Grow the Hunt

Evolving a Kid

-By Brandon Wikman

So you’d like to introduce your son, daughter or new friend to the outdoors? This can be one of the most gratifying feelings of your entire life. Taking a kid out just once can change their life in more ways than you think.

Here are a few alternate activities to get a person involved in the outdoors, which is not solely based on the actual hunt itself. Check them out!

Jolly Green Giant
Cultivating a beginner’s interest in a family-friendly food plot excavation can be a thrilling activity. Toss them a rake, hoe or a shovel and let them have at it! Let them sprinkle the seeds, remove debris and interact with what it means to be a farmer.

This is an opportunity for you and your new sidekick to indulge in the magical beauties of planning, prepping, planting and watching your very own hunting plot sprout! Kids don’t seem to fully grasp or realize the efforts put into establishing a lush green plot, but getting their hands dirty teaches them the value of hard work. Watching that hard work turn into the tall, green, leafy plants that you hoped for really defines the experience.

Picture Perfect
Trail cameras are perfect tools to share with kids, and your whole family. Have the child help you scout for locations to mount the cameras, and then help you set the units up. Take them back to retrieve the images and swap out memory cards or batteries. Then share in the excitement of finding out what incredible shots your game camera has captured.

Game cameras really get kids, and adults, excited about the outdoors and wildlife. You never know what kind of pictures you are going to get. It is an activity you can share all year, every week if you choose.

Peek-a-Boo
Tree stands may be a little out of reach for your new scouts, literally. Give them something fun to do such as concealing a tent blind. As spring approaches and the snow melts, our minds will be set on turkey-mode. This is primetime to set up a blind somewhere in the woods, along a field, or in a pine thicket where turkeys roam back to roost. Take your handy hacksaw and hack-off a few limbs for your partner to lay across the blind and have them try to turn it invisible. To be quite honest, I have just as much fun dressing the blind with limbs, grass and leaves as a novice would.

Finders-Keepers
It’s nearly that time of year again, shed hunting! The pre-pre season scouting has begun and what a perfect time to bring another set of eyeballs out in the woods to help you look for antlers. Make a game out of it. I usually tell kids it’s like searching for Easter eggs, but a bit more difficult... the Easter Bunny wasn’t as fair and obvious as in past years...

To keep their attention, bring an antler for them to find while you’re out there, because sometimes it can be like walking through a barren desert. The key is to keep their attention, make it enjoyable and keep the pace.

Tuck em’ In
There’s no greater feeling than hammering on an owl call and listening to the woods ignite with the shrieking thunder of a Tom turkey! Listening to a revved-up gobbler is one of the best sounds I can think of. This is an activity that’s quick, painless and oftentimes a guarantee for quick results.

Make sure you tell your son, daughter or newcomer why a turkey gobbles and what you are doing and most importantly, why you are doing it! Let them give it a hoot and have those birds roosted for tomorrow morning.

I’ve heard it time and time again, there’s nothing better than feeling like you’ve accomplished something. Sharing an outdoor experience with a child doesn’t always have to be hunt-based. Show them there’s more to hunting than what meet’s their eye. Give your trainee an experience they’ll never forget.

Welcome to Wik's World

-By Brandon Wikman

The past 8 months I’ve been working diligently on a project that means more to me than hunting, fishing, or writing ever will.

I am so fortunate to be able to work in the outdoor industry and promote it through mass media avenues such as television, publications, and the Internet. My niche in this industry not only as a hunter, but a person who cares about the longevity of our sport, is to make an impact on kids’ lives. To do this, I’ve established an exclusive outdoor camp for kids, called Wik’s World Outdoors Camp.

Wik’s World Outdoors Camp defines what it means to pass on the great hunting tradition to the next generation of outdoorsmen and women alike. We set the standards for integrating the components of values, morals and ethics of the outside world into a kid-friendly approach. Displaying instructive examples, hands-on learning and educating the basics of outdoor skills in an interactive way is what we do. It is our duty to be role models & take a leading edge idea and craft it into a youth's perspective; teaching the novice hunter of today for the expert hunter of tomorrow.

This is my mission. I can’t talk enough about the importance of taking a kid hunting or fishing. It is a statistical fact that kids from age 2 – 11 have already been exposed to more than 20,000 advertisements, on television alone! All this superficial junk, persuasion, and obscenity creates a mental block within a child’s growing mind. Instead planting kids in front of the television set, give them something interactive to do outside.

By age 14 kids have already been immersed in so many activities that it truly takes on the statement, ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. It’s difficult to drag a kid back into the deer woods if they grow up not having an interest in the first place.

License sales are down, hunting numbers are plummeting and this is a growing problem within the industry. I literally feel disgusted by that statement, which has been blared so many times. When is there going to be a difference?

Instead of shying away from the fact, we must face it and stand proud for our passions in life. We need to role model as students, fathers, and mothers and take the initiative to make an impact on someone’s life. Be a better person and express yourself with the basic principles of respect, leadership, and determination. That is what we preach at Wik’s World Outdoors Camp.

With this new endeavor of mine lifting-off the ground, I hope to influence as many kids as possible by educating them and letting them experience the outdoors in a fun way; in a way that they’ll never forget. If we start kids out early demonstrating the pleasures the outdoors offers, we can be assured our children and grandchildren will have a tree to hang their stand on.

Fishing at Times Square

-By Brandon Wikman

As I mentioned in my post titled, To New York I Go, this past Saturday was National Hunting & Fishing Day and I was given the opportunity to head to New York City with the Next Generation team for an exciting interview with the FOX News Channel show, FOX & Friends.

As the pilot announced over the loudspeaker to fasten seat belts and prepare for landing, I gawked out of the window at one of the most amazing sights in the entire world, New York City.

Our plane dipped toward the monstrous array of erected buildings, which didn't seem to end. It was truly one of those moments we all have in life: A moment where we are absolutely captivated and awe-struck.

After landing and snagging my luggage it was off to the hotel, which was a block from Times Square. With over a thousand taxis and a mess of people on each block, which would literally exceed the population of my entire town, it was incredible.

Friday night I could only ponder, staring out of the window bright-eyed at the vivid colored lights, dazzling signs until settling down to realization that I was in the grand-daddy of all cities.

Saturday morning began at 4:30 am. After a quick shower and rehearsal I was inside the FOX Network studio by 6 am. I took a brief tour of the inside and was brought coffee, bagels, muffins and fruit. I was fit for a king, or so I thought!

Before the Next Generation team and I went on live, I was assisted to the "beauty room." I believe we all know what happens here…Makeup and hair…haha

I was dressed in full camouflage as were a few others of the team. We set up casting targets along the streets of midtown New York, and remember, I said I was dressed in my entire camo get-up!

Throughout the entire show we taught bystanders how to cast and explained the importance of conservation. Our backdrop was a massive semi-aquarium full of bass, crappie, musky and northern. Many people were so impressed that they hung around for over an hour.

After the show we took a tour of the city, which brought us to the solemn grounds of "Ground Zero." On a lighter note, we ventured to the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and experienced original New York-style pizza.

I absolutely loved New York. The fast-paced, immediate gratification style of life surely swept me away. Would I live there, no. Would I come back to visit, there’s no doubt about it. New York was truly incredible and has topped the list of cities I’ve been to by far.

To New York I Go

-By Brandon Wikman

This coming Saturday will be the best morning of my entire life. Put it this way, I won't be watching cartoons, cereal bowl in hand this Saturday!

Saturday - September 15th, is National Hunting & Fishing Day. I get the opportunity to head to New York City with the Next Generation team for an exciting interview with the FOX News Channel show, FOX & Friends, which airs 7-10 a.m. EST.

We will be hauling up a huge aquarium and demonstrating how to cast to the audience and getting the crowd involved. We are there to talk about our unique television show and the importance of introducing youth to the outdoors. We will stress and emphasize why it’s imperative that teaching students life long lessons goes a very long way when put to heart and good will.

Creating a path for teens and underprivileged kids to follow is essential in the recycling process of our heritage. It really does take one person to change someone's life.

We are tentatively scheduled at 9:55 a.m. EST, but that could change at any particular time. After the interview Saturday, we will be touring the city of New York! I will be sure to include a photo section from this upcoming trip!

Be sure to watch Saturday Morning!