Ray Sasser

DALLAS -- Schools are starting fall sessions soon, and at least 11,000 Texas middle school and high school students are signed up for a different sort of physical education. Instead of basketballs and tennis rackets, they will use rods and reels and bows and arrows, courtesy of the Dallas Ecological Foundation, an affiliate of the Dallas Safari Club.

They even get school credit for the Outdoor Adventures education program, which is accredited by the Texas Education Association and also meets national education standards.

Since Outdoor Adventures was founded 10 years ago, DEF has spent nearly $1 million in support. DSC officials say the funds are spent on equipment, field trips, curriculum updates and a semiannual shooting event for 125 students at Greystone Castle near Mingus.

DALLAS -- Boating bottlenecks usually occur at the boat ramp, where vessels are launched and retrieved. Most ramps have only two to four launch lanes, but that's not the real issue. Too many boaters do not know how to effectively back a boat trailer.

There's a reason you seldom see a fishing boat jackknifed on the ramp. Fishing is a year-round sport, and anglers get a lot of practice launching and retrieving their boats. Recreational boaters? Not so much.

Many of them launch only a dozen or so times each year, and that's not enough experience to master the tricky art of backing a trailer. Trailering skills are crucial, because the boat ramp is an unforgiving environment filled with boaters in a hurry to launch. It's a tough crowd and there's a lot of pressure. Learning boat-backing skills at a crowded ramp is like learning to shoot free throws at the NBA Finals.

DALLAS -- Two weeks ago, when the weather was pretty much ideal for shallow-water bass, I tied on an $8 spinner bait, turned the trolling motor on and started covering water. The fish responded even better than I expected.

Spinner baits were once my favorite bass lure, but these days I usually select a slow-moving plastic worm or lizard. Those require less effort than a spinner bait, which must be constantly retrieved.

DALLAS -- There's good news for Texas rainbow trout fishing fans. An October fish sampling survey by fisheries biologists indicated good numbers of rainbows in the Guadalupe River survived the hot Texas summer.

DALLAS -- To the uninitiated, white-tailed deer may seem like gentle woodland creatures, but there's nothing gentle about mature bucks during breeding season. No-holds-barred fights for dominance are commonplace in the world of whitetails.

When Dallas dentist Ed Lutz started taking his three sons offshore fishing in South Florida seven years ago, he had no idea what kind of three-headed family fishing monster he was creating. Lutz and his wife, Debra, watched with interest as the band of brothers soaked up lore from veteran fishing guides. The brothers closely observed everything from bait-rigging to marine electronics. When they weren't fishing, they were researching how to rig baits and where to fish.

DALLAS -- I never think about duck season without remembering the best duck hunter I ever knew. His name was Charles Smith, but his friends called him Smitty, Smith or the old man. His wife even called him Smith.