriminate, it affects one out of every three people to some degree.

 Our sense of balance and equilibrium is maintained through a complex interaction between the inner ears, the eyes, skin pressure receptors in the joints and spine, and muscle and joint sensory receptors. These four systems send information to the brain about where the body is "in space:" what direction it's pointing, what direction it's moving, and if it's turning or standing still. The brain processes the information from these systems to make some coordinated sense out of it all. The symptoms of motion sickness and dizziness appear when the central nervous system receives conflicting messages from the other four systems.

 I noticed my nausea increased when I was in the closed-in cabin or closed my eyes. My eyes didn't see the motion my inner ears were feeling so there was conflicting information being sent to the brain. When I sat down my joints and muscles told my brain I was at rest, yet my eyes and inner ears were detecting motion - conflicting information. I also noticed when my brain was distracted with pleasing stimuli, like catching a fish or watching someone catch a fish, it was too busy enjoying itself to concentrate on analyzing the more tedious data. It wasn't til the fish quit biting and my two youngest fell asleep that my brain noticed the conflicting information and I became really seasick.

 What could I do different next time? Stay out of the cabin. Face forward or into the wind as much as possible. Watch the distant horizon, not the waves. Stay busy. In addition, there's a plethora of products available that claim to help reduce motion sickness symptoms by interfering with the transmission of messages to the brain.

 The captain joined us as we watched Steve fillet our fish. He congratulated us on a fine catch. I admitted the only Mackeral I had ever cooked was from a can and made into patties. I asked if it could be cooked like Bluegill, Bass or Crappie. He laughed and said "What kind of fish are those?" - Maggie Burns

  One summer while working on a new cabin about a mile from an existing cabin, I had a very scary experience with black bears. It all started when I flew into the site and found my old cabin had been taken over by a bear. Not knowing if it was a black or grizzly I was very much on the alert for any bear signs or indication of bears close by. It seems the first thing a bear will do when it breaks into a cabin is knock the stove pipe down, followed by eating all the food it can find and then chewing on most everything else. One time when I was hauling supplies into a remote cabin and had a break down with my ATV. I had to leave a 44 lb. bag of flour and a bag of 12 rolls of toilet paper, hanging in a tree overnight. Well, you wouldn't believe your eyes when I arrived back the next day, a bear had come along during the night and ate all that flour and toilet paper, including the orange tarp I had it wrapped in.

 After cleaning up the cabin and getting it ready for my expected 2-week stay, I spent a relaxing evening before starting to work the next morning. In the morning I got up, made breakfast and a lunch of sandwiches and a few hard-boiled eggs to take to the building site.

 Following another cleaning of the cabin and making sure everything was in order I picked up my tools and headed for the building site. Around mid-morning as the sun was getting hotter I realized I had forgotton to bring my lunch. So at noon I headed back to the cabin for lunch. To my amazement that bear had been back again. It had knocked the stovepipe down, upset the stove, got mud all over my sleeping bag and ate all my supply of groceries. It had managed to eat 2 lbs of coffee, all my flour, cooking oil, sugar, tea, prunes, two lbs of margarine, canned meats, beans, drink powders, and toilet paper.

 I was again forced to clean the cabin and make lunch out of what little there was left to eat. This time I covered the windows and barred the door. After getting a drink of water I headed back to work. At about 8 pm that evening I was heading towards my locked and barred cabin for a well deserved dinner if I could find any food. As I approached the cabin I was curiously looking around when something caught my eye from behind me. Low and behold there was a huge black bear following me at about 75 feet. Very quickly I brought my rifle up for a quick shot as the bear kept coming and was now within 50 feet. I did what anybody who is used to living in the wilderness would do and dispatched the animal with one shot to the chest. As this was summer and the hide would be of no value, I hauled the animal away from my cabin and carried on with my plans to make dinner. Now I felt much better realizing I had removed the bear that had been damaging the cabin.

 At this time of year just south of 60th parallel there is about 21 hours of daylight and it is possible to read a newspaper outside without any lights at midnight. This causes a person to forget about the time of day and on this particular evening I was in no hurry.

 At about 11 pm I was in my cabin washing the evening dishes and thinking about that nasty bear that had ate or damaged most of my food supply. I was in my bare feet and only had my undershorts on. The window was still covered from earlier that day when I had locked the cabin up, so I couldn't see outside.

 Suddenly there was a big noise at the door and looking over I saw a bear's front paw coming around the bottom of the door as it was trying to pull the door open. I quickly went over and kicked the bear's leg with my bare foot. I grabbed for my loaded rifle and undid the latch on the door. There standing within 10 feet was another very large male black bear. I'm sure the bear was as surprised as I was. He must of thought I had already been skinned "all that bare skin with hardly any hair on it". After quickly dispatching this bear, I had to get dressed and haul it away from the cabin.

 Now I felt reasonably sure I had removed the bear problem from my cabin, however it was a very long night, if only 3 hours of darkness. That night I slept with my eyes open with my rifle loaded and pointed at the door.

 Next morning I was back at work thinking I was free of bears. Suddenly a Whisky Jack that had been sitting about 30 feet from me and scolding me for a hand out suddenly screamed and flew right over my head as if it was escaping from something. Grabbing my rifle I looked in the direction from where the Whisky Jack had come and there sitting in the bush watching me was another black bear. This time the bear won as it quickly vanished into the trees.

 For the next 2 weeks I had a feeling that that bear was watching me, however I never did see another bear on that trip. This is just another example of how you have to always be vigilant when traveling in the wilderness. Always make a noise so animals now you are there. This will prewarn the animals of your presences and gives them a chance to get away without a confrontation. Usually they prefer to quietly escape. Keep an eye peeled for wildlife and be prepared to defend yourself if need be. I think playing dead is only for when you are prepared to be lunch for a hungry wild animal or already dead. Trapper Ken

 If you would like to spend some time on a real working trapline, summer or winter, send Trapper Ken an e-mail at Info@TrapperKen.com or visit his web site at www.Trapperken.com for more information. He is available most times of the year for Trapline Adventures. Visit the world renowned Liard Hot Springs or photograph the Northern Lights from the best place on earth.

 Be sure and visit Trapper Ken's Trapline Store and purchase a lovely Natural Birch Wood Round Plaques with an acrylic painting of either a bird or wild flower. These beautiful wall plaques are hand painted by Beverly Moore and suitable for gifts of all occasions. These items are available only from www.TrapperKen.com. Visit their store often as he will be adding new items as the summer goes by.

 Looking for an easy to build attractor/feeder to bring deer to your hunting spot? Well here is an idea we received from Eddie Williamson covering that very subject. Build one soon and get it out to your spot. Remember to check the game laws where you live before building this gizmo. Don't want to waste your time if such a thing as this is illegal.

 Materials Needed:

empty coffee can with lid, 3 lb can preferred as it holds more
camoflauge tape
wire clothes hanger
peanut butter
molasses
duct tape

 Assembly Instructions:

 * Wash coffee can out with baking soda and water. Rinse well and let dry.

 * Cover the outside with camoflauged tape. If you don't have any camo tape, paint the outside with black, brown, grey, etc. colored paints. Paint it a solid color or make your own camo pattern. Just remember, no bright colors. You may want to wash the can out again if you paint it.

 * Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of the can just big enough for the hanger wire to go through.

 * Straighten out the hanger. Make a loop in one end a little smaller then the diameter of the can being used. Bend it in a way that the long end comes back to the center of your loop (similar to a lowercase "e") and then upward in a 90 degree angle. Stick the loose end of the wire through the can from the inside out. Adjust the loop and wire as necessary so that the can hangs straight on the wire.

 * Bend the exposed end of the wire into a loop or hook so you can hang the can securely.

 * Now take the lid and drill several 1/8 to 3/16 holes in it. Not to many though.

 * Mix together some peanut butter and molasses. How much depends upon the size of the can you use plus how often you want to refill the it. You will have to experiment a little to get the consistency that you want. You don't want it too runny or too thick. Eddie says to mix it to the consistency that you would have if you were mixing together peanut butter and honey for a sandwich.

 * Put the peanut butter mixture into the can. Attach lid and use duct tape to secure it to the can.

 * Hang the can in a shooting lane near your stand location, preferably in a sunny spot, about 4 to 5 feet off the ground. As the sun warms the peanut butter mixture it will drip through the holes in the plastic lid attracting deer. Don't forget to mask your scent while in the woods hanging your gizmo.

 * Check and refill as needed. Place well before season so the deer get conditioned to using it.

 There you have it, an easy to make deer attractor/feeder. Our thanks again to Eddie for sharing this with us. Good luck this season and we look forward to all of the new stories and pictures that you will be sending us.

 NOTE: Check your local game regulations before using this gizmo. Here in Illinois all bait, feed, etc. must be removed from an area two weeks prior to hunting that area. Also the spread of CWD in some places has caused concern over feeding deer so keep that in mind before using.