Outdoors - baltimoresun.com

Armchair fishing aims to hook fans

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:01:00 GMT

Outdoor Channel launches effort to bring competitive angling into the living room

Boyd Duckett grew up a NASCAR fan in North Carolina, played golf on some minitours in Alabama and Mississippi, and has spent the past decade as one of the country's top professional bass fishermen. So he knows something about niche sports and their rabid fans.

'New generation' of foosball stars will compete this month in Jessup

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:58:00 GMT

Maryland Football Championships will test the best in the popular table soccer game

Are you ready for some foosball?

Turning love into an adventure

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:06:00 GMT

When Matt Baker decided to put on his first Valentine's Day Couples Adventure weekend at Savage Mill in 2010, he didn't factor in Snowmaggedon.

No limit for the Goruck Challenge

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 21:35:00 GMT

Two-year old military-type challenge has grown rapidly in popularity

Sophie Pollitt-Cohen likens the Goruck Challenge to a tour of a city, "except you're not on a bus." Devin Maier recalled how for some "it's like playingG.I. Joe," and others look at it as a weekend escape from their 9-to-5 jobs — one that includes carrying large objects.

City bikers look for more recreation, commuting options

By Candus Thomson , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:28:24 GMT

Baltimore moving forward with several projects for bicyclists

Representatives of Baltimore's biking and hiking community gathered Saturday for a "state of the trails" summit to set a course for creating more opportunities for recreational users and commuters.

Africa offers big-game hunters exotic options

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:12:00 GMT

Those willing to pull trigger on expensive safaris get a memorable experience

If fiftysomething basketball players can spend thousands of dollars on fantasy camps with the likes of Coach K and MJ, if golfers make similar pilgrimages to the sport's birthplace in Scotland, why shouldn't hunters do the same at exotic venues in Africa?

Group wants state to better manage costs of commercial fisheries

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 20:40:00 GMT

The Maryland chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association is calling on the state to more efficiently manage the costs of commercial fisheries.

Waterfowl hunting keeps retired Hale busy on Talbot County farm

By Hanah Cho , The Baltimore Sun — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:51:00 GMT

First Mariner founder enjoys time on his Talbot County farm

EASTON – Shortly before sunrise, Edwin F. Hale Sr. scatters decoys on the water, preparing for a day of waterfowl hunting on his Talbot County farm.

Ocean City approves the return of Summer Dew Tour

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:21:00 GMT

Event drew more than 70,000 fans last summer

Ocean City proved to be a successful venue for the Summer Dew Tour last year, and it appears that the event is returning this summer.

Taking a Vstep toward boating safety

By Don Markus , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:25:00 GMT

Annapolis skipper uses Dutch-made simulator at school

John Martino was not pleased when he saw where organizers of this year's New York Boat Show had stuck his booth inside the cavernous Javits Center earlier this month. He was in a distant corner, far enough from the main flow of foot traffic that he could have been a few blocks west in the Hudson River.

Dew Tour set to return to Ocean City in August

By Michelle Deal-Zimmerman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:49:00 GMT

The Dew Tour is ready to let it rip again this summer in Ocean City.

Where to play pingpong (not on a table in your basement)

The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 08:25:00 GMT

Pingpong has long been considered a "basement sport," but for those who don't have the luxury of buying their own table, there are a few places to play and at least two clubs to join in the Baltimore area.

Ellicott City teenager Gong is a pingpong prodigy

By , The Baltimore Sun — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:16:00 GMT

Ellicott City teenager shooting for 2016 Olympics

The little orange pingpong balls are taking quite a beating, one after another being smashed off the racket of Tong Tong Gong as he practices with one of his three coaches. Though Gong learned the game as many others have, in the basement of his family's home, the 14-year-old from Ellicott City is playing a different kind of game these days.

Four years later, windsurfer Hall's Olympic course seems calmer

By , The Baltimore Sun — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:59:00 GMT

Cape St. Claire resident lost 2008 spot as windsurfer amid political battles

Farrah Hall spends most of her life traveling around the world, windsurfing. The pictures and other images she posts on her Facebook page from places like Australia and the south of France seem pretty glamorous, but the reality for the 30-year-old Hall is not.

Fishermen's expo set next weekend

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 23:26:00 GMT

The 38th East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aquaculture Trade Exposition will be held Friday through next Sunday at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center in Ocean City .

New tools aim to thwart striped bass poaching | Video

By , The Baltimore Sun — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 01:30:00 GMT

Commercial season could be closed if illegal nets are found

Officers have returned to the scene of the crime, where last year they pulled up miles of illegal nets filled with 12.6 tons of striped bass from the frigid waters off Kent Island.

Portions of Deal Island WMA will reopen Jan. 4

Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:53:00 GMT

Portions of the Deal Island WMA that was closed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resouces last month because of the illegal distribution of waterfowl bait will reopen Wednesday.

Like everyone else, outdoors enthusiasts love to shop

By , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:52:00 GMT

Christmas and holiday gift cards turn into guns, crossbows and other necessities — and luxuries

The moment was 20 years in the making. That's how long Earl Geoghegan of Pasadena had tried talking his wife, Michelle, into buying a crossbow. .

Calendar of events

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 19:16:00 GMT

Turtle talk

Looking for a New Year's resolution? Try First Day hiking

By , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:55:00 GMT

Maryland Park Service will host new event at 17 parks across state

The thought of exercising anything more than good judgment on New Year's Day is probably the last thing many people want to do. Traditionally, it's a day of rest -- and for some recovery -- and watching football.

An accidental shooting leaves hunter from Dundalk conflicted

By , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:06:00 GMT

Dundalk man says he has more compassion for animals after landing in Shock Trauma

For as long as Thomas Mech can remember, the Saturday after Thanksgiving was reserved for hunting. As a boy growing up in Dundalk, Mech recalled how his father and some of his neighbors would drive down to the Eastern Shore and up to Cumberland or Frederick.

Gunpowder Falls trail to be named for Lefty Kreh

By , The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 21:06:00 GMT

Cockeysville resident, author says honor 'embarrasses' him

The state Board of Public Works is forging another fishing legacy for Lefty Kreh: a seven-mile trail in Gunpowder Falls State Park to be named for the former outdoors editor of The Sun. The trail's moniker will become official at the board's meeting Dec. 21 in Annapolis. Kreh, 86, is expected to attend.

Ten Places for Baltimore residents to ski or snowboard this winter

By Chris Eckard, The Baltimore Sun — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 19:58:00 GMT

Pictured is Liberty Mountain Resort (Carroll Valley, Pa.).