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How it All Started...


Barred Owl

Since I was a kid, I always felt at home outdoors. I learned to identify insects and wildflowers when I was about 7 years old, and at age 11 I took interest in fishing. The fishing bug bit me hard, and I could be found riding my bike to the creek several times a week to fish for bream, bass, drum, catfish, even gar. There was no trash fish in my mind, I loved it all, and that still holds true to this day. When I would buy tackle at Walmart, I'd notice the camo and all the hunting gear on the sheves. I always had an idea lurking way in the back of my head that some day I might get into hunting. I never thought much of it until one particular afternoon in 2009.


It was Thanksgiving Day of 2009, I was 17 and was in the kitchen as everyone was helping out getting ready for the feast. Out the back window I noticed a flock of turkeys crossing the yard. I grew up in a subdivision with a bit of undeveloped land and some hardwoods behind the house, so turkeys would occasionally pass through. For whatever reason, on this one Thanksgiving day, I ran outside and of course the birds scattered into the trees. I began thinking of ways to catch and cook one, but had no clue how. This sparked the first interest in hunting, and I began to search the internet for ways to harvest a wild turkey.

November 26, 2009 - the day it all started


Over the next few months, I scoured the internet and learned a lot about hunting, game laws, and even how to make a tube call for turkeys. I learned that deer shed their antlers every year, so I did a little shed hunting, and even found a few fresh sheds. In early March of 2010, I decided to start a YouTube channel, and use my old screen name that I created when I was 12 years old when I joined a catfishing forum. At this point, I was not dedicated to filming my hunts, as I hadn't even been hunting.



Fast forward to sometime in the middle of turkey season, I rode along with a friend to a property he had permission to hunt. I heard my first roost gobbles, and we even had a bird work in to our ridgetop setup where the subordinate gobbler spotted the strutter decoy and dipped back over the ridge.



The following deer season, I joined a deer hunting forum and was probably the greenest hunter in the whole group. I learned a whole lot over the next few years, and made some friends and met a lot of good people through the site. I hunted a local WMA two times that season with a friend of mine who was equally as clueless about deer hunting. The first evening, I had a doe broadside at about 100 yards, but the rifle had only iron sights, and I had never even shot the rifle before, so I passed on the shot.


In the spring of 2011, I headed out to the same public land two weeks before turkey season to listen for roost gobbles. I had been given a tip about a good spot by a call maker I met at Walmart as he was selling his calls to the store. The morning I went out, I heard and saw many birds roosted along a river, and knew that's where I would be opening day.


March 17, 2011, scouting for roosted turkeys


On opening morning, I found myself almost under some roosted birds. After flydown, I had two different jakes within 10 yards, but I got busted both times. It took me 3 hunts to kill my first bird, a 14-pound jake that followed an angry hen that I had called into a mere 6 yards using a homemade tube call. I filmed a quick video of the bird after the hunt; that video can still be found on YouTube. I will never forget that day...


April 9, 2011, my first turkey

2011 deer season brought me to a new spot on public land that a friend recommended. I had borrowed his Marlin 30-30 scoped with see-through scope mounts. On opening morning of rifle season, I sat under a maple tree as a yearling 5-point buck came in from behind me and gave me a perfect 8 yard broadside shot. I filmed the tracking and recovery, and that video is still up on YouTube as well.


My first deer on November 19, 2011

Over the next couple years, I took self-filming my hunts more seriously, and as time went on, I got better at filming and bought better cameras and microphones to capture the hunt.

The main focus of my videos has always been to take the viewer into the woods or on the water with me. I want to keep things real and present it with high quality audio and video that puts you in the woods when you watch it. Because of my simple approach, my camera gear has remained fairly simple as well, and often I only have one camera with me in the woods. This may change over time, but it has worked well for me so far.



Hunting aside, I try to incorporate fishing and any other outdoor related content I can come up with for my channel. In the past year or two, I finally began to live up to my name and start catching some big catfish. I still haven't met my goal of 50 pounds or bigger... but knowing those fish are in the water keeps me going after em.


Well I've rambled on long enough. I hope y'all enjoy the site and the videos, now go out and enjoy the great outdoors. - Catman

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5 Comments


josephvoight00
Dec 01, 2021

I started hunting about the same time and have learned so much about acorns (acerns) from you that it's ridiculous. Last year I got my limit on turkeys for the first time and have shot my first big deer (11 point) on public land in central TN. I hunt three different WMA's and private land that I am blessed to hunt on. I really enjoy your channel and tell everyone I know to catch it. Being in the woods has been life giving and I would encourage everyone to do it regularly whether hunting or not. Peace-out Catman!🦌🦃

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ncinstructor
Sep 24, 2021

Being from East Tennesse myself, and living/working abroad for the past 10 years has been hard not being able to hunt and fish; so I discovered your channel and have been reminded of how I grew up learning and enjoying the land that was available to me in those mountain lands back home. Your woodsmanship is remarkable and you are always willing to teach others how to be successful through trial and effort. So, great job catman! You are a good man that reflects well on our great Volunteer State!

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rbitgood87
Aug 08, 2020

Really Enjoy your videos, I am a hunter and fisherman and have 2 sons and 3 grandsons who enjoy both as well. I really love the authenticity of your videos and hope you continue to produce them. We have a lease in Georgia that just our family hunts and you are welcome to come hunt it with us.

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stwrtscot
Nov 17, 2019

Stewart Scott1 second ago

I think I'd watch Catman if he just filmed himself standing in the middle of a field for an hour. WHY? Well, for one, HE DOESN'T NAME THE DEER!!!! He doesn't paint the "monster drink" logo on his face, He doesn't hyperventilate like someone just poured a bucket of ice water down his shorts and get this girly quivering voice-stairing off in disbelief and asking "out loud" what just happened, did that just happen?" OOOOMMMMGGG! I/E he is a real, and thank the Lord genuine person that I'd be proud to know, hunt with and just call my friend, and BTW you didn't have 2X T's or I would have at least a couple hea…

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918 Outdoors
918 Outdoors
Nov 05, 2019

Love your story! Your cinematography is great also, keep up the good work!

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