Here’s a few suggestions to add some friendly competition to your outdoor outings. Purely in the interest of research for this artivle I can say I have participated in all of these events, numerous times. Take these suggestions with you, or come up with your own Man Challenge and send me a description and I’ll add it to this article.
Man Challenge #1 Rods n’ Irons
Golfing and fishing are parts one and two of the summer triple crown. Add sex with your wife for the trifecta and your day is complete. Just remember, it’s okay to fish alone and golf alone. Eighteen holes of golf set the stage for the soon to follow fishing tournament. Take the leader board from the round of golf to the boat and each fish makes up a stroke. Pick a time to shut it down and add the scores to determine the champion. For example, after golf, Eldon has a 5 stroke lead over Galen (impossible, but it happened), Galen will need to catch 6 more fish to pull ahead in the scoring.
Man Challenge #2 Build a Lure
Using only the tools available in a common tackle box, and the items you have with you (hint: beer caps), design and construct a lure that catches a fish. It can be any of the stuff you have with you. Bottle caps, pull tabs, foil wrappers, your watch, pieces of string, shoelaces, belt buckles, wedding rings, false teeth, prosthetic limbs, sun glasses, car keys, coins, lug nuts, speaker wire, and your imagination. I’ve seen fish caught on the most unlikely contraptions, but then have you seen some of the lures out there? Most likely fish to be caught is a pike, Walleye are harder to fool, and Perch sometimes will go after anything shiny (like tin foil). Send us a picture of you winning lure and your fish and we’ll post your proff, and bragging rights, on our site.
Man Challenge #3 Blast n’ Cast
This one’s my favorite. Spend the morning on a flock reduction exercise and bag your limit of ducks and geese. Spend the afternoon and evening tempting the behemoths from the depths and build up your fish fry inventory. You can make this into a contest if you wish, but it’s often disputed who fired the killing shot as geese invade your spread and all guns are blazing. In many hunting jurisdictions, goose hunting is not permitted past noon so make sure you know the local regulations.
Man Challenge #4 Jigs & Shots
Before you go out, designate someone to be the designated boat driver in this event. Jigs and shots is quite straight forward, use your jig and whatever bait to catch a fish and do a shot of what ever your favored poison happens to be. Hit the honey hole and your fishing memories may soon fade into a blur. Take a few extra cool ones with you in the event the finned foe is in deep hiding. Add some interest by designating a type of shot per species of fish.