My most recent outdoor activity was going dove hunting. Last weekend I went with my roommate and a couple friends of mine. I normally go more often but with class and everything I was only able to go out once this year, however the timing was perfect.  When you are dove hunting you want it to be hot outside with little to no rain and if possible some cool weather North of you will help. The conditions were great and we saw a lot of doves even though we had a little bit of rain where we were hunting which was at my grandparents farm in Clay Center. Since there had been some rain lately the ponds were all filled. The birds had a lot of options for getting water, we had to use some decoys to get them to pick the water we were hunting by. As a whole group we ended up getting 30 birds between the 5 of us which for me is great. I just like to be out in nature and doing what I love.  It would have been ok with just getting one, but in comparison the limit per person is 15 doves so we really didn’t do that great.  It comes down to the fact there was rain that week and the birds not flying all the way into the water and a mix of bad aim. We still had fun but you do need a good amount of equipment to go and it takes a while to get it all set up.  You need a shotgun and ammo which is hard to come by these days. Then you need a Kansas hunting license and a HIP stamp.  It is also good to have a couple of decoys also depending on the weather. I would definitely recommend dove hunting to anyone. It is a great way to get out and have some fun and it doesn’t take a lot of effort because mostly you are just sitting there waiting. It is a great type of hunting for people who are looking to just get into hunting. Dove hunting is also very forgiving and it doesn’t take a lot to get started. You can easily find land to do it on and the skill of dove hunting can be picked up quickly but just might take some time to get good at shooting.

That same weekend I also went fishing with my dad and his friend on his boat. We were trying to catch some walleye but ended up not catching any walleye.  I did catch a couple of bass and a really good smallmouth bass that was probably over 5 pounds. We were at Milford lake and we went out early in the morning when it was still dark and tried to find the right depth of water for the walleye. They are a hard fish to figure out and we might have been a little early in the season for them to really be biting. We still had a great time and it was very relaxing to be out on the water in the early morning to see all the fog and open water.  Milford lake is a public lake but you do need a state park pass to park there and you also need a Kansas fishing license. Then all you need is a fishing pole and I would definitely recommend this to anyone. Fishing is one of my favorite hobbies and you can take it as seriously as you want which makes it really fun and I had a great weekend participating in all these outdoor recreations.