Fall can be a great time to fish if the weather doesn't get you. Take this example. A few weeks ago my brother-in-law Tommy and I were in northwest Tennessee to try our luck catching crappie on Reelfoot Lake for a few days before moving on to Lake Texoma. I had fished Reelfoot quite often in the spring and wanted to see if the fall fishing was better or worse. It seemed that we had always missed the best crappie times in the spring or we were hampered by bad weather. Well, as my luck would have it I encountered about set of circumstances. Upon arriving on Sunday afternoon the lake looked beautiful. Just a little wind blowing and tempertures in the high 70's with the same forecast for the next day. Not bad. Unfortunately the forecast called for a cold front moving into the area on Monday night into Tuesday with rain and dropping temperatures. I had heard that before and knew that our best chance of catching any fish was going to be on Monday. Checking into White's Landing on the lakes south side we settled in for the night.

  Monday morning we were up early to meet our guide for the next two days, Don Finch of Don Finch Outdoors. Don had fished in and around the lake for over twenty five years and if anyone could put us on some fish I figured it would be him. After a numbingly cold ride across the lake at break neck speeds we arrived at Starve Pond and began jig fishing the lily pads. I had fished this area for bluegills a few years before with a lot of success and was hoping for the same success with crappie. Well they weren't hitting to good so Don moved us on to his second spot. Don't start me to lying about where we were because I have no idea. We cut through this ditch and then across open water to another ditch and so on. Don knew the lake well and would run full throttle for a time and then back it off to go through a stumpy area. We were here and then there looking for biting crappie before making a pit stop in Samburg for a minnow net, a cup of coffee and to discuss changing tactics.

  Leaving Samburg we found ourselves in the area known as Old Bed Of Bayou Du Chien and Bell Stumps. This area has ideal crappie structure, lots of stumps. Don started getting out the poles and baiting them up. Before long we had seven poles in the water fanned out around the boat. This technique is known as spider riggering. Each pole has two hooks attached to it at different depths and by using mulitple poles you can cover a lot of water. And that we did. Catching a few here and a few there, but nothing consistent. We kept moving.

  Early afternoon found us spider riggering the stumps south of Spain Point with myself running the trolling motor on the front of the boat. Don told me that I was making him look bad by doing his job but he never insisted that I relinquish control of his new boat and kept busy by getting our poles unsnagged off the stumps and rebaiting hooks. Several hours had passed with spurts of action and then slow times as we trolled around telling jokes.

 As daylight was a burning, Don fired up the ninety horse power Mercury outboard and we sped off to one more spot to try our luck. We took a shortcut through the Donaldson Ditch over to the Walnut Gap area. Don has duck hunted this area for many years and filled our heads with stories as we slowly went through. Don dropped the hammer and off we went to our last hope of the day.

 Setting up the rigs we started down a stump line hoping the crappie would turn on for the evening bite. It just wasn't to be. While working our way down, a boat went right through the area in front of us and then turned to go across to the other side spoiling any hope we had left. We could not figure out why this guy came right down our side and cut across when he had the entire lake to our left to travel in. That was enough, so we called it a day.

  I think we made it back to Samburg in record time that evening. I was going to put on my jacket the first time Don had to slow down to go through a stumpy area but he never did. I guess we took the freeway back. I was going to ask him to slow down a minute but couldn't talk as my mouth was frozen in a grimace reminiscent of a scene in the movie "Dumb and Dumber" when Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels are riding on a little minibike in the mountains. After loading the boat and packing things away we said goodnight until we the next morning. Same time, same place.

 Tuesday morning we awoke to rain, wind and cold tempertures. It was like deja vu all over again. I had been through this before at Reelfoot and knew that there was no way we were fishing that day on that lake. Riding down to the restaurant to meet up with Don, we couldn't see the lake for the fog and the wind almost blow us off the road.

 Over breakfast we swapped many stories and told more jokes. We really got a kick out off Don telling us about his internet dating experiences. It's making me chuckle as I'm writing this story. Keeping an eye out the window at some flags that were hanging across the road and at the trees swaying back and forth, we knew the weather wasn't going to let up anytime soon so we decided to cancel that days fishing and give our new buddy Don a day off. Before we knew it three hours had passed and if we stayed much longer we could have order some lunch.

  Saying our goodbyes to Don and thanking him for a great time we headed back to the campground to pack up the motorhome, hook up the Jeep and get a days headstart to Oklahoma for the rest of our fall fishing frenzy. More about that next time.

 If you are looking to go to Reelfoot Lake either fishing or to duck hunt give our buddy Don a try. You can contact him at finchoutdoors@aol.com or visit his web site at www.donfinchoutdoors.com . Be sure to tell him you heard about him from Backwoods Bound. Oh yeah, don't ask him about his internet dating as he would rather forget about it.

 And a final word about fishing Reelfoot Lake. We did catch a lot of fish that day. Most were to small to keep but we had a blast just being out there and getting to know Don. If you are like us, it is hard to plan your trips but remember that when a cold front is forecast to move through the area it has been my experience that the fish usually shut off the day before the front hits. You would think that they would turn on and feed before the front but I haven't found that to be the case down there. The next day the weather cleared and the fishing heated up once again. Of course it did, I left. Until next time, James

 We as sportsmen have an opportunity to help people that are less fortunate then us. I'm talking about donating some or all of your harvested game to hunger relief programs around the country. The programs work like this. You harvest an animal, take it to a participating game processor and they will process it and distribute it to local hunger relief programs. Some places will do the processing free of charge, some of them split the cost with you and then others have you foot the until bill yourself. The small cost you may incur by paying for the processing only helps to relieve funds for other worth while programs.

 There are several great organizations that spearhead such programs year round. One of them is Sportsmen Against Hunger. This program was started over twelve years ago by members of Safari Club International and has grown every year since. A few years ago they launched an on-line database that features about 1300 affiliated game processors and over 970 hunger relief organizations across the country. To find the nearest place to donate your meat, visit their web site at www.safariclubfoundation.org/sahoutlet.htm.

 Another organization that has helped in this fight against hunger is Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. They operate in over half of the 50 states including a lot of the heavily hunted ones so it shouldn't be hard to find a participating processor. One great thing about FHFH is that if you donate all of your deer they will pay the cost of the processing. Not a bad way to go. In return for donating your entire deer they will send you bumper sticker that says "I'm A Hunter And I Feed The Hungry". Visit their web site at www.fhfh.org or give them a call at 301-739-3000 for details.

 The beauty of these and other programs is that the donated meat stays in the local area helping out local families who need a little assistance. According to a recent study as many as 30 million Americans annually cannot get enough food to meet their dietary recommendations. There is a need world wide for hunger relief so lets pitch in and help those here at home fill their bellies with natures bounty. You're be glad you did.

  Suddenly the motor slows down then speeds up, before completely dieing. Now instead of going up stream ten miles per hour we are going down stream the same speed. Quickly I grab the rewind rope and give a pull; to no avail the engine is seized and will not budge. Lucky for us it is down stream to where we can get help.

 Now we have to change our approach on what we do. We have to plan as far ahead as possible, making sure we don't go down a blocked channel or get grounded in a channel that doesn't have enough water to float our heavy boat. Once the current washes us into a channel there is no way we can retrace our coarse to try another channel as the boat is too heavy to paddle against the current.

 The first hour or so seemed the worse as we where so alert to changing river conditions and not used to the length of time it would take to change our course. Some times we walked along the shore trying to see around the next bend, so as to get a idea what lay ahead, some times we where merrily floating down the center of the river. After three hours of floating and as it was getting dark we made camp on a sand bar. This had been a long day and we where both tired. Zoi, who had been sleeping all day was happy to check the beach for strange smells before going to bed. She preferred to sleep on her cushion between us.

 Next morning we were up early and after breakfast we were on the river by 5am. As there were threatening clouds in the sky and the wind was blowing, we made sure our rain jacks where handy. By 6am it started to rain and as we floated past the mouth of the Nelson River it was raining so hard I could barely see ½ mile. Now the boat was filling up with rainwater and getting heavier than it had already been. The current was rushing us along in the swollen waters from the rains south of here, which had entered the Liard by way of the Nelson River. The big trick was trying to keep the boat facing the right way as the wind and current kept trying to turn us sideways. If the current ever pushed us up onto a grounded log in a sideway position it would break our boat in half.

 In the heavy rain another jet boat came out of the Nelson River and headed upstream on the Liard behind us. We waved to no avail, he never saw us. An hour later a helicopter flew directly over our heads in the heavy rain and he never saw us waving our paddle either. Sometime before lunch the rain stopped and the sun came out. We stopped and bailed some water out of the boat before making lunch. Lucky the front of the boat was covered over and we had put all our groceries and camping gear under there.    During that day storms were coming and going all day, and at 6pm we could see a big thunder storm coming so decided to make camp before it hit. I set up the tent and covered the boat while William made supper. The storms hit just as he had finish making supper, so we sat in the tent and ate. After supper with nothing to do and poring rain we decided we might as well go to bed. Later we both woke up to bright daylight and thought we had slept in, couldn't believe it! The storm had passed and it was still daylight at 11:30pm.

 Next morning I was awake at 3am and we were on the river at 4am. Around 6am it started to get foggy and within ½ hour we couldn't see fifty feet. We kept paddling towards what we thought was the direction of the shore and after ½ hour we could see the bank and some trees through the fog. As soon as we could get a hold of some over hanging branches we tied the boat up and decided to stay there until the fog lifted.

  As we sat there in the fog I noticed a beaver coming upstream towards us. William and I were both watching this animal as it battled the current, when suddenly it dove under the boat. William was watching over the edge of the boat when it came up about two feet from his face and seeing him, it immediately slapped its tail on the water and dove. This caused quite a commotion in the boat, as it nearly scared William to death. As the fog was lifting I noticed a wolf hunting for breakfast on the far side of the river, it had no idea we were sitting there watching it.

 When we had tied up on the shore in the fog we didn't know we were on an outside bend in the river with many dangerous snags protruding out from the bank. When we untied our boat we had to paddle as hard as we could to get away from the shore in order to clear any snags that we may get hooked on. After gaining the mainstream current we drifted around the next bent and there was a cow Elk looking at us in amazement. As we passed this gorgeous animal it followed along the shore trying to get a better idea what we where.

 We next came to a long slow current in which we lazily drifted down stream. It was a great place for William to make lunch. Spam sandwiches passed back to me on a paddle. We were hungry and they tasted great. Even Zoi agreed. As we finished our lunch the current increased and we where washed into a back channel where there was very little movement of water and we had to paddle our way out. At this time another riverboat came off a side channel and turned towards Fort Liard, again not seeing us.

 By now we had pretty much exhausted our energy for that day so we spent the rest of the day exploring the shoreline and preparing our camp for the evening. After a good evening meal we retired to our beds hoping we would make it to Fort Liard the next day.

 On our third day of floating we knew we were getting closer to Fort Liard, as we were seeing a few airplanes coming and going. We had decided to try and notify somebody that we were drifting as the river was getting bigger and it was very difficult to maneuver our boat by paddling it. We were scared we may arrive at Fort Liard and find ourselves on the wrong side of the river, if nobody noticed us drifting we could float right past and not be noticed. We both had a large whistle and I had told William to blow as hard as he could if it looked like we where going to float right past without being noticed.

 About that time an Islander aircraft came over us at about two thousand feet and both of us stood up and waved the face of our paddles. The plane immediately banked its wings and started to descend. It made two trips past us progressively getting lower and on the last trip past I pointed at our crippled motor and gave the signal it was dead by drawing my flattened hand across my throat, after which time the plane continued on its trip. Being a pilot myself I knew the pilot of that Islander would be advising the radio operator at Fort Liard airport of our predicament.

 At lunch time we rounded a bend to be confronted by a tugboat pushing a barge. It was the Shell Canada barge used to cross the river for the gas exploration, which is very active in that area of the NWT. After talking with the captain we decided rather than be picked up by him we would continue down stream as he told us we were only about ten miles or about an hour from Fort Liard.

 When we were about a mile from town a boat came out to meet us. They assured us we would be picked up as we floated passed and they gave us fresh drinking water and some chicken burgers which they had been carrying in their boat for their own use. They said the Islander pilot had advised the Air Radio people who had in turn advised the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who had advised some local people, who where working down by the river to keep a eye out for two people and a dog drifting on the Liard.

 As we where passing the town a boat came out and towed us into shore where we were treated royally. They showed us where to tie up and set up our camp, gave us five gallons of drinking water, and showed William where the best place was to catch fish.

 In the meantime I had to hitchhike south to get my truck and trailer, which took me six hours. I just made it back before nightfall. William had our camp all set up and supper ready and waiting. Needless to say I won't travel on that river without a spare motor now.

 Words can't express our gratitude to the people who helped us in Fort Liard. If you are ever in the area be sure and say hello to Charley Hope and his sons who met us on the river. I would also like to thank the unknown pilot who saw our signal from his plane. We highly recommend visiting the Gift Shop in Fort Liard, they have some marvelous hand crafted native art on sale there. TrapperKen

 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 our, Trapline Store and purchase a lovely Natural Birch Wood Round c/w 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 TrapperKen.com.

 Visit our store often, as we will be adding new items as the fall goes by. If you are interested in purchasing tanned furs please advice us soon, as they should be ordered before the trapping season, to ensure next spring delivery. We will have available the following hides in limited quantities. Wolf, Wolverine, Beaver and Martin. E-mail us at Info@TrapperKen.com for information.

Answer To Bonus Question: The original name of the Statue of Liberty was "Liberty Enlightening The World".