One of my very favorite books is Ernest Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa, a story in which Hemingway chronicles a hunting safari in Africa and uses the story to illustrate his love of, and opinions about, hunting, nature, writing and life in general. Big game hunting is of another realm in outdoor pursuits, and while I’m perfectly content chasing whitetail deer in the heart of America, stories of hunting things like lions in places like the Kalahari Desert in South Africa do get my blood pumping.

While looking at hunting stories over the weekend, I ran across an Outdoor Life story, “Bowhunting Africa's Killer Cats,” that blew me away.

In it, the author is hunting lion in Africa, with a bow. I read a lot of hunting stories, and hunting big cats with a bow borders on insanity.

To summarize, the author is using a pack of dogs, which chase and apparently bother the lion. According to the story, the lion will initially run from a pack of dogs, until it has had enough. When that encounter takes place, the lion is so distracted by the pack of dogs, the hunter is able to get in bow range.

In this case, which is a fascinating story, the author sinks an arrow into the lion’s heart from 10 yards, but the lion doesn’t immediately die. It turned on him and as it approached, one of the dogs, a Jack Russell-hound mix named Speck, lunged and momentarily occupied the lion – in a courageous and honorable, yet fatal, way – giving the hunter enough time to notch a second arrow and send it into the lion’s vitals.

The author then goes on to talk about a few others of his big cat hunting experiences. To help you avoid confusion, the “Following the Hounds” section is repeated in the Outdoor Life online version.

I can’t imagine hunting in this way. I know it’s incredibly expensive, but it would be a true test. Your aim would have to be true and your nerves steady.

My sophomore year of college, while writing the recreation beat of The University Daily Kansan (the University of Kansas’ student newspaper), I came upon a story of a student who had bowhunted black bear in Idaho. I thought that was remarkable; there is something to be said for hunting an animal that presents a threat to you. Hunting whitetails out of a tree, the challenge isn’t so much about survival as it’s about mastering techniques that allow you to overcome far superior senses and instinct that deer possess.

But cats are a different thing all-together. The speed and tenacity they would attack with, especially in a situation where it’s wounded and confronted, is unmatched compared with other wildlife. And to not have one of the guides holding a rifle, standing behind you – this author and his group had nothing – that’s asking for it (the test), alright. This guy did something I admire but could not do at this point in my life. He asked for it.

Back in late December, while visiting Gwen’s family southwest of St. Louis, we spent part of a Sunday afternoon driving through a wildlife park, St. Louis County Lone Elk Park. Boasting bison, elk, whitetail deer, turkey and waterfowl, this free outing is a hidden beauty in the hilly, colorful eastern Missouri landscape; especially appealing to people who enjoy wildlife and nature. It is definitely a picturesque park with life, however, exactly how “wild” is debatable.

Initially, the first thing I noticed driving into the park was that the gate was wide open as we drove in and didn’t shut behind us. Sort of expecting a Jurassic Park-type enclosure, how, then, did they keep all the wildlife in this place? The answer, I think, is that by feeding these animals and after they’ve been fenced in for so long, it must just be easier to remain, accept the food, forage on the land, and stay within the 546-acre fenced enclosure. They know where the fences and gates are.

Still, I really expected the animals to know exactly when the gate was open, and it’s still kind of peculiar to me. Either they want to be there, or they’ve been conditioned somehow to remain confined and the gate can be left open for most of the day, without the animals knowing the opportunity this presents. Or they know it’s no opportunity at all. We never did see any kind of park ranger, which you’d think they need to ensure animal safety and keep track of herds.

But I digress, this park really is a cool place, and – being free – makes for a quality, different way to spend the day.

The only thing that I didn’t get to see was the bird sanctuary – Gwen wouldn’t go down to that area because she said the birds are caged and tied down, and it’s sad and even inhumane. That made me want to go down there even more, if nothing more than to see what sort of system they had in place that would make a girl who dove hunts think something inhumane. Not that I think dove hunting is inhumane in the least – especially once you marinate them, stuff them with a jalepeño pepper and wrap them in bacon – it’s just that the tolerance of such a girl would seem to be higher. What I really thought was, Those cages must be tiny. And, on second thought, who wants to see such a thing?

Once past the turn off for the bird sanctuary, we entered an area that serves as kind of the bottoms of the park. There’s a rather small lake (I’d guess around 50 acres), and the road runs around the lake and through forest and grassland. As soon as we reached the lake, we were surrounded by a herd of elk, and I was in awe. The only time I’d seen elk before was while hunting them in Colorado, so the tameness these exhibited really caught me off guard. Looking to the left, I was observing a bull with four or five cows, when a reflection off the windshield caught my eye and I turned to my right to see another cow staring at me about 2 feet from the passenger-side window. The best elk we saw, by my standards, was a pretty mature-looking 4-by-4 (8-pointer). For whatever reason, all of these elk didn’t seem to have the sleek coat that you’d expect to see on a wild, roaming animal in the heart of winter. I’ve never heard of confinement causing mange, if mange is even what this was (true mange is caused by a parasitic mite, so it’s hard to say).

Moving on around the lake and entering the bison area (with a sign posted on another open gate indicating you shouldn’t exit the vehicle), you begin to ascend up an incline to what presents the highest, best view of the entire park. About a quarter of the way up, we saw four or five cars pulled off the road and knew what that meant.

Seeing a group of about 10 bison at various stages of maturity, and this being all we saw, I couldn’t help but think what it must have been like to see a sea of these front-heavy, robust animals with humongous heads stretching to the horizon, or, better yet, shaking the earth during a stampede.

Once to the highest point in the park, it’s pretty cool to roll the window down and stare off into the hilly timber, never quite sure what you’re going to see next.

For anybody in the area, or for those who find themselves passing through St. Louis, this would be an ideal place to stop in and picnic. I know there are two picnic areas, and there may be a third, complete with picnic tables and barbecue grills. The only two rules that come to mind are no pets – even if kept in the car – and don’t exit the vehicle in the places that are marked. What other place can you picnic in a setting like this? Yellowstone sure, but I know of none others around the Midwest.

Monday, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks released its annual Kansas fishing forecast, a tool I anxiously await each year that tells anglers the best locations for the fish they are looking for.

This is one of the coolest, most useful tools in evaluating where to go fishing in Kansas during spring. The report incorporates the KDWP’s Density Rating, Preferred Rating, Lunker Rating, Biggest Fish (found during sampling), the Biologist’s Rating (which introduces a human element – the biologist’s personal opinion given the data), and the Three-Year Average; all things that help the angler who wants to find bigger, more numerous fish.

This report is done through actual sampling, too, which I find to be cool. Lakes, ponds and reservoirs are monitored by biologists – through test netting and electroshocking – and the data is compiled. Since it’s impractical to survey each lake every year (especially smaller reservoirs), the 3-year average is included.

This is different from a fishing report. It’s more of an indication of what is to come during spring and summer, since it is actual data about what is in the lake, numbers-wise, whereas your typical fishing report, found here, often relies on word-of-mouth and gives more indication of what is happening at a particular moment – or more often, what was happening a week ago.

Perusing the 2009 Kansas Fishing Forecast today, all indications say if walleye are your thing and you want to take a fishing trip this year, you’re best served heading to Lake Scott. Compared to other lakes and reservoirs in Kansas for walleye fishing, it is far superior. Webster Lake may have a higher density, according to this forecast, but Lake Scott has a much higher density of fish 20 inches and above (called the Preferred Rating).

If crappie are your thing, travel to Moline New City Lake, Lake Wabaunsee (near Eskridge, Kansas), or Sedan City Lake for the best chances for success.

Crappie numbers are pretty good at Lake Scott as well, so that would be my pick as far as a summer vacation destination to plate the tastiest fish Kansas has to offer. Other states have similar reports, and this is one way to plan an inexpensive trip and ensure high chances for success.

Has anyone seen similar reports for other states? What are they saying?

Photo: iStockphoto.com/Judy Foldetta

Here in Kansas, temperatures reached up into the 60s on Saturday, and that got me thinking about the upcoming fishing season and a fresh mess of fish taken in the early spring. In my experience, early spring fish taste much better than later in the year – something that I attribute to water temperature. It stands to reason, given how much the quality of other meats improves, that colder temperatures affect fish meat in a favorable way. I can’t wait to get out on the water and reel in that first mess of fish.

Normally, I’m a crappie fisherman. I do love to trout fish – fly fishing is one of my favorite outdoor practices. But growing up fishing Kansas farm ponds and lakes, crappie was the fish I learned to regard as a delicacy on our family dinner table, and likewise on the end of my line (most times using a cheap rod and the classic Zebco 33 reel … those things would never backlash).

Within the last couple of years, I’ve come across some pretty fishy Walleye guys. One of them used to bring Walleye for lunch in the middle of the summer – and it was unbelievable to taste – when I was painting houses in summer to get through college.

Walleye fishing takes a slightly different rig and boat setup, but maybe one day I’ll get into it. In the meantime, it’s all about crappie, though I’m certainly not above eating a fresh mess of bass.

And, since my brother Josh and his wife will be pregnant during the summer, I think I may have primary control of our little 15-foot bass boat this season; no substitute for having him alongside on the water, but acceptable nonetheless. In the coming weeks, before spring officially hits, I’ll be keeping an eye on local fishing holes and scouring fishing reports, anxiously waiting for that first mess of fish.

Hillsdale Lake, just south of Gardner, Kansas, is my absolute favorite crappie hole. With 75 percent of the standing timber still in the lake, fish populations have ideal habitat to thrive. All we’ve ever had to do is tie the boat off to the standing timber and drop a minnow straight down, about 5 to 6 feet. Although it’s about a 40-mile drive, I’ve never had a bad day there.

What about you? What are your favorite fish to fish for, catch and eat? What about your favorite fishing holes?