Dave O’Connor’s book will stimulate your own great hunting and fishing memories

huntinandfishinwiththeolemanweb_1Checking out the newly published books recently at Islandport Press in Yarmouth, I was excited to see a book by Dave O’Connor. I’ve been enjoying Dave’s columns in the Northwoods Sporting Journal for more than 20 years. He’s an entertaining writer, for sure.

Islandport published my book, A Life Lived Outdoors, last year and I’ve been encouraging them to consider more hunting/fishing/outdoor adventure books, so it was great to see Dave’s new book on their shelves. Huntin’ and Fishin’ with the Ole Man is full of stories about Dave’s many adventures with his father, Edward “Steamer” O’Connor, and trust me, they had some funny, amazing, exciting hunting and fishing experiences.

“Rain Ain’t Nothing’ But Water,” sure did remind me of some of my duck hunting days. The stories about hunting dogs, grouse and deer hunts, and fishing the waters of the North Woods, may trigger your own memories.

I especially enjoyed the story, “Herself Spring Cleans the Freezer.” Dave’s mother took all the uneaten meat and fish out of the freezer, annually, and cooked it for a gathering of the old man’s friends, in her words, “To cleanse the freezer of things you never should have brought home from the wild in the first place.” Reminded me of Linda’s recent inquiry as to how long it’s going to take to eat all the venison and moose meat in our freezer!

The last story in the book, when the Ole Man reluctantly tells Dave he no longer has the strength to hike into their all-time favorite spot, the Bog, to hunt deer, may bring tears to your eyes. It reminded me of the day I got my Dad out of the Hospice Unit at Togus to drive around to some of our nearby favorite turkey hunting spots, during the May turkey hunting season. Dad was too feeble to actually hunt, but when he spotting a flock of turkeys, in the exact spot where he’d shot his first turkey years before, I counted it as our 54th year of hunting together.

Thanks for the memories Dave.

 

George Smith

About George Smith

George stepped down at the end of 2010 after 18 years as the executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine to write full time. He writes a weekly editorial page column in the Kennebec Journal and Waterville Morning Sentinel, a weekly travel column in those same newspapers (with his wife Linda), monthly columns in The Maine Sportsman magazine, two outdoor news blogs (one on his website, georgesmithmaine.com, and one on the website of the Bangor Daily News), and special columns for many publications and newsletters. Islandport Press published a book of George's favorite columns, "A Life Lived Outdoors" in 2014. In 2014, George also won a Maine Press Association award for writing the state's bet sports blog. In 2016, Down East Books published George's book, Maine Sporting Camps, and Islandport Press published George and his wife Linda's travel book, Take It From ME, about their favorite Maine inns and restaurants.